Ornament Review: Stocking Stuffers #2 - Bakers Tools - 2022 Hallmark Release

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Cute stocking stuffed with baker’s tools

Cons: Maybe too many spatulas

The Bottom Line:

Stocking for baker

Filled with tools and a sweet treat

Colorful and fun

A Stocking Stuffed with a Baker’s Delight

When I started the Stocking Stuffers series last year, one reason why I did was because I had seen a sneak peak of the second in the series, and I knew I liked it.  With how popular baking and baked good are, how could you go wrong with a baking themed stocking?

The stocking is mostly red, with a few decorations on it inspired by sugar cookies.  They don’t quite look good enough to eat, but they are decorations on a stocking and as such they look good.

Peeking out of the top of the stocking are some baking tools.  There’s a rolling pin and a whisk.  What is a little curious to me is the three spatulas.  The red one is smaller, but the yellow and green ones seem to be roughly the same size.  Now, I know that you might need more than on, and different sizes are good for different things, but it still seems odd to me that they would put three of them in this stocking.  But I’m making too much out of this.  Anyway, in the very front is a delicious looking gingerbread person with a candy cane looped over their hand.  Circling the stocking is a white fringe.

In a detail I love, the fringe is actually felt or something similar.  While the majority of the stocking is plastic, this little bit isn’t and feels so wonderfully soft.  I love details like that.

Despite what I said about the three spatulas, I do like this ornament overall.  It’s cute, and the colors look great together.

Being a stocking, this ornament won’t stand on its own.  Not that you’d want it to.  Stockings shouldn’t stand, right?  When you go to hang it, you’ll find that it hangs at a bit of an angle, but again, that’s by design.  It actually looks like how a stocking should be hung and looks great.

And yes, the two in a Christmas tree symbol is on the back of the stocking.

Each ornament in this series is being created by a different Hallmark artist.  This year, Anita Marra Rogers gave us this delightful piece.

Anyone who enjoys baking will definitely enjoy the second Stocking Stuffers ornament.  If that’s you, get it today whether you get the rest of the series or not.

Here are the rest of the Stocking Stuffers ornaments.

Book Review: Cry Wolf by Annette Dashofy (Zoe Chambers Mysteries #7)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters and plot

Cons: Pete still bothers me some

The Bottom Line:

Facility death

Are more people in danger

Excellent story

It’s Not Crying Wolf to Say This is a Great Book

I had hoped to get back to Annette Dashofy’s Zoe Chambers Mysteries earlier in the year.  But too many books, not enough time.  I was finally able to sneak Cry Wolf, the seventh in the series, into my reading schedule for this month, and I’m so glad I did.

Zoe Chambers is a paramedic and deputy coroner with a rural county in Pennsylvania.  Her boyfriend, Pete Adams, is the local police chief.  Between the two of them, they manage to find some interesting cases to investigate and they make a great team at figuring out exactly what was going on.  The books are a little darker than my typical cozies, but they rarely get too dark.  Likewise, these are more PG-13 than my typical cozies.  As long as you know that going in, you’ll be fine.

Those who have read up to this point in the series will have already met Pete’s father.  Unfortunately, he is suffering from Alzheimer’s, and has good days and bad days.  He is insisting that something strange is happening at the care facility where he lives since people die there on a regular basis.  Pete has investigated a little in the past but found nothing out of the ordinary.

On this particular visit, Pete and Zoe meet a new resident at the care facility – Pete’s first training officer John Kinney.  Pete figures that asking John to keep his eyes open around the facility will be a great way to help ease his father’s mind.  That is until John dies just a few hours later.  It isn’t long before it is determined to be murder.  Was Pete’s father right?  Or was John a target for some reason?

This book jumps right into the story and doesn’t let up until we reach the end, which isn’t a surprise to any of the author’s fans.  There are a couple of interesting subplots as well, which helped keep me engrossed in the story.  At the end, I was in awe over how everything was woven together for a logical outcome.

I continue to like Zoe and Pete.  They are strong main characters.  We split time between them as our third person viewpoint characters.  While I really do like both of them, I am still bothered a bit by how Pete reacts to things.  He is a bit too protective of Zoe.  And they are both stubborn.  While I like both of them, I do hope some things mature in their relationship soon.

