Joy

this journal was nice. It has many different things to do in it, although, I did find it to be a semi religious book, which I probably should have known, considering the title and such. I feel like this book would have been a lot more usable if it were longer than one month... although they would need to rename the whole book, lol.
If you are bored and need something to do, I would recommend you get this. I would also recommend a wreck this journal over it though.
Will this book bring you joy? I don't think so, I feel like you will need more than this book if you are very sad.

Cherry Bombe by Kerry Diamond & Claudia Wu

 Cherry Bombe celebrates the fusion of women and food. It is an outstanding and artistic women-centric food magazine; so, I had high expectations for their first cookbook. The cookbook is gorgeous, as expected, but I was really struck by the variety and approachability of the 100 recipes. This cookbook will be in regular rotation in my kitchen. It also would be a beautiful gift.  Cherry Bombe is a beautiful cookbook chock full of beautiful and delicious recipes. They range from simple recipes with as few as four ingredients to complex multi-step masterpieces, but each and every recipe is given star treatment with gorgeous photos displaying a pop art sensibility that challenges the shabby-chic dominance of contemporary food aesthetics.

With more than one hundred recipes from more than one hundred women who are head chefs at famed restaurants, food bloggers, food stylists, and food companies. Coming from many different areas of the food industry, each recipe comes with a short introduction explaining its origin or inspiration. Some are family recipes, some are original creations. All of them look beautiful and most of them sound beautiful—except the ones with beets, but that’s an issue of personal animus toward that benighted vegetable.

I like Cherry Bombe a lot. The authors, Kerry Diamond and Claudia Wu recruited a wide range of contributors who offer a brilliant variety of recipes. I love that they focus on ingredients that won’t take a trip to a specialty store, though the soda bread really should have currants, not raisins, in my opinion. I don’t think currants are that unusual an ingredient. They have them at WinCo. However, valuing ingredients that ordinary people have in their homes without making a trip to the store is something I value highly.

There are recipes from all over the world, Scandinavian hash, Haitian pumpkin soup, Filipino chicken wings, and American burgers. While there are many super healthy recipes using wheat berries, barley and other complex grains, there are also decadent desserts and indulgent meat dishes. Variety is the North Star in this cookbook, so there is more than one something for everyone.

What I love more than anything though is the visual aesthetic. I have mentioned in other cookbook reviews that I am tired of the messy table with herbs and flour and mess sprinkled all over—a sort of shabby chic look-at-the-mess-I-made style that everywhere. Cherry Bombe is clean, the photos are spare and clean. It’s very op-art, visually strong and powerful. It all looks delicious, and the bold forms of a knife in a brisket, a teal plate against a white background are inviting and visually inviting. I love the color aesthetic, too. Pink is not a color I associate with foodies, but it works. It’s very Sixties, recalling the days of Melmac® and those bold anodized aluminum tumblers that never insulated your hands from the icy cold water they held, so perfect on a hot, humid summer day.

I received a review copy of Cherry Bombe from the publisher through Blogging for Books.

Another journal!

This is your typical 5 year journal. I do not know if I would describe it as lie changing or amazing. It is quite religious based, which I probably should have known from it being called "spiritual" but hey! It's good to try new things. If you are looking for something to help you alone with your day to day, I say try this. But remember-- it only will help if you are actually participating and thinking about the questions and answers.

This keepsake daily journal prompts you to record what is happening in your heart and spirit. The short questions at the top of each page are quick to answer—but their impact could be life changing! You’ll go back and answer the same question a year later for five years in a row, creating a time capsule of soul transformation.
 
With questions about…

·  your view of yourself (“What three words would people use to describe you?”),
·  your view of God (“What attribute of God are you thankful for today?”),
·  your current circumstances (“Who do you wish you could talk to today?”)

…this journal keeps a beautiful record of your hopes, thoughts, and spiritual journey. 

My color

When it comes to coloring books, I am like a three year old. Disney princess coloring books are still my favorite type of coloring book. Okay, not really. I do like normal coloring books that aren’t for young kids.
When I got this book in the mail, I wanted to drop everything I was doing and color. I mean, a coloring book just came in the mail for me! I am being serious! I kept looking through all the pictures, trying to pick out which picture I would color first.
Can you guess that I love this coloring book? All the pictures are so amazing! My favorite part about this book is that there are no faces. Something weird about me (I know that many things are weird about me) is that I like pictures that have just a silhouette or ones where you can’t see the face. I don’t want to say, “where their heads are chopped off” because that would be weird. But I just like it where you cannot see the person’s face.
The cover is just great! It pretty much is an example of what the rest of the pictures will be like. I am going to give it 5 stars (obviously). Because if I didn’t like the cover, which is just like the rest of the pictures, I would I be writing so many good things about this book. Also, it is a purple (ish) cover, with the pink outline of the pictures. Purple is my absolute favorite color! So, of course the cover is awesome for that reason too!
This coloring book deserves more than 5 stars! I just love it! Anybody who enjoys coloring (especially, if you like color clothing), you should definitely get this book. It is worth every penny! You won’t be disappointed!