Magical Moments and Gingerbread Houses

How I relish my weekends with this our tiny human. We still wanted to spend some time with her even though she is still recovering from a cold. So we decided to stay home and have a relaxing-ish day with her.

After eating her absolute favorite meal, mac-n-cheese, we decorated gingerbread houses from a kit. These two were so funny. I had to make a quick batch of royal icing since every time Mr. would pour a layer of icing from the kit there was her finger getting a scoop. Which of course grossed me out a bit .. I mean really how long has this icing been in the box. YIKES!! Once we were done with our houses and after a rousting game of tag, we were all ready to relax. We quickly painted our nails before settling down to watch Moana, which is a super cute movie if you have never watched it.

And that my friends is another wonderful and magical day with our grand-angel.

November

November was such a blur. With other family obligations we were not able to spend much time with munchkin. But when we did we ate fruit, told stories, laughed a lot and played in the grass [a blessing of being in the Southwest is the winters are nice]. Each moment with her is such a special time.

Three Books and a Show

Earlier this year I decided that I wanted to do theme books for my reading -- Jaws for summer and spooky for Halloween and a fun cheesy Christmas story for .. well .. Christmas.

During the spring I was at a Barnes and Nobel on the hunt for the elusive Jaws [my review] and I walked into the non-fiction murder mystery section. How? Well .. I am not too sure but I always seem to gravitate there no matter what I am looking for. While reading the synopsis of the selection I looked over and saw a few shelves of Heather Blake's Wishcraft series. Normally I would not be interested in such books but after I read the book descriptions I thought 'well at least these won't give me nightmares like some of the other horror books that have been recommended'. I put them on the reading list along with The Ruins, The Terror, Birdbox, The Shining and Pines [which by the way I saw the series Wayward Pines and man was it is addictive] and I will play it by ear and see what I would be in the mood for.

Well .. October came and while I was scrolling through the Libby ap I saw the Wishcraft series again. I was so pleased that the audiobooks were available and I thought 'perfect because with finishing a project [posting soon] I do not have time to sit and read'. I enjoyed listening to The Good, the Bad and the Witchy so much that I listened to The Good-Bye Witch and A Witch Before Dying all within a span of 2 weeks. The only reason I did not get to the other books is because they were checked out. Yes .. the series seems to be that popular and that is because it is a cute little book series. The main setting of the story is that there is a theme village in Salem, PA called The Enchanted Village where witches can live a semi-typical existence as store proprietors for unbeknown non-witch people. There are different types of witchcraft and skills among the community and Marci Merriweather is a wish-crafter - an ability to grant the wishes of other that she inherited from her mother. She and her Aunt run an event planning business named aptly As You Wish. Each book had a murder happen around or involving Marci which she felt compelled to solve. There was a bit of repetition throughout the book but besides that it was a nice read. I can say that I did like it better that the Aurora Teagarden book.

I am going to publicly admit today that I like Hallmark Mystery and some Christmas movies. There .. I said it. Yes, their movies are cheesy and overly acted but I do not care. I like to sit down to a murder mystery which is not bombarded with bad words or with gory realistic images. I like my sleep and sometimes those other shows just mess with my brain - especially when I binge watch.  Last year I was channel surfing and the Good Witch movie was to start so I decided to sit and watch since I wanted to kill a morning relaxing in bed. And well … that movie led to the another movie which led to another movie and eventually to the show which was premiering that night. The small town set up reminds me of Gilmore Girls but without the quick banter. The close knit mother/daughter dynamic, the romantic interest [with a son] who is no-nonsense but lovable and colorful townsfolk characters in a small and idyllic town that love their festivals. The series is a continuation of the movies but it is taking place 10 years after the last movie. Our female protagonist, Cassie, is now a widow raising her super smart and kind 16 year old daughter, Grace, in a Bed and Breakfast [yes .. really] she has two grown stepchildren, one is a freelance writer and the other has taken his father's profession of being a police officer. Cassie also owns a store with unique treasures named Bell, Book and Candle. The love interest who happens to live next door is Dr. Sam Radford, the new doctor who came to the small town to be more connected to his trouble-finding son, Nick, who is the same age as Grace. The town busy body is Martha, who was the Mayor's wife but is now the Mayor herself, who is VERY active in the community and it's goings on. Cassie's compassion and how she genuinely encourages others is what draws people to her. She uses her 'ability' to sense what others might need by giving them loving words and allowing them to find their own path. Even though the new season does not start until spring/summer Hallmark shows a 2 hour premier around Halloween. Also, you can stream the series on Netflix.