We don’t see too much of most of the other series regulars in this one.  A few do pop up, but more in cameo positions.  The ones we see more play key parts in the story, so this isn’t a complaint.  And the new characters are strong enough to more than make up for it.

Needless to say, Cry Wolf was another outstanding book in the series.  I’m already hoping I can make the time to visit Zoe again soon.

Check out the rest of the Zoe Chambers Mysteries.

Movie Review: Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun movie, mostly good effects

Cons: Mostly predictable, only one original cast member

The Bottom Line:

Parents are now shrunk

Giant adventures in house

Predictable fun

Honey, I Still Find This Movie Entertaining

In the late 90’s, Disney became all about their direct to video sequels, which are hit or miss.  Most people consider Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, the second sequel to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, to be one of those misses, but I still enjoy it.

By this point, Rick Moranis is the only actor from the franchise to come back.  He’s still playing Wayne Szalinski, who is now the president of his own company.  Amy and Nick are out of the house, and only get a couple of mentions.  However, it’s been long enough between movies that Adam (Bug Hall) is a preteen now.

As the movie opens, Diane (now played by Eve Gordon) is looking forward to a mini-vacation with her sister-in-law Patti (Robin Bartlett).  They will be leaving Adam and his cousins Jenny and Mitch (Allison Mack and Jake Richardson) with Wayne and his brother Gordon (Stuart Pankin).

However, the weekend doesn’t go as planned when Wayne decides to shrink a giant tiki that Diane wants him to get rid of.  Oh, the Tiki gets shrunk, but so do all four adults.  While the kids think they have free range of the house, the adults try to figure out a way to get their attention.  Will they succeed?

Let’s be honest here.  The storyline isn’t terribly original.  Then again, there are only so many things you can do with the franchise’s premise.  Additionally, it seems like the character arcs are fairly predictable.  Then again, they were in the original, too.

As I am often quick to point out, I am fine with predictable if I am having fun, and I definitely have fun with this movie.  Honestly, I was surprised the original sequel didn’t find people shrunk in the house as, it seems like a natural storyline.  That’s what they do here, and boy do they have fun with it.  Honestly, I’m jealous of a few things the adults get to do over the course of the movie.  And, as predictable as the character arcs are, I still really enjoyed them.

The movie suffers from not having more returning actors.  Eve Gordon tries, but she never feels like Diane to me.  Honestly, the entire cast does fine, but they needed more continuity with characters and actors.  Having said that, as a Smallville fan, I enjoyed getting to see a pre-Chloe Allison Mack here.

The special effects are good.  A couple of times, it is obvious when they are using a green screen, but I buy most of what we are watching.

Like it’s brethren on DVD, this movie comes in full frame only for picture.  (Remember when TV screens were square?)  I suspect that may be native for this movie since it was released to home video, while the others in the franchise have yet to see a wide screen home video release.

If you love the franchise, you need to give Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves a chance.  If you like the first but not the original sequel, then there’s no reason to track this movie down.

Disney Pin Review: The Enchanted Tiki Room - Mickey Mouse the Main Attraction #5 - 2022 Release

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Mickey visiting The Enchanted Tiki Room in Style

Cons: Nothing series from me

The Bottom Line:

Tropical Mickey

As he visits Tiki Room

With parrot on board

Mickey’s Making a Tropical Stop

For the fifth entry in the Mickey Mouse the Main Attraction series, Mickey’s making a stop at everyone’s favorite tropical show – The Enchanted Tiki Room.  The result is a lot of fun.

Mickey is in his usual pose, but this one really changes things up.  He’s dressed in a loud Hawaiian shirt.  It’s hard to tell for sure what is on it, but I see lots of birds.  There are two pin on pin elements here.  One of them is his tan hat, which has a few bird feathers on it.  The other is the parrot that is sitting on his outstretched foot.

Anyone who looked at this pin would immediately make the connection with The Enchanted Tiki Room.  The tropical element certainly is much of the appeal to me.  It makes it easy for me to dream that I am planning a tropical trip myself.  As usual, it would be nice if they had given Mickey more than one pose in this series, but that’s a minor complaint.

