I have teamed up with some other bloggers to create this amazing, outrageous, and stupendous Great Mother’s Day Giveaway. ONE lucky winner is going to win ALL of the prizes listed below (and shown at the left). The prizes are outstanding – books, DVDs, a gift certificate, and a beading kit. This is quite a haul. I’m pretty envious of whoever wins, actually!

Entering is easy. Leave a comment on this post and you have one chance to win. Want to up your odds? You can also enter once at each of the blogs listed below which will increase your chances of winning. All the blogs are posting this giveaway today, April 22 and you can enter on those posts at any time. Enter now because you don’t want to miss out on this. The winner will be chosen the day after Mother’s Day. You don’t have to be a mother to enter, but this sure would be something lovely to be able to give your mom — or keep for yourself!

I highly recommend you click through to check out all of these blogs. They are all well-written and offer unique perspectives about food, marriage, friendship, travel, health, jewelry, movies, and parenting. I read them all regularly and learn so much from all of them.

*From Project: Happily Ever After

One copy of Project: Happily Ever After, by Alisa Bowman, a memoir of how the author saved her marriage. Partly tragic and partly humorous, the book will help you feel normal, give you helpful tools to try at home, and leave you with a pervading sense that you are not alone.

 

*From Belle Jewelry Designs:

One Bead Kit and Pattern to make Dainty Daisies Bracelet by Claudine Jalajas. Every year my children give me flowers for the garden for Mother’s Day. It’s one of my favorite gifts. This bracelet reminds me of Mother’s Day for that reason. This pattern and bead kit will provide you with everything you need to create this lovely bracelet. The design is created using a cross-weave technique which is great for anyone from never-touched-a-needle-thread-before to advanced weaver. Most people can create the bracelet in an hour. It is woven using 4mm and 6mm genuine Swarovski crystallized pearls for the flowers, TOHO seed beads for vines, and potato pearls to simulate leaves. The clasp is a lobster clasp. This design also makes a gorgeous anklet–just increase the size. Claudine’s bracelet design book, Wearable Art,  featuring more than 25 bracelet designs, will be released Fall 2014 by Running Press.

 

*From Attainable Sustainable:

One copy of  Off the Shelf: Homemade alternatives to the condiments, toppings, and snacks you love from Kris Bordessa who shares a collection of recipes that take your favorite condiments and pantry staples off the grocery store shelves and puts them right in your (very capable) hands. Make hummus, pesto, fresh salsa, and a Caesar ranch dressing that will knock your socks off. Whip up a batch of hot fudge sauce or chocolate pudding to indulge your sweet tooth. If you can chop, dice, and stir you (or your kids, mom!) can make any of these recipes and more right at home.

 

*From MyKidsEatSquid:

One $25 Gift Certificate for King Arthur Flour, from My KidsEatSquid.com, which offers cooking tips, tricks, and recipes to tempt your family’s taste buds.

 

*From: The Friendship Blog:

One copy of Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup With Your Best Friend by psychologist Irene S. Levine. On a recent appearance on CBS Sunday Morning, Rita Braver called Irene the “Dear Abby of Friendship.” Close friendships, which are essential to our well-being, can be challenged by motherhood. Having children often drains time and emotion from other relationships, and can create distance between mothers and child-free friends. Give yourself the gift of focusing on your female friendships this Mother’s Day.

 

*From PuttingItAllontheTable:

One signed copy of The Muffin Tin Cookbook: 200 Fast, Delicious Mini-Pies, Pasta Cups, Gourmet Pockets, Veggie Cakes, and More! By Brette Sember. Moms love muffin tin cooking because one cup equals one portion (no fooling yourself that you’ll have “just another bite”) and because kids automatically think anything made in a muffin cup is delicious and are willing to try new foods made this way.

