It's Another Love Story

Back in the fall I read the book Where Hearts Are Free, by Golden Keyes Parsons, a historical romance, but not of the harlequin type as the cover unfortunately suggests...

But being a hopeless romantic, and because I agreed to do a book review for Thomas Nelson Publishing, I cracked the pages.  This novel swept me off to the 1600's into the life of a wealthy girl named Bridget, who finds herself in love with Phillippe, the boy she has grown up with, but who also happens to be an indentured servant to her family.  A dark secret she shares with him as a youth, comes crashing back years later and Bridget is in danger, and engaged to a man she does not love.  Phillippe is torn between perceived loyalties to his family and their faith, and his love for Bridget.  Both of them struggle with their devotion to their families and faith and how their actions will impact that.  In the end, they both trust in God and His plan and everything else then falls into place.

I do love a good romance, and when it is set in historical times, it just seems all the more sweeter, more innocent.  When I finished this book, I had a great desire to visit with Jane Austin and the Bronte' sisters and devour their books again.  And since reading this book, I have.  If you enjoy historical fiction, love stories, and books with an element of faith woven through, I think you will enjoy this book.  And,  I recently learned that When Hearts Are Free was actually the 3rd book in a series! Obviously, it wasn't necessary to read the first two books beforehand, as I didn't feel I missed anything while reading, but I think I'll go back now and read the other two! 

Have you read any good historical fiction books lately?

Get Real

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's World Nutella Day!

Five years ago, Sara Rossi, of Ms. Adventures in Italy baked up the idea of World Nutella Day and since then countless recipes have been shared for using Nutella in recipes.  I absolutely loved the idea of celebrating this day with fellow Nutella addicts the world over and have faithfully celebrated. 

For my recipe this year, I wanted to make something that took me back to Gelatoria Mario's in Bologna, a regular stop for my cohort of International "crime", Holly, and I.  I'm sure that there were many fabulous things to try at Mario's, but on my first visit there on a warm August day in 1988, I ordered a frappe' of gianduja e coco (chocolate hazelnut and coconut milkshake) and I never ordered anything but that again.  I even brought Keith there 6 years later and made him order one, too. 

And because I wanted to kick off my day with Nutella, I decided to make these:

Coco Loco Nutella  Rolls
1 loaf frozen bread dough - thawed overnight in the frig (or make your own if you have time prefer)
About 1 cup Nutella (or more to your liking)
1/2 cup coconut
2 Tablespoons milk

Roll out the the dough on a well-floured surface into a 12x9 rectangle.  Spread with Nutella, but leave about an inch uncovered on one of the long sides. 

Sprinkle the coconut on top.

Roll up starting from the long side that has filling spread to the edge.  Pinch the dough to seal the seam.  Slice into 9 pieces.  Arrange on a GREASED baking sheet and cover. 

Let rise until almost double in size (about 45 minutes).

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Bake them for 15-20 minutes or until golden.  Mine were apparently having a little party in the oven while I was cleaning up...

While they cool, make the icing:
1/3 - 1/2 cup nutella and 2 Tablespoons milk mixed together.  Add more milk if needed for drizzling consistency.

Drizzle the rolls with the icing and serve warm.

Buon Appetito!



Want to join in the fun?  Check out Ms. Adventures In Italy, Bleeding Expresso, and World Nutella Day!

Celebrations

Happy February 2nd - No chance of the groundhog coming out of his den around here today... He is snowed in under our shed!   And I don't need to be a groundhog to tell ya' - it's gonna be at least another 6 weeks of winter 'round these here parts!

So how about a glimpse of how a typical January looked in my little world:

  

Around here, January seems to be as full of family fun and calories as November and December were.  Any and all weight loss resolutions must be postponed until after the Superbowl for us.   We kick off every New Year with a fabulous brunch at my sis-in-law's home,

and karaoke entertainment from my nephew!



Ya never know who is going to show up at these family events!



then it's my birthday, and then Emmy's birthday - which for some reason she seems to have three or four celebrations every January - not quite sure how that happens, but it does. 



skyping with the grand - snowbirds- who chose to celebrate January birthdays with us from snowless Florida





Happy Birthday to me...



And our home is filled with cakes, and pies, and cookies and candy - and then we'll turn around and it will be Valentine's Day!

This January we also took part in a surprise celebration for my dear friend that turned 40.  How awesome is this cake?!!



Yes you are my friend, yes you are!



That's the fabulous forty year old on the left!

And did I mention that just last week I received chocolates straight from someone in Italy???  I didn't?  Oh, well, I'll have to dedicate a separate post to that.  And I would be remiss if I didn't also remind you that this Saturday, February 5th,  is one of my favorite holidays - WORLD NUTELLA DAY!!!  I'm still working on what I'm making for this most wonderful holiday.  You should celebrate it, too.  If you do, let me know what you are making and what time I should be over to sample it....

In a Word

~For just when ideas fail, a word comes in to save the situation.~

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Over the past few years – or more – I’ve read about people choosing a “word” for their upcoming year. It becomes sort of their mantra, or resolution for that year. Crafty sorts make scrapbook pages around their word, or signs or pillows or temporary tattoos....  I always thought it was kind of - - well, silly, I guess. 

But a  few weeks ago I began thinking about how I’ve felt like 2010 somehow got away from me, and I began reading on blogs and emails some other peoples’ words: Believe, Give, Laugh, Patience, Inspire, Grace….  I began to see some value in having a “word”, a reminder of what I might want to achieve or be or whatever for the coming year.  And, I decided that I, too, would pick a word for 2011.


Soooo, here it is the last day of 2010, and I am still trying to decide on “my word” . I kept coming back to “Be Aware” – but that’s two words, AND it looks too much like BEWARE, and I don’t want to start out 2011 THAT paranoid. 