24 Years and Counting

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth
and height my soul can reach.
I love thee with the breath, smiles, Tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

All Black Wardrobe for my Minimalist Friends

If you are like me and the idea of streamlining your wardrobe sounds like a great idea .. then stay tuned. The principal is to help curate a closet of easily matching items to help with the morning hustle. The easiest way to create a capsule wardrobe is to choose a single color and use it as the primary color and maybe a second accent color. In most cases the main color is black because it can be found in all categories [dresses, jackets, shoes, tights, etc.] and the second color us usually white or grey but red or pink are also a good choice.

The Vivienne Files is a great resource for wonderful ideas-possibilities are endless

I would like to say that I have mastered the look of the all black minimal aesthetic but sadly I have not. Wearing head-to-toe black can be a bit tricky .. at my age one does not want to look like a goth reject or on our way to a funeral. Being that the Halloween season has started .. this might be a great month to try our hand at it and still fit in with the decorum of normal society.

Below are a few outfit ideas that should be suitable for both work or casual Fridays and weekend wear.

September 11th

5 Easy Ways to Celebrate July 4th

Whether you are Democratic or Republican, Liberal or Conservative our Nation should be celebrated. This year instead of treating this one day in the same down played ho-hum way as any other day .. let us take a moment a put a little more thought. Make today not just a night event but a whole day fan-fare that ends with a great light show!!

You can start and end today the same way .. with prayer. A prayer of thanks for where you get to live and for the many sacrifices that have been made to protect it. A prayer to watch over those who are here  A prayer of protections from those who wish to take away our freedom and security. A prayer to help heal and better ourselves.

One of the easiest ways is to show your patriotic colors. Wearing the red, white and blue is a visual way to show those around you that you support our Nation and it can be worn casually and at work.

Casual Outfit

Work Outfit

Wake up early and go watch your local Independence Day parade. Most town have some type of event to celebrate our Nation during the day. I remember watching parades as a kid and I was always so excited. Now thinking about it .. I do not really know what caught my interest but I was always memorized.

Saturday Evening Post July 1954

Decorate your home with banners, buntings, mini flags, different colors flower or/and pots or with just a simple wreath.

BHG

And last .. is if you are going to have a BBQ then put a little extra planning and make it theme. Even if you are not hosting an event have fun with the décor. This could be as simple as red and blue plates from the dollar store. You can also make blueberry and raspberry Jello with whipped cream or add angel food cake for a layered truffle. Or red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting with blueberries. The ideas are endless.

BHG

Now with your house decorated, you dressed in your colors and the party theme laid out you can truly celebrate with your family as a full day event that ends with poppers, sparklers and little prayer.

Jaws

I have been OBSESSED with reading Jaws this summer. I was getting so disappointed because I had such a hard time finding it.  I went to Barnes and Noble, visited some used book stores and at any store that seemed to have a book section .. with no luck. I know that I could have just ordered it off of Amazon but I like to buy locally as much as possible.

 Recently my daughter told me about an app called Libby - which is connected to the library system.  Well, I did not find the book but I did find the audio version. I am not a big audio book person due to my mind wondering and I find myself half way through a chapter thinking 'who is this guy' or 'wait who done it?'. But I thought what do I do lose .. if I do not like it I will go on Amazon or simply choose a different book to obsess about.

Man am I glad I listened. It was so captivating. The narrator did the different voices and the story line was a bit more in depth than the movie .. it was just a great summer read [or listen].

