It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

On August 26, 2018 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

It's Monday! What Are You Reading

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

We finally had a nice relaxing week. Yay! I needed it. Today we went to the zoo with my brother and family, we had a great time. Wyatt loved the polar bears and the giraffes (whom he calls Gigi after his stuffed animal giraffe), while my niece L. loved the lions and zebras (my favorite too!) The zoo is in the process of building a brand new habitat for the red pandas and the tigers – I can’t wait to see what they do, as their new penguin habitat is amazing.

This week motown is gearing up to honor the passing of one of their own, with the funeral services of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. This whole week in Detroit has viewings and and a free tribute concert in her honor and memory, with her funeral taking place on Friday. There is a plan to line the street with pink Cadillacs, as many as heed the call. It was a truly a sad day here in Detroit, when Franklin passed.

Read Last Week:

I loved both of these very different reads!! Dear Bob and Sue was a very entertaining read, and I feel inspired! Billy and I used to vacation all the time at the National Parks, but haven’t been for a while. Now, I just want to hit the road and start seeing as many as I can again. Do you have a favorite NP? So far, mine is Shenandoah.

Look for my full reviews this week! Also, I chickened out of I’ll Be Gone in the Dark. Just looking at the photos and imagining the last moments of these people had me teary and then later on, wide awake in bed. My true crime reading time in life might have come to an end.

Reading This Week:

The picture books are right next to the YA books in our library, so usually after getting Wyatt’s books, I wander over to see what I can find. I saw this one and remembered how I had wanted to read it, but like so many others, got knocked aside a few times. I decided now was the perfect time to read it. I am only like 20 pages in, but I am hooked!

Watching:

Sharp Objects – so freaking good!!!

We just started Castle Rock, and I am reserving judgement for now. I have high hopes – and it is cool to see so many faces from the movies, etc show up (like Sissy Spacek!)

How about you all? What have you been up to lately?

Saturday Snapshot

On August 25, 2018August 25, 2018 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Detroit, family friendly, Uncategorized6 Comments

SaturdaySnapshot

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads

In July, we went to a kite festival on Belle Isle in Detroit. We had gone the year before and it was such an amazing sight, all the multi-colored kites flying through the sky. This year was a little different. No kites. No wind. It was a still, hot, humid day. If the kites could have sailed through the moisture in the air, kite day would have been hopping! Despite the gross weather, we set up shop under a tree and hung out for a bit, listening to music, snacking, and basically just enjoying the day and some family time.

I remembered not to touch the fuzzy caterpillar! And I loved our shade tree – doesn’t it look like a woman, arms outstretched, head back, dancing in joy? I could be a little fanciful I guess.

Billy took a little walk, investigating the the food trucks that were lining the street. Wyatt and I stayed in the shade, waiting to see what Billy had found. Billy bought Wyatt his own snack, but somehow that little hand kept sneaking over and eating our chips and guacamole…. He of course was welcome to them, it had just never crossed our mind he would want it!

A short little outing, but we enjoyed some good tunes and family time. We are looking forward to next year – and hopefully a cooler, breezier day!

Book Reviews: The Hawkweed Prophecy

On August 23, 2018 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized2 Comments

hawkweed prophecy

The Hawkweed Prophecy: Goodreads Summary:

Poppy Hooper and Ember Hawkweed couldn’t lead more different lives. Poppy is a troubled teen: moving from school to school, causing chaos wherever she goes, never making friends or lasting connections. Ember is a young witch, struggling to find a place within her coven and prove her worth. Both are outsiders: feeling like they don’t belong and seeking escape.

Poppy and Ember soon become friends, and secretly share knowledge of their two worlds. Little do they know that destiny has brought them together: an ancient prophecy, and a life-changing betrayal. Growing closer, they begin to understand why they’ve never belonged and the reason they are now forever connected to each other.

