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Books Read

I’m 15 books into my 50 book goal for 2014.  I hardly read a thing in March and very little in February so while the couch sitting has been annoying, it’s given me a chance to get back on track with my goals.  Here are the 15 I’ve tackled so far this year:

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD, *Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson,  A Widow for One Year by John Irving,  *The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman,  *The Giver by Lois Lowry,  *Here I Go Again: A Novel by Jen Lancaster,  The Summer of Firsts and Lasts by Terra Elan McVoy,  A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) by George R. R. Martin

Sutton by J. R. Moehringer, *The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, *Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2)  by George R. R. Martin,  *World War Z by Max Brooks

The * denotes books that I would recommend reading.  If I wasn’t already ruined by the show, I might have recommended the Game of Thrones books.  As much as I want to continue being a “the book is better”, in this instance, I can’t.  The books are good and I’ll continue to read them, but if you were going to pick one – I’d say watch the show.

Sutton, Bad Mother, and A Widow for One Year were also reads that I mostly enjoyed, but just not enough to go around recommending them to most people.

I’m also looking to compile 20 book recommendations for a project so please share your favorite reads with me in the comments!

Friday Finds:: Beauty

1.  Ren Centifolia No. 1 Purity Cleansing Balm – Okay, so it has a really long name and I was very scared to try it at first because of the reviews talking about burning eyes and greasy feel but I love it.  I don’t wear eye make up often but when I do, I find it almost impossible to remove but not with this stuff.  It does sting the eyes a little so if you are super sensitive I’d probably stay away (I am, but I find it livable) since it’s an investment, but a little goes a long way.  I never thought I’d stop using Purity but I think I’ve found a new favorite.

2. Chloe – I received a sample of this in my last order and LOVE it.  I’ve been wearing Poppy for awhile now and while I love it, I wanted something a little more “grown up” for date night and this fits the bill.

3.  Diamencel Foot Buffer #11 – I walk around barefoot ALL. THE. TIME.  and have lived with horrible cracked heels for the last two years.  Pedicures, creams, those stupid softening socks that never worked.  I tried everything and was ready to just give up.  This is spendy but I’ve been using it two or three times a week (I follow up with a heavy duty lotion) for a little over a month and it looks brand new AND my feet are unbelievably soft.

4.  Josie Maran Body Butter – This smells DIVINE and I finally don’t have giant scabs on my legs from itching them in my sleep because they are so dry.  I still use my Cetaphil for day to day because this is expensive and I’m not willing to go through it at the pace I go through moisturizing cream, but I probably use it two or three times a week as a “treat” and love it.  I’d like to try the balm as well.

5. NARS Eyeshadow Base – I have yet to try a product from NARS that I don’t absolutely love and this is no exception.  I have heavily lidded eyes and my shadow smudges and creases and makes me look old.  Or it used to.   I used this the other night and after five hours my eye makeup was exactly where I put it.   I’ll definitely repurchase this.

So…what have you been loving on in the beauty product world lately? I’m looking for some new serums – I’ve developed an allergy to the line I was using so if you have any Vitamin C or Retinoids that you can recommend, I’d LOVE the help!

**I was not compensated for this post in anyway and these links are not affiliate links.  I just have a love of product and wanted to share my current favorites with you.**

The 2014 Book List

Because I don’t make enough in the way of lists, I thought I’d make a list of the books I’d like to read this year. I’m sure I will deviate and if I don’t get through this list of fifty books, I won’t cry, but I thought it would be nice to have a place to start.

Books I’ve read before are in italics

Junior Fiction

1. Anne of Green Gables
2. Bridge to Terebithia
3. A Wrinkle in Time
4. Jacob Have I Loved
5. Daughter of Smoke & Bone
6. The Secret Garden
7. The Wind in the Willows
8. Where the Red Fern Grows
9. Treasure Island
10. The Chocolate War

On the Shelves

11. Cloud Atlas
12. Lit
13. So Much for That
14. Skippy Dies
15. A Confederacy of Dunces
16. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
17. A Widow for One Year
18. Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls
19. The Jungle
20. The Bean Trees

Classics

21. Tess of D’Ubervilles
22. Wuthering Heights
23. Mansfield Park
24. The Woman in White
25. Gone with the Wind
26. Frankenstein
27. The Grapes of Wrath
28. Rebecca
29. The Hobbit
30. The Awakening

Recently Published

31. We are Water
32. The Goldfinch
33. The Luminaries
34. And the Mountains Echoed
35. The Husband’s Secret
36. The Light Between Oceans
37. Defending Jacob
38. Shotgun Lovesongs
39. This is How You Lose Her
40. Something Like Normal

