Book Review - So Close To Amazing

ABOUT THE BOOK:

This is a book celebrating the incredible, awesome, special individual within each of us. It’s also a book for anyone who has ever mismatched her shoes or trimmed her own bangs when a professional might have been a better choice or added too much soap to the washer and watched it overflow.

(Not that KariAnne Wood has ever done any of these things.)

Fans of The Magnolia Story and The Pioneer Woman will love this debut memoir from the beloved Thistlewood Farms blogger. So Close to Amazing is a collection of hilarious and heartfelt reflections on getting it almost right?and how, instead of giving up, we can choose to simply embrace our real selves right where we are. It’s a story of transparency and honesty and recognizing that perfection is completely overemphasized and overrated. It’s about grace and learning from mistakes and rejoicing in every victory, no matter how small. Because when you find joy in the “you” God created you to be, you’ll discover the amazing that was there all along.

Contains beautiful DIY project ideas anyone can do, whether you’re Pinterest perfect or craft challenged—homemade signs, centerpieces, recipe walls, and more!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

KariAnne writes the decorating and lifestyle blog Thistlewood Farms from the back porch of her vintage farmhouse in the rolling hills of Kentucky. She followed God's call for her heart and jumped with her family from the busy Dallas metroplex to the middle of the country, where she lives with her husband and four children. If you turn down the winding country road to KariAnne's farmhouse, you might find her painting mismatched chairs, listening to the music of the crickets in the pasture, singing Scripture, or walking hand in hand with her knight-in-shining-armor husband as the sun sets over the river. She loves sweet tea with lime, thunderstorms, good books, milk glass, and yard sales, and she is an imperfect DIYer saved by grace.

Thistlewood Farms is full of stories of family and faith, and features hundreds of home decor projects KariAnne creates every week for readers. The blog was awarded the 2012 Country Living Blue Ribbon Blogger Award for decorating, was named one of the top ten decorating blogs by Better Homes and Gardens, and was voted one of the best DIY blogs of 2015. KariAnne has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens' Christmas Ideas, Country Living, Flea Market Décor, Country Woman, HGTV Magazine, Cottage Journal, the Chicago Tribune, Reloved Magazine, and This Old House, and on popular websites including the Today Show, Better Homes and Gardens, Country Living, Apartment Therapy, Good Housekeeping, Mediakix, Bob Vila, and BuzzFeed. KariAnne has made numerous appearances on television, including Nashville Channel 5's "Talk of the Town" and Channel 8 Dallas

MY REVIEW:

This is such a fun book! It was absolutely a joy to read and I loved each and every page!

First of all, it's a beautiful book! It's highlighted inside and out with one of my favorite colors - turquoise blue. That's just the beginning of the hints that this book is going to be something extra special. The book is just a treasure to hold and read with the thick, glossy pages.

Then when we get inside and start reading, it's really delightful! I love KariAnne's sense of humor! More than that, I love her obvious heart for God that just shines through each and every page. She's so honest in sharing her heart and her successes as well as her mistakes, it made me feel like I'm not alone in the difficult things or when I mess up. I could relate so much to KariAnne and how she felt about things or about some of the things she's been through. I loved how she was always reminding us in her book that God is there for us no matter what.

I love her fun DIY projects she shares and her little notes throughout called, "Total Asides". I really looked forward to these on the pages. Some were profound and some made me chuckle.

This has become one of my favorite books! It has a place of honor on the table next to my bed so I can read it again and again. It's an encouraging book that makes me laugh. What could be better?

I love this book and hope you'll get one for yourself. I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

*This book was provided to me for my honest review by Tyndale Publishers


Blessings - Julie