Leftovers - Ep: 68

Safe Haven Book Review!

Summary: When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.

But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

This book was unlike any Nicholas Sparks book I've ever read. It had a love story, of course, but the main topic of the book was much more serious. For a Nicholas Sparks book I was surprised and happy with the ending. I mainly picked up this book because it's being made into a movie! It comes out Valentine's Day 2013! Here is the trailer...

Back Home Again - Ep: 67

Giving Thanks - Ep: 66

Turkey Days - Ep: 65

Life Of Pi Book Review

Summary: Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger.

I saw the preview for this movie and it looked interesting so I decided to pick up the book first. I almost put the book down, it took almost 100 pages to get into this book. But it ended up being amazing!! It was a great story and had the most unexpected ending. I would recommended this book to just about anyone.

Here is the movie trailer, it comes out next week!

Book Re-read

C vs C - Ep: 64

Book Re-read!

Teresa and I are doing a re-read of all the Harry Potter books, then we are going to have a movie marathon! Should be fun!

New Soup Recipe!

Tonight I made Chicken Taco Soup! I kind of created a recipe from several that I had looked at and some ingredients that I already had. Here's the recipe:

* Rotisserie Chicken (tip: get all the chicken off when it's still hot)

* 2 cans corn

* 2 cans low sodium black beans

* 32 oz. Low Sodium Chicken Broth

* Tomato Paste (I found the Ro-Tel Tomato Paste for extra spice)

* 8oz. Reduced fat Cream Cheese   

* 1 cup Reduced fat Sour Cream

* Packet of Taco seasoning

* Packet Ranch Dressig

* Cheese (for topping)

* Fritos (for topping)

I put all of in the Crock-Pot on low for about 7 hours, adding the creamy ingredients last. This made lots of soup, enough for me to make 8 lunch size meals out of it!!

Ingredients

End result! 

Unexpected Returns - Ep: 63

New Orleans Weekend!

This weekend John, Joe, and Dan had relatives visiting them from Italy! They decided to take them to New Orleans for the weekend. We had lots of fun and even got to go to LSU for the LSU vs MSU game. I took a few pictures, but not too many.

Crossing over Lake Pontchartrain! The sun was setting and it was so pretty!

Started the weekend with a Kir Royal. 

I got to New Orleans after work and didn't have a key to the hotel room yet. So I ended up getting a free voucher to the bar while I waited on the group to get back.

John's relatives wanted to hear the sounds for New Orleans, this Jazz bar came highly recommended. I really enjoyed this place. There was great live music, but at a level where you could still hear people talking beside you.

A walk down Bourbon Street.

Hand Grenade (A Bourbon Street delicacy)

The day of the game we went to Cafe du Monde for breakfast. It was so good. We also went to Cabela's (kind of like Bass Pro Shops, but just has hunting stuff). They don't really have specialty stores like that in Italy, so they really enjoyed that store.

Tiger Stadium!

Kick-off! Even though we lost the game, it was still a good game!

I forgot to take a picture of it, but I also got to try Quail this weekend! I really liked it. Some of the men folk went hunting and shot Quail, and they grilled it up for dinner when we got back from NO. We also had some tasty pasta, John's relatives actually own a restaurant in Italy and they made dinner for us!!!

Letter Analysis - Ep: 62

I voted!

Did you??

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries - 61

Afternoon Movie!

Summary: A funny and touching coming-of-age story based on the beloved best-selling novel by Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being A Wallflower is a modern classic that captures the dizzying highs and crushing lows of growing up. Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being A Wallflower is a moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope and the unforgettable friends that help us through life.

I needed to go into work today, on a Sunday, and decided to see a movie after I was done. I was really looking forward to this movie, I had read the book several years ago. Then I heard that it was going to be in select theaters only, so I was quite surprised when I saw it was playing at the Malco! (Mississippi usually doesn't get movies that are listed in select theaters only) It was a really cute and funny movie, there were several serious parts too, but overall a good book to movie adaptation!!

Here is the trailer again, for your viewing pleasure!

Are you Kidding Me! - Ep: 60

Staff Spirit - Ep: 59

Care Packages - Ep: 58

New Recipe!

Here is another Pinterest idea! Candice was here for a long weekend. We usually go out to eat while she is here, but we decided to stay in for a few meals. Can and I were looking for new recipes to try and came across this one!

Chicken Roll Ups

1 pkg cream cheese

1 pkg crescent rools

1.5 C grated chedder cheese

1 C grated Montery Jack cheese

1/4 t salt

1/4 t pepper

bread crumbs

1/4 sick melted butter

Combine chicken, cheeses, salt and pepper. Spoon onto crescents. Roll them up making sure they are sealed around the chicken mixture. Brush tops with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. To reheat, just place in a 325 degree oven for 15 minutes.

We decided against the bread crumbs. (it felt a little weird putting bread on bread) So we decided to add garlic powder instead. Can had it all ready when me and Lou got home from work! It turned out delicious!

Yummy meal!