Fans of The Enchanted Tiki Room will be happy with this pin.  It’s a fun visit from our main mouse – Mickey.

November 13th's Sunday/Monday Post

It's time to start another week, so that must mean it is time for another Sunday/Monday Post.  As usual, I'll be linking up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
Mailbox Monday
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

This was a fairly quiet week.  I only had one meeting at work.  Unfortunately, that didn't mean I got as much done as I should have.  Or would have liked.  That's unfortunate because I have a lot to do in the next week and a half.  I'm trying not to have panic attacks about it, in fact.  I'm an accountant for a company, and our fiscal year end in November 30th.  That's coming at us very, very quickly.

Can you believe Thanksgiving is only a week and a half away?  Yikes!

Of course, I'm over here trying to get ready for Christmas.  I have the furniture in my living room rearranged, and one Christmas tree up.  No lights or decorations, but it is up.  After I post this, I'll work on getting the other tree up.  Sadly, they are just on either side of my sliding glass door and not in other parts of the condo.  But I don't really have room for them anywhere else.  Sadly, I don't have enough trees for all the ornaments I own.  I seriously need to stop buying Hallmark ornaments.  Or get rid of the ones I've lost interest in.  Or both.  That just sounds like so much work.

Anyway, since I'll be out of town for Thanksgiving and come back to crazy business at work plus trying to buy Christmas presents for people, etc., and I'm out of town again for Christmas, I try to get a jump on decorating now.  Usually, I'm just aiming to put up my trees and lights before Thanksgiving.  I'm thinking this year I'm going to try to get most if not all of the ornaments up so I can really enjoy everything in December.

Saturday, I hit the lake in the morning.  It wasn't as warm as it has been, but it wasn't too bad.  Little wind and with the sun on me, I was plenty warm.  Then it was over to my friends' for their monthly game day.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Book Review: The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster! by Mo Willems

Monday - Music Review: Greatest Hymns Vol. 3 by Selah

Tuesday - Book Review: Peril in Paris by Rhys Bowen

Wednesday - Ornament Review: A Snowy Treat

Thursday - Book Review: Lover Come Hack by Diane Vallere

Friday - Friday Post featuring The Counterfeit Wife

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Disney Pin Review: The Enchanted Tiki Room - Mickey Mouse the Main Attraction
Monday - Movie Review: Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves
Tuesday - Book Review: Cry Wolf by Annette Dashofy
Wednesday - Ornament Review: Stocking Stuffers #2
Thursday - Book Review: The Counterfeit Wife by Mally Becker
Friday - Friday Post
Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I got four books again this week.  But on a cost per book basis, I did pretty well.

You see, two of the books were eARCs I got from the publisher via Netgally.  Knits, Knots, and Knives is the third Craft Fair Knitters Mystery from Emmie Caldwell.  I usually don't read crafting books, but since I'd read some of the books she wrote as Mary Ellen Hughes, I started this series, and I've been enjoying it.  I also snagged City of Fortune, the sixth Counterfeit Lady mystery from Victoria Thompson.  I love Victoria's books, so I'm anxious to read this one.  It is set in 1920's New York City and features a former conwoman who finds herself using her skills to help people now.

Then, Saturday, I noticed that one of the books I've been eyeing was on sale for the 99 cents for the Kindle version.  Hard to pass that up, so I snagged Welcome Home to Murder by Rosalie Spielman.  

Finally comes the big purchase for the week.  And I mean that in more than one way.  My pre-order of Stellalune arrived!  This is the ninth Keeper of the Lost Cities book from Shannon Messenger.  This is the only book I paid close to full price for.  I did get a discount when I pre-ordered it.  So from a cost standpoint it was big.  And the book is 723 pages, so just from sheer size it is big.  Honestly, I won't get to it for a while because of how long it will take me to read it.  And I can't wait!  It's been a couple of years since the last book came out, and I'm very anxious to find out what happens next to the characters.  And yes, this is something very different from my typical mystery.  This is a middle grade fantasy novel.

