Let Them Eat Fruitcake

My yelling at the sky yesterday must have worked, the snow it gone today. Thank goodness! The cold is here to stay however, at least for the rest of the week. No more skirts or dresses for Mia at school, not until the temps are back in the high 30s.

We don't have a lot of room for storage here in our little house. There's plenty of storage for long term items like holiday decorations in the basement, but when it comes to clothing, things are a bit tight. There's a minuscule closet in the girls' room, which is given over entirely to Molly's clothing, and the two girls share a dresser. Our room has a huge closet that takes up an entire wall (the wall is only 10'), but we share it with Mia's clothing, so again, everything is smooshed. We're learning to adapt when it comes to clothing, but shoes are definitely a problem. Jesse and I keep ours on the closet floor, but that space also holds our linens and some extra bedding for when Mia comes in the middle of the night to sleep on the floor. I used to keep Mia's shoes in a basket in her room, but whenever we tried to find a pair, every other shoe got tossed to the floor in the mad search and was eventually lost as well. I bought a special organizer that fell apart within moments of purchase. Last week I struck upon the perfect solution. Weekly I buy a case of bottled water, and the cardboard flats on the bottom are difficult to throw away. They tear through garbage bags and are bulky. But they are the perfect size for storing Mia's shoes under our bed! Each flat holds four pair of her shoes perfectly, and they slide right under our bed easily. She has four of them right now, and while I initially sorted them by style, Mia loves being able to pick out her own shoes each morning! As soon as she gets home, she takes off her shoes, puts them back in the flat and slides them away. While I keep finding Jesse and Molly's shoes all over the house (hint, hint), Mia's are easy to find every morning. Definitely a little victory, and I choose to celebrate any victory I can find!

Let Them Eat Fruitcake by Melody Carlson is the second book in the 86 Bloomberg Place series. The four mismatched roommates: Kendall, Megan Leilani, and Anna are back and still trying to work through their various troubles. Kendall falls in love with a married Hollywood star after a drunken one-night stand, much to the other girls' dismay and disgust. Anna's ex Jake is back in the picture, and she's confused as to who holds her heart: Jake or Edmond. Leilani is still aching over leaving her baby girl behind in Hawaii and keeping that secret from her friends. And Megan is still fighting with her boss as well as wondering whether it's ok to date a man outside of her faith. Kendall hasn't matured much from the last book, but the other three are all women you'd love to be friends with, and their worries are ones Christian woman face regularly. Carlson, as always, writes with great humor and heart. In the end, the roommates all learn something about faith and friendship. The last 50 pages or so are especially powerful as all four women come clean with each other and make major emotional growth. A must read for Christian chick lit fans.

Blog Tour Spot is holding a contest for Let Them Eat Fruitcake. Leave a comment here on this post before midnight on Friday, November 21st, and you'll be entered to win a $25 gift certificate to The Collin Street Bakery. The Collin Street Bakery is famous for its fruitcake (and other baked goods) and will deliver anywhere in the world! And take the time to read other bloggers' reviews and interviews about this great book!

And don't forget about my contest to win one of two copies of My Mother's Wish. Just drop me an email before 10 pm on Thursday to be entered!

Today's pic is Mia from Saturday night. Molly had a date so while she was getting herself ready to go, she curled Mia's hair. Mia's hair is so fine even with a ton of hairspray the curls were gone within a half hour, but she felt so pretty and grown up.