This is a Happy Birthday card I made with the Stamplistic stamp set. I used stickles and Washi tape (that I found at dollar tree) 
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The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert #XOXperts
OVERVIEW
You’ve Got Mail meets How to Eat a Cupcake in this delightful novel about a talented chef and the food critic who brings down her restaurant—whose chance meeting turns into a delectable romance of mistaken identities.
In downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lou works tirelessly to build her beloved yet struggling French restaurant, Luella’s, into a success. She cheerfully balances her demanding business and even more demanding fiancé…until the morning she discovers him in the buff—with an intern.
Witty yet gruff British transplant Al is keeping himself employed and entertained by writing scathing reviews of local restaurants in the Milwaukee newspaper under a pseudonym. When an anonymous tip sends him to Luella’s, little does he know he’s arrived on the worst day of the chef’s life. The review practically writes itself: underdone fish, scorched sauce, distracted service—he unleashes his worst.
The day that Al’s mean-spirited review of Luella’s runs, the two cross paths in a pub: Lou drowning her sorrows, and Al celebrating his latest publication. As they chat, Al playfully challenges Lou to show him the best of Milwaukee and she’s game—but only if they never discuss work, which Al readily agrees to. As they explore the city’s local delicacies and their mutual attraction, Lou’s restaurant faces closure, while Al’s column gains popularity. It’s only a matter of time before the two fall in love…but when the truth comes out, can Lou overlook the past to chase her future?
Set in the lovely, quirky heart of Wisconsin, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake is a charming love story of misunderstandings, mistaken identity, and the power of food to bring two people together.
Set in the lovely, quirky heart of Wisconsin, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake is a charming love story of misunderstandings, mistaken identity, and the power of food to bring two people together.
REVIEW
There are so many aspects of this book I enjoyed. First of all, the cover is wonderful and as you read the book, you understand the significance of the cake and the newspaper.
The characters are just precious, have a wonderful connection and work so well together. Lou is a wonderful chef but, she is given a bad review by Al on one of the worst days of her life. Through a series of accidental meetings, Lou shows Al the wonderful side of Milwaukee. Even though neither one knows who the other is, their relationship grows and the power of food is very enjoyable!
It was wonderful the way the author enhanced the reading experience with the trips around the city of Milwaukee. This, and the food, make this a very rich and rewarding read.
What a wonderful debut novel! Cannot wait for more!
I received this novel from Simon and Schuster as a member of the XOXperts.
PURCHASE HERE
Sandcastle by Justin Bog
Sandcastle and Other Stories: The Complete Edition
By Justin Bog
Genre: Short Fiction/Psychological Literary Suspense
The Complete Edition of Justin Bog’s First Collection of Dark Psychological Suspense Tales.
An award-winning collection, Sandcastle and Other Stories reveals twisted secrets that are mined like plutonium. These twelve literary tales are nothing short of an adventure through a roiling sea of emotion. With authenticity and eloquence, author Justin Bog holds a provocative and compelling mirror on the human condition.
“The stories are those of everyday people who might live next door or in the walk-up across the street . . . A man with a personal crisis takes a singles cruise – a woman leaves her toddler girl at the beach while having a romantic tryst – a B-list actor’s character is killed off – a girl is sucked below the sand into an underwater chamber . . . an old gardener who has dark secrets interacts with the bosses daughter in a most unforeseen way. The only commonality in these tight, little stories is they are unexpected. Having this book is like having a string of black pearls – each one slightly different, but each a perfect, dark, little gem . . . Bog paints pictures with words as Titian did with oil paints – startlingly detailed with deep perspective and rich complexity.”
–Rosi Hollenbeck, San Francisco Book Review
Review
This is a wonderful set of short stories. Each one is extremely different and all of them leave you wanting more!
A strange gardener and a girl in an underwater chamber are just a few of the characters who are so rich and detailed. Each story is unique and facinating with a different design element.
I really want to read a novel. These short stories were not enough. I want more!!
Author Bio
Justin Bog lives in the Pacific Northwest on Fidalgo Island. Justin Bog was Pop Culture Correspondent and Editor for In Classic Style. He enjoys cooking, lawn mowing not so much, and spends time walking and handing out treats to two long coat German shepherds, Zippy and Kipling, and two barn cats, Ajax The Gray and Eartha Kitt’n.
Sandcastle and Other Stories: The Complete Edition on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1T2gnHX
*The author will be selling two new stories separately in one bundle under the title: Speak the Word! as an eBook only for $1.99
Justin’s creative writing blog is here.