What I'm Currently Reading:

Friday night, I started Knot My Sister's Keeper, the sixth Quilting Mystery by Mary Marks.  With as busy as my Saturday was, I didn't get much more read.  So I will still be working on this one Sunday and Monday.  I'm looking forward to getting more into the book since I enjoy this series.

Hope you have a good week.

November 12th's Weekly TV Thoughts

Magpie Murders – I did not see that revelation at the end of the episode coming.  I wonder what that means for Susan and how she will solve things now that she knows.  I’m still completely in the dark about what is happening in either storyline.  I’ll be curious to see how it all comes together.

LegoMasters (11/6) – So many creative pirate ships.  And so many outstanding puns!  I absolutely loved it.  I get why the one team changed up their story, and I’m sorry to see it cost them their spot in the competition.

Dancing with the Stars – Trevor’s dance to start the night was so much fun.  And he got lucky at the end being up against Linny for the judge’s votes.  As soon as I saw the bottom three, I know Linny was heading home.  I will be shocked if Trevor doesn’t go home next week, however.  Not sure who else will be in next week’s double elimination.  It’s going to be very close between the other remaining teams.  But back to tonight.  Daniel’s dance was the first time we had a deaf dancer showing us what it is like for them to dance.  And it impresses me every time.  They look like they are right on with the music, but there is nothing there for them to dance to.  I wish I could dance like they do with music there.

Quantum Leap – Another suspenseful episode.  I love how they find such creative stories to tell with twists I don’t expect.  And, thinking of things I don’t expect, I did not see that ending coming.  How and why is Addison in danger in the future?  How is this going to save her?  I’m glad it is for a reason that people will see as good, but I want to know more.  And we have to wait almost two months for another episode.

Stargirl – A good episode.  Did not see that ending coming.  And I’m bummed about it.  I can’t remember character names, but I really liked their arc this season.  Looks like we’ve got two enemies to be fighting now. The question becomes, will they be able to come together to defeat them?  And so many potential issues with the return of Icicle.

Survivor – So this is going to be one of those seasons.  “We are going to blow things up.  We are going to blow things up.  Never mind, it’s going to be the person we said at the beginning of the episode.”  I get it, the producers have to do something to get us hooked, but that is the silliest thing they do, and I am tired of it by now.

The Amazing Race – A wrong turn here and there can really mess you up.  We are fast running out of teams, too.  I wonder if we have another mega leg coming up to extend the season a little.  Please say we do.  My first thought when I saw the rugby challenge was it would be hard.  It was, but at least you were competing with yourself and not trying to get things by the other teams.  Since my memory and pronunciation are so bad, I definitely would have been doing that other challenge at the detour.

LegoMasters (11/9) – Can we just make all the weeks non-elimination challenges?  Just count up where everyone ranks each week and that’s who the winner is at the end.  I was happy neither of those teams went home.  As always, the judges were right with their comments, I just love both of those teams.  I thought the team that couldn’t come up with an idea for so long would struggle, but obviously not.  Their build was awesome.  I found their strategy backfiring a bit funny, although I know that they wanted the brinks, so I was very happy for them getting that box.

So Help Me Todd – We finally met the brother!  Seriously, this family needs help.  I just can’t stand them.  I know they are supposed to be funny, but they aren’t.  The case was pretty interesting, however.  I really liked how everyone wound up contributing, something we rarely see.

Lopez vs. Lopez – Definitely got more laughs out of this episode.  However, I didn’t appreciate all the jokes.  I think I’ll give it one more week (most likely), but unless they really wow me, I’ll probably drop it after that.

Veteran's Day's Friday Post

Welcome to Friday!  And Happy Veterans' Day here in the US.  I'm working today, but if you have the day off, I hope you enjoy.  And I hope everyone takes a few minutes to thank our Veterans.

On that note, let's get to this week's Friday post.  It's been a few weeks since I did this, but I will still be linking up to the usual suspects:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

For the first three, I will be pulling teasers from The Counterfeit Wife by Mally Becker.

This is a historical mystery set in Philadelphia in 1780.  And here's how it begins:

His eyes fluttered shut once, then twice.  He shook his head to clear it.  He'd find himself waking in the gutter in he didn't go home now.

