Tails, You Loose By Carol J. Perry Is A Winner!

Tuesday night I finished Tails You Loose by Carol J, Perry and it was so good I hated to put it down. This is the second book in the Witch City Mystery Series and this one was even better then the first!

This series is about Lee, who returns to Salem to live with her Aunt after the death of her husband a NASCAR Driver. Lee who worked in TV first came back for a chance at being a news Ancor at WICH-TV, however in Caught Dead Handed, like in all great cozy mysteries things do not go as planned.  Lee doesn't get the job she wanted but does find work at the TV station and helps to solve the crime of the murder of the recently departed host.

In Tails You Lose, Lee finds her self in a new role at the new school for the arts just opening in town. Teaching TV production, a perfect fit for her. The school is based in the old reportedly haunted department store that had sat vacant for years.

In this story Lee is more settled back in Salem, she feels more at home, dating her police officer boyfriend Pete and has developed a strong friendship to River North local witch and TV host of Tarot Time With River North.

Lee really comes into her own in this story and I love her new found confidence and her devotion to fast cars, she finally purchases her own vehicle in this story and her cat O'Ryan joins her on her quest to find the Woman in White and even aids her in a fight for her life. This is a truly cool Tabby Cat who could have his own book series!

 I am so thrilled with this series and I am really excited because Carol J. Perry's third book of the series  Look Both Ways comes out October 27th, you can pre order it now at a reduced price on The Book Depository By Clicking Here.

Click here to find out more about Tails, You Loose by Carol J. Perry an here for Caught Dead Handed
Thank you to Carol J. Perry for writing such an engaging series with a touch of witchcraft and a ton of fun!
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and this 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

Bread and Water Make Toast And Tea ~ A Great Bread Recipe To Enjoy!

On Facebook yesterday morning I found a recipe for Easy Homemade Bread. I knew I wanted to try it and I shared the recipe on my time line and before I finished my tea morning tea, my friend Sheryl, a fellow cozy mystery blogger took my post of the recipe as a challenge and we both made the bread!


 I made mine in Vancouver and she made hers in Tennessee, we both agree this is an amazing recipe! Our weather here in Vancouver was 70 degrees with a slight breeze and made baking bread for such a short period of time totally tolerable!

This was the easiest and best recipe I have ever tried to bake and I went to cooking school. This was beyond easy, it was not time consuming and it was fun. The recipe comes from Make and Takes and is one you are going to want to click here, bookmark and save!
Start to finish this 4 ingredient bread amazed me. The flavor was wonderful and reminded me of high end restaurant bread and farmers market high quality. I had it with both butter and with olive oil and vinegar and will make this bread regularly! Best part I only used half the dough so tomorrow the boys and I will make pizza for lunch!

Check out my friend Sheryl's Blog by clicking here. 

Get the make and takes bread recipe by clicking here.

Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery today, 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

Trader Joe's Earl Grey Tea~ A Great Tea To Take With You!

I have been for years now someone who carries tea with her in her purse. I really was glad after a stop at Mcdonalds in Utah where I ordered tea and (I always ask for the bag on the side) was handed my way to hot cup of water and a tea bag that looked like it was years old and had been stepped on, half open and did not smell good. This experience was an excellent reminder as to why I bring tea with me and I was glad to have my own special blends of loose leaf tea and a selection of individually wrapped tea with me.

When I am state side I like to stop in at Trader Joe's, we do not have this store where I live and I found that their Earl Grey was really great and the price is really reasonable.  Lots of tea drinkers will turn their noses up at bagged tea claiming it is the "sweepings" and the stuff not good enough to go into loose leaf blends and while with some brands of tea I will agree with them I find that this Earl Grey is on par with some of my more expensive loose leaf Earl Grey teas. This is a great tea to have on hand, keep in the car or your purse. Did you know that tea really doesn't go bad? The best before dates on the boxes are really sell by dates. Tea will loose flavor over time but to fix that just add an extra bag or tsp to your pot!

On my table this morning is Tails, You Lose by Carol J. Perry and it is fantastic. I read half of it yesterday and hope to get more reading time today to pick up where I left off last night.
Thank you for joining me 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

New Tea To Me And A New Recipe Book And A Canadian Mail Delivery Mystery...

I came home to a notice that Canada Post our postal system is changing yet again how mail is delivered and lets just say I am less then impressed. I already wait on average 14 days longer for each piece of mail and package then my US counterparts. I am really frustrated. Mostly because I have several books on order that should have arrived while I was away for two weeks and have not yet come. My mail is usually delivered by 11:45 am Monday through Friday when I get mail but now the notice I got says it will be changing yet again, likely less often and all to save money....but I digress. While I await the mail delivery and hope my wonderful mail man for the last 6 years has not lost his job here is a recipe and tea review, the mystery here is when my mail delivery will return to the "New Normal" I am dreading!

I picked up this book called Cookie Swap by Lauren Chattman,  on clearance (as it was a damaged book) a few months back at Indigo our local chain book store and figured I should try a few of the recipes. I started with the first one for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. Though mine did not turn out exactly like the photo they were pretty good. Just slightly different from my regular recipe and the boys and my husband ate them up in record time.
I do like my cookie recipe better as it is not as sweet at this one but still very good.

