Sweet Southern Challenge 2019

Hello my cozy friends,

I decided to jump into another reading challenge called 2019 Sweet Southern Reading Challenge hosted here at Readeropolis. The challenge will run from January 1 to December 31, 2019. You can join at any time.

For this challenge, the South is defined as the states of :
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.*

There are five reading levels for this challenge.

• One Glass of Sweet Tea: Read 1 - 3 Books
• Two Glasses of Sweet Tea: Read 4 - 6 Books
• Three Glasses of Sweet Tea: Read 7 - 9 Books
• A Pitcher of Sweet Tea: Read 10 - 12 Books
• A Gallon Glass of Sweet Tea: Read 13 or More Books

* These are states where when you ask for sweet ice tea, it is served already sweetened, not unsweetened with packets of sweetener on the side. 

I recommend you use the link above and read the whole post. You don’t need a blog to participate, only a link of where you’ll keep track, like a Goodreads shelf.

My level will be "A Gallon Glass of Sweet Tea" and I’ll list the books here, starting with one I just finished and blogged about.

1.  Deserts, Driving, and Derelicts (A Camper & Criminals Cozy #2) - Tonya Kappes
2. No Good Tea Goes Unpunished (A Seaside Cafe Mystery #2) by Bree Baker 
3. Sweet Tea and Secrets (A Tea and Read Mystery #2) by Joy Avon
4. Motorhomes, Maps, & Murder (A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery Book 5) - Tonya Kappes
5. A Cold Brew Killing (All-Day Breakfast Café Mystery #3) by Lena Gregory 
6. Cat Got Your Crown: A Kitty Couture Mystery (Kitty Couture Mystery #4) by Julie Chase
7. Broomsticks and Burials: Paranormal Cozy Mystery (Magic & Mystery Book 1) by Lily Webb
8. Spellbooks and Stakings: Paranormal Cozy Mystery (Magic & Mystery #2) by Lily Webb
9. Forests, Fishing, & Forgery (A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery #3) by Tonya Kappes 
10. Lethal in Old Lace (Consignment Shop Mystery #5) by Duffy Brown
11. A Peach of a Murder (Fresh-Baked Mystery #1) by Livia J. Washburn
12. Live and Let Chai (A Seaside Cafe Mystery #1) by Bree Baker 
13. A Steep Too Far (A Seaside Cafe Mystery #3) by Bree Baker
14. Beaches, Bungalows, and Burglaries (A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery #1) by Tonya Kappes 

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!
I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

Hugs,

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5"x3" Memo Pad holder with Pen

Hello my crafty friends

You might of seen this project on my facebook page (original idea cased from Gerriann Armstrong) but I thought I would share the directions with you again ... 

I am lucky enough to still have a stash for little gifts

To begin cut a piece of cardstock at 5" by 8 3/8" , 1 1/2" by 5" and 1 1/2" by 3 5/8"

• Score on the 8 3/8 inch side at 3 5/8", 4", and 4 3/8"
• Fold on center line
• Cut from the edge to the middle score line about 1 1/2" from the top making a notch about 1/2" wide for the pen holder.
• Open and add scoretape between the middle and the last score line. DO NOT add tape between the cut lines as this is for the mini pen holder.
• Fold the back cover over to the front cover on the last score line.
• Open piece again and remove the score tape, fold the back over to the front cover and burnish the adhesive.
• Add the 1 1/2" by 5" cardstock at the bottom of the notepad and close the notepad on the cardstock, and fold the edges of the paper to the back of the notepad.  Add adhesive to the folded cardstock and slide cardstock to the top of the notepad. 
• Adhere the memo pad centered into the back piece of the memo pad cover. There should be about 1/8 inch boarder.
• Using a blunt end of your paper piercer or pencil eraser gently push out the pen holder slot.
• Crease the cardstock on the first score line to create the cover. Slip the pen into the notch created.
• Round the corner on the 3 5/8" x 1 1/2" piece of cardstock.  Add liquid glue to one long side and one short side to create a pocket. Adhere the pocket to the inside of the front cover.
• Decorate with DSP cut at 4 3/4" x 3 3/4" for front cover and 1 1/4" by 3 2/8" for pocket.
• Then embellish as desired.
• Oops! almost forgot to say that we rounded the corners

Hope you like this project!

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!
I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow crafters.

Hugs,

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In my Thoughts and Prayers

Hello my crafty friends

Today I am sharing some Sympathy cards I made using some stamp sets from Stampin Up! 

