A Grandma's spin on crafts, games, recipes & lifestyle

Month: April 2025

Photo Keepsakes with Chatbooks

I am willing to bet that 99% of the people that are reading this blog post have a TON of photos stored on their phone right now!  Do you find yourself making promises such as, “I am going to get these organized one day?”  I am so guilty of this!  I LOVE pictures so why don’t I take the time to organize them…well I have gotten started creating photo keepsakes with Chatbooks and am LOVING it!

Scrapbooking is a definite love of mine, but I tend to have a hard time keeping up with it.  I will still scrapbook from time to time because I just personlly enjoy it.  However, since I am not good at printing pictures out as often as I should, the ease of creating memory books without printing is a game changer!

“Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is.” — Anonymous

How Does Chatbooks Work? ~

It is amazing how easy it is to put a book together.  Decide what pictures you want to put in a book and upload them to the app.  I decided to set mine up on a monthly basis.  It took a little bit of time, but I created folders on my phone for every month in a given year.  With this method, I am able to name each book on the binding with the month and year.  You, of course, can decide how you want to arrange yours.

Here are some ideas of how you may want to organize your books:

  • Make a book for each child’s birthday.
  • Create a book for each trip you take.
  • Have one done for each child each year.  What a fun way to see how they grow from year to year!
  • Gift one to the grandparents
  • Put together a bunch of images of your child and their friends.  They can then gift the book to them as a present for a unique gift idea!
  • Organize them by months within each year.
  • Add pictures of their artwork throughout the year to keep as great memories!
  • Put a beautiful wedding book together to give as a post wedding present.

The ideas are endless.  Deciding the layout you want may possibly be the most time consuming part of the process.

Chatbooks Monthly Subscription ~

My daughter, Karleigh, decided on doing a monthly subscription for the birth of her baby (our super cute little grandson! ❤️).  This is a fantastic idea to organize their growth through the first year of their life.  Of course, even better to keep up with it every year!

Choosing how you want to label each book on the binding is also a plus.  As you can see below, she chose to print the name, month and year of each of her books.  Don’t you just love how they are fun to look at and also decorate with?

Of course, you don’t have to do the monthly subscription but it does help you to stay more on top of getting it done!  Those months slip by so quickly!  You will have the option of doing monthly subscription, series subscription or ordering as you wish at any time.

What I Love About Chatbooks ~

DISCLOSURE: This site contains product affiliate links for Amazon and other companies. We may receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links.  Thank you for supporting my small business!

Use this link to check out the numerous Chatbook options!

The ease of putting your photo books together is a definite plus.  Also, the fact that they have “Toddler Insurance” is wonderful for when your toddlers love the chatbook too much.  I’m sure you are saying to yourself right now, “Why would I  buy insurance for a book?”  ha ha!  There is no extra cost…it’s more of a guarantee that they will replace a book if damaged if it is within the first year of original printing.

Will the kids love them that much….a definite yes!  Believe me, they will LOVE looking at them all of the time.  My grandkids enjoy looking through mine almost every time they are at our house.

I also love that they have a wide range of prices but no matter which style of book you choose…they are all good quality!  Another perk is the fun blog that they offer on their website.  It is filled with family advice, DIY ideas for adults and kids, travel and photography tips.

Classic Photo Books ~

This is the option that I choose to use.  You will have the option of adding a designer cover or choose on of your photos in the book as your cover.  As you can see from the crazy fun pics of my grandkids with a toilet in the field, I opt for a picture on the front.

Once all of your pictures are added you have the option to preview it and rearrange the pictures as you desire.  It’s truly just a super easy process and I get excited to add new ones to our collection!

“A good life is a collection of happy memories.” ~ Denis Waitley

Definitely the gift that keeps on giving!

Well, what are you waiting for????  Gather up those pictures and get your picture keepsakes started!

Happy Photobooking ~

Mimi

Love, Mom ~ A Book Review

This girls loves a good psychological thriller…and author, Iliana Xander, certainly delivered!  I had not heard of this author before discovering this book that had me hooked from beginning to end.  Of course, I had to research Iliana only to discover that there are currently two books published….I just LOVE finding a new author….don’t you?  Let’s dive into Love, Mom ~ A Book Review with study questions too if you are going to read for a book club!

DISCLOSURE: This site contains product affiliate links for Amazon and other companies. We may receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links.  Thank you for supporting my small business!

