Jan 29, 2016

Who is Your Author BFF?

... besides Nora Roberts, of course ;) ...




Sometimes authors hit the nail on the head so perfectly, it almost feels like they know us. They write from the heart and connect to us in ways that sometimes even our closest friends can’t. Authors, like friends, are important because they can touch, anger, disappoint, and humor us—as well as spark our imagination. Even in their differences, friends, and authors, are there for us in our hardest and happiest times. Which author would you be best friends with?





Jan 28, 2016

Introducing Nora Roberts' Books to (MY) Man




It all started with a post I read online. In it a woman said how she'd love to introduce Nora Roberts' novels and characters to her son. She deemed her husband an hopeless case but she would love to "form" her son to be as good - great in fact - as Nora's male characters...


My husband reads frequently. An average of 10 books per year maybe. A leisure and for fun reader. All reading very manly of course. And some from writers that Nora also likes like Stephen King and Paul Auster.


The moment for "making" him read a Nora novel happened after he read his first Nicholas Sparks novel. His sister gave it to him and he - I believe he didn't have any other to read when the craving hit that day - picked it and read. Lots of teasing from my son... My daughter has a more each-to-their-own-what-do-I-care-what-dad's-reading attitude so no ribbing from her... And a plan started in my head...


When he was finished we were in that close-to-Christmas phase when you don't want to spend money indulging... so I pointed him "Sea Swept" in our bedroom shelves... he was like "Nora Roberts? That's for women" and I used something I read in one of NR novels "it doesn't mean you will grow breasts (by reading it)"... he might have (always) been curious about them because after saying "you never know. not taking chances" he was like "are you sure?" and I - using my what-do-I-care face - "sure. you might enjoy. story is nice. characters are fun. give it a try. if you don't like how it goes put it down"


And it ALL started. I used strategy to keep him on the path. I didn't disclose the series had 4 books... Men are such babies... and I kept asking what part he was in and instantly knowing and somehow we bonded over Cam and Seth and their story... midway in the reading I received that smirk meaning it's hot reading with lots of sex going on (with that sneer that meant "dirty lady. I like you, let's neck") ahahahahah




I laughed because he reacted almost in the same fashion  as my daughter - she was fifteen then (!!!) - when she caught me reading one of THOSE pages "Yiikes Mom. Gross" ahahahah... but he didn't put the book away. At all. Nearing the end he even took the book - on disguise ;) - to work so he could finish it during his lunch hour.

When he finished it I said there were books on each brother but he didn't HAVE to read them... Guess what?! - He wanted to...


He's now reading Chesapeake Blue and whenever I look at him he's smiling. I'm even getting a little jealous of Drusilla - this morning my husband called Drusilla by her petit nom - Dru!!! can you believe it? And he used Cam's expression how she's going to drive Seth crazy... with the same Cam's glee...


No, I don't know if he'll go on through all Nora Roberts' Novels I have. I'm not even sure if I want him to... his choice I guess...



A small secret Ladies!!!! He didn't grow breasts but he became - during THOSE parts - a bit more attentive if you know what I mean ;) ahahahahahahah

Jan 26, 2016

Does your dog match your style?

"For me?" Faith took a full step back. "I don't want a dog."
"Sure you do." He plucked the puppy from the bed, then pushed her into Faith's arms. "Look, she likes you."
"Puppies like everybody," Faith protested, as she twisted her head to try to avoid the pup's cheerful tongue.
"Exactly." With the dimples flickering in his cheeks, Wade slipped his arms around Faith's waist, sandwiching the puppy between them. "And everybody likes puppies. She'll depend on you, entertain you, keep you company, and love you no matter what."
"She'll pee on the rug. She'll chew my shoes." "Some. She'll need discipline and training and patience. She'll need you."
They'd known each other most of their lives. Just because they'd spent most of their time together between the sheets didn't mean she didn't have clues as to how his mind worked.
"Is this a dog or a life lesson you're giving me?"
"Both." He leaned over to kiss Faith's cheek.


