Amazon makes me happy!

Really. It does. A box from Amazon is happy mail to me. A day when I get a box from Amazon AND two of my favorite magazines in the mail? SUPER happy mail day! That's what I was greeted with the other day...SUPER happy mail! Love!

Seriously, though, what is NOT to love about Amazon?! You can get EVERYTHING there, all from the comfort of your own home, day or night. And, hello, FREE shipping on orders over $25!!! I am all over that! But enough of that, because I don't want to sound all review-y like a lot of those blogs that turn me off lately. I just love me some Amazon...that's all!

So I guess I should just put a disclaimer out here and now:

Amazon did NOT approach me to review their site or anything on it.

I did NOT receive anything for free.

I ordered AND paid for these books on my own and it just so happens I am enjoying them.

If I thought they sucked I would just as easily post that, too!

OK, moving on...

I really want to talk about what I got! 

L@@K!!!

Gardening books!!! Books about gardening!!! Gardening + books = happy Kristen!

I ordered Month-by-Month Gardening in New England based on a recommendation from my friend Robin's blog . So glad I got this! I have already devoured the chapters on Annuals/Perennials and Vegetables/Herbs and I am finding this so incredibly helpful. I can't wait to put to use some of the tricks and tips I am learning from this book. Next I am on to the chapters on Shrubs and then Trees and Kevin is eager to learn more about Lawns. In a quick search on Amazon, I learned that these Month-by-Month Gardening guides are published for most areas of the United States. If you love gardening I think you will find these books very informative. 

(Ick! I sound all review-y again! I don't mean to. I am just really excited about this book!)

This is the next book I bought,  The Garden Primer .  Nobody recommended it. I just stumbled upon it as is usually the case with me when I am buying something from Amazon. I go there with one thing in mind and find lots of other stuff like it. This book got great reviews, I like the way it looked and sounded, so I took a chance on it. I have not gotten as in to it yet as the first book, but what I have seen so far, I like. This book is huge...like, 820 pages huge. There is a LOT of info in there. I can't see sitting down and actually reading it, but rather using it as a reference tool, which it seems suited to. I like it so far.

This is the next book I got. A purely for fun purchase. It has been on my wish list for so long that I finally just decided to toss it in my cart. I waited long enough to get it and I really wanted it! It is The Farm Chicks In The Kitchen . Have you heard of The Farm Chicks ? Well, now it is just Farm Chick as one of them has stepped down from their business to pursue other ventures. Check out their site! It is fresh and fun and cozy and homey and sweet and vintage yet modern and...just check it out! 

This is essentially a cookbook filled with such yummy sounding recipes. And don't be fooled...they are not all down-home, comfort-food, rustic stuff. There is a great variety in here! 

And then the book is interspersed with craft projects and decorating ideas.  And there are kitchen tricks and entertaining tips, too.

If you read and enjoy Country Living magazine you will enjoy this book. Or if you are in to things like Gooseberry Patch or Susan Branch , stuff like that, you will enjoy this book. I happen to love cookbooks like this...cookbooks that aren't just cookbooks, and that are colorful and engaging. 

Did you read my dream post from the other day? If you did you will get why I love books like the Farm Chicks books so much. And Gooseberry. And Susan Branch. And The Pioneer Woman. It is funny to people that know me well "in real life" because I have lived in a pretty bustling suburb of Boston my whole life. And I love my modern conveniences and easy access to them. But I still have that dream...that country girl dream (but not too far in the middle of nowhere), of my little farm (but no livestock...too messy. Cute to look at...not to clean up after!), of my sweet little farmhouse cottage with character (but modern fixtures and necessities), my peace and quiet (but rock-n-roll) life!

I think I will just lose myself in my books for a while but keep dreaming......