 I just placed an order with Yvette and the free Sale-a-bration Lasting Lily stamp set will be great for Sympathy cards.  I am at an age where these types of cards unfortunately are needed more. 

I will try to be back tomorrow with another creation for you!

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!
I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow crafters.

Hugs,

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No Good Tea Goes Unpunished by Bree Baker

Hello my cozy friends,

Today I am reviewing No Good Tea goes Unpunished by Bree Baker.  For those that no me or see my Facebook feed will know that I dream of living by the seaside and that I also LOVE tea hot or cold, so this seemed like q perfect book for me to request from NetGalley.  

Print Length: 352 pages

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; (Feb. 26 2019)

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Don't marry into murder...

Catering her childhood friend's beachfront wedding was a dream come true for Everly Swan―and, with hundreds of guests in attendance, great exposure for her new iced tea shop and café. But when the well-to-do groom is found floating facedown in the surf, the locals of Charm, North Carolina, turn their suspicions to his new bride. Could she have been so desperate to lay her hands on his fortune that she arranged for his murder before they even set off on their honeymoon?

Everly knows her love-struck friend couldn't be behind the murder, but with clues pointing in several directions, she can't decide which wedding guest is the most likely culprit. Meanwhile, the frustratingly handsome Detective Hays has made it clear that Everly should stay out of the investigation altogether. But with a killer on the loose and a feeling that someone is watching her café very closely, Everly knows that if she can't solve this murder soon, her cake might be iced for good.

The second book in Bree Baker's popular Seaside Café Mystery series, No Good Tea Goes Unpunished is a delightfully deadly cozy mystery perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke and Kate Carlisle.

No Good Tea Goes Unpunished by Bree Baker is a charming cozy murder mystery.  This is the second book in the Seaside Cafe Mystery series and can easily be read as a stand alone.  In fact I have not read the first book Live and Let Chai.   I must admit the story or setting seemed familiar and I wondered if I had read before, or maybe read the first book.  With that said I really enjoyed the book.  

Everly’s been running Sun, Sand and Tea for several months, and now she’s catering an old friend’s wedding. When the groom turns up dead the first suspect is the bride and Everly wants to help clear Judy as well as save the reputation of  Sun, Sand and Tea!

The characters are well developed and the way she describes the town of Charm and the seaside setting really makes you want to pack up and move there. I find Everly, her quirky aunts, and friends, people I would love to be friends with.  I found myself invested in the story and wanting to know what happens, to the point of staying up all night to finish it.

I'm looking forward to reading more of the series, and I am grateful to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for a honest review. 

My Rating

Bree Baker is a mystery-loving daydreamer who got into the storytelling business at a very young age, much to the dismay of her parents and teachers. A few decades later, no one seems surprised that she's made a career of it. According to Bree's eternally patient husband and three saucy children, she's never short on words or imagination, and can't seem to use one without the other. Her favorite tales involve the sea, intrigue and honor, humor and heart. Bree Baker is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers and Romance Writers of America. You can learn more about Bree and her books at breebaker.com.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!
I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

Hugs,

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Canine Capers

Good Morning my crafty friends!

Hope you are having a Tea-rrific day, I know I am.  Today I thought I would share a card for all my dog loving friends.  I used the retired stamp "Canine Capers" from Stampin' Up!

I had so much fun coloring in the dogs with my markers and also using my Aqua brush.
This card just made me so happy and is so cute in real life.

Here is another version of the same card.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!
I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow crafters.

Hugs,

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Snitching witches get stitches…

Hello my cozy friends,

Today I am reviewing "Spellbooks and Stakings" (Magic and Mystery Book 2) by Lily Webb.

Pages:

Published January 14th 2019

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Snitching witches get stitches… 

Zoe Clarke is going back to school. After learning she’s telepathic and risking her life to solve a paranormal murder, she’s been invited to the prestigious Veilside Academy of Magic to sharpen her newfound powers.

But not all the students are spellbound by Zoe, and it isn’t long before she realizes the Academy is brimming with exceptional witches and warlocks—who are as cutthroat as they are talented.

So when Zoe’s new favorite vampire professor is found in a pile of ash, all spell breaks loose.

Between troublemaking witches and a jealous staff, Zoe knows whoever the murderer is, they aren’t finished handing out suspensions.

Can Zoe work her magic to reveal the killer? Or will she fail the ultimate test?

If you like backstabbing witches, bloodthirsty warlocks, and magical murder mysteries, then you’ll love this lighthearted second entry in Lily Webb’s spellbinding series.