“Focus” seemed close – but, good grief, I’ve been saying that to myself for YEARS, and really, it isn’t quite "it". I want to BE AWARE of God’s presence in my life. I want to Be AWARE of my husband’s needs, my children’s fears, my friend’s concerns. I want to BE AWARE of how I am spending my time, my thoughts and my energy. For me, being aware will move me to action.  See where I’m going here?

~The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. ~

Mark Twain          

Since I knew I wanted to write about this today, this morning I decided to cheat a little and look up “Be Aware” in my thesaurus (That’s such a funny, dinosaur-looking word, isn’t it? Sorry, I know – FOCUS!)

Here is the list of words that came up when I typed in Be Aware:

Absorb


Grasp


Clutch


Grapple


Get


Realize


Understand


Comprehend


Discern


Receive


Learn


YES, YES, YES! All of the above! The final kicker for me - the thesaurus told me that the opposite word was IGNORE! OHHHH….So, as is typical for me, I’m going against the norm and having a Word Compilation. Since my word can't be "Opposite of Ignore", together this word list makes up My Word.  I do like to make things complicated, don't I?

...Perhaps my word just should have been… DECIDE.

Do you have a word for 2011?

~I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying. ~

Oscar Wilde

And The Quiet Comes

After days preparing with extended family,

making fruit salad and pies

of gift-giving and receiving....

tables draped in splendor,

and fires to warm our hands and hearts,

Today, we find ourselves blanketed by snow and enjoying the afterglow of another wonderful Christmas, filled with love.

The miracle of Christmas.  May we keep it in our hearts the whole year through.

Merry Christmas to you!

Preparing My Heart for Christmas

Desperate Times

Call for Desperate Measures!

Or ..... Fake it Til You Make It?

With only an inch of snow on the ground, Noah and Emily attempt to have a full fledged snowball fight.

on an 18 degree night.

I wish they appreciated each other as much as I appreciate that they have each other!

The Best Laid Plans

I started this blog two years ago with a post about Noah and Emily creating our gingerbread house by themselves.  Last year, they again created a masterpiece.  This year, they wanted to create an entire village.  Well, this year their plans went a little, um... skewed.

This is as far as they've gotten this year.  It's supposed to be the "bakery" that you can see on the box in the background.  They gave up.  For now at least. 

Looking at Noah and Emily's "bakery"  I'm reminded of a manger.  A manger.  A reminder of His Master Plan.   A reminder of the ultimate gift given.  A reminder of a love so big it is impossible to fully comprehend.  A reminder that He is in control, despite MY best laid plans.  A reminder that He can take our mistakes and give them purpose.

A reminder of something made perfect from something so fractured and lost.

I guess, on second thought, it would seem this humble little bakery may very well be a sweet, sweet Christmas decoration for our home after all.

First Impressions

Keith and I have very different views on movie trailers.  I love them.  I love the anticipation they create for movies I "need to see".  I think Keith finds them to be a waste of time.  He'd rather hang out in line for a $30 cup of popcorn (if we are actually at a theatre for the viewing) or skip right over the trailers (if we are viewing the movie at home).  Currently, we have lost our DVD remote, so Keith is stuck watching movie trailers at home. 

Last night I had rented a movie for which the trailer looked really good - I thought it would be a really funny movie.  It was - just okay.  I hate when movie trailers do that to me - when the movie turns out to be very different from what the trailer portrayed.  Would have seen these movies if the following had been their trailers?:










Oh, I do want to see Pride and Prejudice again!  I think Keith might rather watch movie trailers....  There a few other very funny  movie trailer recuts on youtube, but not all are very kid-friendly, so I won't be putting them here on my G-rated blog.  But if you are of a mature audience, there are a few worth checking out for a good chuckle.

And last night's movie: 
"Did You Hear About the Morgans?"  Wouldn't be on my movie must-see's list if I had such a list.

On the 8th Day of Thanksgiving

the good Lord gave to me....

8 Diners Dining, 

Seven nights in SoCal....6 days in Myrtle... 5 friends on Halloweeeeennnn...

4 extra pounds, 3 willing helpers, 2 wannabes,

and a happy healthy, famileeeeeyyyy.

 

Hold your applause.  Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are enjoying a pumpkin pie-sweet- weekend  (or whatever kinda pie you happen to enjoy). 

 

PS.  Got the itty bitty gravy boats that I used to hold little favors,  here.   

Black Friday Surprise

Are you a rush to the mall before the sun rises kinda person on Black Friday?  A Cyber shopper?  Have you been camped out in front of Best Buy since late last night with turkey and cranberry sandwiches wrapped in cellophane hoping to get the one flat screen in the store that is on sale for $199 even though you don't even need another tv? 

Well, if Black Friday shopping is part of your Thanksgiving tradition and you do score a big ticket item for a teeny weeny fee, good for you.  And if you didn't get that Tom-Tom GPS for $29.99 that you stood in line for hours hoping to get, or you got pushed into a tower of beeny babies by a woman trying to get to the last Dancing Mickey, I hope you at least got to experience something like this:



Funny, beautiful and what a nice reminder of what the holidays are all about!  I wish I were in one of these groups that goes around surprising people with song... of course I'd have to be able to sing, so there's that.

Happy Shopping or Left-over Eating Day!

On the Seventh Day of Thanksgiving

the good Lord gave to me...

Seven perfect nights (and 8 days, but that doesn't work here) in Southern California....

6 days in Myrtle, 5 friends on Halloweeeeennnn...4 extra pounds, 3 willing helpers, 2 wannabes,

and a happy healthy, family.