I won't even bother with giving you the premise since the movie follows closely to the book. However, I will say a few things about the book and the man. It was written in 1974 by American author Peter Benchley and who passed away recently in 2006. He is the son of Nathaniel Benchley who was also an American writer of children's books and Novels and incidentally had a couple of his works turned into movies.  Jaws went on to be on the New York best seller's list for about 43 weeks. The author also was a conservationist. He was a spokesman for the Environmental Defense Fund and worked with WildAid, traveling to teach about sharks and to try to warn against the practice of killing sharks for their fins, a delicacy especially popular in Asia. Peter's wife has said "Many of the letters he got were from people who read 'Jaws' as a kid and were captivated by it, and who then went on to become marine biologists or who were teachers who would focus some of their time on the ocean. Maybe when 'Jaws' first came out people were scared of the water. But the next generation found a great adventure story, and many of them wanted to learn about the ocean. That thrilled Peter." 

Love it or hate it .. for the past 44 years this book [and movie] has impacted the way we see the ocean. 

A Fool and His Honey

I will admit it. The only reason why I read this book is because I have been watching the Aurora Teagarden mystery movies on the Hallmark channel. 

Candance Cameron Bure plays the protagonist .. Aurora Teagarden who is a part-time librarian and is a member in a true crime/mystery club. They review mostly old murder/mystery cases, such a Lizzie Borden, and examine the evidence in the case. Her best friend is a reporter and her ex-boyfriend is a police officer and both are also in this club .. which feeds into their imagination but it also allows them to think through the evidence presented.

I did watch A Bundle of Trouble before reading the book. The story lines and characters are roughly similar but that is where the similarity ends. 

The story begins with an acquaintance that Aurora knows was hired to bring them wood for the winter season. Aurora was home alone when the guy started to act erratically and began to remove his clothes. She proceeded to phone the Police station to get someone over who could assist him and figure out why he was acting oddly. This story line had ABSOLUTLY NOTHING to do with the main plot of the book. I am not even sure why it was even written in. 

The main plot is that Aurora's husband's niece showed up at her front door with a baby no one knew she had. Aurora and Martin go to dinner with friend's and when they return they find a dead body on their outside staircase, his niece has disappeared and she left her newborn baby under the bed. The investigation leads back to his hometown to try to give the baby to any relative and try to figure out the missing piece of the niece's life.

I overlooked the weirdness of the niece's friend sleeping behind the couch. I mean really .. it is absurd to think that there was a guy so tired that he slept BEHIND THE COUCH during the murder of his friend and disappearance of the niece. I mean really who sleeps behind a couch. I have yet found someone who would do that. 

Then there was the description of Martin Bartell - it led me to believe that he looked like John Queensland - which I had a hard time imagining since in the shows John is dating Aurora's mother. And in the book Aurora was a bit more selfish or self-absorbed than in the show. I just did not care for the amount of self issues she was going through when the story line affected Martin and his family life more. The whole time all she wanted to do find someone to leave the baby with .. she did not once try to step up and say hey Martin I am so sorry for your niece and  I can imagine how scarred you are -- of course the baby can stay and we will care for her. But no .. not even a little. Instead it was why me .. why do I have to step up .. why don't we have kids .. why does his family not want to bond with me. Then you had the vapid friends they had dinner with the night that the niece disappeared.  

I do have to say that if I read the book before watching the show .. I would never watch the show. Which would be a shame. The shows are a bit cheesy but they are not that bad. 

The Best Birthday Week - Staycation Style - Part 2

Tuesday was Mr.'s birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! And he wanted to spend it with his grand-daughter. Heart melting .. I know. He has always been a family man .. it is one of my favorite qualities about him. We picked her up and did what we do before ANY activity .. eat. The menu options were noodles or pancakes and she picked .. noodles. So we went to one of our favorite kid friendly places Times Square. Man the food here is so incredible .. words can not express. And they even will make noodles and butter [off menu] for Maddy since she does NOT like sauce on her noodles. It is just a great place with great people serving great food. That should be their motto. Today we thought we were taking Maddy out to a new place Dave and Busters. It was a bit loud and slightly overwhelming for her at first. Then she started to warm up to the place. She was so funny as excited as she was to be there she did not want to play .. instead she chose a game and wanted us to play. She cheered and raised her hands and gave us a 'great job!' … she is so adorable. After taking Maddy home we were off to the movie theater to watch Seven at the Harkins as part of their Tuesday Classic Movie. Watching it on the big screen was incredible. Ahhhh .. remember when Brad and Gwen were an item.

