A Year In Provence

Last night, I finished reading A Year In Provence by Peter Mayle.  Oh how I love books on traveling.  I got it at the used bookstore for $2.00.  Here is my review of it:

Was it an interesting book?  I was.  It had a little of everything.  A little humor, a little sarcasim, a lot of passion when it came to food.  I had always heard how slow things are in Europe when trying to build something (i.e. Peter’s renovation to his house), but never realized the hoops it takes to come to the final product.  Patience is definitely needed!

Does this book help/relate to my life in any way?  Not really.  I mean, I would love to go to Provence for an extended vacation, and have – very slowly I might add – been trying to learn French.  That is on my bucket list and could have been handy when reading the book.

If I was stuck on a desert island with this book, how many times would I read it?  I think I would read it again.  I mean, it’s not one that I am going to keep.  While I loved the insite to “country” France, I did miss out on something.  I can’t put my finger on it, but it just lacked something for me to whole-heartedly love it.

Would I recommend this book to a friend?  I think I would. 

I haven’t decided what the next book will be.  It’s a toss up between 3.

Happy Birthday To My Sweet Niece

Saturday morning was filled with pampering for 7 little girls

They were there to celebrate my niece’s 6th birthday party.

Manis and pedis, chocolate facials, candy, chocolate, and cool cucumber for the eyes to wash all their troubles away.

And for the adults, a little Bieber music and yummy Bieber cake.

She got lots of cute presents…

and one special present from Aunt Leslie.

I made this for her out of acrylic paint and glued on beads and tulle.

She is taking ballet so “plie” above is a ballet term.  I think she really enjoyed it.  Happy birthday Mac!

The Christmas Sweater

My mom gave me The Christmas Sweater last year at Christmas time to read.  It is by Glenn Beck who apparently is a big name.  I don’t know much about him, or at least I didn’t before I read the book.  It is one of the smaller books that are taking up space in my book pile and need to be weeded out.  I thought I could knock out another book while on vacation.  Here is my review of it:

Was it an interesting book?  I was really surprised with this book.  I thought it was going to be too touchy-feely with a cheesy message, but I actually enjoyed it.  It takes a small town boy losing both of his parents and lots of struggles in his life to realize the meaning of life.  In the end, the story wasn’t totally true about Mr. Beck, but a lot of story related to him.  You know me…true life stories is my niche when reading.

Does this book help/relate to my life in any way?  It really makes you feel thankful for what you have and takes it back to a simpler time when the real things in life can’t be bought with money.

If I was stuck on a desert island with this book, how many times would I read it?  I think I would.  It is motivational and touching.  If I was stuck someplace with no one, it would help me keep my spirits up.

Would I recommend this book to a friend?  Yes, although my non-christian friends may view it as cheesy or unrealistic.

Stay tuned for the next read, A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle.

The Doorbells of Florence

After finishing Londoners, I moved on to The Doorbells of Florence by Andrew Losowsky.  A coworker of mine let me have the book.  In this book, Andrew takes pictures of doorbells around Florence and creates short stories to go along with them.  Most of the doorbells had names on them so he integrated those names within the stories; some stories would reference just one person on the doorbell and others multiples names/people.  Here is my review of it:

Was it an interesting book?  I thought it was.  It only has a little over 100 pages which was good for me.  If it were 300 or so, I might have gotten a little bored or would of broken it up by reading something else and coming back to the short stories in between.

Does this book help/relate to my life in any way?  It doesn’t.  I do enjoy looking at pictures from photographers and what they view as fascinating or interesting.  I would have never thought to take pictures of doorbells and make a book with it, but it worked for Andrew.

If I was stuck on a desert island with this book, how many times would I read it?  I don’t think I would read it again.  Once is good enough.

Would I recommend this book to a friend?  Maybe, if they enjoyed short stories.

 

Londoners

Given my love for London, my two weeks vacation from work, and my love for some good-ole story telling, I picked up the book Londoners by Craig Taylor.  I first learned of this book here, and given that I have read several books recommended by Stephanie I knew it was going to be great.  It takes real people and tells real stories of how they came to London, what they love about it, what they hate about it, those who stayed, those who left, etc.  I viewed it as little short stories into those people’s lives who share my passion for such a great city.  Here is my review of it:

Was it an interesting book?  Yes!  I would read this book again.  I love how one person talks about what they love with the city, then the next story talks about how depressing London is.  It’s very diverse.

Does this book help/relate to my life in any way?  Yes!  I tend to sugar coat things…almost fairy-tale like.  This book is anything but.  It’s reality, which…let’s face it…I need at this point in my life when it comes to London.

If I was stuck on a desert island with this book, how many times would I read it?  Multiple times!  I have added it to the book shelf which now has 3 books on it worth keeping. 

Would I recommend this book to a friend?  I would.  You have to love London and know a little about the different areas in the city for it to sink in.  I will, though, let them borrow mine.  Where I live, this book was $30 in the book store.  The only reason I didn’t order it on-line was because I had a gift card to this particular store. 

