I'm linking up with Kimberly at the Caffeinated Book Reviewer for the Sunday Post where it's time to talk about what we got, what we read and everything else!
What I Got:
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman - This has been on my wishlist for ages so I was excited to get this for Christmas. It's such a pretty little book! I can't wait to get reading! (Gift)
Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten - I love the Barefoot Contessa. Her recipes aren't the simplest but they're so reliably good. Plus, I'm all for making things ahead. (Gift)
Fairy Homes and Gardens by Barbara Purchia and E. Ashley Rooney - I had this book in PDF form from NetGalley and it just screamed to be paged through in print form. (Gift)
The Perfect Homecoming by Julia London - I really enjoyed the previous one in the series so I'm excited to see where the series goes (NetGalley)
Serbian Cooking by Danijela Kracun and Charles McFadden - I know nothing about Serbian cuisine so I'm madly curious. (NetGalley)
Relish by Lucy Knisley - This one is Trish's fault. We had similar feelings about Knisley's first book but she loved this one and I've been wanting to give graphic novels another try. (Library)
Nora Webster by Colm Toibin - I've been wanting to read this for ages so I was so excited when the very kind Tina from Novel Meals offered to send me her copy. I'm really looking forward to reading this one! (Gift)
Currently:
Reading: Twisted Threads by Lea Wait for a blog tour later this week and I'm finally actually starting Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie after meaning to start it for a few weeks. It's a reread for me but it's one I never remember much about but always enjoy.
Listening: Food by Jim Gaffigan. I'm about halfway done and so far enjoying it. It's really funny!
Watching: I've started watching Crossing Jordan on Netflix. I watched it a few years ago in reruns but never watched it in order or anything. I like the whole medical examiner thing but there's a little too much angst for me. Other than that not a huge amount. We watched football (which made me sad) and The Librarians (which made me happy) but not much else.
Off the Blog:
Whew! I feel like I can breathe again with all the holiday madness over. The Tornado's birthday was this week. He turned 5! How can my baby be 5??? I'm still having trouble getting used to that whole concept.
For New Year's Eve we went to Chuck E. Cheese which sounds crazy but if you have small children it's really perfect. The crowd is minimal, the kids are entertained and they run out a lot of energy so when you get home they just about pass out. We started this when the older kids were in elementary school and it's great. They could go run off and play games and J and I could sit and have a conversation. The Tornado's not quite old enough to go off on his own but we had fun playing the games with him. I ended up with a Chuck E. Cheese throwing injury but we cleaned up on tickets!
We had a grey and rainy New Year's but I stayed home and got caught up on laundry, organized my pantry and did a few little projects I've been meaning to do for awhile. Not very exciting sounding but I was able to listen to my audiobook the whole time and it feels good not to be drowning in tasks that need to be done. It's been awhile!
I thought I had signed up for all the challenges I was going to sign up for but I couldn't resist the Historical Romance Challenge and the New to You Reading Challenge hosted by Anna at Herding Cats and Burning Soup. She's really a terrible influence! I'm going for level 2 (12 books) in Historical Romance and level 3 (24 books) in New to You.
On the Blog:
What Happened this Past Week:
Monday: On the Fifth Day of Christmas I recommend 5 Cozies
Tuesday: My Top Ten Resolutions
Wednesday: Living Well Spending Less - Review
Thursday: First Book of the Year
Friday: Linkups featuring Charlie and the Chocolate Factory excerpts
Saturday: Cook It Up Challenge - December Edition
Tuesday: My Top Ten Resolutions
Wednesday: Living Well Spending Less - Review
Thursday: First Book of the Year
Friday: Linkups featuring Charlie and the Chocolate Factory excerpts
Saturday: Cook It Up Challenge - December Edition
What's Coming Up:
Monday: Meet Your Baker - Blog Tour Review
Tuesday: My take on Top Ten Debut Novels
Wednesday: I'll Have What She's Having - Review
Thursday: Twisted Threads - Blog Tour Review
Friday: Linkups with whatever book I'm reading
Saturday: Home For Dinner - Review
Happy Reading!
