Photos from Lake Austin

Filed Under: book clubs are awesome, Lake Austin

Two weekends ago, I was lucky to have an event at Lake Austin Spa Resort as a part of their For the Love of Books Club.  It. Was. Bliss.So blissful that I NAPPED!  I read somewhere once that it's common for people to crash and sleep a lot during their first day at a spa, and even though sleep for me is an elusive, complicated thing, I did just that. I let everything go and slept like it's easy. I don't think I realized just how noisy my life is until everything was suddenly calm and quiet. And it didn't hurt that my room was the stuff dreams are made of.  Seriously, wouldn't you kill for a … [Read more...]

A recipe (sort of) for @aracauna_man

Filed Under: (non)recipes, food

I'm happiest about cooking when I don't have a recipe in front of me.  I like to combine good, basic ingredients to taste and see what happens. I tweeted about my leftover lentil concoction today, and @aracauna_man pointed out that if I'm going to tweet about good food, I should at least offer up a recipe.I'm way too lazy to try to figure out how to explain my mad scientist approach to lentils in 140 characters, so here's an almost recipe for my new favorite meal.  There are no amounts listed.  I just eyeball the amounts for our meal needs and what I'm in the mood for.Veggies, etc.Precooked … [Read more...]

Book Trailer Fridays – Maria Dahvana Headley & Queen of Kings

Filed Under: book clubs are awesome, book trailer fridays

Maria Dahvana Headley's novel, Queen of Kings, the first book in a trilogy, hit stores yesterday, and is listed as one of USA TODAY's 10 books not to miss in May! Here's a description:Once there was a queen of Egypt…a queen who became through magic something else…The year is 30 BC. Octavian Caesar and his massed legions are poised to enter Alexandria. A messenger informs Queen Cleopatra that her beloved Mark Antony has died by his own hand. Desperate to save her kingdom and resurrect her husband, Cleopatra turns to the gods for help. Ignoring the warnings of those around her, she summons … [Read more...]

A sappy post about my dogs teaching me a life lesson.

Filed Under: Argo the wonder dog, STELLA

I tend to be really hard on myself.  It's my default setting.  Since I was diagnosed with ADD at 18, a big part of my journey has been getting to a point where I let go of the qualities I wish I had, and work with what I bring to the table.  When I can do that, oh, life is glorious!  I can laugh at my quirks and make allowances for the things I need to do to be productive and happy.  I don't begrudge myself the time I need to zone out, my weird filing system, or the fact that I feel better about the world when all my clothes are in color order in the closet.But the last two weeks have been … [Read more...]

Book Trailer Fridays – Rebecca Rasmussen and The Bird Sisters

Filed Under: book trailer fridays, books are awesome

Rebecca Rasmussen's debut novel The Bird Sisters is on my must read list.Here's a description:When a bird flies into a window in Spring Green, Wisconsin, sisters Milly and Twiss get a visit. Twiss listens to the birds’ heartbeats, assessing what she can fix and what she can’t, while Milly listens to the heartaches of the people who’ve brought them. The two sisters have spent their lives nursing people and birds back to health.But back in the summer of 1947, they knew nothing about trying to mend what had been accidentally broken. Milly was known as a great beauty with emerald eyes and Twiss … [Read more...]

Book Trailer Fridays – C.W. Gortner and The Tudor Secret

Filed Under: book trailer fridays, books are awesome

I'm completely fascinated with historical novelists, the depth of research they do, and the way they deftly mix fact and fiction, giving new life and personality to characters from our past.C.W. Gortner is the author of The Confessions of Catherine de Medici, and The Last Queen.  His latest novel, The Tudor Secret, came out in February to rave reviews.Here's a description:Summer, 1553: Brendan Prescott, an orphan reared in the household of the powerful Dudley family, is brought to court, where he finds himself sent on an illicit mission to King Edward VI’s brilliant, enigmatic sister, Princess … [Read more...]

Book Trailer Fridays – Evan Dawson and Summer in a Glass

Filed Under: book trailer fridays, books are awesome

Evan Dawson's debut book, Summer in a Glass, hits shelves on April 5th. Evan, a Rochester news anchor, and managing editor of the New York Cork Report, spent two years interviewing Finger Lakes wine makers to uncover the stories of family, dreams and hope behind some of the great Finger Lakes wineries. Here's the description:How did a brilliant German winemaker end up in a small region in upstate New York after leaving his family in the middle of a harvest night? How did a Danish-born winemaker lose his family’s wine estate in southern France, only to see his career revived in the Finger … [Read more...]