"i could almost hear you laugh"

a look back...

i thought last year was memorable...

for the first year in so many years, i was in touch in some way with every one...

i didn't really know the best way to do that but having a book club was what i came up with...

i knew we all loved to read...

or cook...

or watch movies...

since we live so far apart this seem to be a pretty fun way to stay in touch...

pretty cheap too:)

thanks guys...

pretty cool family!

here is a look at my favorites from last year.

~~~~~

"the book thief" 

this book was unexpected and really amazing.

i think it is one i will never forget.

~~~~~`

"shadow of night"

i so loved this book and "a discovery of witches" 

and since i kind of have a thing for witch books and movies

this will definitely go down as one of my favorite series.

i am really excited for book three! 

i will keep you posted about when it is supposed to come out.

~~~~~

"the thirteenth tale"

i think that this book was the perfect book for a book club.

this story was so interesting and mysterious and of all the books we have read, this one was the one i wish we could have had a party for.

it would have been so fun to talk about and plan a party around.

it was for sure one of my favorites.

~~~~~

"outlander"

this one has become a lifelong favorite series.

i have loved it.

~~~~~

"the physic book of deliverance dane"

this one was not on our reading list but one i came across and enjoyed so much.

it is a modern witch book but also delves into the salem witch trials and what those people went through.

it was fascinating and also very unexpected. 

it would have been a fun one to talk about as well.

 ~~~~~

"the night circus"

okay.

this one was my very favorite...

makes me want to make carmel corn right now.

i think i had the most fun during the months of february  and october.

