Big Summer Update Post!

I'm going to blame my absence from blogland on hubby, because ever since the World Cup started I have had 0 usage of my laptop. He's been playing his Soccer Manager game while watching the actual games on tv. So it's not my fault, really! ; )

We're actually going to a bar in a few to watch the US play in the World Cup, should be fun! : )

So while I have my laptop back I'm going to give you a quick rundown of some random summer facts a la Downtown Southern!

Hubby and I have joined a pool and we are OBSSESSED!! It's awesome!

I'm finishing up Nicholas Sparks The Last Song and will quickly begin reading the latest True Blood book, yay!! Can.not.wait!!

Hubby and I are taking the week of the 4th off, to do nothing but stay around the house and do ya'll know how excited I am about that!?!?!? I can't even tell you! I've never taken a vacation and not actually gone somewhere and while I love traveling and have been fortunate enough to see Italy, Spain, Scotland, etc. I'm really looking forward to staying close to home that week!

Will probably take a day trip to Williamsburg for some shopping, BCBG, Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic, and the list is endless! I have to find a super cute dress for a wedding we're attending at the end of July. I want to go with the one shoulder look, I just love it!

***I have a bridal shower to attend July 10th! AND I HAVE A QUESTION FOR ALL YOU RECENT BRIDES!!!! What's your favorite shower gift you received??????????? I need ideas for a present!?!?!?!?!?! HELP! ***

I'm going to see Jack Johnson on July 19th in Virginia Beach!!! Woohoo!! Nothing says summer more than a Jack Johnson song!!!!!

My bday is in July, I'll be 29 so I need to celebrate my last twenties birthday right!!!!

Every Sunday night this summer I'm glued to the TV watching my favorite show ever! True Blood, fangbanger, yeah!!!!!

Going to try and get to the Outer Banks for a short weekend, it's in my top 3 happy places! Does anybody else have a happy place, where they go and just feel nothing but pure happiness? The Outer Banks, specifically Duck, Corolla, and Carova, it's heaven for me!

I'll be going to see Eclipse next week, eeeeee, so excited!!!!

We're getting our kitchen painted in July cannot wait! Our theme is Tuscan!

So I think that's what's going on in July, not too busy right? ; )

Anybody else have fun summer plans?!?!?

Book Review: On Folly Beach

On Folly Beach is a great Summer Read. I think it was a great way to kick off my summer reading list! On Folly Beach combines two different eras with the connection of war. You start out in 1942 during WWII and you meet the main characters there, two sisters Maggie and her younger sister Lulu. They run a general store which ends up being more of a book store because Maggie likes to lend people books from her collection. She has a cousin Cat, who lives with them and you'll find out quickly that she's the antagonist in the story. The second era is present day 2009 and you meet Emmy who has lost her husband in Afghanistan and her world is completely devastated. Her mother owns a book store in Indiana and ends up talking her daughter, Emmy, into buying Folly Finds, the book store on Folly Beach that Maggie and Lulu had owned. What draws Emmy there is a box of books that she finds cryptic yet romantic messages in and she's determined to find out as much as she can about these mysterious messages.

She moves to Folly Beach and ends up meeting Lulu who is an old stubborn woman, who makes beautiful bottle trees to catch bad spirits and also to communicate with loved ones, you'll find out why she's like that when you read the book. And you end up seeing many similarities between Emmy and Maggie and what connects them in a way that only true loss can. The book goes back and forth between Maggie's era and Emmy's era and you see how their stories unfold and ultimately who is writing the messages in the books.

There's mystery, romance, and deception with a bunch of twists that make this novel and great read, during the Summertime or any season for that matter.

This is the first Karen White novel I've read and I'll definitely be checking out her other novels as well. Check her out here. This review was part of the TLC Book Tour and you can check out other people's review of the book there as well!