Switched at birth by the scheming witch Raven Hawkweed, Poppy and Ember must come to terms with their true identities and fight for their own place in the world. Enter Leo, a homeless boy with a painful past who – befriending them both – tests their love and loyalty. Can Poppy and Ember’s friendship survive? And can it withstand the dark forces that are gathering?

My Thoughts: I loved this book. I am a big fan of all things witchy and paranormal, and the idea of these two girls struggling to find their place and identities and finding friendship was appealing. Both Poppy and Ember were victims of a great betrayal, born of ambition and greed. They struggled in friendships, in their own identity, knowing that somehow they just didn’t fit in with everyone else around them. Ember was a bright and airy girl, missing the necessary magic to belong to her family and coven; Poppy on the other hand, is a handful, not even accepted by her own mother. One day they stumbled upon each other in a secluded dell, and it was friendship from the first. Ember’s wonder at all the things that jaded Poppy could show her, Poppy eating up the ancient texts that Ember loaned to her, discovering a side of herself that she didn’t realize she had.

I loved that this book was about finding one’s place, yet the place for the story itself was ambiguous. It could have been anywhere. And sometimes, it felt like it could be anytime. I loved the coven and the lore surrounding them and their ways, the other covens – like I said, I like witchy stories, and this one was a good one.

Leo was the one part of this book I didn’t care for, yet his character is very central to the plot of the book and moving the plot along. I think that is my problem. There is too much importance placed on him.

Overall I enjoyed this book a great deal, and was happy to have the second book right at hand to start immediately! Stay tuned to this website, my review of The Hawkweed Legacy will be up in a day or two!

Spoiler – Trigger Warning for some:

There is a very sad part in this book regarding Poppy’s cat. I couldn’t read it, I hate animal deaths in books. If it bothers you too, just be warned that it happens.

Northern Michigan – Vacation Part Two

On August 22, 2018August 22, 2018 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, family friendly, Michigan, Uncategorized3 Comments

I have always wanted to go to the wineries on Mission Point. I finally got the chance to, albeit with a preschooler in tow. We didn’t get to do as much wine tasting as we would have (my 3 year old niece, my brother and sister-in-law were with us too), but my SIL and I decided that a girls trip there is an absolute must in our future! We at least got some good ideas of where we wanted to go.

We did get to do some cool stuff, besides gawking at the beautiful scenery that surrounded us. First we headed to the end of the peninsula to the lighthouse. I think this one of my favorite parts of the whole trip! The history, the water, the trees and the forest surrounding it – I could easily imagine being a lighthouse keeper there, in the middle of winter, with my snowy owl visitors from the Arctic.

After traipsing about with the other tourists, we headed toward Brys Estate Vineyards and their Secret Garden. It was the perfect place to go with our littles. A big beautiful garden for the kids to explore, pick blueberries, cut lavender, and enjoy the riot of color and flowers.

We walked around the garden for quite a while, until the rain that had threatened all day began in earnest. Chrissy and I took a moment to run into the store and look around while the guys loaded up the kids. If you do go to the Secret Garden and you have the chance to buy their lavender shortbread, do it!! It was delicious!! I wish I had bought more while I was there, since the whole car wanted to devour mine, including the kiddos. I of course shared but had I known I would have bought more. Chrissy and I also took advantage of the rain and the kids sleepiness to enjoy a record breaking for time wine tasting at Brys Vineyards, up the hill from the gardens. The ones we tried were delicious! I particularly enjoyed their deep reds. Yum!

By this point it was time to meet the rest of our family in Leland (Fishtown) one of our favorite parts of the whole trip every year. I love touring through the stores, and I of course love the Dam Candy Store. I also pop into the book store every year to make a purchase, of course. A few years ago there was a campaign to Save Fishtown! And I am glad they were able to. My husband has gone backpacking on Manitou Island, about three hours by ferry boat from Fishtown, and it would not be the same without the gray, weather beaten shacks turned stores that remain of the old fishing village.

