What I Got:
Borrowing Trouble by Stacy Finz - I loved the first one in the series when I read it a year and a half ago and it's definitely one I want to catch back up on. This is the newest book in the Nugget, CA series by Finz and it features a former chef! (NetGalley)
The Study of Seduction by Sabrina Jeffries - While I enjoyed her last book I didn't love it but I did love Edwin who was the brother of the heroine. I'm excited to read his story! (NetGalley)
Murder in an Irish Village - Really all I needed to see was the title. I cannot resist a cozy set in Ireland especially when it involves a bistro on top of everything else! (NetGalley)
Currently:
Reading: The Wanderer by Robyn Carr and Killer Run by Lynn Cahoon
Listening: Casino Royale by Ian Fleming and the Super Serials Podcast
Watching: Hulu completely made my day and put up the first 12 seasons of Top Chef. I'd watched all of season 12 the week before Christmas and am excited to watch older episodes. Other than that not much but I'm looking forward to getting caught up on Elementary and Criminal Minds
Off the Blog:
Christmas decorations are put up and the house looks so weird without all the stuff! I always love having everything out but hate packing it all up every year. I'm at the part now where I'm swearing I'm never decorating again but by November of this year I'll be anxious to get everything out again.
School started back this past week and we are starting to get back in routine. We're going to bed a little earlier and getting up WAY earlier and I have to admit that I'm not loving that part! I've actually started cooking again which took some getting used to it but it's great to be back in the kitchen.
For Christmas I treated myself to a big order of Lush bath bombs and they arrived this week! I'm so excited! I haven't gotten any in ages but I always love them. I'm looking forward to some long baths with good books.
I made these Copycat Cosmic Brownies from Mandy's Recipe Box and they were so good! I've never had a Cosmic Brownie so I can't say for sure how copycat this recipe is but it did get devoured! Eleanor's boyfriend said that they were what Cosmic Brownies wished they tasted like so I'm taking that as a good sign!
On the Blog:
What Happened:
Monday: Agatha Christie 101
Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday - 2016 Resolutions
What's Coming Up:
Monday: 8:55 to Baghdad - Nonfiction Review
Tuesday: Top Ten 2015 Releases I Meant to Get To But Didn't
Wednesday: TBD but probably a review of Killer Run
Thursday: Beyond the Books: Freebie Topic
Friday: Friday linkups with excerpts from Current Book
Saturday: TBD
Have a great week and happy reading!
Howdy stranger! I'm back after a month or so off and lovely to check in and see what everyone's been doing. Kids in Australia are off school for a while yet as these are our LONG summer holidays (most kids are off for December - January).
ReplyDeleteAnd the Irish village cozy does sound lovely... I have a yearning to visit a quaint little Irish (or English) village. Complete with village pub!
Hey! Hope you enjoyed your time off! We are the reverse here though the kids do get about 2 weeks off around Christmas. An Irish village is high up on my list too!
DeleteHa..I agree the house always feel naked to me after all the decorations come down..although Princess Sophia has so many toys taking over the house. I forgot how big toys are for infants and toddlers. I have the The Study of Seduction by Sabrina Jeffries and am curious about Edwin's story too. Hope your week is wonderful Katherine.
ReplyDeleteOh I remember all the baby/toddler stuff! It does take over quite a bit!
DeleteHow are you enjoying Casino Royale? I imagine that would be an interesting way to take in the story. We are in the process of taking down our Christmas decorations. My daughter is very sad. I told her we need to make way for Valentine's Day--not that we have any decorations for that particular holiday, but it seemed to mollify her. Those brownies sound delicious! I hope you have a great week, Katherine!
ReplyDeleteI'm liking Casino Royale! It's an interesting story - especially when compared to the movie! I love the making room for Valentines Day! I don't decorate for it either but I might try to find a craft or 2 on pinterest.
DeleteMurder in an Irish Village- yeah that's got "read me" all over it. :) And Lynn Cahoon- her cozies look fun.
ReplyDeleteThe after the holiday routine takes a little get used to, I was liking the break and sleeping in too. :)
I just added Hulu (free trial). They have a lot of stuff but I was surprised for some shows they only have like 5 episodes... I'm used to Netflix where they have full seasons usually. But I think Hulu has other shows that make up for it...
