Top Ten Tuesday: Book Characters or Literary Figures I'd Name My Children After

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Today's Topic: It's a Rewind so I choose Book Characters or Literary Figures I'd Name My Children After

Sara-A Little Princess
One of my favorites growing up. I loved how plucky and determined Sara was. Those are traits I'd want in a little girl.

October-The October Daye series
I love the idea of naming kids after months. October can easily be Toby. 

Gansey-The Raven Boys
Ok, so this is his last name but I like Gansey for a first name. 

Niall-The Wicked Lovely Series
I love the name Naill. Plus I adore his character in the Wicked Lovely series. 

Cricket-Lola And The Boy Next Door
I just love how the name Cricket rolls off the tongue. It makes me smile.

Charlotte-Charlotte's Web
I loved the name Charlotte so much when I was growing up. I even named my not-Cabbage Patch doll Charlotte. 

Veruca-Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
Another one that I love how it sounds. Veruca. I would hope my child wouldn't be like Veruca but I still like the name.

Arwen-Lord of The Rings trilogy
Kind of cheating with this one since I haven't read LOTR but I love the name from the movies.

Marian-Robin Hood
This is my preferred spelling of Marian. I've seen it many different ways but I like it this way. 

Rhett-Gone With The Wind

Growing up with Jeffs and Peters, Rhett was pretty exotic. I thought it sounded manly. Or maybe just Clark Gable was.

What are your favorite possible baby names from books?

Weekend Cooking: The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater

I added The Kitchen Diaries to my library queue after reading about it on Cooking with Amy. I definitely want to cook more seasonally and this book is devoted to that.
The Kitchen Diaries follows a year of Nigel's life. All the meals are what he ate the day he writes about them. I had no idea who Nigel was at the time of getting the book. Nigel Slater is a British food writer and he hosts food cooking shows primarily in England. The recipes in The Kitchen Diaries vary between fussy and this is what was in the cupboard. I mainly read March and April and leafed through the rest of the year. I saw some foods I'll want to make when the time is right. The Kitchen Diaries will wind up on my cookbook shelf at some point.
I decided I wanted to try my hand at one of his recipes. I selected the Mustard Lamb Chops. I don't cook lamb often. In fact, I think the last time I had lamb was 2 or 3 years ago. Tai loves lamb but I don't often come across recipes for it. But I decided this was the perfect time to make lamb.
The recipe is incredibly easy. Mix coarse mustard with minced garlic, the juice of a lemon, and olive oil. Stir til a thick paste is formed. Marinated the chops for a hour or two. Broil for 5 minutes on both sides. The meat should still be pretty pink inside but let it rest for 5 minutes and it will come up to medium/medium-rare.

Serve with a lemon wedge. I served it with roasted asparagus but could be served with almost any other veggie.

The Mustard Lamb Chops were a hit with my family. In fact, it's been requested that I make lamb more often. Slater had 2 other lamb dishes (one with feta) that I'd love to try.

Have your tried any of Slater's recipes?
What's your favorite way to prepare lamb?



Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Replay by Ken Grimwood

I read about Replay on Bonnie's Books. I thought it would be a book that both Tai and I would enjoy. I was right. We both enjoyed Replay. I found it hard to put it down.
Jeff Winston is 43 when he dies. He's on the phone with his wife when his heart stops. Moments later, he finds himself, alive and 18. Jeff remembers everything from his previous life including the winners of the World Series and Kentucky Derby. Jeff uses his knowledge of these events to make money. Then he sets out to recreate his life. Nothing has changed. It's like someone rewound Jeff's life 25 years and let him live it all over again.
I found the premise of Replay to be very engaging and thought provoking. If you knew the outcome of world events, would you try to change them? If you knew the winner of every major sporting event for 25 years, would you bet on the outcomes? And if you knew you'd die again in 25 years, what would you do? I found the challenges that Jeff's replays provided to be highly interesting. When Jeff was "reborn", he was 18, able to leave school and go out in the world. But what if you came back a child, say eight years old, with all the knowledge of an adult. Those 10 years before you can legally be an adult would suck. And when Jeff does try to change a world event, he finds himself unable to stop it. So he learns not to try, to let events happen as they should.
Grimwood's writing is engaging and suspenseful. I could not put the book down. Even when I did, I found myself wondering what would happen next. To me, that's the mark of a good book. As you can see, I enjoyed Replay and would recommend to anyone. Others who shared their thoughts on Replay: Ink and Page, At Home With Books, and Read More!

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.


A bunch of holds came in this week. Yay!

The Summoner

Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell recently reviewed the third in the series. I thought it sounded good so decided to give it a go.

Black Wings

Another one I learned about from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell. She recently reviewed the third in the series.

The Bungalow

Sarah Jio wrote it, I need to read it.

Eating Local

Another cookbook to help me in my endeavor to eat locally and seasonally.

Outlander

I decided it was time to start the Outlander series. Can you believe I've never read it before?

What did you get this week? 

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books I Read Before I Was A Blogger

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Today's topic: Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was A Blogger 

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

I can't remember how this book ended up in my hands but I adored it. After reading The Red Tent, I wanted to talk to other people about. Sadly I couldn't convince my friends to read it with me or immediately after I did. The Red Tent is how I found out there were book bloggers. 

Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Another book I absolutely loved. Lucky Ashley read it around the same time as me so we could chat about our mutual enjoyment of Girl With A Pearl Earring.

The Divine Secrets of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells

I could relate Siddalee. My mother wasn't an alcoholic but she grew up in the same Catholic upbringing as Vivi. Some of Siddalee's stories were close to my childhood. It was like hearing from a friend.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin

I read this back in college. I had very little exposure to SciFi but I loved The Left Hand of Darkness. I certainly started to seek out more SciFi.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Another one I read in college. I was transfixed by Offred's story. I also read more of Atwood's work but The Handmaid's Tale remains my favorite.

