Preview to Summer Book Swap! Link-up Here =]

Today's the day! We're all linking up for Preview to Summer: A Blogger Book Swap!

Thanks for coming on this journey with Me, Maria, Serena, Martie, Nina and Nicole.

We have loved having you as participants and we hope that you enjoyed your time blogging about books, your love for reading, and meeting other bloggers who love to read.

My swap partner was my fellow co-host, Maria, and I could not tell you how excited I was to have her as a swap partner.  All the link-up graphics and the banners that you saw throughout the entire process were created by her and she did a phenomenal job as a co-host.  Maria blogs over at I Believe in Story and has her own shop with really adorable prints.  Apart from being an awesome blogger and shop owner, Maria is a genuinely kind-hearted person who has fielded numerous e-mails from me throughout this process.  She is always there to offer a kind word and gentle encouragement.

So of course I wasn't surprised to receive a care package that is just as sweet as she is and when I opened it, the first thing I saw was this adorable card filled with mixed media ice cream cones.  Maria wrote out such a thoughtful note and although she is already one of my favorite bloggers long before I started book swaps, it only further cemented my admiration for her.

I could not stop smiling after the first thing I saw was this tote.  I love The Great Gatsby and Maria picked out this adorable bag from the company Out of Print and I was strutting about the house with it.  I may or may not have squealed with excitement.  Yes, squealed.

Maria has some great attention to detail because a long time ago (or in blogger terms, a few weeks ago) I said that I really loved this specific print from her shop and when I opened a brown folder in the package, there it was.

someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again
There is something so sweet and innocent about that phrase.  It feels like a verbal hug :)

She also included postcards of different covers, which I love!

Maria chose this darling book with short stories about summer.  This fits perfectly for our book swap theme! I adore this cover, it's so cute!  I haven't tackled too many books with short stories in the past and so I'm really glad that she has given me an opportunity to expand on those experiences. 

She also included one of her favorite books, Of Bees and Mist.
Here's a plot synopsis:

Of Bees and Mist is an engrossing fable that chronicles three generations of women under one family tree and places them in a mythical town where spirits and spells, witchcraft and demons, and prophets and clairvoyance are an everyday reality.

Meridia grows up in a lonely home until she falls in love with Daniel at age sixteen. Soon, they marry, and Meridia can finally escape to live with her charming husband’s family—unaware that they harbor dark mysteries of their own. As Meridia struggles to embrace her life as a young bride, she discovers long-kept secrets about her own past as well as shocking truths about her new family that push her love, courage, and sanity to the brink.

Erick Setiawan’s astonishing debut is a richly atmospheric and tumultuous ride of hope and heartbreak that is altogether touching, truthful, and memorable.

I am always excited to start a book with a strong recommendation from a friend.  Seeing that this is one of her favorites, I'm hoping to love it just as much as she does.  The elements of spells and witchcraft remind me of a fairytale and everything seems to tie nicely into the themes of the care package.

Finally she included a CD of a Canadian pop/indie group called Hey Ocean!  I love when people send me music from bands that I've never heard of because I'm always down to listen to great music.

Maria did such a great job and I could not be more thrilled!  If you love that print as much as I do, make sure to check out her shop because there are tons of other great prints as well.

Make sure to link-up below!

P2S Link-up Childhood Favorites

 

This week's Preview to Summer link-up is our last one before we share our swaps tomorrow!  Remember you can link-up here at The Simplicity to share with the other bloggers.  Many thanks to Nina over at run(dance)love for hosting the link-up of Childhood Favorites.  This challenge brought up so many fond memories of story times at local libraries and being introduced to chapter books from a young age.  I thought of school projects and kindergarten crafts.  I also thought of times when my mom and dad would read me stories and the time when I moved to reading them from my chapter books.  Many of these have become "classics" with me and something that I would like to share with my future children. 

Children's Illustrated Books

 

 

 Illustrations for a child and even still as an adult, bring a story to life with whimsical characters that are so easy to love.  The Rainbow Fish's tale of sharing was easily symbolized through the giving of the beautiful, sparkly scales.  Of course, with my resounding love of glitter as an adult, I think some things have stayed the same ;) Stellaluna was linked with a unit about fruit bats and I had large beanie baby toy bat that looked very similar to her that I loved as a small child.  If You Give a Mouse a Cookie spawned other similar stories but this one remains my favorite.  The illustrations and coy humor invited children to show compassion and courtesy to others with the entertaining fancies of a little mouse. 

