Book Club - April

Book Club was tonight!

Whoop, Whoop!

I love getting together with my awesome friends...

even if it is for only an hour or so!

This past month, we have been reading 

Bitter Is The New Black

by Jen Lancaster

Picture from Amazon.com

Talk about one wild chic!

She says what she's thinking ...

and doesn't take flack for it, either. 

She is by far one of the most shockingly funny people I have ever read about! I think that, though, is what got her through the tough times she recounts in the book. And the lesson she learns is one that we all have to at some point in our life...

There are things {God, love, trust, security, etc.} that are so much more important than our "things." 

Jen just brings this truth to us in a laughing-so-hard-you'll-pee-your-pants kind of way! ;) 

So, as everyone arrived and submitted possible titles for next month's book, I was laying out our *sweet* spread. {I hope the girls didn't eat too much for dinner tonight!} 

Vanilla Bean French Macarons

Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramels

Snickerdoodle Buttermilk Pie

I am still practicing my macarons, and believe it or not, my first batch turned out better than this one! Who would have figured, right? But, they were certainly bursting with vanilla flavor and were cute as a button all dressed for spring! They are definitely still too big though .... 

{Note To Self: start marking the spots before piping the batter!}

The candies were a result of a mess up. If you remember from last week when I made the Peanut Brittle, I actually goofed the first batch. I ended up with peanut butter caramel rather than brittle ... so I did what any self-respecting over-indulger would do - roll the caramel into balls and dip them in chocolate! They are pretty fantastic, too! I guess you do learn something from every mistake - now I know how to make peanut butter caramel! ;)

Now, here's the big finally! The Snickerdoodle Pie with a Buttermilk Cream Cheese Glaze! Uh-mazing! But, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear more about that ... perhaps there will be a recipe involved, too.

Since I was sick last month and we didn't have a vote, I decided the easiest thing would be to just nominate the only other book suggested by a group member at our first meeting. 

The Commoner

by John Burnham Schwartz

Picture from Amazon.com

Picture from Amazon.com

This novel takes place in Japan where a average citizan girl and a noble born boy meet and fall in love. It is their life story from her point of view and the troubles she comes face to face with as a commoner turned royal.

We had a great night full of laughter and fun! I am looking forward to our next read together and sharing our thoughts on The Commoner.