Tuesday Reviews-Day: TGIP (Thank Goodness It’s Publix!)

Tuesday Revews-Day

Every area has their local favorites of every sort of vendor, and there’s usually a regional grocery chain that inspires a deep, unabiding love in its patrons. For those of us in the southeastern US, that grocery store is very likely Publix.

People may make fun of the name (and plenty of visitors have butchered the pronunciation–it’s public with an s, by the way) but no one who’s had one of their birthday cakes or their white mountain bread will accept any jeering at the chain’s expense. The stores are bright and clean and the shelves are stocked with a wide variety of products, even in the smaller locations, with the larger, newer shops including fancy cheese selections and extended Greenwise (organic, etc.) sections.  Many area brides opt for a Publix wedding cake over an independent bakery for more reasons than just price and people who’ve moved out of the area practically salivate at the mention of a Publix deli’s sub.

Turns out, their wraps are just as tasty.

For this weekend’s move it was only right to feed our crew as a (beginning of a) thank you for their help. We started with bagels, doughnuts, and coffee from Dunkin’ Doughnuts before loading the truck, and then lunch after the truck was empty at our destination. Not that we made it in one trip, but that’s a story for another day.

Pizza is pretty usual for this sort of thing: it’s quick, they deliver, and feeds a crowd fairly well. But pizza requires either good timing or waiting, and quick alternatives like anything drive-thru turn out not to be quick when you’re ordering in multiples of 5. This is where the Publix deli comes in.

On Thursday before the move I called with the intent of ordering a sub platter, but while browsing the website I saw they offered a Wrap Platter, as well. Thinking that wraps would be a touch lighter for what was shaping up to be a hot weekend, I ordered an assorted wrap platter, Medium-sized, with Boar’s Head meats and cheeses. Even though the small platter feeds 8-12, it’s actually only 6 wraps cut up, so I worried that it wouldn’t be enough for a group of 5 who’d worked up a healthy appetite moving furniture and boxes. I was right.

image via Publix.com--I was too busy moving on Saturday to take pictures

image via Publix.com–I was too busy moving on Saturday to take pictures

For $60 (I picked up some bags of kettle chips as well as a small fruit bowl as well; the platter was $45 alone) we fed the five of us for lunch that day, Todd and I for supper that night, and us again for lunch on Sunday. They’d called a couple hours before the platter pick-up time to verify if I wanted mayo and mustard on the subs and if I had a cheese preference or just wanted assorted. They could have just done the assorted meats as the original order was written, but I appreciated the follow-up. When I arrived right at noon to pick it up it was ready and waiting, nice and chilled from the cooler.

And, of course, the most important thing was that the wraps were divine. Turkey, roast beef, and ham were matched up with at least Provolone, American, and cheddar cheeses on white, whole wheat, tomato, and spinach wraps and sliced into 3-4 pieces each so that it was easy to get a good sampling of all of it in a few pieces. I didn’t ask if they had gluten-free wraps, instead I just ate the insides (Todd ate most of my cast-off wrappers).

Ordering the wraps was probably the best decision we made of the entire move, even though that’s not saying much all things considered(as you’ll hear if you come back on Thursday for the next house update). IF we ever have this situation in the future or anything like it, you can bet I’ll be calling upon the Publix deli to help me out again.

This was not a sponsored post, I am receiving no compensation or consideration for sharing this, I just think they did a fabulous job and it was worth sharing!

Tuesday Reviews-Day: The Nightingale Girls Series

Tuesday Revews-Day

In addition to the usual Nancy Drew and Little Women books (yes, there is more than one of the latter in the series) that Mom had on her bookshelf when I was growing up, she also had a handful of the Cherry Ames books–a series that followed the training and career of a a nurse and amateur sleuth. The books never made me want to be a nurse (both the sight of blood and needles gets me a bit shaky) but I loved the series nonetheless.

So when I heard about the Nightingale Girls series, set in the 1930s at the famed Nightingale hospital, that was just recently released in the US, I jumped at the chance to review the first three books in the series.

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Book 1, the The Nightingale Girls, follows the Dora, Millie, and Helen. Dora is applying to the prestigious nursing academy to escape a harsh home situation, Millie is trying to pass her preliminary testing, putting her a set behind, and Helen is the school’s social outcast owing to her overbearing mother’s position on the Board of Trustees.

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In Book 2, The Nightingale Sisters, we keep up with Dora and Millie but also meet the new Night Sister, Violet, who has a history that could oust her from the nursing world if she trusts the wrong person with it. Neither Helen nor any of the other nurses we met in Book 1 have been forgotten, but each book seems to focus on no more than three strong personalities.

