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!