Paper Piecing BOM 2014....

Jennifer from Sewhooked (also from Talk To Me Tuesday videos, which I have not done one in quite awhile) is having a block of the month for vintage paper piecing pattern. I can't wait to start! The pattern will be available monthly on craftsy.

Whats On Your Plate This Week? 12/16/2013

This week I wanted to make several new items, especially since I have plenty of time to cook. Here is the menu for this upcoming week (I might not make all of the main dishes if we have quite a bit of leftovers):

Main Dishes

• Macaroni with pesto sauce
• BBQ Pork Sandwiches with Garlicky Fries
• Marinated Teriyaki Chicken with Succotash and rolls
• Indian-Spiced Chicken with roasted vegetables and rolls
• Sage Sausage Hash
• Potato Rosemary Pizza

Desserts:

• Hazelnut Cookies
• Apple Tart

So what are your plans for meals this week? Share with us below with Mr. Linky.

A Talent For Trouble Review....

I received a copy of this book for free, for my honest review from Bethany House Publishers. I had never read anything by Jen Turano before. A Talent for Trouble takes place in the late 19th century in New York, and focuses on Felicia a wealthy woman who believes she is in love and heartbroken. Her mother and friends try to have Grayson, an aristocract from England who has forgone his title, to cheer her up. Trouble always seems to follow them along the way though.

My Thoughts: Overall, I liked this book, even though a few events were a little predictable. Parts of the book with Felicia's shenanigan's were hilarious, especially with the "investigating" a business. I don't want to give out any spoilers. I did find it hard to believe though, that Felicia wouldn't have been more chaperoned considering she was the only daughter of a wealthy family. Her brothers weren't in the book that much, which I figured that they would have been in Felicia's life more. I almost forgot she had a father, as he was always gone in the book until the very end, so never privy to anything going on, which seemed weird to me. Throughout the book we learn that Grayson isn't as polished as people would believe, as he has some dark secrets unknown to people. However, I felt that the secrets were always in the background, and I forgot about them until towards the very end of the book. All, of the secrets that came out, even unbeknownst to Grayson, I was not expecting in the least. I did think the ending was rushed though, especially for all of that information to come out at once. I would read another book by this author.

Rating: 3.00 out of 5

Whats On Your Plate This Week 12/09/2013

I know that I got a little bit behind in posting last week, but we mainly just had leftovers.

Previous Weeks:

Turkey Day

Of course I went all out for Turkey Day, but it was pretty simple since I cooked our turkey breast in the slow cooker. I have used the same recipe for quite awhile in just cut all of the ingredients in half (see previous post for the link). I made smashed sweet potatoes, and just put in a little bit of butter and brown sugar, just enough for a little extra sweet taste but not overpowering. I made the veggie herb dish (I froze the leftovers for a meal later on), which is just cut up vegetables with a little bit of olive oil and quite a bit of basil. Of course I always have to include rolls with a Turkey dinner. I also made a cheesecake type brownie dessert. Everything came out good, except we were disappointed in the dessert.

Past Week:

This past week we had leftovers of soups, sandwiches, etc., so nothing that I really made from scratch except for the Roasted Red Bell Pepper Basil Soup (which I have previously made and shown on other posts). This time though I added some mozzarella cheese to it, and it made the soup even better. The soup is better after allowing it to marinade for several hours or until the next day. It has much more of a roasted red pepper taste to it. 

This Week:

This week our meals will be easy and quick to make, as it will be a hectic week. Plus, with the weather who knows if the electricity will go out (which happened yesterday for several hours, and then went off and on), and I don't want to be cooking a huge meal if that occurs. We have quite a bit of leftovers from the roasted red bell pepper basil soup, so we had enough for about 3 meals. We will have smoked sausage sandwiches with just some chips. I have frozen leftovers of the veggie herb dish, enough to make its own healthy meal with rolls. Macaroni and cheese with some frozen green beans. Then another meal is pasta with pesto sauce. Perhaps tomorrow I will get to the grocery store if the storm lets up with the ice and snow. 

Next week though, I want to try a few new recipes, including soups and using the slow cooker. After all, it is no doubt weather for a hearty soup to keep warm and slow cooker weather to have a easy meal yet delicious without a lot of work. 

Any good projects?

Have you purchased or started any good craft projects lately? I recently purchased this one, and plan on starting it later this month. It will be for one of my grandmothers who love's birds. I thought it was pretty cute, and it is a small counted cross stitch project only 6 inches by 6 inches.

