Waiting on Wednesday {42}: Doctor Who Travels in Time

“Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

 

My WoW post is a bit different this time, because I’m actually waiting on an Adult Coloring book rather than an actual book, but, hey! I’m still waiting. lol

Another Doctor Who coloring book?!?!?!? YES, PLEASE! Plus, this one is full of all the Doctor’s timey-wimey travels! Score!! Excuse my inner Doctor Who nerd.

 

Title: Doctor Who Travels in Time

Publisher:  Price Stern Sloan

Release Date:  July 26, 2016

 

Experience the timey-wimey travels of the Doctor moment by moment with this historical Doctor Who coloring book.

 

 Inside you’ll find the Doctor’s greatest friends and foes from throughout all of history, with original illustrations featuring Churchill, Shakespeare, Van Gogh, Dickens, Madame de Pompadour and many more. Color in kings and queens, Romans and Egyptians, Viking villages and erupting volcanoes . . . not forgetting the occasional dinosaur on a spaceship.

 

 With 45 brand new images to color, Travels in Time is a fantastic addition to any coloring collection.

 

What are you lovelies waiting for?

Reawakened by Odette Beane

Emma Swan's life has been anything but a fairy tale. She's been on her own since she was abandoned as a baby--that is, until the night of her twenty-eighth birthday, when Henry, a ten-year-old boy, shows up on her doorstep. He's the son Emma gave up for adoption, and this surprise visit turns her life upside down.

 

Henry takes Emma back to his home in Storybrooke, Maine, where, Henry claims, all the residents are actually fairy tale characters who can't remember their true identities. And if Henry's right, that means that his sweet-natured, lonely schoolteacher Mary Margaret Blanchard is really Snow White, the iconic princess ... and also Emma's long-lost mother.

 

In Fairy Tale Land, we meet Snow White as a bandit on the run, forced into exile by her stepmother, the Evil Queen. Snow's a young woman learning to become a hero, who will do anything to live happily ever after with her one true love, Prince Charming.

 

The closer Emma comes to Henry in Storybrooke, the harder it is for her to ignore the dark curse that haunts this small New England town and binds her to Mary Margaret. If Emma can learn to accept her destiny as Storybrooke's savior and break the curse, she just might get the family reunion she's dreamed about her entire life.

 

Series: Once Upon A Time #1 | Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books |Source: Publisher | Rating: 1.5 Cups

 

I’m a massive fan of the series Once Upon a Time, so when the publisher sent me a copy of this one I was eager to give it a go. Sadly, once I picked up the book, my eagerness was short-lived.

 

So, this one was so very dull and very boring. It took me days, days people, to read one—just one—chapter. The book was only 337 pages and it took me nearly a month to finish, after I decided to pick it back up.

 

This book is basically a recap of season one, with the majority of facts left out. Occasionally, you get a wee bit of insight behind Emma and Snow’s actions, but I would have been lost if I hadn’t watched season one.

 

Overall, this one was extremely dull. I put it aside several times before picking it up and basically forcing myself to finish reading it. If you do want to give this one a go, readers beware, to understand this book you need to have watched season one

 

Are you a fan of Once Upon A Time?

Waiting on Wednesday {41}: The Helland Reckoning by Adrian Martin

“Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

 

This one looks creepy and interesting. It’s New Adult, but seriously?!, how can I pass it up.

 

Title: The Helland Reckoning

Author: Adrian Martin

Publisher:  Crooked Cat Publishing

Release Date: June 4, 2016

 

After a bitter two-year divorce, Katie Tremain heads for a new life with her twin daughters, Sarah and Tegan. The desolation of Bodmin Moor, and a small village called Helland, seems an idyllic place for Katie to begin her new career as a writer. But it’s a village with long-buried secrets.

 

Battling the inclement weather, an accident with a deer delays her arrival. Something is watching her, in the darkness from afar. During the first night in their new home, Katie is rendered unconscious. She awakens to find Sarah missing. Scared and worried, she calls the police, but before they arrive, a stranger appears in the early morning gloom claiming he wants to help.

 

Katie has never seen this man before, but Tegan appears to have a connection with him. Reluctantly, Katie accepts his help. But there is only one condition. No police.

 

Who is this stranger; why the secrecy; and what are his true motives?

 

But more importantly, who has Sarah?

 

The Helland Reckoning delves into a world between the living and the dead.

What are you lovelies waiting for?

