I have a thing for books lately. And while The Body Shop is written by a man and is a memoir to his college and young adult years as a bodybuilder-turned-party-boy, the book nevertheless sounds very exciting and interesting, and I can’t wait to dive in:

As a scrawny college freshman in the mid-1970s, just before Arnold Schwarzenegger became a hero to boys everywhere and Pumping Iron became a cult hit, Paul Solotaroff discovered weights and steroids. In a matter of months, he grew from a dorky beanpole into a hulking behemoth, showing off his rock hard muscles first on the streets of New York City and then alongside his colorful gym-rat friends in strip clubs and in the homes of the gotham elite. It was a swinging time, when “Would you like to dance?” turned into “Your place or mine?” and the guys with the muscles had all the ladies–until their bodies, like Solotaroff”s, completely shut down.

But this isn’t the gloom-and-doom addiction one might expect–Solotaroff looks back at even his lowest points with a wicked sense of humor, and he sends up the disco era and its excess with all the kaleidoscopic detail of Boogie Nights or Saturday Night Fever.

Written with candor and sarcasm, THE BODY SHOP is a memoir with all the elements of great fiction and dazzlingly displays Paul Solotaroff’s celebrated writing talent.

The I hate to Cook Book is a book written by an author that’s after my own heart. You see, I hate to cook. I’d rather clean a bathroom, write five thousand words on baby shower favors, scoop cat litter or do several loads of laundry than cook a full meal. I’m not ashamed to tell people, either. I freely tell people that I hate to cook, and that I only do it out of necessity. When I can, I ask my mom to cook, usually by bribing her with the offer to buy the food and clean up after the meal so long as she’ll actually work her cooking magic. My friend, who loves to cook, often volunteers as well, which is always a nice break.

So when the chance to review the 50th anniversary edition of The I Hate to Cook Book, written by Peg Bracken’s daughter, Jo Bracken, I said heck yes!

The author of the book, Peg Bracken, is a lot like me — she didn’t like to cook, either. So she put together a book that both commiserates with women of our ilk and provides us with easy go-to recipes that work without a lot of muss or fuss.

Description:

“There are two kinds of people in this world: the ones who don’t cook out of and have NEVER cooked out of THE I HATE TO COOK BOOK, and the other kind…The I HATE TO COOK people consist mainly of those who find other things more interesting and less fattening, and so they do it as seldom as possible. Today there is an Annual Culinary Olympics, with hundreds of cooks from many countries ardently competing. But we who hate to cook have had our own Olympics for years, seeing who can get out of the kitchen the fastest and stay out the longest.”

- Peg Bracken

Philosopher’s Chowder. Skinny Meatloaf. Fat Man’s Shrimp. Immediate Fudge Cake. These are just a few of the beloved recipes from Peg Bracken’s classic I HATE TO COOK BOOK. Written in a time when women were expected to have full, delicious meals on the table for their families every night, Peg Bracken offered women who didn’t revel in this obligation an alternative: quick, simple meals that took minimal effort but would still satisfy.

50 years later, times have certainly changed – but the appeal of THE I HATE TO COOK BOOK hasn’t.

This book is for everyone, men and women alike, who wants to get from cooking hour to cocktail hour in as little time as possible.

Needless to say, I am really enjoying this book so far. I can’t wait to start making some of the recipes that are featured in it!

Knit-Rite was brilliant in coming out with SmartKnitKIDS Socks, which are seamless socks that lack the typical seams, lumps, bumps, heel and ankle elastic areas that regular socks have. For children with sensory issues — such as my autistic son, who will routinely go through 4 to 10 or more pairs of socks a day if not watched closely — socks that are perfectly seamless and hug the feet rather than binding to them in irritating ways are a godsend.

I was sent three pairs of SmartKnitKIDS Seamless Socks to try out with my children: two pairs of white, and one pair of purple (for Alyssa, who loves purple). The socks feel thin yet very well made, and they’re oh-so-soft — so soft that I wish I had a pair for myself! True to the website’s word, there are no seams of any type, and the tiny bit of seam and cuff that is on the top of the sock is on the outside, so again, there is no pressure or irritation to worry about.

