Just Like a Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
I kept hearing how much people enjoyed this book, but I just didn't think it was for me. I knew there was graphic violence and rape scenes in this, and it just didn't seem like something I'd really enjoy reading. But it was my book club's pick this month, so I decided to suck it up and finally read it. Turns out everyone else was right and I really did enjoy it.

Now the violence and awful scenes were there (I didn't just make that up), but there weren't many and they weren't as graphic as I expected. I could see how if you don't expect them, it may turn you off from the book. But considering how gruesome I expected them to be, I think it wasn't as big of a shock for me, and didn't really hinder my reading experience/

It did also take me about 150 pages to really get sucked in, but from there I had to know how the mystery would end. I do think reading this book again would be fun, since there's a lot in the first part I just read and didn't really pay attention to, but I'd much rather read the other two books in the series first.

5/5

Today I'm linking up with Blonde Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday!

Giving Thanks in California

On Tuesday I about our Thanksgiving trip to California. Except I never actually got to Thanksgiving. Finally here is the second installment where we're together as a family feeling thankful.

Thursday morning we went over to my Grandmother's house, we're we started making gumbo. And by we, I mean I made the beautiful roux below, while the boy did the rest. And when I say made, I mean the boy added everything to it and stirred. But you all understand, right?
My grandma had the table all dressed up and cooked a ton of delicious food.
Of course, there was a turkey.
The boy made duck and sausage gumbo.
And there were a ton of side option. My plate below has turkey, mashed potatoes, oyster stuffing, green beans, roasted squash, pickles, baby corn, olives (including a few cured by my mom), cranberry sauce, and a roll. My favorites are always stuffing and mashed potatoes, which you could probably tell based on the fact they take up almost half of my plate!
For dessert we had pumpkin loaf, pumpkin pie, and cranberry upside-down cake topped with freshly made whipped cream. (This is where my camera flash finally started to work again!)
To end the festivities we all took a group picture.
The following day, we drove up to Hollywood to watch the LSU game over lunch at Fuku Burger. I had their Kinoko, which was a burger topped with mushrooms. And while I don't tend not to drink a lot of beer, I could help by try their pumpkin cider.
All to soon through it was time for us to fly to Louisiana. Although for one final food photo, here's the salad I bought from LaBrea Bakery to eat on the trip. It was a great time back in California, but too short as always, and hopefully we're able to get back soon.
Where do you celebrate Thanksgiving this year? And what's your favorite Thanksgiving dish.

A Tale of Three

A Desire Path by Jan Shapin
One reason I always love reading historical fiction is because I love learning about new eras in history. While this story spanned quite a bit of time, the majority of it dealt with The Red Scare, something I haven't really read about. I found the pieces of history interesting, and think I'd enjoy reading more books dealing with the subject matter.

But as to this story, it's told in three parts from the point of view of three characters. There's Andy, whose trying to forge a relationship with her daughter after leaving his ex-wife, Ilse, the woman he has an affair with, and finally Anna Mae, the woman who introduced the two. Each part had it's moments, but by far my favorite was Anna Mae's section, which involved her relationship with the Communist Party and dealing with her ailing father.

Overall, I'm not sure I go the point of this. I think maybe I wasn't quite smart enough for it? It jumped around constantly in time, which made it almost impossible to figure out how all the stories fit together. I think part of that could have been because different characters viewed the same situation differently, since a lot of the time it seemed like something out of Andy's story never seemed to happen in Anna Mae's story. But again, it could also be something I just didn't get.

As I've mentioned there were aspects I enjoyed, but overall I wasn't a huge fan. I do think if the novel as a whole were more chronological it would have flowed better, but for me, it just didn't work.

3/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through TLC Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.

Pre-Thanksgiving in California

I've mentioned how I was in California for Thanksgiving, but till now have yet to blog about it. I have a ton of photos, although every almost every single one of them is of food, so if you weren't hungry before reading this, you will be by the end.

I flew in Saturday, and after getting picked up at the airport my dad picked up dinner at the local Greek restaurant, Cafe Neo. I had their spicy feta chicken wrap, which definitely met the spicy factor. It was good, but next time there I'll probably be ordering something else.
The following night, my dad, brother, and brother's girlfriend all went out for tapas at Cafe Sevilla. We ordered a few things to share, but the one I really wanted to try was, I believe, duck topped with a fried egg.
Yes, I realize these are all awful photos, but the flash on my camera decided to stop working. I wasn't too concerned since it had happened before and fixed itself then. Sure enough halfway through the trip it was back to normal. But we're still left with some awful, but still delicious looking photos, such as this vegetable paella we all split.
Finally for dessert my brother and I split their churros, which is probably my highlight of the whole meal.
The following day (which was Monday), I stopped at Rubios for my fix after renting a car. I got my standard 2 fish tacos with pinto beans. Although I did try them especial (which means with cheese and guacamole), but really couldn't taste the difference. When I had them again the following day, I went back to having them normal.
That night the four of us again went to dinner, this time walking to Number Nine, a Vietnamese noodle shop, where I had chicken pho. My family couldn't believe that this craze hadn't hit Baton Rouge yet, but from the sound of it, I'm sure it won't be too long.
Tuesday, I picked up my BFF/MOH at the airport and we went to lunch at Boudin at South Coast Plaza. I had some type of chicken sandwich (pesto maybe?) and butternut squash soup. The sandwich was enjoyable, but the soup was awesome. I loved the fact that they had dried cranberries in it, and since I have a box of butternut squash soup in my pantry I think that's exactly how I'll be eating it.
After lunch we hung out at the mall and then went for manicures (which I had pretty much peeled off the following day... the main reason I don't get manicures).

