Friday 5ive- February 21, 2020

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post about five things that caught my attention during the week. We were in Florida last week with my brother-in-law and his wife, and the weather was perfect- sunny and 77 degrees everyday. (Sorry, my Central NY family and friends....) So this week's Friday 5ive is really from last week.

1) Our friend George knows how much I like to read books, so he found this cute little deck chair  book chair for me. It's perfect to use at the beach! While I sat in my lounge chair, my book got to lounge as well, and my hands didn't cramp up from reading the three books I finished that week. My Kindle fits well too. Everyday someone would stop and ask me where I got it- I found a sticker on the back that read "thinkinggifts.com", so here is the link in case you want one too.

2)  While out boating, we came upon these beautiful sailboats on Sarasota Bay. They looked so lovely, I had to take a photo.

3) Our Sign of the Week is a funny one we saw at the New Pass Grill when we were getting a breakfast egg sandwich.

4)  My brother-in-law brought his new McLaren car down and wherever we went, it got a lot of attention. Heads turned every time we drove by. He made a lot of new friends last week.

5) Beach time means reading time for me and I was able to read three books last week between the beach and the plane trips. Jenny Colgan's books are perfect beach reading, and her The Bookshop on the Shore continues the story from The Bookshop on the Corner. In this one, single mom Lottie moves herself and her young son to Loch Ness from London, where she takes a job as a nanny to a family of three wild children and their checked-out single father. She also works part-time at Nina's book shop van. Colgan's characters are so vivid, you want to be friends with them, and possibly even move to Scotland. I flew through this wonderful, heartwarming book. 

The Bookshop on the Shore

Brenda Janowitz's upcoming novel, The Grace Kelly Dress tells the story of three woman. Rose is a seamstress in Paris in 1958 who must design a wedding dress for a wealthy socialite, based on Princess Grace Kelly's dress. But she is hiding a big secret from the socialite, one that will destroy everything if it gets out. In 1982 Long Island, prim and proper Joan is engaged to the perfect man and can't wait to wear her mother's gorgeous wedding dress, based on Grace Kelly's dress. If only she was as excited to actually get married. In 2008, Joan can't wait for her daughter, tech CEO Rocky, to wear her wedding dress at Rocky's wedding. But Rocky is not a traditional girl and doesn't know how to tell her mother she can't wear that dress. The way Janowitz intersects these three women's lives is interesting, and each woman's story is equally strong, a feat not easily achieved by most authors. My full review will follow soon.

The Grace Kelly Dress

And lastly, I picked up the latest Read With Jenna's book, Abi Daré's The Girl With the Louding Voice. Jenna Bush Hager never steers me wrong, and this novel about a young Nigerian girl whose dreams of going to school are dashed when her father marries her off to an older man is so moving and profound. You will root for Adunni to overcome all her troubles to achieve her dream. I absolutely loved it and could not put this book down. My full review will follow soon. 

The Girl With the Louding Voice

It's back to reality and 21 degrees in NYC today. Hope you are safe and warm where you are.