Archive | November 2013

Wife by Wednesday

Wife by Wednesday (Weekday Brides Series) ♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Blake is an English Duke in need of a wife or he will lose his family fortune by his next birthday. Those were the requirements of his father’s will to manipulate Blake from the grave. Samantha is a matchmaker for wealthy men looking for the right women to their business requirements. Her business is about logical sensible choices for marital relationships instead of choosing for love. A win-win for all parties involved.

After employing her to find his perfect match, Blake decides that Sam is the woman for him. Sam is understandably wary, but he makes her an offer that she cannot refuse. Considering that she has others she needs to think about, his proposal seems like the answer to a prayer. Blake is determined that he will outwit his father’s legal requirements and have a pleasurable time while doing it.

Opinion

The story was somewhat predictable, but entertaining and really funny. The supporting characters will add to the story and the entertainment factor. No romance would be complete without the half-truths and slight misunderstands along the way. Blake and Sam make a business deal in the beginning of their relationship and both knew that love was not supposed to be part of it. In the end, trust, not love, is the issue that decided the fate of their relationship.

Buy this book!!!! I loved it. Wife by Wednesday was such a cute story. This is a modern day simple girl-becomes-duchess story. And the funny thing about it is that the “simple girl-becomes-duchess” premise actually happens. I think England’s own Princess Kate is a good example of that. There might not be enough royals to go around for all the girls to have their own duke, but it goes to show that the storyline of this book was not too farfetched.

Jazz’d Tapas Bar – Savannah GA

Nov24

I had to go Savannah for a work conference and was looking for something different to eat. I wanted to go downtown because I figured that was the best area for a lot of different options. At the time it was raining, so walking around was out of the question. I searched on my phone for area restaurants and that is how I found Jazz’d Tapas Bar.

Jazz’d Tapas Bar is in Savannah’s Historic District on Barnard St. The bar is below street level lending to the cool, jazzy vibe. Not the best choice since it was raining cats and dogs because there were giant puddles near their entrance. But once inside, the atmosphere put me in the mood to order food and a tasty drink. This was the ultimate jazz bar with jazz/blues music playing in the background.

The thing about tapas menus is that you are usually hungry and want to try everything. Most menu items were between $7 – 10 each. I splurged and ordered 3: pork empanadas with a tangy sour cream dip, crab cakes with a herbed remolade, and roasted chicken over corn relish. I could not eat all that I ordered, so I took what was left of my empanadas for a late night snack. Since I was living in the moment, I felt that I had to order a martini. It seemed like the sophisticated thing to do. I forgot to take of picture of it, but it was a delight for me taste buds as well.

Everything was really delicious. My favorite was the empanadas. The pork filling was flavored with BBQ spices. It was a fusion of Southern BBQ and Latin cooking style.

I read that Jazz’d has received awards for their food and swanky digs from Cosmopolitan Magazine, Southern Living, and Savannah Magazine. I have to agree the food and ambiance were on point. If you are ever in Savannah and want to visit an upscale restaurant for food and drinks, keep this Jazz’d Tapas Bar in mind. They change the menu every so often, so you might not be able to order the empanadas, but whatever you order, I can imagine that it will be delicious.

Travel Destination: Clearwater Florida USA

Nov21

If you are looking for a cheap beach vacation in the US, don’t forget about Clearwater beach in Florida. I read an article in a tourist magazine that said that Clearwater Beach was named one of the best beaches in the US. I have to agree. I have been to a lot of different beaches and everything in the experience receives a rating. I look at the beach access, cleanliness of the beach, beach traffic/parking, beach hotel costs, and the quality of area restaurants. On a trip to visit some friends that live near Tampa, I took my Nana for a short vacation last December to Clearwater.

There are hotels within the $70 – 100 range that are not beachfront hotels but the beach is walking distance. To save some money, we picked an ocean view hotel. The hotel did not have beach access, but we could sit on their patio which overlooked the ocean. We were a less than 5 minute walk from the beach. So I was able to head out to the beach and put my feet in the water. Another plus was that the hotel parking was free. So many times, parking is $20 – 30 range at the nice hotels. And there are plenty of affordable restaurants in the area that are walking distance from the hotels that are along the beach.