Oh they grow up so fast, and I can remember when my kids were aged 5-10 thinking I never wanted them to leave home..but each phase is wonderful and we are really enjoying our adult children right now. Um..I still have nightmares about Chucky Cheese..the noise, the dirty balls the awful pizza..lol More power to you. I liked Crossing Jordan...hope your week is delightful Katherine!
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying Crossing Jordan! I forgot how much I enjoyed that show! I'm still in shock about the Torndo being 5. I thought we would be prepared because of the older kids but time seems to be going faster with him!
DeleteI read Ex Libris years ago and enjoyed it so much it took me several blog posts to write about. LOL I hope you enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteWe had really hoped to go to John's Incredible Pizza for New Year's Eve. It's similar to Chuck E. Cheese, but since we were all sick, we stayed in. It worked out though. We stayed up until 9 p.m., rang in the New Year with the East Coast and then went to bed. It sounds like you had a nice time. :-)
Have a great week, Katherine! I start back to work tomorrow after seven weeks off. I'm part dreading and part looking forward to it. I do want to get back into a normal routine, but getting up early again will be tough.
That makes me even more excited about ex Libris! So sorry to hear that you guys weren't feeling well. Hope you are feeling better! I can imagine it being good to be back in routine but the early morning stuff is not fun!
DeleteWe're enjoying The Librarians too, it's just a fun show. We didn't do much for New Years, played some board games and then just hung out until midnight. Very low key. We all enjoyed it after a week of traveling and visiting.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED Charlie and the chocolate Factory growing up, the book and the movie (especially the book). Have not seen the newer version...
Enjoy your new books!
I actually liked the newer movie quite a bit but it's an odd one! It's actually closer to the book than the Wilder version I think.
DeleteTime seems to go by so very fast, right? Sometimes I feel that way about my baby cousins, who by the way are all taller than I am and how come they're no longer babies. lol :) I've signed up for 4 challenges not including my Goodreads challenge. :) Here's to a happy reading in 2015!
ReplyDeleteMy Sunday Post
It's weird when people who are supposed to be babies have the audacity to get taller than you! Not cool!
DeleteHappy New Year to you and your family and Happy Birthday to your 'little one' Mine two boys are grown up now (20 and 19) but my daughter and me stayed in with pizza on New Years eve. Hubby usually joins the crowds in Central London but I have a bit of a fear of large crowds so this is a no-no for me.
ReplyDeleteThe Pegster Reads
I'm not sold on large crowds either so I completely understand the staying home. That sounds like a nice New Years to me!
DeleteI can't remember the name of the actress from CJ but I always liked her style! I wrote about out NYE party in my Sunday Post post: http://fangswandsandfairydust.com/2015/01/sunpo-1-4-15.html
ReplyDeleteJill Hennessey is her name though I don't think she's done much since Crossing Jordan. I do like her style. She always looks completely pulled together in her own way
DeleteSo many good books! I loved Ex Libris, am dying to take a close look at Make It Ahead, and want to read Nora Webster sooner rather than later. Have a great week, Katherine :)
ReplyDeleteMake It Ahead is interesting but probably won't be one of my favorites. I'm excited about ex Libris and Nora Webster. Looking forward to reading them both!
DeleteNice books to start the new year with, Katherine. Thanks for bringing back my own memories from Chuck E. Cheese. There was a time when it seemed we were there almost every week for one birthday party or another.
ReplyDeleteMy recap: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2015/01/weekly-book-recap-92.html
It's not some place I'll miss when I don't have little kids but it is a lot of fun!
DeleteNice book haul! Isn't it the best feeling in the world to cross something off the To Do list that has been lingering for awhile? I still have some of those to cross off myself. We haven't been to a Chuck E Cheese in forever. Now that we have a granddaughter we'll need to make a few trips there when she gets bigger. I clean up on the basketball game. I have a freakish ability to hit basket after basket until I think my arm will fall off. lol
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous about your basketball skills! It is definitely not my strong suit!
