What's for Dinner?

My mother-in-law stopped by with a huge bag of veggies from her garden. This is a pretty common occurence each summer. Today, the yellow squash, patty-pan squash, onion, basil & bit of dill went in a pan with some chicken. It smells great! Also cooking up some fresh green beans...cucumbers in mayo sauce on the side!
This is also my first attempt at a blog post from my phone. Hopefully this works! Please bear with me!!

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The Sweetest Thing

I was pulled in right from the first sentence..."I met Dobbs on the day my world fell apart." The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser was sent to me by Bethany House Publishers for review. It is written by Elizabeth Musser. I have never read anything by this author and was happy to be introduced to her work! The book takes place in Georgia during the time of the Great Depression. (I love historical fiction!!)

The book switches back and forth between the view-points of the two main characters. Mary Dobbs Dillard arrives in Atlanta to stay with her affluent Aunt & Uncle. Her family is from Chicago and is very poor, as her father is an itinerant preacher. She forms a fast friendship with Anne Perri Singleton. Anne is used to a life of affluence, but immediately hardships hit her family and this stretches the friendship of the two.

I found myself wrapped up in the lives of these characters & would welcome a sequel to this great book!! It was an enjoyable, easy read that I would recommend if you're looking for a book for what is left of your summer reading time.

Wedding Cake

This past weekend was my daughter's wedding. It was, of course, of the DIY variety! Things started to spin out of control the morning of the wedding, but eventually everything came together. I will have lots to post in order to show you all of the wedding - but let me just start with the cake!!

Here it is, start to finish:

I started off with 4 square pans and made 2 layers of each - one chocolate and one white.

 Next came the buttercream. The buttercream on the sides and tops was basic vanilla, but in between the layers was either strawberry or caramel. Once the buttercream was on, the dowels were inserted for support.

 Then came the fondant...lots and lots of fondant! It's really a lot easier than you would think!

 Several dozen daisies made out of gum paste...I bought a powdered base, mixed it with water, rolled it out and cut it out with daisy-shaped cutters.

After stacking, I added a little ribbon and "glued" on the daisies (with powdered sugar & water "glue").

 

Head on over to Whipperberry for more great DIY projects!!!

One of my favorite things is to...

...open my front door and look outside on a fall afternoon...

What's On My Nightstand

I LOVE to see what other people are reading!!

I LOVE to read!!

It's been awhile since I've linked to 5 Minutes for Books, but I always enjoy checking out their site.

Right now, I'm working through this stack of books:

The top book is a book that I just brought home from the library today - Motherland by Fern Schumer Chapman. It is the story of a mother who is a Holocaust survivor. After a lifetime of hiding her secrets, she takes her daughter with her back to Germany to face her past. I'm anxious to read it.
Rooftops of Tehran - by Mahbod Serji. I have read a lot about this book and I enjoyed The Kite Runner so I thought I'd check this one out as well. I'm finding that I don't always enjoy vocabulary choices even though story lines may be well written. (Enough said about that, for now.)
A New Kind of Normal - by Carol Kent. I am nearly finished with this book. I also just finished her book: When I Lay My Isaac Down. Both books are about a major change in the life of her family. I would highly recommend these books, so I don't want to give too much away. Let me just say that her life changed to a "new normal" overnight. She came to a crossroads of trusting God or walking away. She found hope when she felt like giving up.
While We're Far Apart - by Lynn Austin. This is another book that I brought home from the library today. I always enjoy reading Lynn Austin. This is a new one from her; I haven't heard much about it but I'm looking forward to reading it!

Finally, Authentic Faith - by Gary Thomas is on my stack to read this month. Gary Thomas is by far my favorite author (non-fiction). He has such a great ability to take lots of material and condense it into one thought provoking line. I have read and re-read all of his books. I'd encourage you to check him out. The sub title for this book is: The Power of a Fire-Tested Life. Then, the question "What if life isn't meant to be perfect but we are meant to trust the One who is?" is written across the bottom. I chose this book for a new book discussion group that I am forming with some friends. So far there are 4 or 5 of us who will be reading and discussing this book. The plan is to read a book every month or two and get together for some disccussion.

So, that's enough to keep me busy for awhile!!