Last Minute Gifts for Kids

The countdown is on so I’m sharing my last Gift Guide installment for your last minute shopping ideas. If the kids in your life are anything like mine, they all have way too many toys. I buy for a lot of kids at the holidays and one theme I always stick to is books. No matter what, they all get at least one book.

I’m such a big advocate for promoting reading – especially in the fast paced, technology driven world that we all live in. There’s just nothing like curling up on the couch with an actual, printed book in your hands.

Here are some great children’s series that you should share with the kids in your life.

Usborne Books

I recently discovered this company and I LOVE their books. You can find a book for every age child. The best part is that all of their books are so unique and interactive. And, they cost the same as you would spend at one of those big chain stores. I bought a ton of books this year from them for kids aged 6 months to 11 years!

Harry Potter series

I feel like this series goes without saying for those kids 7 and older (or so). I read this series as an adult and loved it. It’s so well written and transports you to the most fun, imaginative world. If no one has read this series – start them on it now!

The Boxcar Children

This was one of my favorite series growing up and was so happy to see that you could still find these books in stores. They tell the story of 4 orphaned children who make a home in an abandoned boxcar. They eventually turn into amateur sleuths and solve crazy mysteries. The best part is that there are over 137 books in the series so, as long as you keep track of which ones you’ve bought, you’ll never go wrong!

Amelia Bedelia

If you haven’t ever heard of this series, please go look it up right now. Amelia Bedilia is such a fun, lighthearted children’s series that while dates back to the 60’s, still remains a classic today. The series follows the hilarious day to day activities of Amelia, a maid who is always taking things her employer says literally and ends up in comical situations because of it.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

This series is a newer one that my niece recently introduced me to. There are 10 books that follow the life of a meek middle schooler who struggles to fit in. The books are filled with fun drawings and hand written notes that make it look like a child’s diary. Perfect for any kid on the brink of (or in) middle school.

HAPPY SHOPPING!!!

Gifts for Book Lovers

For the second gift guide installment, I bring you great gift ideas for the book lovers in your life. If you missed the gifts for wine lovers – go check it out!

When I am shopping for loved ones for the holidays, I always try to pick something out that they wouldn’t typically buy for themselves. Make it fun, make it personal and make it something that they will actually WANT to use and not stuff in a drawer to be donated later. These bookish gifts should be the perfect fit!

Old Book scented candle

If you know someone who is a true bookworm, they LOVE the smell of old books. There is just something so comforting about it. With this candle, they can enjoy it anytime they want!

Personalized library embosser

This neat little gadget is the perfect way to personalize the books in your library. It’s also helpful to remind people who they borrowed a book from so you can actually get it back.

Book Scarf

Who doesn’t love scarves? They are so stylish and practical. This book scarf is the perfect wardrobe addition for any book lover. This one is Alice and Wonderland but there are other fun ones out there like Pride and Prejudice and The Raven.

Nap Massaging bed rest

Um – someone please buy this for me NOW. It’s always so awkward to read in bed. You end up at weird angles, your arms fall asleep and you get a crick in your neck. Problem, solved with this handy gift.

The Book Was Better sweatshirt

Most book lovers will unanimously agree that the book is ALWAYS better than the movie. Let them express their opinion loud and proud with this cute and cozy sweatshirt.

Happy shopping!

Gifts for Wine Lovers

The holidays will be here before you know it so it’s time to get your list done and start shopping. Though, if you are anything like me, if you haven’t started shopping by now, you are legit losing your mind. IT WILL NEVER GET DONE AND EVERYONE WILL GET APPLEBEES GIFT CARDS.

What do I do when holiday shopping gets me stressed? Open a bottle of wine, of course! Now, I’m not condoning drinking as a coping mechanism but let’s be real. It calms you down. While sipping on some red the other day, I was thinking about Christmas. And what better way to kick off the season than with some gifts perfect for the wine lover on your list. Or for yourself. Probably for yourself.

Wine socks

YOU. GUYS. I don’t even need to say anything about these socks. They are amazing and you need them right now. Hopefully I have a loved one reading this blog and is going directly to the site to purchase them for me. *hint hint*

Bamboo & Slate wine tasting flight

If you’ve read anything else on this blog, you know I love a fun and fancy wine tasting. This little set is perfect for your own at home tastings!

Bathtub wine glass holder

If there’s anything more relaxing than a glass of wine, it’s a glass of wine while in a hot bath. Have you ever knocked your glass of wine over and into the tub? No? Just me? Well, then just buy this so it doesn’t happen to you or someone you love.

