Recipe Review of the Week - Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

 I collect recipes.  I stock up on cookbooks, tear pages from magazines, and save way too many on Pinterest.  My goal is to actually try some and more them from "this looks good" to either a save or trash pile.  I am going to try one recipe a week.  

Also once I find a great recipe for a particular item I will stop trying recipes.  I broke my own rule this first week.  I had the perfect recipe for a chocolate chip cookie bar.  Instead of using it I tried a different one.  It was a disaster and I am not even going to share it here.  Instead I will share my favorite.  I apologize for the lack of a photo, but the recipe I did use was an epic disaster.

This chocolate chip cookie cake is fantastic.  I have made it dozens of times with no issues.  This is my go to recipe for birthdays for my Sunday night youth group.  When given a choice between a cake, cupcakes, and this cookie cake, all but the youngest chooses the cookie cake.  

Follow the link to see the gorgeous photos and get the recipe to make your own.  I promise to quit looking for chocolate chip cookie cake/bar recipes. 

Week 2

* Goal 2 from 52 Small Changes - Sleep

My aim was for a sleep score of 80+ every night with the Fitbit.  I missed one night where my sleep was fair rather than good.  I'm a light sleep at best so I'm happy with that.  Water consumption did not go well so I'll work on that again this week.  Week 3 is exercise.  I'm charging the batteries for the Wii Fit today and will alternate some yoga with walking on the treadclimber.

*Blog three times a week

Yay!  I hit that goal I am going to aim for four this week with a recipe post as the new feature.

*Chick-a-D Designs

I managed to add a few things for the future craft shows/festival.  I have orders to finish up this week so my stocking up may slow a bit.  I still want to add at least 5 items to my inventory and future.

Weekend Book Reviews

Rhubarb Pie Before You Die by Gin Jones is the second book in the Garlic Farm Mystery series.  Mabel is trying to sell her late aunt's garlic farm, but in the meantime she must keep it running to attract potential buyers.  When she and her friend/farm mentor Rory get into an argument with rhubarb farmer Graham, Mabel decides to go to his farm to smooth things over.  She never expects to find Graham dead.  The suspects range from a disgruntled neighbor to a rival farmer with Mabel thrown into the mix as well.  I did not read the first book in the series, but I had no trouble following along with this one. Mabel is 100% introvert and definitely not the normal cozy heroine.   This may put some readers off, but I liked her as a character.  The story moved slowly at times, but I expect that might change as Mabel evolves.  I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

The sixth book in the Daisy's Tea Garden Mystery series by Karen Rose Smith is Murder with Oolong Tea.  Daisy finds herself catering a tea for the high school staff including one particularly unlikable teacher from when Daisy was in school.  When Althea the mean teacher is found dead, several people beg for Daisy's help in solving the mystery.  As usual Daisy combines her sleuthing with plenty of extra drama.  I enjoy this series, but I find the extra stuff in Daisy's life (taking on an additional teenager, solving other people's disagreements) to be tiring.  This is still a good series despite Daisy's drama.

Death Bee Comes Her by Nancy Coco is the first book in the Oregon Honeycomb Mystery series.  Wren owns a honey themed store on the Oregon coast which she shares with her cat Everett.  While on their morning walk along the beach, Everett finds the body of a woman who is Wren's aunt's crafting rival.  Wren becomes the only suspect and has to work to clear her name.  This series has potential, and I really wanted to love it.  One issue is the narrow focus of the police.  Wren is the only suspect even when she is targeted herself.  My second issue was the murder.  The motive was extremely weak, and it was never truly solved.  Third is the various editing blunders.  Hopefully these were resolved in the final printing, but many were so obvious I question why no one caught them for the ARC.  I do like the author's other series and for that reason would try a second book in this one.

disclosure:  I received these books through NetGalley in exchange for honest reviews.  All opinions are my own!

