Christmas Party!

We met at Brenda's house for the Christmas party this year. There was so much food and it was all so delicious!

I didn't make it all the way around the table so sorry if I didn't get a picture of what you brought!

Game time! We played Family Feud and it was a lot of fun with a lot of laughter.

These ladies are trying to decide on a group answer for Family Feud.

Kristie holding little baby Greta.

The competition is on . . .

And now the white elephant gifts! I also didn't get pictures of everything, sorry!

Group shot in front of Brenda's beautiful tree!

November Book Club

I didn't take many pictures, but the food was delicious. Thanks Kristie!

Baby Greta came to chat with us!

The book we reviewed this month was

What we are reading next

December- Christmas Party/ While Elephant. Hosted by Brenda

January- The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Hosted by Shannon/Reviewed byStephanie

February- The Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides. Hosted by Sharron/Reviewed by Kara

March- The Husbands Secret by Liane Moriarty. Hosted by Stephanie/reviewed by Britney

April- The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters. Hosted by Kara/reviewed by Shauna

May- What Alice Forgot by Liana Moriarty. Hosted by Shauna&Heidi/Reviewed by Bethany

June- The Girl you left Behind by JoJo Moyes.  Hosted by Kristie/Reviewed by Brenda

July - No book club

August- Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  Hosted by Bethany/Reviewed by Shannon

I would highly recommend...

Wonder by R.J. Palacio.  Maybe many of you have already read it, but if not, you should!  I enjoyed reading it with Robyn and Carly, and discussing it with them.

Here is the recipe for the pasta salad from our June Book Club. Thanks Sharon!

Bowtie Pasta Salad 

16 oz bow tie pasta cooked and cooled
1 bag baby spinach leaves
1 red bell pepper sliced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 large can mandarin oranges drained
2 cooked seasoned chicken breasts chopped (omit this if you want vegetarian)
1/2 cup sugared pecans
Poppy seed dressing

Lightly mix ingredients together in salad bowl.

Poppy seed dressing

1 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1 TB minced onion
1 TB poppy seed
Blend ingredients together in a blender or food processor for 2 minutes.  Dressing will be thick.

Sugared pecans

1 cup pecans
1 TB orange juice
3 TB sugar

Heat the juice and 2 TB of sugar in small fry pan.  Add the nuts and stir gently for 2 minutes until the juice is absorbed.  Transfer to small bowl.  Add the rest of the sugar.  Spread nuts on foil on cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 for 8 minutes.  Cool and store in fridge.

June Book Club

Sharon put on the spread for us at our June Book Club. She spoiled us with an amazing pasta salad, fruit, cheese and crackers, bread, and of course the pavlova. It was so good.

The pavlova was oh.so.good. I vote that we have a best of book club night so that we can repeat some of these amazing dishes. Let's be honest. I wish that all of you would be my personal chefs. Please?

Brenda, Sharon, & Kristie

Kara, Heidi, Shannon, & Bethany

We reviewed Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling. We all really enjoyed the book. 

Thanks for hosting Sharon! We had a great time!

May Book Club

Bethany, Heidi, Kara,
Kristie, Britney, Sharon, & Brenda

We had a great time at Brenda's. Her food was amazingly delicious (as always!) and this was all that we had left....

Yep. That good.

I was able grab a couple of pictures before we devoured it. She made a delicious shrimp sauce to go over angel hair pasta...

When I asked Brenda what it was called she said "dinner." My family would love it if I could come up with such delicious dinners on my own, but that is not one of my talents. Sigh.

She served a side of french bread followed by ice cream with fresh fruit.

It was so delicious. Yum.

It was an evening filled with delicious food, laughter, and great conversation. Our discussions ranged from the to book, The Night Guest, to motherhood and all you can accomplish before 9 am. ;)

Thanks Brenda for a great evening! We missed all of you who weren't there!

April Book Club

In April we did something that we have never done before - we went to the Bombay House for Book Club! Wow, was it delicious! I had forgotten how much I love Indian food. I have been craving the Chicken Makhani ever since. And I now know that they are not open for lunch. :(

The Bombay House was the perfect choice after reading The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri, and the staff there was amazing. They went above and beyond. 

Chicken Makhani

Garlic Naan

Kara's amazing Mango Cheesecake - So good!

After dinner we enjoyed Kara's delicious Mango Cheesecake. Wow. It was that good. Now when were you going to post that recipe? :)

Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of all of us, but I know a few of you did. Please post!

See you all next month at Brenda's. And remember it is going to be the second Thursday instead of the first!

March Book Club

We had a great time at Heidi's for our March Book Club. We had a really interesting discussion about Freak the Mighty.  Not only was the company great, but the food was mouth-watering! Heidi made a delicious Chicken & Wild Rice Soup, Salad, Rosemary & Olive Oil Bread (I may have to get a membership to Coscto just for this bread!), and the moistest Chocolate Bundt Cake you have ever had. 

I know that you are all drooling over the pictures like I am! It was that good!

We missed all of you who weren't able to make it.  We hope you can make it next time!