Decanter

This is a perfect go-to gift for a wine lover. Get them a nice one, like this though. No one wants a dollar store wine decanter. Splurge a little bit people.

Fun wine-related shirt

You can’t go wrong with a fun graphic tee like the one below. It’s cute, practical and funny. Any wine lover would love to have this in their lives. Not that I’m hinting again here…just sayin.

Book Review - Gone Girl

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Publisher - Broadway Books
Publish Date - April 2014
Genre - Fiction/Suspense
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads













My Rating:

This is not usually my type of genre but this book had gotten such rave reviews that I figured I would give it a shot. I definitely don’t do horror type thrillers but figured I could handle a psychological thriller like this one. I also knew that I wouldn’t want to see the movie until I read the book. The book is ALWAYS better.

Gone Girl tells the story of Nick and Amy Dunne and her mysterious disappearance. It is the eve of their fifth wedding anniversary when Amy vanishes without a trace. Nick starts off as the husband everyone feels sorry for. When Amy’s diary is found, it is revealed that her perfectionist, dominating personality could have put anyone on edge. Throughout the entire investigation, as pressure mounts from the outside, Nick becomes evasive and produces a string of strange lies that only tarnish his public image. As the story progresses, the reader learns that there is more to their lives than meets the eye.

Flynn takes the reader on a rollercoaster of psychological plot twists that make you question everything you thought you knew. Trust is constantly put on the line and questioned throughout this novel and Flynn does a great job of taking readers into a dark world of Nick and Amy’s relationship. You’ll never cease to be surprised at what someone is willing to put up with for their interpretation of love. The style of narration caused me to need to flip back to previous chapters every so often to keep up with the varying points of view but, once you start reading, you won’t be able to put it down.

Pair This With: Apothic Dark

You need something dark and brooding to pair with this thriller. Apothic Dark is exactly that. It has dark flavors of blueberry and raspberry with hints of dark chocolate and coffee. This wine is the perfect pairing to get you through this emotional rollercoaster.

Love at First Bite - Wine and Chocolate

If you love chocolate and wine individually, why not enjoy them together! There are a lot of differing opinions on whether the bold tannins of both make a happy palette. Our friends over at ProFlowers have a few wine and chocolate pairing suggestions we love! They created this handy guide with 13 popular chocolates, including favorites like peanut butter cups and fruity truffles, to help you pick the perfect match. 

They also offer a few tips to help in case your favorite chocolate didn't make the list. 

Please include attribution to Proflower.com with this graphic.

Basic wine and chocolate pairing rules:

1.     The wine should be as sweet as the chocolate.

2.     Begin pairing by color. The darker the chocolate, the darker the wine.

3.     When possible, opt for a high quality chocolate bar.

4.     Consider texture as well as taste.

I’ve done a few wine and candy pairings with my friends and it is always such a good time! It doesn’t have to be fancy, just grab some wine and some chocolate and see what works. Sometimes, it makes it even more fun if the pairings don’t end up tasting very good. The reactions are usually pretty priceless!

One of my favorite pairings (not on this list) is chocolate covered blueberries paired with a brandy infused port wine, like the Bin 21 from Pippin Hill. It makes for a perfect after dinner dessert.

Comment below and let me know what your favorite is!

RVA Brewery Crawl

Over the past few years, Richmond has become a hot spot for craft breweries. There seems to be one on just about every corner. There’s one area in particular near my house called Scott’s Addition where these little places have popped up like crazy.

Some friends were in town last weekend so we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to do a little brewery crawl through Scott’s Addition. All of the places we went were within walking distance of each other and it ended up being a gorgeous, sunny day!

Since my girlfriend had just run the Richmond Marathon the previous day, she wanted a burger. I don’t blame her. If I ran 26.2 miles (and was still alive) I would want to eat ALL OF THE BURGERS. So, we hit up this fun little place called Boulevard Burgers and Brews which kicked off our day of drinking perfectly.

One of the things that I am super into right now is hard cider. It’s the perfect beer alternative for someone who doesn’t like beer. There is a new cidery that opened recently called Buskey that I’ve been dying to try out. So, that was our first stop. And let me tell you – they did not disappoint! They had an awesome selection of ciders ranging from traditional to crazy flavor infusions like coffee and jalapeno lime. My favorite was the newly released Pink Lady which was smooth and tart.

Our next stop was another recently opened cidery called Blue Bee. I was familiar with their ciders but this location in Richmond was brand new. The atmosphere there was very cool with a huge outdoor patio area to hang out. Unfortunately, their ciders completely disappointed us. None of them were really very good. My chemist husband said it seemed like they had been contaminated with Bret (which makes them sour). So, it could have just been a bad batch. We’ll probably give them one more shot maybe in the spring.