Good In Bed by Jennifer Weiner

I remember Ashley told me about Good In Bed. I either bought it or grabbed it from the library. I stayed up all night reading it and sobbed at the end.

Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B Jenkins

A former coworker of mine loaned me the first couple of books of this series around the time it came out. She was hoping Left Behind would sway me to Christianity. It didn't but I adored the series anyway. I read each book in a matter of hours. Very gripping and entertaining.

The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro

I don't know how I found Laurie Notaro but I'm glad I did. I picked this one up after buying Autobiography of a Fat Bride for a friend who was getting married. Love her books.

Jemima J by Jane Green

I think this was another Ashley recommended book. I was deep in chick lit land back then so I'd read a few of Green's other books but Jemima J remains my favorite of hers.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

I don't remember why I read East of Eden. I'm glad I did. I really enjoyed it. 

What are your favorites from before you started blogging?

Moving Announcements

I decided to buy our change of address announcements rather than make them myself. I didn't think I would have the time or energy to make my own. After looking at several online options, I choose Paper Culture. I thought they had the best options. The fact that they plant a tree for every order and have free  rounded corners made them more attractive.
For our (Tai and me) announcements, I chose the Moving Box announcements.

Clearly not our info

For Dad's announcements, I chose the Bird House Relocation announcement.

I also ordered mailing labels for Tai and me. I found Paper Culture easy to work with. Their delivery was quick. Overall I was very happy with their service and would use them again.

Full disclosure: Paper Culture did not ask me to write this post. I paid for my purchases from Paper Culture. Just a happy customer, sharing my experience. 

Sausage, Spinach, Mushroom & Cheese Bake

Now that I'm cooking for Dad on a nightly basis, I'm on the hunt for more low carb recipes. Tai and I are also trying to limit our carbs so we are perfectly happy eating less bread and pasta. But my low carb menu was low. I bought some chicken italian sausage and I was looking for a way to use it. I stumbled on this recipe, did a little adding, and came out with a delicious dinner.

Sausage, Spinach, Mushroom & Cheese Bake
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 lb italian sausage (chicken, turkey, or pork)
1 jar of pasta sauce
2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of fresh spinach
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 egg, beaten
8 oz mushroom, sliced
2 cups of mozzarella cheese

Brown sausage. I used fully cooked chicken italian sausage so I sliced the sausage and browned it. You could leave the sausage whole or remove it from the casings before browning it. Next time, I'll use bulk italian sausage. Once sausage is brown, add jar of pasta sauce and remove from heat.
While the sausage was browning, I put the mushrooms on a pan and put them in 400° oven for 30 minutes until slightly roasted. 
Combine cottage cheese, spinach, mushrooms, Parmesan, onion, garlic, and egg in a bowl. Pour cheese-spinach mix into a 9" x 11" baking dish. Pour sausage-pasta sauce mix on top. Spread mozzarella over top. Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Remove cover and let cheese brown for 10 minutes or so.  

It is a little watery so you might want to drain a little of the water before serving. Everyone loved this dish. It was a keeper.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

Forever and A Day

Shelf Talk had an excellent post on Historical Romances. Several caught my eye. Two of which came this week from the library. Forever and Day being the first. 

The Proposal

The Proposal being the second from Shelf Talk's list.

White Jacket Required

I've been reading Jenna's blog, Eat, Live, Run, for a while. I decided to check out her book.

What did you get this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I Would Crush On If I Were Also A Fictional Character

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Today's Topic: Top Ten Characters I Would Crush On If I Were Also A Fictional Character 

Marcus Flutie- Jessica Darling

Swoon! First, I adore the name Marcus. Second the way he woos Jessica. Double swoon!

Jacob Black-Twilight

I do love me some werewolf.

Sam-Newsoul series

A 5000 year musician who writes music for the woman he loves. Swoon!

Jack Dandy-Steampunk Chronicles

I have a soft spot for bad boys. And Jack Dandy is bad. 

Tybalt-Toby Daye series

Meow! Tybalt is dangerously adorable. I've been a fan of his character his the first October Daye book.

Cricket-Lola and the boy next door

A smart boy who's also a snappy dresser? I seriously loved Cricket (yes more than Etienne).

Nat from the Witch of Blackbird Pond

I loved how Nat challenge Kit and never backed down. He supported Kit even when the whole town was against her.

Peeta-The Hunger Games

Tai jokes that Peeta is my book boyfriend. I'm very much Team Peeta.

Wade Watts-Ready Player One

I have a small crush on Wade Watts. I imagine we'd spend hours talking about video games and the 80's.

James-Ballad

Another musician. An adorable one that writes music on his arms. Ok, Maggie Stiefvater. Stop writing other books and write the third Book of Faerie book already.

What characters do you have crushes on?

March Book Tally

Hexed by Kevin Hearne (320)
Scott Pilgrim Vs The World by Bryan O'Malley (200)
Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka (144)
The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn (285)
The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston (340)
Asunder by Jodi Meadows (406)
Piece de Resistance by Sandra Byrd (304)
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (452)
Hammered by Kevin Hearne (310)

Nine books this month. Not bad. Plus I read some great books. I'm loving Hearne's Iron Druid series. As you can see I read 2 books in that series this month. I was so excited to read Scarlet and Asunder. Both were excellent.

Stats:

Fill In The Gaps YTD: 0 (None this month)

Historical Reading Challenge YTD: 2 (Buddha in The Attic, The Winter Witch)

Mammoth Book Challenge YTD: 2 (Scarlet)

Let Me Count The Ways Book Challenge: Pages read this month (2761), Pages read this year (7245)
Total books to date: 23