Last Minute Trip to NYC!

P and I in Central Park 2008 - we are babies!



This weekend Patrick and I are headed on a last minute, whirlwind trip to NYC with the whole family to see my little brother play on Saturday Night Live! We just booked the tickets last week and our hotel yesterday so it's definitely a spontaneous visit. It will be my sister Laura's first ever trip to NY! We'll be staying in Midtown -- any recommendations for what to see and where to eat on a whirlwind trip?

Hello from New Zealand!


Hi friends! I've been completely offline for the last 3 days while staying in a small town on the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand. Fast internet has been hard to find out here!


While we were here for work, it was definitely the best kind, getting to work with people you love and be creative makes waking up at 4:30 AM worth it.

Jason and I are just finishing up our project here and will be headed on to Brisbane soon and then on to Solomon Islands.

More photos and stories to come when I'm back stateside. For now, I'm headed out to continue to enjoy the adventure.






Strange Facts About Cats



Wedding Wednesday: Unique Rings



You might have noticed in these shots of  Justin & Claire's wedding, that their rings aren't your typical bands of precious metal. So this week, I wanted to share the story behind them. Here it is, in Claire's own words: 

 Justin proposed to me in Panama. We were living on Isla Boca Brava off the Pacific coast and our house was just up the hill from the beach. Then he carved both our rings from the same coconut using just his Leatherman! I never saw him doing any of this, he did it all in secrecy so I had no idea he was going to propose or that the rings would be coconut. 
We had a 4 day break in the middle of the field season and went on a get-away to Boquete, a town up in the mountains. On a quiet night after dinner we were walking across a bridge back to our cabin and he got on one knee :). I liked that there was nothing going on in the town so we could just have a peaceful and quiet night to ourselves with a bottle of champagne.
We were worried about the rings breaking but they have been super durable - I've had mine since April and it has virtually been unbreakable. Justin brought a couple coconuts back in his luggage (broken into pieces) in case one of our rings breaks and he needs to carve a new one. 


20 Weeks Already



Hard to believe that baby boy is already 20 weeks along in there-- halfway! I spent the weekend down in Portland with Patrick and we were both remarking on how fast this is going. We've heard that things slow down a lot at the end and it starts to seem like the baby will never come but for now the whole pregnancy feels like it's flying by at lightning speed. 

In the past couple of weeks I've started to feel him moving around in there, which is a strange but amazing experience. I had always imagined that the baby would just feel like another one of my organs, a sort of extra large kidney or something. In fact, it feels like a whole separate being, kind of like I swallowed a balloon! 

I'm starting to think about the little guy's nursery as a few people have asked me what the "theme" will be. I haven't really come up with anything accept BRIGHT COLORS! I love the idea of having light colored walls and then all sorts of bright blankets, funny animals (I bought this one from Noon Day at Jenny's fair trade party and love him), and lots of interesting things to look at as he grows up. My friend Jimmy makes these wonderful banners and I'm thrilled to be putting this one up on baby boy's wall. So I guess that is kind of the theme - The Future is Bright. Can't wait to meet him. :)

(Image is a drawing by Becca Stadtlander)

Post-Oscar's Monday Morning Recap

Did you watch the Oscars last night? What did you think? I wasn't crazy about Seth MacFarlane as the host, I hope they can convince Amy Poehler and Tina Fey to do it next year. Loved seeing Argo win, what a great movie. Also, how cute are Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner?

What were your favorite dresses? I loved Nicole Kidman's whole look, Amy Adams' crazy princess dress and Kerry Washington's bejeweled number.


PS. Did you see Bradley Cooper brought his mom, Gloria, and she wore sneakers?? So cute.

(Nicole, Amy, Kerry)

Monday Motivation

I love this quote. Happy Monday. 


Friday Roundup

Happy Friday! Any fun plans for the weekend? I'm hopping on a train to spend the weekend in Portland with Patrick. We got a great deal to stay at this hotel which I've been dreaming about for a while and we'll try out this sky-high restaurant on Saturday night. Bridgetown here I come!

Here are a few links to kick us off:

Okay I know I'm a little behind the times but this is hilarious.

Handy guide to how to keep indoor plants alive.

Amazing staircases.

If you watch Girls this is an interesting read.

Totally want to stay in all of these hotels.

Need one of these for Seattle. What paper should it be made out of? Coffee cups?

What?! A shirt made out of the same fabric I used for Kenedee's quilt!