And one copy of Cookie: A Love Story: Fun Facts, Delicious Stories, Fascinating History, Tasty Recipes, and More by Brette Sember, a glorious celebration of America’s favorite treat, a gleeful look at its history, impact, meaning, and deliciousness, filled with mouth-watering anecdotes and stories that will satisfy in a way no other book can. Special recipes, anecdotes, and everything you ever wanted to know about cookies are in its pages.

 

*From Christine Gross-Loh

One signed copy of Parenting without Borders:  Surprising Lessons Parents Around the World Can Teach Us to be released just in time for Mother’s Day. Parenting expert Christine Gross-Loh, a mother of four, takes readers on a multicultural tour of the world’s best parenting practices— from Finland, Sweden, and Germany to France, Japan, China, Italy, and beyond to examine how international parents successfully foster creativity, discipline, independence, resilience and academic excellence in their children. Revealing the surprising ways in which culture shapes accepted practices, Gross-Loh offers objective, science-based insight into what strategies are best for children — and why — in a book that is sure to spark new conversations among parents.  Ultimately, Parenting without Borders is both a call to action and an international handbook on how to build our own global village — one that will raise all of our children well.

 

*From MyItchyTravelFeet:

One copy of 65 Things to Do When You Retire. A total of 10,000 people turn 65 each day — and many of them who retire want to make the most of travel opportunities.  65 Things to Do When You Retire: Travel offers practical, inspiring advice about how to have the time of your life, whether traveling with a group, with a spouse or partner, or on your own.  More than 65 intrepid writers and travel experts reveal their own personal adventures and describe glorious getaways for retirees, including such exciting travel opportunities as international house-sitting, going to Italy for a writing workshop, volunteering to help communities in developing countries, doing archaeological digs, taking a retirement “gap year,” and chucking it all to see the world.

 

*From: StickingMyNeckOut

An autographed hard cover copy of The Business of Baby, by Jennifer Margulis, an explosive new book uncovering how corporations and for-profit medicine harm new moms and their babies. Award-winning midwife Ina May Gaskin calls the book, “a must-read for expectant mothers,” and Library Journal has said it’s “not just for parents to ponder.” Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGK6HFHHdZY Join the FB community: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Business-of-Baby/317063605077912?ref=hl

 

 

*From ReelLifewithJane:

6 DVDs. Every mom needs a distraction from life, whether it’s Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts on a scooter, Edie Falco as a wayward nurse, Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman as old friends, the classic boy from Neverland, Anna Wintour’s glitzy life, or America’s bully crisis. That’s why Reel Life With Jane’s prize pack in the great Mother’s Day Giveaway is a DVD/blu-ray six-pack extravaganza: “Larry Crowne,” “Nurse Jackie Season 4,” “The Switch,” “Peter Pan Diamond Edition,” “The September Issue,” and “Bully.” For more great giveaways, entertainment news, celebrity interviews and reviews, visit Reel Life With Jane.

RULES

One winner will win the ENTIRE package of prizes! You may enter by leaving a comment on this post. You may also enter once at each blog listed in the giveaway for more chances to win. You must enter by midnight ET on Sunday, May 12, 2013 (Mother’s Day). Each blog participating in the giveaway will randomly select one semifinalist from those who have entered on that blog.  One winner will then be randomly selected from those names and will win ALL the prizes. Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person per blog. Winner is notified by the email given when entering; not responsible for email transmission problems or postal delivery problems or failures. You are responsible for notifying us of your correct mailing address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 05/12/13. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. We reserve the right to announce the name of the winner on the blogs. Each participating blog will be responsible for sending its own prize.

I have teamed up with some other bloggers to create this amazing, outrageous, and stupendous Great Mother’s Day Giveaway. ONE lucky winner is going to win ALL of the prizes listed below (and shown at the left). The prizes are outstanding – books, DVDs, a gift certificate, and a beading kit. This is quite a … Read more →

Did you ever feel as though maybe your doctor, your child’s doctor, and the companies that sell you products for your child don’t always have your best interests at heart? I think we’ve all had at least twinges of these feelings from time to time, and if you’ve had a bad experience with a doctor or hospital, you might feel very strongly about this.