I go through phases where I prefer Netflix or Hulu. Right now I'm in a Hulu phase and am loving some of their food and BBC crime shows. B
DeleteI also love the sound of a story set in an Irish village...what fun! Enjoy your books, and thanks for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm looking forward to reading them and I can never resist an Irish setting!
DeleteThose books all have sound reasons for being chosen. I see one you've read called Sea Glass Sunrise, I was just telling my best friend as we walked on the beach today, that I wanted to see what sea glass is like, as we don't have it here and read about it in books. Guess I need to do a google image search!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've seen sea glass on the beach either but it's beautiful!
DeleteThose bath bombs are awesome! I only just discovered them and I need more :)
ReplyDeleteYour new books look fantastic, and I hope you'll enjoy them.
Have a fantastic week and happy reading.
Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews
I haven't used any of them yet but I can't wait to use them! I need to have the perfect book!
DeleteThe house does look empty without all the Christmas decorations, I'm always a bit sad taking them down. But it's good to be able to clean properly everywhere without them being in the way! Nice round up of cozy mysteries, hope you enjoy them all. This year I will read a cosy set in Ireland!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely on the cleaning! It was really good to really vacuum and dust. You must read a cozy set in Ireland! I want to see how accurate it is!
DeleteOh Top Chef!!! Love it. I could watch all the seasons over again. I am loving the new season though too. We are just finishing putting away our decorations and ugh. What a pain. Hope you have a great week!!
ReplyDeleteI'm loving Top Chef! I don't know why it took me so long to discover it.
DeleteOOoh Casino Royale is the one Bond-book that I have wanted to read for a while! Also, on my way to check out your Agatha Christie 101! Have you seen the recent adaptation of 'And Then There Were None'? It was brilliant! And I've been wanting to try Lush bath bombs for soo long! Ok, this comment was a mess xD I'll end here. Thanks for sharing :) I hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteMy Sunday Post
Juli @ Universe in Words
I'm enjoying Casino Royale! It's an interesting story. I haven't seen the And Then There Were None adaptation but I want to! I saw a couple of ads for it and it looks amazing. I'll have to see if I can find it here.
Deleteooh I love Lush, their products smell good enough to eat. I bought the bath bombs that release love hearts for my DIL for Christmas. I hate packing away the Christmas decorations too! Just checking if you received Come Full Circle from Sherryl Caulfield? Have a wonderful week and happy reading :)
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look for that bath bomb! It sounds fun!
DeleteYour killing me, now I have to go and check out that Irish mystery on netgalley....lol. :) I just got caught up with Elementary this week. :) Still have some other shows to catch up on.
ReplyDeleteHappy Reading,
Stormi
Friday Memes
Go get the Irish mystery! You'll feel better! I'm so behind on so many shows it's not even funny. I need more hours in the day!
DeleteI feel sad that I haven't watched Criminal Minds for a few years now. I miss it but also don't. It was getting really weird. And I wasn't loving all the characters anymore.
ReplyDeleteChristmas decorations were put away this week too. Which makes me happy(I'm not a Christmas fan).
At least you're getting back into a routine. I know it's hard to get back into the swing of things.
Have a good week!
Criminal Minds did get seriously weird for awhile but I think it got better. But if you don't miss it don't start watching it again! Too many shows and books!
DeleteI feel sad that I haven't watched Criminal Minds for a few years now. I miss it but also don't. It was getting really weird. And I wasn't loving all the characters anymore.
ReplyDeleteChristmas decorations were put away this week too. Which makes me happy(I'm not a Christmas fan).
At least you're getting back into a routine. I know it's hard to get back into the swing of things.
Have a good week!
Yup I always get a little blue after the holidays, The house looks so festive with all the decorations and then so empty! :( Funny my sister gave me a set of Lush bath bombs and soaps. I'm looking forward to beating my blues with them. I hope you enjoy your as well! :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy your bath bombs! I used to love their stuff but haven't tried any in years. I'm very excited!
DeleteI've always meant to watch Top Chef so maybe I will now that it is on Hulu! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI never watched it either but I'm really loving it!