How it felt to watch season three of Downton Abbey. (Spoilers!)

Will you watch the Oscars this weekend? Interactive cheat sheet for the big night, 13 stars first Oscar dresses (wow!), and viral video Oscars.

(Image of Humphrey Bogart and Claire Trevor at the 24th Academy Awards in 1954.)

Birthday Bash in a Flash: Tips for a Last Minute Dinner Party

Jenny and I are thrilled to welcome our friends and aspiring party planners, Danielle and Alicia who will be writing a series of guest posts about hosting the perfect gathering this spring! The four of us lived together in college and after attending some gorgeous events hosted by these two ladies over the years we asked them if they would be willing to share some tips and DIY projects on the blog. We are excited for what they have in store, hope you enjoy!

If you’re like us, every birthday, half-birthday and holiday in between is a fitting cause to go all out and celebrate life (or at least that’s what we ever-so convincingly keep telling our husbands).  But every now and again, an event sneaks up on us between the toddler, cat, job, food and laundry. For example, we found out a good friend was coming to town for her birthday and we wanted  to do-it up right for her. The problem? It was already Wednesday and nothing was planned. We decided to dress up a local restaurant for a stress-free, eye-catching birthday bash. Here are a few tips for an easy, last minute dinner party:

Go With What You Know
When you don’t have the time or space to host at your place and have a moderate sized guest list, hosting a birthday dinner at a restaurant is an easy and festive alternative…especially when you dress it up. For this particular event we picked a restaurant that we knew and loved. Phinney Market Pub and Eatery has a beautiful, long table right in the middle of the restaurant. It’s ambiance and décor work well with our style and we knew the menu would be perfect for our guest demographic. Sticking with what you know can save you precious time otherwise spent researching the décor, cost and layout of a new space. 


Create Tabletop Drama
The table is your focal point in a restaurant, but it’s important to keep it simple. You want to excite the guests when they arrive but not compete with the food. We've found the best place to start is with a few small floral arrangements. We swear by Bellevue’s Flowers for the People for a fresh take on evening floral arrangements.  Given our birthday girl’s obsession with Glassybaby’s, we used them to add a personal touch and a punch of blue-green color.

Even in a restaurant, we think place cards are a must. They quickly add décor to a table and people love seeing their own names (Instagram favorite for the night).  A fancy pen with some glitter goes a long way. For a final blast of color, we dressed up the table by using a large hole puncher to create some metallic (gold & copper) confetti accenting our coordinating colors; peaches, teals, and eggplant.

Our new obsession: 36-inch balloons. They need little else to make a statement, but adding  tassel flair never hurts.

Leave On A Sweet Note
For last minute occasions, mini cupcakes from Cupcake Royale are a fast and inexpensive way to leave your birthday guests with a sweet treat to remember the evening. Pick out cupcakes that have frosting that coordinates with your color scheme, and then place them at each place setting. If you’re Betty Crocker and have the time, making your own works too!  We feel when hosting at a venue where guests pay their own bill it’s nice to offer something-- drinks and/or desserts are a great way to show appreciation for their presence.

Do You Keep a Journal?

Have you ever kept a journal (or diary when you were young)? I was an avid journaler for many years but over the past couple I've completely stopped. To be honest it's something that makes me sad and, this may sound strange, but I'm not quiet sure how to pick back up again. I have always thought of journaling as a great way to process and understand life and also to remember not just events and dates (I have a TERRIBLE long term memory) but also how I felt in those moments. When I found out I was expecting, I bough this lovely pregnancy journal from Seattle artist Nikki McClure, but to be honest, I've only written in it once. 
Yesterday I ran across the below notebook via sho & tell and thought it might be a great way to record how I'm feeling during my pregnancy and jump start getting back into journaling (or just keep it in lieu of a journal for a while). 

If you are a journaler, I'd love to hear what motivates you to put pen to paper? Do you have a favorite place/time to journal or a particular notebook you love?  


Wedding Wednesday: What's Your Scent?


Scent can be a powerful trigger of emotional  memories.   

Armed with this knowledge from Psych 101, I was convinced I needed to find myself a special wedding fragrance. 

As someone who only occasionally wears perfume, I had no idea where to start, so in the weeks leading up to my own wedding, I spent hours wandering Nordstrom and Sephora, smelling, spraying, pondering. 