Our last stop of the day was at Isley Brewing Company. This was a cool place because they really had a wide variety of beers to choose from like Belgian White, Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Porter and IPA’s. The whole group went for their Plain Jane Blueberry Belgian White which was a huge hit. 

This would be a great place to go with a group of people who have varied tastes in beer. They also do a ton of Trivia Nights – you can’t go wrong!

Friendsgiving - A New Tradition

Within my circle of friends, we had been talking about trying out a progressive dinner for a while now. We decided that Thanksgiving was the perfect excuse to give it a shot and so our first Friendsgiving was born!

Progressive dinners are pretty cool because it takes the burden of preparing an ENTIRE meal off of just one person. Now, I’m pretty lucky with this group of friends because we all live in the same neighborhood. This really took the travel out of the progressive dinner. It is doable to drive from house to house but please – have a designated driver!

We started out the night at house #1 with cocktails. It was a really fun and festive way to kick off the dinner. The host made up these DELICIOUS pumpkin pie spiced white Russians and some apple pie jello shots. When we showed up and saw this spread, we knew it was going to be a good night! And really, can we talk about how adorable the chalkboard signs are!?

I hosted house #2 and took care of the appetizers – and of course, there was wine! One of my go-to appetizers are these little glazed kielbasa and pineapple bites. They are so easy to do and always disappear quickly. We also did a fun cheese plate with gouda, cheddar, prosciutto, summer sausage and a spicy plum chutney. And finally, we found this new recipe for some sausage stuffed apples that are just divine, and SO fall!

After appetizers, we headed to house #3 who so graciously offered to do both dinner and dessert since one of our host houses had some last minute change of plans. First of all – the table was gorgeous! Everything the entire night was so festive and adds so much to the atmosphere of it all. All of us really enjoy food and this meal did not disappoint. We had a TON of food! One of the couples smoked a turkey which was absolutely divine. The meal was rounded out with green bean casserole, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, rolls, corn and brussel sprouts. Needless to say, we were all ready to pass out on the floor after all the food.

None of us had much steam left when it came time for dessert but we ended the night with a yummy chocolate pudding trifle and some homemade apple pie. So good!

If you haven’t done a Friendsgiving dinner or a progressive dinner – you need to do it. It was decided before the night was over that this will definitely become a yearly tradition!

Book Review - The Lake House

The Lake House by Kate Morton
Publisher - Atria Books
Publish Date - October 2015
Genre - Fiction
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads











My Rating:

My review of this book has been a long time coming. Since Kate Morton is one of my favorite authors, I’m a bit disappointed in myself that I didn’t do this one sooner! I had waited with bated breath for The Lake House to be released. I’ve loved every book of hers and I knew this one was going to be good.

In true Kate Morton fashion, this novel takes you through time as you follow along story lines of impossibly intertwined destinies. The Lake House tells the story of Alice Edevane who lives on her family’s estate in Cornwall, England. Her story begins during her teenage years when one evening after a party, her baby brother Theo disappears. This even tears the family apart and leads Alice to learn secrets about her family that she never could have imagined.

The present story line picks up decades later with Alice living in London and introduces Sadie Sparrow, a young London detective. While on leave from the force, she is staying with her Grandfather in Cornwall. She stumbles upon the old Edevane estate and the detective in her must discover the secrets the estate is hiding. Sparrow sets off to solve the mystery of the Edevane estate which inevitably intertwines her story with Alice’s and they both learn the truth about events that happened long ago but most definitely shape their futures.

Like her other novels, The Lake House transports you away to another world and makes you feel as though you are right there with Alice and Sadie as their story unfolds. It’s full of suspense and plot twists that you’ll never see coming. Once I started reading, I truly couldn’t put it down. Just like Sadie Sparrow, I needed to know what the Edevane family secrets were. I’m not going to give the ending away, but I was a bit disappointed in how it all came together after such a suspenseful ride to the finish. It was all a bit too tidy in my opinion. Now, even though that was my feeling about how the story ended, I do not regret reading the book one bit. It was still an exciting, unexpected adventure!

Pair This With: Dreaming Tree Red Crush Blend

You’ll want a wine that wraps you up in warmth, but doesn’t take too much thought to enjoy. This is one of my go-to wines and it’s a perfect pairing with this novel. With flavors of raspberry, caramel and little bit of oak, this wine will stand up to the suspense but keep you calm all the way through.