Carolina Moon 


________________



In the photo: Our Budha



What kind of dog do you live with? 
A lovable Lab or a haughty hound? 
And most importantly, is he the right fit for your lifestyle? 
From designer dogs to humble mutts, your precious pooch says a lot about you... 





________________



"Thank you. You have a lovely home."
She had said it automatically, meaningless politeness. But the moment the words were out, Sydney realized they were true. The entire house would probably fit into one wing of her mother's Long Island estate, and the furniture was old rather than antique. Doilies as charming and intricate as those she had seen at Mrs. Wolburg's covered the arms of chairs. The wallpaper was faded, but that only made the tiny rosebuds scattered over it seem more lovely.

The strong sunlight burst through the window and showed every scar, every mend. Just as it showed how lovingly the woodwork and table surfaces had been polished.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a movement. As she glanced over, she watched a plump ball of gray fur struggling, whimpering from under a chair.

"That is Ivan," Yuri said, clucking to the puppy. "He is only a baby." He sighed a little for his old mutt Sasha who had died peacefully at the age of fifteen six months before. "Alex brings him home from pound."

"Saved you from walking the last mile, right, Ivan?" Mikhail bent down to ruffle fur. Ivan thumped his tail while giving Sydney nervous looks. "He is named for Ivan the Terrible, but he's a coward."

"He's just shy," Sydney corrected, then gave in to need and crouched down. She'd always wanted a pet, but boarding schools didn't permit them. "There, aren't you sweet?" The dog trembled visibly for a moment when she stroked him, then began to lick the toes that peeked out through her sandals.

Mikhail began to think the pup had potential.

"What kind is he?" she asked.

"He is part Russian wolfhound," Yuri declared.
"With plenty of traveling salesmen thrown in."


Luring a Lady

Jan 22, 2016

Yes, you can

“You could say that. How’s the pizza?”
“It’s very good. When I make my own, I make a whole wheat crust, but I like this better.”
“Make your own? Like from a box?”
“If it’s in a box, it’s not making your own.”
“Most everything I make’s out of a box. You make pizza from scratch?”
“Yes, when I want it.”
“Even my mother doesn’t do that.” 
He put another slice on her plate, one on his, then topped off their wine.

The Witness


________________________


Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=228986



Skip Domino’s: Make Pizza Dough In Under 30 Minutes



Why not learn to make your own pizza for your football fans?
This Tipline video shows you how to make your own no-rise pizza dough in under 30 minutes. 

Jan 21, 2016

What Your Work Desk Says About You

Now she paced her new office, ten stories up in midtown Manhattan. She swept from corner to corner over the deep oatmeal-colored carpet. Everything was perfectly in place, papers, files, coordinated appointment and address books. Even her brass-and-ebony desk set was perfectly aligned, the pens and pencils marching in a straight row across the polished mahogany, the notepads carefully placed beside the phone.

Her appearance mirrored the meticulous precision and tasteful elegance of the office. Her crisp beige suit was all straight lines and starch, but didn't disguise the fact that there was a great pair of legs striding across the carpet.
With it she wore a single strand of pearls, earrings to match and a slim gold watch, all very discreet and exclusive. As a Hayward, she'd been raised to be both.

Luring a Lady


______________________


"22 West - home office" by AgnosticPreachersKid - Own work. 
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:22_West_-_home_office.jpg#/media/File:22_West_-_home_office.jpg




Clutter can actually have a negative impact on your productivity and workflow, as marketing software company Marketo explains. Not only that, the company reveals that 57% of Americans admit to judging their coworkers based on the state of their desks.
But what information can your coworkers really glean about you from a pile of papers and notebooks and packages? A lot, actually.


______________________

 As offices went, he'd seen worse. And he'd certainly seen better. Her desk was army-surplus gray steel, functional and tough, but far from aesthetically pleasing. Two metal file cabinets were shoved against a wall that would have benefited from a coat of paint. There were two chairs, one in a lurid purple, the other a faded print, on either side of a skinny table that held ancient magazines and was scarred with sundry cigarette burns.

