Book Review: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I would give this 3.5 stars.  I really loved the writing and descriptions.  If you enjoy vivid descriptions of mouth-watering food and exotic European locations, then this is the book for you.  It also has a lot of interesting Eastern European history that I didn't know much about, fascinating actually.  It has piqued my interest to read more about Bulgaria, Hungary, Turkey, Romania, etc.  Although it is a book about Dracula and vampires, it is not gory or horror filled in any way.  Some ancient torture practices are briefly discussed, but not dwelt upon.  The book does has an eerie quality to it at times, which I found kind of cool, maybe not for everyone though.  I liked the characters and story line.  When I was reading the book, I was interested and engaged, but found I could also easily put it down.  The most frustrating part about this book is the length.  I am a very fast reader and would set down after reading for an hour or two and feel like I hadn't made any progress with my bookmark.  I didn't feel like I was reading slow and it's not difficult to read....perhaps I have lost my super reading ability (I am going to blame my kids), or perhaps this is just a really long book and it took me a while. 



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Homemade French Bread

My friend is a fabulous cook and recently showed me how to make her yummy homemade french bread.  Now, I don't do bread.  Yeast and I have a tumultuous relationship at best.  I watched my friend make her bread from start to finish and went home and tried it myself the next day.  The bread rose and looked alright, maybe a little flat.  It tasted good, but the it was a lot more dense than my friend's version.  I should have take a picture to post, to keep things real on this blog, but alas I didn't.  The next flop, cooking or crafting, I will post on here, promise.

Anyway, last night, I decided to try again.  I bought new yeast and was careful not to overwork the dough when rolling it out.  Much better the second time around.  Relief and triumph, rolled into a delicious slice of yumminess.

We ate it with lasagna and spinach salad.  No, I did not make the lasagna.  That is what Costco is for...I'm not crazy.  I'll just make two loaves of french bread that I could pick up at the grocery store for $1.50 each instead.

I caught my husband eating a couple of leftover slices for breakfast this morning.  That's when you know it's good. 

If you are interested in the recipe, let me know and I can post it...or if you live nearby, give you a demonstration.  I'm a visual gal and need to see it being made for it all to make sense for me.  From start to finish, this bread takes about 2.5 hours.  That's including rising and baking time.  Not too bad for french bread.  AND if I can do it....you definitely can.  I don't know anyone who can mess up yeast recipes like yours truly, so this will be a walk in the park for the rest of you.

Spider Web Sugar Cookies

Fall carnival at school was last weekend.  I volunteered to make treats for the cake walk instead of working a booth.  

Best.  Decision.  Ever.

Wrapped them up individually so they would be easy to pass out to the kids.

Love the way these turn out and they are really fun to make.  I have an old post HERE with step by step instructions.

Halloween Decor 2011

Bats leading into the house.  Yes, I am working on the outside paint color selection.  It was like this when we moved in, I swear!

Bats everywhere!

Candy corn wreath from last year.

Scary silhouettes from a couple of years ago.

 Bat idea and template shamelessly copied from MADE.  Love her site.

The big white patches have since been sanded and painted over, thanks to my handy husband.  We moved and changed some lighting around and you can't tell where the old holes used to be.

Fireplace and mantle with our lounging skeleton that we have had forever, probably the boys' favorite decoration, as he is bendy and poseable.

My pumpkin family.

Ikea lanterns and little pumpkin candle holder from college days.  The artwork is from South Africa, shaved wood on fabric.  My brother bought it for my while serving a mission over there.

Roses and Hydrangeas Cake

Roses and Hydrangeas cake for a friend's birthday. 

Completely copied from i am baker.  I love all of her cakes.

This was a mini cake and my first attempt at hydrangeas.

The roses were a bit too big for the size of cake, but I learned a lot making this and will be able to improve upon it for the next time I find an excuse to make a flowery, girly concoction. 

Happy Haunting

Found these great printables HERE via Pinterest.  I printed the bunting on white cardstock and hung it with some brown twine I had from another project.  I'm thinking of laminating it for storage and use in future years.  We'll see.

I love the fonts, reminds me of the calligraphy class I took in college.  I need to practice more often.

Tootsie Pop Indian Onesies

Last year, two of my cousins had baby boys just a couple weeks apart from each other.  This weekend, we will be celebrating their first birthdays in a double party.

I couldn't help myself and made them something matching.

This image brings back a lot of memories.  I should have bought them each a Tootsie Pop to go along with their gift.  Oh well, their moms will probably be happy I forgot.

Wrapped up with a couple of my favorite children's books, tied with a ribbon, and a little first name initial for the birthday boys.