Book Giveaway! - Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment

You may remember the very brief review I gave of Katrina's book when it was first released last year. Well, it is now in paperback and I am giving away a copy to one of my readers.

Having lived more than half my life, with three (almost grown) children leaving or already out the door, my one true identity is being redefined. And I have struggled with the process. Family has always been my number one priority. As you can probably gather from the post I wrote about my oldest daughter moving off to college as my first granddaughter was born, I was so awestruck by the poignancy of that moment that I could only write words, not sentences.

I knew the day would come when I would face an empty nest, I just didn't think it would be so painful. For the last two years, I've spent my time watching the clock knowing that I only had so many more years, months, weeks, days left of the family life I've come to treasure. When I read Katrina's book "The Gift of an Ordinary Day", all I wanted was more of those days. Much more.

So as Katrina moved on from watching her children walk out the door in various stages, I, too, was following in her footsteps. Which brings me to this book. Change is inevitable, but sometimes you need to hear a few tiny words of wisdom to know you're not alone. Katrina shares those words of wisdom with a kind, caring heart. Follow her on her journey of self-discovery.

Please leave a comment below, and I will pick a winner at random by the end of the weekend. The winner will be contacted and announced next week.

Good luck!

Our Favorite Chicken Recipes

We eat a lot of chicken. I mean a lot. Last week I think I had it for lunch and supper at least three times. My poor husband would prefer more beef in his diet, but since he lives with health-conscience females, he'll eat what he can get.

This go-to rub that I'm going to share is used for Sweet and Spicy Chicken Stir Fry (above), to use in wraps, which is my interpretation of a fajita, and on salads. I've been told it's genius, and people rave no matter how I serve it. So...here it is.

Rub

Equal parts chili powder, garlic powder, and kosher salt. I usually mix the three together and keep a container of it in the cabinet along with the other spices. That's it!

Sweet & Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

3 large chicken breasts
3 broccoli crowns
EVOO
Rub
12 oz. jar of your favorite duck sauce (Or see recipe here.)
Noodles or sprouts optional

Prepare chicken by coating it with about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle on rub to cover the chicken as little or as much as you'd like. Bake in a 375 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes. To keep chicken breasts moist, simply cover with tin foil for 15 minutes after removing them from the oven.

Saute or steam broccoli crowns. If you choose to sauté, use a bit of canola oil so they don't stick to the pan. It may seem like a lot of broccoli, but they shrink as they cook. Steam or sauté for 15-20 minutes. Once the crowns have reduced by almost half, add the duck sauce, and the chicken that you've cut into bite-sized pieces. Heat through combining all ingredients for about 5-10 minutes.

Serves 4.

Chicken Wraps

Prepare chicken as directed above.
1 tortilla per person
EVOO
1-2 large red peppers
1 large onion

Saute rough-chopped vegetables in olive oil until soft or slighted charred depending on your taste. This will take approximately 20-30 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Saute each tortilla in a little olive oil in the same pan until slightly browned on either side. Shred chicken breasts and combine with the vegetables. Add a nice portion to each tortilla and roll.

Serves 4-6.

I hope you enjoy these recipes. They're easy to make, low-calorie, and simply delicious. You may also like my Orange Chicken Stir Fry.

Good Things Come in Pretty Packages

I was at the post office the other day shipping a package when it occurred to me that I hadn't checked my PO box since shortly before Christmas. Shame on me, but I mentally check out during the holidays. Then once they are over, I pretend they're not and slowly work my way back into the real world—very slowly. To my surprise, there was a package waiting for me from a friend. When I opened it up, this is what I found—a beautifully wrapped gift. So beautifully wrapped in fact, that I almost didn't want to open it. Almost. The gift was wrapped in fabric and tied with a pretty bow. Even the card was decorated inside and out.

But inside was this book, 642 Things to Write About. The giver said she immediately thought of me when she laid eyes on it. Well, I opened it up and it is filled with literally 642 writing prompts like, "Would you rather win the Nobel Prize or be a rock star?", "Thoughts on your favorite pet's personality.", "The person your mother warned you about." "Write a survival guide for a character: Ten things to do in an emergency.", "Keep a list of words you like, for their sound, for their meaning, or just for their goofy spelling. Pick one of those words and use it in a paragraph.", "The first lie you told." Of course I could go on forever...or at least 636 more times. I can't tell you how excited I am! This book is going with me everywhere for those days when inspiration eludes me. (The last part was her inscription to me.)

I was especially inspired by the introduction.

"This book was written in a single day. A single 24-hour period, with no advance notice. Nor was it our idea. An editor-friend of mine rang out of the blue and said, '"Let's do a book called 642 Things to Write About."'

"My gut response was, '"Great, but you don't mean literally 642 things, right? You're using 642 just to represent any big number, so it could be 238 things or 187 things--I mean, 642 things is going to be kind of impossible."'

"'Okay, we could do a different number," she said, then paused. "But I was thinking 642 things. Literally."'