Afterwards we headed back to the cabin, and laid low for the rest of the night. We sat by the lake and took turns with our kids, drinking wine under the stars. It was a wild night, with high winds, which I loved because then I could wear my new thrifted sweater that I got for the trip. I can’t wait for autumn to arrive so I can wear it more frequently!

The next day was our day to go home! Vacation flies by so swiftly. We said goodbye to our lake, with the clearest, calmest water that it had had the entire time we were there. We packed up, headed out, and made our first stop at a nearby small town, Frankfort, which my brother had told us had a beautiful beach. He was so right. We stretched our legs and took in some beauty before we had to get in the car for the long haul home. We then detoured across the fingertips of Michigan to Hartwick Pines, a state forest. I went there once when I was a kid and loved it, being surrounded by the old growth woods. There is something about trees and me. I love to stand silently in a wood, with tall pines and trees all around. The woods speak to my soul. I loved it there. I want to go back one day again, and spend a little bit more time there. Billy had to pull me away from the large windows, there were just so many birds!!! Evening Grosbeaks, Red-Breasted Grosbeaks, Hummingbirds everywhere. I could have sat there for hours. The visit newly invigorated our desire to start visiting as many National Parks as we can (a desire that is also being fueled right now by the book I am reading, Dear Bob and Sue).

All in all, it was a pretty great trip. I can’t wait to see what next summer ‘s adventures up north brings!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

On August 20, 2018 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized17 Comments

It's Monday! What Are You Reading

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Another busy week. I am ready for a slowdown! It always seems like it takes a week to recover from vacation, doesn’t it? Lol. Today we had my niece’s birthday party, and it was a great day – lots of fun outdoors, plus delicious cupcakes. It was a good way to spend a Sunday!

Read Last Week:

hawkweed prophecy

I only managed to finish this book last week. I really loved it!

Reading This Week:

The Hawkweed Legacy – the sequel to Prophecy. So far it is just as good! It is a review book for Lake Union.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark – It finally came in! Whoohoo! Now, to see if I can actually make it through it. It might scare the crap out of me. Lol.

Watching:

Red Oaks, Insatiable, Sharp Objects (addictive and mesmerizing!!), Stay Here

How about you all? How is it going for you?

Saturday Snapshot – Northern Michigan, Part One!

On August 18, 2018August 18, 2018 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family friendly, Michigan, Uncategorized6 Comments

SaturdaySnapshot

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads

vac 1

We just got back from a short family trip to northern Michigan, one of my very favorite places! The natural beauty that is Michigan is spectacular and I love the chance to get back to the tall trees, cool breezes, lakes, and birds. But first we had to get there, and the drive from the Detroit area is a little longish with a three year old. So we pulled off for a quick pit stop for lunch and to stretch our legs in Frankenmuth, a tourist attraction in its own right. Designed like an old German village, they are known for their large family style chicken dinners. We skipped the chicken and went to a local pizza place instead, which turned out to be perfect. We also stopped for cheese at the Cheese Haus.

vac 2

My little mouse.

We stopped for the night about an hour outside Traverse City, to save a few bucks on a hotel. We were going to get there late, and didn’t care about being in Traverse City proper until the next day. We had fun just bumming around with each other. Wyatt really enjoyed the Ikea catalog I had brought with me.

vac 3

The next day we got up early and heading into Traverse. We were meeting my brother and his family there, and were going to spend the day shopping around and then eating a celebratory dinner for Billy’s birthday. It was a sweltering and busy day in TC, with high temps and humidity, and the Film Festival going on as well. Jane Fonda was supposed to be around somewhere but I never spotted her. We traipsed in and out children’s boutique stores (I bought Wyatt the cutest Tea Collection shirt!), and many bookstores, our favorite. I would say most of our day was spent browsing the shelves of bookstores, one of my fave things to do. I bought Wyatt a lovely book about flowers and insects – and I learned that bees like caffeine too! Some flowers contain caffeine and the bees like those flowers – this fact makes bees even more cool in my eyes. I also made a huge list of books that we need to check out from the library or add to our own home library!

vac 9

We had an earlyish dinner at The Jolly Pumpkin (omg that white wine Sangria was yummy on a hot day!) then headed toward our lake cabin home for the next few days. My dad was meeting us there with his wife, and my nephew. The graciously treated us to the time there – my stepmom has been going to the same cabin and spot on the lake for 28 years, and when we joined her family, it became a little bit ours too. It is a nice tradition to share!