On Twitter @JustinBog
On Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1FCBVk3
Deep Kiss of Winter and Pleasure of a Dark Prince by Kresley Cole BOOK SPOTLIGHT #XOXperts
OVERVIEW
Under the cover of wintry dark shadows, passion’s magic ignites a fire too hot to touch — and too wicked to die….
DEEP KISS OF WINTER
Two never-before-published paranormal stories to delight the senses and tantalize the imagination!
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
KRESLEY COLE
delivers a breathtaking tale of a brutal vampire soldier about to know love for the first time…and a Valkyrie aching to be touched.
Murdoch Wroth will stop at nothing to claim Daniela the Ice Maiden — the delicate Valkyrie who makes his heart beat for the first time in three hundred years. Yet the exquisite Danii is part ice fey, and her freezing skin can’t be touched by anyone but her own kind without inflicting pain beyond measure. Soon desperate for closeness, in an agony of frustration, Murdoch and Danii will do anything to have each other. Together, can they find the key that will finally allow them to slake the overwhelming desire burning between them?
NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
GENA SHOWALTER
puts a daring spin on a tale of huntress and hunted…and concocts a sensual chemistry that is positively explosive.
Aleaha Love can be anyone — literally. With only skin-to-skin contact, she can change her appearance, assume any identity. Her newest identity switch has made her an AIR (alien investigation and removal) agent and sends her on a mission to capture a group of otherworldly warriors. Only she becomes the captured. Breean, a golden-skinned commander known for his iron will who is at once dangerous and soul-shatteringly seductive, threatens her new life. Because for the first time, Aleaha only wants to be herself….
Purchase here
OVERVIEW
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole enraptures again with this seductive tale of a fierce werewolf prince who will stop at nothing to protect the lovely archer he covets from afar. A DANGEROUS BEAUTY… Lucia the Huntress: as mysterious as she is exquisite, she harbors secrets that threaten to destroy her — and those she loves. AN UNCONTROLLABLE NEED… Garreth MacRieve, Prince of the Lykae: the brutal Highland warrior who burns to finally claim this maddeningly sensual creature as his own. THAT LEAD TO A PLEASURE SO WICKED…. From the shadows, Garreth has long watched over Lucia. Now, the only way to keep the proud huntress safe from harm is to convince her to accept him as her guardian. To do this, Garreth will ruthlessly exploit Lucia’s greatest weakness — her wanton desire for him.
PURCHASE HERE
Posted in Book Spotlight
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What I am working on…SNEAK PEAK
I have been working all summer on a musical album for my daughter. It is still not finished. Between work, vacation, and life in general, I have not finished it yet. Plus, the medium I am using, is not my normal mini album medium. I am using an album that I purchased at CKC. It was one of the best technique classes I have ever taken. It was taught by Susas Frase at Clear Scraps.
Here are the first 2 pages….and yes…fingernail polish remover removes all the ink if you screw up…and gives you a clean slate!!
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!!
Posted in Albums, Scrapbooking, Stamping
Tagged albums, clear scraps, scrapbooking, stamping
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Begin Again by Brittney Mulliner – BOOK SPOTLIGHT and AUTHOR INTERVIEW
OVERVIEW
Escaping her past, Aubrey Tate moves to Southern California for a fresh start with her older brother, Brandon. Starting over at a new school seems easy with her cousin, Mckayla, and her two best friends at her side, but handling the new guys is another matter. Aubrey ends up in the middle of three rivals that each wants her to themselves. Mike claims her first and declares himself her friend and protector. Luke is the school heartthrob that stops Aubrey in her tracks, speechless. Gage is the mysterious, dark outsider that Aubrey can be herself around.
How will she navigate her new life while she’s still haunted by her past?
Q and A
What was the last thing that made you cry?
I reread Slammed by Colleen Hoover and bawled like a baby. Even though I knew what was going to happen and was prepared I couldn’t help it. No eighteen year old should have to go through so much in such a short time.
What books they should make into movies?
Part of me wants to keep my favorite books sacred and far away from the movie studios that ruin good books, but I would love to see Marie Lu’s Legend Series come to life. I’ve heard the writes have been purchased but no noise about it actually happening.
What are your time wasters while writing?
I try really hard to stay off the internet while I’m writing but somehow Facebook always makes an appearance. If I’m really good about staying offline I usually waste some time on Spotify perfecting my writing playlist.
