Simple Sunday-Fabulous Party

Merry Christmas

Link any family friendly post!

To celebrate the coming New Year I would like to have special party for the week of New Years.  Plan to link any and all your favorite posts from the year.  I will be fun seeing everyone's favorites!  

All links are pinned.  Two chosen for features on Monday at Happy Homemaker Monday.  

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

 Sign up here.

The Fabulous Party

Link any day!  Link everyday!

Link here. 

Wordless Wednesday

Merry Christmas

Children's Book Review- MaMa' Graciela's Secret

Publication date: October 10, 2017

Written by Mayra Calvani

Illustrated by Sheila Fein


MacLaren-Cochrane Publishing

www.maclaren-cochranepublishing.com

36 pages, 3-7 year olds

Reading guide at: www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com

About the book 

Mamá Gracíela’s TENDER, CRUNCHY, SPICY bacalaítos fritos are the best in town…

Local customers (including stray cats!) come from all over the island to enjoy her secret recipe. But when the Inspector discovers that Mamá secretly caters to so many cats and he threatens to close her tiny restaurant, Mamá must come up with a plan to save it—and all of the animals she loves. 

And I thought

A charming little children's book.  I received a pdf copy so I can't comment on the print copy.  

The illustrations were delightful.  I loved all the different cats. All the different cats have different and cute personalities. 

 Even the dogs that come around in the end are charming. 

The pages are colorful. 

The story is charming.  When Mrs. G. realizes that she can't keep all the cats and her restaurant she has to figure out what to do. 

The story has kind of a surprise ending. 

I enjoyed this children's book and recommend it to parents.  

This is a good book for parents to read to younger children. 

I received a complimentary copy. 

This review will appear on Amazon and Good Reads. 

Buy the book 

Amazon

Being Real-Glimpses of my Christmas House Feat. My Kitchen Hutch

 

Last week I wrote a post I titled 'Being Real'.  In that post I shared how my desk looked.  And then I shared My Christmas Desk.

You can see the 'Real' post here.  You can see the Christmas post 

here.

Today I am sharing a few photo's of my house. 

I called this post 'Being Real' because my photo's aren't fancy.

They are just plain 'ole pics with no cropping and nothing fancy.

I'm being real.

Enjoy the tour.

A glimpse of my hutch and table.  I took this photo because I was wanting to highlight the table runner.  It is meant for a swap.  

Here's a close up of the table runner before I send it off! . . . 

I love the red plaid.  

It is merely a piece of fabric laid on the table. 

It speaks Christmas to me.

And a close up of the hutch featuring one of my favorite things.

A couple of years ago I started a collection of Christmas trees.

The Cowboy brought this one home from a resale store! 

We are getting more 'real' here.  Sharing a pic that isn't very good.

I wanted to show you the tree that started my collection . . . 

Just a little glimpse.  It deserves a complete post. And maybe 

one day I will do that. 

The tree on the far left my DIL made a few years ago.  It is filled with handmade ornaments each representing something I love. 

In the middle is a tree that The Cowboy made himself.  The tree he found at Hobby Lobby.  He loved the camo.  I loved the burlap.

He added the fish hooks.  

Behind the  Cowboy tree is just a simple tree with lights.  Nothing special.

Here's a closer up of the tree my DIL made.  You can see a snowman,  a dog bone, lower left is felt Yellow Roses (for Texas).

It is a special tree!

There is a big window in this tiny breakfast nook.  On the left of the window is a small space where the Cowboy hung a shelf and put and I put a  rustic cabinet underneath. 

I have a new treasure that I am displaying on the shelf . . . 

I took this photo before I was finished with the Christmas decor. 

I had just begun.  I love the platter that I have displayed on an 

easel.  The easel was purchased last year for cents at a resale store that had a 90 percent off sale. 

The platter was a dumpster find.  Sort of.  I ran into a man putting things into the dumpster.  He had some items for donation he gave them to me.   He was fine with me keeping a few and then delivering to the resale shop the items I didn't want. 

Behind the platter you can see my ice trees.  I bought at Big Lot's back in the day.  

And another shot of the hutch . . . 

I am sharing this shot one more time because I wanted to share the red vase on the hutch.  I love it.  It was another Big Lot's find from way back in the day.  I have already moved it to my counter.  It perfectly holds a roll of paper towel!  I tried seeing what it looked like on the hutch.  But, it just speaks to me as a paper towel holder! 

My house isn't fancy. 

My house isn't even completely decorated. 

My photo's are simple and unedited.

But I love it.

It's me. 

And it's real.  

I hope you enjoyed my little tour.

I'd love to share with you the rest of my house.

Come by tomorrow to see my Cabin themed Green House Room

Merry Christmas

Linking at my favorite parties.  Scroll to the bottom for the list with links.  

Book Review- Seeds of Hope by Barbara Cameron-A Litfuse Tour

About the book 

Seeds of Hope (Gilead, November 2017)

A heartwarming tale of discovering love right in front of you

Miriam Troyer has had a secret crush on Mark Byler since she was a teenager, but she knows they can never have a relationship: Mark is a big-city attorney and an Englischer. Her Amish community is too far removed from all he knows–and she loves her quiet way of life.

Mark has always loved his visits to his grandfather’s farm, but he’s convinced the Amish life isn’t for him. There’s so much of the world to see and experience, and the excitement of his successful law practice can’t be matched by the slow pace of life found back home in the country.