The World of Debbie Macomber: Come Home to Color

From beloved author and Hallmark Channel favorite Debbie Macomber, this special adult coloring book features forty-five original illustrations depicting scenes from the Rose Harbor and Blossom Street series. Unplug and let the creativity flow!

 

MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME

 

The heartwarming novels of Debbie Macomber are known for their colorful locales, cheerful themes, and inspiring messages, and that spirit of comfort and generosity is on display throughout this one-of-a-kind collector’s item. The World of Debbie Macomber: Come Home to Color is packed with black-and-white illustrations of intricate knitting images, soothing landscapes, and cozy scenes from the long-running Rose Harbor and Blossom Street series—all of which you bring to dazzling life. There’s no place like home—and there’s no coloring book quite like this one.

 

Publisher: Ballantine Books| Release Date: April  26, 2016| Genre: Adult Coloring Book | Source: Publisher| Rating: 4.5 Cups

I have to say that this is the cutest adult coloring book that I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing or coloring. There are 45 black and white illustrations from eight illustrators featuring various scenes from the Rose Harbor series as well as the Blossom Street series.

 

The illustrations are simply darling. They range from cute little knitting scenes and lovely outdoor scenes to book and tea related drawings.  On the back of each image is book quote.  Each illustration is nicely detailed and, thankfully, no shading lines have been added. The level of complexity ranges from pictures that can be colored in under an hour to images that will probably takes days to finish.

 

I love the paper that’s used for this one. It’s a nice crisp white that allows the true color of pencil being used to show up. It’s also a nice heavy cardstock. Fine liner pens will not bleed through, although markers probably will. Watercolor pencils will work as well just make sure you allow the book to dry before closing.

 

As always, I would advise you to put a sheet of white paper behind the image just to protect the image on the opposite side.

 

 

Overall, this is one of my favorite adult coloring books. I absolutely love it. Not only does it appeal to me as a fan of Debbie Macomber, but also as a tea and book lover.

Look Inside Come Home To Color.

Stop by Debbie Macomber’s website to download and print a FREE Come Home To Color Bookmark set.

Are you a fan of Debbie Macomber?

Have you picked up an adult coloring book?

Mini Blog Ahead My Goals and Progress

The lovely Anna over @ herding cats and burning soup is hosting another Blog Ahead.

 

Vacations, Emergencies, Blogger Burn out--they hit us all. And our first Blog Ahead challenge of the year is here to help! This May join up with dozens of other bloggers to blog ahead and up your number of scheduled blog posts.

 

The Goal: Increase your number of "Scheduled Posts" by 15 posts.

 

The Dates:  May 1-15

 

So, I’ve had a horrible time getting my Bloggery self together. It’s not that I’ve hit a blogging slump, it’s that I’ve been having technical problems. It started with my laptop’s battery dying and then not calibrating correctly. Only to conclude with a group of deranged squirrels chewing through the phone line, actually all the power lines. And I’ve been dealing with these problems since December.

 

Everything is finally back in working order—and squirrel guarded. Now, I need to focus on getting some posts scheduled. I was a little late joining in, but I’m hoping to get back on track.

 

The goal of the challenge is to have 15 posts scheduled. I’m hoping I’ll be able to get a bit more but we shall see.

 

My Progress

 

Scheduled Posts I started with:  0

 

May 4^th (my first day joining in): 3 Scheduled Posts

 

May 5th:  No progress

 

May 6^th : No Progress

 

May 7^th : No Progress

 

May 8^th : 5 Scheduled Posts

 

May 9^th : 7 Scheduled Posts

 

May 10^th : 11 Scheduled Posts

 

May 11^th : No Progress

 

May 12^th:

 

May 13^th:

 

May 14^th:

 

May 15^th:

 

 

Waiting on Wednesday {40}: Sleepless in Manhattan by Sarah Morgan

“Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

 

Sarah Morgan! Need I say more? Honestly, I love her books to bits. They always have an engaging plot that pulls at your heartstrings and characters that steals your heart.

Title: Sleepless in Manhattan

Author: Sarah Morgan

Publisher:  HQN

Release Date: May 31, 2016

 

USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan introduces a sizzling new trilogy about three best friends embracing life—and love—in Manhattan.

 

 

Cool, calm and competent, events planner Paige Walker loves a challenge. After a childhood spent in and out of hospitals, she's now determined to prove herself—and where better to take the world by storm than in the exhilarating bustle of Manhattan? But when Paige is let go from the job she loves, she must face her biggest challenge of all—going it alone. 

