Sippin' Saturday - McDonald's Caramel Mocha

Here's a pic of McDonald's Caramel Mocha as I drank it on the way to Las Vegas. What a view! (Also, note that I'm not driving. That would be irresponsible. :P)

This is one of my favorite drinks from McDonald's, although they've got a great selection. This one is a perfect balance of  sweet and coffee. It's smooth and goes down easy.

Crochet Apple and Apple Slice from Tasty Crochet

Hello! I have another crocheted food for you today. I think this one is my favorite so far.

The crocheted apple is worked in the round. I used a slightly larger hook than the book calls for, but I think it turned out to be quite adorable. It's an easy pattern to follow and there's not a ton of sewing involved, which I liked. I used Red Hart Super Saver yarn.

The crocheted apple slice is worked in both the round (the fruit of the slice) and in rows (the rind/skin of the slice). I used the same size hook as the apple, but the slice came out slightly larger in proportion to the apple. I didn't like this pattern as much, but it would be easy to vary it to create other slices of fruit like oranges, lemons, green apples, etc. This one had more sewing that the apple, but still nothing too horrible.

Apple slice in progress

The final product!

Reading Wednesday - Kiss and Make Up

This is the third book in a cute bakery-themed romance series I've been reading. There is a family that owns a bakery shop in this small town that is able to do some magic. The main character of this book is in love with the brother of one of those. Problem being - he couldn't care less. She decides to take destiny in her own hands and buys a theater to refurbish. Unfortunately, it has a ghost. Which brings in a couple of other characters, including the guy she's in love with.

Overall, a pretty typical romance, but I still enjoyed it. It was also great because since this was the third book, I was already familiar with most of the characters.

Sippin' Saturday - Barista Originals

A couple of months back Starbucks had "Barista Originals" weeks. It was fantastic because I got to try a bunch of great new drinks. Here are two of them.

Madison's - Vanilla, Hazelnut, Cinnamon, Honey Latte. This drink was good, but probably not one I'd buy again with all the great options out there. It was not as sweet as I would like. Good flavors, but very coffee-strong.

Salted Caramel White Mocha - This is my new favorite!!! I've been ordering it ever since. If you don't like super sweet drinks this isn't for you, But luckily, it's for me! A white mocha with caramel and salt. It's just the perfect combination of flavors. Mmmm...

Reading Wednesday - The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

I just finished the sequel to this book, and it was amazing. I love that this book isn't typical. Not a typical setting, and not a typical main character. She's stubborn and confident and doesn't make the same mistakes over and over again. The first book is based on Arabian nights. The Caliph marries a girl and then has her executed the next morning. The main character, Shahrzad, decides she is going to be the one to break this pattern - and get revenge for her best friend.

I don't want to give very much away about the second book, but it does involve a magic carpet, a flying dragon, multiple curses, and a mis-shot arrow. I highly recommend these two.

Reading Wednesday - Finding Perfect

This is the third book in a romance series that takes place in the fictional town of Fools Gold. This story follows Pia, an eccentric member of the town who you meet in the first two books. She keeps having run-ins with the handsome ex-football player, Raoul. However, due to complications, neither of them feel they can be together (I can't elaborate without giving stuff away about previous books). The books follows the classic chick-lit formula, but for some reason, I can't put any of this author's (Susan Mallery) books down. I read this one pretty much in one sitting. Predictable, but still incredibly satisfying.

(Forewaring - I originally started reading this author's books because the adult scenes were very fade-to-black. Unfortunately, I can't say this trend continued past the first book I read of hers.)

Crochet Bagel from Tasty Crochet

Welcome to project number two from Tasty Crochet! Normally I will try to post these on Fridays, but the internet has been weird in my apartment, and I missed the first two Fridays in January.

So next thing I made was a bagel. This took a bit longer than the fried egg, but isn't it adorable? It even has a hole through the middle. Another fun food. :)

Crochet Fried Egg from Tasty Crochet

So I have a bunch of craft books that sit on my shelf (well, really in a box since my bookshelves are overfull) that never get used. So this year, my goal is to pick up a new one each month. I'm going to do four projects from each of them, and then review the book.

So, this month's book is Tasty Crochet by Rose Langlitz. I'm making the crochet food for my nephew's birthday. (He's three, so I'm not worried he'll read this and find out.)

First up, the fried egg!

This project was super quick and easy, and it turned out to be pretty adorable.

And, it comes with an egg shell!

Sippin' Saturday - Olympic Torch Cocktail

My friend and I made his at the Olympic party we hosted. It was inspired by this pin. I can't rate the alcoholic version, but the non-alcoholic version was... okay. It tasted like grenadine and orange juice, and that's about it. Nothing spectacular, not a fantastic combination. I'm sure the vodka makes it better. :) At least it looks pretty!

Reading Wednesday - Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine

Thanks to a friend of mine, I've been reading different books on writing. This one is written for children but I honestly think it's great for any age. It was written by Gail Carson Levine, who wrote Ella Enchanted and lots of other great children's novels. I read this book after I read Writing Christian Fiction by Jeff Gerke, and I loved the parallels between the two, as well as the differences.

This book goes through different important factors in writing a novel. It does a great job of breaking things down chapter by chapter and then providing different writing prompts to practice each technique. She does differ from Jeff Gerke in that she is a fan of flowery writing when appropriate - which I think is great - the book is called Writing Magic after all. I would definitely recommend it to anyone (of any age) who wants to get into writing.

Do you have any recommendations for books about writing for me?

Bonus! My friend wrote a review on this book too. Check it out. :)

Sippin' Saturday - Shirley Temple

The Shirley Temple is pretty classic - Sprite, grenadine (which is pomegranate flavored, by the way), and a maraschino cherry. And here's a picture of one my friend, Jeff, made for me at game night. It gets and honorable mention because it's probably the most delicious one I've had. :)

Reading Wednesday - Tsubasa

This is a manga series I remember fondly from my junior high/high school days. I only read the first ten or so back then, but I'm trying to re-read my way through them all now. So far I've re-read the first four. The manga follows a boy who is trying to recapture memories for his love who has amnesia. He travels with a couple of others who have mysterious pasts that are uncovered throughout the story. My favorite character is also a traveling companion of theirs named Mokona. He's adorable - a sort of bunny/rice-ball shaped magical creature.

Miscellaneous Monday - Pokemon Go

I don't know if anyone else is still into it, but I've been playing Pokemon Go and I really enjoy it. Instead of flooding my blog with random Pokemon Go posts most people don't really care about, I've created a page where I'll update my newest catches in Pokemon Go. Feel free to share your stuff too!

http://musicmicetro.blogspot.com/p/pokemon-go.html