Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!

Been to Amazon’s website today? Well you should. And Apple should be afraid. Very afraid. Amazon has just announced, in a very diplomatic and appealing manner, the release of  not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR new Kindle models! And ALL of them are under $200! Take that stupidly overpriced iPad!

I have been admiring coveting the iPad from the sidelines since it came out but I cannot justify spending $500 on one. I have been seriously considering it more and more lately though simply for travel purposes. Especially since we are taking a trip to Thailand soon and I cannot bear to think about sitting through an 18 hour flight without one! So from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU Amazon, for fulfilling all my tablet wishes. I am the new, proud owner of the newest Kindle model – the Kindle Fire!

In addition to instant access to books, movies, TV, music and games, the Fire also features Amazon Silk – a revolutionary, cloud-accelerated web browser that uses a “split browser” architecture to leverage the computing speed and power of the Amazon Web Services cloud. In English – that means fast fucking web browsing! And not only that, with Fire you can forget about memory problems, this model gives you free storage for all your digital content in the Amazon Cloud so all your shit is instantly available to stream or download for free, simply at the touch of your finger.

This is my first tablet of any kind – reader included – and I feel giddy with anticipation to get it! Up until now I have been a traditional page-turning, paperback book kind of gal, but hey – when the price is right – you’ve got to do what Bob Barker says (okay, Drew Carey, whatever) … COME ON DOWN!  But you’d better hurry, the Fire is on pre-order to ship Nov. 15 and there is a waiting list forming! So go and go now to reserve your copy!

Side note: who already has a Kindle? Do you love it? What is your favorite thing about it? What do I need to know? Spill it!

The Book of Awesome is … well, awesome.

Snow days, finding money in a pocket you didn’t know you had, the smell of fresh rain baked bread, that first hot cup of morning coffee … these are really simple things that most of us take for granted on a daily basis. They are also really awesome things. I wrote about 1000 Awesome Things around this time back in 2009, when the project had been around for about a year. Neil Pasricha is the genius behind it and is kind of like the guru of small joys. What he started on his blog, has now made it into book form as The Book of Awesome. Some entries in the book are short and others quite lengthy, told as wonderfully funny and astutely observant tales.

Life can be incredibly overwhelming at times and this book is special in that it helps you see the small things that really do mean a lot. Simple joys by themselves can get lost in the shuffle, but put them all together (as in this book) and you’ve got plenty of things to brighten just about any day. And if 1000 awesome things isn’t enough, get more with Neil’s second book, The Book of (Even More) Awesome Things!

I am really looking forward to adding this book to my shelf. I may even use it as a coffee table book for a while. Or maybe even a bathroom book (TMI?). Small pleasures for me are putting on socks fresh from the dryer when its cold outside, waking up to find the coffee is already made, the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking; I could go on for days.

What simple pleasures get you going?

Everything is going to be okay.

It’s no secret that I have been on an emotional roller coaster over the last year or so. Spending 9 hours a day at a job that literally sucks the life out of me is draining. But I am employed and that’s what matters right now if I want to keep the lights on. So to fill some of those gaps, I’ve been putting more emphasis in bringing the happy back to my life in other ways and other areas. One of those ways is trying to see the glass half  full rather than half empty and surrounding myself with Jack Handy-esque messages. Proof is in the pudding which you can see here, here, and here. Which is why I simply must have (gift ideas, hint hint) this book, Everything is Going to be Okay.

The book is a pocket-sized anthology of positive artwork from a diverse lineup of indie artists, designers and illustrators. Some of the work included in the book are pieces I have admired independently before, so to have them all together in one place is like Christmas in July. Here are just a few pages of happy from the book.

via brain pickings

The morning after cookbook

Holy 3-day weekend, Batman! Looks I’ll be using this book for tonight’s dinner…

via Cool Material

My first dictionary

So maybe you don’t want your kid’s first words to be ass, fuck, shit, damn…but maybe something potentially equally as damaging. Fast-track your child to the the corrupted youth you know he’ll inevitably become with My First Dictionary by Ross Horsley. The book pairs happy illustrations from a real 1940s kids’ book with rude and cheeky definitions. For instance:

A burden is a source of worry or stress. Old people are usually burdens.

Father is nostalgic. He is remembering the happier times before you were born.

A puppy is a young dog. Connie gets a puppy every time she agrees not to tell. Daddy calls them hush puppies.

A zigzag is a jagged line. We can tell that Mother has been drinking when she drives in a zigzag pattern.

I think I might need to pick up a copy for myself. This would come in handy when I need to use a specific word in a sentence.

via Incredible Things

Take note!

Inspired by Wit & Whistle’s DIY calendar journal (which was inspired by Design Sponge’s DIY calendar journal), I have decided to do a calendar journal of my own, however, slightly less of a DIY project than the latter. Enter One Line a Day, a five year memory book for me to record all my thoughts and memories. I have been in a bit of a slump lately and I think this might be a good way for me to focus on the positive things in my life and the accomplishments (however small they may be) I’ve had.

Similar to this blog, its cheaper than real therapy, so I figure it’s a good place to start!

Rooster recipes

You know the saying, “Some like it hot?” Well, I’m one of those someones. Typically when I cook at home it has some degree of spice too it, sometimes a little too much degree. Sometimes the degree is so much that my boys have a hard time eating it. Which is why I am over the moon for this new Sriracha Coobook! Named Bon Appétit’s Ingredient of the Year for 2010, Sriracha is an insanely hot pureé of chili peppers. It’s got a delicate balance of ketchup-like sweetness, garlicky pungency, and just the right amount of spice. You’ve probably seen in at your local Thai restaurant as it’s a given with Asian foods, but if you like spicy like I do, we’ve got to check out this book!

via Uncrate

“What’chu talkin’ ’bout, Willis?

Ever wonder what the hell all those rap singers are really saying? Well, now you can with the new book, “Understand Rap: Explanations of Confusing Lyrics You and Your Grandma Can Understand.” So now you can get your bling on and be down with the hos.

Fo shizzle, ma nizzle.

via Cool Material

Mix n’ Match profanity

Tired of the old “fuck” “shit” “damn” curse words your parents told you were bad? Well now you can get creative with your cursing and show them who’s the jizz waffle of them all with this book by Sarah Royal and Jillian Paranese. Creative Cursing is a side-by-side flippable novelty book filled with hilarious and socially unacceptable phrases that will provide you with countless hours of insults and immaturity. I must have one. NOW.

via Badder Homes & Gardens

Spirited sweets

Add a whole new level of interest to your cooking with the Boozy Baker cookbook. With 75 intoxicating recipes, you can now kill two birds with one stone by getting your drink on while you satisfy your sweet tooth. I’m all for multi-tasking, so this is right up my alley!