Look finally a photo with a person in it!
Us playing around in the Disney store.Wednesday I picked the boy up from the airport, and we went out for Italian at Michael's with my dad. They started dinner off with a taste for each one of us, which I believe was a fig with prosciutto drizzled with some balsamic.
My appetizer was Cavatelli con Anatra (Hand-rolled pasta with chestnut and braised liberty farm duck). I only wish the picture of this was clearer, because it really was yummy.
My main dish was Vitello alla Milanese (Ciabatta breaded Veal with forest mushrooms, Brussels sprout and roasted potatoes), which is probably my worst photo from the whole trip. But I didn't want you to think you were missing out due to my broken camera. :) Although there's not really a lot to see here since all the vegetables were hidden under the veal.
For dessert I had Cremino di Zucca (Pumpkin mousse with ginger bread), which was easily my favorite part of the meal. I'm really disappointed the photo doesn't do it justice, but the mouse was actually an orange color, and the whole thing was so much better than I expected it to be.
Now that I've written a whole novel, I'm finally ready to start about Thanksgiving itself. So I think that's a good breaking point to end this post.

Did you travel anywhere for Thanksgiving? And which of these dishes do you think you'd most want to try?

Monday Movie Review

Killing them Softly
I agreed to since this only knowing that Brad Pitt was in it, although next time I should probably do a little more research so I have at least a better idea what to expect. Now I actually feel asleep in the theater watching this, which probably tells you all you need to know about my thoughts.

The parts I was awake for were gory and confusing (even before I feel asleep, but they were far more confusing once I woke up). I just asked the boy if he enjoyed the movie, and he's unsure on his answer. But he at least stayed awake for the whole thing.

Basically, if you're looking to see a movie my advice is to avoid this. Although that looks to be what people are doing since this basically bombed this past weekend.

Mailbox Monday (14)

It's another Sunday, and I'm happy to say that I'm once again linking up with Mailbox Monday. This is a traveling meme, and for the month of December is being hosted by Suko's Notebook. It's a place to share the books we've picked up recently that we can't wait to start reading.
For Review from Virtual Author Book Tours
Flesh by Khanh Ha
I've actually been seeing this one around quite a bit lately, so I'm excited to finally have a chance to read it. This is a historical fiction that takes place in the early 1900s in Vietnam. I get the feeling that it won't be the easiest book to read, but I'm hoping to learn a lot from it.

From My Parents
The Fire by Katherine Neville
My mom absolutely loved Katherine Neville's book The Eight. And while I read it, and enjoyed it as well, I didn't love it nearly as much as her. A few years back she read this one, which is a sequel to The Eight, although didn't love it nearly as much. Knowing my mom wasn't as huge of a fan, I haven't been jumping at the chance to read it, but still want to read it eventually, which is why I brought it back with me after being out in California for Thanksgiving.

Ratio by Michael Ruhlman
I had planned to bring a few other cookbooks back with me, but as our suitcases slowly started to fill this is the only one that made it. According to my dad, this is one of the last cookbooks my mom picked up. And while this would have to be classified as cookbook, it does seem to be written a lot more like an actual book.

The Girl who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson
The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson
I actually just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and really enjoyed it. (I hope to have my review up on Friday.) So I'm sure I'll be starting these books sooner rather than later. (I know my dad's read all three. I believe my mom never finished the second, although they did watch all 3 of the Swedish version movies together.) Given how much I enjoyed the first, I'm sure I'll be enjoying these as well.

What's in your mailbox this week? And have you read any of these books?

From Miss to Mrs: Turtle Time

While the girls and I were getting ready in the bridal suite, and the ceremony and reception spaces were set-up, the boys were gathering in the turtle bar. (Now hopefully the title of the post makes sense and you don't think there's some RHONYC connection here.)
This building had origonally been built as a pigeon roost, and was used in the mid-1800s as a garconniere. (Which basically means it was where the sons of the family would sleep once they became bachelors. After all, you couldn't have unmarried men and unmarried women sleeping under the same roof, could you?)

My dad with his mint julepAccording to the boy, the bar was one of the top 10 best stocked scotch bars in the country, and supposedly they had a bottle discovered in an underwater shipwreck by Jacque Cousteau.

The only photo I have of the boy in the bar, which does at least prove he was actually there.I don't know what type of craziness occurred in here before the wedding, but given the fact our nephew the ringer bearer was in attendance, makes me a little less worried.
Did the boy's have a place to gather the morning of your wedding? And if you were in the turtle bar, what drink do you think you'd be ordering?

All photos in this post courtesy of friends and family.
Miss a Recap Post?
From Miss to Mrs: The Calm Before the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: There's a Hurricane Coming?
From Miss to Mrs: Here Comes Isaac
From Miss to Mrs: Weathering the Cane
From Miss to Mrs: After the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: Trials and Tribulations
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Errands
From Miss to Mrs: A Night on the Town
From Miss to Mrs: The Hangover
From Miss to Mrs: Rehearsing in the Heat
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Supper
From Miss to Mrs: Gifting the Girls
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Night
From Miss to Mrs: Oh What a Beautiful Morning
From Miss to Mrs: Getting Prettified
From Miss to Mrs: Prepping the Plantation