This is the second book in the Magic and Mystery series. If you like witty witches, catty talking cats, and magical murder mysteries, then you’ll love this second addition to Lily Webb’s spellbinding series.

The protagonist Zoe is strong, intelligent and witty, she finds herself immersed in a world of magic and paranormal beings in Moon Grove N.C.  In this installment Zoe has been enrolled in Veilside Academy of Magic to sharpen her newfound powers. So when Zoe finds her new favorite vampire professor in a pile of ash, she feels compelled to find out who did it.

I really enjoyed this book, there was lots of twists and turns throughout, I found myself once again not wanting to put it down.  I like how the author is starting to flesh out the characters more as well as the village of Moon Grove, I can imagine the place in my mind and what some of the main characters look like. The characters are well-rounded which I find is equally as important to a story as the plot I felt for Zoe and what was happening.  I highly recommend to fellow Cozy Mystery fans who enjoy a bit of magic and paranormal thrown in. Cant wait to read book 3.

My rating

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!
I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

Hugs,

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Love your Cat-itude!!

Hello my crafty friends!

Thanks for stopping by again. And a big welcome to my new followers. So happy you found your way to my blog.  I know how much fun it is for me to hop over to your blogs to get new ideas and inspiration and I am happy I can return the favour.

I am amazed I have over 400 followers on Instagram!!  If you have not stopped by you can by clicking here.  

Lindi has her own page too with 84 followers.

Here are a couple quick easy cat cards you can make...

I hope you enjoy my post today. Have a beautiful evening or day! 

The weekend is here and I hope you will have a good time with the ones you love!

I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow crafters.

Hugs,

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Murders and Metaphors by Amanda Flower

Hello my cozy friends,

I am a member of Net Galley now and can obtain ARC copies in exchange for honest reviews, I am happy that some of my favourite authors are on there like Amanda Flower.

Today I am reviewing Murders and Metaphors (A Magical Bookshop Mystery) by Amanda Flower.

Print Length: 320 pages

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books 

Publication Date: February 12, 2019

Niagara region booksellers Violet Waverly and Grandma Daisy sleuth the slaying of a sommelier whose book signing turned into her sayonara.

January means ice wine season in the Niagara Falls region, but the festivities leave Charming Books owner Violet Waverly cold, still reeling from a past heartbreak. A past heartbreak who will be present at the annual midnight grape-harvest festival, and no magic in the world or incantation powerful enough could get Violet to attend. But Grandma Daisy, an omniscient force all on her own, informs Violet that she’s already arranged for the mystical Charming Books to host celebrity sommelier Belinda Perkins’s book signing at the party. Little do either Waverly women know, the ice wine festival will turn colder still when Violet finds Belinda in the middle of the frozen vineyard—with a grape harvest knife protruding from her chest.

Belinda grew up in Cascade Springs, but she left town years ago after a huge falling-out with her three sisters. One of those sisters, Violet’s high school friend Lacey Dupont, attends the book signing in the hope of making amends with her sister, but Belinda and Lacey end up disrupting the signing with a very public shouting match and Lacey quickly becomes the prime suspect in the sommelier’s murder.

Violet is sure Lacey is innocent, and to keep her friend out of prison, Violet asks for guidance from her magical bookshop. The shop’s ethereal essence points her to Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, but what have the four March sisters to do with the four Perkins sisters? If she can’t figure it out, Violet, herself, may turn as cold as ice. Violet, Grandma Daisy, Emerson the tuxedo cat, and resident crow Faulkner are back on the case in Murders and Metaphors, USA Today bestselling author Amanda Flower’s enchanting third Magical Bookshop mystery.

Amanda Flower is one of my new favorite cozy mystery authors. This is the third book in the Magical Bookshop Mystery series. This series is set in the quaint village of Cascade Springs, New York. The author has done a great job of the character development  as each character is unique, well written, and some a bit quirky.  I enjoy the relationship between Violet and her Grandma Daisy. They are still feeling their way around their new roles since Violet became the new Caretaker of the tree. The blossoming romance between Violet and Chief Rainwater is progressing but there are going to be a few hiccups along the way.

The mystery was well written and carries through the entire story. There were a couple of twists and turns that I didn't see coming which added to the mystery. I did suspect the identity of the killer early on but then changed my mind and I think readers will be surprised who the culprit is.

This series also has a nice hint of the paranormal that runs throughout each story. I don't think it is overpowering and I enjoy how the bookshop sends Violet hints on what she needs to solve a mystery.

