Saturated Canary Love....

I love Saturated Canary! ;)  Krista's images can be found here!

Aveeno Positively Radiant Targeted Tone Corrector Review.....

Hi everyone!

Today I'm reviewing a product I received from Influenster.  Thank you Influenster for the opportunity to try the Aveeno Tone Corrector in exchange for my honest review!

I used the Aveeno Tone Corrector for a full three weeks to make sure I had adequate time to form my opinion of the product.  I have dry skin and while I'm not overly concerned with dark spots yet, I do have an uneven skin tone especially around my chin area.  Sadly, while the Targeted Tone Corrector claimed to help with an uneven skin tone and reveal softer, smoother skin, I did not see any change.  And during the three week period that I was using it morning and night, I developed some breakouts on my chin.  I'm not normally acne prone so I can only assume it was from the Corrector.  Nobody wants that!

On the positive side, the Aveeno Targeted Tone Corrector smelled really good and did leave my skin feeling soft and moisturized which is a plus for this dry skin girl!

Overall, I don't think I will recommend it to my friends or family, but I still appreciate getting to try it!

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. #RadiantWithAVEENO

Views Around My Home....

Just a peek around my home....

What are you thankful for today?

Gratitude....

I sit here this morning thinking about many things.  It's been a while since I've updated Kaufman's Cottage mostly because I'm not sure of what to post.  From the very beginning I've felt strongly about being an encourager of homemakers.  We have a VERY important job to do!  I pray that if you are feeling discouraged about your role in the home that God will lead you to my post.  Don't think for a minute that it's just a coincidence...that's how He works sometimes!

I wanted to do a year end review for 2013.  Better late than never right?  I wholeheartedly believe this:

Are you struggling with discontentment?  Don't feel alone!  From time to time we all do.  I've found the best way to combat that is to simply look for things to be thankful for.  A home?  Someone to love?  Food to eat?  Clothes to wear?  A book to read?  A God to worship?  If you look hard enough, I guarantee you can find something to be thankful for and that my friends is victory over discontentment! 

2013 was a tough year with deaths in the family, broken relationships, unfair expectations and a whole lot more but I've got SO much to be thankful for!  If you are reading this, then you are a part of that as well.  So thank you!  Here are some random highlight's from 2013...

Front Porch Modification...

Garden August 2013...

Random Cards from 2013...



Trunk or Treat October 2013...

A Quick Fall Wreath...

Christmas 2013...

Our Best Friends....

Chris and I December 2013...

What are you most thankful for today?

Many Blessings,

Melissa

Book Review: For Every Season....

 

 Struggling relationships, secrets and restlessness of the heart continue to plague all of the characters in Cindy Woodsmall's third book in the Amish Vines and Orchards series.   Because I had read the first and second book, I went into this one with high hopes of having some questions about the characters answered! Cindy does an incredible job of describing the Amish day to day life and I find myself wanting to read more and more.  That's a good indication of an excellent writer in my opinion!

To be completely honest, I really had a hard time getting into For Every Season.  But once I forced myself to pick it up, I was pleasantly surprised at how the story unfolded.  Rhoda, Samuel and Jacob continue to struggle until the inevitable happens and Cindy was able to stay true to the kind of people she created them to be from the beginning.

If you are an Amish Fiction fan, I think you'd really enjoy this series!  And stay tuned because book number four is due to come out in April of 2014!

Thank you to Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group for providing this book to me free of charge in exchange for my honest review.

PS: Book number three also includes a couple of apple recipes! :)

Book Review: Traces of Mercy....

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Traces of Mercy David C. Cook (October 1, 2013) by Michael Landon Jr. and Cindy Kelley

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michael Landon Jr., son of television legend Michael Landon, is an award-winning storyteller, first in television and film, and now in books. His print works include One More Sunrise co-written with Tracie Peterson. 
****

Cindy Kelley is the co-author of the novel The Silent Gift, and Traces of Mercy. Her career as a screenwriter with long-time writing partner, Michael Landon, Jr., began with the adaptation of Margery Williams’ classic story, The Velveteen Rabbit, which had a theatrical release. Several television movies followed, most notably Love Comes Softly, (based on Janette Oke’s novel) which won a CAMIE Award and the Epiphany Prize for Movie Guide’s most inspirational television movie of 2003. Cindy and her husband, Jim, make their home in the Southwest; have three adorable grandchildren and four big dogs who rule the house.


ABOUT THE BOOK

From Michael Landon Jr. and Cindy Kelley, authors of The Silent Gift and creators of the hit television film Love Comes Softly, comes an exciting historical romance set in post-Civil War, and filled with suspense and faith-building values.

At the war’s end, a young woman suffers an accident that leaves her unconscious and alone. Waking with amnesia, she takes the name Mercy and wants more than anything to find out the truth of her past. But then a handsome stranger arrives, who may hold the key to everything she has forgotten. What he knows could devastate her future, and even end her life.

Written by two proven storytellers, Traces of Mercy is perfect for anyone who loves historical fiction, prairie-based tales, or just a good romance.

If you'd like to read the first chapter of Traces of Mercy, go HERE. 

Book Review: A Bride for Keeps....

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing A Bride for Keeps Bethany House Publishers (October 1, 2013) by Melissa Jagears ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A Word From The Author:

I am a stay at home mother on a tiny little farm with a fixer-upper house. As much as I love writing and reading about homesteaders, I am so glad I’m a homesteader during an era with modern grocery stores to take up for my slack. I am an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher by trade, and I still work occasionally in that field along with being my church’s financial secretary and writing novels.

My husband and I have been married since 2001 and have a daughter and two little boys. My husband shares my fascination with traditional living except for being more hands on. He loves blacksmithing, knife smithing, traditional archery, hunting, etc. Generally whatever a mountain man does, he does it or has or wants to attempt it. He comes in handy for research! And of course, the rest of the family gets involved. I have my own blackpowder rifle, named Calvin, that my husband made for me. And I’m pretty sure my daughter is probably one of very few her age who can instruct adults how to shoot a longbow properly. The boy digs random holes in my yard to make “cement” with dirt and water making our yard a tripping hazard. The baby does what babies do.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Tender Tale of Love on the Prairie Perfect for CBA Readers!

Although Everett Cline can hardly keep up with the demands of his homestead, he won't humiliate himself by looking for a helpmate ever again--not after being jilted by three mail-order brides. When a well-meaning neighbor goes behind his back to bring yet another mail-order bride to town, he has good reason to doubt it will work, especially after getting a glimpse at the woman in question. She's the prettiest woman he's ever seen, and it's just not possible she's there to marry a simple homesteader like him.

Julia Lockwood has never been anything more than a pretty pawn for her father or a business acquisition for her former fiance. Having finally worked up the courage to leave her life in Massachusetts, she's determined to find a place where people will value her for more than her looks. Having run out of all other options, Julia resorts to a mail-order marriage in far-away Kansas.

Everett is skeptical a cultured woman like Julia could be happy in a life on the plains, while Julia, deeply wounded by a past relationship, is skittish at the idea of marriage at all. When, despite their hesitations, they agree to a marriage in name only, neither one is prepared for the feelings that soon arise to complicate their arrangement. Can two people accustomed to keeping their distance let the barricades around their hearts down long enough to fall in love?

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Bride for Keeps, go HERE.