A to Z Book Survey

I saw this book survey over at Joyful Bookcase blog, and couldn't resist participating.

Author You've Read the Most Books From:

Hmmm...especially from when I was a kid. Lurlene McDaniel, L.M. Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Jane Austen, JK Rowling, Alison Weir, Georgette Heyer, Philippa Gregory, Wanda Brunstetter, Jean Plaidy, SE Hinton,Beverly Lewis, just to name a few that I can immediately think of.

 Best Sequel Ever:

 

Too many to think list!

 

Currently Reading:

 

• Persuasion by Jane Austen
• A Talent for Trouble by Jen Turano 
•  War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Drink of Choice While Reading:

 

I am not picky; tea, coffee with creamer, water, tea, etc.

 E-reader or Physical Book?

 

A real book even though I do have an E-reader. I can always take a regular book with me, and pass it on to family and friends. Most of my friends and family do not have an E-reader.

 

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

 

I have not a clue, hhmm...this took me a whole to think about, Charlie from The Perks of Being A Wallflower.

Glad You Gave This Book a Chance:

 

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

 

Hidden Gem Book:

 

Born of Persuasion by Jessica Dotta

 

Important Moment in your Reading Life:

 

As a kid pushing myself to learn more words, so that I could understand books I wanted to read (especially books that were more than 100 pages), that were beyond my reading level at the time. I spent a summer working on it, and it was well worth it; loved books even more, a little more confident in my reading skills, and especially in pronouncing words.

 

Finding like minded people who loved books as much as me.

 

Just Finished:

 

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

 

Kinds of Books You Won't Read:

 

Political

 

Longest Book You've Read:

 

Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix by JK Rowling

 

Major Book Hangover Because Of:

 

War and Peace, trying to keep all of the characters straight!

 

Number of Bookcases You Own:
Two floor to ceiling bookcases, and then two half bookcases. I have books also on a window ledge.

 

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

 

Only one book? The Outsiders by SE Hinton. Throughout my life of reading this book, depending on what age I was, I would either relate more to Pony or his older brother Darry, then later on seeing both sides.

 

Preferred Place To Read:

 

Anywhere that is quiet and peaceful. Or that I can tune at noise to read.

 

Quote That Inspires You From a Book You've Read:

 

"We ought always to try to influence others for good," LM Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

 

 

Reading Regret:

 

 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, ugh.

 

Series You Started and Need To Finish:

 

 The Hunger Games

 

Three of Your All-Time Favorite Books:

•  The Outsiders by SE Hinton
• Harry Potter series
• Grapes of Wrath

 Unapologetic Fangirl For:

 

SE Hinton, JK Rowling, Beverly Lewis, Jane Austen

 

Very Excited For This Release More Than All the Others:

 Sequel to Born of Persuasion by Jessica Dotta

 
Worst Bookish Habit:

 

Starting and wanting to read too many books at once.

X Marks the Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

 

The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper (I have never read any of his books before)

 

Your Latest Book Purchase:

 

The Far Side of the Sky by Daniel Kalla

 

 Zzz-Snatcher (last book that kept you up way late):

 

Born of Persuasion by Jessica Dotta

 

Whats On Your Plate This Week 11/25/2013

Last Week:

I ended up making three out of the four items I listed last week for meals. All of them were new to us, here are my reviews:


Marinated Teriyaki Chicken with Herbed Potato Pancakes and green beans:

 

 I forgot to take a picture of it. We really liked the chicken, which I marinated for about four hours. This will definitely be made quite a bit in the future!

Winter Squash Soup with Sausage Sandwich:

The soup was very good! I used smoked gruyere instead of just regular and used less chicken broth. I found a new smoked sausage brand called Curly's and it was pretty good. The soup made quite a bit, so we had it for several meals.

 

Chicken Tortellini Soup with Turkey Sandwich:

We were not fans of this soup, I ended up leaving out the chicken, but I still don't think it would have helped. It was way too watery and even with all the herbs all I could taste was chicken. So if I made this again I would replace the chicken broth with vegetable and use less.

This Week:

• Salsa Sloppy Joes and roasted vegetables with rosemary
• Turkey Day: Slow Cooked Herbed Turkey with Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Rolls, and Veggie Dish, and either Pumpkin Spice or Sugar Cookie
• Pork Sandwiches and Paprika Parsley Potatoes
• Roasted Red Bell Pepper Basil Soup and rolls

So what are you having for this week?