This book had me hooked from the beginning and I finished in a couple nights.  I hope there will be more books in this series because I am looking forward to seeing how things turn out for a few of the main characters.

* There were several spelling and grammar errors that really need to be amended before it goes to print in February, but that is what we are doing besides reviewing we are proofreaders too.

I voluntarily read a digital ARC provided to me by Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own.

My rating

Amanda Flower, a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning mystery author, started her writing career in elementary school when she read a story she wrote to her sixth grade class and had the class in stitches with her description of being stuck on the top of a Ferris wheel. She knew at that moment she'd found her calling of making people laugh with her words. Her debut mystery, Maid of Murder, was an Agatha Award Nominee for Best First Novel and her children's mysteries, Andi Unexpected and Andi Under Pressure, were an Agatha Award Nominees for Best Children's/YA Novel. Andi Unstoppable won the Agatha Award for Best Children's/YA Novel 2015. Amanda is a retired librarian in northeast Ohio. Visit her at www.amandaflower.com

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog! 

I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

Hugs,

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Cozy Mystery Bingo

Hello my cozy friends,

One of the challenges I joined was created by Frances Hampton, she designed the Bingo board that we are all using on Goodreads.

If you want to play along, friend her on goodreads Wulfwyn Hampton and make your own shelf for the books you read.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!
I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

Hugs,

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Tale of 2 Kitties mini album revisited

Hello my crafty friends!

I am taking a look back at the cat mini album I made a few years ago.  I am happy with the way it turned out and being my first one, I will learnt from my mistakes.  I was pleased that both of them really liked it. 

I gave to them in July of 2015 when I flew to Vegas to meet them for the first time as they were spending a week there to see our other cousin before flying home to New Zealand.  I had been chatting with her every day for almost the 2 years prior to this.  

Here is a peak at the mini album I made for my cousin Cathie and Derrick Manchester in New Zealand.

Cover

Last page

As you can see I have used fairly large rings and not put a back cover on it, this way I can send her more pages as time goes on or she can add her own.  FYI - I have not done more pages, but did buy the thick board pages to do some up, maybe for their new house at the beach...

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I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow crafty friends.

Hugs,

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A Cold Brew Killing (All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery Book 3)

Hello my cozy friends,

I finally sat down and read the third installment in the "All Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery Series" by Lena Gregory. 

Publication Date:  November 6, 2018 

Lyrical Underground    

Paperback 206 pages
Genre - Cozy Mystery

When an ice cream vendor discovers a frozen stiff, Florida diner owner Gia Morelli has to serve up some just desserts . . . 

Gia has become good friends with Trevor, a fun, flirtatious bachelor who owns the ice cream parlor down the street from her popular All-Day Breakfast Café. Trevor has the scoop on all sorts of local attractions and activities. But when he bursts into her diner, trembling and paler than a pint of French Vanilla, she can tell something's very wrong. Trevor points her toward his shop then passes out cold. When Gia runs down to his shop, she discovers a chilling sight—a dead body in the open freezer. But the ice cream man's troubles are just beginning. The police suspect him of this murder a la mode, especially when details of his questionable past surface. Gia believes in her friend and is determined to clear his name and find the real cold-blooded killer before someone else gets put on ice . . . 

“Family secrets, old mansions, and a growing list of murder victims"

Politics can be murder, at least that is how it seems to Gia. When a local mayoral candidate is murdered and left in the freezer of Trevor's ice cream shop, he becomes suspect number one.  Nothing is going to keep Gia out of the murder investigation now that it seems to affect not one but two of her close friends.

Each book in this series seems better than the last for me at least, The story pulled me in straight away and held my attention till the very end. There were plenty of twists and turns, and enough intrigue to keep you reading throughout and per usual with this series I read in one sitting.  

Gia is a determined, and loyal protagonist that you can't help but love and now you also want to route for the rest of her friends. We also got a bit more background information about Trevor and Harley's pasts and I was happy we saw more of Sybil and her dog, Caesar in this story. 

I will be reading this series as long as there are new books. While it can be read as a stand alone, the reader will get more out of "A Cold Brew Killing" if the previous books have been read. 

My Rating

Lena lives in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island with her husband and three children.  When she was growing up, she spent many lazy afternoons on the beach, in the yard, anywhere she could find to curl up with a good book. She loves reading as much now as she did then, but she now enjoys the added pleasure of creating her own stories.

Author Links:

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter 
• Goodreads

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little blog!

I always love reading comments and getting to know my fellow cozy lovers.

Hugs,

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