One day, a very patient Sephora employee spent 45 minutes telling me about all of the more traditional wedding fragrances, many made by Vera Wang and all very floral. As a last ditch effort she grabbed Miss Dior off the shelf and I loved it. Being in the stressed/emotional state of wedding planning, I teared up and shouted, "This is the one!" totally freaking out the woman helping me and a few shoppers. It's a little floral, but a bit more unique. POPCORN is listed as one of the "notes" of fragrance in it, really. 

Even a few years after the wedding, I still love the scent and the memories it brings back and am looking forward to how much more impactful that'll be in the years to come. 

Here are some ideas on wedding perfumes from around the web...




I'm curious to hear, are you planning on picking a special wedding perfume? If you're already married, did you? 





Satiating Foods

I've been thinking lately about the glycemic index and foods that satiate versus spike blood sugar and leave you tired and irritated. I am on a "no sugar" kick, trying to eliminate sweets for a bit and focus on eating healthy fruits instead. I thought this chart was incredibly interesting. I copied a bit of it below showing fullness scale and sugar crash scale... who knew that eating an orange was a better choice than a banana? 






Rainy Day Teacup Entertainment

Last week my friend Brittany and I attempted to read our tea leaves. It was sort of a making lemonade out of lemons situation when we discovered our tea leaves were smaller than the teapot filter. We ended up with cups full of tea leaves, immediately thought of Harry Potter and Brittany whipped out her iPhone to google "reading tea leaves".

Naturally, we mainly "saw" happy things in our tea leaves. According to my cup, a strange visitor is going to bring me lots of money!

Anyway, the point of this post isn't to tell you all to go out and try reading your tea leaves, but more to say, I hope you're making the best of your day and remembering to find fun in the little things.


Goodbye Seattle!

Jason and I are on a plane and headed to New Zealand for a week and then the Solomon Islands! I'll be trying to blog as much as I can while I'm away, but I have scheduled some fun things to post while I'm gone.

Follow us on Instagram to see more of the fun! @jennykoekoe & @jkoephoto

Photo: Mt. Rainier from a plane at sunset via @jkoephoto.

Monday Motivation


Friday Roundup

Hooray for long weekends! I am so looking forward to three days off in a row. Jenny and I are taking a ferry to Bremerton tomorrow to visit a dear friend and her adorable baby, Amelia. I am looking forward to getting out of the city, being on the water and spending time with dear friends.

Whatever your plans are for the weekend, enjoy! Here are some links to get us started:

Did you see Leonard win the Teen Jeopardy tournament? Epic.

I want to eat this RIGHT NOW.

Presidential fist bump.

These Downton Abbey FB recaps are my favorite. Hilarious.

Blog inspiration.

85 health snack ideas for kids and adults.

Beautiful interview, well worth three minutes of your time.

Might need to try this lovely hairdo over the long weekend.

Glamour's crazy cat party. How do you get an invite to this??

Great tips for merging styles when moving in together or getting started on a nursery from AP.

Stunning video from Namibia.

Love this lookbook. Makes me want to move to Marrakesh.

Fascinating article detailing how relaxation actually leads to productivity.

(image)



Snickerdoodles


Snickerdoodles were by far my favorite cookie as a child and I've been on a quest for years to be able find a recipe as good as the ones from Mrs. Field's. Then, last week on Pinterest, I stumbled upon a recipe claiming to be the Mrs. Fields recipe, I'll admit I was very skeptical. There are a lot of crazy claims on Pinterest. But after making three batches in two days, I can tell you, these taste like my childhood!

You can find the recipe here...

Happy Valentine's Day!


How do you celebrate(or do you?) Valentine's Day? Patrick and I usually go out to dinner and exchange cheesy love cards. Tonight we'll walk over to The Whale Wins and hope we are early enough to get a table without a reservation...wish us luck! At dinner, we have a little tradition of trying to remember all the places we have celebrated Valentine's Day's past in chronological order -- it's getting more difficult as this is our 7th as a couple! It's a great way to reminisce about falling in love and all the up's and down's along the way.

But here's my V-day confession: I secretly miss the days of celebrating Valentine's Day with my girlfriends! When I was in college and during the years I lived in DC I used to love hanging out with the ladies, eating tons of chocolate, drinking frilly cocktails, and watching Rom-Coms. Have you heard of the term "GALentine's Day?" -- I guess it came from the show Parks and Recreation and is all about celebrating the girlfriends in your life on Feb 13th. I love this idea!! Next year maybe I'll throw a little GALentine's Day party, who's with me?

