"We each have a responsibility to our families, communities and the future to bring about the change.  And with simple steps, such as eating from our gardens and being conscious of where we spend our money, we can send a strong message to the industrial food system."

Who knew the organic gardening movement started in the 1940's!  

A thought provoking look at organic gardening that gives a detailed history of organic gardening and how to go about doing it yourself.  Rodale's Basic Organic Gardening will take you through step-by-step how to prepare and plant your organic garden, which is great for beginning gardeners (who the book is aimed at), but there is plenty in here for more experienced gardeners, especially if you are new to organic gardening.  For example, there is a lot of information about soil care, since this is the basis of any healthy garden as well as starting seeds indoors.  Especially handy are the plant profiles of 30 vegetables that any gardener can grow.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.  

I requested this book because the cover looked delicious, I love cake and cupcakes and I could really go for some right now!

Organized by type of cake: snacking cakes, layer cakes, party cakes, and cupcakes, cool and creamy cakes, fruitcakes and showstoppers and special occasion cakes.  I liked that every recipe had a picture with it, this helps a lot when I'm looking for recipes to bake.  Classic recipes are included if you are going for something tried and true as well as original recipes and new twists.

The section that I went straight for was the Layer Cakes, Cupcakes and Other Party Cakes.  I will definitely be trying the very first cake of this section in the summer, vanilla layer cake with chocolate buttercream frosting and raspberry jam (pictured on cover).  It doesn't look too difficult to make either, even telling you in the direction what size lumps should be in the batter.  Caramel Cupcakes with Butterscotch Frosting also looked interesting; reading over the instructions to make caramel was a little intimidating, but do-able.  The Fruit Cake section also looked delicious.  Lemon Chiffon Cake with Raspberry Creme looks great and has an easy whipped creme frosting.  Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream is another classic that I will have to try making from scratch. The Showstoppers and Special Occasion Cakes are a little more involved, but really tempting to give a try; like the Hot Chocolate Layer Cake with Homemade Marshmallows.

Overall, a good cookbook for anyone looking to get away from box-mixes or who has a sweet-tooth.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ​

This book is filled with working garden plans for people who want to grow food gardens in any environment.  Organized by the type and amount of space that you have to garden in, anyone can find a garden plans that meets their needs.  Each garden plan is also created by a different contributors, so you are getting 73 different points of view.  

Each garden plan is formatted simply with a list of plants and an easy to understand garden map that includes dimensions and a little information about each plant.   I enjoyed the Urban Culinary Herb Garden which can be grown in small spaces and used by anyone. the American Potager garden which encourages you to grow food to eat year round, Eat Your Yard which helps turn lawns into food, Chili Lovers Garden shows good varieties for heat lovers, Front-Yard Foraging encourages native landscaping with food, Wildlife-Friendly Garden encouraging beneficial plants to animals as well as humans, Edible Cutting Garden a stylish and yummy garden for a front lawn and Fall and Winter Vegetables encouraging growing all year long.

Great for anyone looking for a place to start with garden planning.  

This book was provided for free in return for an honest review. 

I took on this non-fiction account of the life of Elizabeth of York in order to be more knowledgeable about the real-life people I am reading about when I read Tudor fiction.  However, Elizabeth of York is one of the many women of the era that we simply do not have much information about.  Obviously, Alison Weir has done as much research as she possibly can on Elizabeth of York, but there is still a lot of postulating happening with the use of 'may have,' 'probably felt,' and 'most likely' finding their way into the text at many points.  

That being said, I still enjoyed reading the book, although some parts were a little heavy on the facts.  For my purposes, I enjoyed reading about Elizabeth's life during the War of the Roses where she was in sanctuary and about her marriage to Henry VII.  In many of the fictitious accounts I have read, Elizabeth of York was not exactly in a loving relationship with Henry VII and especially not in a great relationship with her mother-in-law Margaret Beaufort.  Alison Weir presents evidence that Henry VII and Elizabeth found an affectionate and mutually beneficial relationship rather quickly with Elizabeth having influence over Henry VII decisions and involvement in different affairs of state.  It was amazing to me that we know specific things like exactly what was served at Elizabeth's coronation ceremony and every dress she owned, but not the fates of her brothers who mysteriously disappeared from the Tower of London.  

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

"...Have you ever heard of a butterfly farm? How do you raise a butterfly?"
This book, aimed at children in middle grades, answers those questions.With  beautiful, up-close photography Handle With Care shows the journey of a caterpillar to a butterfly from El Bosque Nuevo Farm in Costa Rica to The Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts. This unique farm shows the process of raising butterflies and has stunning pictures of their life cycle before they are shipped around the world for other people to enjoy. The three pictures near the end of a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis make it seem like you are watching it happen in person. 

The end of the book contains a lot of good information for lesson planning or more curious learners with vocabulary words and more information on life cycles. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review