Howdy, folks! As you know, King Arthur is our January Book of the Month, and I’m loving every minute of working on it. I didn’t pick one specific book version of the Arthurian legends, partially because there are so many…and also partially because I don’t know which is my favorite! I love that there are so many versions of the story. To me, our continued cultural draw to these legends is proof of just how timelessly awesome they are. But which modern versions are the best? In no particular order, here is my completely subjective list of favorite King Arthur retellings:
Category: Uncategorized
Pick Your Poison: Who’s Your Favorite Agatha Christie Sleuth?
Pretty much every Agatha Christie fan I know has a strong opinion on whether Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple is a better sleuth. Me? I’m completely torn.
I LOVE Poirot’s little eccentricities and penchant for perfection (in Cards on the Table, he’s heard to say, “I am always right. It is so invariable it startles me.”). Then again, I love the simple, unobtrusive way Jane Marple always manages to crack a case just by reflecting on her own experiences with human nature. I wish I could trek through London with Poirot on a case, but I’d probably want to end the day sipping tea by the fire with Miss Marple.
What about you? Where do you stand? Let me know in the poll below, and you can leave an explanation in the comments!
WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE?
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I’m a Yummly Publisher!
Howdy, Wonderlanders! Many of you have probably heard of Yummly, the online recipe database where you can share, save, and ask questions about recipes. I heard lots of good things about it, so I went to check it out…and now I’m becoming one of their publishers! HUZZAH!
Thanks to Yummly, I’ll now have awesome recipe printables available for each new recipe I publish (I’ll be adding printables to my old posts gradually over the next couple months). I’ve also got a new Yummly sharing button with my other share buttons at the bottom of each post, so you can save my recipes to your Yummly recipe box straight from my blog. MORE HUZZAHS!
You can check out my personal Yummly profile here. My publisher profile will be up soon too, and I’ll add the link to that here when it’s available.
Not a Yummly user but want to become one? Don’t worry, you can fix that here.
Please Pardon Our…Blankness
As you can probably tell, things are looking awfully monochromatic around here. Up until today, I was using a Mojo Marketplace blog theme called Writer. The theme creator sent out an update today that changed the whole theme to something much more “minimalistic”…and much less customizable. It got rid of header menus, backgrounds, pretty much everything. As you can imagine, I was not a happy camper. So I disabled it, and we’re currently sporting a free WordPress.org theme until I find a replacement (still pretty minimalistic, but at lease this one shows menus! Yay!).
Hopefully, I’ll have something strikingly gorgeous ready for you by tomorrow. For now, I’m settling in for a long night of unexpected theme browsing. Three cheers for the caffeine that’s going to get me through it all!
Here’s Comes July…and a New Book of the Month Hint!
Howdy, folks! I just got back from ringing in July in the best way possible: 5 days of cabin camping with old college buddies! It’s a summer tradition that started 5 years ago. Now that we’re scattered across 3 different states, it’s the most important way we keep in touch. Despite the mosquitoes and lack of cell reception, it’s the highlight of my summer. There’s just something magical about age old inside jokes, ice cream cone s’mores, and late-night discussions about how The Lego Movie is basically The Matrix.
On our way to get groceries for the cabin, we stopped at a Mickey D’s for wi-fi so I could post our final Tom Sawyer recipe: Tom’s Whitewashed Jelly Doughnuts. I brought the leftover doughnuts with me to share at the cabin, and my oh my were they popular, especially with blackberry jam (possibly more so than the original raspberry jam I used). If you’re looking for a drink to go along with your own jelly doughnuts, we just released our Tom Sawyer tea from Adagio: Becky’s Peach Tea! Click here or the image below to visit our tea gallery!
But you’re REALLY here for your Book of the Month photo hint, right? No worries, I’ve got it right here:
Any guesses?
Think Jerky: Help Make Delicious, Natural Jerky a Reality
It seems like every year I struggle to find just the right Father’s Day gift for my dad. It’s not that I don’t love him. Far from it; he’s a great, old-fashioned man’s man—lover of wilderness, patriotism, and meat. Think Ron Swanson if he had four kids. Need proof? This is my Father’s Day card for him this year, and it couldn’t be more perfect.
The problem is that these interests don’t involve much STUFF, which makes gift buying difficult. You can only get a guy so many Longhorn Steakhouse and Gander Mountain gift cards. And that’s why I CAN’T WAIT for this Think Jerky Kickstarter I heard about to become a reality.
Imagine gourmet beef jerky. HEALTHY gourmet jerky, developed by professional chefs and a Baconfest champion. THAT’S what Think Jerky is. The CEO Ricky Hirsch contacted me about their Kickstarter last week and sent me their video. The flavor descriptions alone had me drooling. I mean, c’mon: Sweet Chipotle? HELLO, GORGEOUS.
It’s like they tapped directly into people’s brains and pinpointed what everybody wants in a snack. If you’re looking for unique flavors, you’ve found them…unless you know someone else who’s selling Sriracha Honey jerky, in which case STOP HOLDING OUT ON THE REST OF US. If sustainable farming is your thing, they’ve got a farm-to-table expert on the team. But for me, the beauty is the simplicity of the final product. I like the idea of actual spices instead of chemicals and no gluten (because what’s gluten doing in jerky anyway?).
They’ve actually got me thrilled about turkey jerky for the first time in my life, which on its own is some kind of miracle.
And guess what? They’re already over halfway to their goal. What do you say we show them some Wonderlander love and help them reach the finish line? Doooooo it. You know you want to. Do it for the Ron Swanson in your life.
BONUS REASON TO HELP BACK THIS: If the Kickstarter is successful, Ricky might actually send me some free samples and let me do a review for you guys! HUZZZAH! You can’t see it, but right now I’m giving you my very best please-back-this-I-want-delicious-free-jerky face. Also, backers get discounts on the jerky and free recipe videos from the chefs. DOUBLE HUZZAH!
To help start the jerky revolution, click here for the Kickstarter page.
If you’re lacking funds but still want to show them some social media lovin’, check them out on Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram!
This post is sponsored by Think Jerky. The thoughts and opinions are my own.
Spring Fever Goes Culinary
It’s FINALLY starting to feel like spring around here. The snow is gone! The sun is out! And the birds are singing their wee hearts out! Singing isn’t really my thing, so I decided to show my appreciation for the sunny weather by creating 3 spring-themed kids’ snacks:
- Nature Scene Picture Plates
- Fruit Flowers with Peanut Butter Fluff Dip
- and Pink Lemonade Berry Popsicles
You can check them out in my guest post at Real Life at Home!
#ReadingMyLibrary Challenge Sign Up
Seeing as I don’t have an infinite book budget, I’m a huge proponent of libraries. So it’s not that surprising that I was downright gleeful when I discovered that Stephani from Caught Read Handed and Amy from Read What I Like were hosting a library-oriented reading challenge for the month of April. It’s called the #ReadingMyLibrary Challenge, and all you have to do is read a library book and blog/comment about it! Considering I picked up two new library books just before hearing about the challenge, I was more than prepared. 🙂
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My First Anniversary: The Story of My Wedding Ring
I love colors. Combine this with the fact that I have always been “just a little different,” and it’s not that surprising that my wedding ring has a blue stone instead of a diamond. I don’t really like jewelry, but I love this ring, even if it’s not what you would call perfect.