Book Club Review: The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

Another gathering of the Lit Wits last night, and another lovely evening with great food and good company (thank you, Sarah!).  This month's book selection?   The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman, a New York Times best selling debut novel which follows the topsy-turvy private lives of the reporters, editors, and executives of an international English language newspaper based in Rome as they struggle to keep it—and themselves—afloat.

This book reads like a collection of short stories, tied together by the backdrop of the newspaper. Personally, I found it hard to feel a real connection to the book, just as soon as I would get interested in a character...poof, they're gone.  Others found this the very aspect that kept them interested, different strokes and all that you know.  Apparently others also found it quite funny , the humor somehow escaped me.  Again, different stokes... 

Overall, I would say 5 of the 8 in our group would highly recommend this book... personally, it wasn't a memorable choice.  I decided I would have preferred it in movie format, Robert Altman directing in "Short Cuts" style... 

"Short Cuts"

It wouldn't be Book Club without some fun treats... we, of course enjoyed an Italian dinner (when was the last time you had chianti?) topped off by gelato and cannoli's (seriously, how many weight watchers points can I kill in one sitting?).  YUMMO.  Our dear Jana brought the party favors, as always she amazed us with her creativity ... you'll have to read the book to figure out the significance.

"It is Better to Live Your Life Imperfectly...

than to Live an Imitation of Someone Else's to Perfection"

Next up?

Thrifty Thursday...

Been a LONG time, but took a little trip to my fave thrift stores this week... the antiques booth has been largely neglected over the holidays and really need some items to freshen it up.  So what goodness did I find, you ask?  For the booth...

Love this little circa 1950's shabby wicker shelf... perfect to replace another little shelf I just sold.  I could have 100 cute chachkes in the crappiest of shelves and I promise you they will pull everything out of it and buy the shelf.  GO FIGURE.  Which is why I price every single thing in the booth, even if I intended it to be a "fixture" because sure enough, the fixture is what they want.

What else did I find for the booth?  Nada.  Zip. Zilch.... yep, sad face.  

Lest you think my trip was wasted, fear not!  I discovered one of my thrift haunts now has a "boutique" room... and BAM, turned that frown upside down.

I have been thrifting for antiques/furniture for years, but never shopped the clothes/shoes/accessories sections... until I started reading so many great everyday women fashion blogs and caught wind of some of their amazing finds.  Discovered this website from a Nate Berkus segment (love me some Nate!), http://lookingflyonadime.com,  Check it out, cuz' this woman will rock your world with her cheap chic thrift finds.  Anywhoodle... 

 Jones New York animal print scarf, wood bead and silver necklace, tortoise shell and black beaded necklace and vintage pearl and crystal beaded necklace... grand total?  $27... BAM!  I have been loving scarves, animal print, and all things tortoise shell lately.  Happy face.

But the grand finale?  The icing on the cake?

The cherry on top of the sundae (can you tell I'm hungry)? 

Wait for it...

 wait for it... 

Brand new, never worn, my size, SOOOOO comfy... $5.00.  FIVE BUCKS, people!  Got my name written ALL over them.  BOO-YAH!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday...

Ok... it's Thursday, not Wednesday.  And this isn't exactly wordless either.  But it's winter break, so cut me some slack... I'm all discombobulated.  

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or whatever you celebrate!

  This is our 2011 card.  Yes, this was taken on summer vacation, as it is every year... when we are all tanned, relaxed, happy and not running in 400 different directions. I evened managed to squeak a REAL smile out of Sweet Son, who loathes picture day with his whole teenage boy heart.   I also get them printed in September, not because I am some super organized freak, but because Shutterfly runs some SWEET deals in the summer allowing me to order my 250 cards without having to take out a second mortgage on my house.  

Now there's some JOY!

And inside are these two cuties... looking back at our 2010 card I'm just a tad distraught as it appears in the last year a MAN and a TEENAGER GIRL moved in and someone kidnapped my babies... seriously, who ARE these people and what did you do with my kids???

Try It Tuesday... DIY Lip Glop... um, GLOSS.

Dear Daughter has entered the world of junior high and the multitude of girl friends that comes with those crazy tween years... and of course, she being the most giving heart in our family, wanted to gift each and every one of said girl friends this Christmas.  Seeing that her gift budget was not quite as large as her heart, we needed to come up with an idea that would be both tween approved and somewhat economical... hence, homemade Lip Glop! 

After perusing a few different "recipes" on Pinterest, 

we decided on this version... 

You will need:

Petroleum Jelly

Kool-Aid (any flavor you like, we even mixed a couple)

Small Plastic Bead Containers (after multiple stores with no luck, these were finally located at Joann's)

Avery Mailing Seals

Start with about 1 cup of petroleum jelly in a microwave-safe bowl.  Melt for 30 seconds at a time, then stir, until it is completely liquified... this will take several minutes and the bowl will be VERY hot, so good to have an adult do this part.  

As soon as it is liquid and still hot, mix in the Kool-Aid.  We started with Cherry, then Grape, then finally mixed Cherry with Pink Lemonade to make Cherry Pink Lemonade.  It takes about 1 package of Kool-Aid to one cup of petroleum jelly.  Immediately pour the mixture into the opened bead cups... let sit until it solidifies.  The Cherry tinted it a light pink, the grape turned out a little too gray for my liking but DD was happy with it.  The Kool-Aid gives it a lovely scent and a little bit of flavor as well...

