Tuesday is free museum day at Balboa Park

We are already coming to the end of the 1st month in 2013. I am at a bit of a stand still. I am between books. To be honest I have no clue what to read next. I've been looking on the library website trying to find a book that I would enjoy. I have NO sewing projects! The only thing I baked this week was a Trader Joe's Brownie in a box. It was actually very good.

Gone Girl

I read Gone Girl By Gillian Flynn. It is not my typical book. I rarely read mysteries or thrillers. However Gone Girl was on a lot of Best Book of 2012 lists. This book is hard to review because I don't want to give anything away. The less you know the better. What I can write is...this is a story of Amy and Nick. Amy goes missing and it's an examination of marriage. That's about it. I wish I could write more. The only problem I had with Gone Girl is I wanted the it to wrap up faster. I couldn't wait for all the loose ends to be tied up. That is the same way I feel when I am watching an episode of Dateline or 48 hours. "Just tell me who done it, already!" That is one of the reasons I don't like Mystery books. Gone Girl is definitely one of those books you want to give to a friend and then dissect the story.

Red Velvet Cake

 This weekend was my Hubby's birthday. We celebrated at home with a yummy dinner. I baked a Red Velvet cake. I used a recipe from Cook's Country cookbook. The recipe calls for buttermilk that gives it a tender crumb. This cake really melts in your mouth.

 Make a wish 

I didn't get a good picture because it was eaten up so fast.

 Red Velvet Deliciousness 

It was to nice to stay outside today. The clouds are rolling in so I wanted to enjoy the beach before the rain and chill get here.

Downton Abbey Scones

 Dough is looking good.

 Ready for oven.

I made scones in honor of Downton Abbey season 3 airing tonight. I got the recipe from a cookbook my Sister-in-Law gave me for Christmas gift, Holiday Baking By Sara Perry. The holiday this cookbook covers are Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa and New Years. I made the Boxing Day Scones. They are very plain (D thought they were "bland") however they taste GREAT with strawberry jam.

The Chaperone

There was so much relaxing this Christmas break I was able to start and finish a book. I read The Chaperone By Laura Moriarty. This book does a great job mixing historical facts and fiction of the roaring 20's. The real story here is about the fictional chaperon, Cora, that accompanies a 15 year old Louise Brooks to New York City in the summer of 1922. There was a lot more to the story than I thought when I first picked this book up. I liked this book, I thought it was great historic fiction.

Julep January

 The thrill of mail...What's inside?

I got my January Julep Maven box in the mail today. Julep is an American nail polish company. You can sign up to become a "Julep Maven". By doing so you get nail polish by mail every month. This month the theme was neon and hair ties, last month it was glitter and an iPad case. You can choose not to get a delivery if you don't like the colors or don't have the $$. I don't get the Maven Box very often but when I do it's always my favorite mail! I love the color Bethany because it's meant to match the paint of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Last cake of 2012:Texas Sheet Cake

 Texas Sheet Cake
Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and roasted pecans on top.

For New Years Eve I made a Texas Sheet Cake from the Vintage Cakes cookbook. It turned out GREAT! So good and chocolaty! I am not sure why it is called a Texas Sheet cake but they say everything is bigger in Texas. This cake uses a lot of butter, Hershey's cocoa powder and sugar. Instead of icing a cooled cake you poor the warm frosting over the hot cake. This might be the cake I bake for every birthday in 2013...It is that good, people!