By Book or By Crook by Eva Gates Was Worth Waiting For!

 

 I pre ordered Eva Gate's new first in series By Book Or By Crook based on the cover art alone. I stalked our mail man for more then a week waiting for it to arrive, it was so worth it. I am I will admit a sucker for a book cover with a light house and a cat.  I was so very thrilled with this first in series and felt like I could not put it down.

The main character Lucy impressed me right away, I loved that she was perfect and flawed at the same time. Confident and yet vulnerable and  this "who done it mystery" did keep me guessing until the end. The idea of a library housed in a light house with an apartment at the top was delightful to picture and imagine visiting.

There are so many characters in this book. From the Mayors office to the bakery back to the library it's self, colorful and intriguing so many characters to enjoy.  I hope their introduction in this first in series means that there are more juicy small town gossip and mishaps on the way. Eva Gate's Second book in the series Booked For Trouble is due out in September and I am definitely going to order it! Check out By Book or By Crook by clicking here. 
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

A Cozy Tea Candle Craft by Karen Mom of Three

Today I thought I would show you how to make A Cozy Tea Candle Craft for your own Cozy Corner.
Using a recycled jar candle and some lace I purchased at Walmart I created something I think is cozy and romantic!
To make your own you will need:
-A Jar or vase
-Ribbon Lace
-Something Sparkly such as  broach or a piece of costume jewelery (gem stickers would also work.)
-Scissors
-Glue Gun with Glue
-A tea light candle 

Step 1- Assemble all your supplies and plug in your glue gun.
Step 2- Unwrap lace from your spool and wrap it around the jar where you would like it to sit. Make sure to over lap it by 1/2 inch.  Use your scissors to cut the lace.

Step 3- Add a dab of glue where you want the ribbon to sit. Press one end of your lace into place.
Step 4- Fold the other end of your lace and then add another dab of glue on top of the lace on the vase. Press into place.

Step 5- Turn the vase/candle holder around and find the center. Add another dab of glue and press your embellishment into place, if you are using a broach you can just pin it into place. Allow it to dry and then pop in a tea light candle.

Well I am off to read! I hope you enjoyed this tea craft and I hope to see you back here again soon for A Cup of Tea and A Cozy Mystery.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Yay For Cats, Tea And Kindle Apps! The Mad Catter By Kathi Daley

I spent last week stalking the mail man with no avail, if you are at all stuck with out mail delivery for a week like I was may I recommend down loading a great book on your Kindle App? Kathi Daley came to my rescue with the second installment of the A Whales and Tales Mystery this weekend with the release of her latest publication The Mad Catter.

After waiting on the mail man all week and not even getting a flyer I was starting to loose my mind. If I had to read the cereal box one more time I was going to loose it! Thankfully my husband downloaded Kathi's book onto my Ipad and I gabbed my grandmother blanket a mug of tea and sat on the couch to read. My almost 17 year old cat "baby kitty" joined me in my lap as I read.

This latest installment of The Wales and Tails Mysteries was fantastic. The story was well written, engaging and moves along very quickly. I like books with on going story lines, endearing characters, fantastic friends, a pair of witches and perfect pet companions. Kathi has created a wonderful cozy town set very close to where I live now so picturing everything from the weather to the store fronts came really easy to me. I highly recommend Kathi's series and can not wait for next month and the next adventure with main character Cait and her furry friends.
To order The Mad Catter by Kathi Daley please click here.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

A Taste Fur Murder By Dixie Lyle. Reading A Book Based On It's Cover!

I am in between orders from The Book Depository. So as I have been desperate to have a real paper book in my hand I went to my local library and spun the racks. Choosing books by their cover is a habit and a great tool of mine when finding new books to read.

To make this work I only choose books based on their cover art, I do not read the backs until I get home and I read the first one I was drawn too. I chose A Taste Fur Murder because of the color and that the cat looked a lot like my own Cat Squirrel.

I knew as soon as I read the dedication in this book I was in for a treat. The first chapter had me in stitches! Seriously laughing out loud!

I actually asked my friend Lisa Kelley to do some back ground checking on this author. As I had not heard of Dixie Lyle!  I was as surprised with what she found as I was with how much I loved this book! The Author, (with out giving too much away) currently resides in the same area I do!

This story is based on the East Coast of the USA and yet it has ties to right near where I grew up. I found that the story line (which was fantastic by the way ) was a plausible as it could be having the main character able to communicate with animal spirits and I really could get into the character, story and theme. I did not think the "paranormal" abilities that the main character aptly named Foxtrot were all that far fetched. Making the story more personal to me was the ties to the First Nations (Canada's First People) legends I grew up with.

