Five things

Abrams Books and Penguin Random House Canada sent me the books pictured in this post. All opinions are my own.

“I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked surprised.” HA HA HA HA. Forgive me for not sharing a Halloween joke — I couldn’t find a gourd one. (ZING!) Today’s post is mostly a rehash of things I’ve shared in the past week on social media but if you want to see what’s coming up I’ve included that too. 

Yesterday I made these SCARY EASY jack-o-lanterns with some copper mugs I had at home and sticky-backed black paper from the craft store. I can’t remember where I first saw the idea (which bugs me ’cause I’d love to give them credit) but they literally take all of a minute to make. Plus they keep dessert cold. It’s Chimp Treats mango banana nicecream which is just mango and banana but by some wizardry and hocus pocus tastes like ice cream.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles came out this week and I want to give it to anyone who’s ever loved an animal and felt loved back. The international bestseller by Hiro Arikawa and translated by Philip Gabriel is told from the perspective of a rescued cat who travels across Japan with his owner to find someone who can give him a new home. They visit three of the man’s old friends and along the way learn about courage, gratitude, loyalty and love. It’s sweet and HEARTBREAKING and why do we not have more books told by cats?

And for little ones, Peppa Pig and the Halloween Costume. Halloween is coming up scary fast and Peppa Pig still hasn’t figured out her costume. She has all kinds of ideas — that’s not the problem — but her friends seem to have thought of them first. Can she come up with something that’s Perfectly Peppa in time? (The suspense!) The illustrations are adorable and I love the you-be-you message. A super simple, super cute story for ages 2 to 5.

Canadian Living magazine always has so many delicious-looking recipes. This week I tried the Sheet Pan Double Chocolate Cake from the November issue. Highly recommend.

And coming soon, a review of Home Made Christmas by Yvette Van Boven, which has all kinds of wonderful recipes for your holiday table and beautiful, moody photography that’ll you’ll want to pore over with a cozy blanket, a cup of tea and maybe your favourite candle. Also Willow Crossley’s Handmade Living: 40 Step-by-Step Projects for Crafting a Beautiful Home. Many of the projects would make lovely gifts, so if you’re looking for handmade presents to put under the tree this one might give you some ideas. And you’ll have a chance to win a copy of each book! If you like chocolate (goes great with books!), be sure to follow me on Instagram for a look at some of the scrumptious treats available from Marich Chocolates and a chance to win a selection. (Remember we sampled some here?) That one will be open to Canadian and US residents. What else? A review of October’s OatBox (my second one for A Year of Boxes, which has reviews of any subscription box you can think of) and maybe I’ll finally get a few little packages and cards in the mail that I’ve been wanting to send.

Would you like a little surprise too? Tell me your favourite thing in this post (either from the past week or coming up) and something you loved last week (A visit to a bookstore? A repair that cost less than you expected? A new show on Netflix?). Comment by 11:59 pm EST on Friday, November 2, 2018 and I’ll randomly select a winner the next day. The winner will have 48 hours to get back to me with their name and address and the correct answer to a skill-testing question. If I don’t hear back, I’ll choose again. Open to Canadian readers 18+, excludes Quebec.

Thank you so much for reading!! I can’t wait to hear from you.

(PS: I didn’t mean for this post to be so long but there it is.)

Update November 4, 2018: A little surprise is coming your way, NJ!