Since we have been going to the pool a lot, we haven’t had the chance to fully try out SmartKnitKIDS Seamless Socks, but you better believe they’re going to get a workout this coming week, as my son’s specialized preschool starts back up, and both kids will be attending a vacation bible school in the evenings.

California Tea House specializes in loose leaf tea blends that come from all over the world. The tea store is family-owned, and is based in California, though they’ve expanded far beyond the local farmer’s markets to reach out to the world with their online tea store.

The loose teas that California Tea House carries vary from your basic green teas to the fancier blends and herbal varieties that are often found in one-of-a-kind shops and cafes. California Tea House’s website allows you to browse through their selection of loose leaf tea by color (black, white, green) as well as style (blooming, oolong, rooibo, blends, herbals, and decaf), and with each tea’s product page offering both photos and very detailed descriptions, it’s easy to pick out teas that cater to your tastes and moods.

California Tea House sent us the following teas to try:

• Vanilla Creme Earl Gray
• Yunnan Golden Buds
• White Peony
• Lapsang Souchong
• Endless Summer Blooming Tea

Both my husband and I are looking forward to testing out all of these teas, and sharing them with family and friends in order to get their opinions as well!

The Disappearing Spoon is a book I just had to have, both for myself and for my husband, so when the chance to review it was waved in front of me, I lunged for it. I’m not a chemical enthusiast or even into science, but the description of Sam Kean’s The Disappearing Spoon was too enticing to pass up:

The Periodic Table is one of man’s crowning scientific achievements. But it’s also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.

We learn that Marie Curie used to provoke jealousy in colleagues’ wives when she’d invite them into closets to see her glow-in-the-dark experiments. And that Lewis and Clark swallowed mercury capsules across the country and their campsites are still detectable by the poison in the ground. Why did Gandhi hate iodine? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium? And why did tellurium lead to the most bizarre gold rush in history?

From the Big Bang to the end of time, it’s all in THE DISAPPEARING SPOON.

Also, my husband is most definitely into science and a total science enthusiast, so I knew the book would be perfect for him. And it was! He, who normally reads a book once every few months, buzzed through the book in a matter of days. In fact, I think he had read it from cover to cover in under forty-eight hours. As for me, I’m only three chapters in, but I also have only a basic grasp of science and the elements, so it’s taking my brain a bit longer to process all of the information. However, so far The Disappearing Spoon is proving to be a very good read. I hope to check back next week and update with a full review!

Psst… accompanying the full review will be a GIVEAWAY that will offer two winners their very own copy of The Disappearing Spoon, so be sure to keep up with In My Bag!

Surprise, surprise, Jenn’s on the hunt for another mascara. I saw Rimmel Volume Flash Mousse Mascara marked down to just $2.78 at Target the other day, so I snatched it up and decided to give it a whirl. I’ve used it a few times, but I’ve always had some stuck-on waterproof mascara on beforehand, so I haven’t yet really gotten the opportunity to try it out and see what it alone can do.

Anyway, I don’t have any pool plans for the next few days (Rimmel Volume Flash Mousse Mascara isn’t waterproof), so I’m going to be testing this stuff out. So far, so good: it looks nice and thick, applies nicely and cleanly, and is a nice, vibrant, rich black. It’s nice and plump, and that’s a good plump, not a bad plump as in so plump there’s a need for diet pills that work. It’s just… plump. And thick. But the formula seems very lightweight, yet thick at the same time. I know, that sounds like a complete contradiction. Just take my word — and upcoming photos — for it.

The bright orange and bold black styling of the Rockaholic Livin’ the Dream Sulfate-free Shampoo and Rockaholic Livin’ the Dream Daily Conditioner, I couldn’t resist. Both are made by TIGI, which makes Bed Head products, which I am already familiar with. The stuff smelled great, so I snapped up one bottle of each. Then I was sitting here whiffing it like a candle or incense when I read looking up info on Clinicallix reviews.

I have used Rockaholic Livin’ the Dream Shampoo and Conditioner a few times now, but not enough to really get a good opinion of it. I’ll update once I get the chance to really try it out and form an opinion!