What book do you wish you could read again for the first time?
I would live to be able to read the Harry Potter series from start to finish now that they’re all out
What is your favorite form of exercise?
I love kickboxing! It’s great for taking out aggression and stress. I feel like a ninja every time I leave.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brittney has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember. Her parents’ form of punishment growing up was taking away her books and making her go outside to play. She loves the beach, exercising, sleeping in, and cookies. Yes, she does know those contradict each other. She’s an obsessive dog lover. She will cry at pretty much any video or picture of a puppy. Although, sadly she doesn’t currently have an outlet for her affection. Something that she plans on remedying soon. She was born and raised in Southern California, with a brief hiatus in Arizona. She recently graduated from BYU.
Website: http://brittneymulliner.com/
twitter: Britt_Mulliner
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brittney-Mulliner/843484579016627
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Brittney-Mulliner/e/B00P46A2PS/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
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Medium Dead by Paula Paul
Overview
Sure to delight readers of Jacqueline Winspear, Emma Jameson, and Laura Childs, Medium Dead features Queen Victoria herself—and she’s rumored to have slain a local psychic in Newton-upon-Sea. Now the task of clearing her name and catching the real killer falls to Dr. Alexandra Gladstone.
Under Victoria’s reign, women are barred from calling themselves physicians, but that hasn’t stopped Alexandra Gladstone. As the first female doctor in Newton-upon-Sea, she spends her days tending sick villagers in the practice she inherited from her father, with her loyal and sometimes overprotective dog, Zack, by her side.
After the corpse of village spiritualist Alvina Elwold is discovered aboveground at a church boneyard, wild rumors circulate through the charming seaside village, including one implicating a certain regal guest lodging nearby. Tales of the dead Alvina hobnobbing with spirits and hexing her enemies are even more outlandish—but as a woman of science and reason, Alexandra has no doubt that a murderer made of flesh and blood is on the loose.
Finding out the truth means sorting through a deluge of ghostly visitors, royal sightings, and shifty suspects. At least her attentive and handsome friend Nicholas Forsyth, Lord Dunsford, has come to her aid. Alexandra will need all the help she can get, because she’s stumbled upon dangerous secrets—while provoking a deadly adversary who wants to keep them buried.
Praise for Medium Dead
“An entertaining cozy mystery written with vivid historical detail . . . If you like reading historical mysteries with just a hint of romance, then Medium Dead should be right up your street.”—Fictionophile
“There are more than a few scenes where Alexandra’s dog, Zack, steals the show.”—Reading Reality
“I would recommend this to fans of the Maisie Dobbs series. There’s a strong female character in a historical setting. She’s determined, logical, intelligent and faces an unusual situation.”—The Reader’s Hollow
Praise for Paula Paul’s Alexandra Gladstone mysteries
“The Dr. Alexandra Gladstone series by Paula Paul presents an intriguing mixture of mystery, romance, and history. I especially love the way real personalities from the past keep popping up to intermingle with Paul’s fictional characters.”—Lois Duncan, award-winning and bestselling author of Killing Mr. Griffin and I Know What You Did Last Summer
“A lively mixture of ruling class murder, Victorian morals, and love.”—Bestselling author Tony Hillerman
Review
The body of the village medium is found in a church graveyard. Rumors start to circulate with plenty of accusations, including one about Queen Victoria. Alexandra needs all the help she can get to solve this one quickly. Luckily, the very handsome Nicholas Forsyth is ther to lend a hand.
I loved the setting and the time period of this novel and the presence of Queen Victoria was an added plus. I also enjoyed Alexandra. I loved that she was a trained physician in a time period where women were not accepted as such. The author briefly touched on her trials in this capacity and this added to the tale.
This is a fast paced read, however, I felt it was a little stiff and contrived in places. The conversations were a little canned with little surprises. The mystery was entertaining and kept the flow of the book moving.
If you need a good, fast beach mystery. Pick this one up.
I received this book from Netgalley for an honest review.
Purchase Here
The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows
Overview
From the co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society comes a wise, witty, and exuberant novel, perfect for fans of Lee Smith, that illuminates the power of loyalty and forgiveness, memory and truth, and the courage it takes to do what’s right.
Annie Barrows once again evokes the charm and eccentricity of a small town filled with extraordinary characters. Her new novel, The Truth According to Us, brings to life an inquisitive young girl, her beloved aunt, and the alluring visitor who changes the course of their destiny forever.
