Slow Cooking Thursday

It's Thursday and it's time for Slow Cooking Thursday, which is hosted by Sandra of Diary of Stay at Home Mom.

Potato and Leek Soup

4 cups chicken broth
3 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups chopped cabbage
1 leek, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup sour cream
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

Combine broth, potatoes, cabbage, leek, onion, carrots, parsley, salt, caraway seeds, pepper and bay leaf in slow-cooker; mix well.

Cover; cook on low 8 to 10 hours or on high 4 to 5 hours.

Remove and discard the bay leaf. Combine 1/2 cup hot liquid from slow cooker with sour cream in small bowl. Add sour cream mixture and bacon to soup; mix well.

Enjoy!

Don't forget about checking out more slow cooking recipes, by visiting here!

Today In History

22nd January, 1901: Queen Victoria passed away in the Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. She had become queen when she was 18 and had ruled for nearly 64 years of her life. She was succeeded by Prince Edward VII, her oldest son, who was 59 years old at the time, and reigned for nine years until his death.

You can find more Today In History by visiting here.

What Your Little Black Dress Says About You

Your Little Black Dress Says You're Seductive

You are sexy, outrageous, and daring. You love to push people's buttons. You are fearless and free spirited. You get people talking... and you don't care what they say about you. Your style is revealing, trendy, and flirty. You love to look good. If you were a shoe, you would be: Strappy sandals

The Little Black Dress Test

From my window I see...

Today In History

21st January, 1954: The US launched the world's first atomic submarine, Nautilus.

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Kids' Picks - January

It's Kids'Picks time at 5 Minutes for Books.

I'm one of those lucky people that both my kids love books. The Sophster2000, who is eight has been an avid reader ever since she discovered that she could do it on her own. She's been reading since she was four. Master K, on the other hand struggles with reading. It's hard to see the frustration growing in him while he tries to read on his own, he knows the sounds but for some reason he's having problems putting them together. But with all these struggles he still loves books, we read together, he has alone time with books on his own, and even the Sophster reads to him.

Sophster got this book at Christmas. But she was saving it until she finished the last book of the Harry Potter series. She began it a week and half ago, she just finished this morning. She loved it! She told me that I had to read it. I asked her if it was a recommendation and she said "it's not recommendation mom, I'm telling you have to read it".
Up next is J.K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard.




Master K, on the other hand, is enjoying Marley and Me, Meet Marley. It's one of those books that he enjoys so much that he always goes back to it after reading a new book. I think in the past week, we've read it two times everyday. I asked him what he thought about the book. He said that Marley was a silly dog, and then he asked when we could get a dog. Yeah! Not any time soon.

You can find more Kids'Picks by visiting 5 Minutes for Books.

Today In History

20th January, 1937 : The inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt's second term was held.

20th January, 1941: The inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt's third term is held.

20th January, 1961 : John F. Kennedy, the nation’s youngest president (at this time), took the oath of office today.

20th January, 1981: On this day, Ronald Reagan becomes President.

20th January, 1993: William Jefferson ( Bill ) Clinton took the oath of office to become the 42nd president of the United States.

You can find more Today In History by visiting here.

A Veiled Deception

I found A Veiled Deception by Annette Blair on the new releases shelf at the library. I couldn't resist bringing it home with me.

Here's the blurb:

With years of experience working for a top New York designer, Madeira Cutler has learned to appreciate the clean line, rich texture, and elegant draping of a finely crafted garment. It's not until Maddie goes home to Mystick Falls, Connecticut, for her sister's wedding, however, that she discovers her understanding of fashion goes much deeper...

Before the accessory shopping and fittings can begin, the festivities hit a snag when Maddie finds her sister's nemesis strangled with the bride-to-be's veil. In between opening her own vintage clothing shop and keeping the wedding on track, Maddie's determined to perform her own investigation to clear her family's name. She soon finds that her best witness may be an antique wedding dress that magically unveils to her the secrets of those who have worn it. But if the gown doesn't talk fast enough, the lives of everyone Maddie loves will surely fall apart at the seams.

I admit, although I was a tad excited about this book, I was also a little skeptical. I enjoy paranormal mysteries on occasion but they can be a bit overdone in my opinion. But I was pleasantly surprised with this one though.

I loved the setting, I have the perfect picture of Mystick Falls (I have vivid imagination!), I can picture the shops and the homes, very quaint and peaceful with lots of curious visitors. I did mention my vivid imagination, right? The characters are great! I love the closeness that Maddie has to her friends and family. Nick is one hot tamale! And then there's a very interesting ghost, named Dante. I love the way Maddie's father has a perfect quote for everything. Aunt Fiona has potential, she seems to be a maternal figure for Maddie, but can there be something brewing with the father? The story was good. I figured the whodunit pretty early, but I still enjoyed it. My favorite part of the book was the dialogue, it was awesome! Full of humor and sarcasm, and at times very touching and emotional.