This was the right book at the right time for me, I am thrilled that my own method of finding a great book did not let me down!

 To order A Taste Fur Murder, click here for the link to The Book Depository's Listing 

 and I am also thrilled to say that the second book To Die Fur can be viewed and ordered by clicking here 

 

and Pre Orders for Marked Fur Murder due out in March, can be viewed by clicking here

For those of you on my Facebook Fan Page I did promise to share my recipe for the Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake I made and enjoyed while reading this story. So hear is my recipe!
Karen's Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees
3 cups of white flour
1 3/4 cups of brown sugar
3/4 cup of white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking power
2 coarsely chopped granny smith apples
3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup of milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon
In a large mixing bowl place all your dry ingredients and then mix them together. Coarsely chop your apples sprinkle them with the cinnamon and mix them together, then pour them into your dry mix.
In a bowl place your milk, vanilla, egg and oil and beat them together, add them to the dry mixture and mix thoroughly. The mixture will be thick and should be fairly elastic like. Grease two loaf pans and spoon in equal amounts of your dough. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean. Cool in loaf pans 5 mins before losing and inverting your pan. Cool and sever plain or with butter.
Enjoy!
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Our Facebook February Tea and Book Mark Give Away Is Now Up!

This month on our Facebook Fan Page Canadian Tea Company Mode & Honey  has donated a 15 grm bag of their Organic Kyoto Cherry Rose Tea to our monthly tea and book mark give away!

Amazing Author and New Tea Lover Ellery Adams has donated a beautiful engrave metal book mark from Mauve Magpie
To enter to win this months prize please visit Mode & Honey's Facebook Page  my Facebook Fan Page by clicking here then leave a comment. Winner will be selected Feb 22nd at random from number of entries received. Open to our North American Readers at this time only. Candle, tea pot, tea cup and saucer, calender and tea timer not included in this give away.
As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

Snow Way Out A Snow Globe Shop Mystery To Enjoy!

I loved the idea of this book Snow Way Out when I first heard about it's upcoming release on "Chatting about Cozies on Facebook" so I ordered it right away. The cover art was fantastic and I am a sucker for a great cover. I patiently awaited it's release.

When it arrived I was happy to dive right in and get acquainted with Cami and her friends. In the book, the story really gets going when Curio Shop worker Cami and her Friend Pinky (who have adjoining shops) offer a craft night! I have to admit if the class was offered here I too would sign up!

Great first impressions in a first in series are always important and what made this book stand out from the first few pages were the complex relationships of the main characters.I found I wanted to to keep reading  just to figure out how everyone fits in to play and just how they play a role in Cami's life.

What stood out to me most about the relationships in this book was the underling theme that family is more about the people you surround yourself with then just the blood relatives you are given. On top of that you have a great mystery to solve, some good looking local police officers, and learn a new craft skill in Snow Way Out.

I was pleased with this book, I was left wanting to know more about these characters you come to know and relate too. I look forward to seeing how Cami's world get's turned up side down in the next one and just how Author Christine Husom works the snow globes in to the next mystery!
To order your copy of Snow Way Out from The Book Depository which is where I order all my books from do click here.
 As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

A Seamless Murder By Melissa Bourbon. What A Delightful Read!

I have read every book so far in the Magical Dressmaking Mystery Series By Melissa Bourbon. Her latest book A Seamless Murder is one of the best in the series. I loved this book.

It arrived at the perfect time for me to take a break from the January blues and travel by book and tea cup to Bliss Texas (I am a Texas Girl At Heart!) visiting with the  Cassidy family and the town's folk I have come to know and love. I met a whole bunch of new Bliss Town Folk and felt right at home.
The images of the small town square, the church tag sale and of course a pig and a few stubborn goats do set the perfect "Bliss-full" feeling.

I do sew and love how sewing factors into this series.The idea that the perfect piece of clothing can make your dreams come true....who would not want an attic full of vintage fabrics, jars filled with buttons, ribbons and bows. Not to mention their Me-maw always with them in spirit.

I ordered my copy of this book back in June of 2014 and anxiously awaited it's arrival and it did not disappoint! I ordered my copy from The Book Depository as it always has FREE DELIVERY NO MINIMUM! Click here to see about ordering a copy for yourself!

I look forward to find out what is next For Harlow Cassidy and her friends in Bliss! I very much recommend this series!
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com