DeleteGreat haul...enjoy! And I know what you mean about how quickly they grow. My youngest grandson will be twelve on Monday! And the older ones will be twenty in June...yikes!
ReplyDeleteWe won't even talk about how old my kids are...LOL.
I want to read Nora Webster...enjoy!
Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
I really think there should be a pause button on time! It goes way too fast. I'm looking forward to Nora Webster. It looks really interesting!
DeleteHappy birthday to your 'tornado!' LOL I still have a pic on my frig of when my son was a baby. He's now over six feet tall.
ReplyDeleteI spent a quiet time at home over the holidays and did a lot of cleaning and organizing. Still not sure which challenges I'll be doing but have it narrowed down.
here's my Sunday Post - http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/01/04/whats-new-on-my-bookshelf-91-and-the-sunday-post/
I'm not ready for him to be taller than me! I might cry!
DeleteEx Libris has been on my radar for a while, hope you enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by The Local Muse
I'm really excited about reading it!
DeleteI like how you BLAME Relish on me. ;) I'm feeling all sorts of pressure for you to like it. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI'll be curious what you think of the Make Ahead Meals. I browsed through it at Sam's Club yesterday but decided that I need to just check it out from the library. The recipes looked awfully sophisticated for my meat and potatoes family. :)
Happy new year!!
I'm not sure Make It Ahead will be a go to for me either. There's some interesting looking recipes but they're mostly sides or breads.
DeleteI'm actually really enjoying Relish once I got used to the format. I'm just teasing you about the blame even though it is always best to blame someone!
Everyone seems to be listening to audiobooks, lately! I have about nine now sitting in my Kindle library, and have yet to start one. My feature co-host listens while she does housework and my sister listens to hers in the car, but I have a feeling that I am going to need to be just listening, or I will miss too much. Thanks so much for visiting my blog. Happy New Year. :)
ReplyDeleteIt took me awhile to get into audiobooks but I am enjoying them. It took me awhile to figure out what I could do and still listen to them but it seems to be working. I can do housework but not cook and driving is kind of if-fy. It is a good way to get more books in.
DeleteHau'oli la hanau to your son. Time certainly goes by too fast. Barefoot Congress is awesome. I always know her recipes are wonderful. She is a sweetheart.
ReplyDeleteShe really is though I suspect I don't buy "good" enough olive oil or butter to suit her! I do know anytime I make something of hers that it's going to be tasty!
DeleteI love the Barefoot Contessa! I agree her recipes are more advanced than I am used to but they do taste good. I tried her cheesecake recipe and it turned out really good. I'd love to know if you like her cookbook. Make ahead recipes are always great to have.
ReplyDeleteIt's been so long since I've gone to Chuck E. Cheese. It is crazy there but it is a great place to keep the kids occupied. Sounds like the tornado has a great birthday and now I hope you get to relax and enjoy all your new books!
Have a great week!
Thanks! Things are slowing down a bit which is nice!
DeleteI can't even imagine how a cheesecake from the Barefoot Contessa must be!
Oh, happy birthday to the Tornado! I bet the Fairy House book is lovely in print, enjoy. :) Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteIt is awesome in print! It's such a pretty book!
DeleteSo, even though I'm 18 and way too old for it, I kind of want to go to Chuckie Cheese now!
ReplyDeleteAnyway sounds like you had a good holiday and I hope you have a great week ahead! =)
Nothing wrong with that! That's the good thing about little kids- you can do things like Chuck e cheese if you want!
DeleteI've been wanting to check out The Librarians, definitely heard great things!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, 5, congrats, such a rambunctious age ;)
Good luck with the challenge, I think I might sign up for that challenge, too! I do love my romance novels ;)
I love The Librarians! It's like a middle grade adventure in TV form but for adults! Such fun!
