down the street | the avid reader

I love where we live. After living in the suburbs for a few years, I have really enjoyed these last few months of being so close to the heart of our city. We love the local shops and places and we've only just begun to explore. A favorite place to visit for the hubs and I is The Avid Reader.

My favorites are the children's picture books. I love how much depth there is in their simple stories and so many beautiful illustrations. Some of them are sort of whatever, but some of them nearly take my breath away. So much detail and precious art in these little books. I have a hard time getting out of this section at the bookstore...

I found my favorite. Lemony Snicket is the best. I am a huge fan and his children's books are amazingly clever. He's brilliant.

Jon Klassen is real good too--author and illustrator. I didn't see I Want My Hat Back, which is my first favorite, but this one, the sequel, is amazing, too.

You've seen the Marcel the Shell youtube video, right? If not, go do it right now. This book had some fun new adventures for Marcel. Adorbs!

 And what luck! A new Lemony Snicket book illustrated by Jon Klassen! Cha ching! It was a great one. Look at how he illustrated the light and dark spaces. The whole book was brilliant, of course.

 I have to mention BabyLit Primers. Alice in Wonderland counting book. Wuthering Heights weather book. Jane Eyre counting book. Perfect for the babies of a lit major, eh? (someday)

 Speaking of that lit major, I always find him in a much more grown-up section. 

 They have the best puzzle selection. Pomegranate puzzles are the best brand (quality and art from all the greats).

Oh... just a trip down memory lane. 

Another favorite, the Pigeon series by Mo Willems. I think I do a great pigeon voice, if I do say so myself.

Oh, hey, Kate. Fancy seeing you here. Can't wait to see your little baby!

blessings & peace,
stephanie

exciting

Doing something exciting just so you can blog about it is OK. Even if that's your only motivation, you are still doing something exciting. It's also OK if that exciting thing that you do just so you can blog about it is starting a blog. That is my exciting thing for the day. I hope blogging encourages me to do a million more exciting things.

There are also a lot of things in life that are less exciting--things that are hard, challenging, and ugly. I hope blogging encourages me to look for significance in the less exciting things, to reflect on them, and to grow.

I'm excited for my little new exciting blog, kisses & cake. I have a lot of ideas and plans for routines, weekly posts, series, etc. I can't wait to share a little bit of my life with you, so stay tuned.

(Also, I'd be remiss to not offer special thanks to my super good friend Jenn who blogs over at earl grey and the hubs, Daniel. I don't remember who said "you should blog" first, but you kept saying it and it finally stuck, I guess. Thanks for the encouragement, you two. I hope this is exciting for us all.)

For now, though, I know I rarely read the words in any blog post--it's all about the pictures. Here's a few pictures from my wedding to hold you over. Daniel and I got married 53 days ago and our perfect wedding photographer was Ryan of Ryan Doyle Photography.

blessings & peace,

stephanie