 

 

I adored Clifford and The Berenstain Bears!  I would check out Berenstain Bears books from the library to read as many of them as possible.  I loved their family and the illustrations so much.  I was obsessed with dogs from a young age and so I loved the idea of having a large dog like Clifford.  I also loved the name Emily Elizabeth and wondered what I had to do to earn the use of two names instead of one ;)

Beginning Chapter Books

   

 

I hadn't read many of the Babysitter's Club books until my aunt picked up a huge collection of them from one of her friends.  Her friend's daughters collected them over the years and she had over a hundred of them to sell.  My aunt got the entire collection for my cousin and I to share.  I loved reading about the characters and Kristy's idea to start the club.  It was fun to "grow up" with them and see the character development as well as relationships.  When Mary Ann dated Logan, you cheered, and eventually when they broke up, it was hard but you just understood.  They were a fun group of literary characters to have in my pre-teen years.

 

 

I don't really like anything "scary" and especially nothing gory.  My "big" move was going to the section of my elementary school's library that held a large collection of Goosebumps books by R.L. Stine.  I read one and became addicted to these fast reads with plenty of plot twists.  These were my potato chip books and I would love to start collecting these again for fun.

 

Finally, Laura Ingalls Wilder was also introduced to me at my elementary school's library.  When it was our library hour once a week, we would walk down the hall and sit on the carpeted floor while the school's librarian would share with us some of her recommended reads.  There I learned about the Ingalls and how they lived in Wisconsin and lived in log cabins.  I read all of Laura's books and enjoyed seeing how she grew up from a little girl to becoming a teacher and eventually having her own daughter, Rose.

 

What were some of your favorite childhood reads?

#5 Link-Up: Literary Soundtrack or Character Crushes!

IT'S ALMOST TIME TO SHARE OUR BOOK PACKAGES!

The anticipation is killing me- as you can see by use of caps lock but until then, it's time for our 5th link-up.  This week's writing challenge is actually up to our participants.

Kind of like a choose your own adventure.

Literary Soundtracks or Character Crushes... you decide!

For Literary Soundtracks all you need to do is create a list of songs that fit your favorite book or favorite stories.  Mixtapes anyone?

For Character Crushes, describe what character(s) you love and why.  Have a thing for Christian Grey, it's alright, now's your time to share ;)

Now you only need to pick one, but I'll be sharing both (I just couldn't decide).

A few weeks ago I finished Kelle Hampton's memoir, Bloom.  She has such beautiful photography and memories with her family that I think it would be wonderful to put together a list of songs that I love and can see with her family.

The Good Life by OneRepublic

A New Day Has Come by Celine Dion

Breathe (2am) by Anna Nalick  

        

Hey Soul Sister by Train

 

I chose these four songs because the Hampton family lives in Florida as you find out in the memoir and these kind of remind me of fun, summery songs that would involve a great family dynamic.  If you've ever read Bloom or Kelle Hampton's blog, you're familiar that with the birth of her second child, Nella, she discovers that her baby is born with Down Syndrome.  The book goes through Kelle's process of adjusting her own preconceived notions and embracing her family.  I've been wanting to write down what my experience was like reading the book and I'm pretty sure I have a rough draft floating around here but it was a wonderful journey to read.  It was the first book I read while doing alerts and her experiences kind of helped me get through that transition period of my own experiences.  These four songs automatically came to mind, especially Anna Nalick's song "Breathe" because I remember moments in college being up late at night and playing the song because it made me feel better during tough or stressful moments.

What would you have chosen if you read Bloom?

When it comes to character crushes, I have many.  When thinking of the topic, I know that I have girl crushes but I could only come up with guys.  I can't wait to read what others choose to share! 
My chosen four are Heathcliff, Michael Hosea, Peeta, and Jay Gatsby. 

By the way, Tom Hardy is Heathcliff in a version of Wuthering Heights. You can thank me for this piece of knowledge after you watch it. ;)

Heathcliff is a dark and brooding character.  No way would his behavior be considered remotely acceptable by today's standards but for some reason, I just love his character.  I think there's something about that unrequitted love that gets me everytime.  His love for Cathy was unhealthy but he wanted to be with her, even past death.  That type of commitment isn't too often shown today.

To the best of my knowledge, there isn't a movie for Redeeming Love, but Henry Cavill just makes your heart pitter-patter.

