The Bridge of Bradford, PA

The Eighth Wonder by Kimberly S. Young
The book at me almost speechless at its end. Once finished I wasn't sure how I was going to review this one, and even now I feel like I'm struggling. I'm not saying it was a difficult book, but more that I'm not quite sure I can capture and articulate my feelings on this.

The first summary of this book said it was a modern Bridges of Madison County, and I definitely saw the similarities throughout. This isn't to say it's the same story just told in a different time period. Instead they both explore similar theme, and both include bridges. The bridge connection can actually been scene in the title of each. The first one is obvious, the second is because of the Kinzua Bridge, outside of Bradford, PA, which has been called the eighth world wonder. (It can also be seen in the background of the book cover.) Also given the similarities, I was very curious as to whether this book was going to end the way I remember the movie ending. I won't give the ending away here, but I will say that in a way, I found it beautiful.

One aspect that really spoke to me was when the father of Nicole, our main character, passes away. The time she spent dealing with her father's loss couldn't help but bring me back to my own mother's passing just over a year ago. The emotion in those passages, and what Nicole was feeling, just felt real to me.

This is a shorter book and quick read, but I don't think it needed to be longer. It did tell a beautiful story, and while part of it is a love story, what I enjoyed more was the love story of finding yourself and discovering what you want to be doing with your life.

4/5

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

As American As..

Last weekend with the Super Bowl, I knew I wanted to cook up something fun. Given that football is an American tradition, I thought I'd go with a cake that feels a bit 1950s American to me, a pineapple upside-down cake. After searching through pinterest I discovered this recipe from Creative Culinary, which I loved because not only was it a pineapple upside-down cake it involved alcohol, something else that goes perfect with the Super Bowl. Here's my take on it for you to enjoy as well!
Spiced Rum Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum
20 oz can of sliced pineapple (I had about 4 slices of pineapple left over, which I snacked on instead.)
Maraschino cherries
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum
3 Tbsp pineapple juice (From the can of pineapples)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
1. Preheat the over to 350. Position top rack in center of oven. Add a cookie sheet on the bottom to catch any sugar overflow. (We had this happen, and let's just say cleaning melted sugar out of your oven is no fun at all!)
2. Melt butter in the cake pan in the preheating oven. Remove from oven and add brown sugar and first tablespoon of rum. Mix well.
3. Arrange pineapple slices and cherries in the pan. (The cherries I placed near the edges did their best to slice off the cake. So you may want to push them as close to the center as possible.)
4. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a medium sized bowl.
5. Beat egg whites until peaks form. Remove eggs white to small bowl.
6. Mix eggs yolks and sugar together. Add in rum and juice and mix together. Add in flour mixture and mix together.
7. Fold one part of the eggs whites into the batter.
8. Fold in the rest of the egg whites until just mixed.
9. Add to cake pan spreading to the edges. (The little pieces of brown sugar peaking through is probably why my sugar mixture overflowed.)
10. Bake for 40 minutes, until top is golden brown, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Place on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
11. Use knife to cut around edge of cake, and invert over a serving plate to enjoy!
This wound up turning out really delicious! I would easily make this again, but I'd also love to try other upside-down cake variations. I remember my mom making a plum upside-down cake for me in my off-campus apartment junior year of college that was awesome, so I definitely know there's other variations out there.

Finally since I know you must be curious to the boy's contributions to the meal, he made a dry brined pot roast served with the roasting vegetables and white cheddar mashed potatoes.
Did you decide to make anything special for the Super Bowl?

MMR

Argo
Back when Argo was first the theaters, the boy and I never took the time to go see it. But with it getting so much Oscar talk, they brought it back to the movie screens, and we finally had a chance to see what all the fuss was about.

I wound up being a pretty big fan of it. For something where you really already know how it's going to end, I found the whole movie really suspenseful. I also thought they did a great job setting the scene for the history behind the Iran/US relationship, but also really getting a feel for the whole era.

While the boy didn't come out and say he liked it, he did at least say he completely got why people seemed to love it. And while I haven't seen every film nominated for Best Picture, out of the ones I've seen, this is what I'd expect to win.

