What Alice Forgot

I read What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty for book club. I thought it was a great novel for book club discussion. It is about a woman who hits her head and forgets the last 10 years of her life. She doesn't remember her 3 kids or that she is getting a divorce. Everyone in my bookclub enjoyed this book and would recommend it to a friend.

Outlander Kitchen

 I went to a book signing for the release of Outlander Kitchen: The Official Outlander Companion Cookbook. I wish they had food to sample because everything in this cookbook looks delicious. They were serving Laogharie's whiskey sour at the event. This book signing was hosted by The Poisoned Pen bookstore. If you are in the Phoenix area you should stop by. They have lots of autographed books. The Poisoned Pen is a great independent bookstore. 

4014 N Goldwater Blvd #101

Scottsdale, AZ 85251 

 Each recipes has a quote from the Outlander book that inspired the dish. This is Pheasant and Greens  at Ardsmuir- inspired from Voyager, chapter 11 "The Torremolinos Gambit" 

Outlander Kitchen is fun to read yet the recipes are doable. I found the pictures inspiring.

Voyager

 To celebrate the start of summer and our wedding anniversary, the Hubby and I took a road trip to Phoenix, AZ. I found out the weekend we were planning on going Diana Gabaldon would be doing a book signing.  

 111 degrees! 

 Got to met the incomparable Diana Gabaldon. I was so excited to met her I didn't know what to do, so I shook her hand. She revealed that she is currently writing the 9th book in the Outlander series. She also told us that season 2 DVD will be released in September. 

I liked Voyager better than Dragonfly in Amber. The ending keeps you wanting to read more.

A Window Opens

After finishing Voyager (the 3rd book in the Outlander series) I came back to a book I started reading at the beginning of 2016- A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan. This book is about a modern day woman juggling it all...A husband, kids, dog, work, friends. I really like all the pop culture references in this novel. Alice, the main character, is very likable because she loves books.

Big Little Lies

 I wanted to take an Outlander break and read some present day fiction. Big Little Lies is a page turner! The book is about school politics and what goes on in marriages behind closed doors. The story centers around an elementary school in Sydney, Australia. I enjoyed this book. I look forward to watching the movie adaptation of Big Little Lies.

Dragonfly in Amber

My Outlander obsession continues. I couldn't put this book down so I had to get it on the iPad (for reading in the dark) and in paperback (to carry whenever I have a spare moment to read). The second book wasn't as wonderful as the first but I still love the characters.

Outlander Series

 In January after reading Wildflower by Drew Barrymore I was still floundering with books. I was listening to more podcasts than reading. I came across What Should I Read Next? It's a short podcast usually 20 minutes. The concept is simple. Guest come on the show and list 3 books they love, 1 book you hate. Then the the host recommends your next books to read.

Thanks to What Should I Read Next? I came across this little doozy! 

I couldn't put this book down! It's pretty steamy. It has things that I like...Time travel, love story and history. You will fall in love with the main characters Jamie and Clarie. I am already on book 2. I haven't seen Outlander on Starz. I wanted to read the 1st book before I watched the show.

1st book of 2016... Wildflower

My life has been hectic the last 3 months of the year. I went through a real reading dry spell at the end of 2015. I started a few books and just didn't finish. 

I broke my dry spell with Drew Barrymore's Wildflower. It's a breezy autobiography...nothing terribly juicy. The chapters feel like stories she would share with you at a party in the Hollywood Hills. Drew Barrymore had a crumby childhood but all of that brought her to the happy place she is in today. She loves being a mom and I can't help but respect that.

Kitchens of the Midwest

Kitchens of the Great Midwest  is J. Ryan Stradal's first novel. The book is peppered with recipes.  I almost had to stop reading because it made me so hungry! Every chapter is a short story that adds up to a wonderful novel. Loved this book.

The Hive

Mean Girls for grown ups with British slang.

Saint Mazie

 I had a long list of books I wanted to read this summer and this book kept popping up on Must Read List of 2015. Saint Mazie is a roaring 20's good time girl with a heart of gold. This book is written as a diary of a common person who was known as the Queen of the Bowery. Mazie loves the bums, dirt and grim that make up New York City. She sits in her cage, the ticket booth at the Venice movie, watching life go by. I really liked the format of journal entries. I didn't want this book to end.

The Book of Speculation

I picked this novel merely for the cover. However the story had enough mystery to keep me reading to the last page. If you like carnival stories with tarot cards and curses you'll enjoy this book.  It reminds me of Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. 

Everest Vacation Bible School

 This year our church's VBS theme was Everest. It was fun to come up with snowy ideas during the summer heat. I did snacks again for VBS. The first day I kept it super simple with trail mix. Day 2 was a yogurt parfait. I used strawberry yogurt, crushed graham crackers and blueberries on top. It looked real messy in the cups but the kids loved it. It was also the messiest snack to clean up.

 This snack was very simple and a real crowd pleaser. 