Enjoy your day! Lots of love, Teresa

PS. How to throw a GALentine's Day Brunch -- hilarious tips from Parks and Rec.

Middle School Slow Song Mix


In honor of Valentines Day, I've created a playlist inspired by middle school dances.  Who else remembers awkwardly swaying to the vocal stylings of K-Ci & Jojo, Mariah, N'SYNC, etc?  

What songs take you back to middle school? 


Tiny House Movement

Our feature last week on Jenna and Phil's garden cottage got me thinking about small spaces and I ran across something called the Tiny House Movement. Have you heard of it? From what I've read it's a social movement to simplify and live in a downsized small space. The average American home is 2600 square feet while the typical tiny house is only about 400 square feet. It is an interesting way to save money, create a "green" lifestyle, and simplify overly complicated lives. Aren't these photos fascinating and inspiring? More links and info over at Apartment Therapy.

Would you ever consider living in a "tiny home"?




If you're interested, here is a video from PBS about the movement:

Watch The 'tiny house' movement on PBS. See more from Need To Know.

(All photos from Apartment Therapy articles)

Wedding Wednesday: Enjoying Engagement

Did you once have a boyfriend/girlfriend who you loved madly and now find yourself engaged to a crazy person?   Or, gulp, perhaps you're the crazy one?

Do you now find yourself fighting over guest lists, vacuums and DJs? (I can relate. Jason and I once had a fight in a Macys over whether or not the bowls in the dish set I wanted were big enough for the amount of cereal he likes to consume.) 

So often couples get stuck in planning mode and forget to enjoy life and being engaged. If you just got engaged over the holidays and are planning a summer wedding, things can get hectic fast. 

So, this is just a reminder to stop, breathe and take a moment to remember the reason you're doing all of this in the first place.

Oh ya, it's because you love someone and want to spend the rest of your life with them!


Here are a few ideas of how to get past the wedding crazies:

-Go out on a date where the w-word isn't allowed. 

-Work on making wedding planning fun. Set aside time during the week to sit down with a glass of wine and discuss planning in a stress free environment and limit wedding conversation outside of that planning time. 

-Put energy into relationship building and non-wedding related things. 

-Surprise the one you love with a date planed entirely by you.

-Recreate your first date.

-Stay in, cuddle, watch your favorite movie and forget about the rest of the world.

-Take a weekend away.

-Focus on the fact that the point of a wedding isn't the fancy flowers, expensive dress, amazing food or location. It's about getting married and celebrating that day with your friends and family.

For a great start, do something special for Valentines Day tomorrow! 

Have you found a way to beat the stress of wedding planning? Please share in the comments below. 



Pancake Tuesday

In the US today is both Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras -- but in Ireland, Great Britain and Canada today is also Pancake Tuesday! Also known as Shrove Tuesday, the tradition of making pancakes the day before Lent came about because families wanted to use up their milk and eggs that were likely to expire during the Lenten season. 

When we lived in Ireland I was a part-time nanny for a 10 year old girl named Claire. She introduced me to Pancake Tuesday and all of the fun that comes with it! On this day every year Claire and most Irish children eat pancakes for breakfast (and sometimes lunch and dinner!) and I was in charge of whipping some up for her and the neighborhood kids as an after school treat. In Ireland, "pancakes" are actually more like what we think of as crepes here in the States, thin and eaten with jam or Nutella. But Claire always wanted me to make "American pancakes" which were extra thick and fluffy. Up until that time I had never made pancakes without a mix of some sort but cake and pancake mixes are nearly impossible to find over there so I learned to make them from scratch, which is actually very easy and saves money.


Here are a couple of recipes for everyone, courtesy of the Irish Times. I love the tradition of Pancake Tuesday, might have to be a new annual treat in our house!

Basic Irish-style pancakes: 
225g plain flour 
2 eggs 
1 pt milk 
3tbs melted butter 
A pinch of salt 
Sieve the flour and salt. Make a well in the centre, drop in the eggs and add the milk. Mix to a smooth batter then stir in the melted butter. Try to leave the batter to rest for an hour before you use it, or make it the day before.
American-style pancakes (with baking powder) a la Jamie Oliver: 
3 large eggs 
115g plain flour 
1 heaped tsp baking powder 
140ml milk 
A pinch of salt 
First separate the eggs, putting the whites into one bowl and the yolks into another. Add the flour, baking powder and milk to the yolks and mix to a smooth thick batter. Whisk the whites with the salt until they form stiff peaks. Fold into the batter – it is now ready to use. Heat a good non-stick pan on a medium heat. Pour some of your batter into the pan and fry for a couple of minutes until it starts to look golden and firm. Turn over and continue frying until both sides are golden.

