Sippin' Saturday - Pure Leaf Pomegranate Tea

I find this drink pretty refreshing and not too crazy sweet. It's not a smooth as drinks such as Peace Tea or Arizona Iced Tea, but if you like the drinks that taste more like tea (and not just sugar), than you'll probably like this one. The flavor is a little bit tart and decently fruity, like a pomegranate. As someone who is a fan of super sugary drinks, I probably wouldn't drink this on a daily basis, but it's fun to pick up every once in a while, especially if you need to cleanse your palate.

💗 Annette

5 years ago - 10 random drink reviews

Reading Wednesday - Something Sweet by Beverly Farr

Normally I try not to read two series books back-to-back by throwing a filler book in there, but I had a couple of doctor's appointments so I this ebook snuck its way in. It's book three in the Love and Chocolate series - and so far, the most recent one published. This one follows Amanda, a single mother of a four-year-old on the Autistic spectrum. She's crazy busy and struggles with money - she doesn't even consider having a social (or romantic) life.

I liked this book because, although it is very structurally a romance, it was more realistic - in that Amanda struggles were incredibly real. The author doesn't make anything in her life too glamorous. This book is another quick romance read.

Random Doodles

Not much to post today, so here are some random doodles drawn by my sister Gina.

Sippin' Saturday - IHOP Splashberry

This drink is a combination of Sprite, orange juice, and strawberry syrup. While it sounds very similar to the Olympic Torch that I reviewed here, it is so, so much better. It's served over ice (cold drinks area always a plus) and it has just the right balance of each of the flavors so that it's refreshing, but no one flavor is overbearing. Depending on your taste, it might be a little to sweet to go with a sweet breakfast food, like pancakes, but it would definitely go well with anything else!

💗 Annette

5 years ago - Sippin' Saturday - 10 random drink reviews

Reading Wednesday - Marry the Doctor by Beverly Farr

This is book two in the "Love and Chocolate" romance series by Beverly Farr. It follows Frank Brannigan, a neurosurgeon who is part owner of a large chocolate corporation. He's lonely, but as a single father and busy surgeon, he's having trouble finding that connection with someone.

While this book still follows the pretty typical romance, it was a little bit different for a couple of reasons:
1. The author doesn't reveal the female love interest until almost halfway through the story. (There are plenty of different options, so you don't know who it will be.)
2. Once the couple gets together... they're together. Instead of relationship-y oriented stuff, they (mostly) deal with external problems. I like this.
3. I liked the female character. She wasn't super typical for a romance - but I can't give too much away!

Overall, this book gets four out of five stars. It was cute and it was shorter than your average novel, which made it a quick read.

💗 Annette

3 years ago - Reading Wednesday - Jesus Calling

Spikes Square Eight from Bring Color to Crochet

This is the second square I've crocheted from Bring Color to Crochet. It was also my first time ever using spike stitch!

(My first row of spike stitches, I'm so proud.)

So, since it was my first time, I definitely didn't go far enough down when I first did the spike stitches. Which worked well enough for the first couple of rows, but got a bit tricky when I got farther along. I studied the author's picture quite a bit to figure out what had gone wrong. Basically, you want to go to the very bottom of the previous color for the spike stitch. If you're sticking your hook in somewhere in the middle, you're doing it wrong. :) I've included a (hopefully helpful) picture below.

The blue stitch in the very center, that one is wrong. The blue spike stitches to the right are right.

I thought this was a super fun square. It was easy, and now I want to try all sorts of patterns with spike stitches in them. They're simple and look very cool. And thankfully, the author has more squares using these stitches.

Both sides look pretty cool, but quite different. What side is your favorite?

I think this is the backside, but it's my favorite.

This is technically the "right" side, but I don't like it as much.

This week and last week's squares

💗 Annette

Reading Wednesday - Only Mine by Susan Mallery

This is book four in the Fool's Gold romance series. It follow's Dakota, one of a set of Triplets, who has lived in Fool's Gold almost her entire life. She's been assigned by her boss to keep an eye on a new reality TV series that has set up camp in town. While doing this, she meets Flinn, the older brother of two of the reality show contestants. Flinn is adamant that his brothers need to return home to Alaska to finish college, but even if they don't, he's staying to make sure they don't get themselves in trouble.

After reading a couple of her books, I sort of have high expectations for ones by Susan Mallery. This one was not to her usual standard. It wasn't bad by any means, but I wasn't on the edge of my seat either. It was a pretty classic romance. I'm still looking forward to reading the rest of the series though. :)

In February I went to a very large booksale that's held at the state fairgrounds, and I got most of the rest of the series. Here are pics of my stash. (Also, this isn't all of the books I got there... just the ones by Susan Mallery.)