Like the quest for a perfect pair of shoes, the search for the right devotional book seems endless at times. But finally, "Wake Up Laughing: Offbeat Devotions for the Unconventional Woman" has arrived. In sixty creative takes on the ordinary, author Rachel St. John-Gilbert uses quirky humor to inspire the savvy reader who hungers for a fresh, challenging devotional. Each brief reading combines unusual observations on everyday life experiences-like the clunky cart at the grocery-with spiritual applications that promise to encourage and inspire. Readers will enjoy the therapeutic effects of stress-relieving wit and start their day with joy.
A legendary fashion designer for Barbie shares the story of her adventures working behind-the-scenes at Mattel, and spotlights the creations that transformed the world’s most famous doll into a style icon in this beautifully designed book—published in commemoration of Barbie’s sixtieth anniversary—illustrated with 100 full-color photographs, including many never-before-seen images of rare and one-of-a-kind pieces from the author’s private archive. Dressing Barbie is a dazzling celebration of the clothes that made America’s favorite doll, and the incredible woman behind them. For thirty-five years, Carol Spencer enjoyed an unparalleled reign as a Barbie fashion designer, creating some of Barbie’s most iconic looks from the early 1960s until the late 1990s. Barbie’s wide-ranging wardrobe—including princess gowns and daisy-print rompers, flirty sundresses and smart pantsuits— combined fashion trends and haute couture with a liberal dose of fantasy. In Dressing Barbie, the successful and prolific designer reminisces about her time at Mattel working with legendary figures such as Ruth Handler, Barbie’s creator, and Charlotte Johnson, the original Barbie designer, and talks about her best and most beloved clothing designs from each decade. But Carol’s most impressive creation is her own life. As Handler famously said, “Barbie always represented the fact that a girl has choices”—a credo Carol epitomized. In Dressing Barbie, she talks candidly about how she broke free of the constraints of the late 1950s to pursue a dazzling career and an independent life for herself. Over the course of her successful and prolific career, Carol won many accolades. She was the first designer to have her signature on the doll, the first to go on a signing tour, the first to design a limited-edition Barbie Doll for collectors, and the designer of the biggest selling Barbie of all time. Now, Carol is the first member of the inner circle to take fans behind the pink curtain, revealing the fashion world of Barbie, the quintessential California girl, as never before.
Slum beautiful is a remarkable, straight forward, poetic and eye stretching memoir of KyDeja Morgan's (Slum Beautiful) struggling life. In her first 28 years of life she was molested, practiced blasphemous acts, robbed, sold drugs, used drugs, prostituted, and arrested and almost prosecuted for the murders of both her mother and brother. Like her other siblings, Slum was raised in a dysfunctional family that practiced open sex, used drugs, gambled and treated their home as a hangout for other addicts. Through her avowed journey in life, it would take Slum 28 years and 11 months, along with becoming homeless to find the beauty in her slum (mind, body, soul and surroundings.) she was able to connect, dig out and remove some of the most scattered and unraveling moments of her life thanks to the acts of soliloquy, prison and an unlikely fallen angel along the way. However, before Slum could share her newly found beauty she has to beat a slew of charges, including breaking and entering, robbery, murder-and come fourth with secrets that inadvertently prolonged her vicious life cycle. Slum Beautiful- in retrospect not only visits the most dangerous place on earth in our heart's memory, but gives a mind-boggling, touch of retrograde amnesia exploring the inducement of dysfunction in Slum's family that includes, molestation, sibling rivalry, systematic dependency, drug dependency, self hate, cultural hate, racism, and women and child abuse. Slum Beautiful explores how cycles of injustice begin, and how they can continue to plague without culminating. Penned with a poetic pen, conscience mind, and honest heart, Slum beautiful is the Pangaea of life before the evolution of such disheartening events, and then some. It is an internal reflection of yours and mine. Find your beauty, before the wrong hands do. Without further do, Kenny Attaway presents Slum Beautiful: the soliloquy of the kandy lady.
Discover new favorites by tracing wine back to its roots Still drinking Cabernet after that one bottle you liked five years ago? It can be overwhelming if not intimidating to branch out from your go-to grape, but everyone wants their next wine to be new and exciting. How to choose the right one? Award-winning wine critic Alice Feiring presents an all-new way to look at the world of wine. While grape variety is important, a lot can be learned about wine by looking at the source: the ground in which it grows. A surprising amount of information about a wine’s flavor and composition can be gleaned from a region’s soil, and this guide makes it simple to find the wines you’ll love. Featuring a foreword by Master Sommelier Pascaline Lepeltier, who contributed her vast knowledge throughout the book, The Dirty Guide to Wine organizes wines not by grape, not by region, not by New or Old World, but by soil. If you enjoy a Chardonnay from Burgundy, you might find the same winning qualities in a deep, red Rioja. Feiring also provides a clarifying account of the traditions and techniques of wine-tasting, demystifying the practice and introducing a whole new way to enjoy wine to sommeliers and novice drinkers alike.