Jennifer Margulis sees a pattern in all of this, and she wrote a book called The Business of Baby to investigate exactly what’s going on. (Disclosure: I did the index for this book, which allowed me to read it very carefully and is how the manuscript came into my hands. Please note I was not asked to write a review nor was it a condition of my creating the index. I don’t think Jennifer even knows I am writing a review). The book offers some very shocking facts.

Did you know it makes more financial sense for your doctor to do a C-section than to help you deliver vaginally?

Can you believe that the U.S. has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in developed countries?

Would you have imagined the U.S. has higher infant mortality rates than Scandinavian countries?

And did you know that the baby wash used in most hospitals has a laundry list of chemicals in it, including formaldehyde?

Ever wonder what happens to your baby’s foreskin after a circumcision? You probably didn’t know it’s often sold (for profit!) and used in beauty products and other surgeries.

Your prenatal vitamins? Full of chemicals.

Did you know medical students are taught to treat birth as an illness, not a natural process?

Did you know that many experts believe vaccinating a baby before one year of age is not only pointless, but dangerous, and that the infant’s immune system is not developed enough to actually make use of the vaccine? The list goes on and on.

Margulis did extensive investigative reporting for this book and even traveled to Scandinavia to find out why they do birth better. Her revelations are eye-opening. She displays a health care system that focuses only on profit.  She shows us how far our birth and baby health care system has gone awry – pushing women and children into situations that are unhealthy for them while financially benefiting doctors, hospitals, and corporations. Her complex web of interviews with doctors, midwives, nurses, parents, and researchers paints a fairly grim picture of the options available to women and families in the U.S.

Margulis is out to make her point in this book – that point being that pregnancy, birth and infant care are overmedicalized, endangering women and children. If we took a step back and allowed the process to be less medical and more natural, she believes we would have better outcomes and healthier moms and babies. She does not lay out the opposing  argument for you, so this is not a balanced take on the topic, but instead is one written from a very passionate viewpoint.

That being said, no matter what your feelings are about this topic, this is a very important book to read. You’ll be shocked, you’ll be angered, and you’ll start to think about how the system may have manipulated you without you even knowing. Even if you question Margulis’s conclusions, the evidence she presents will make you think and begin to wonder if your best interests have been pushed to the side in the race to make more and more money.

And maybe all of this will make you think about what the alternatives should be. Margulis is a proponent of midwives, homebirth, and breastfeeding, and suggests we need to reduce ultrasounds in pregnancies, change the vaccination schedule, and rethink what well baby care ought to be. Some of her views might shock you, but others might hit home. This book is going to start a national conversation about our preconceived notions about pregnancy, birth, and baby care. You want to read it so that you can form your own opinions.

Did you ever feel as though maybe your doctor, your child’s doctor, and the companies that sell you products for your child don’t always have your best interests at heart? I think we’ve all had at least twinges of these feelings from time to time, and if you’ve had a bad experience with a doctor … Read more →

I’ve been plowing through a lot of books lately. Here are some that I’ve gone to bed with (ooh la la):

Six Years by Harlan Coben: I prefer the Myron Bolitar series that Coben writes, but I’ll read pretty much anything the man produces. I was vaguely confused through this book though because it felt like it was a very similar to story to something else I’d read, which I still can’t put my finger one. Coben is great with suspense as always and the twists and turns will keep you turning pages as the narrator decides to track down the love of his life six years after she suddenly married someone else. He learns she might be in danger yet no one will give him a straight answer – there’s a big cover up in place and it seems everyone is involved. I was a little displeased when the entire story came to light (I wasn’t quite buying all of it), but it was still a good read.

