Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews to spotlight the books you have added to your shelf this week.
Purchased: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
What books did you purchase this week?
-LC
Stacking the Shelves (2)
Sister Day: Halloween Style
My sister and I spent a whole day together last Saturday so we could get our Halloween fix! We did a Halloween craft, made no-bake peanut butter bars, and watched Hocus Pocus (for the 27845489364518764 time). Here are a few pictures from our day of Halloween fun!
No-bake Peanut Butter Bars:
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| No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars |
I made the bars in a 9×9 pan rather than 9×13 so they would be a bit thicker. I got this recipe from Six Sisters’ Stuff’s blog! Go check it out! They have great recipes!
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They turned out great! If you like Reese’s, you will LOVE these! They were so easy to make.
Halloween Silhouettes:
Unfortunately we do not have a Cricut or Silhouette (but I’d like one for Christmas, hint hint) so we googled “free Halloween silhouette print-outs” and found these. We printed them on card stock paper and then cut them out and mod podged them onto scrapbook paper that we purchased from Hobby Lobby. We bought these frames for $1 a piece from the Dollar Tree. This was a cheap, fun project that turned out really cute!
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Painted Pumpkins:
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I hope you enjoyed viewing our pictures!
Happy Halloween!
-LC
Bookworm Review: “The Casual Vacancy” by J.K. Rowling
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Little, Brown and Company
September 2012
Format: Hardback, 503 pages
First Line: Barry Fairbrother did not want to go out to dinner.
From the inside cover: When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.
Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity, and unexpected revelations?
My Thoughts: The Casual Vacancy was different from any book I have ever read. It is not my usual cup of tea, but I had to read it because, 1) I am a huge fan of J.K. Rowling and 2) I had to see what all the fuss was about. I was not disappointed in the story and characters as they were extremely descriptive and came to life right before your eyes. I also enjoyed the political and societal undertones throughout the book.
The story takes place in the small town of Pagford and follows at least fifteen characters. If constantly going back and forth from character-to-character annoys you, this may not be the book for you. I did have a hard time keeping up with the fifteen main characters as they all had chapters written from their point of view. The characters are blemished in their own ways, but they depict real life for many people in our world that we don’t feel comfortable talking about.
I must admit that I was shocked by the vulgar language and it’s frequency used throughout the book. When she decided to write an “adult” novel, she meant ADULT as this book involves hard drugs, distasteful sexual scenes and the harsh language. I had a difficult time getting in to the book at first but 300 pages in, I found that it was quite enjoyable.
I would not tell anyone not to read this book, however, I would advise that only adults read it because of it’s content. It is definitely not a book for everyone. There were parts of this story that were enjoyable and parts that horrified me. To answer the big question – no, this book is nothing like the Harry Potter Series, although J.K. Rowling’s writing style is apparent.
(I purchased this book.)
Happy reading!
-LC
Oh, How Pinteresting!
This week I’m linking up with The Vintage Apple for Oh, How Pinteresting!
What did you pin this week?
-LC
It’s Monday! What are you reading? (2)
“It’s Monday! What are you reading?” is a weekly meme hosted by book journey. Post the books you finished reading last week, the books you are currently reading, and the books you plan to read this week.
Finished last week:
–Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts
What I am currently reading:
–The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
What I plan to read this week:
–The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani
What are you reading this week?
-LC
Stacking the Shelves
Tynga of Tynga’s Reviews is hosting a weekly meme to show the books we purchase during the week.This week I purchased:
-The Shoemaker’s Wife
by Adriana Trigiani
This is my first time reading Trigiani, so I’m excited to read this.
-Emma
by Jane Austen
I’m a huge Pride as Prejudice fan but have never read Emma, so I’m excited to get started!
What have you added to your bookshelf?
-LC
Bookworm Review: “Happy Ever After” by Nora Roberts
Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts
Pages: 306
First Line: Grief came in waves, hard and choppy, buffeting and breaking the heart.
The Bride quartet series follows four best friends – Mackensie, Emma, Laurel, and Parker – through their love stories. When they played wedding day as children, they never dreamed they would one day own a successful wedding business named Vows. Happy Ever After follows Parker Brown, the ring leader of the four friends.
Parker Brown is extremely organized, prompt, and always put together, so when she falls for her brother’s friend and mechanic, Malcolm Kavanaugh, she is caught off guard. Parker has become very good at making others happy, but struggles when it comes to her own happiness and romance. She has a hard time figuring out Mal because he is not exactly an open book, but Parker figures out how to peel back the layers. Malcolm realizes that Parker has made him a better person and is the one he wants to spend his life with. At times their relationship is aggravating, and at others it’s amusing. This is a beautiful and honest love story of two people taking a risk and betting on love.
I was reluctant to start this book as I did not want this series to end. You fall in love with the characters and will feel like the girls could be your friends. If you have never thought about being a wedding planner, you will after reading the Bride Quartet. If you’re a hopeless romantic, you will love reading this feel-good series.
Peace, Love, and Books,
-LC
Ohh how Pinteresting
I’m linking up with The Vintage Apple for “Oh, How Pinteresting!”
Happy Wednesday, and Happy Pinning!
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It’s Monday! What are you reading?
“It’s Monday! What are you reading?” is a weekly meme hosted by book journey.
Post the books you completed last week, and what you are reading this week.
Book completed last week:
Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts (book 3 in the bride quartet)
What I am currently reading:
Happily Ever After by Nora Roberts (book 4 in the bride quartet)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
What are you reading this week?
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Fall is our favorite time of year, and what better way to celebrate the season than by baking some fresh chocolate chip pumpkin bread? I saw this recipe via pinterest from Taste of Home. It turned out great and was a big hit with our families! It makes a lot of batter, so be mindful.
Instead of using chocolate chips, I used dark chocolate chips, and I used sea salt instead of regular salt. The directions say to bake the bread for 60 minutes but because I used smaller pans, mine only took 45. The mini muffins baked for 15 minutes and the large muffins baked for 20 minutes.
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| This recipe made all of this plus two more small loaves that are not pictured. |
The following directions are not my own. They are from Taste of Home.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt (I used sea salt)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups canned pumpkin (I used organic)
- 1-1/2 cups canola oil
- 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips)
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. In another bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour into two greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each).
Let me know what you think about this recipe!
Happy Baking!
-LC