The Avery labels are the perfect size to make your own, personalized labels.  The Avery website has a free online program for creating and printing them in the correct size.

These cute little pocket size lip glosses would be perfect for birthday party treat bags, class gifts, stocking stuffers, or girl scout craft projects.  And let me say, they were quite a hit with the tweeny-boppers.

As for the name, LIP GLOP?  Well, those moms out there will understand... you know how your adorable little toddler calls something the wrong name and you don't have the heart to correct them because it makes you LAUGH OUT LOUD every time they say it?   Dear Daughter asked to use my Lip Glop one day, and it's been Lip Glop ever since...

Wall Plaque by Mountaine Meadows Pottery

Tasty Tuesday - Raspberry Tart!

Just Sweet and Sweetly Hot Raspberry Jam - Paula's Garden on etsy

Hold onto your hats, friends... two posts in three days!  

I know, I can hardly contain myself either.

Being it is THAT time of year, I have 4 events in the next 4 days which require me to contribute a dish of some sort... have I mentioned I am NOT a cook?  Have I mentioned I was smart enough to marry a man who can whip up a gourmet dish from half a jar of peanut butter and an onion?  Ok, perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration, but he does possess some pretty remarkable culinary skills for which I am eternally grateful.  But it is a busy time, and I think I am on my own this week in the "bring a dish to share" department.

Book Club last week was hosted by my beautiful and gracious neighbor, Sherry... she gifted us all a tart pan along with a recipe for the YUMILICOUS appetizer she served (along with some YUMILICOUS cocktails).

Seriously, Book Club with adult beverages, fattening food, AND gifts?  Makes it worth reading a few less than remarkable books.  

So, we start with the tart pan...

I must say, there is something really cute about a tart pan.

Williams Sonoma Fluted French Tart Pan

And here is the recipe... which was included with the pan and all wrapped up with a lovely bow!

Even I, with my limited chef skills, ought to be able to pull this one off... to the store I go to load up on cheese and raspberry preserves.  Do you think it REALLY matters if I shred my own cheese?

Post Script... if you can find the pre-shredded Velveeta I would highly recommend it for this recipe.  I tried to shred my own, and it's a bit like trying to shred cream cheese.  GOOD TIMES... not.  Also, this can be done directly in a shallow pie plate or tart dish allowing you to skip the Pam and flipping onto a plate part of the recipe... a very good idea for a kitchen klutz such as myself.

Seussical Sunday... Holiday Topiary even the Grinch would love!

Dr. Seuss Printable

Blog slacker reporting for duty... seriously, no excuse other than the usual lame "life is busy" which is just getting so boring.  ANYWHO... today I'm back and bringing you a fun and fast little project to add some color and whimsy to your holiday decor.  And when I say fast, I mean it took me longer to write this post than to make this project.

Some of you may remember this little pumpkin topiary I did back in October...

Fall Topiary

I loved these SOOOOOOOO much (I have one on each side of my porch), I really didn't want to take them down when we started pulling out the Christmas lights... but don't want to annoy the neighbors, so back in the fall decorating box they go.  

So.Sad.  

Now, what to do with my cute little iron urns for Christmas?  After some online searching I found a few ideas, but since I am short on TIME these days, I needed something super speedy... running through the aisles at Hobby Lobby during the 50% of Christmas sale, inspiration struck like a directive from Santa himself. 

I started with three of those large indoor/outdoor shatterproof Christmas ornaments in large, larger, and largest... 

also some quick drying waterproof glass glue.

The biggest challenge was figuring out how to get these babies glued together and stacked in a way that they would dry without sliding apart.  My solution, as you can see in the above photo, was to stack the clear plastic packaging they came in, with the balls glued together inside.  These sat overnight to make sure they were good and dry, and the next day I just plopped them right into the urns...

Dear Daughter (aka Cindy Lou Who) thinks they look very Dr. Seuss... 

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, 
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” 
― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Where have I been???

What the heck?  I knew I'd been gone too long when one of my DARLING friends played the word BLOG in our Words With Friends game... along with a "hint, hint" message.  GOT'CHA.
To quickly catch you up, I've been doing this...

For those of you who don't live in my neck of the woods... these are HOMECOMING OVERALLS.  A local tradition is for the girls to decorate overalls to wear to to school and to the HC game to hold up the GIGANTIC MUMS they wear to the game... these are mini versions that I made for the "little sisters" because heaven forbid they get left out of the fun.  You can only imagine what my dining room looked like during the creation process.  OY.

And the MUMS... here is a pic of one of the most extravagant and creative I saw at the game... too big to even get the girl in the picture!

Your eyes do not deceive you... it lights up!

Not to leave Sweet Son out of the festivities (it was HIS homecoming afterall, HA!)... SS and darling date at the game with their mums, and all dressed up and ready for dinner and the dance...

And of course... there's was Halloween.

Diners, Drive-ins, and Dear Daughter!  Most FUN part of this costume was the tray... Dollar store Coke tray and plastic glass... we put a pink napkin inside the cup to make it look like a shake.  The burger and hot dog?  Those are rawhide dog treats... HA!  All glued down so she could carry it around as one piece.  Oh, and she was smacking gum for extra effect...

This weekend is her BIG 12th birthday party... promise to be back with highlights of that extravaganza!