Now, for the bad part. I have to wait until August for the next book of the series, Lace and Larceny.

A Veiled Deception by Annette Blair (4/5) Contemporary Mystery; Paranormal: Psychic/Ghost; Published: Berkley Prime Crime (1/09); Series: # 1, A Vintage Magic Mystery; 2009 Pub Challenge (1); 2009 100 + Reading Challenge (8); 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge (6);

Today In History

19th January, 1937 : Millionaire Howard Hughes breaks the existing transcontinental air record by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., in seven hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.

You can find more Today In History by visiting here.

Unravel Me

I've been looking forward to reading Unravel Me by Christie Ridgway ever since I read the first book of the Malibu & Ewe series, How To Knit a Wild Bikini. You read what I thought of that book, here.

Here's the blurb:

SoCal's newest hotspot isn't a bar or a club, it's a beachside knitting shop Malibu & Ewe - the perfect place for L.A.'s hip, young crowd to enjoy good yarn and better gossip...

For the first time in her life, young widow Juliet Weston is facing the world on her own - or hiding from it. But an invitation to Knitter's Night at Malibu & Ewe starts her down a whole new path full of girlfriends, laughter, and independence. And that kind of passion can be contagious...

Who knew knitting could be so sexy?

For years, Noah Smith has worked for the Westons and tried to fight his his feelings for Juliet, but her newfound zest for life is turning out to be irresistible. Still, Juliet's convinced the former soldier is too young to be anything more than a for-the-moment fling. To show her just how good he could for her, he'll do anything, even if it means haunting her favorite yarn store and getting in good with her two new best friends. But Juliet's not going to make it easy for Noah to learn how to knit two hearts together...

After reading the book, my first thought was: meh. It was an alright book, but nothing exceptional. It was nothing compared to How To Knit a Wild Bikini. I felt like this book was written more as a filler between the two other books of the series. I was more interested in reading what was going on with Gabe and Cassandra. Even the "evil" stepdaughter had more umph than Juliet. Argh!

And where was the spark? I didn't find anything except for a tiny sizzle. Oh well...

I certainly hope that Dirty Sexy Knitting will be better. I'm keeping my finger crossed.

Unravel Me by Christie Ridgway (3/5) Contemporary Romance; Published: Berkley Sensation (11/08); Series: # 2, Malibu & Ewe; Romance Reading Challenge (1); 2009 100 + Reading Challenge (7); 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge (5);

18th January, 1912 : British explorer Robert Falcon Scott arrives at the South Pole only to find that Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer, had preceded them by just over a month.

You can find more Today In History by visiting here.

Virgin River

WANTED: Midwife/nurse practitioner in Virgin River, population six hundred. Make a difference against a backdrop of towering california redwoods and crystal-clear rivers. Rent-free cabin included.

When the recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees this ad she quickly decides that the remote mountain town of Virgin River might be the perfect place to escape her heartache, and to re-energize the nursing career she loves. But her high hopes are dashed within an hour of arriving: the cabin is a dump, the roads are treacherous and the local doctor wants nothing to do with her. Realizing she’s made a huge mistake, Mel decides to leave town the following morning.

But a tiny baby, abandoned on a front porch, changes her plans...and a former marine cements them into place.

Melinda Monroe may have come to Virgin River looking for escape, but instead she finds her home.

Mel Monroe has some issues to deal with, she lost her husband in a tragic shooting. She's dissatisfied with her job, she wants a change in scenery. When she sees an add for a nurse practitioner/midwife in a remote village, she doesn't think twice about moving. Well, until she actually gets there...

I was hooked right from the beginning, I started the book and I didn't want to put it down. I loved the setting, I got the feeling that it was beautiful and remote. The storyline was great, I'm a huge fan of the new beginnings theme and I just love when a romance between a man and a woman begins as a friendship. It was obvious that Jack was attracted to her since the first minute they meet, but he wasn't pushy about it. He let her take her time, time to get used to the idea. And the characters were wonderful, each of them unique and interesting. The mystery of who the parents of the abandoned baby floored me, it caught me unaware, I'm usually pretty good at figuring these things out, but it surprised me.

It's a story about good people wanting to help others and along the way they fall in love with each other...beautiful! I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book of the series. It's the first book of a series, people! Yep, I'm excited...

Virgin River by Robyn Carr (4/5) Contemporary Romance; Published: Mira (4/07); Series: # 1, Virgin River; 2009 100 + Reading Challenge (6); 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge (4);