Michael Hosea from Redeeming Love is on of my all time favorite characters because I strongly feel that most men should try and emulate his love and compassion.  Of course that would be impossible because each man is different, but I truly hope to raise my future sons (if I have any) in the same light.  Not only did he pray, but he had an open relationship with God and forgave everyone.  This includes his arrogant brother-in-law.  I would love to see this made into a movie and if it already has been, somebody fill me in!

Peeta from Hunger Games is one of my favorite male characters because he's just one of those good guys that you just want to kick Katniss in the shins to make her realize this.  My old roommate was dying over how Katniss just wouldn't accept his love for her.  I'm pretty sure Brittany, my old roommate, would have jumped into those pages and dragged Peeta out for herself if she could.  But who blames her?  We love Peeta because he is a genuinely caring guy who would risk everything for Katniss.  #TEAMPEETA

Finally Jay Gatsby makes the list because I am a sucker for unrequitted love.  Doesn't Daisy's character just make your blood boil?  Tom and Daisy are literally careless people and that's what drives the story.  You have someone like Jay Gatsby with so much hope and promise and he doesn't get the girl.  Instead, this teaches Nick Carraway about life.  It's my favorite book and this weekend I finally had the opportunity see the version with Leo as Gatsby.  My heart broke and over and over again.  All of that money, time, and effort to be wasted on someone as foolish and self-centered as Daisy.  It just breaks your heart.

So that is my literary soundtrack as well as my character crushes.  Make sure you link-up and join in on the fun and remember, you only need to pick one but if you want to do both- go for it!

#4 P2S Link-Up: Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover

We're linking up with Nicole this week from Three31 for our fourth link-up.  It's just about time to get your book packages in the mail and I am so excited to share with all of you!

***

The old adage, don't judge a book by its cover, has often been applied to our predetermined judgements of others but what about when it comes to books?  How impactful is a book's cover in our decision in actually purchasing it?  We're a culture that determines a lot of aspects on the cosmetic side of things.  What piece of fruit are you going to eat- the bruised apple or the perfectly ripened mango? 

I'll be the first to admit that I judge a book by its cover- even more so its spine.  There are so many factors that can bring me into actually picking up a book, whether it's a review I saw on Huffbooks, a magazine, an author's typical writing style, or just the fact that the cover looks gorgeous. 

I recently read a post that HuffBooks wrote about gendered covers, and I shared it with a few of the participants that I've been corresponding with.  A female author became incredibly frustrated at the number of male readers who would e-mail or tweet her about the the "girliness" of her book covers.  It inhibited them from reading them in public or sometimes even reading them at all.  This spurred a challenge to readers all over to create a reverse gendered cover.  The results were pretty cool and incredibly artistic.  There were many covers that I thought looked significantly more beautiful or even more captivating than the original covers. It also got me to thinking about a publisher's decision to go with a certain cover artwork.  What if they sold two different covers?  Apart from movie poster covers, has this been done before?  Not as an anniversary edition of a book, but the same book at the same time but two different covers.  It also raises the question of why a book cover exudes gender separation. 

You can walk through a Barnes and Noble and automatically identify the aisles of teen fiction and chick lit.  I don't know about you, but I've noticed this trend in teen fiction/romance where the covers tend to be black with neon blues and remind me of like Sci-Fi art.  For chick lit, I usually see illustrations featuring a woman and the use of softer colors and a title is a curly-q font.  The industry has so heavily branded books, you can just tell.  Like if you see a deep navy cover with handcuffs or a grey tie, it's a series that's trying to bank on the success of 50 Shades.  They even put a chicken on a similar cover to make a spoof on it for a cookbook. 

For me what makes a book cover intriguing is if it can stand on its own two feet...or spine (ha, my attempt at a book joke).  If I was an author, I would hope that my book would be successful but would I want it to emulate the style of another book cover, just because it's popular?  I really don't think I would like that and would be really disappointed.   I get annoyed when I see that because it's grouping books together to make sales.

On the flip side, sometimes a cover is not my taste at all but the reviews win me over.  I love The Great Gatsby but I really don't like the cover art.  It's a classic and it's an easily recognizable cover and because of my love for the book- I like the cover art. Hopefully that made an ounce of sense.

I'm thinking of putting together a few "flipped covers" and hopefully I can share those this week.

Be sure to link-up with Nicole and have a great Sunday!

