Sunday Salon: Back to School

Things have been quiet here on the blog as it's Back to School week for my son and I. My son started 7th grade and sadly, he thought it wasn't too cool for mom to take a first day of school picture. I disagree and fortunately, we took family pictures last week so I have a good picture of him around this time of year. The school district I work for starts next week and I am starting the scheduling, planning and organizing process with changes ahead for the school year. I'll be working with 5th through 12th graders so it will definitely be an interesting year.  I'm fortunate to work part time and I have great team members to work with.  

I've finished reading a few books and have reviews to work on for:

Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy (Audio book)

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (Kindle)



I am currently reading:


The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War by Michael Shaara (For September book club)


The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (Audio book)


The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht (Audio book on ipod)

Mailbox Monday

~Mailbox Monday~  

is hosted by Staci at  Life in the Thumb during the month of August.

We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 

MAILBOX MONDAY

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. (Library books don’t count, but eBooks & audiobooks do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

This is what I received in my mailbox. Thankfully, it was a much lighter week and I received some great books!

Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer win from Bookfan- Thanks Mary!


Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson win from A Bookworm's World- Thanks Luanne!


The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison from Paperbackswap

The Sunday Salon: The Help Movie Review

I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett when it first came out in 2009 (my review is here)and then discussed it with my book club last year. It was on my list of best books for 2009 and remains a favorite book for me. I saw the movie together with my book club instead of a book club meeting this month. The Help, the movie is based on the best selling book by Kathryn Stockett  in which both look at  the relationships between the white women and the African American maids that work for them in a southern town in Jackson, Mississippi  in the early 1960's.  

I  believe that they did an excellent job adapting the book to the movie. Although it's been awhile since I've read the book, I didn't notice any significant changes.  I felt it stayed true to the heart of the book. I was drawn into the movie from the start and didn't want it to end. The casting was excellent and true to the characters in the book. They were all outstanding in my mind and I hope to see some academy award nominations down the road. The Help is a movie that engages the audience, even if you have not read the book. I heard laughter, tears, cheers and clapping from the movie theater. It touched my heart and I loved it. This is definitely a must see movie, perfect to see with your friends, book club, for mothers & daughters and couples. 

Mailbox Monday

~Mailbox Monday~  

is hosted by Staci at  Life in the Thumb during the month of July.

We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 

MAILBOX MONDAY

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. (Library books don’t count, but eBooks & audiobooks do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

This is what I received in my mailbox, it was overflowing again this week. I'm almost embarrassed to share all my books. I had a streak of luck and won several giveaways which you can see below:

This was the most exciting item in my mailbox this week. We received a large box filled to the brim with vintage kids books. My son and I won this fabulous giveaway of Vintage Kids Books from the fabulous website Forgotten Bookmarks. If you haven't checked out this site, you must! It's one of my favorite sites to visit and my son and I love to see the fun and even weird things that they have found inside the rare and vintage books that they buy at their bookstore. As you can see in this picture, I have given these books to my son  and they are now filling up one shelf of his bookcase. He is 12 years old and loves old things, especially books and has a small collection of older vintage kids books. He likes to see the publication date of when the book was published and the personal inscriptions, often in fountain pen. M from Forgotten Bookmarks was so kind in sending extra books for my son who is a collector and added a nice collection of Hardy Boys books (which my son collects) and others. I'm not going to list all the titles but you can click on the picture and can see up close the titles. There are many wonderful titles from The Hardy Boys, Little Men by Lousia Alcott to Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and many more. 

I won this great giveaway of a ONE DAY prize pack from Booking Mama  which included an autographed copy of ONE DAY by David Nicholls (movie tie-in edition) a clear cosmetic case, necklace and Moleskin Journal.