 On the wall behind them, as out of place as an elegant woman in a waterfront dive, was a lovely watercolor of Monterey Bay. The room smelled inexplicably like a spring meadow.

 He caught a glimpse of the room behind her and saw that it was a tiny and unbelievably disordered kitchen.

 He couldn't resist.

 Tucking his hands in his pockets, he smiled at her. "Some digs."

 She took another drink, then dangled the bottle between two fingers. "Have you got business with me, Donovan?"

 "Have you got another bottle of that?"

 After a moment, she shrugged, then stepped over the phone books again to snatch one out of the refrigerator. "I don't think you came down off your mountain for a drink."

 "But I rarely turn one down." He twisted off the top after she handed him the bottle. He skimmed his gaze over her, taking in the snug jeans and the scarred boots, then moving back up, to the tipped-up chin, with its fascinating little center dip, all the way to the distrustful dark green eyes.


Entranced






Jan 14, 2016

RIP Alan Rickman



Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard actor, dies aged 69




------------------------------------



"What I do is…" She poured bubbling wine into his glass. "First, I'll take a big glass of wine up to
my bedroom, then I'll light candles. I'll put on something soft and comfortable, something that makes me feel relaxed. Feel… female. Then I get into bed with all the pillows arranged just so, because I'm about to take a journey just for myself. And when I'm ready… When I'm just sinking in… I watch my DVD of Truly, Madly, Deeply."
"You watch porn?"
"It's not porn." Laughing, she gave his arm a quick slap. "It's an amazing love story. Juliet Stevenson is devastated when the man she loves, Alan Rickman, dies. She's overwhelmed with grief. Oh, it's painful to watch." Eyes radiating emotion, she laid a hand just under her throat. "I cry buckets. Then he comes back as a ghost. He loves her so much. It rips your heart out, and it makes you laugh."
"Rips out your heart and makes you laugh?"
"Yes. Men never get that. I'm not going to tell you the whole thing, just that it's wrenching and
charming and sad and affirming. It's unspeakably romantic."
"And that's what you do, secretly, in your bed at night, when you're alone."
"It is. Hundreds of times. I've had to replace the DVD twice."
Obviously baffled, he studied her as he drank champagne. "A dead guy's romantic?"
"Hello? Alan Rickman"

Bed of Roses 

Jan 13, 2016

Your Couch Personality

The room might be clean, but it did reflect his style.
The sofa was the dominant piece of furniture. Low and far from new, it was plumped with throw pillows. A Dagwood couch, Tess thought. One that simply begged you to relax and take a nap. 
There were posters rather than paintings. Toulouse-Lautrec’s cancan dancers, a single woman’s leg standing in a four inch heel, skimmed at the thigh with white lace. 
There was a Dieffenbachia thriving away in a plastic margarine bowl. 
And books. One wall was nearly filled with them. Delighted, she pulled out a worn hard backed copy of East of Eden.

Sacred Sins


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"Red sofa" by Lotus Head from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa - http://www.sxc.hu/photo/190007. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_sofa.jpg#/media/File:Red_sofa.jpg



What Your Couch Says About You

It's like a crystal ball in the middle of your living room.

Everyone has a couch (hello, you have to sit on something while you watch your favorite TV show). 

But whether you choose a design based on comfort, style, or even price is quite telling. 

Find out what your sofa says about your personality:



---------------------------




He'd expected rustic and saw even in the half-light he'd been well off the mark.
In the spacious living area, the walls were a pale yellow. To mimic the sun, he supposed, and keep the dark at bay. 
The fireplace was built of polished stone in golden hues so that simmering logs glowed inside its frame. She had squat candles on the mantel in deeper yellows and dark blues. 
The long sofa picked up the blues and was decked with the toss pillows women insisted on having everywhere. A thick throw, with her key colors bleeding into each other, was draped over the back.
There were lamps with painted shades, gleaming tables, a patterned rug and two big chairs.
Watercolors, oil paintings, pastels, all of Alaskan scenes, decorated the walls.
To his left, stairs led up, and he found himself grinning at the newel post carved into a totem.

Northern Lights