    

#3 Preview to Summer Book Swap Link-Up: Big City Tales

My focus for this week's link-up theme of Big City Tales is London, England!
I'm teaming up with Martie from Spunkyrella- so make sure you link-up as well!

 

I've never been to London but have always wanted to go and so much of our classic literature stems from this city filled with diversity.  Our relatives, Andrew and Kaitlyn currently live there and I would love to visit them.  Not just for the city, but also to see their new baby.

You might have been able to tell, from the first link-up, that I would choose London because of Harry Potter.  It was automatically the first city I thought of when presented with this unique challenge but I also thought of the other reasons why London is wonderful apart from that popular series.

Oliver Twist speaks of the days of the Industrial Revolution and how they marked an era of innovation as well as cultural change.  Impoverished conditions, slums, orphans, and the days before unions or minimum wage tells a scary reality that many people went through.  Mary Shelley, the author Frankenstein, wrote a book involving a dark topic that became a cultural symbol of horror that is still popular today.  I remember reading it as a little kid, excited to learn more about this "scary monster" but realizing that the story was a lot more than a Halloween costume.  Shelley is from Somers Town, London.  Sophia Kinsella, a popular author of several chick lit novels, also is from London.

I really want to go, experience the sites, culture and history.  I also really want to go to Platform 9 and 3/4...gotta happen.

What are some of your favorite big cities represented in books or just literature?

Jessica from Sweet Green Tangerine & The Book Chat

Hello there! I am Jessica and I am the voice behind the quirky web-space, Sweet Green Tangerine. Kimberly has asked me to a part of her Preview to Summer series and I was super-excited about her plan to bring all the book-lovin' to one place. Well, if you read The Simplicity regularly (which you should) then you have probably seen Kimberly link-up with the Book Chat on Thursdays. Well, that's my baby.

What is the book chat?

Well, a little over a year ago, I had been grappling with the idea of being a quasi-book blogger, meaning this: I wanted to blog about books as well as life and not be tied down to reviews and promotions. I wanted to find other regular ol' bloggers who love to read as much as I do. I wanted to have a time and place where we could bring the same topic together and share interests and ideas and laughs and lots of Harry Potter.

And that's where it started. We've had the same ol' regulars along the way as well as some awesome newcomers, which always makes my day. The Book Chat was never about attracting thousands or getting new followers. It's more personal than that.

Here's how it works:

I post a topic every Thursday, like favorite fictional couple or best movie adaptation. We all have a week to think of our answers and then we link-up our posts the following Thursday. I have tried to make the topics something we would actually blog about. I wanted to avoid this become a question:answer prompt. I have seen some excellent stand-alone posts come from book chat topics.

Every Thursday evening I do my rounds and read each and every link-up for the book chat, and my favorite part is seeing everyone commenting on everyone else's posts. It's truly a coversation and not just a link-up. I have found some of the best books and made some of the greatest friends.

It's certainly grown over time. We've added co-hosts every week and we even did our own book swap last fall. We've become a community, and our arms are always open to book-loving bloggers eager to join in.

You can find us here every Thursday. Please join in!

This Thursday's topic is Best Literary Mothers...and I'm still looking for a co-host!

Thanks for having me, Kimberly. And thanks for spreading the book love.

 

Venus Trapped in Mars is having a little competition and I would like to win. If you like my blog, my posts, or just want to see me with that special victory button, please vote!

2nd Preview to Summer Link-up: 5 Books Every Woman Should Read

This week's book link-up challenge was really difficult for me (I feel like this will be a trend) :P.  Serena's challenge of choosing 5 books that every woman should read had me brainstorming a few days ago on some of the most influential books that have had some type of impact on me as a woman.  It wasn't until this morning did I come up with these five, one of which I own but haven't read yet (I know, that probably shouldn't count but it's been recommended to me time and again!).

I thought back to my Gender & Women's studies courses at UW-Madison.  I loved them so much that I wish I had made it into a double major instead of just a certificate (the equivalent of a minor).  I learned so much in those courses and it's translated into my life and what I value as a feminist.

I've chosen these five books for different reasons, but I also feel like they will apply to a wide range of audiences and women who may not also identify as a feminist but would like to learn more about female struggle throughout the world, history, and today's society.