If you haven't seen Argo yet, while it's back in theaters, I think now would be a great time to see it.

Sunday Social (12)

This week's Sunday Social, hosted by A Complete Waste of Make-up, is a bit of a flashback post. I definitely found some fun pictures to share, and hope you enjoy them as well!

1. What was your first car?
My first car is actually my current car, a 2001 Toyota Echo.
Here's me and my brother with it, right before we drove cross-country as I moved from California to Louisiana.

2. Who was your favorite childhood teacher?
I had a lot of great teachers growing up, but my favorites were probably Miss Skaags in 1st grade, and Mr. Ferrara in 3rd grade.

3. Were you involved in any sports/extracurricular activities?
I played soccer growing up, all the way through college. And just as proof...
This is in 1st grade with my team, Pink Lemonade. I'm in the first row, second from the left.
In 6th grade, I was a member of No Fear.
In 10th grade on my high school's team.
My senior class teammates in college after my last soccer game ever.

4. What was your favorite birthday party?
My mom had several Penny Whistle party books, that I used to love going through imagining having each and every of their parties. So it's no surprise that my favorite party, a Shipwrecked party in 3rd, is probably one of my all-time favorites.
5. Who was your teen celebrity crush?
In elementary school I figured I'd be unique and decided since everyone else loved JTT, I'd love Elijah Wood instead.

6. What show/movie did your parents not allow you to watch?
I really don't remember any. I do remember when I started watching Party of Five, after a few episodes my mom watched it with me to make sure it was appropriate for me to watch. (Which she decided it was.) But I'm guessing I just didn't have much of an interest in watching things that weren't child appropriate.

If you haven't linked up with Sunday Social, feel free to tell me your answers in the comments. And if you have, let me know so I can stop by!

Project 365: Days 33 Through 39

Join me on my journey through 2013, where I'm completing a Project 365 by taking one photo every day!
February 2, 2013 - 33/365: Cheesesteak sandwich at Philly Me Up.
February 3, 2013 - 34/365: Ready to cheer on the Ravens in the Super Bowl. (Yes I may be from California, but from Southern California. And I went to college in Baltimore, so that's wear my allegiance was last weekend.)
February 4, 2013 - 35/365: Snacking on dried pears.
February 5, 2013 - 36/365: Chopped sausage for jambalaya. (Obviously I have a lot of food photos here, but I guess I find that to be the most exciting part of my day. Next week I'll try to change it up a bit more.)
February 6, 2013 - 37/365: Reading over lunch.
February 7, 2013 - 38/365: Boudin Panini from Three Bones
February 8, 2013 - 39/365: Cake pop & a Starbucks vanilla spiced latte.

What delicious foods have you had over the past week? Or out of the food I have pictures, which would you most want to try?

I'm linking this post up with Random-osity & Kleinworth & Co. for Project 52!

Lola Montez Conquers the Spaniards

Whip Smart by Kit Brennan
This is actually a really interesting story, and different from what I expected it to be. It's about a real historical figure, Lola Montez (which was at least the alter ego she went by), who traveled the world as an actress in the mid-1800s. There were a lot of aspects I enjoyed about it, but unfortunately there few also a few that didn't quite work for me.

Starting with the positive, I love reading about actual historical figures. But more than that I love reading about royalty. Which is why some of my favorite scenes were those Lola spent with the Spanish Infantas, or Princesses. While I do know a lot about the English royal family, and a fair amount on the french royal family, I know little about the Spanish line. I always love learning new pieces of history, and while I there is still a lot I don't know about Spanish royalty, this book did fill in a gap in my knowledge, and made me want to read more on them.

As for a negative, I'm not a huge fan of how this book was marketed. From the cover, and the summary, it felt like it was going to be more of a historical romance, except it wasn't. That's not to say there wasn't romance in it, because there was. But it's more when I read something marketed as a romance, I expected to read about bedroom escapades. And while there were romps involved, each time it managed to skip over the action. It's funny though because I'm not unhappy it wasn't a romance, since I don't read a lot of them, but more that I felt a bit mislead.