We used cookie cutters to make quesadilla hearts and snowflakes. This was the most labor intense of all the snacks. 

This was our final snack of the week. The day before we made the cups because it is time consuming. It is a simple craft as long as you have sharpie pens and ribbon. We used an air popper to make the popcorn. It smelled so good! I put Teddy Grahams on top of the snowmen because a bear, Yeti, is the mascot for Friday. We served it with grapes on the side.

Maine a novel

Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan is about 3 generations of women. It focuses most on Mother/Daughter relationships. The reviews on the back of the book leads you to believe this novel is a comedy but really it's a sad story of 4 lonely women trying to find their place in life. The one thing that kept me reading is each woman is a circumstance of their own time. Things that were taboo in 1951 you wouldn't blink an eye at in present day. J. Courtney Sullivan is a great at interwoven storytelling however I prefer her novel The Engagements.

Harry Potter Party Decorations

 I saw on Pinterest this GREAT idea of having Harry's letter from Hogwarts shooting out of the fireplace. We made 25 envelopes. I used fishing line and lots of tape. The wax seal makes the envelopes heavy on the wire so I recommend buying strong fishing line. Hanging the letters was a little tricker than I thought. We used push pins to attach to the ceiling and tied the fishing line to the grate inside the fireplace.

I wanted to do the Sorting hat because that is one of my favorite parts in the book. I hung up these signs near the entry way. No hat needed. 

We gave each kid a wand made of a chopstick or straw to take home.

Harry Potter Party...Food and Invitations

 This year D wanted a Harry Potter party for his birthday. We based his party mostly on things that happen in the 1st book. Since all but 1 kid at the party had seen the movie we showed the movie at the end of the party.  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone came out to theaters in 2001 so I couldn't go to Party City and pick stuff up. This party was really fun to put together. It took a lot of research and Pinterest ideas.  

 I knew I wanted to mail the invites. I found free Harry Potter font to download. I wanted to use Harry Potter phrases but I knew if I went overboard our guest wouldn't know what I was saying.We attached train ticket to the invitations. I was so happy that all the kids brought their train tickets. We had a drawing using the tickets and the prizes were glass jars filled with candy. I found Harry Potter stamps at our local postoffice. I bought the wax stamp at Michaels. I didn't mind buying the stamp because I was able to use it for invites and decorations. 

This is the easiest cake I've ever made! It is the cake Hagrid brings to Harry on his 11 birthday. His cake was pink and green but we love chocolate.

Using the same font as the invites I made up labels for the food. You can get real creative and come up with crazy names, we called tortilla chips Dragon Scales. 

I printed these labels form this website I found on Pinterest. I wrote on the bottom what the actual drink is, Cactus Cooler, Root Beer and Strawberry soda.  

The Vacationers

 The Vacationers is a thoroughly modern novel by Emma Straub. It's about a New York family on vacation in Mallorca, Spain. So if you can't go on vacation this summer just google Mallorca images and you will wish you were there! Franny and Jim Post are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary and their daughter's graduation from high school. I enjoyed this book. It is really about family and the people we make our family. A great beach book.

   Jim kissed Franny on the forehead, which Sylvia and Bobby pretended not to see. All four Posts held their breath simultaneously, each wishing for the moment to last. Families were nothing more than hope cast out in a wide net, everyone wanting only the best. Even the poor souls who had children in an attempt to rescue a dying marriage were doing so out of the misguided hopefulness. Franny and Jim and Bobby and Sylvia did their silent best, and just like that, for a moment, they were all aboard the same ship. 

This isn't Mallorca but it ain't half bad either.

A Touch of Stardust

I didn't intend on reading two books in a row that take place during World War 2...I read the first chapter and I was hooked. I really enjoyed A Touch of Stardust. If you love old Hollywood you will relish this novel. It takes place during the filming of Gone With The Wind. 1939 was a BIG year for Hollywood. Along with Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith goes to Washington were all made that year. Kate Alcott's attention to detail is wonderful. The characters are likable and timeless.

At the Water's Edge

When I heard the author of Water for Elephants was coming out with a new historical fiction novel I was super excited. Sara Gruen does a lot of research and it makes her books so interesting. I had such high hopes for this book because it is set in Scotland during World War 2. Unlike Water for Elephants  I didn't root for the main characters. They were just 3 spoiled rich people sailing off to Scotland in the middle of WW2 to find the Loch Ness monster. The main character Maddie becomes likable by the middle of the book but the ending really spoiled it for me. I know it's about the Loch Ness monster but it was just to outlandish.  Blah.

DIY Bobby Pins

No Place Like Chrome

 I can't get enough of this Essie color. It is great on it's own or an accent color. You don't have to keep the color strictly to your nails. You can brighten up boring bobby pins with nail color. It's SO easy. Put the bobby pins on a piece of cardboard, paper...junk mail works great too. Then paint the pin. So easy and you feel like a crafting Queen!