Jumping ahead of page 56, we get this teaser:

Becca ran to keep up with the driver.  "Where are you taking her?"
"The Walnut Street Prison," he called cheerfully.
"But why?"
"Treason," she heard as the cart sped away.  "And murder."

I finished this book earlier in the week.  I LOVED it.  I hope you'll come back to see my review next Thursday.

Shall we take a look at the Book Blogger Hop?  This week's question is:

Which do you prefer to be known as: a voracious reader or a book nerd?

I think I'd prefer to be known as a voracious reader, but as a book blogger, I think that makes me a book nerd, doesn't it?

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Book Review: Lover Come Hack by Diane Vallere (Madison Night #6)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Strong mystery and characters

Cons: Some minor issues, but nothing that truly damped my enjoyment

The Bottom Line:

Murder and contest

Not to mention some hacking

Entertaining book

Killer Hacks

The titles in Diane Vallere’s Madison Night series are all nods to Doris Day movies, but I love how they also give us a pretty good clue about what the plot will contain.  For example, when you read a title like Lover Come Hack, you know Madison will be dealing with a hacker.

A quick introduction to Madison Night.  She’s a decorator in the Dallas, Texas, area with a specialty in mid-century modern designs.  Since she shares a birthday with the actress Doris Day, she has loved the actress’s movies, and that has driven her eye for that specific design style.  Unfortunately, she’s found her life complicated by murder from time to time.

As this book opens, Madison has been blindsided by an email from a new friend.  She and Jane Strong had really hit is off recently, and they’d even agreed to enter the Very Important Projects (VIP for short) design competition together.  Now, Madison has to scramble to get her own individual entry in before the deadline, but she also wants to confront Jane and find out exactly what is going on with the person she thought was her friend.

The confrontation doesn’t go well, and a few hours later, Jane is dead.  The police think that Madison had something to do with it.  Now Madison has to figure out what happened while juggling the competition.  It doesn’t help that her computers have been hit by a virus.  As have her fellow contestants.  Does that have anything to do with Jane’s murder?

The virus is a small part of the set up to the mystery, I’ll admit, but it really does play a large part in the story.  And what a mystery.  It leaps right in, and I was kept turning pages, trying to figure out what each twist and turn Madison encountered would mean.  The ending and explanation were a bit rushed, but that is a minor complaint since we do get the answers we need.

Likewise, we do have some issues with timing.  It’s minor, but things that a good edit should have caught.  It’s nothing that will impact your understanding of the story but something that irritates me.

Since this is book six in the series, we’ve already gotten to know Madison quite well.  She’s actually been dealing with a romantic quandary for several books now, and that added an interesting sub-plot here.  I’m curious to see what happens moving forward.  I continue to enjoy catching up with the supporting players.  And the suspects were just as strong as the characters we already know.

I will say that I wish Madison were a bit more trusting.  I get that she has hurts in her past that keep her from that, but there are times when she makes decisions based on partial information.  It’s a flaw we’ve seen since book one, and it would be nice to see some growth in that area.

Doris Day fans will recognize the title of this book as a play on her movie Lover Come Back.  While the plot is obviously wildly different from the film, there are some fun nods to the movie hidden in the book.  I’ve already mentioned one of them in my review.  I caught another couple, although I wouldn’t be surprised to learn there are others I missed.

None of the things I mentioned truly hampered my enjoyment of Lover Come Hack.  This is a fast paced and fun mystery that will keep you reading until the very end.

Enjoy the rest of the Madison Night Mysteries.

Ornament Review: A Snowy Treat - Petite Penguins #7 - 2022 Hallmark Release

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Cute penguin with a snow cone

Cons: The snow part doesn’t quite work as well as it could

The Bottom Line:

A cool ornament

Snow cone could be bit better

Still cute overall

A Cold Treat for a Cool Friend

As much as I love ice cream (and I really do), I tend to gravitate toward it in the warmer months.  Same with other things like snow cones.  Yet, that’s the theme of this year’s Petite Penguins ornament, A Snowy Treat, and it really fits.

This miniature ornament series features a cute penguin doing something fun.  This year, he’s got a snow cone.  It’s almost as big as he is, so he’s having a hard time holding it.  And there are three flavors on it, represented by stripes of green, white, and red.