In the Garden

 This week I am sharing my tomato plants.  When I first planted them I had everything marked with nice tags.  Unfortunately I used small tags and once the tomato plants took off and started growing I can no longer see the tags.  I mixed some of them up so I will have to wait until they produce to find out what they actually are.  

These are volunteer plants so I really have no idea what they are.  I do know they are something we have eaten before.

These are mixed up.  Tucker slipped his ear into the picture.  He loves to hang out in the garden.

I was surprised to see a tiny tomato on this plant.

This is a yellow pear tomato plant which I rooted from a cutting off last year's plant.  It has lived in the greenhouse over the winter.

These are also yellow pear tomato plants that I grew from seed.  

I have a few other tomato plants scattered around the garden area.  Once again I find myself completely changing the garden.  I have a few plants in containers which I will move into the greenhouse at the end of the season.  I always plant too many so the extras went into the garden.  We love tomatoes and they will not go to waste.  I will share another section of the garden next week!

Best Laid Plans

 So my plans of blogging three times last week did not happen.  That's okay.  It is a new week so I am going to try again.

*Goal 1 from 52 Small Changes - Drink More Water

I hit my goal 4 out of 6 days.  Sunday is always my day off from things so I take a day off from goals.  too.  I am going to continue to work on this goal until it becomes a permanent change.  This week's goal is to get 7-8 hours of sleep.  I wear my FitBit at night so I can track my sleep with that.  My aim is to get 7 hours of sleep with better set bedtimes.

*Blog three times this week

I am definitely taking pictures of one area of the garden this week to share.  I hope to finish two books and write reviews up for Saturday.

*Chick-a-D Designs - I am planning to do a mix of orders and inventory stock up.  I have two weeks before the next farmer's market. I am also thinking about doing a craft show in the fall so I need to begin making items for that.

Back in the Groove

 With everything going on around here, I got out of the habit of blogging.  I am planning to change that.  My goal for May is to blog three times a week.  I am planning a weekly goal post, a garden post, and a book review post for this month.  

This week's goals:

*Drink more water.  I am terrible about drinking enough and I know that is not good.  I am basing how much I drink on my weight.  My ultimate goal is to drink 45 ounces of liquids a day.  This is part of the 52 Small Changes challenge that I seem to start and stop every January.  I'm giving it another go but starting much later in the year.

*Blog three times

*Restock my Farmers' Market Inventory - This one will be ongoing, but I am down to a bare minimum of items.  I'm going for a range this week with home, toys, and baby items added.

I'll be back on Monday of next week with an update!

Weekend Book Reviews

 Herbal Houseplants by Susan Betz is full of helpful information from herbal newbies to seasoned growers.  Clear, detailed information is given for a variety of common and not so common herbs.  I found the book to be insightful, and it taught me several things.  While I tend to grow herbs outdoors in the garden, this is an excellent resource for people with limited growing space.  

A Wicked Yarn by Emmie Caldwell is the first book in the Craft Fair Knitters Mystery series.  Lia is looking forward to the Crandalsburg Craft Fair where she sells items that she and her fellow knitters create.  It looks like the craft fair may be coming to an end when the barn where it is held comes up for sale.  When the potential buyer is found murdered, Lia sets out to solve the mystery and clear her friend's name.  I absolutely loved the craft fair setting and the fiber art theme.  The mystery was rather weak as I picked out the murderer early on although the why was not clear until the end.  I enjoyed this first book overall and look forward to the next.

The sixth book in the Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery series by Meg Macy is Wedding Bear Blues.  I enjoy this series but this was not my favorite book.  Sasha and her sister Maddie are in a wedding with the most annoying people on earth plus an annoying dog.  I had a bit of trouble keeping all of the extra characters straight.  The book dragged a bit in sections.  The main characters were still wonderful, and the mystery was strong.  A small bump in the series is not enough to keep from reading the next book!

disclosure:  I received these e-books through NetGalley in exchange for honest reviews.  All opinions are my own!