Read an excerpt from the first chapter of Abbi Waxman’s new suburban satire, Other People’s Houses, which unravels the hilarious havoc an affair wreaks on an upper-middle-class LA neighborhood.

Looking for a fun read to sink your teeth into?

Abbi Waxman, the author of The Garden of Small Beginnings, has a new book coming out tomorrow and it sounds like Lianne Moriarty-level juiciness!

Other People’s Houses is a hilarious new novel about a suburban neighborhood and the affair that unravels their community.

Told through the perspectives of four families, the novel shows how the affair exposes all sorts of insecurities and strife within an upper-middle-class LA neighborhood. So far, it’s gotten some rave reviews with PopSugar calling it “A smart, thoughtful look at marriage and suburbia” and Booklist saying that “Once again, [Waxman] manages to take a far-reaching topic and sprinkle it with spicy dialogue, adorable kids, and characters who feel like best friends. . . Recommend to those who like to turn pages quickly without sacrificing complex characters.”

Possibly the most attention-grabbing review for me though came from Kirkus: “Charming yet provocative. . . . This is a voyeuristic (in a nice way) and humorous trip through what is usually hidden behind closed doors. Waxman is a master at purveying the wry humor that rides just below the surface of even the tough times.”

Sign. me. up.

I’m super excited to be able to give you a sneak peek at an excerpt from the first chapter of Other People’s Houses! Check it out below.

No, I’m not pregnant.

I am, however, a big fan of babies. I am completely incapable of resisting their soft tufts of hair, delicious wrist rolls and tiny, bird-like mouths. I’m no fool though. I also remember the long, sleepless nights, desperately trying to translate cries and nipples that felt like they were about to fall off.

New mamahood is the strangest mixture of pure bliss and torture. One minute your heart seems to have expanded into your throat. You are so filled with love and gratitude that you might actually burst. The next minute, you’re almost positive that if you don’t get five minutes of sleep you are going to completely lose your shit.

As I transition into a brand new stage of motherhood—my tween starts middle school in a couple of weeks—I wanted to give a little love to the new moms out there. The mommas who can’t see passed the mountain of dirty diapers to a time when life feels manageable again. Whether that’s you or you have a friend or family member in the throes of new parenthood (or some about to find themselves there), this giveaway is one you don’t want to miss.

Cuddles & Chaos’ ridiculously awesome Big, Fat Baby Giveaway

Before I tell you how you can enter, let’s take a look at the four awesome companies that are making this giveaway happen…

The New York Baby Show is back for the 7th year this May! On May 20th and 21st, the biggest show for new and expectant parents in the country is taking place on Pier 94 in NYC.

With so much information out there about what new parents should and shouldn’t do, The New York Baby Show is an incredible place to:

• check out top brands for yourself
• listen to fabulous guest speakers
• attend seminars
• enter big giveaways

Top baby brands attending include:

Tula, Babyganics, Bugaboo, 4Moms, Stokke, Project Nursery, UPPAbaby and so many more.

New York Baby Show guest speakers include:

Jamie Grayson (aka The Baby Guy) is the show’s keynote speaker. Hugely popular on Facebook, Jamie is a straight talking baby gear expert who will make you laugh while educating you at the same time. Also speaking is Dr. Harvey Karp, a pediatrician and child development expert who is the creator and author of the books and DVDs series “The Happiest Baby On The Block” and “The Happiest Toddler on the Block.”

Minted provided me with free product for review. All opinions are mine.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I was gushing about Minted’s insanely beautiful cards and invitations? Well, I got my holiday photo cards and they are super cute!

I won’t lie to you. It took me an extraordinary amount of time to narrow down my top picks before I settled on this cheeky design. It just seemed to fit the photo (and the girls) so well. One thing that made the ordering process infinitely easier was Minted’s cool find it fast option, which lets you upload your photo so that you can see it on every card design. Doing it that way made it much easier for me to weed out designs that wouldn’t work with my photo because of layout or text placement. If only it could also help me conquer my indecisiveness. 😉

My husband is one of the trickiest people to shop for. Yes, I live with him. Yes, I know what he likes. But he doesn’t really need anything—and there are only so many kitchen gadgets you can get a guy who loves to cook before it gets old. Enter the RawSpiceBar monthly Flavor Kit, which includes unique freshly-ground spice blends and recipe ideas delivered to your loved one’s mailbox every month. Think spices like German Gingerbread, Indo-French Vadouvan and Peppercorn Chai. It’s an adventurous chef’s dream!