When life gets hectic, my hobbies, the things that keep me sane, are always the first thing to go. It doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, letting go of the things that calm you during a time when you need them more than ever, but it's a practice that many of us seem to do. 

If you take a scroll through my recent posts, you probably have a pretty good idea which hobby I let slide while we've been busy settling into LA. Yup, if you guessed reading, you would be correct (If you guessed wine, well then, you really don't know me, because I'd NEVER give that up! Ever!). So much for all my envisionments of reading at the beach...

But things have sort of somewhat (not really, who am I kidding?!) begun to settle down, so I've begun picking the books back up. On the reading list this month- a mystery a la Big Little Lies, a business book from one of my biggest entrepreneurial inspirations and a new (to me) cookbook from one of our favorite LA restaurants (Thanks to my Mom, who gifted it to me for Christmas!).

What's on your reading list for March?

Gjelina Cookbook //

My excitement for this book is on a whole other level! Not only is it one of my favorite restaurants in LA, the aesthetics are right up my alley. I'll be pouring over the recipes and gorgeous photography for inspo, and I will also 100% be re-creating that mushroom toast up there (aka one of my fave things on their menu).

VERDICT: While these are dishes that are probably much easier to go order then they are to whip up on any given weeknight, the simple and beautiful food photos, beachy vibes and just the fact that this is from one of my favorite restaurants is enough to make me more than happy to have this cookbook added to my collection.

Not that I could tell //

A group of women and wine, sounds innocent enough, but it quickly turns into a mystery that has everyone in a small town questioning whether or not they really know their neighbors. I loved Big Little Lies so much, and, since this has a very similar sounding feel to it, I couldn't be more excited to dive in.

VERDICT: This was a very quick read (it only took a couple of nights for me to get through). However, I wasn't overly impressed. It ended up being a rather predictable story, so while I wanted to rush to find out the ending, I was disappointed that the "plot twist" wasn't all that much of a "twist". I also found myself skimming over whole paragraphs, pages and even a chapter or two as they just seemed unnecessarily wordy with details and sentences that didn't really matter or add value to the story. If you're looking for something quick and mindless, give it go, otherwise I'd skip it in favor of something else.

Crushing it! //

While I love my fair share of business and self-help books, I very rarely purchase them, opting to check them out of the library instead. However, I knew I had to make an exception for the latest book from my business entrepreneur role-model, Gary Vaynerchuck. It's all about about building a personal brand and crushing it in today's world of business, along with tons of examples of people who are crushing it in their own lives. As Dave and I look to "crush it" on all other level with the business this year, I know this book is well worth the purchase.

VERDICT:  Per usual, Gary continues to, quite literally, crush it. In full transparency, we haven't had time to finish this book yet, but what we have read, has been really helpful and motivating, and has inspired us to either think of things from a different perspective,  opened our eyes to solutions for business issues that have been plaguing us, and really just gotten the juices flowing on new and exciting ideas. We can't wait to finish this book, and, if you're an entrepreneur, or a wanna-preneur, definitely give it a read.