Winter's Mourning By Janice J. Richardson

Sunday I read Winter's Mourning by Janice J. Richardson. This is the second book in the Spencer Funeral Home Niagara Cozy Mystery Series. This book was extremely well thought out. Written with care and careful consideration. This series is very intriguing. The mysteries are very good. I enjoyed the poignant reflection as well as the challenges that Jennifer faces in book two. I don't know how author Janice does it, despite extreme events and circumstances main character Jennifer finds herself in there is still an incredible calm and serene feeling through out this book. This book was a phenomenal cozy to read. It is a reflective and a very respectful, cozy mystery.

Not all mysteries involve murder...Funeral Director Jennifer Spencer's walk along the Niagara Parkway on a rainy, cold day leads her to Winter, a distraught young woman who isn't speaking.Travis, the temporary director hired when Uncle Bill passed, is still out for revenge. That won't happen if she listens to the police officers assigned to protect her … but she doesn't.Can Jennifer survive her own harrowing ordeal in order to help Winter get her life back?Book 2 of The Spencer Funeral Home Niagara Cozy Mystery Series

Order your own copy of Winter's Mourning from Amazon like I did by clicking here.
Learn more about Author Janice J. Richardson by clicking here.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

A Quick Peak At Some Of My Vancouver Tea Festival Finds.

I spent yesterday afternoon at the Vancouver Tea Festival sampling teas from amazing vendors along with my friend Daniela. I love this annual event and this one was at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens in Vancouver.

I found Matcha tea that I absolutely enjoyed, which I have never found I did before!

The Namasthe Tea had the best displays of their locally foraged additions to their teas. Beautiful traditional teas enhanced with local ingredients I invite you to visit their website by clicking here.

The one tea company that stood out was called Wize Monkey Coffee Leaf Tea and I promise to share more about this company and more of my visit to the tea festival later this week.

For now I am going to leave you to continue binge watching the Netflix presentation of The Crown. I hope you will forgive me. Thank you for joining me today for a cup of tea and a sneak peek at some of the teas I shall review for you soon.
I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

On My Table and In My Cup October 29th- November 5th

Saturday morning and another week has flown by, still a tiny amount of Halloween candy left not bad in a house of three boys, I can not be held responsible for the candy left un attended. Actually we had about 78 trick or treators on Halloween, not a busy night!  Currently on my table is the second book in Janice Richardson's Spencer Funeral Home Niagara Cozy Mystery, Winter's Mourning. I am very excited to have this to read. I can not wait to share my review.

I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing the November 15th release Cat Got Your Diamonds! This is a must read cozy and new series to love!

A guilty pleasure to read about someone training for a big run, while eating Halloween candy! Kate Dyer-Seeley has a fantastic  4th book coming out this month that I think you will love. I enjoy the fact that this cozy is set on the West Coast and look forward to reading this Oregon based series.

Deck The Hallways by Kate Carlisle gave me all the wonderful holiday feels you expect a Hallmark movie channel to do on a snowy December night. Don't miss this one!

In my cup this week, I was lucky enough to have a friend who knows how to fill up my bucket! She brought me the new Davids Tea Holiday tin and their Coffee Cake Tea which I simply adore! This has happily filled my cup since Thursday and these lovely little spoons came from a swap I did on Elfster that made my day! Though my almost 2 year old niece Phoebe grabbed them and stuck them in her purse, carting them around for the last two days everywhere we went. They are so darling and a great addition to my tea table.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a week in review. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Cat Got Your Diamonds by Julie Chase

I finished a brilliant cozy last night! Cat Got Your Diamonds by Julie Chase which was such a great read I could not put it down, read the entire thing, laughing, crying and thoroughly enjoying this new cozy.  This book read so well, reminding me of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, I loved the relationship between the main character Lacy and detective Jack Oliver. I don't want to give too much of the story away however the writing reminds me of why I love cozies in the first place. The book reminded me of how I felt the first time I fell in love with The Book Town Mystery series by one of my most favorite authors Lorraine Bartlett, the way Julie Chase wrote Cat Got Your Diamonds has that same magical chemistry that made me want to read word after word and not wanting it to end. Julie Chase has a great first in series and this one is on track to become one of my most favorite series.
 I loved the idea of this series, great concept, fun characters, fantastic back story and did I mention how much I love the cover? The Kitty Couture Mystery Series is one you will need to put on your TBR pile for sure, make sure you move it close to the top, you wont be disappointed.