Night Moves by Randy Wayne White: I’m a long time fan of the Doc Ford series, partly because it takes place on Sanibel Island, Florida, one of my most favorite places in the world.  In this story, Doc Ford sticks close to home for his adventures, tracking down some lost US planes that may have crashed in his neck of the woods years ago. The story moves at a pretty good pace and of course his side kick Tomlinson is in full goofiness throughout. I admit to being a bit annoyed at how women are always falling all over Doc Ford. In this story he grows closer to one woman and begins to think about settling down. No surprise, since White thanks his “life companion” in the acknowledgements for the first time- seems White himself has settled down and is making Doc Ford do the same. The added bonus in this book is an amazing dog. I hope the dog becomes a regular because I love him.

Kinsey and Me by Sue Grafton: I was hesitant about reading this but, but I love sleuth Kinsey Millhone so I couldn’t resist. This book contains short stories about Kinsey that were written years ago and then some stories about a character named Kit Blue, heavily based on Grafton herself. I confess I couldn’t get through the book. The Kinsey stories are missing all of her great sidekicks – landlord Henry and Rosie at the Hungarian restaurant. They were also tied up too neatly and quickly for my tastes. The Kit Blue stories didn’t draw me in at all. This one was a miss. I should have listened to my gut, I guess.

[Disclosure: I am an Amazon Associates member and earn a very small commission on sales made following links from my site]

I’ve been plowing through a lot of books lately. Here are some that I’ve gone to bed with (ooh la la): Six Years by Harlan Coben: I prefer the Myron Bolitar series that Coben writes, but I’ll read pretty much anything the man produces. I was vaguely confused through this book though because it felt … Read more →

Google recently bought out Frommer’s – the company that creates hundreds of print travel guide books each year. And now they’ve decided to stop publishing any. Here’s the link to the story.

I love books and I love travel, so I am a Frommer’s fan. I don’t go anywhere without buying the Frommer’s and Fodor’s guides for that location.  And I do buy both guides because they have different styles and include different information. Often by cross-referencing the two I can isolate the best restaurants, best hotels, and best things to do if the books agree.

I do a lot of online research before I travel (TripAdvisor is very helpful, as are local tourism web sites), but I find that a print guidebook organizes all of the important information for me in one place. It  has small localized maps that are easy to read. Most online sites redirect you to Google maps, which is fine, but it’s nice to see a map with all the restaurants or sights clearly marked, so you can easily gauge what is where.

I like to have a guidebook in my purse or bag when we are out and about. We may plan to go to one restaurant and get there and find it’s a dump. The guidebook offers a quick way for me to find other restaurants I’ve marked in that area, rather than trying to navigate UrbanSpoon or TripAdvisor for help (and if you’re in a spot with no internet access they do you no good!).

I will sorely miss Frommer’s guides and may now have to give in and buy some other brand (Rick Steve’s, Rough Guide, or Moon – all of which I’ve tried and just don’t like as much as my Big Two!).

What resources do you use to prepare for a trip? Will you miss Frommer’s guides?

Google recently bought out Frommer’s – the company that creates hundreds of print travel guide books each year. And now they’ve decided to stop publishing any. Here’s the link to the story. I love books and I love travel, so I am a Frommer’s fan. I don’t go anywhere without buying the Frommer’s and Fodor’s … Read more →

No matter how much of a foodie you’ve become, I will bet there is at least one packaged snack you still love. As a kid, you probably ate more of these kinds of foods than you might want to admit now. As for me, I still have a thing for cheese puffs (although I now buy the organic, gluten-free version) and I have fond memories of Hostess cupcakes, mostly because I watched other kids get them in their lunches and I never did (as an adult, I found them pretty bad: dry and tasteless, but they remain as a symbol of childhood to me!). Oreos and Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies were other childhood favorite of mine though and I have a weird memory of taking an empty egg carton and putting one Oreo in each section and eating out of it while reading one of the Little House on the Prairie books.