Stick a fork in us .. we are worn-out. We choose this day to stay home and enjoy our quite and splendid abode. We would sit and watch something together .. then putter around outside .. then go to our mutual rooms for individual time [game playing for Mr. and reading and crafting for me]. I think these are the best kind of days.

I was so excited for Thursday to arrive. Like a kid bouncing around on Christmas day kind of excited. I was scrolling for activities around town and found that Dave Brubeck's sons are playing a one night concert at the MIM. WHHAAATTTT!! I found the sound of Dave's about 18 years ago or so. My absolute hands down favorite album ever is Time Out which out beats Miles Davis's Kind of Blue and American Prayer by The Doors. I am not too much of a concert person but I was super happy that we were able to get tickets. The show was so great .. the interaction with the audience was wonderful and the music was like BOOOM!! mind blowing. We thought tonight we would get a little dressed up and start our evening experience by going to a 'nicer' sit down place before we caught the show. Tonight we chose Maggianos in Scottsdale. Oh man what a lovely place. The restaurant was so charming and classic .. the food was amazing .. the people were helpful and kind .. it was just a perfect and wonderful place. The entire evening was perfect and wonderful!! 

Now how do you wrap up such a busy week? By getting spa treatments of course. So .. on Friday we decided to get something that we have never gotten and that is full service treatments - couples massages, facials and pedicures. There is a small tucked away resort that we have been meaning to visit and never took the time to call. All I can say is .. ahhhhhhhh. The services were really great and the attendants were so engaging. I did feel bad for my massage therapist .. especially after she asked if I move bricks. Her hand must have been sore after working on my back. LOL. And my poor pedicurist .. since I am constantly without shoes my feet are so rough. She used this heel glaze that I was able to purchase and man it is a game changer. I am forever putting lotions and oils and nothing ever works, however, this stuff leaves my feet so soft that I can not stop touching. I also got the small travel size of their Sweet Cream lotion .. which smells like a spicy vanilla cupcake .. Mr. can not stop commenting how much he loves the scent. I guess that means I have to start buying this stuff by the gallons *wink*

Saturday was errands day since I wanted to make sure we were set for work. So laundry was done, groceries were bought, dry cleaning picked up and all the little fun house tiding activities we all have. And on Sunday we took the day of rest to heart and simply relaxed .. just like on Wednesday .. we did not do much of anything.

And that concludes the best birthday week .. so far. There is always next year when I turn .. nope I still can not say those words out loud. 

The Best Birthday Week - Staycation Style - Part 1

Mr. and I share the same birthday month and usually try to take some time off of work to celebrate. This year we could not make up our minds as to where we wanted to go.

We thought a trip through the wine country would be beautiful or perhaps a trip to the beach would be relaxing. We were hoping to find a location to where we could eat at the hotel restaurants, find relaxing activities and maybe even do spa day. The more we thought of what we really wanted to do the more we realized we can enjoy all those wonderful events here in the Valley. So we decided to make this a stay-cation instead and planned it out as-if we were going to a new city. And on the plus side --  I can sleep in my own bed, enjoy my perfectly brewed coffee in the mornings and I do not have to board Henry. SCORE!!!

