A Stillness of Chimes -- book review

I'll be honest: I'm kind of a snob when it comes to Christian fiction. To me, it seems that so much of it is either very much contrived and preachy or very much not-really-Christian with a few references to Jesus thrown in to make it (sort of) work. That's why I was so so SO pleasantly surprised by Meg Moseley's A Stillness of Chimes. It's like a real story. Written by a real author. With real talent. It's really good!

Laura Gantt has just lost her mother, so she's hanging out in her hometown of Prospect, Georgia for awhile to settle her household. Twelve years ago, she lost her father to a suspected lake drowning, but now rumors are circling that he's been seen around the area. Former fiance and lifelong friend, Sean, has his doubts, but he's willing to help Laura find out. Together, they discover the truth---with some very surprising secrets being unearthed along the way.

I love a good mystery and this one didn't disappoint---too much. I usually do have the mystery figured out early on, but it's always fun to see how it all plays out. Though I had this one about half way through, I definitely enjoyed this story of grace, forgiveness, and ultimate sacrifice. The scenes where Laura misses and remembers her mother lead me to believe that this author has dealt with that kind of loss on a personal level. The part where she takes the last blackberries out of the freezer and makes a cobbler---with the last berries ever picked by her mother---oh. my. goodness. Girls, that was too much. Really made me miss my mama so far away in Oregon. For more info, check out the author bio and read chapter one.

I've been on the lookout for good Southern fiction---this one is a definite must-read. Do you have any other good suggestions for me? Lets make a list in the comments---and don't forget to link up with the Homemaking Party! 

I received this book from Blogging for Books to review on my blog. All opinions are honest and are my own.

Easy Fruity Party Petit Fours

What's more dainty at a tea party than a sweetly decorated petit four? My recipe is super easy and so delicious. Don't they look good? Make them for your friends and they'll make you look good too!

Notice I don't dip them and level them perfectly. I think it adds to the uniqueness and homemade look. Ok, honestly, they look like this because I ran out of oil to add to the melted candy coating. It's important. Don't forget. So why am I not taking the time to redo them so they'll be absolutely perfect for my photos? Because I am human and you are too and I want you to feel comfortable making these---even if they don't look like they belong on a magazine cover. I'm giving myself permission to be imperfect. That's important too. Don't forget.

My husband made the little flowers with gum paste, luster dust, and little pearly candies. He's always making cute flowers for me out of gum paste. I came home from my last blogging conference and told him I'm recruiting him onto my creative team. He felt sort of honored until he found out my creative team now consisted of two members.

These tasty treats are a spin on my Fruity Brownie recipe. They're rich, tangy, and fairly dense, so you'll be fine cutting them small. One batch makes approximately 75 squares. For a taller petit four, fill with frosting, chocolate, jam, or whatever you please!

Fruity Petit Fours

16 oz. boxed pound cake mix

1/2 c. butter or margarine

2 eggs

2/3 c. water

(2) .15 oz. envelopes flavored drink mix

colored candy coating

oil

Heat oven to 350º. Grease a 15x9 jelly roll pan (or line with parchment paper). Mix all ingredients on low for 30 seconds and then on high for 2 minutes. Bake for about 20 minutes or until done through. Cool completely, then cut into squares. Melt candy coating completely and then add in oil, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it's reached your desired dipping consistency. Dip cakes and let cool on a cooling rack until set. If you want to top them with sprinkles or something similar, make sure you do that right away after dipping, as the coating will set fast.

I'd love to know if you give these a try!

Welcome to the Make Bake Create Party! 5 blogs-1 party-lots of fun!

My Little Pony Inspired Tie-Dyed T-Shirts

 This campaign has been compensated by Blueprint Social and it's client. All opinions are honest and are my own.

Our move to Arkansas has already brought our family many blessings---most importantly are our new friends and church family. Lynzie and Aaliyah (check out her mom's blog: City Girl, Country Life) have become fast friends and have so many things in common. One big way they've hit it off is with their mutual love for My Little Pony. When I was invited to work on the Tie Dye Your Summer campaign with Tulip, Lynzie had the perfect idea in mind: My Little Pony Inspired Tie-Dyed T-Shirts!

Tulip sent me a very generous package of supplies. In addition to all of this dye, they also sent a huge bag of white T-shirts to play with! Lynzie had played around with America's favorite tie-dye before, so she was definitely the expert on this one. 

The girls wanted to make T-shirts based on their favorite pony characters. I thought that was a super creative idea and they really did a great job. Tie-dye is a great project for friends and family fun and no two projects are ever the same. Here are their shirts inspired by Nightmare Moon and Twilight Sparkle. 

Dyeing the shirts was super easy. Because the dyed shirts needed to sit for 24 hours before washing, drying, and wearing, the girls planned two work days. On the first day, they started by wetting down the shirts thoroughly and then wringing them out. 

They filled the dye bottles with water and grabbed some plastic gloves to protect their hands from being tie-dyed too! These one-step dye bottles make mixing so easy as they already contain the dye---you just add the water. The dye is color fast and permanent so it won't fade out in the wash.

Then they spread out some plastic on the driveway for a work surface. After reading through the directions and getting some inspiration from the photo ideas, they were ready to start coloring.

To make a pattern on the shirts, they twisted them in different ways. Once they were twisted, they secured their designs with rubber bands.

Next, they picked their dye colors and saturated the shirts with dye. I was surprised by how quickly they were able to complete three shirts each.

In a matter of minutes, their shirts were ready to sit for 24 hours. They packed them each into their own plastic sack and set them on the counter for a little T-shirt sleepover.

After the 24 hours were up, Lynzie rinsed out each shirt and we washed them individually. When they were all done, Aaliyah came back over for a photo shoot. Here are the shirts inspired by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

This photo is my favorite. Here we've got Apple Jack on the left and Rainbow Dash on the right. These are two of the original ponies from when the series was first made popular in the 1980s. I had both of these ponies and have special memories of enjoying them just like these girls do now.

For more creative tie-dye projects, check out the video and visit Tulip online at the following sites:

Tulip on Facebook 

Tulip on Twitter

Tulip on Pinterest

Tulip's Blog

You can also find more inspiration from other bloggers on this campaign by checking out the links below:

Linking with:
The Creative Collection @ Craft-O-Maniac
Link Party Palooza
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal
Upcycled Party @ Funky Junk Interiors
The Party Bunch
Sunday Showcase Party@Under the Table and Dreaming 
Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper
One More Time