Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving- and an Audiobook if You Are Ready For Christmas Time!

 

Thanksgiving 2017

Monday was my only work day and for some reason after work, i kept thinking it was the 21st. My Thanksgiving dinner box was due on 11/21, so I was checking my app and looking for the box, I even messaged the shipping company about my order--thanks to their reply I realized I was thinking it was the 21st but it was only the 20th. 

Yesterday the box arrived safe and sound with everything to make our dinner. This afternoon I think I'm going to make ahead the apple crumble pie. Much to my dismay, I need to go into the grocery store today to get green beans, rice, and crescent rolls. Wish me luck! I am also going to pick up my race packet for tomorrow's Pie Run.  At the end of the Lagrange Rotary Pie Run, we get a Home Run Inn Pizza--A pizza pie! If you have seen Home Run Inn pizza in your grocery store frozen food aisle, but you have said I don't know if it is worth paying that much for a frozen pizza, let me tell you--it is!  Best frozen pizza in the USA.  

If you are looking for something to listen to as you make Thanksgiving Dinner or go for a post-meal walk, or if you are shopping online for Black Friday, this is a quick fluffy audiobook you can enjoy.  The narrators are very good the story is a sweet second chance and features a single dad. If you like holiday romance and the single dad trope, this is a must-listen for you!

If you are looking for something fun to watch tonight, HULU has a collection of Thanksgiving Episodes from TV shows over the last 40 years. If you are looking for the iconic WKRP in Cincinnati Turkey Drop episode you can buy it for $1.99 via Apple TV. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

The Sunday Post - Is Your Turkey Defrosting?

   

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme  

Holy Smokes this week is Thanksgiving!  This year I've gotten everyone on board with a Blue Apron Thanksgiving Box. It's scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday and then on Thursday after I run the annual Pie Run --it's 3.14 miles,  I'll be delgating some of the prepping and cooking to my middle kiddo.  I did an information survey of everyone's favorite side dish on my Facebook and the winner hands down is stuffing.  

Do you have any Thanksgiving Traditions? My own personal tradition is watching Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.  What a fantastic buddy comedy.  A true Bromance!  Some of the best romance tropes make this film sing-

*Enemies to Besties

*Road Trip bonding

*One Bed

*Third Act Breakup

It's so fun and check out the romance book John Candy is reading when he sees Steve Martin on the plane!  What a book title! The Canadian Mounted 

Oh, I almost forgot another trope!  Steve Martin's Grumpy to John Candy's Sunshine! 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

What I'm reading this week:

Is it too early for Christmas Mode? I say no!

That being said, I have to share some November content.  Here is my coffee station decked out for Turkey Day. The turkey has feathers on it and shows what youngest child was grateful for on a day long ago. - Family, Friends, School, and Home, I think it would be safe to say that she is still grateful for those same things and also Harry Styles, Dunkin Donuts coffee, and her Learner's Permit. 

The Hubs is grateful that Aldi's has these very quirky potato chips that he thinks tastes great. He is planning to go buy more as he finished his bag yesterday.  

And now a book review!  

Merry Scary Victorian Christmas: A Victoria Town Mystery Novella by Mollie Cox Bryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Yes, I know it is only the beginning of November, but this year more than ever I'm ready for holiday reading. Bring on the tales of Christmas trees, scenes about making cookies, and a murder or two. This third book in the Victoria Town Mystery series is a nice read to kick off your holiday season.

Viv has more bad luck when it comes to being on the scene when someone meets an untimely demise. Someone is framed for the murder, but Officer Willoughy, clearly isn't falling for the framing. Viv uses her skills as a hacker to narrow down the list of suspects and a new character is introduced who offers a clue for Viv.

I enjoyed the book and getting to know Viv better. If you love a good Christmas mystery, pick this one up!

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Who doesn't love food talk?

As you know I love to talk about food, today I tried a new recipe from Real Simple magazine.  This is a good entree salad.  The Hubs forget to get pita bread at the store so I made garlic bread instead with some leftover french bread that was in the back of the fridge and was probably a day away from going stale. I added fresh sliced tomatoes from the garden to the recipe and also some chopped scallions that were getting old--wanted to use those up.  Other than that, I followed the recipe.  The hubs liked it, and he is tough to please.  Overall I find that Real Simple recipes are relatively easy and don't need too much alteration to taste good.  Oh BTW I did add two garlic cloves instead of one.  I think if you like garlic you could do three or four cloves.  The cloves I used were really big. Yum!

If you are like me and you love food talk, and you really really love Thanksgiving food talk.  You will probably like this book!


The Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the August book for The Cozy Mystery Book Club - a youtube book club- We will be talking about the book and getting to hear from the author! On 8/25/2020 at 7pm EST Join Us!

Here is my spoiler-free review. I completely enjoyed this quintessential cozy mystery. Ms. Davis does a fantastic job weaving cooking into the sleuthing. I stopped reading to take notes on how to make the pork tenderloin Sophie cooks.

Even with a pretty large cast of characters, Krisa Davis is able to give depth and personality to everyone--even Otis and Humphrey. Sometimes when you read the first book in a cozy series, so many characters are introduced that it can be hard to keep everyone straight. In this book, this is not a problem. We also get just enough of a taste of some of the side characters, that we are left wanting to read the next book not only to find out about Sophie--but also more about Bernie, Craig, and what about that Peeping Tom?

Each chapter starts with a little advice column content which is funny and connects to something in the upcoming chapter. I like this, it was a nice touch.

The book takes place over the Thanksgiving Holiday and the book is filled with the vibes of late fall, you can almost smell the turkey and pumpkin pie. Ms. Davis's writing kept me turning the pages and dreaming about fall cooking.


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Need Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer in Your Ear Holes? Listen to the Dresden Files!

Death Masks by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I listen to this series on audio, I don't read any of the books--James Marsters is perfection as Harry Dresden. This is book #5 of this enjoyable series that I tend to pick up, listen to a book and then a few months pass and then I pick it back up. There is enough reiteration of who the main players in the series are to help you remember if you don't binge read the series. I am going to make more of an effort to get through this series in a more timely manner. I have to say I don't really care about the romance aspect of the book, but if Harry is happy I'm happy. Whenever Harry talks about his cat Mister, I think anew that Mister is the perfect name for a cat. And speaking of perfect character names, I hope the next book has more Murphy- the perfectly named police detective- in it.

Love that this book takes place in Chicago. Nice that Harry and modern tech don't get along as this is handy for plot building. The pacing of this book was good, I personally wouldn't mind if there had been a bit more downtime - like maybe 2 fewer battles, but that's just me. I'm going to go see if my library has book #6 before I get distracted by another book on my TBR pile.


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 #ThursdayThought :  Today marks  the 4 week countdown until Thanksgiving.  😱😱😱😱  I'm hungry right because it's lunchtime and my mouth is watering as I am adding to my Thanksgiving Feast Pinterest Board.  Click to see what I'm planning on serving this November. I've also begun creating a Christmas menu as well.

Happy Thursday!

xoxo

Wednesday Weekly Pumpkin Ale Review! What's on tap?

Happy Wednesday!  Just 13 days until Halloween.  Alas this year Halloween is on a Tuesday, so not the best day for Tricks and Treats in my opinion. Nevertheless to help you get into the spirit I invite you to enjoy my latest Pumpkin Ale review!

Wait! Before we begin, set a reminder to watch It's the Great Pumpkin  Charlie Brown!  tomorrow night on ABC at 7PM CDT.  Heck enjoy a Pumpkin Ale during the show.

Now on to the review.  This week's pumpkin ale hails from Trader Joe's. It's called KBC Pumpkin Ale, the KBC stands for Kennebunkport Brewing Company. KBC Pumpkin Ale has been featured in the Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer so if you are a fan of their unique take on grocery ads, check it out here.


I quite enjoyed this Pumpkin Ale.  You could definitely taste the flavors of fall in this one, i.e,  cardamon, cinnamon and cloves (The big 3).  It's not a heavy beer so you can enjoy a couple of them and the ABV is under 5 coming in at 4.5. The price point is nice as well, a six pack was under $9.00. KBC Pumpkin Ale is a perfect beer to enjoy with roasted vegetables or a butternut squash soup or even a turkey sandwich.  There isn't a bitter aftertaste, and the pumpkin flavors aren't too flowery so this is a good drink to bring along to share at your upcoming Halloween Gatherings.

If you are in the mood to double down, I have a tip I just learned from a friend and artisan crafter, Kim D. (you can learn more about her and her daughter's pottery and crochet art by clicking -Intertwined Art).  Kim was recently at a restaurant in the Pittsburgh  area where they offer  a shot of Whipped Cream Vodka in your Pumpkin Ale! It's the  booziest of pumpkin pie experiences. You should probably bookmark this post, this may just be the ticket to get you through a trying Thanksgiving dinner.

Want a recipe that is easy, full of flavor *and* pairs well with this week's Pumpkin Ale?  Here you go! Harvest Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner by Mashup Mom  Not only is it delicious,  it's also inexpensive! ( should be about $2 per serving!)