"When precocious Lois and pretty Carly May were twelve years old, they were kidnapped, driven across the country, and held in an Adirondack hunting lodge for two months. [This debut novel explores] the repercussions of that formative summer, when two girls who previously did not know each other shared an experience that would shape all their days to come"--
Sonya Huber, author of the award-winning Pain Woman Takes Your Keys, and Other Essays from a Nervous System , offers a candid, lyrical look inside the unsung world of exurban Illinois. New Lenox, Illinois, is a
This is the real toy story, an unprecedented behind-the-scenes journey through a world of influence, fantasy, and multimillion-dollar Hollywood deals, a world where the whims of children make millionaires and topple titans. This is also the story of an unusual man. Alan Hassenfeld, the chief executive officer of Hasbro, never intended to run a Fortune 500 company. A free spirit who dreamed of being a writer and exploring Asia, he was content to remain in the shadow of his older brother Stephen, a marketing genius who transformed a family firm established by immigrant Jews into powerhouse and Wall Street darling. Then tragedy struck. Stephen, and intensely private man, died of AIDS, a disease he had not acknowledged he had, even to his family. Alan Hassenfeld was named CEO, just as Hasbro was facing a daunting onslaught of challenges. Toy Wars is about Alan's struggle to balance the demands of the bottom line with his ideals about the kind of toys children deserve, as well as the ethical obligations of management. Wayne Miller, an award-winning journalist and novelist, was granted unprecedented access to Hasbro, the maker of G.I. Joe, Star Wars toys, Mr. Potato Head, Batman, Monopoly, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, and countless other favorites. For five years, he sat in on design sessions, marketing meetings, and focus groups, and interviewed employees in every part of the company. He witnessed a major corporate restructuring; crucial deal with Dreamworks SKG; a hostile takeover bid by archrival Mattel; the collapse of a $45 million virtual reality game; and the company makeover of G.I. Joe, Hasbro's flagship product and one of the most popular toys of all time. Toy Wars is filled with many colorful characters, including: Hollywood moguls Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, whose kid-friendly movies can translate into licensing gold for toymakers Mighty Morphin Power Rangers creator Haim Saban, who tapped into a popular Japanese TV series and made it a worldwide television and merchandising phenomenon Mattel CEO Jill Barad, the second-highest-paid woman in corporate America, who promotes and defends Barbie with the zeal of a religious crusader Hasbro executive Al Verrecchia, the loyal second in command who did not let friendship or tradition stand in the way of a dramatic restructuring Larry Bernstein, arguably the best toy salesman ever, a riotous raconteur whose divisional presidency crumbled when he was unable to meet Hasbro's profit goals Rich in family drama and written with sly wit, Toy Wars is a deeply compelling business story, a fascinating tour through a billion-dollar industry that exerts tremendous influence on the lives of children everywhere.
"Deli owner Gwen "Nashville" Katz has certainly had some very un-Kosher experiences since her move from New York--dead customers, dead street musicians, dead deliverymen. Sometimes the country music capital of the world feels more like a cemetery. But Gwen is finally knocked flat on her tuchas when a van comes plunging through her roof, causing an explosion and barricading her inside with her employees and Nashville mayoral candidate Tootsie Pearl. Was this an attack on the mayoral hopeful, or a war against Gwen herself? With her deli in shambles, Katz is hot to grill the putz responsible for turning deli into a culinary nightmare." --
The wild dogs of the Serengeti Plain are used as an allegory for the lives of the humans who film them in their natural habitat. Whether it is the lives of the humans or those of the animals you are hit in the gut by both. Backdrop of the Korean War and a prisoner of war camp in the Philippines during World War 2 make you pause to consider the effect of animals on the lives of the humans. The animals have an important place in the desperate lives of the humans. The entire book is one wild ride.
Hot on the heels of her 100th complete home renovation, celebrity interior designer and master home flipper Nicole Sassaman releases her new book, 100 Sassy Tips: Renovations. Filled with practical and time-saving advice, the beautifully photographed book is a must-read for anyone looking for remodeling inspiration. Nicole's seasoned, no-nonsense advice is culled from her two decades buying, rehabbing and selling real estate in some of Los Angeles's most recognizable neighborhoods. 100 Sassy Tips's nine chapters each tackle a different space within the home: Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom, Living Room, Dining Room, Office, Sound Studio, Details and Outdoors. Examples are designed to help homeowners add as much value as possible to their homes - whether they are working on a shoestring budget or have the goal of ultimate luxury (like having towel warmers in the bathroom).