I get why those colors were chosen – they are Christmas colors.  I have to admit, my first thought when looking at it, however, is Italy, since it looks just like their flag.  That could have been fixed by mixing up the colors.

The bigger issue with the snow cone, however, is that it is clear.  Despite how it looks in Hallmark’s official pictures, we hardly see the green and red stripes.  I’m of two minds about this.  It could look very cool this way with the lights of a Christmas tree shining behind it.  However, I really do wish the green and red stripes showed up more.

Despite how I started this review, I certainly get the appeal of the ornament and why it was selected.  After all, if you live at the poles like penguins do, it’s always cold.  And the snow is plentiful to have snow cones all the time.  Plus, they are more used to the cold than I am.  Yes, I am a cold weather wimp.  And the overall design is extremely cute.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this is a mini ornament that’s just over an inch tall.  As long as you know that when you buy it, you’ll be fine.

Because the penguin has such small feet, the ornament really doesn’t stand on its own.  However, when you go to hang him, you’ll find he looks great.  And the 7 in a Christmas tree is present, although you need a magnifying glass to see the 7.

I appreciate what they were trying to do with A Snowy Treat.  It’s just a shame it doesn’t quite come together like they wanted it to.

Enjoy the rest of the Petite Penguin ornaments.

Book Review: Peril in Paris by Rhys Bowen (Royal Spyness #16)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Characters we love in a fun plot

Cons: Appears a bit slow in the setup

The Bottom Line:

Paris in the spring

Is dangerous for Georgie

Great historical

Murder is Fashionable

It’s hard to believe we’ve been following Georgie for sixteen books now.  Her life has certainly changed since we first met her, but she still finds herself involved in danger that could have international consequences.  That’s especially true in Peril in Paris, the latest in this fun historical series.

If you haven’t started the Royal Spyness mysteries yet, Lady Georgiana Rannoch in a minor royal during the 1930’s.  She is a cousin of the new King Edward VIII, but so far down the line of succession she knows she will never become queen herself.  She and her husband, Darcy, have a small estate they are trying to keep afloat since they don’t have much money.

This book opens in spring of 1936, and it finds a pregnant Georgie feeling a bit restless.  It’s still several months before the baby will be born, and she’s just gotten over her morning sickness.  Her best friend, Belinda, is interning with Coco Chanel in Paris, and Darcy suggests that maybe the two of them should go visit.  Darcy has a small assignment for his government contacts that will take him to Paris anyway.

So, the two of them set off.  Georgie is thrilled to finally be able to visit the city even if Coco decides at the last minute to include Georgie in the show for her fall collection, much to Georgie dismay.  However, Darcy needs Georgie’s help with his assignment during the presentation of Coco’s fall collection.  It sounds like a simple enough request, but when it ends in murder, Georgie finds herself in more trouble than she might be able to handle.  Can she figure out what is going on without causing the situation with Germany to heat up?

As the series has progressed and we are inching closer to World War II, the books walk a fine line between keeping the light tone fans love and the serious predicament that Europe was in during the period.  Sometimes, the coming war is in the background, but in this case, it plays a major role in the book.  I appreciated how the serious themes were included without losing the fun of the series and without making light of the themes.  It’s expertly done.

Several of the series regulars are involved in this story, which means we don’t have as much prologue as we might get before Georgie and Darcy head to Paris.  Once we arrive, things might not look like they are progressing, but the plot is being set up.  Once the story does kick into high gear, I was hooked, and I was looking forward to seeing exactly what was going on.  I thought I had it figured out a couple of times only for another twist to come along and make me second guess myself.  But the ending made perfect sense.

As I said, several of the regulars play important parts in this story, and it was nice to see them get more than cameos.  I also appreciated the different look we got at a supporting player in this book.  The new characters are sharp and helped bring this story to life.

If you are a fan of this series, you’ll definitely want to find out what happens to Georgie in Peril in Paris.  If you haven’t started this series yet, you are in for a treat as you spend time catching up on these books.

Here are the rest of the Royal Spyness Mysteries in order.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.