The Saturday Six

One.

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Stumbled across a new {to me} blog last week that has some delicious looking healthy recipes on it. Thought I would pass it along your way in case you're in need of some new recipes!

Two.

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If you were a child of the 70's/80's/90's, this is a fun list to scroll through. Might recognize some of your own toys! :) And if you're extra fortunate, you might still own them!

Three.

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I know, I know. I just showed you a tiny house in LAST week's Six. But I might like this one even better!! 

Four.

My jewelry box fell apart after about 20 years of use. THE NERVE. I should pause and say that I'm not a "real" jewelry girl in that I see no personal point in spending our money on actual gold and silver and gems. No judgment toward those who love real jewelry, but it doesn't zing me. I'd rather fund my scrapbook addiction than get diamond earrings. So my jewelry is mostly stuff I've gotten at Cato or home parties. And I love it. I do love wearing jewelry EVERY DAY. I just don't need it to be expensive stuff. Last week we finally finished making my new jewelry hangers. We painted blocks of wood {the top one is actually board intended for house numbers...we got it at Lowe's and the bottom one was a scrap wood square we found at this house when we moved in} and Ryan added hooks to them so I could hang my necklaces and bracelets. I love having them out where I can see them, and I love it that the project was CHEAP! 

Five.

I did some editing to one of my Pinterest boards this week, and I thought I would share the board with you here, in case you need some inspiration! I know everyone uses Pinterest differently, but for the most part, my goal is never to 100% recreate an exact look that I find on there, but rather just to be inspired to find something fun to use as a creative springboard. Even though our guest room isn't done, I went through my Guest Room board and edited it to show how the pins inspired me to work on our room! If you have a guest room that needs some help, maybe you'll get some ideas!  

Six.

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My favorite kind of fiction, when I was growing up, was pioneer fiction. I guess that shouldn't surprise anyone who knows of my deep love for TV shows like Little House and Dr. Quinn, right? But in my recent reading days, I've ventured away from historical settings and into more contemporary settings, for the most part. Now and then, though, I like to expand my horizons and return to my first love of a setting in days gone by.

This week, my book of choice was Mary Connealy's No Way Up, a book set in the wild ranching west in the late 1800's. This book is the first in a new series by Mary...The Cimarron Legacy. Mary is an award-winning author who loves writing romantic comedy with cowboys, and the cowboys certainly saturated No Way Up!

Chance Boden is the beloved patriarch of the successful Cimarron Ranch, but he is concerned for the future of the Ranch, since his three grown children seem to be more interested in their own dreams {and arguing with each other} than pursuing a future in the family business.

Chance alters his will to declare that his three children must move to the ranch and stay there to run it for a year, or they will forfeit their entire inheritance, but before he can deliver the news to his children, Chance is caught in a terrifying avalanche. His life is spared by the quick actions of one of his hired hands, Heath Kincaid, and while Chance spends time recovering, Heath begins to suspect that the avalanche was intentionally set and the danger hasn't passed. Determined to spare the lives of the three Boden children {one of whom happens to be a beautiful young woman}, Heath sets a plan in place to figure out what's happening and why.

I admit I was nervous to read in this genre when I haven't for so long, but Mary's writing drew me in quickly and I didn't even have to mentally adjust to a different time period. The suspense is present, though not breath-stopping, and I enjoyed the touches of family life, romance, and yes, even some giggles along the way.

In the last quarter of the book, I stumbled a bit with a section that brought in new characters and caused me to get a bit lost, but I have a feeling that was more on me as a reader than on Mary as a writer.

Book two in this series is scheduled to release next February {and there were a good number of loose ends awaiting a neat bow when the book concluded}, and I learned on Mary's website that there's also a prequel novella available for this series if you're interested in more of the back story!

If you like western books with a faith base, check out this new series - and perhaps you'll wander your way through more of Mary's books!

Thanks, Bethany House, for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!