On to trying the tea. The Victorian Earl Grey Tea by Celestial Seasonings is not bad. It is quite tasty but it has for sure that signature Celestial Seasonings taste that I can not quite place but is best described as "tangy" this Earl Grey has lots of Bergamot in it. Personally I think it is quite tasty but I do prefer a more smooth tasting creamy Earl Grey.
Paired with the chocolate chip cookies this was a nice afternoon treat. To view the book Cookie Swap please click here.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea, a cozy recipe and a Canadian Mail 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

My Version Of The Giving Plate

I am thrilled to share my Giving Plate that I made last night. A few weeks ago I shared this craft idea I found on Pinterest and Facebook and I wanted to give it a try!

The above is the original I found. Try as I might I can not write in a straight line so I did what a lefty impatient crafter does best and well followed the circle of the plate.

I was thrilled with how this turned out. I washed the plate and dried it, then used a new sharpie marker and wrote out my poem. I placed the cup in a cold oven and then turned the oven on to 350 degrees for 30 mins, then I turned it off and allowed it to cool almost completely.

I had more plate when the poem ended so I  added "May love and laughter fill your home and joy follow this plate wherever it may roam." Then I drew a heart in the center. I really enjoyed doing this and I am going to do this again. Try as I might I can not get my writing to look like all the wonderful examples on line but I think that adds to the charm of the plate, it is a true representation of who I am and how I write.

As I was creating the plate I was enjoying one of my new teas from Celestial Seasoning Teas this one is called  Tension Tamer. Caffeine Free and exactly what I needed this evening! This tea contains Eleuthero (Ginseng) Peppermint, Cinnamon, Ginger, Chamomile, Lemongrass, Licorice, Catnip (I know what you are thinking but catnip calms humans, but makes cats crazy! Go Figure!) this tea also included B6 and B12...I am so glad I brought this tea home and I am hoping I can find it here in Canada! If you are someone who enjoys Herbal Tea or someone who is under stress in your life I can tell you that this is a lovely blend and even great cold!
Thank you for joining me for A Cup of Tea and A Cozy Tea Craft today! 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

On My Table And In My Cup August 8th-15th...Home At Last

I have spent the better part of the last three days in the car with three children, my husband and a huge amount of tea I purchased! Now safely settled at home here in Canada, I can say I have happily added a few US States I had not yet been to, to my list. We traveled from Washington State, down through Oregon, over to Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, then Wyoming, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Washington then home! I can personally attest to the rest stop quality of each of these states and tell you if you have to go in Wyoming, that is the place to do it! These people know how to make one free comfortable, welcome and educated their rest stops are fantastic. Though we did not stop for long in Wyoming, I would say that is a place I would like to spend more time in for sure, and not just at the rest stops.

Likely my most favorite tea related purchase of the trip was from the Celestial Seasonings Tour I took in Boulder Colorado. It was fantastic and look at my beautiful teapot. It was hard to leave behind and if I had space I would have bought a few more then I did.

 I purchased a lovely little breakfast tea set as well while I was there,  it was 1/2 price. But there were at least a dozen more I wanted! The cup and saucer were $5.45 and the teapot was $12.45 honestly would you have left it? Okay maybe you would have but I had such a great time I could not leave it behind. With the Canadian Exchange rate being as lousy as it was I really could not justify purchasing more but I really really wanted too.

If you follow me on Instagram you know that I brought my own cup and saucer on the trip and I am so glad that I did that, tea tastes terrible in Styrofoam and paper cups and this really helped me to feel more grounded and relaxed. I will say that the cup and saucer made it home in one piece and that I would do this again in a heart beat. I will bring a tea pot next time though as well. In addition to my own electric tea kettle for boiling water and my teacup saucer and selection of tea I was quite a sight between 4-6 am each morning but I tell you it really makes a difference. Also in my hotel room before dinner and bed it was lovely to have this treasure and comfort with in arms reach.

I read three books on my 11 day vacation, I finished Death of An English Muffin by Victoria Hamilton, Give Em Pumpkin To Talk About by Joyce and Jim Lavene and Mount Rushmore Q&A by Don "Nick" Clifford. Not bad for for me feeling car sick a lot of the time.

I would like to say a huge thank you to each and everyone of you who came on vacation virtually with me and for your patience with my posts. I am so looking forward to reading my next cozy and got some great inspiration to continue writing a few cozy series of my own. One day I hope to share those with you as well.
Thank you for joining me 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

Give Em Pumpkin To Talk About... A Fantastic New Series

I finished Give Em Pumpkin To Talk About while driving through Montana Wednesday. I have had poor internet connections since then and only now have returned home. I have to tell you that this new series from Joyce and Jim Lavene helped me cope with the long drive and had me thinking of cool October nights, craving apple cider and longing for the leaves to change!

I love this story. Mystery in-bedded in mysteries, at every turn the story gets more interesting and the characters become more real. I found myself rooting for Sarah and Jack from the beginning and found myself dreaming of trying to help solve all the mysteries! From vanishing grandparents to treasure hunters and down home neighborly goodness this is a series you are going to want to check out and one I am looking forward to reading more of!

Thank you to Joyce and Jim Lavene for sending this book my way to read and I have to tell you I want to be first in line to read the next one! Click here to order your own copy of Give Em Pumpkin To Talk About. 

I am now home sipping tea in my living room as I write this and no matter how far I roam the tea tastes best when it is made in the comfort of my home. 

Thank you for bearing with me as I traveled over the last 15 days and I look forward to sharing more tea from my travels and more mysteries again very soon.

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