1. The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler:
I picked up this book the summer before I went to college.  I was even reading it up to Madison, on my way to a program called Base Camp.  I was about to go canoeing down the Wisconsin River for three to four days straight.  I had it in my hand when I met our "tour guides" who were also Madison students.  They had already read it, loved it, and I saw it as a good sign for the book.  This book is a collection of different monologues or stories of women that is meant to be performed.  I've seen it twice as well as another version called Yoni Ki Baat.  Each story revolves around the female identity, anatomy, and of course, vaginas.  Some stories are more serious than others, some are downright hilarious.  One story even involves an orgasm, making the live performance either incredibly amusing for some and uncomfortable for others.  It was one of my first experiences reading about the female perspective and it was a beautiful opportunity since I was about to leave for college.  This book gave me this window where I decided to check out other courses involving women's history and women's rights.  Looking back, this book was a gently push into me becoming more of a feminist.  I think it's a great book for women to read in general because vaginas usually aren't discussed openly, yet as women we have them, it's the part of the female anatomy that is most often used to describe women, and it has developed a culture around it.

2. Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales:
I took a course in college where we got to analyze fairy tales and I loved it.  I would recommend that women read the original fairy tales as told by Anderson, the Grimms, and Arabian Nights because these have been passed down for generations.  They're also significantly more different than the Disney versions that many of us have grown up with.  Many of them are very dark and teach brutal lessons.  A lot of these stories also paint the history of women in many different cultures, whether they were valued or oppressed and it's a good reminder that each of these stories has a good dose of reality.  For example in Cinderella, her "wicked" step-sisters are forced to dance in burning hot shoes, so they essentially burned themselves to death.  Check out copies from the library and see what life lessons are taught from these original tales.  It's more than prince charming, they often involve realizing your true potential.

3. The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler:
This book helped change my perspective on what young women went through during the eras of the 50s and 60s.  I often think that are portrayal of that time period is very much a depiction of Leave it to Beaver, where you have the perfect household but families didn't upkeep that lifestyle without several flaws.  Fessler, the author, was adopted and she knew that her mother was essentially forced to give up her daughter for adoption so Fessler went on this journey interviewing other women from this time period who were also pressured into giving up their children for adoption.  These women were teenagers or college-aged women who were unwed and became pregnant.  Many were sent away to facilities in other states where they carried out their pregnancies, delivered their babies, and then never saw them again.  These were difficult stories to take in for many reasons, but mainly because these women felt so isolated and they were shamed by their families.  Some of these women were raped and then humiliated.  One story that left an impression on me took place in Wisconsin and a young woman was on a date, who then was threatened to walk home in a snow storm unless she had sex with her date.  It was a dark time and all because these women were expected to have these children and then give them up.  Societal expectations were ridiculous (women took tranquilizers back then to keep calm).  These young women also weren't provided any type of counseling afterwards, so many of them had a lot of emotional and psychological trauma after being isolated and then forced to give up their baby.  Some of the women, who everyone in their town knew what had happened, had been deemed as "sluts" and boys would try to convince them to have sex with them because during that time pregnancy = you knew how to have sex.  These were definitely difficult stories to get through but so necessary to teach future generations.  Today we see Teen Mom on MTV and many of these teenagers have the support of their families and the state.  This was not the case back then.  These stories and many articles that I've read through reproductive rights courses further cements my beliefs in understanding the big picture of what all women go through.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
This book has been recommended to me by so many people!  Diamant takes a biblical character and dives into the story of Dinah.  In the Bible she's mentioned briefly through different sections, however, she is the protagonist in a story that covers the traditions of women during biblical times.  In a time where men would have multiple wives (and still do), women would gather in a separate tent during the time they had their periods, were birthing, or even when they were sick.  The book also covers the stories of the wives of Jacob and how they care for Dinah.  In this tent, they grow in their relationships with each other, share stories, and cultivate a life together.  I'm working through the book right now, but the biggest complaints that I've read from others are usually biblical scholars.  I would approach it with an open mind and focus on the relationship between the women versus the relation of passages from the Bible.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin:
I haven't read this yet, so I feel a little silly putting it on this list, but there are several books that people I admire have recommended and this is one of them.  I have an ever-growing list of books that I would like to read and specifically books that every woman should read.  Being in my early 20s, I think now, more than ever, is a great time to tackle these types of lists.  Although a completely time period, Chopin's novel deals with a lot of the societal issues that are brought up in Fessler's book (mentioned above).  Her protagonist deals with the societal pressures of going into a marriage that she didn't want to be and then subsequently dreaming about what it would be like to have the equalities of men.  What was really awesome about this book was that it was written in a time period where the fantasies of these fictional characters were very taboo.  It's considered a feminist classic.

