In April I started reading The American Lady, the second book in the Glassblower Trilogy by Petra Durst-Benning, but for some reason I can't remember, I took about a 3-week break and ended up not picking it back up until about halfway through May. Once I started back reading, it only took a couple of nights to finish.

Like the first book in the trilogy, The American Lady follows the lives of the Steinmann family 20 years later. Ruth has been living in New York City with her new husband, Steven, and her daughter, Wanda. Back home in Lauscha, Johanna and Peter have been married and have two children. Marie is still the driving force behind their much-expanded glassblowing company, but she's unhappy and uninspired. So she travels to New York where she accidentally spills the beans about Wanda's birth father. When Marie falls in love with an Italian and doesn't return home to Lauscha, Wanda travels to Germany to help her family and find herself. Things do not end well for Marie, but for that you'll have to read the book yourself.

The American Lady has mixed reviews on goodreads, with many people saying it was boring and some saying it was better than the first book. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. I felt like there could have been more back story provided of the 20 years between the books. What I missed the most was Johanna and Peter's story; at the end of The Glassblower, I wanted more of their relationship; a lot can happen in 20 years, and there was very little of the couple in the second installment.

I still found myself rooting for this family, especially Marie and Wanda. If you're looking for a book(s) about girl power, I recommend this series.

Up next on my reading list - The Paradise of Glass, third book in the Glassblower Trilogy. Read my review of book one, The Glassblower, here.

The cold shoulder trend is something I've been struggling with, especially for work. I feel like a lot of tops and dresses in this style aren't work appropriate, and I thought long and hard before wearing this to the office. In the end I decided that because my shoulders were mostly covered thanks to the wide straps, I could get away with it. What do you think of the cold shoulder trend?

P.S. Everything I'm wearing is under $25 this weekend.

Twenty-five years ago, my mom and stepdad went down to the beach and got married. It was just the two of them. There was no reception at a later date, no cake, and no first dance. That changed last weekend when my parents renewed their vows in their favorite place, the lake. My PawPaw performed the ceremony, which including a hand-binding ceremony. Alexis was the flower girl, and my brother and I stood up with them. A reception followed, complete with a cake and dancing. And then the next day we all had breakfast together as a family, and we surprised my parents with a new stove. Below are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

Wow, this is really late, but seeing as how I didn't actually finish a book in April I guess it's not that big of a deal. But since I am still reading the same book from last month, I decided I would a toddler edition of the monthly reading inventory and talk about some of our favorite books to read with Alexis.

 This was the first Sandra Boynton book we got, and it's one of Alexis' favorites to read. It's a fun counting, rhyming story that's easy to memorize. We have several other Boynton books, including the "Going to Bed Book," "Barnyard Dance," and "Snuggle Puppy."

This is my favorite book, and the first one I memorized. It's full of bright colors and lots of animals, and the rhyming makes it fun to read.

I don't even think you can find this book anymore, but it's one of Alexis's (and daddy's) favorites. We stomp and road and quack our way through this one.

These are just a handful of the books you'll find on our overstuffed bookshelf. What do your kids like to read?

I feel like all I need to do is swap my heels for a pair of white boots and I'd be ready to audition for the Brady Bunch. Seriously, though. This dress was fun to wear. It's more purple in person than this picture shows. It also comes in black/gray and black/orange. I'm usually a S/M or 6/8 and got this in an 8.

Details:
Dress: JCPenney (exact)
Shoes: Target (similar)