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Then, in Book 3, The Nightingale Nurses, we focus again on Helen, in her last year as a student nurse and facing exams and a dark-horse bid for independence. Dora and Millie, constants so far in the series, are nursing patients as well as broken hearts and they each deal with troubles in the romance department.

Aside from the fact that I just enjoy series–the ability to follow along with characters for multiple stories is a treat, like catching up with old friends–I appreciate the fact that the author, Donna Douglas doesn’t keep the character’s home lives peachy keen, even-keel and reserve the mysteries and challenges only for the hospital floors. Douglas may have gone a little too far in the real life problems for my taste, in the case of Dora’s abusive father, but she handled it well to keep it from being salacious. And it’s not just the girls from the East End that have their troubles, Millie is trying to do prove her worth before settling down and producing an heir so the family’s home and title don’t pass on to some distant relation–very Downton Abbey whereas Womans Own magazine likes the series more to Call the Midwife.

Of course, once I’d devoured the three books I’d been supplied for the review, I had to see if there were more available. So far they’ve only been released digitally in the US, but there is a fourth book, Nightingales on Call, as well as a short story, A Child is Born: A Nightingale Christmas Story, that seems to take place between ‘Nurses’ and ‘On Call.’ Both were excellent (even if the short was a bit predictable, it was still a fun read) and I’m so glad I didn’t stop at ‘Nurses’ because Nightingales on Call brings us to the end of Mille & Dora’s journey as students, while introducing some new characters as well as shedding some light on one of the less-likable characters from the first three books.

The next book in the series, A Nightingale Christmas Wish, is due out in early November and focuses on Helen and two other nurses–including the Matron of the Hospital, Kathleen Fox. I know I’m looking forward to the next book and would definitely recommend the Nightingale series to anyone who enjoys Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, or similar entertainments.

 

Tuesday Reviews-Day: The French House

Tuesday Revews-Day

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“An American Family, a Ruined Maison, and the Village That Restored Them All”

Who wouldn’t be curious about a book with such an intriguing subtitle. Especially if that who happens to be me, at the time in the throes of purchasing my own home (which some would also have considered ruined where we just saw potential). In The French House, Don Wallace tells the story of how he and his wife Mindy came to own a falling-down house on the island of Belle Isle off the coast of Brittany, back in the 80s as fledgling writers living in Manhattan. 30 years after they purchased the home, almost sight-unseen, at the urging of a local friend and former school mentor of Mindy’s, the house went from ruin to what I would call full of character and quirks, and a fitting retreat in a French village that has staved off many of the modern advances and tourists threats over the decades.

The writing is infectious. Take, for instance, these passages from early in the book, a page of Instructions they uncovered in some old notebooks.

Bonjour et bienvenue

There are a few things that have to be done immediately when you open the house. Please read ALL these points carefully.

3. Water heater. To turn on the water for the water heater, go to the closet across from the cabinet. It is full of sporty stuff (tennis rackets, golf clubs, swim fins, masks and snorkels, spear guns, wet suits, Frisbees, bocce balls, all of which you may use after you complete every step of these instructions).
You want to get water going into the heater. To do this, peer behind the water take–at the base near the wall you will see a black switch. Turn it parallel to the floor. You should hear a clunk. Note: do not touch the red faucet. Nobody knows what it does. We think it connects to the secret core of hot magma that lies under the island and, if thrown, will result in worldwide catastrophe. You will have hot water in about three to four hours. And it will be hot. Very! Be careful not to scald yourself….

4. Bathroom. Go upstairs to the bathroom. By the toilet you will see boxes of the septic tank chemical that will keep everything smelling sweet. Put two packets in the bowl and flush.
Despite this, you may notice a sort of sickly odor that rises like a miasma at night when the entire village is humming behind closed doors and windows are fogged from all the shower baths taken in succession. This odor should be ignored; taking notice of it will only encourage it.
For Women Only: You will note that there is only one tiny mirror in the bathroom and no mirrors anywhere else in the house. This is deliberate and done for your own well-being…we recommend cultivating the Belle Ile look of bohemian-athletic-seaside dishevelment to go with that Coco Chanel suntan you’re working on. The same goes for clothes….
For Men Only: If you have any male children, it may be wise to have Daddy demonstrate how the toilet lid works, or fails to, if you’re attempting to take a whiz while standing up. Just when you least expect it–bang!–the lid falls like a guillotine.
Don’t worry if you botch this demonstration. Even if your son starts wetting the bed because you nearly amputated your own unit, you’re in luck–not for nothing is Belle Ile known as “the island of psychiatrists.” There are two in Kerbordardoue, another three in adjoining villages, and then all sit down at the beach together, which makes an informal consultation easy to arrange.