Love, Mom: A fast-paced psychological thriller with several twists
$2.99


Buy Now
This site contains product affiliate links for Amazon and other companies. I may receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links. Thank you for supporting my small business!
12/18/2025 11:03 am GMT

CHARACTERS IN “LOVE, MOM” ~

  • Mackenzie Casper – protagonist
  • Elizabeth (Lizzie) Casper – author and mom to Mackenzie
  • Ben Casper – wife to Elizabeth and father to Mackenzie
  • Evelyn Casper – grandmother of Mackenzie
  • Laima Roth – Elizabeth’s agent
  • EJ – Mackenzie’s best friend
  • Professor Robertson –  instructor
  • Tonya Shaffer – resident in group home with Elizabeth
  • Monica – EJ’s ex-girlfriend
  • Minna – maid to the Casper family
  • Dr. Pecora – Elizabeth’s therapist
  • Mrs. Cavendish – elderly lady cared for by Tonya
  • Grunger – super of Elizabeth’s building in earlier years
  • Dianne Jacobsen – housekeeper at group home
  • Garret – Ben’s friend
  • John Robertson – worked at coffee shop
  • Detective Jiminez – detective

A QUICK NOTE OF DISCOVERY ~

I love to include most to all of the characters in my review in hopes that it helps you, my reader, to refer back to at any time you are in question of particular names.  I feel this is helpful while reading (if there are a lot of characters) and also it serves as a great reference during book club discussions.  Interestingly enough, this is the first time in doing this that as I listed all of the characters I found most of them to relate to Elizabeth Casper, instead of the protagonist.  Just a thought I wanted to share.

PLOT ~

Mackenzie’s mom, Elizabeth (Lizzy), dies in a questionable accident.  She struggles to understand why she can’t feel like she is adquately mounring the loss of her mother.  She’s always had somewhat of a distant relationship with her…but it’s her mom…and she just died!  Shouldn’t she be feeling more pain about this loss?

Not long after her death, Mackenzie starts receiving letters in an envelope labeled From #1 fan  XOXO.  Each is signed Love, Mom.  While she (along with us readers) is very anxious to figure out who is hand delivering these letters, she is also enjoying getting to know her mom better through them.  These letters are actually from her mother’s journal, many written from when her mother was pregnant with her.

As Mackenzie, alongside her friend EJ, dives further into her mother’s past, they both start realizing that Lizzy’s first #1 Best Seller Lies, Lies & Revenge is actually written about her own life.  Deep family secrets emerge that Mackenzie was never aware of.  Secrets starting from the group home, Keller Foster Care, and moving on through the years from there.  As stated in the book, “Sometimes to understand your present, you have to look into the past.”  Buckle up my friends….it’s going to be a fun ride!

Check out this unique gift idea from TheHeartFilledHome for all of your favorite readers!  What an absolutely unique and clever idea by TheHeartFilledHome!

CONCLUSION ~

While there were some slow spots in this book, I very much enjoyed all of the twists and turns along the way.  Just when you thought you read the last twist, along came another one.  I enjoyed the relationships formed and also felt anger at the ones that were plain evil.  Each person introduced had a well formed relationship to the overall story.  Author, Iliana Xander, has another book, “Man of the Year,” which I am looking forward to reading as well when it comes out June 2025!  You can preorder with the link below:

Man of the Year: A gripping psychological thriller packed with twists
$3.99


Buy Now
This site contains product affiliate links for Amazon and other companies. I may receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links. Thank you for supporting my small business!
12/18/2025 05:01 am GMT

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ~

(Warning:  Spoilers in the following questions)

  1. Lizzy Casper, famous autor, slips and hit her head on a rock, killing her.  Did you find this plausible or did you question it from the beginning?
  2. What are your feelings on Ben Casper, husband?  Is he to be trusted?
  3. Someone desecrated one of Lizzy Caspers photos, was this a publicity stunt by the PR firm or is it someone that was stalking her?
  4. What were your first thoughts about who was hand delivering the mysterious letters?
  5. Did your opinion change regarding question #4 as you got deeper into the book?
  6. Have you “idolized” what you thought was a perfect family at any time in your life only to find out later they were very dysfunctional as the Casper family turned out to be?
  7. Mackenzie was brutally hurt by 3 boys.  Should she retaliate?  Did she retaliate?
  8. She receives a note saying “I know what you did to those 3 boys in the barn?  How do you think you would have reacted to the letter….challenged the person regarding what they knew or try to sweep it under the rug?
  9. In Letter #4 it states, “Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to kill my boyfriend like I do in my books?”  Did you believe or not believe she had actually performed this act when you first read it?
  10. Do you think a large percentage of fictional stories stem from real life events or no?
  11. Has there ever been a book that resonated strongly with you that you wondered if it had actually stemmed from a real life event?  Which book was it?
  12. Did you think we would meet Tonya’s baby that was given up for adoption at any point in the book?  Was there a specific character you believed might be him if you did think so?
  13. This story had several good twists.  Which one were you most surprised by?  Which one did you guess early on?
  14. What were your thoughts on Tonya early on in the book?  Did those thoughts change after finishing?
  15. When Ben Casper first runs into Professor Robertson later in the book, did you suspect anything at that moment?
  16. An entry was written, “You know what’s worse than murder?  Burying someone alive.”  What are your thoughts on how this took place in Love, Mom by Iliana Xander?
  17. The final letter….OMG!  Did you expect this?  (Let me refresh your memory…”Maybe, just maybe, and please forgive me for this my beautiful girl, but maybe Ben has nothing to do with you at all.  Love, Mom

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.  As always, I would love for you to drop your thoughts in the comments below.  A good book discussion is always enjoyed!

Happy reading my friends ~

Mimi