The next day we headed into Glen Arbor, a little town we always drove through but I had never been to. It was super adorable! That bookstore alone..I could happily live in Glen Arbor if I could work at that bookstore. A girl can daydream! If you are ever nearby, check it out – The Cottage Book Shop.

I was also excited to see that an organization called Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes was helping to make Sleeping Bear Dunes, the beach, and the lake more accessible to those with disabilities! As a nature loving parent of a child with mobility challenges, we constantly are trying to find ways to connect Wyatt with nature more. Hikes are easier now, since he is still a little guy, but as he gets older we may have to get more inventive or seek out organizations such as this one.

And that house! So picturesque! It is an inn called Thyme Inn, and it has an enormous garden in back that you can see from the road. I would love to stay there one day, but maybe on a different sort of trip, one that doesn’t involve my three year old. Lol. A girls trip or a getaway for Billy and I, perhaps. We have not gone away without the boyo yet, but maybe in the next few years we will start.

The Sunday Post/It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

On August 12, 2018August 12, 2018 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading, Uncategorized28 Comments

Check out the The Caffeinated Book Review for the Sunday Post

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hi guys! It is my first book post over here, rather than on Quixotic Magpie. I think it will be much easier to keep everything on the same page, if you will…

We just got back from a family vacation in Northern Michigan, one of my favorite places on Earth. Michigan is truly beautiful, with so many different landscapes. We had a great time and I have some of our adventures to share with you later this week!

We did have a slight hiccup when we got home though. My husband’s car caught fire as he was driving it through a construction zone on I-75 through Detroit. It was pretty terrifying to hear about, but he is completely fine. He is a quick thinker and managed to stop the car and get to safety. The car is gone but that is ok. The firefighters on the scene think it was an electrical fire that started somewhere.

On to the books!

Read Last Week:

These two books were delightful! I especially loved The Late Bloomers’ Club. I love a small town, and Guthrie was just the type I would love to live in.

Reading This Week:

As August starts to come to an end, I find myself being pulled in the direction of more fall reading. The weather here is still summer, but I am beginning to dream of autumn. I see the pumpkin beer and cider on the store shelves, the Halloween decor, the cooler nights, and I can’t wait! Fall is definitely my favorite season, and I am so looking forward to jeans and sweater weather.

I am really enjoying The Hawkweed Prophecy! I received the second book in the series as a review book, and checked this first one out from the library to read before I started it. And I love it. And Dear Bob and Sue is a pick for one of my online book clubs. I am looking forward to reading it – I am hoping for a A Walk in the Woods type feel!

Watching:

Insatiable which has a very 90s feel that I love, Red Oaks on Amazon Prime, Orange is the New Black, and the newest season of Death in Paradise. ( I love that show!)

How about you all? What has been going on with you?

Also, I don’t know why this post is all squished when I didn’t type it that way. Any ideas? Thanks!

Vacation!

On July 31, 2018 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized1 Comment

vacation

I’m so excited about our upcoming trip, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it when I get back!

Mini-Post: Feeling Peachy!

On July 25, 2018July 26, 2018 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Detroit, family, family friendly, food, garden, Michigan, Uncategorized5 Comments

peach 1

“We are going on an adventure!”

This is what I tell Wyatt every time we leave the house, even if it is just to head up to the store. You never know what the day will bring! Sunday started out dreary and overcast for the third day in a row but we were not letting a little gray sky darken our day. I had a surprise up my sleeve! As I piled the car up with picnic type foods and rain coats, my husband was a bit confused, but he is game for anything so just kind of shrugged before taking the wheel and heading south.