Wildflower Hill by Kimberley Freeman  from  Touchstone/Simon and Schuster 


You don't Sweat Much for a fat girl by Celia Rivenbark from Wunderkind PR


Coming Up for Air by Patti Callahan Henry from Wunderkind PR

If Jack's In Love by Stephen Wetta  from Amy Einhorn Books/Penguin


A Secret Gift by Ted Gup from Paperbackswap


How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal  from Paperbackswap

The Sunday Salon: Review of Skinnygirl Cocktails White Sangria and Margarita

I heard about the Skinnygirl Cocktail line from a friend and decided that I wanted to try them. I liked the idea of a healthier cocktail and liked that Skinnygirl  Cocktails  are lower in calories lightly sweetened and with nothing artificial. I have rosacea, a skin condition that is triggered when I drink white wine and my dermatologist recently suggested that I stick to cocktails or beer and stay away from  wine. I am not a daily drinker but I do enjoy a glass of wine or a cocktail.  The Skinnygirl Cocktails are available in Margarita and White Sangria.

The Skinnygirl Margarita has been out for awhile and is easier to find. I found a bottle of Skinnygirl Margarita last month at a local grocery store and it was on sale for $11.99 which was comparable to the other bottled margarita brands. I have to say that I was not fond of the Skinnygirl Margarita. I found it sour and the flavor wasn't palatable for me. I added it to a fruit smoothie I made and thought that it would taste like a frozen margarita. It dominated the flavors and didn't blend with the fruit flavors. I have to say that my husband loves the Skinnygirl Margarita and finished the bottle. He thinks that "Skinnygirl Margarita rules", maybe they should make a Skinnyguy line as many of my friends have shared with me that they weren't fond of the Skinnygirl Margarita either.

Last week, I found a bottle of the Skinnygirl White Sangria and it was the last bottle on the shelf. I was excited that I found a bottle as I thought that I would like this better than the Skinnygirl Margarita. It was a bit pricier and not on sale at $12.99 a bottle. I cut up some fresh fruit (peaches, raspberries, strawberries) and added the fruit to the chilled sangria and garnished it with a strawberry and slice of orange (picture above) for my husband and I. The Skinnygirl Sangria is sweeter than the Skinnygirl Margarita but it has an unusal aftertaste that I didn't care for. When I tasted it without the fruit, It tasted "tinny" as if I was drinking something from an aluminum can. I didn't care for the color and my husband commented that it was an unusual yellow color. It is not an appealing color compared to the margarita which is primarily clear with a white hint of color. I preferred the Skinnygirl White Sangria with the fruit as it gave it a sweeter flavor with less of the tinny aftertaste. Overall, the Sangria was definitely my favorite compared to the margarita flavor. I doubt that I'd buy the Skinnygirl Margarita or Skinnygirl White Sangria again. I'm glad that I tried it but I'd prefer to make it myself. I found these recipes for Skinnygirl Margarita's and Skinnygirl Sangria that you can make from scratch. I plan to try them both...or maybe my husband will make them as he thinks it's easier and more cost effective. These are both nice summer drinks, you can sit on your deck or patio and enjoy them with a group of friends. These would be great drinks for a book club gathering as well.

Here are some Skinnygirl cocktail recipes:

How To Make a Skinnygirl Sangria

Make Skinnygirl Sangria (doesn’t need to be made in advance) using freshly cut fruit, reasonably priced sparkling wine served in large pitchers so you don’t have to play bartender.

8 peaches, pitted and sliced 4 white plums, pitted and sliced 1 pound green grapes, cut in half 3 bottles Prosecco (an Italian sparkling wine) One 12-ounce can Fresca or diet lemon/lime soda (I would think that you can use regular lemon/lime soda also) One 12-ounce can club soda

Combine all the ingredients and chill for at least 1 hour. Serve over ice.

 * Other fruit that would work could be strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, oranges etc.

 (recipe from Bethenny Frankel's website)

Bethenny Frankel's Skinnygirl Margarita

For a delicious Margarita on the rocks (that will not blow your diet), try Bethenny's easy recipe:

What you'll need: 

• 2 oz of Clear Premium Tequila (count 1, 2 while you pour, no need for measuring)
• Tiny splash of Orange Liquor
• Juice of four Fresh Lime Wedges
• A splash of Grand Marnier or BOLS Triple Sec

Combine all ingredients over a glass of ice and garnish with a lime wedge.

Makes one serving   (Recipe from Health.com)

There are more cocktail recipes here:  5 fabulous Cocktails under 220 calories 

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, go to Beth Fish Reads.