Brazen Broads Book Bash

My kids are forever searching for a snack.  Left to their own devices, they'd eat every blasted treat purchased from my weekly grocery runs in a day or two!  It's exasperating.  Snacks aren't cheap, and there's nothing worse than opening the cupboard to discover that you are, in fact, Old Mother Hubbard!  (Of course, because the  greedy little darlings have raided your stores) Don't despair.  The Broads are at the rescue!  Here are a few quick fixes for those times when the kids are 'starving' and you're staring at the shelf blankly, wondering what in the heck you can come up with to silence the suffering. The Saltine ...Oft Overlooked Staple My grandmother, being a child of the depression, offered me this tasty treat one afternoon when I was quite young.  I've never forgotten how yummy it was, and she shared that during those lean days of her childhood, her mother had come up with the idea.  You'll need salt...

Brazen Reveal! Nadja Notariani made a splash last year with her historical novella, Her Dark Baron.  Well move over, because her newest release, due out in early September, is sure to please with this beautiful cover!  Join in our Cover Appreciation.     A Practical Arrangement, Nadja Notariani         ۩ A Practical Arrangement, Nadja Notariani ۩ Miss Evangeline Grey, intelligent and sensible, has no desire to marry, her reluctance born from the dire warnings of her overly emotional mother. Her father has other ideas, however, and decrees that unless she weds by the spring, he will choose a husband for her. Prim and proper Evangeline accepts her father's issue with little more than mild alarm. Knowing herself plain of face and sharp of tongue, she believes herself capable of warding off any perspective suitor. Her plan goes awry when the scandalous seducer, Mr. Thomas Masterson, visits her family...

     Well, I did it.  I survived my first family vacation.  I'm pretty sure I have a little less hair and an eye tic, but dammit, I'm  alive!!        Yes, we have taken little vacations in the past.  My grandparents had a cottage on a lake about 2 hours from here and we'd go for long weekends, but this was different.  This was the 9 hour drive-stay in a hotel kind of vacation.   Everyone better thank their lucky stars it was on the beach, too.  No shoes makes Mommy a happy girl.        While I was somewhat mollified by the "Yay! No Shoes!" thing, the planning and keeping in-line of the entire family and their things was slightly less enjoyable than stepping on legos in your bare feet...in the dark....while sick. Yeah, for me, it's like that.            As my dearest sister Moira can attest, I am not up for any organizational aw...

Awe and exhilaration--along with heartbreak and mordant wit--abound in Lolita , Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America. Most of all, it is a meditation on love--love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation. From the Trade Paperback edition. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov My Thoughts:   Lolita recounts the sad and convoluted tale of Humbert Humbert's tender, twisted obsession with a young nymphet, Dolores, whom he affectionately refers to as his Lolita.  Lolita is a young, pubescent American girl unfortunate enough to catch the attentions of our poor, sick Humbert.  But, Lolita is not exactly what she seems to be, and neither is Humbert. I mostly enjoyed Nabokov's superbly written tale of unrequited l...

Fifty Shades Of Gary The Vampire: Anais's Sin, Sabrina Swan With all the hype buzzing 'round over Fifty Shades of Grey, I thought I'd feature an alternative - an hysterical alternative.  Anais has been a naughty, naughty girl and continued on a naughty woman.  With her life in shambles due to her string of poor choices, she thinks suicide is her best option.  Enter Gary The Vampire - a savior of sorts.  The whole premise is too rich! Gary introduces himself, shades (and by shades I mean sunglasses - Ha! - Again, it's just too hilarious) and all, and Anais is drawn in quick, fast, and in a hurry.  She's desperate for love - even if it means sharing her blood with a hungry vampire. But Gary is on a mission, more than one in fact.  For starters, he's going to teach Anais some discipline and reform this bad girl's wretched manners.  She won't like it - yet she will, and will be all too happy to thank him in the end.  It's...

Imagine... It's Monday morning.  The kids need to be out the door by eight a.m. and the middle child has just announced - in a voice loud enough to incite panic - 'There is no cereal!'  All heads turn toward Mom... Even a seasoned Broad shivers at the thought.  Or maybe it's nothing so dramatic as all that.  Families everywhere are looking to cut expenses.  Broads, we all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Sending the kids off with a healthy meal under their belts is the best start we can give them.  Today, I'm featuring a time-tested and kid-approved favorite.  And you might be surprised to learn that mom (or grandma) didn't only know her way around the kitchen, she knew her way around a budget.  Forgotten Favorite:  Oatmeal ~ Brown Sugar & Cinnamon 1 Cup water (per serving) 1/2 Cup Quick Cooking Oats (for each serving) 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional) Brown Sugar (to taste - 2-4 teaspoons per serv...

  The age-old practice of sitting down to a family meal is undergoing unprecedented change as rising world affluence and trade, along with the spread of global food conglomerates, transform eating habits worldwide. HUNGRY PLANET profiles 30 families from around the world--including Bosnia, Chad, Egypt, Greenland, Japan, the United States, and France--and offers detailed descriptions of weekly food purchases; photographs of the families at home, at market, and in their communities; and a portrait of each family surrounded by a week's worth of groceries. Featuring photo-essays on international street food, meat markets, fast food, and cookery, this captivating chronicle offers a riveting look at what the world really eats. What Does A Week's Worth Of Food For Your Family Look Like? This is the question WTWE explores.  After the opening section, World On A Plate, D'Aluisio and Menzel introduce readers to 25 families from around the globe through story and image...