PS. More types of pancakes from around the world!
(Image and image

Mindy's Bedding

While I was  home all weekend,  simultaneously catching up on work and TV, I found myself pausing The Mindy Show on Hulu so I could Google her bird bedding.
Thankfully, I wasn't the only one curious about it and found numerous posts that quickly lead me to Dwell Studio's CHINOISERIE DUVET SET. Love this. 

Baby Boy Arriving in July!




I have some big news that I've been dying to share on the blog for a while now...Patrick and I are expecting a baby boy in July! We are thrilled! I am 18 weeks along and feeling good.

We let the cat out of the bag with our families over the holidays at a couple of Christmas get togethers. As part of sharing the surprise we bought Kenedee, our nine month old niece, a little onesie that says "I'm going to be a big cousin!" We are so excited that our little boy will have a cousin so close in age. And he'll be the first grandchild on my side of the family which has been really fun already.

















I'm excited to dive into this new phase of life with all of you over the next five months of pregnancy and then into motherhood. I love all of the great tips and advice that come from the blogging community.

PS. Thanks Jason for taking the cute picture at Agua Verde on Saturday!


Monday Motivation

Image via Music Philosophy



Friday Roundup


Hello! Did you have a good week? I had an interesting week, to say the least. Jason and I are working on a music video and have been all over the place. I'll be sharing more about that later. For now, it's Friday and I'm home and looking forward to being in Seattle for the next 10 days and hopefully catching up on sleep and laundry. And now, some fun from around the web to take you into the weekend...

What Destiny's Child would look like with the other Michelle Williams

Seattle has more cats than dogs and more dogs than kids.  Basically, we like our pets in the northwest.

A little history lesson about thongs...

"Call Me Maybe" Jeopardy

What could possibly be cuter than a cat? THIS!!!

Remember this post with the petition for survivor bras? Victoria's Secret listened! 

V-Day DIY

Teresa and Patrick are excited for this beer hall to open.

Downton Abbey stars in normal clothes

What I'll be baking this weekend, if I can muster up the energy.

Tamagotchi for your phone!

A slideshow of amazing photos rightfully titled "Overloaded"

Oh, and the Sasquatch lineup was announced. Anyone manage to get tickets before it sold out?

Are You Watching The Bachelor?


Ok, so I'm a little ashamed to admit this but I've become a bit of a Bachelor fan. We all have our guilty pleasures! Are you watching this season?? I like Sean more than I thought I would based on Emily's season. And Tierra is providing so much entertaining TV!

Who are you routing for? I like Lindsay and Leslie but of course am rooting for Seattleite Catherine!

PS. Have you seen ABC's Bachelor Tumblr page? Endless entertainment. :)


Jenna and Philip's Newlywed Garden Cottage


Today I am excited to feature a lovely (and efficient!) garden cottage in Seattle that belongs to newlyweds, Jenna and Philip.  When I saw photos of their well-thought-out space on Facebook I asked if I could include it on the blog for us all to enjoy. 



The two bedroom, one bath backyard cottage, located in Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood, has a living space of 765 square feet with a small attached exterior shed. The square shaped house includes a kitchen, living area and table nook on the main level and although the upstairs is set up with two bedrooms and a bath, the rooms are divided by a barn door so Jenna and Philip currently use the space as one bedroom...genius!




How did the idea of the garden cottage come about?

P: I owned and was living in the main house for four years with some friends paying rent to me but when Jenna and I decided to get married I knew we couldn't afford the mortgage for the main house with just our incomes. So, as a contractor, I decided to tear down the existing garage and build a backyard cottage for us to live in so we could keep collecting rent from the main house. 

J: When it came time to tear down the garage, we had just recently gotten engaged and Philip surprised me by filling the whole garage with candles! We spent an evening sitting in there talking about our hopes for the new place and how excited we were to be getting married. (SO CUTE!

P: I salvaged the flooring from 100 year old garage and reused it for the flooring upstairs, all the built in's, the table, and the barn doors that hide the TV and divide the space upstairs. 