Speaking of the romance, Lola's big love affair didn't quite work for me either. It felt like she spent two scenes with a man, and while I still was confused as to who he was, Lola was telling him she loved him. I definitely wish the parts with her falling in love were expanded a bit.

While it did take me a while to get into this book, I really loved the end. And I don't mean that as I joking, I loved the ending because it ended. Instead in the parts where Lola is escaping Spain, I finally felt like I was getting into the book. Which made it a little disappointed for the book to end, especially when I was just started to enjoy myself.

This book definitely had its ups and down, but I am left with a pleasant feeling towards it. There is a sequel, and while I wouldn't have expected to say this halfway through the book, I would love to read it and see Lola's story continue.

3.5/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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

From Miss to Mrs: Programming Break

I've gone on and on about our wedding programs without actually showing you what they look like. At least till now! As a guest would read the program before the ceremony starts, before I start my ceremony recaps, finally, here our are programs!

The only professional photo I have of the inside of our programs, and the pages are stapled in the wrong orderI got the basic idea of the programs, of using vellum paper as the cover from Mrs. Pony of Weddingbee. Which worked out since we had several sheets of vellum left over from our invitations. The inside of the program was computer paper, of which we also had a ton. And while computer paper isn't that fancy, the vellum did at least dress it up.

personal photoThe flower graphic was a free piece of clip-art included in my version of Word. Although I believe I changed the color and played with the shading. And since the flowers were printed on the vellum itself, it meant when you turned the page...

personal photo...you were left with our title page. As well as the outline of the flowers on the back of the cover.

personal photoThe next two pages showed the names of our families (at least those in the processional), as well as members of the wedding party. (Names have been edited for privacy.) I may have gone a little overboard describing exactly how each bridesmaid and groomsmen knew us, but I'm always curious about that information, and figured at least some of our guests would appreciate it.

personal photoThe next page had a basic outline of the ceremony (which I'll describe in more detail in my ceremony posts). Again of course, I wanted to make sure to describe just how those speaking were connected to us.

personal photoA lot of the wording regarding Jewish traditions I borrowed from Weddingbee's Mrs. Cream Puff. I also googled a few traditions for descriptions, and likely found some off Chabad.org as well. (If the print is too small, feel free to click on the photo for a closer view.)

personal photoI was inspired by Mrs. Tartlet of Weddingbee to include a menu in the programs as well. I loved the idea of including menus on the table for plated receptions, but since we were serving a buffet, I thought this made the most sense. And it gave our guests the chance to get excited for all the delicious food to come.

personal photoAgain on the last pages I borrowed from Weddingbee bloggers using Mrs. Pretzel's Thank You and Mrs. Elephant's In Remembrance page for my mother, whose funeral was barely 10 months before our wedding.

personal photoThe last page had the photo from our STD, and on the opposite side you could see out moo card. I had about 4 different cards that I rotated throughout, and just to prove it...

personal photo... here's a second version.

personal photoClosing the program, you could see our photo through the vellum, but now saw the side of the MOO card with our photo sharing instructions. (Which unfortunately, wasn't used nearly as much as I had hoped.)

personal photoSince I know you must be curious on how these stayed together, I did take the "easy way" and just staple them, but did at least use blue staples. (Although I realize it's hard to tell from the photo itself.)

What type of programs, if any, did you have at your wedding? Or what's your feeling on having descriptions of the wedding party in the programs?

All photos in this post unless otherwise noted courtesy of Sabree Hill Photography.
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
From Miss to Mrs: Turtle Time
From Miss to Mrs: The Photographer Has Arrived
From Miss to Mrs: Becoming the Bride
From Miss to Mrs: Dress Details
From Miss to Mrs: Ou Est le Groom?
From Miss to Mrs: A Bridge-y First Look
From Miss to Mrs: Couple Time
From Miss to Mrs: Just the Two of Us
From Miss to Mrs: Grouping the Girls
From Miss to Mrs: Ain't No Party Like a Bridal Party
From Miss to Mrs: Fun with Family
From Miss to Mrs: Making it Official
From Miss to Mrs: The Bedeken
From Miss to Mrs: The Final Minutes

I'm linking this post up to Kelly's Korner for this week's Show Us Your... DIY projects!