Preview to Summer participants- make sure to link-up with Serena over at Spillerena!
Link-up with your name and blog title and if you have to schedule your post for a future time, please just leave a comment under her post.

Be sure to check out the other ladies' choice books and if you're looking for some other fun resources check out More and Flavor Wire.

 Thanks for reading!

P2S Book Care Package Ideas

I hope you all are having a fantastic week!

Earlier this week I posted about some tips and tricks in approaching a book swap.

Sometimes you never know how these swap things work, 

so don't be afraid to ask us if you have any questions.

I have had so much fun reading your responses from the registration.

All of you sound like so much fun and we have so many different personalities, I love it!

Some of you are moms, runners, bakers, crafters, career women 

(who the run world...Beyonce shout-out), students, and people who have a nerdy side.

It got me brainstorming on what type of care packages I would make if any of you fantastic women were my partner.  So I created some book care package collages and you can see them below.  Some of the ideas were from Pinterest and others I got from shops like Fred Flare or Urban Outfitters.  I highly recommend checking out your local craft store or Target because many their dollar bins often have really cool items.  Last time I checked Target they had glass terrariums which are usually way more expensive than $1.  Some ideas from Pinterest actually have tutorials, so if you feel like getting a little crafty, why not?

For the fans of chick lit, I was inspired by the fun whimsical covers of many of the books considered "chick lit."  I found authors similar to the writing style of Sophie Kinsella on Goodreads.  From there, I chose two different books, one from author Jane Green and the other from Lindsey Kelk.  I figured this would be a good tactic to find authors that my partner would be enjoy and maybe she hasn't read yet.  I also included a fun pattern infinity scarf, which is perfect to wear on cooler summer nights, heart-shaped sunglasses because of the romance found in chick lit books, and flowers in a can.  These items I found on Fred Flare, however, you can find similar items at Target.

For fans of traveling, I tried to find items that would fit into the love of exploring new places and even staying within your resident abode.  I found this French "bonjour" nametag wallet on Fred Flare for those who have traveled to France or enjoy a little humor.  The Russian doll is actually a manicure kit, also from Fred Flare.  It's small, portable and really cute, perfect for the global traveler!  I also chose Eat, Pray, Love as the main book for the care package and a copy of Lonely Planet's 1000 Ultimate Experiences.  To capture memories from local travels or far abroad, I included a travel stub journal.

For the Pinterest-inspired book lover, I headed to the site to find some great tutorials and of course, inspiration.  I chose two popular books from different genres because I figured Pinterest lovers usually like best-sellers and sometimes going outside of their comfort zone.  I found a few tutorials on how to make cute necklace charms and of course Etsy sites that make tons of different book necklaces.  I also found tutorials on how to make different style bookmarks, including these cute peek-a-boo Dorothy ones.  You could also include a mug and several different items.  This type of care package is usually great to put together at book stores.  You could also provide the supplies and instructions for your partner to make the bookmark or necklace and it can be a crafting experience as well!

For the athletic book swap partner, there are so many different ideas I had but I also felt like this was a solid care package, one that any fitness-oriented person would enjoy.  I chose Wheat Belly because all of my fitness/personal-trainer friends have been recommending it and it's an educational opportunity for any healthy lifestyle.  I also chose Tuesdays with Morrie because I figured if someone is going through a difficult time with weightloss or their fitness goals or is simply exhausted after a long day, this book is inspirational.  I also included a Runner's I.D. bracelet which is a great resource to have if you enjoy working out in the great outdoors.  It's a safety precaution that can also be fashionable.  I also chose a pair of running shorts and a water bottle because both can help your partner achieve her fitness goals!

We have some awesome Mommas signed up for this swap and although I don't have any kids, I can only imagination how difficult and wonderful life can be.  So I turned this care package into a little bit of a relaxing experience for all our sweet moms out there.  I picked 50 Shades of Grey and The Art of Racing in the Rain.  One dealing with the sexy Christian Grey and the other with dogs, I thought two completely different books to help moms relax ;)  I also thought that moms deserve a bit of relaxation but don't always have the full time to go to a spa or nail appointment.  So I included a copy of People Magazine, the new style manicures that are easy to apply, and a statement necklace so mommas can put together a great outfit while on the go.

What are some great ideas that you have?