How did you met the challenge of fitting everything you wanted into a small space?

P: The more thought out the footprint is, the more functional and well designed you can make a space. I modeled the built-in dining nook after the layout in the big house because people always loved to sit there and it became a gathering space in the house. Also, a built-in table makes the most efficient use of space so it was a "must-have" for us. The peninsula of cabinetry in the kitchen also serves as a backstop for the couch and enabled the kitchen to be bigger than what you would expect in a small cottage. 

J: We can host eight people comfortably and at parties everyone stands in the kitchen anyway. So even though it's a small space, if we have a standing social hangout we can actually pack in quite a few people. We also have storage under all the benches and tons of space under the stairs in the storage canal. I love that the TV is placed in the wall and can always be covered by the barn door so that it's not the main focus of attention in the room.





What is your favorite part of the house?

J: I love that everyone can hang out in one area on the main floor, it never feels like there are two different parties because everyone is in same conversation. This builds a community feel that we wanted in our home. 

P: I saw the new cottage as an opportunity to showcase my work as a contractor so the whole project was very inspiring. The cottage is the fruit of my labor and it's fun to live there. On the design side, I am proud of how energy efficient the space is. The whole house is heated through the floors and we added extra insulation so our utilities are as cheap as they come and the house is always very warm. It's a treat to come home to a toasty house. 



What other design features are you proud of in the house?


P: I thought a lot about the practical use of the cottage and knowing it would be used by ME made it easier to design. The exterior of the shed looks like a garage door from the street but when you open the doors it is a shed with shelving for all of my tools and contractor equipment. The garage aspect gave the square cottage some dimension. I tried my best to maximize the space we have and didn't want hallways or dead space. You enter the cottage right in the middle of the footprint which is very efficient. In the upstairs the bathroom is at the top of stairs so guests don't have to go through bedrooms to get to it. The upstairs hallway has a slight angle to minimize hallway space but still get three doorways in. The master bedroom has a large closet built over the stairwell and vaulted ceilings to make it feel less cavernous.
  
Jenna and Philip at their wedding, so cute.




Any challenges along the way?

P: I originally thought it would be more simple because of practicality and timing to get the house done by the time we were ready to move in after the wedding... but we didn't get the occupancy permit until four days before the wedding! 










I LOVE THIS HOUSE! Thanks so much Jenna and Philip!

PS. Check out Philip's website here if you're interested in his design.



(Wedding photo by Lindsay Schuette, cottage photos by Philip) 

Three Amazing Videos To Help Get You Through Wednesday

These three videos (or short films really) transported me to another place, some people are so talented! The last one is of the moon rising in Wellington, New Zealand and is absolutely incredible.


Choros from Michael Langan on Vimeo.


Black Books - Favorite Place from DaBrainkilla on Vimeo.



Full Moon Silhouettes from Mark Gee on Vimeo.

Wedding Wednesday: Roundup

This week I'll leave with you a conglomeration of all things wedding from around the web.

Guest complaints and advice on how to deal with them.

Weddington Way’s Five Types of Bride...Do you fit one of their categories?

Who will officiate you ceremony? I always try to encourage couples to choose someone who knows them.

Gift for mom. Guarenteed to make her cry.

Wedding resources from Something Charming.

Mr. & Mrs. forks

This new book looks beautiful and full of great ideas for a stylish wedding.

10 great tips for booking your honeymoon.

Handy guide to which flowers are in season by region.

And because we were taking about flats a few weeks back, here are another pair I love.

Image JKoe Photography



Read Any Good Books Lately?


So you may have wondered exactly what I meant when I posted that one of my goals for 2013 is to read a really amazing book. You're probably thinking, how will she know if it's an amazing book or not if she hasn't read it? And that's exactly the point. I want to inspire myself read more with the goal being to stumble upon a new favorite, something I'll want to tell everyone I know that they MUST read it.

I used to be such an avid reader, and more recently I've found myself reading blogs and twitter feeds more and actual books less and less so the point of this goal is to make me fall in love with books again.

Thankfully it seems I'm not the only one on a mission for a good read for the new year. Here are a few booklists I've stumbled upon:

An Amazon editor's picks for 2013

2013 anticipated releases

Authors suggesting books by other authors (This one from the list caught my eye. Particularly the part about how it makes fun of Seattle!)

Finally, the ultimate "must read" list.

Have you read anything good lately?


(image of Audrey Hepburn)