3 on Thursday ~ 4/26/12

Cole from "All the Small Stuff" and Andrea from "My Chihuahua Bites" are hosting linky that asks a fun question every Thursday.  Make sure you follow their blogs so you can get the question ahead of time and have your answers ready!

This week's topic is:

"Sometimes it's fun to envision packing up and moving to a new city/state. Where are three places that you'd consider living?"

1.  One place that I've always dreamed of visiting and would probably consider moving is:  IRELAND!  Then I could visit Heckety one of my bestest bloggy friends.  Below is a picture she took of her homeland.

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2.  If you follow my blog, you know that I would love to live on a lake someday.  Somewhere.  Just about anywhere.  Here is a picture I took of Lake Ontario when we took our Niagra Falls trip.  Other than the terrible winters they are sure to have, it would be a wonderful place to live.

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3. The third place I would consider would be out west somewhere.  Maybe, Montana.  I've seen so many beautiful pictures and I know I would LOVE to at least visit there someday.

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So what about you?  What 3 places would you consider packing up and moving to?  Please leave a comment or write a blog post and link up with Cole and Andrea.

Have a great Thursday!

WWW Wednesday ~ 4/25/12

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?


(FYI, click on the book for a link to amazon)


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• What are you currently reading?

I fininished read my last book, late last night.  So this morning I decided that my next read will be "Death By Darjeeling", Book 1 in the Tea Shop Mystery series.  I saw this somewhere and was intrigued by the tea shop theme so I ordered Book 1 to see if I like it and want to order any more of the series.  I'll let you know what I think :)

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• What did you recently finish reading?

Book #1:

"The Lucky One"

Author:  Nicholas Sparks

Rating: 4/5 (I think this might actually be one of those books where the movie is better than the book.  I least I hope so.  I can't wait to go see it!)

In his 14th book, bestselling author Nicholas Sparks tells the unforgettable story of a man whose brushes with death lead him to the love of his life. — After U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman buried in the dirt during his tour of duty in Iraq, he experiences a sudden streak of luck -- winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph -- his lucky charm.


Back home in Colorado, Thibault can't seem to get the woman in the photograph out of his mind and he sets out on a journey across the country to find her. But Thibault is caught off guard by the strong attraction he feels for the woman he encounters in North Carolina - Elizabeth, a divorced mother -- and he keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate love affair, his secret soon threatens to tear them apart -- destroying not only their love, but also their lives.

Filled with tender romance and terrific suspense, THE LUCKY ONE is an unforgettable story about the surprising paths our lives often take and the power of fate to guide us to true and everlasting love.

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Book #2:

"Always the Baker Never the Bride"  Emma Rae Creations Book 1

Author: Sandra D. Bricker

Rating: 4/5 (I really enjoyed this book.  Especially the recipes and baking tips.)

Thirty-six-year-old Emma Rae Travis has been baking specialty cakes and melt-in-your-mouth pastries at The Backstreet Bakery in historic Roswell, just outside of Atlanta, for the last six years. But here's the rub about her job as a baker: Emma is diabetic. When she tastes her creations, it can only be in the most minute portions. Emma is considered an artisan for the stunning creme brulee wedding cake that won her the Passionate Palette Award last year, but she's never even had one full slice of it.
When Jackson Drake hears about this local baker who has won a prestigious award for her wedding cake artistry, he tells his assistant to be sure and include her in the pastry tastings scheduled at his new wedding destination hotel the following week. And for Jackson, that particular day has started out badly with two workmen trapped in a broken elevator and a delivery of several dozen 300-thread-count bed linens in the wrong size abandoned in the lobby. But when the arrogant baker he met a week prior in Roswell stumbles into the dining room with a platter of pastries and a bucketful of orders, he knows for certain: It's going to be a really rotten day.


Can these two ill-suited players master the high-wire act and make a go of their new business venture? Or will they take each other crashing downward, without a net? And will the surprise wedding at The Tanglewood be theirs? 

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 Book #3:

"Always the Wedding Planner Never the Bride"  Emma Rae Creations Book 2
Author:  Sandra D. Bricker
Rating:  3/5 (I was really let down by the 2nd book of this series.  I just couldn't get into it :(  )

As a wedding planner, Sherilyn Caine should have the perfect wedding experience...

After all, she just landed her dream job at the wedding destination hotel, The Tanglewood. The rest should be a piece of cake for Sherilyn's Type A personality.

But while everything else goes smoothly, her own wedding plans start to sink right before her eyes. One way or the other, Sherilyn is determined to make this wedding work—until the latest development threatens to call the whole thing off. Is it possible that Sherilyn is allergic to her fiancé?

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Book #4:

"Rugged & Relentless" Husband for Hire Book 1

Author:  Kelly Eileen Hake

Rating:  5/5 (I really liked this book.  Funny, romantic, adventurous.  I'm looking forward to book #2. )

When three landowning women put an ad in the paper expressing their desire for healthy, hard-working husbands-for-hire to help them set up and run a sawmill, they never dreamed their tiny town would be overflowing with proposals from bachelors who responded promptly...and in person! Out of this logjam of potential suitors, which one will Evelyn Thompson choose? Jacob Grainger trails his brother's murderer to Hopesfall where, to keep his true intentions secret, Jacob pretends to court Miss Evelyn Thompson.