 

 

Except launching her own events company is nothing compared to hiding her outrageous crush on Jake Romano—her brother's best friend, New York's most in-demand date, and the only man to break her heart. When Jake offers Paige's fledgling company a big chance, their still-sizzling chemistry starts giving her sleepless nights. But can she convince the man who trusts no one to take a chance on forever?

 

So, lovelies, what are you waiting on?

Waiting on Wednesday {39}: The Secret Language of Stones by M.J. Rose

“Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

 

Okay, so it was the lovely cover that caught my attention. Then I discovered that this was by M.J. Rose and knew that it had to go immediately on my to be read list. And I really enjoy reading about jewelers, which seems to be popping up a bit lately.

 

Title: The Secret Language of Stones

Author: M. J. Rose

Publisher: Atria

Release Date: July 19, 2016

 

As World War I rages and the Romanov dynasty reaches its sudden, brutal end, a young jewelry maker discovers love, passion, and her own healing powers in this rich and romantic ghost story, the perfect follow-up to M.J. Rose’s “brilliantly crafted” (Providence Journal) novel The Witch of Painted Sorrows.

 

Nestled within Paris’s historic Palais Royal is a jewelry store unlike any other. La Fantasie Russie is owned by Pavel Orloff, protégé to the famous Faberge, and is known by the city’s fashion elite as the place to find the rarest of gemstones and the most unique designs. But war has transformed Paris from a city of style and romance to a place of fear and mourning. In the summer of 1918, places where lovers used to walk, widows now wander alone.

 

So it is from La Fantasie Russie’s workshop that young, ambitious Opaline Duplessi now spends her time making trench watches for soldiers at the front, as well as mourning jewelry for the mothers, wives, and lovers of those who have fallen. People say that Opaline’s creations are magical. But magic is a word Opaline would rather not use. The concept is too closely associated with her mother Sandrine, who practices the dark arts passed down from their ancestor La Lune, one of sixteenth century Paris’s most famous courtesans.

 

But Opaline does have a rare gift even she can’t deny, a form of lithomancy that allows her to translate the energy emanating from stones. Certain gemstones, combined with a personal item, such as a lock of hair, enable her to receive messages from beyond the grave. In her mind, she is no mystic, but merely a messenger, giving voice to soldiers who died before they were able to properly express themselves to loved ones. Until one day, one of these fallen soldiers communicates a message—directly to her.

 

So begins a dangerous journey that will take Opaline into the darkest corners of wartime Paris and across the English Channel, where the exiled Romanov dowager empress is waiting to discover the fate of her family.

What are you lovelies waiting for?

Recipe Box: Cocoa Snickerdoodles

I’ve been playing around with transforming my favorite traditional snickerdoodle recipe into a cocoa snickerdoodle recipe. I’ve tried several recipes for chocolate snickerdoodles that I found online but the cookie just didn’t have that same fluffy texture of my original recipe. So, I decided to take the recipe that I loved and transform it.  

The first few tries were a bit of a nightmare because I decided to melt baking chocolate and make ganache like when making a chocolate cake. The dough ended up too wet and the cookies ended up spreading out onto the entire baking sheet. On my next try, I added more flour, which made the dough too tough. The cookies came out as hard as hockey pucks.  

So, I ended up running out of baking chocolate and, honestly, I was too lazy to run to the store, so I grabbed the cocoa powder—a much wiser choice. So, I ended up swapping out ¾ cup of flour for ¾ cup of cocoa and it worked on the first try.

I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients

 

1 ½ cups sugar                         ½ cup stick butter

½ cup shortening                      2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour            ¾ cup of cocoa powder

2 teaspoons cream of tartar       1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

 

Place in separate bowl and set aside

 

¼ cup sugar                             2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

 

Preheat Oven to 400° F

 

If using a convection oven that doesn’t automatically convert the temperature, preheat to 375° F

 

 

1.     In a medium bowl, sift together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt. Add ¾ cup of cocoa powder and whisk until incorporated.

2.     In a large bowl, mix 1 ½ cups sugar, ½ cup shortening, 2 large eggs, ½ cup stick butter. Stir in dry ingredients.

3.     Shape dough into 1 ¼ inch balls. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

4.     Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

 

Do you enjoy playing around with recipes?

What’s your favorite cookie recipe?