In the summer of 1938, Layla Beck’s father, a United States senator, cuts off her allowance and demands that she find employment on the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal jobs program. Within days, Layla finds herself far from her accustomed social whirl, assigned to cover the history of the remote mill town of Macedonia, West Virginia, and destined, in her opinion, to go completely mad with boredom. But once she secures a room in the home of the unconventional Romeyn family, she is drawn into their complex world and soon discovers that the truth of the town is entangled in the thorny past of the Romeyn dynasty.
At the Romeyn house, twelve-year-old Willa is desperate to learn everything in her quest to acquire her favorite virtues of ferocity and devotion—a search that leads her into a thicket of mysteries, including the questionable business that occupies her charismatic father and the reason her adored aunt Jottie remains unmarried. Layla’s arrival strikes a match to the family veneer, bringing to light buried secrets that will tell a new tale about the Romeyns. As Willa peels back the layers of her family’s past, and Layla delves deeper into town legend, everyone involved is transformed—and their personal histories completely rewritten
Advance praise for The Truth According to Us
“In The Truth According to Us, Annie Barrows leaves no doubt that she is a storyteller of rare caliber, with wisdom and insight to spare. As she subtly unpacks the emotional intricacies of the Romeyn family and their small West Virginia town in the wake of the Great Depression, we’re struck by the slipperiness of history—how the stories we tell each other and ourselves often demand to be interrogated; how the things we’re driven know about our families, our towns, our closest intimates, will always change us, sometimes over and over. Barrows is at her best here. Every page rings like a bell.”—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife
“The Truth According to Us is an irresistible novel, a sly charmer of a story about a small town in Depression-era West Virginia whose history is rewritten by a debutante on the run. Family histories, too, are unraveled, but mended by the fierce, strong women who dominate this delightful page-turner, a tribute to the power of love and forgiveness to heal even the most heartbreaking betrayals.”—Melanie Benjamin, author of The Aviator’s Wife
Praise for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“A jewel . . . poignant and keenly observed . . . a small masterpiece about love, war, and the immeasurable sustenance to be found in good books and good friends.”—People
“Affirms the power of books to nourish people enduring hard times.”—The Washington Post
“Smart and delightful . . . Treat yourself to this book, please—I can’t recommend it highly enough.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love and The Signature of All Things
REVIEW
This is a well researched novel in a very interesting time period. During prohibition and the depression, Layla must find her way. With the introduction to the Romeyn family, this debutante is exposed to a myriad of characters and experiences that change her life.
This is not just a story about a woman in search of a new life. This is story about family and bitter betrayal.
It is extremely witty in places and is very smartly written. Once I vested myself in the characters, it was very difficult to put down. It was a little slow in a few places, but it was a very good read.
I received this novel from Netgalley for an honest review.
Purchase here
$10 Junk Find Redo!
Before
After!
I used some left over chalk board paint from a different project and added the Cricut Vinyl!
Love it!!
Thanks for stopping by!
The Ghosts of Peppernell Manor by Amy M. Reade
Overview
“Do you know what stories Sarah could tell you about the things that happened in these little cabins? They’d curl that pretty red hair of yours.”
Outside of Charleston, South Carolina, beyond hanging curtains of Spanish moss, at the end of a shaded tunnel of overarching oaks, stands the antebellum mansion of Peppernell Manor in all its faded grandeur. At the request of her friend Evie Peppernell, recently divorced Carleigh Warner and her young daughter Lucy have come to the plantation house to refurbish the interior. But the tall white columns and black shutters hide a dark history of slavery, violence, and greed. The ghost of a former slave is said to haunt the home, and Carleigh is told she disapproves of her restoration efforts. And beneath the polite hospitality of the Peppernell family lie simmering resentments and poisonous secrets that culminate in murder—and place Carleigh and her child in grave danger…
Review
Carleigh is offered a job to refurbish Peppernell Manor. This job takes an unexpected turn or two. With a ghost and a jealous husband, Carleigh must fight for her life.
The story is ok. I expected more of a ghost story and less of a jealous husband. The characters, however, are one dimensional and overly dramatic. There are several places they state the obvious…I even rolled my eyes on a few.
The setting is wonderful and the house on the cover is not at all what I pictured in my head as I was reading. I pictured a more traditional southern plantation home.
This book fell a little short for me. I wanted so much more.
I received this book from Netgalley for an honest review.
Purchase here
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