Will this lumberjack-turned-bounty-hunter find himself falling for the enterprising female?

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• What do you think you’ll read next?

I'm just starting "Death by Darjeeling" but I'm pretty sure my next read will be "LFYI Camelot Tennessee".  I just got it in the mail from Paperbackswap.com on Monday and look forward to reading it.

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Have a great Wednesday!

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday ~ Peanut Butter & Jelly Crescents

This recipe is seriously so simple but these things will fly off the table.  I'm telling you to watch out for your fingers.

I make these crescents for church events a good bit and they are always gone within minutes.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Crescents

Refrigerated Crescent Rolls (however many you are making)
Peanut Butter (creamy or chunky)
Jelly (your favorite kind)

Heat your oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with Parchment Paper.  You can find it at the grocery store.  It is a life-saver.  I use it with all my cookie baking, etc.

Roll out a crescent and apply a generous amount of peanut butter to the widest end.  Approx. 1 Tablespoon.  Add a dollop of jelly on top the peanut butter.  Approx. 1 teaspoon.

Roll the crescent starting with the widest end and tuck under the edge.

Place the rolled crescent on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Repeat for the number of crescents you are making.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Let sit on the stove for 1 minute.

Remove crescents to a wire rack to finish cooling.  (If they make it that far!)

These are REALLY delicious right out of the oven while warm.  They will be disappearing as soon as you turn your back.  At least they do in my house.

Please let me know if you try these.  I'd love to hear what you think :)

 

Have a great Tuesday!

 

Teaser Tuesdays ~ 4/24/12

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title &; author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser for this week:

 

~"But she needed to breathe, after all, and her corset couldn't truly control her overly exuberant curves.  She had what she privately referred to as an ongoing case of the "sqwudgies", a terrible affliction of squooshy pudginess no man-made device could cure."~

"Rugged & Relentless" Husbands for Hire Book 1

by Kelly Eileen Hake

page 24-25

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Happy Teaser Tuesday!

Mamarazzi's Favorite Color Swap !

 

I'm in!  I've never participated in one of Mamarazzi's swaps before but I got accepted to fill one of the "newbie" spots!

The swap is all about your partner's favorite color.

I should know who my partner is by the end of the week and then time to go shopping!


My favorite color is the aquamarine/teally color of thewaterin this picture:

Thanks for hosting, Mamarazzi!

Monday Listicles ~ Books I Grew Up On

This is my very first time to join Stasha at The Good Life for Monday Listicles.  I am so excited about finding this really fun Monday linkup.

This week's promt is:  10 Books.  It could be interpreted any way desired.  I decided to go with:

10 Books I Grew Up Reading:

1.  Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer

2.  Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott

3.  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

4.  Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin

5.  Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

6.  The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

7.  Winter Pony by Jean Slaughter Doty

8.  The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

9.  Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

10.  Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

I had so much fun thinking back about these books and even called my Mom to look on my bookshelf in my room at "home".  There were a couple I had completely forgotten about.

What a trip down memory lane...

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Next week's Listicle is a choice of either:

#1 – list 10 things you really like about yourself, things you are good at, your super powers!

Or

#2 – You have 48 hours free of all responsibilities and unlimited cash, what 10 things would you do, places you’d go, etc.
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Have fun!

Flip Flop Swap Reveal!!!

The lovely Cole, from All The Small Stuff hosted this super fun swap and also just happened to be my SWAP PARTNER!!!!  Yay!

I had so much fun shopping for Cole and really hope she liked her surprises.  Laken helped me shop.  She is a shopping fanatic and she's only 5.  It took a while for her to understand that we weren't shopping for US.  She saw lots of cute flip flops that she thought she needed.

But, anyhoo, today is the big Flip Flop Swap Reveal.

I was so excited to see a package from Cole in my mailbox but I patiently waited until I got home to open it.

Without further ado, here are my lovelies:

Super cute doggy card.  I love cards with animals especially dogs and kitties:

This mani/pedi kit just cracks me up!  All the tools fit down inside the boot:

The jeweled details are really pretty:

Here is a picture of me wearing my new flipper floppers with my green toenails (OPI:  Cuckoo for this Color):

A side angle shot.  Yeah, I have me some chubby feet but they serve me well:

Seriously, this swap was so much fun to participate in.

Thank you, Cole, for being my swap partner and also for hosting such a great swap!  I can't wait for the next one!

Merry Monday, Everyone!

Menu Monday ~ 4/23/12

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  I know we did.

Last week's menu held some new recipes for me to try out and they were delicious.  I have a few more keepers to add to our meals.

Here's what this week looks like for us:

Monday:

Weiner Winks
Easy Oven Fries
Corn
Oranges

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Tuesday:

Chicken & Rice
Broccoli
Apples


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Wednesday:

(Church Fellowship Meal /Prayer meeting)

Stuffed Shells

Oreo Pudding Cake

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Thursday:

(family night)

Homemade Pizza
Apples w/ Peanut Butter

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Friday:

Eating Out

(yeah, baby!)

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Saturday:

Pancakes
Bacon
Eggs
Strawberries

Game Night:  Apple Nachos

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Sunday:

(Church Fellowship Meal)

Cheesy Pepperoni Ravioli Bake
Chai Tea Bread

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Lots of new dishes and desserts to try this week.  I can't wait!

Have a great Monday!