DeleteWith all those cook books you're house is going to be smelling lovely. Wanna send me some samples? ;)
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to your youngest! I don't have kids, but I hear their younger years just fly by.
NYE is definitely over hyped. It's totally a good night to go to bed early and than be able to sleep in the next day without having to work. :)
Happy reading!
Brittany @ This is the Story of My(Reading) Life
I would gladly send you samples Brittany! My family can be boring to cook for so I'm always shoving experiments off on family and friends! I do agree about NYE being overhyped. I'm not very social so parties don't have much appeal for me. I'm all about NYE in my PJs though!
DeleteI love watching Ina's show! I'll have to check out her new cookbook. Have a nice week!
ReplyDeleteI do too! I haven't watched it in far too long but she was on The Chew recently and she's just so entertaining. This doesn't look like it will be my most used cookbook of hers but I'm looking forward to trying it out.
DeleteKids grow up pretty fast these days, I agree. Happy Birthday to your boy!
ReplyDeleteWeeklyWrap@EverythingNyze
It's crazy! They really should slow down!
DeleteThe Librarians sounds like something I'm really going to enjoy but it'll probably be a while before I can see it as I usually wait for the dvds.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your challenges. I've signed up for a few and am really tempted by just one more but I don't want to end up overwhelmed having too much all at the same time!
Have a great week.
I love The Librarians! It's just so fun! I was determined I was going to go easy on chalkenges this year but that completely went out the window so now I'm just trying to stay organized!
DeleteYour son is such a cutie pie! Hope he had a great birthday (: Keep me updated with how Relish by Lucy Knisley goes, I've been meaning to get more into graphic novels! Happy reading for the week ahead x
ReplyDeleteThank you! He had a great birthday. It's a fun age because he's so excited about stuff.
DeleteI'm liking Relish so far though it took me awhile to get used to the format.
Watching our kids grow and suddenly change is amazing and sad at the same time :)
ReplyDeleteGood for you on getting on to some projects that need to be done, and isn't it just great that audiobooks make chores that much more doable?
Happy New Year Katherine :) All the best for 2015.
Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews
I love audiobooks for exactly that reason! A good enough book and all of a sudden cleaning the bathroom isn't that bad!
DeleteThe whole kids growing up thing is definitely bittersweet! He's such fun but I sometimes miss him as a baby so much!
I don't read a lot of Non-fiction but i LOVE Jim Gaffigan, I totally need to read his book EAT. I'm glad that you're liking it! Happy New year!
ReplyDeleteApril @ My Shelf Confessions
I'm loving Gaffigans book though the actual title is Food not Eat like I originally put. Not sure how I mixed those up. I've been giggling over it for days!
DeleteHi, Really great effort. Everyone must read this article. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete"Chuck E. Cheese throwing injury," lol. I can relate to this on so many levels. I haven't injured myself at Chuck E. Cheese (yet) but I have injured myself doing some incredibly mundane things that shouldn't result in injury. I do think that a lot of people can relate to the pure joy of Chuck E. Cheese. There's a reason why Dave and Buster's is so successful. It's the adult Chuck E. Cheese! I'm a sucker for some ski-ball.
ReplyDeleteI love skee ball! This injury happened throwing a little plastic ball a bit to vigorously at some pop up clowns. Seriously I never get any cool injury stories!
DeleteAww they do grow up so quickly!
ReplyDeleteThat they do! I feel like I need a pause button!
DeleteThey do grow so fast! Part of me is a little envious that you still have a little one at home.
ReplyDeleteAnd what lovely books you got! The Ann Fadiman book looks wonderful. And I think I shall sign up for the Historical Romance challenge. There's a fantasy challenge I've got my eye on, too... Oh, dear, I want to do ALL the pretty challenges! ;-)
I'll only have a little one for another 5 minutes or so. Or at least that's what it feels like! So far Ex Libris is awesome. Very bookish. All the Challenges! There's to many awesome ones to choose!
Delete