Chris Bohjalian, who's been mentioned already, also had a book out of compilations from a column he wrote when he moved to Vermont. It's called "Idyll Banter," and I really enjoyed it. Right now, I'm reading "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," which is a few years old. I'm enjoying it. "The Distant Hours" -- (fiction) about a letter posted in 1941 that reaches its destination in 1992 -- is one of the titles on my to-be-read list. "A Vintage Affair" I read a few books back. Really liked it. A mystery to go along with your cruise theme? Mary Higgins Clark's "Santa Cruise."

I finished Laurie Graham's Future Housewives of America and really enjoyed it (despite her 1950's era characters going to "the mall" - where did that anachronisms thread go?). I'm already onto another by her, The Great Husband Hunt which is quite promising so far. I really like her sense of humor and her characters are wonderful. In between, I read a short non-fiction book that I found not only interesting but really inspiring, Rafe Esquith's Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire. I stumbled on this book in the library and the title caught my eye. He's a veteran teacher in a Los Angeles public elementary school and his classes are made up of kids who speak English as a second language and who come from low-income, struggling families. These kids succeed on so many levels, it's amazing. I was completely blown away by his energy, his commitment to his students, and his take on public education today. I'm not a teacher, but as a parent, the whole book just made such good sense, and clarified a few things that had been bugging me about my own school system. I bought a copy for my sister who teaches 2nd grade and I'll be very interested to see what she thinks of it. Here is a link that might be useful: Rafe Esquith & The Hobart Shakespeareans

I will call tomorrow and add the mascara. I ordered the cc cream, a lip liner, a cream blush, and the les beiges powder. I wanted to get a new lipstick shade. She recommended the long lasting double ended tube type. There were only two shades I liked. The first looked awful, it was way too light/ bright and the other one was too dark though it looked light in the tube. I ended up with two Nars lipsticks from Sephore along with a Nars concealer, the YSL Touché Eclat, and Nars multiple stick. I should be fairly well stocked for a bit though I can't resist a new lipstick when a shade catches my eye. ETA: the BT is notorious for running out of stock especially in their makeups. I used to purchase almost all my makeup from them but got so frustrated with them being out of what I needed. Now once I find what I like I usually end up ordering it online from Nordstrom or Sephora.

I am so glad, Sue, I know everyone will enjoy it! Funny you mention the cost. When I first embarked on this, I was thinking it will be a big impact present where the gift is our time not the cost. Yikes, even with the 50% off, each book was $200 OMG. I didn't really expect that, but after all the work putting it together, I wasn't going to go back and trim. I may regret making them so large, 11x14, but I know i usually like photos to be bigger. I also fell for that very pricey for that "lay flat" upgrade that allow you to do those "centerfold" shots. Heck, i actually fell for every type of upgrade they offered, including a storage box. And then I have the engraved USBs and those boxes. But oh they will be so pretty. I actually went with this one because I liked the idea of putting a photo with it. They also have them in navy, grey, and Tiffany blue. I was upset that I had to switch my product to Shutterfly, but I have to give them a big shout out. They have added so many features to their books, and so many options for designing them. Plus, they still had my photos on there from 2005, though I had not done business w them in years. In some cases, they were photos i did not find anywhere else in my files. Whew. One of the best parts of making the book was doing the captions, and adding in things like scans of their footprints, their baby announcements, etc. I also commissioned DH to write a letter to each of them talking about the day they were born and their first few years. He did a wonderful job, brought tears to my eyes and made me laugh, too. We finished yesterday. Finally. Annie - love that tree! we do have a few photo ornaments, but a whole tree! Fab Running - Even from book 1 to book 3 i got better at it and fancier. There are soooooo many options and embellishments and features. And if you have the right dates on your photos, the autofill feature is a great start. Enjoy!