Whatever your secret craving or childhood obsession, you probably never thought you could recreate that food at home yourself. Now you can. The fun new book, Classic Snacks Made From Scratch by Casey Barber (Ulysses Press) has 70 recipes for all sorts of foods you could only buy in a package until now. Nutter Butters, Oreos, Fudge Stripes, Mallomars, Entenmann’s Donuts, TastyKakes, Twinkies, Cheez-Its, Pop-Tarts, Doritos, BBQ potato chips,  Klondike Bars, Funyuns, Fudgsicles, fruit roll-ups, and even Peeps made it into the pages of this book of 70 recipes.

This isn’t a cookbook you’re going to cook from every day or even every weekend, but it is definitely a fun resource to have on had, particularly if you have kids, or if you just like to challenge yourself to recreate foods.  Barber calls for some ingredients that might be harder to find (like cheese powder or buttermilk powder), so plan ahead for your binge. The recipes are all rated for difficulty level which is a nice feature, but there is no nutritional information (probably a good thing!). This book is simply pure fun. Just paging through it will give you a thrill as you slip past all the stuff you used to eat (or still eat on occasion) or dream about eating.

I made the tater tots recipe from the book. I had some trouble grating the potatoes, but it may be that my potatoes were cooked longer than they should have been. When I mixed it up, it just looked like mashed potatoes – it lost the texture of grated potatoes (again, I think this was my bad). They fried up nicely though and looked good. My kids both liked them. They tasted like potato balls to me, mostly because it didn’t have the right texture, but it got a thumbs up from the people who really matter. I probably wouldn’t make this again – I make fried food very rarely as a special treat and I think I would rather have French fries! But if you’re looking for a good tots recipe, I would definitely try this one.

 

No matter how much of a foodie you’ve become, I will bet there is at least one packaged snack you still love. As a kid, you probably ate more of these kinds of foods than you might want to admit now. As for me, I still have a thing for cheese puffs (although I now … Read more →

I love getting books for Christmas, since it gives me something to enjoy for weeks to come. This year, received some very nice books:

The Southern Foodie: This books looks like it will be great fun. It’s recipes, as well as descriptions of great places to eat in the South.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 10 Best of Everything: This is a great travel resource covering great locations, amazing food, hotels, activities. I can’t wait to dive in!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fodor’s Carribean: I’m hoping to head south soon, and this book will help me figure out where I want to go! (confession: this one wasn’t under the tree, but I was hoping to get it, so I ordered it for myself when I realized Santa forgot it!)

 

I also got a copy of Veranda and Traditional Home, which I am saving for a quiet afternoon in front of the fire. I’ve been on a kick lately where I have been ripping pages out of home design magazines and putting them in an inspiration folder (a paper version of Pinterest, I guess!).

Did Santa leave any books under your tree?

 

I love getting books for Christmas, since it gives me something to enjoy for weeks to come. This year, received some very nice books: The Southern Foodie: This books looks like it will be great fun. It’s recipes, as well as descriptions of great places to eat in the South.           … Read more →

I recently received this cookbook as a birthday gift. The authors, Jilly Lagasse and Jessie Lagasse Swanson, are Emeril Lagasse’s daughters. Definitely intriguing. One of them has celiac and the other is gluten intolerant. They grew up with their dad’s food, but then had to learn to make their own gluten-free versions.

The book is broken down into appetizers, salads, soups, sides, entrees and desserts. It begins with some explanation about gluten, gluten allergies, and food that contains gluten.

There are several things I like about this book. First of all, it’s not one of those books that just takes old favorites and changes them to gluten-free. These are recipes anyone would make, not just people with gluten issues. Many of the recipes have nothing to do with gluten (salads, veggie sides, etc.). It’s just good food that happens not to have any gluten. This makes you feel like you’re eating real food and are not so restricted in your diet.

Secondly, what I really appreciate is that the recipes rely on all-purpose gluten free flour. I am not a fan of cookbooks that have you using 5 ingredients to compose the flour part of the recipe. I want to buy one good all-purpose GF flour and be able to use it in everything.