i would love to know what your favorites were...

~~~~~

can't wait to see what this new year brings...

babies, books, and who knows what else...

we are down to counting the days now...

i will keep you posted:)

bye...

more later...

the thirteenth tale



“For me to see is to read. It has always been that way.”
― Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale

i have to say...

of all the books that we have read, this is the 

one that made me wish we had the opportunity to meet and talk about. 

it was really good and dallys and i kept calling each other and saying "where are you at?"

it would make a very interesting discussion.

here is a summary from goodreads

Biographer Margaret Lea returns one night to her apartment above her father’s antiquarian bookshop. On her steps she finds a letter. It is a hand-written request from one of Britain’s most prolific and well-loved novelists. Vida Winter, gravely ill, wants to recount her life story before it is too late, and she wants Margaret to be the one to capture her history. The request takes Margaret by surprise—she doesn’t know the author, nor has she read any of Miss Winter’s dozens of novels.

Late one night while pondering whether to accept the task of recording Miss Winter’s personal story, Margaret begins to read her father’s rare copy of Miss Winter’s Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation. She is spellbound by the stories and confused when she realizes the book only contains twelve stories. Where is the thirteenth tale? Intrigued, Margaret agrees to meet Miss Winter and act as her biographer.As Vida Winter unfolds her story, she shares with Margaret the dark family secrets that she has long kept hidden as she remembers her days at Angelfield, the now burnt-out estate that was her childhood home. Margaret carefully records Miss Winter’s account and finds herself more and more deeply immersed in the strange and troubling story. In the end, both women have to confront their pasts and the weight of family secrets. As well as the ghosts that haunt them still.

both dallys and i agree that this one of the best we have read and gave it 5 stars...
i was completely drawn in, although slowly at first and then it was very hard to leave it.
everyone that i have heard from so far felt the same way...
we also had a little fun throughout the month...

it started with an official invite which arrived sealed with wax...

if you read the book you will understand the invite a little better with the seemingly burned paper and single book page...

we then had everyone post the invites on instagram when it arrived...

we also threw in a wednesday word...

#ghosts

here is a look at the ghosts and whatnot that 

crossed every ones paths...

we ended the month by having some ghost stories and our

2nd annual

"ghost story extravaganza"

in my backyard...

we

had hot chocolate and hot cider,

doughnuts and carmel popcorn...

i told this ghost story

around the fire

"the wheel of wasted souls"

which was the winner of the

"JFP creative frightening story"

contest

written by

http://www.teriharman.com/2012/11/the-wheel-of-wasted-souls.html

it was spooky and so much fun!

i want to thank everyone who played along...

if you were able to read the book

"the thirteenth tale"

i would love to know what you thought...

we thought it was just so good!

 

and if you didn't get the chance to read it, we are not having a book choice for the month of december so you could read it then if you want. it was definitely worth reading:)

bye...

more later...

pumpkin spice carmel popcorn

perfect for ghost stories:)

i kept thinking i would make something awesome with pumpkin...

(probably because i painted this awesome picture)

i didn't...

i got too busy and then i ran out of energy...

so i made carmel popcorn instead...

i added pumpkin pie spice...

that counts, right?

it was totally worth it:)

the recipe is in our cookbooks:)

they were delicious.

since i am not a fan of carmel apples (i love the taste but think they are awkward to eat)

we ate the popcorn balls with sliced apples...

works great:)

(took this picture at verd's when it was still open. 

miss it so much. 

grandma j used to take us there and it closed for good last year. dangit)

we had them at our 2nd annual ghost story extravaganza

i will tell you about that soon!

hope you had a happy halloween...

bye...

more later...

p.s.:

all these paintings i made are from the app 

#paperby53 or #madebypaper

on the iPad 

it's super fun!!!



"and they all lived happily ever after...well, maybe not"

folklore collectors and con artists, jake and will grimm, travel from village to village pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures and performing exorcisms. They are put to the test, however, when they encounter a real magical curse in a haunted forest with real magical beings, requiring genuine courage. which they lack.

in 1811, in a french occupied germany, the crooks brothers grimm pretend to fight against evil witches and monsters to make money. however, they are arrested, with the chance to redeem themselves in the village of marbaden, where ten young girls have vanished. will and jacob are guided by a local through an enchanted forest where they face an evil queen that depends on the sacrifice of twelve girls in the eclipse to stay beautiful and young.

the are expected to save the day by performing the enchantments they were pretending to be experts in and saving the final two girls. 

---

this movies touches on every fairy tale:)

really good...

matt damon and heath ledger...

halloween is the best for movies...

bye...
more later...

it's raining

it's raining, it's pouring...

:)

            we are preparing for ghost stories at
                  our house...

                                   more info on that later;)

bye...

more later...

"take this kiss upon the brow"

 
The film opens in 19th century Maryland – where several Baltimore policemen are chasing after the screams of a woman in an 
apartment.

The police arrive at the apartment to discover a woman sprawled on the floor with her throat sliced open and the corpse of her daughter stuffed in the chimney. Detective Emmett Fields is called to assist in the investigation and discovers that the crime resembles a fictional murder in the short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", 
which is part of a collection of stories penned by the writer Edgar Allan Poe.

Poe has become a social pariah and penniless drunkard whose stories have not been circulated for some time. 
He has fallen in love with the beautiful young Emily Hamilton and desires to marry her but faces opposition from her father Captain Hamilton, a military man who loathes Poe and goes to the length of threatening physical violence. 
Poe is brought to see Fields for questioning and is horrified to learn someone is using his stories as the backdrop for a series of murders. Fields then proposes that Poe volunteer his services to help the police catch the killer and the writer agrees to the task.


this movie was another of my favorites for the year.
john cusack is fantastic in it...

Edgar Allan Poe: We loved with a love that was more than love.

edgar allan poe: the true genius shudders at incompleteness – and usually prefers silence to saying something which is not everything it should be.

click on the arrow below to watch the movie trailer

another great one for the halloween season...

bye...

more later...

"little miss bronte'"

for the babies:)

since our book for the month is so 

"jane eyre esque"

i picked this one for the babes

http://www.babylit.com/

(i love this website. 

i want everything for my babes)

i give it 5 trees

(another counting book:))

you are invited...

to read with me:)

a spooky, gothic tale...

Biographer Margaret Lea returns one night to her apartment above her father’s antiquarian bookshop. On her steps she finds a letter. 

It is a hand-written request from one of Britain’s most prolific and well-loved novelists. 

Vida Winter, gravely ill, wants to recount her life story before it is too late, and she wants Margaret to be the one to capture her history. 

The request takes Margaret by surprise—she doesn’t know the author, nor has she read any of Miss Winter’s dozens of novels.

  Late one night while pondering whether to accept the task of recording Miss Winter’s personal story, Margaret begins to read her father’s rare copy of Miss         Winter’s Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation. 

She is spellbound by the stories and confused when she realizes the book only contains twelve stories. 

Where is the thirteenth tale? 

Intrigued, Margaret agrees to meet Miss Winter and act as her biographer.

As Vida Winter unfolds her story, she shares with Margaret the dark family secrets that she has long kept hidden as she remembers her days at Angelfield, the now burnt-out estate that was her childhood home. Margaret carefully records Miss Winter’s account and finds herself more and more deeply immersed in the strange and troubling story. In the end, both women have to confront their pasts and the weight of family secrets. 

As well as the ghosts that haunt them still.

from goodreads

the thirteenth tale

bye...

more later...