Wednesday, April 30, 2014

April Focus: Tolkien

My husband has been bugging me to read the Lord of the Ring books for quite a while now so I decided to dedicate April to Tolkien. I had read The Hobbit before and also his translations of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight--but had never gotten around to reading the trilogy.


While reading the first book, I kept cursing myself for having seen the movie before reading the book!  I wanted to be able to experience the book without all of the movie imagery flashing before my eyes.  But even with having made that rookie mistake, I really enjoyed falling into that world again and getting a fuller understanding of characters and their back stories.

I happily started in on the second book and felt like I was finally in unknown territory since I had only seen the second movie about ten years ago. When I finished that one in only a few days--I immediately (within minutes) grabbed the third book and dove in. Jeesh, such fantastic books.

After that, we watched the first two movies. I enjoyed them, but I kept obsessively (and probably annoyingly) pointing out to Nate all of the changes that they made to the story. I typically don't mind when movies make changes from the books but some of these really bothered me (like Faramir!). We haven't quite watched the last one yet but we're hoping to this weekend!

Anyways, here is what I read and watched for my Tolkien month:

Read: The Fellowship of the Ring
Read: The Two Towers
Read: The Return of the King
Watched: The Fellowship of the Ring
Watched: The Two Towers
Read: The Children of Hurin
Not Quite Watched Yet: The Return of the King

All that to say, I am duly impressed with Tolkien! 

Monday, April 28, 2014

Glazed Lemon Cookies

I should know better than to make lemon cookies when I'm the only one home. They are one of my favorites and this recipe does not disappoint!



You'll Need:

2 Cups Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temp
1 Cup Sugar
1 Large Egg
1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

First off: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. In a separate bowl, mix butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon juice until combined thoroughly. Combine dry and liquid mixtures and mix well.

Bake on two baking sheets for 15 minutes. Let cool for a couple minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack. If desired, mix up the glaze below and top.

Lemon Glaze:

2 Cups Confectioners' Sugar
1/3 Cup Lemon Juice



Enjoy and try not to eat them all!

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Kentucky Falls Trail







Friday, April 11, 2014

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Pesto Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Asparagus



My hubby whipped this up for us the other night and it was so delicious. 
Head over here to satisfy your craving!