5. Stove/Oven: France uses propane for cooking, which is interesting if you think of her distinguished pedigree for cuisine and how, in America, a propane tank is associated with backyard barbecue or football tailgating.
Under the sink is a blue bottle with a round disk valve on top. Turn this all the way open. Wait a minute and turn on a burner and light a match to test it. Note: We turn off the blue gas bottle at night. (Just our neurotic American ways, I guess, but once you read about the the oven you will understand.)
Important oven note: sadly, the oven has become so unpredictable we have to say: try to avoid using it. The dials mean nothing, so you may think you have turned it off and it is merrily filling with gas.  There’s a reason the knobs are unreliable. One afternoon our son Ror’s older cousin Devo filled the stove with gas before lighting the oven. The resulting explosion removed his eyebrows and budding soul patch. It also blew the knobs across the room….I think one knob is still embedded in the wall, the others dangle on the stove, looking deceptively functional….

6. The fireplace: Works well….just keep the fires small, especially at first, so the smoke has a chance to draw up the chimney and dry it out after the long winter….
P.S. The barbecue in the fireplace goes outside, to the right, where our house’s white wall meets the rough stone of the shed….
P.P.S The bicycle in the chimney is also to be removed before starting any fires. If you can get the chain to stay on, feel free to ride it. Don’t ask why it’s there. That’s a story for another time.

Reading this before bed that first night I stopped and reread the entirety of the Instructions to Todd, stifling some giggles along the way. I don’t think the author would mind in the least, though.

Go ahead and laugh–at the joke, at the house, at us. We’re used to it.

With an introduction like the above, you might get the idea that The French House is all droll humor and quips when in reality it gets real, fast. They buy the Belle Ile house, their building in New York City goes co-op. They have a child. They have career struggles, are unable to make it to their crumbling island paradise some summers due to family and financial dramas, all while trying to orchestrate needed repairs on a shoestring via letters and phone calls.

Frankly I find it frustrating to deal with a contractor 30 miles and a state line away, I cannot imagine how it was for them; or, rather, couldn’t if not for Wallace’s way of getting to the point while maintaining a gallows-humor even through the rough patches. There were highs and lows, as is to be expected in a story that spans three decades, and the “end” is bittersweet as so much changes in this village we come to know and love through the story-telling skills of the author.

It’s not just the story of a couple or their home, it’s the story of a way of life, both one that pre-dated them and the one that will follow.

I read this book in spurts. It was easy to devour (just another section more) but I wanted to spread it out. Unlike a series where you know there’s more to come, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the Wallace family or their village, so I would force myself to stop, put down the Kindle, and go to sleep. Now that I have read to the end, I’m left with the feeling of having had a wonderful, virtual vacation on that island, leaving behind good friends and fond memories.

For the rest I’ll just have to subscribe to his tumblr feed: DonWallaceFranceBlog.tumblr.com

***I was provided a digital review copy of The French House for purpose of review. All opinions expressed are my own. The French House was published June 1, 2014, by Sourcebooks.***

Tuesday Reviews-Day: Captain Morgan 1671 Commemorative Blend

Sips, Tuesday Revews-Day

 

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In 1671, the real Captain Morgan’s ship, The Satisfaction, sunk after raiding the Spanish in Panama. The folks at Captain Morgan rum have created the 1671 Commemorative Blend Spiced Rum as their best estimate of what rum aboard The Satisfaction would have tasted like, and even put it in a bottle reminiscent of those old bottles with the loop for easy carrying or tossing back a shot.

They suggest this spiced rum is one for sipping on the rocks, but I find it still with one too many edges for me to drink it straight–but we all know I like my spirits balanced with a mixer of some sort. The aroma (or nose) is just wonderful: rich, a little smoky, a little sweet, and some dried fruits like apricots and raisins.

Rum always reminds me of growing up on Ponchatoula, Lousiana. First, because my aunt would mix pina coladas at my grandparents wet bar in the evenings (she’s pour out a little of the blended mixture for me before adding the rum) and then because of the frozen strawberry daiquiris they’d serve up at the annual Strawberry Festival. And at the holidays, instead of the Bourbon balls everyone else seems to be familiar with, my family made Rum Balls and I’d sneak into the pantry to grab more than my fair share back in the day.

With those early memories in mind, I created a lighter twist on them both in honor of hot summer days and cool frozen drinks.

