Rainy Days With Amanda

THE LITTLE TEASHOP ON MAIN by Jodi Thomas Genre: Contemporary Literary Fiction / Coming of Age Publisher: HQN Publication Date: May 7, 2019 Number of Pages: 336 pages Scroll down for the giveaway! A rainy-day ritual—a tea party between three little girls—becomes the framework of not only their friendship but their lives. Blonde, curly-haired Zoe is openhearted, kind and free-spirited, and dreams of becoming a famous actor in New York City. Shy Emily struggles with mental health but has the heart and soul of a writer. And Shannon—tall, athletic, strong—has a deep sense of loyalty that will serve her well when she heads off to military college. As Zoe, Emily, and Shannon grow into women—forging careers, following dreams, and finding love—they’ll learn that life doesn’t always unfold the way they want it to, but through it all, the one constant is each other and their regular tea...

As of May 5, 2019 I have officially been married for a year. What?! I remember the day almost perfectly. Craziness, mayhem, nervous butterflies and warm love. And some anger because my DJ was not doing a good job the first 45 minutes and I wanted to bite his head off and throw him down a flight of stairs. But I digress. My life is far from perfect and I think my wedding day reflected that, but in a good way. I still enjoyed everything and was so happy that all my family and friends could make it. So what does my wedding day have to with fear? Everything. I was nervous and scared that everything was going to go wrong. But my worst fears didn't come true. Everything went relatively well and people enjoyed themselves and I looked great and I didn't let that fear get to me. Let me tell you, I'm scared of plenty of things. I'm scared of long flights, drowning, heights, human experimentation (that's another day), being alone, and going straight down on a roller coa...

GOURMET ON A HOT PLATE by Judy Alter Genre: Cookbook / Cooking Tips / Tiny Kitchen Publisher: Alter Ego Press Date of Publication: November 6, 2018 Number of Pages: 132 Scroll down for the giveaway! Gourmet on a Hot Plate  is a collection of recipes and kitchen tips compiled after living for some time in a 600-square-foot cottage, with a tiny kitchen, no stove, no dishwasher, and barely any counter space. Given these limitations, Judy Alter developed a new approach to food, one that let her get in touch with the food itself. She does not have an Insta-Pot, an air-fryer, or a microwave. Her recipes call for using either a magnetic induction hot plate or a toaster oven. In the introduction, she explains her choices for making the best use of her tiny space.  The collection begins with appetizers because that’s where Alter began her new cooking adventure. Gradually she branched out to main dishes, light suppers, soups ...