The beach itself, the main attraction, was so pretty. I went out several times just to lay on the beach with my eyes closed listening to the waves. I went at dusk to watch the sun set. The sense of tranquility that I felt was from the best type of stress reliever.

Clearwater beach is accessible by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater small regional airport (abbreviation PIE) or Tampa international airport. We used a low cost air carrier Allegiant Air that flew from Greenville, SC into PIE. Using a flight special, the ticket price was $150. I do not know if you have the option of using a carrier like Allegiant Air, but if possible fly into PIE because smaller airports mean less hassle getting in and out. Just to give you an idea of how small the airport was- walking outside to the rental car parking lot was like walking outside of Wal-Mart to your car. There are no parking garages here.

Overall, the beach, surrounding area, hotel accommodations, and total trip cost made this an enjoyable, relaxing beach vacation.

Great products for aromatherapy projects

Nov15

One of my many hobbies is aromatherapy. I was studying fragrances and scents before it became the cool thing to do. Now days, there are so many different companies out there that are offering essential oils and blends to consumers. Unless you are fortunate enough to live in a place where there are brick and mortar stores selling these products, you probably will have to go online to find what you need.

For the best prices on the best quality products, I go to Amazon

I use a few different brands depending on what I need.

For pure essential oils, I use Edens Gardens and Aura Cacia.

They both have therapeutic grade pure essential oils. This means that I can feel safe using in recipes where I will potentially ingest the oil. I do not eat the oils, but if I am putting a blend on my skin, I want to ensure that the essential oil will not cause an adverse reaction. Some of my favorites are Ylang Ylang 100% Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil, Aura Cacia Pure Essential Oil Lavender — 2 fl oz, and Aura Cacia Essential Oils Peppermint.

For essential oil blends and carrier oils, I like the Now brand. I have tried and tested others, but Now seems to have best selection and the highest blend concentration ratio of essential oil to carrier oils. A good example of that is Eucalyptus Lemon blend. I love the NOW Foods Lemon Eucalyptus Oil, 1 ounce. Ounce for ounce, I think that Now’s Now Foods Grape Seed Oil, 16 Ounce and NOW Foods Jojoba Oil, 16 ounce are the best quality at reasonable prices.

When it comes to aromatherapy, your blends are only as good as your ingredients. Using low quality ingredients reduce or negate efficacy. In other cases, they could cause negative or allergic reactions. For me, Now, Edens Gardens and Aura Cacia are the best brands of what is on the market currently.

Indian Moon

Nov10

Indian Moon ♥♥

Quinton is a Native American man working for an environmental company that writes reports about the environmental effects of logging companies. The irony is that he accepts bribes from logging companies to ensure that he approves whatever they are doing. He gives creative spin of their actions to the EPA with little regard to the local flora and fauna. Regina is a wife of the logging company owner that Quinton is there to survey. Granted it is a very abusive relationship, but she is still married!

The only thing I hate worse than love triangles is a “romance” where one or both parties are married, especially when the person is cheating on their spouse. When I realized that Regina was going to be the love interest, I was curious how the book was going to end. I did not like the premise of the book, but I was still giving the author a chance to weave an interesting story.

Even though Regina was married, her husband was so abusive that she yearned for love and tenderness. I am not saying that I condone her method of obtaining it, but I can see how that situation could happen. Quinton was a man that has lost his way, his morals, and his character. Through his love for Regina, he was able to redeem himself. I do not like the way he chose to do that, but considering he probably felt he had to pay penance for all those hidden sins/bribes, he saw it as justice.

I cannot say that I recommend this book, but others might find it interesting. If you focus on Quinton’s road to redemption and less on a married woman having an affair, parts of the story have some merit. As a romance, I found the story depressing.