The recipes are a nice mix of creative with traditional. Wilted Chard with Walnut Pesto and Balsamic Reduction  and Baked Halibut with Creole Tomato and Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette  are included as well as Spaghetti Bolognese, Carrot Cake, and Crab Cakes.

The book has lots of photos and each recipe has a little note from the authors describing it.

I recently made:

Stewed Butternut Squash with Apples and Smoked Bacon

4 strips bacon, diced

1 1/2 cups small diced onion

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 tbsp butter

1 apple, peeled, cored and diced

1 butternut squash (about 2 lbs), peeled, seeded, diced

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 cups chicken stock

Set a medium sized saute pan on medium heat. Add the bacon and render, stirring until crisp, about 6-8 minutes.

Add the onion and cook until slightly caramelized, 4-5 minutes.

Add garlic, butter, apple, and cook, stirring until the apple is tender, about 5 minutes.

Add squash and increase heat to medium high. Cook undisturbed, about 3-4 minutes then stir in nutmeg, thyme, salt and pepper.

Cook another 3-4 minutes and add the syrup and stock. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook until squash is tender and most of the liquid evaporates, about 15 minutes.

Remove the lid, stir gently and re-season as needed.

The authors suggest serving this as a stand alone stew. I served it with rice. It has a nice rich flavor and is a great alternative to a meat-based stew. Very hearty and perfect on a cold night.

This is a great book for someone recently diagnosed with a gluten issue, or for someone who has been cooking gluten free for a long time.

I recently received this cookbook as a birthday gift. The authors, Jilly Lagasse and Jessie Lagasse Swanson, are Emeril Lagasse’s daughters. Definitely intriguing. One of them has celiac and the other is gluten intolerant. They grew up with their dad’s food, but then had to learn to make their own gluten-free versions. The book is … Read more →

Congrats to Mary DeBorde who has won a copy of The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home.

Congrats to Mary DeBorde who has won a copy of The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home.

Savannah is one of my favorite cities, so when I saw there was a book called Christmas in Savannah, I had to read it. This wonderful little book has photos and a few recipes. I wrote a review of it over at A Traveler’s Library and there’s a great recipe from the book as well.

Savannah is one of my favorite cities, so when I saw there was a book called Christmas in Savannah, I had to read it. This wonderful little book has photos and a few recipes. I wrote a review of it over at A Traveler’s Library and there’s a great recipe from the book as well.

Here’s a little holiday gift for my readers. The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home: The Happy Luddite’s Guide to Domestic Self-Sufficiency by Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger Henderson.  I’m giving away one copy to a lucky reader.

The book is not for people who raise their own chickens, weave their own clothes or forage on a daily basis. Instead, it’s meant for folks who live in the city or burbs and are looking for ways to do a little more themselves. About 3/4 of the book is about food – making, preserving, etc. Want to make your own soy sauce or mustard, or make dumplings from leftover bread? You’ll find out how here. There are recipes for things I’ve never heard of, like Beef Rindsrouladen and Durian. This definitely will expand your cooking routine and show you some techniques you might have been afraid to try (like pickling). The rest of the book has small projects like making a broom, making a quill pen, quilting, and sewing.

If you want to learn to do some projects around the house in an old-fashioned, low tech kind of way, you’ll enjoy this book.

The book was sent to me for review by the publisher without any expectations or requirements.

To enter, leave a comment on this post. You must enter by midnight ET on Friday, December 14, 2012. I’ll randomly and blindly select the winner by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of comments here). Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email given when entering; not responsible for email transmission problems or postal delivery problems or failures. You are responsible for notifying me of your correct mailing address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 12/14/12. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. I reserve the right to announce the name of the winner on the blog.

Here’s a little holiday gift for my readers. The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home: The Happy Luddite’s Guide to Domestic Self-Sufficiency by Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger Henderson.  I’m giving away one copy to a lucky reader. The book is not for people who raise their own chickens, weave their own clothes or forage … Read more →