We started our stay-cation by going to our first comedy club. We got tickets to go to The Comedy Spot on Saturday night so we made the choice spend the day in Old Town Scottsdale. The only thing to really do in Old Town is shop .. we thought we would find some sustenance before visiting the Mall and other small shops. So we drove around a bit when we spotted a sign that reads The Henry .. I looked at Mr. and said I guess we are eating here. Never seeing this place before we did not know what to expect and we are so glad we stopped. The atmosphere was wonderful, the service staff was so friendly and the food was amazing.  The place was packed and filled with activity but it was not too loud .. so we thought we would belly up to the bar since we could eat there too. I even had my first Mimosa .. I know .. I am late to the party. LOL After .. we waddled through the narrow streets and enjoyed some of the artistic shops. Before our evening event we found The Pussycat Gelato and thought we would stop in for something sweet. This little gem was so fun and unique .. they even played Josie and The Pussycats on the TV . As a child I collected the comic books and I always wanted to be Melody. With wonderful memories swirling in my head and my sweet tooth filled we were off to visit the comedy house. The club itself is tiny, however, it is next to a restaurant which on that night happened to be hosting a high school prom. I hope their night was as magical as ours.

We reserved the next day to do one of our guilty pleasures .. gambling .. or making a donation as it is more commonly knows in our household since we have not struck it big .. yet. There are a few establishments in the Valley to choose from and the one we go to is the Talking Stick Resort. We have enjoyed not just their games but also several of their restaurants including Orange Sky on the top level. We have watched Tim Allen when he was in town and enjoyed the most wonderful massage at their beautiful Spa. After our time there we decided to leave to eat at a new location Frank and Lupes which we found the day before when we were walking through Old Town. Mr. and I spent our teen years in a small New Mexican town and it hard to find true New Mexican food. The place was a bit tight but it was filled with happily serviced patrons and I can see why .. the food was so wonderful. There were two large gatherings -- one seemed like family was in town and the other was a group who completed their training. I think it says a lot about a place when people go there to celebrate. It was not until we were done that we noticed their was a separate outside seating area around the corner. FYI … another fantastic New Mexican restaurant in Phoenix is Giles Taste of Taos which we found since they are a vendor at the local farmer's market.

We decided to make Monday our Downtown Phoenix day. There was an exhibition on Pompeii at the Arizona Science Center that we were wanting to see. But first .. you have guessed it .. food. Before we went, we decided to visit the Vegan House  and man is this place a game changer. The food at this place was so amazing .. I can not begin to say how great it was. Most of the menu is Asian but they also had sandwiches, fries and deserts. If you are ever downtown stop in and have their fried banana and coconut ice cream. We will have to make it a point to come down here more often just to eat here. Seriously it was that good!!  The Pompeii exhibit was interesting .. for one we were only taken in groups and two it was a one-way only exhibit .. there was no turning back after the doors shut behind you. You walked through some artifacts and displays of the houses to a room where they showed a video of the towns final 24 hours and the floors rumbled. Then silence. The door opened to where you were walking through a room with clay casts of men, women, children and even pets. It was quit a somber experience. After the exhibit we caught the last show at the planetarium experience .. which we were the only two people there. It was really great .. it was like having our own private viewing. The guide was very attentive and Mr. got to ask tons of nerdy questions. It was a truly a great day!

The Queen's Accomplice

England, 1942. The Nazis' relentless Blitz may have paused, but London's nightly blackouts continue. Now, under the cover of darkness, a madman s brutally killing and mutilating young women in eerie and exact re-creations of Jack the Ripper's crimes.

Well then .. with a description like that how could I not pick up this book and may I say that I am happy I did. Even though it was not a hard read [meaning I figured out the 'who done it' pretty early] there are several story lines that are introduced that keep your attention. You have the main story regarding Maggie's participation on catching the killer dubbed 'the Blackout Beast', her friend,Sarah , who is training to be a spy in France and her half-sister,Elise , who was in a camp in Germany.

Fair warning …  that if you enjoy a book with full closure on all the characters you will not get it here. The relationship with her half-sister seems to be from previous books and will continue into the next. Also, Sarah's story line will be continuing in a different book as well. There was mentioned about a previous relationship and story line in regards to a previous assignment. But I think that the continuing story lines in regards to the most important people in her life will allow for deeper character building and I, for one, look forward to seeing how they develop.