keep calm and read a book / 3 recommendations

image via pinterest.

we're in the middle of our little staycation in gorgeous park city. i've been playing tourist while we housesit / dogsit in a spectacular home perched on the hill. one which i may never leave. the rooms are airy and light, the sheets are soft, the dogs are playful, the boy is on cloud nine. and there are gingersnap ice cream sandwiches in the freezer. am trying hard to resist them (or at least take enough hikes to justify indulging). we've been touring around town and exploring a lot (pics to come). it's been dreamy; a little like playing house while searching for suitable houses for our real life. our free time has been taken up largely with the hunt. we are playing a waiting game and i am trying hard not to attach myself before the final word comes along. not loving something that you want to love is harder than it seems. my falling in love with every cute house we see is a bit of a forbidden affair in a fairytale.

so meanwhile, i am telling myself to relax and be calm and all will work out. eventually. i tell myself how good things are; finding all the things to be happy about. i remind myself that this is all so terribly exciting and, i say in my head, we're on the brink of newness!! and enjoy this moment before you have a whole house to unpack. for a control freak like me it's hard to have things out of my hands. am doing my best to rein in the things i do have control of to maintain my sanity. like reading. since i'm away from my office and not caught up with designs or work, i have been reading and must admit (and shout from the rooftops) i've found a few absolute favorites that you must read. they are under $12 each (and an article you can print out for free) and simple to read in one evening or on a long bus ride or under an umbrella at the beach. these are books i want to give out for birthday presents or graduations presents or for-no-reason presents. they are the kind you pick up again and again and find new phrases to underline. books you wish weren't library books so you can tear out a page and frame it. books that are a lazy afternoon away from finishing. books that i seriously want you to read so we can discuss them via email messages. books that make me want to write the authors and thank them. books that make you forget you've been living out of suitcases all summer. books that make you want to figure out who you are, what you're made of, and how to be the best you possible. thanks to my sister-in-law amy for recommending them. now off to visit the freezer.

What Now? by Ann Patchett
About Alice by Calvin Trillin
Your Happily Ever After an article by Dieter Uchtdorf

p.s. amy also recommended this book to me. it's a keeper.