Grandeur and opulence are everything in the famed New Orleans Garden District where pets are family and no bling is too big. Opening Furry Godmother, pet boutique and organic treat bakery, is Lacy Marie Crocker's dream come true - until the glitter gun used to make her Shih Tzu tutus becomes a murder weapon. And Lacy becomes public enemy #1.Now Detective Jack Oliver is hounding Lacy, and her Furry Godmother investor wants out before his name is tarnished by association. To make matters worse, a string of jewel heists with suspicious ties to the murder case has New Orleans residents on edge. To save her dream, Lacy must take a stand, put her keen eyes to work, and unravel what really happened at her shop that night. But can Lacy sniff out the killer cat burglar in time to get her tail-raising designs on the catwalk?

I honestly thought that Julie Chase was one of my favorite authors in disguise, however turns out Julie Chase is a very talented author in her own right. Learn more about her and this November 15th release by clicking here. I can not wait for her next book out in Spring of 2017!
Order your copy of Cat Got Your Diamonds by clicking here.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

First Degree Mudder by Kate Dyer-Seeley

I will be absolutely honest,  I feel completely guilty having read this amazing adventure themed west coast cozy, while consuming a large amount of Halloween Candy and muffins. First Degree Mudder by Kate Dyer-Seeley was absolutely fantastic. Out November 29th this is one not to miss! The idea of doing a running race, through the mud does not at this time interest me, however it was such a fun book to read and go through the process of training for the run with main character Meg. Mystery and suspense await you my dear readers in this fantastic cozy, along with some really good story lines that have nothing to do with running. I felt like Meg has really come into her own in this book, new haircut, new attitude and new approach to life make Meg an even more well rounded and fun character. Her love of Pink, Journalism and Oregon are contagious. Kate Dyer-Seeley has done such great research on the area and does a superb job of making you really feel like you are in Oregon. From the graphic t-shirts, baristas and bartenders to the weather and the descriptions of the pine trees, there is so much to love about this cozy series.

When a mud marathon champion bites the dust, Meg Reed has to go the distance to make sure a killer comes clean . . . Back home in Portland, Oregon, Meg is ready to take her career as an outdoor writer for Extreme magazine to the next level. Lesser journalists sling mud—Meg plans to run through it. To train hard for Mud, Sweat & Beers, an extreme 5K mud run, she’s signed on with the Mind Over Mudder team, run by ten-time mud marathon champ—and former drill sergeant—Billy the Tank. But when Meg finds her tenacious trainer dead in the locker room, she has a sinking feeling someone may have been pushed too far. Digging through the hidden secrets at Mind Over Mudder is a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it. Meg will have to tread carefully, though—or she may soon be running for her life . . .

Learn more about this series by Kate Dyer-Seeley by clicking here
Order your own copy of First Degree Mudder by clicking here.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me here at karenmowen@gmail.com

Holiday gifts and New David's Tea Advent Calendar Are Available, No Craftiness Needed!

All that talk of advent calendars yesterday and Davids Tea has released its calendar for this year!
Their are 24 fantastic tiny tins of tea in this years calender and you can purchase it for $40! Click here to view on line.

There are some adorable new tea items like this tea steeper with a pink mitt!

I also loved the blue star as well!

Click here to see the new holiday items!

I have to mention the new Warm and Cozy tea package! My favorite David's Tea  "Coffee Cake' is finally back! 

It is one  of the 5 teas included in this tea set. View the rest on line by clicking here.

Back to reading and hopefully able to review this so far fantastic November release from Kate Dyer-Seeley tomorrow!
Thank you for joining me for a chat about the new teas and I look forward to sharing more with you soon. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

November 1st And All Is Well, Advent Calendar Ideas Anyone?

How did we get here already, November 1st?

As I live in Canada we had Thanksgiving in early October so my mind is very busy with packing boxes for our up coming move to who knows where (Dear Universe please intervene) and thoughts of Christmas!

Click here for this listing on Rose Clip Art Etsy Shop

The lead up to Christmas is my favorite and a huge part of that has always been in that anticipation and those lovely advent calender's! Every year but this one for the last 6 years I have done an Advent Tea Swap, I have not signed up for any this year as I have lots going on here but I may make a few up even for myself.

If you want to make some of your own this year here is some great ideas I have found on Etsy. First is this great printable for tea advent calender's! This is a PDF listing and one that would work well for tea and book lovers! Click here for the listing from Rose Clip Art 

Another pretty DIY calendar I think would work well is this listing from Give It Pretty Etsy Shop! Everything you need accept the tea! I love the simple beauty in this listing.

While I pack my boxes today I am going to be thinking about how to make a few really fun advent Calender's up this year! I hope you don't mind the post today with all the trick or treating yesterday I did not have much time for reading!
As with all our posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com