"I was not going to tackle this alone. So the next morning, I e-mailed my office mates at the San Francisco Writers' Grotto. There are thirty-five writers here, a warren maze of small offices and library-like carrels. My thought was that if we came up with more than a hundred writing ideas on the first day, then maybe this project could be real. I thought it would take a month."

"People started e-mailing in ideas, in bunches. We had a hundred within an hour. Five hundred by the end of the day, and the ideas kept flowing overnight. Contributions came in from thirty-five different writers. At lunchtime the following day, I delivered the finished manuscript, in person, to our editor."

"I tell this story because it's a lesson in hidden potential. You never know what might happen. In a single day, if you hit the right nerve, you could have something—maybe. It's the start of something, maybe it's the whole thing. And it doesn't even have to begin with your own idea. You just have to get creative and plunge in."

"You could use these 642 things literally, by picking an exercise and completing it, or you can just let them wash over you to stir up your creativity, to remind you that no, not everything has been written, not every good idea is already taken by someone else. There are an infinite number of things one could write about and so many fresh directions for your story to go."

This was hands down one of my favorite Christmas gifts this year. Wait—643!..."What was the best Christmas gift you ever received?"

And here are a few other things that I thought would inspire you as well.

How big is your vocabulary? Take this test to find out.

Now available in paperback, A Magical Journey.

Do you pronounce the word aunt ahnt or ant? Take this dialect quiz to find out what kind of accent you have.

Pinterest pins on writing...just write. My Pinterest pins on reading and writing.

Challenge yourself—The Geek's Guide to the Writing Life and write for your health.

Happy weekend!

Greige

A combination of beige and gray, greige is known as the perfect compromise. Pair it with both warm and cool tones as these colors are filled with a kaleidoscope of colorful undertones, and work beautifully in both traditional, contemporary, and transitional settings. From light to dark, and everything in between, this color is perfect for transitioning between rooms to give the eye a rest. In the room above, I love the way this soft tone quietly sits in the background allowing these rich textiles to take center stage. Although I may be a slightly biased...have you seen the background color of my logo?

Color Inspiration

BM CC-490 Stone Hearth, BM 1537 River Gorge Gray, BM AC-26 Ozark Shadows, SW 6073 Perfect Greige

The pretty yellow print seen on these chairs adds a touch of subtle sunshine to medium/dark walls--BM AF-155 Weimaraner. This bedroom with its tone on tone coloring and subtle patterns is both rich and relaxing--BM HC-172 Revere Pewter.

Go bold or go home...greige walls allow you to take colors up a notch in textiles and accessories--BM 1530 Senora Gray.

Pull some inspiration from the textiles themselves. My favorites...SW 6071 Popular Gray, SW HC-105 Rockport Gray, SW 0055 Light French Gray, BM CSP 225 Gallery Buff.

Love gray or greige tones? There are a lot of other favorites found in color.

Images via Greige Design, Pottery Barn, House Beautiful, Knight Moves Blog

Winter Mood Board

From silver and gold to subtle shades of pink...winter colors are more than what they seem.

Color Inspiration

BM 2124-70 Distant Gray, BM 2080-60 Fruit Shake, BM 2007-40 Coral, BM 1034 Clay,

BM 2160-40 Roasted Sesame Seed, BM 199 Barley, BM 2127-60 Feather Gray, BM 2124-30 Deep Silver

Images via lextravagance.tumblr.com, sarahklassen.com, womenfashiongallery.com, avotakka.fi

Back From Break

Christmas vacation is never long enough...never. In fact, my decorations are still up simply because I don't have the heart to take them down. It will happen soon however, and I need to move into a new mindset. Onward.

Winter is supposedly here, but I think it hasn't quite decided what to do. We had more than 2 feet of snow on the ground before Christmas and then a huge warm up got rid of half of it. The day after New Year's Day, 13 more inches fell and we took a drive through the woods to enjoy the view. The temperature has been all over the place ranging from -14 to almost 50 degrees in the past week alone. We've had snow, ice, freezing rain, and yesterday it poured buckets to pretty much wipe out the 13" we received last week. The ground is still covered in snow, the driveway and walkway in ice. It's a balmy 8 degrees as I write this. The rest of the week will be the same...low low's and unseasonable high's. You've got to love New England.

So what have I been up to? I spent a good deal of time relaxing with my girls. My oldest daughter arrived home for winter break over two weeks ago and we've spent our time cooking, sledding, going to the movies, shopping, laughing, talking, watching Harry Potter, reading Harry Potter, eating ice cream. Did I mention laughing? My husband was also on vacation and was held captive by three females who pretty much ruled the roost. I'd say he's a pretty lucky guy.

Now it's time to get back into schedules and routines. I've been dreaming up posts, getting the studio mentally ready for new classes (and teachers!), thinking up new ideas, and writing. And (if I dare write this down) one of my goals for this year is to change up this blog a bit. Just a bit...a new look, refined content maybe, who knows. It will still be my place to play with words and images and write about all things home and living well.

Truth be told, I'd rather go sledding. :o)