I navigated our family to a favorite spot of ours, Erie Orchards, an orchard my family has been going to since I was a little girl, probably around Wyatt’s age. It was peach picking time! We picked up our bag from the adorable weather-beaten barn store, and rolled our Jeep on over a few dirt roads back to where the peach trees grew.

We could see people over in the blueberry patch, but we weren’t here for blueberries. We had the peaches all to ourselves. And Wyatt had a blast! Some of the trees were small enough for him to stand under and reach the peaches right off the branch, which he thought was the best thing ever! He happily snapped them off and deposited them into our bag.

Look at that look of concentration, and he even said peach for the first time!!

We had a wondeful adventure on a day that looked like it was going to be a bummer. The sky was heavy with clouds, which made the day cooler, and their was virtually no humidity. Add a small cool breeze and it was actually pretty perfect.

You just never know where a day will take you.

And now we have 8 lbs of peaches to use. A small thing though for such a fun day!

Anyone have any good peach recipes to share with me?

A Little Day Drinking..But First, Doughnuts..

On July 22, 2018July 22, 2018 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Detroit, Michigan, Uncategorized2 Comments

Some weekends you just don’t want to end, and this is one of them.

Saturday began with an early morning wake up from Wyatt, who has for some reason decided weekends are for getting up early. Maybe he just really likes them too, all the family time and fun stuff we do, who knows. Whatever the case, we were up before it seemed like we should be. Instead of crying into our coffee, we piled into the car, slightly disheveled, and aimed for doughnuts. There is a local bakery, Sugarr Donuts, that sells craft donuts, and they sell out early, every day. Like sometimes before 10 am. We usually don’t get there early enough to get the cool weekend specials, but this Saturday, we did..

A shark week inspired donut! It was insanely sugary, but so full of goodness. We bought enough for the three of us, plus an extra to drop off to my niece as a surprise. She woke up ‘specially to eat her “silly shark cupcake.”

After our sugar rush and showers, my mom came over to watch the boyo, who was by this point ready for a nap and to hang out with grandma while we went out for a day date. A metropark near us was hosting a prohibition event, with interpreters on hand to talk about prohibition and Detroit. And, to give it a little extra kick, they were serving Michigan craft beers. I was super excited – I am a huge history nerd, and there are rumors that my family had a hand in rumrunning across the river during prohibition. We can see Canada right across the river here, and some houses and buildings even have underground tunnels that were used to smuggle in booze.

boots

The day was rainy, and I knew the event was outside in a field, so I was super excited to wear my super cute boots! Billy gave me these for my birthday a while ago from Modcloth, and I don’t get the opportunity to wear them much. I felt very British, in my foxy boots and swishy skirt.

beers

We are not big drinkers much anymore, much less day drinkers, so our day was definitely a departure from our norm. There were over 40 craft beers to choose from, and tickets were ten for ten, a ticket per beer. And I have to say, they were generous pours! We had a blast tasting the different choices. I had the Purple Gang Pilsner ( I had to – the Purple Gang was the Detroit gang that was in operation during Prohibition!), Copyright Cream, Bonfire Brown, Lager of the Lakes, and the Kamikaze Kaleidoscope (a wheat). I am a light beer, pilsner/lager gal, so I stuck to a few I figured I would like and went “crazy” on the other two. Of my five, my favorite was the Purple Gang Pilsner.

Billy likes IPAs, which are not my thing, but he also tried a few fruity type beers, including our overall hands down favorite of the day. He had the Lost Dune (which is about the town of Saigon, Michigan, a fascinating story!), Better Life Choices (IPA), Blueberry Lemonade Shandy, Blood Orange Honey, Level 92 Black IPA, and one called Blue Magic, which was amazing!! It was blueberry with lavender, and it was so good! Definitely the best one of the day.

We also chatted for a bit with the interpreters about the history of Detroit and Prohibition, and one guy was on hand with this old school Ford truck. He told us the model which of course I don’t recall, since I had tasted all those beers first. If you know, let me know!