But when things go wrong and his firm distances itself from him to try to save themselves, Mark finds himself back at his grandfather’s farm. Could life in this simple world be worth living after all? Especially when the teenager he remembers has grown into a woman that could be his future. Suddenly, these two people whose lives seem so far apart may get a chance to really see each other for the first time.

What others are saying 

I'm Hooked on Books says:

December 7, 2017 at 1:56 pm

Ms. Cameron does a wonderful job of comparing the two life styles during the course of the novel.

Savings in Seconds says:

December 7, 2017 at 4:17 pm

I find it interesting when an Amish novel contains a blend of the Plain life and Englisch living. In Seeds of Hope, author Barbara Cameron set up a good contrast between the two.

A Nest in the Rocks says:

December 9, 2017 at 2:04 pm

Seeds of Hope is a sweet story of deep and lasting love – between family, between friends, and between neighbors.  I love the way that Cameron portrays the relationships between this Amish community in Paradise, Pennsylvania.

Happily Managing a Household of Boys says:

December 11, 2017 at 3:54 pm

I LOVE how the book really brings the 2 worlds together and although hesitant at first, doors open and hearts change for Mark who never imagined himself loving the Amish farmlife. I really enjoyed Seeds of Hope and seeing the twists and turns in the book. The book was a constant page turner, very hard to put down!

And I thought 

Hope.  Everyone needs to Hope.  Seeds of Hope is a story that makes you realize that you can Hope.  

A super fast read.  A page turner.  The author does a great job 
of bringing the Amish and the Englisch worlds together. 

It was a bit of a ride.  There were some twists and turns that keep you turning the pages to the end. 

This was a heart warming story.   

If your a fan of reading Amish stories you will not be disappointed.

I received a complimentary copy from Litfuse.
This review will appear on retail sites where available.
This review will appear on My Reading Journeys and on 
Good Reads. 

Buy the book 

Amazon

Visit the tour

To read more reviews click here. 

Happy Homemaker Monday-A Look At My Weeks Plans

Joining Sandra for the party. 

Welcome to my world.

Sharing a look at my weeks plans and a few other things.  

I hope you enjoy your visit! 

Merry Christmas  

The Weather

 A bit chilly.  Winter is here.  It's cloudy today. Rained yesterday afternoon.  It looks like we might have a few more sprinkles today.

It's gearing up for some really chilly weather the end of the week!

Right Now I  Am

I am glad I am home now for the rest of the day.  Worked this morning.  And I am a little sad I didn't get to write my post last night instead of now at 2:30 in the afternoon.

But I am Blessed that I only have to work a few hours everyday. 

Praise The Lord!

On the menu

Monday-Standing Rib Roast (got it on sale) Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans or Brocolli, Pop Overs and maybe an avacado if one is ripe I have a few in the drawer I think one might be ready.

Tuesday- Yummy leftovers from last night

Wednesday -Mexican Catfish, Spainish Rice, Guacamole

Thursday- Egg Plant Parmesan, Side Pasta, Salad, Garlic Bread

Friday-  Yummy leftovers from last night

In the kitchen

A recipe I want to try.  I have so many on my pinterest boards.

I want to do some special recipes for Christmas dinner.  Our future son in law and his family are coming to our house for dinner.  

  

Two super simple ideas.  I've made the cream cheese version before using a special sauce we buy at the store.  I've never made it in the shape of a tree.  This is prefect for Christmas.  The crackers are super simple and yummy too. 

This is the sauce I use . . . 

Have you seen or tried it?

Here's the link for the recipe for the crackers. 

In the garden

Not much pretty to look at.  I have pansy's and mums in the bed. 

I am spending as much time as I can when the weather is nice trying to get beds ready for planting.  I missed fall planting I hope to be ready for my next chance!

I do have some carrots coming up!  

On the to do list

A couple more gifts to buy.

Boxes to ship. 

A couple more presents to wrap plus the two that I need to buy.

Get house ready for special company

Something fun to share

  

I thought this was cute.  My grandson would like to make one. 

If you have a printer here is the link to the printable. 

On my reading pile

Lately I've been reading alot of PDF versions and on my phone.

I have a few on my phone.  This is the one I am reading now. 

I have been very pleasantly surprised.   I am leaning toward 5 stars! Tomorrow I will be doing a Tuesday Teaser post over 

at my review blog.  Come by and visit.  Click here. 

Fabulous Features

Have you linked or visited my Fabulous Party?

 

You can link here at My Journey Back on Sunday.  Or over at the main party any day of the week.  Click here to visit and link. 

Here are my features from last week . . . 

 Click here to visit the great blog!

And this one was pretty neat too . . .

 

And there is a Christmas Party Hop there too.  Click here to visit the post.  

On the camera

I haven't posted very many photo's of my sweet 'new' dog.  She moves so fast it's hard to get a good shot.  To explain this photo. 

The is a stick she is chewing on.  It is so long.  It is crazy.  If you look close you can see the end almost touching the heater. 

I hope I can get a photo of her carrying it around!

Devo./ Scripture

Source

Thank you for visiting today. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful week.  

Merry Christmas

Have a Good Day

Have a Good Day

I'll be back this afternoon to share my Happy Homemaker Monday post!

Merry Christmas