Sunday Stroll

This past Sunday, my man and I took a little stroll over to The Belle Meade Plantation.  It is one of my Nashville things to do, and we had a chill Sunday ahead of us so why not take a little stroll around the gardens.  Tickets were $10 per person for the stroll.  We opted out of going inside the plantation at $16 per person.  Here are some shots from around the plantation.

Strawberry Bars

I tore out a recipe for Strawberry Bars from Southern Living a year ago and made them last week.  They turned out pretty well, almost like a strawberry brownie.  I don’t think I would make them again; just a little too dense for my taste and not worth writing a card out for the recipe box.  Here is the recipe if you are looking for something fruity to make (and unhealthy):

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/4 cup strawberry preserves, divided

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Garnish (optional): fresh strawberries, mint

1. Preheat over to 350 (f)
2. Line a 13×9 inch pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, let foil hang over sides of pan.
3. Spray foil with non-stick baking spray with flour; set aside
4. In a large bowl, combine butter, shortening, and sugars.

6.  Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy

7.  Beat in 1/2 cup strawberry preserves and vanilla.

8.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

9.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

10.  Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating to combine well.

11.  Spread dough into prepared pan.

12.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

13.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes.

14.  Spread remaining preserves over top of warm pastry (I used more than what it called for; just eyeball it).

15.  Refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight.

16.  Lift foil out of pan and cut into squares.

17.  Garnish with strawberries and mint, if desired (sorry no pic of the final, cut piece.  Didn’t have any good shots).

I followed the recipe for this one, but if I had it to do over again, I probably would have taken it out at ~25 minutes instead of letting it cook the full 30 minutes.  With the density and the done cake consistency, it was almost a little too dry for me.  The folks at work seemed to like it, but it was more of a “that tastes good…thanks” instead of a “oh my goodness!  these are so amazing!”  The later is what makes it into the recipe box.

The Island

Last week, I finished The Island by Elin Hilderbrand.  It follows a handful of novels I have read over the years.  As you may remember, I am not a novel person.  Memoirs are more my thing, but this book was recommended by a friend and I try to keep up with what my friends read.  Here is my review of it:

Was it an interesting book?  YES!  I want to read more from this author and trust me when I say that means a lot coming from me.  I think what was so surprising is I could actually envision these characters as real people.  Some novels are just so hard to relate to or seem unrealistic, but this one changed my view a little.  Grant it, it didn’t make me see my life in those characters or want to be in their shoes, but it did seem like it could happen in a real person’s life.

Does this book help/relate to my life in any way?  Nope.  Just casual reading entertainment.

If I was stuck on a desert island with this book, how many times would I read it?  Over and over and over…

Would I recommend this book to a friend?  Definitely!  And I am happy to say that I will get other books from this author.

Next up, Londoners by Craig Taylor.  I am about 50 pages in on this one and love it already!

Little Women

YAY!  Another thick book down the drain!  I finished Little Women by Louisa May Alcott today.  I picked it up several months ago for $3.50 at the used book store.  I actually own the movie (it was a present), but have never read the book.  Of course, I didn’t realize I was reading a book that junior high kids read.  Obviously not where I am from!  A little to advanced for my backwoods, country town.  Here is my review of it:

Was it an interesting book?  Yes.  I really did enjoy the simplicity of it.  It took me half the book to get Winona Rider’s cheesy character out of my head, but half the book wasn’t in the movie.  Once I reached that point, I was good.  There were some dull parts, which some people might say the whole book is dull, but considering the time it was written it actually kept my interest.

Does this book help/relate to my life in any way?  Nope.  Although I sort of can relate to Jo’s tom-boy-like manners.  I guess I was kind of like that back in the day.

If I was stuck on a desert island with this book, how many times would I read it?  I don’t think I would.  It’s not that it was terrible; it just had lots of lulls and could have been condensed in my opinion.

Would I recommend this book to a friend?  I think it would be good for young girls to read.

Next up, The Island by Elin Hilderbrand.  It was recommended by a friend.

Black Bean Brownies

When tooling around on a new blog I follow, I found a recipe for Fudgy Black Bean Brownies.  I have a friend who loves black beans and brownies who would probably enjoy this recipe.  I am all for trying something new and also disposing of a can of beans out of the cabinet.  To be honest, I am not a fan of beans…black or most others.  The only kind of bean that I can tolerate (and actually love) are green beans which aren’t like many of their bean siblings.  I searched around in the pantry to make sure I had all the ingredients and did for the most part; I had to use vegetable oil instead of canola oil like it called for in the recipe.

In an attempt to not miss anything from her blog, hop over and see for yourself how to make these.  Below are some pictures and my review on how they turned out:

and the review:

I was so surprised in the way these tasted!  They were very moist and dense, with lots of chocolate flavor.  The downside for me was the texture.  I just didn’t like the mealiness of it; remember, I don’t like beans.  I took them to work and everyone loved them!!  I even referred a few people over to her website.  If you can handle beans and the texture, you should definitely give these brownies a try.  They are extremely easy to make in a food processor, pretty healthy compared to a traditional brownie recipe, and make your house smell so good while baking.  Also, see what other wonderful things she is making at her blog.