Nonfiction

41. Lean In
42. Carry On, Warrior
43. Bad Mother
44. I Am Malala
45. Stitches
46. Jesus Feminist
47. Rose Kennedy: The Life & Times of a Political Matriarch
48. Reading in the Wild:
49. Real Food: What to Eat and Why
50.A Long Way Gone

Ritz Casserole

Writing a blog is kind of like ruling your own little universe, you go away for a week but you can certainly make it seem like you weren’t gone at all through the magic of scheduling. I’m hoping to be caught up before November 1st kicks in, but as I said, I’m focusing on the things that are most important right now and that’s studying and playing and knitting like a crazy woman for my baby new nephew that I can’t wait to meet!

Speaking of babies: this is my go to bring-a-meal-to-a-new-mom casserole. It’s buttery and cheesy and and the best kind of comfort food. And it has broccoli – so it’s totally health food.

The Recipe

-1 lb. fresh broccoli broken in small pieces and steamed for 2 minutes.
-3 cups cooked chicken breasts – Break up in small pieces
-3 cups Grated Cheddar Cheese divided
-2 tubes Ritz Crackers
-1/2 stick melted butter
-1 tablespoon poppy seeds

SAUCE:
-1/4 cup Butter- melted
-1/4 cups Cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 cup COLD Water
-1/3 cup Chicken Broth
-1/4 tsp. Salt
-1/4 tsp Pepper
-2 Cups Milk
-1 1/2 cups of the above Cheddar Cheese

To do:

-In greased 13×9 pan, layer the broccoli and chicken, then set aside. In saucepan over medium heat you’ll make your sauce: combine the melted butter, cornstarch dissolved in water, chicken broth, seasonings, and milk. Stir well, and continue stirring until sauce has thickened. Turn heat down to low, and add 1- 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese. Stir until melted. Pour over the chicken and broccoli. Top with 1- 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese.

-Melt 1/2 stick of butter, and add the poppy seeds, and stir well. Crush Ritz crackers (not too small!) in a medium sized bowl and pour butter/poppy seed mixture over mixing gently. Sprinkle crumbs over the top of the grated cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until hot & bubbly.

Recipe modified from Get Off Your Butt and Bake

The Discussion

If you could speak an animal language for one day which animal would you choose?

The Daily Tip

I shocked the Mister last week when he saw the price tag of our organic, pastured chicken and I don’t blame him. It’s not cheap. But a Sunday dinner went into this casserole, chicken noodle soup, and was also used to make chicken stock so I stretched that money and felt good about the sustainable meat we’ve consumed. Also knowing that my kids quite often refuse to eat leftovers but will eat a “re-imagined” dish, cooking one main meat on Sunday and utilizing it throughout the week makes good use of our food dollars and my time in the kitchen.

Why I Love It

A.K.A. My last official Michigan-is-awesome post before I bore you tears.

The Views

The Sand

The daring your husband to jump in a 59° degree lake and your son taking you up on it too.

The People

Can you believe the woman in that picture is my grandmother and that girl’s great grandmother?!? Why I didn’t inherit those genes is beyond me. She has fewer lines across her forehead than I do mine. She’s one heck of a lady and I adore her.

And of course, I could go on and on about the fresh fruit and Meijers and lake breezes and the hundreds of other pictures I could post that show it’s beauty but I think you should just go. Because Michigan – and yes I’m biased because I think of it as home – is simply wonderful. I love it so much I wear a necklace that maps my favorite part. And now I’ll stop telling you how awesome it is and overloading the blog with pictures of our vacation. Suffice it to say, I love it and I’m glad we get to go back next year.

Do you have a place where you just fit? Where is it and what do you love about it?

As Promised…

One day we decided to visit our home town treasures. We had lunch at Country Dairy (and ice cream, of course) and visited Lewis’. And fed deer.

 

 

We also fed a camel, donkeys, goats, cows, and ostriches* (the last one we just put the food down and let them peck at it). *I stand corrected – emus.

There was a roping station:

And duck races:

And even a spiderweb to climb:

It’s a fun little place to visit and when you are done petting (feeding) the animals you can wash your hands really well and get farm fresh produce or baked goods. In our case, we got peaches and some bake at home peach pie. I won’t even tell you how much I ate of it. So good. I could list all the things I miss about Michigan but their produce…oh, I miss the produce.

Anyway…it’s true – we still pay good money to feed deer.

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