Bonjour and happy Wednesday. It’s been really quiet around here lately because in November I had a cold for about a week and a half, went out of town, then picked up a second cold while traveling. The first one was so bad that all I could handle was sitting on the couch watching Outlander and Call the Midwife (have you seen the latter? SO GOOD!). I haven’t done much reading in the past month and a half but am…
A Few Pecans Short of a Pie by Molly Harper 5/5 StarsI loved this short story just as I love all of the other Southern Eclectic books. Unfortunately I read it out of order so was a bit out of touch with Margot’s story but it was easy to jump back in. It follows Margot as she tries to plan her wedding, wrap her mind around being pregnant, and hone her skills as a soon-to-be new step-mom to two girls….
This took me a long time to read because it gets pretty dense in the middle. The beginning is super interesting because we learn about Sequana, the pagan river goddess the Seine is named after and an archeological site at Bercy in Paris where hundreds of artifacts were found. Sciolino starts at the source of the Seine and follows it to the sea, stopping along the way in notable towns and cities. It really is a great story of the…
Expeditions Unpacked by Ed Stafford Master of the Phantom Isle by Brandon Mull 5/5 StarsI love all of Brandon Mull’s books but this story just seemed… extra funny and even more adventurous than usual. Seth has no memory of his identity and is with Ronodin in the Phantom Isle. Kendra and her friends travel from Wyrmroost to the Crescent Lagoon, both for protection and to help the fallen sanctuary of Crescent Lagoon. We’re introduced to new characters, like a giant,…
Bonjour and happy Wednesday. We went on a trip to New England this month (New Hampshire, mostly Manchester, southern Maine, and Boston) and I went to as many French things as I could, just like I said. Manchester has a surprising French influence and as a result a had crepes for breakfast twice, happily. I also stumbled upon this perfect French/Halloween (perhaps an oxymoron?) set up at a cafe in Kennebunkport, Maine. I’d love to redo the house to be…
Expeditions Unpacked is a book I didn’t know I needed in my life and now that it’s there I want 100 more just like it. This book covers 25 explorers who were the first to accomplish a goal in their field, such as the first person to climb Everest, walking the Amazon River, or the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe, to name a few. Each entry has a list accompanied by illustrations of 20-30 items the explorer had with…
On the fifth day of our trip we drove from Missoula, MT to West Yellowstone, MT. The campsite and town of West Yellowstone are in Montana and you cross into Wyoming on your way into the park. After setting up our tent we went into town to the visitor center to plan what to do the next few days, visited the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, and had dinner at Firehole Bar-B-Que Co. The restaurant was busy because it was…
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson 4/5 StarsI love that Magnusson says she is aged “between 80 and 100” and that this is her first book. I thought this would be more about decluttering (like The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up) but I feel that this book would most benefit someone over 50. It is geared towards those thinking of gradually really paring down and getting rid of things to the comfortable necessities so when…
Bonjour and happy Wednesday. I’ve been researching French things to do for an upcoming trip to New England. If you have any recommendations, please send them my way. We’ll be in Boston, New Hampshire, and parts of Maine up to Portland. We were recently in the mood for a cottage pie-type dish so I used recipes from Instantly French! (probably my favorite cookbook) and A Kitchen in France to make a Brisket Parmentier. Once I tweak the recipe a bit…
At the beginning of August we took a road trip out to Montana and Wyoming, our first stop being Glacier National Park in Montana. We stayed three nights in the West Glacier KOA that is just outside the park entrance. The KOA was okay: the bathrooms and showers were fine and the layout was okay but there was a lot of noise from other campers and the food we ate at the cafe there wasn’t good (we had a rib…