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Summer Satisfaction

1 1/2 cups frozen pineapple chunks
1 1/2 cups hulled and halved strawberries
2/3 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup spiced rum (like Captain Morgan 1671)

Combine everything in the blender and process until nice and smooth. Garnish with a whole strawberry and, if you’re feeling fancy, replace the stem with a small sprig of mint. Make 3 cups–you decide how many servings that amounts to.

I don’t like using ice in my frozen drinks since all it manages to do is dilute everything and make a mess by the time you’re halfway through. Using frozen fruit for all or part of your blended drinks saves you from this travesty, and the frozen pineapple mixes well with the strawberries and coconut milk instead of taking them over. And speaking of the coconut milk, I went with it over the pina colada-standard coconut cream because I didn’t want the heavy, cloying sweetness to take over the drink. Instead, the coconut milk give you a hint of the pina colada without going overboard.

For non-beverage uses, I can see this rum being a lovely addition to your homemade (or even doctored store-bought) barbecue sauces and baked beans over the summer. Use some to marinate your next batch of ribs or brisket and see if it doesn’t just turn the dial on the flavor up a notch or two. This Commemorative Blend is a limited edition, though, so if you’re wanting to rum up your summer with it, you might want to get some sooner rather than later!

***I was provided a sample of Captain Morgan 1671 Commemorative Blend Spiced Rum for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed are my own.***

Tuesday Reviews-Day: Totes Amaze! by Amanda McKittrick

Tuesday Revews-Day

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It’s no surprise to anyone who’s been reading here for a while that I like to make things. While making stuff just for fun is all well and good, I especially love it when my hands-on time is spent making something useful as well as nice to look at. And even though a lot of my handmade projects are intended for others, every now and then I will make something for myself, too. Which is why I was more than happy to take a look at Totes Amaze! 25 bags to make for every occasion by Amanda McKittrick.

A tote is, at its most basic, a simple rectangle of fabric folded in half, sewn on two sides and with handles attached. But why stop there when you can add linings, pockets, gussets for bags to sit flat, draw strings, zippers, and curved bottoms instead of square? That’s where Totes Amaze! comes in handy with creative combinations of the basic elements, many of which you don’t even need a pattern for.

When something outside of an easily-measured square or rectangle is needed, there is a sheet of pattern pieces tucked into a pocket on the inside back cover.

[box type=”tick” style=”rounded” border=”full”]Tip #1 Even though the pattern pieces are printed on heavy-weight paper, reinforcing your patterns before you use them will help them last longer. I suggest clear shelf paper (such as the Con-Tact brand) adhered to one or both sides before cutting out the paper patterns. This way, when your friend sees you with your new tote, you’ll be able to whip up another one without worrying that your pattern might be too tattered for the job.[/box]

Alas, I have yet to clear the time in my schedule to actually make one of the bags, myself, but I have several marked for as soon as I can. I’m desperately in need of a new overnight bag with all these back-and-forths to the Dollhouse so the Classic Carryall Tote on page 50 is top of the list. After that, you know I couldn’t possible resist the Wine Bottle Tote on page 66, and the Six-Pocket Gardening Tote on page 38 will be perfect for crafting on the go (you guys know I can’t keep plants alive to save my life). With a simple lengthening of the main pattern piece, I think The Man Tote (page 114) would be the perfect custom answer to my widescreen laptop-carrying needs!

If you’re still a novice with needle and thread, McKittrick’s got you covered with some basic techniques in the beginning of the book and even a list of basic Sewing Kit items you’ll need to make anything in the book. After that it’s just a quick trip to your local fabric store and you’ll be all set! Each of the projects in Totes Amaze! feature detailed instructions and plenty of helpful illustrations to help you understand how things should look along the way. The book is full of bright colors and patterns that make it fun to flip through for inspiration.

[box type=”tick” style=”rounded” border=”full”]Tip #2 Even though the enjoyment is in the making, if you’re like me you still want to feel like you’re getting a bargain by making your own anything instead of buying it ready-made. Good fabric is the key to a great tote, especially the simpler the pattern design, but good fabric can cost a mint. Since totes don’t need a lot of yardage, check out the remnants bin each time you’re in the shop. Frequently these end-of-bolt pieces are marked down 50% or more, making it easier to splurge on a good handle for the same bag and still come in well under retail.[/box]

I picked up a full yard of caramel-colored faux suede for less than $10 that will make an amazing overnight bag and some sturdy, striped canvas on my last trip to JoAnn Fabrics that are set aside especially for the projects in this book. I also found a smaller cut of lighter-colored faux suede that I’ll use to make my own handles for this one (there are instructions in the book for that, too) and save the webbing for more heavy-duty projects.

I was provided a copy of Totes Amaze! for purpose of review. All opinions expressed are my own.