A Very Rainy Saturday...Den Says We Are On The Cusp Of...

The cusp...the edge...the pinnacle of an icy wintry mix? Who knows...it is wet and rainy...the kind of wet that makes you not feel warm...ever...

so...we are snuggled in with books, games...iPads, teas, coffees and hot chocolate...there has to be soup in this scenario somewhere, too.

In the midst of this and I love it...it's the 1905's...Vanessa is the painter...Virginia is the writer...they have two tall brothers...it's one of those fascinatingly captivating books that reminds me slightly of Downton Abbey...the dressing for dinner thing is going on here. It's the perfect rainy day book.



Off to play games and read...we just watched The Grand Budapest Hotel...it was interesting! Den seemed to enjoy it more than I did...

Happy Happy Saturday!

A Very Mellow Friday...

Just finished this...I wanted to take a break from YA but this was in the Southern Family Ethereal Dysfunctional Mystery Mayhem category and I loved it.



Just started this...not quite sure what I am feeling about this one...yet!


Getting ready to watch a movie...I need a football break...making a pasta chickeny mushroomy dish for dinner with tons of garlic bread...I have a very sleepy kitty in my lap...prepping for a very rainy weekend!




Happy Friday!

Does it feel like a real Friday to you?

Happy New Year!

We went out to dinner last night at our favorite restaurant. We had a wonderful time...it's so small it's as though you are eating really amazing foods in someone's living room...we ate mostly fishy dishes and I have no pictures at all because Den gently reprimanded me for using my flash and bothering people...we both had Panko Smelts which sounds awful but is freaking amazing...then I had Canadian halibut with black eyed peas...yum...Den had these amazing Diver Sea Scallops and we shared beignets for dessert...

The beignets come in their own teeny fry basket with cranberry jam on one side and almond crunchy stuff on the other side...the beignets literally melt in your mouth...they are all crunchy sugary on the outside and soft and pillowy on the inside...

I will be forced to have them again next time and I will get a photo! Lol!


















Spending the day relaxing...getting ready for breakfast...grits, eggs, bacon, and lots of coffee!

I have loved my time with all of you this year...chatting on line and off...sharing our books and our lives...it's fun and rewarding. I don't have any fave book lists to post and I have no clue what I will be reading first...I usually love most of what I read and just sort of fall into the next book...but...that's my style!

Happy New Year! This is how I woke up this morning! A very furry wake up call!

Last Book! Moving On...

Just finished this...it was a 1950's Ted Turner Classic Movie Channel kind of book...career "girls" living at the Barbizon Hotel kind of book. It was ok but not as delight-filled as I hoped it would be...I should know better...it was probably me and a failure to connect with anything in this book...sigh! Superficially? I hate real photo covers on books...my bad!

It's the last book I am reading in 2014...


Spending the day quietly in preparation for a Patty and Den raucous uproaring NYE...
That would be trying to stay up until midnight!

Happy Wednesday! Stay safe if you are going out tonight!

So Busy! Really Busy! With Busy Stuff!

We are showered and in comfies and relaxing...we had to go to Nordstrom's today to take back some of Den's stuff and buy Den new stuff because everything is on sale and this was our triple point day! Whew! But then you get Nordstrom's bucks in the mail and you can start all over again!

Plus I bought Den this super cool hybrid jacket so that he can look super cool at all times as long as he follows my directions and drapes the new scarves I bought him in a super cool way around his neck. Looking super cool is very complicated! He can take out the vest and wear this out at night when Den has a date...with me! Looking super cool!









After Nordstrom's we had lunch at Seasons 52...since Nordstrom's is so far away we rarely eat here but it was lovely...especially these...we each had one...soooo yummy!





Mine was pumpkinny ginger snappy good!





Then after lunch we went to Weggieman's...I taught second grade and was way too familiar with Weggieman books...books filled with little boy bathroom humor...my little guys would smuggle them into class...we have an amazing grocery store here called Wegman's but I always call it Weggieman's...sorry!

And we gathered food for the next few days...pork tenderloins and sauerkraut and pierogis and fruits and veg...and a tiny little chocolate cake that wanted to come home with us and that will be our first and last dessert of 2015...lol...voted Weggieman's best!





Not reading much of anything...sort of glancing at this...tired...just want to chill tonight...





Happy Tuesday!

This Book...And A Few Others!

OMG...I am still thinking about this book...I cried no less than four times at four separate characters as I read this yesterday. I loved every single word of this book even though character Annabelle with her made up words was highly irritating. Talullah...loved her humor and charm and even her pain. Her mother named her dresses! Her father was so patient. This book was so charming and sad and funny and heartbreaking and uplifting! It took me by surprise...I didn't expect it to be so lovely...so breathtakingly lovely. Even Barney The Dog was enchanting...in a grossly spitty/drooly kind of way. At this point in my life I can not imagine a book I loved more than this one...sigh!






Reading this now...no thoughts about it yet...








These just came...love Amazon Vine...










Getting ready to watch Maze Runner!

Happy Monday!

Football...All Day Long!

But not for me...I am reading and playing games and I am going to sneak upstairs later to binge watch The White Queen...on Starz...which is based on the Philippa Gregory book. This series is soooooo good!






Making carnitas for dinner...a simple recipe from Simply Recipes! The meat simmers in stock and salsa for about 5 hours...then you allow it to cool and you shred it and roast it in the oven...we have it with handmade corn tortillas, diced sweet onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. I make black beans, too, on the side, and a simple salad...actually the salad is supposed to be plain lettuce with a bit of apple cider vinegar...not sure why.



Just finished this...it was so good...one of those truly beautifully written books...if you love family books and friendship books with a "touch" of dysfunction tossed in...you will love this one.



Happy Sunday!