DeleteIt is sad putting away the holiday decorations, the house can seem naked without them. I can imagine the getting up earlier sucks, blergh. I'm up to date on all of my shows, I think, just waiting for new episodes on many of them.
ReplyDeleteMurder in an Irish Village sounds tempting. *I will not look it up on NetGalley, I will not look it up, I will not*
I think I just have to many shows to actually be caught up on but I can't think of any to give up! Problems problems :)
DeleteI've been wanting to start the Victoria Laurie series for awhile but haven't had time yet. Eventually I will.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
I have mixed feelings about the Laurie series but I really loved the first few. Hope you get started on it soon!
DeleteCriminal Minds is on my list, but first I need to watch NCIS. But *before* that I need to finish a couple of rewatches (Supernatural, Buffy & Angel). lol We're getting back into a routine too. The early to rise and cooking meals stuff is the hardest part. :D
ReplyDeleteYou sound like me! I'm kind of reverse though. I want to watch Supernatural but first I need to finish up about 10 other shows!
DeleteI have never had a Cosmic Brownie either, but that still sounds like a recipe I want to try! My holiday decorations are down, but the tires are all still stacked in front if the attic door. And that might be because it is Sebastian's part of the job. Hehe. I will have to get back to look at your last week's cookbook post and I am looking forward to your Beyond the Books and TTT next week. Have a wonderful week. :)
ReplyDeleteThe cosmic brownies were soo good! I definitely am all for having some one else put the actual boxes up! That's no fun!
DeleteI was actually really eager to get all those decorations put away. I normally don't feel this way, but this year we got the new house and I was looking forward to seeing it without the tree and stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe bath stuff sounds awesome. I can't remember the last time I took a bubble bath. I wish I had more time.
I found that I sleep way better after having a bath so it's worth giving up a little sleep to sleep better but everyone works differently!
DeleteI think we all dislike putting that Christmas stuff away. I miss the mini lights already.
ReplyDeleteI know! I think the lights are what I miss most!
DeleteI dreaded putting the decorations away. It seems like December went by too fast for me to really enjoy my tree. But we got it all done in a couple hours and the house looks empty lol. I have never had a cosmic brownie but they look so good! I hope you enjoy your new books and have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI do miss the tree most. The lights are so pretty!
DeleteIt is so hard to get back into a routine after having time away from it. It sounds like you grabbed some great books this week. I am kind of drooling over the brownies now...do you have any left? :)
ReplyDeleteMake the brownies! You won't regret it! And no there aren't any left. I kept stopping by the refrigerator and getting a little sliver. Next time I make them I'm going to make sure there are lots of people to share them with!
DeleteI dread putting the decorations away as they always seem to be so dusty. I just don't get why, they're only up for a month! But it's nice to have them out of the way.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your new books and your week.
It's definitely nice having the decorations up but I do miss having the Christmas tree lights up.
Deletelol - Yeah, putting decorations away definitely isn't as fun as taking them out. And I'd say that's some compliment abut the brownies. Enjoy your baths and books! :D
ReplyDeleteI am definitely not loving the getting up earlier part. I got too used to a college student schedule and sleeping in until 10ish. Being at school by 7:30 is killing me!
ReplyDeleteI hate taking down the decorations! It's definitely faster than putting them, at least; but, even though I like the house to look less cluttered, it's almost too bare afterwards. Gonna have to check out those brownies!
ReplyDeleteI love getting back to routine after the holidays. Hope you enjoy the Robyn Carr book. She's one of my favorite authors. I also want to read the Jeffries series. I've read a few of her books and liked them. Have a good week!
ReplyDeleteI totally get that feeling when cleaning out the Christmas decorations. And each year I tell my guy that were not getting them back the following year.. but I always do! LOL!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week ;)
I read one of the Psychic Eye books and liked it. Like you said, it has it's flaws, but it's super fun!
ReplyDeleteKatherine, You've got to let me know about Murder in an Irish Village. Sounds fantastic. And anything chocolate is an instant hit. I did look at the recipe, and just reading it put on a couple of pounds.
ReplyDeleteMmm! Those look delicious. Princess Jellybean says she wants some! We've been so lazy. The tree isn't put away yet and our gifts are still in their boxes under the tree.
ReplyDelete