Lost in Austen!

Jemima Rooper stars as Amanda Price, a frustrated romantic who discovers a gateway in her flat to her favourite world - that of Pride and Prejudice. But is the “true” story in danger of being thrown off track by her presence?

STOP what you're doing right now and go and find this movie. I can not tell you good enough things about it other than you need to watch it as soon as possible.

Let me start this post by saying that I am a huge Jane Austen fan, I mean who isn't right? It always surprises me when I talk to people who have no clue who this author is, when she is just one of the most brilliant writers of all time.

I don't think there is one her books that I haven't read or related movies that I haven't watched, well, actually, I am watching The Jane Austen Book Club tonight, but that is not really an Austen Original.

When I first heard about Lost in Austen, I was reading one of my favorite blogs and she was talking about how it was showing on tv in England and it was a series. I immediately jotted down the name and zipped over to Netflix to find it, upon doing so it was placed at the top of the my Queue.

So last night, after the kids were in bed, I popped in this movie and I was thinking, it's not going to be so long I'll be able to get to bed at a reasonable time, but be forewarned, it's about 3 hours long but well worth the watch.

This is why I'm talking about it today, so you can get it for this weekend and don't worry if the husbands aren't interested, send them off to do something or find a movie for them to watch later on, but I insist that you sit down and get comfy and then come back here and tell me if I was right about this being one of the best movies so far this year.

But I'm babbling and not really telling you what it was about, tsk tsk tsk.

Imagine if you will a young lady, living in modern London, going about her life but like so many of us out here, a huge fan of Jane Austen and an even bigger fan of her books especially "Pride and Prejudice".

She takes this book everywhere and reads it at every chance she gets.

Then one day she hears some noises coming from her bathroom and walks in to find Elizabeth Bennet. I KNOWWWWWWW! ELIZABETH BENNET in her bathroom.

She tells her she came in through a doorway in her bathtub. Amanda steps through and finds herself in the Bennett Household back in the 19th Century.

I'm not telling you anything else because I don't want to spoil it for you, but I can say that the whole time I was watching the movie I was thinking "Oh man....I wish it were me, I would have loved to step back in time and into one of Austen's books".

Ohhhhh Mr Darcy! Yes the wet shirt scene was one of my favorites but in my defense, it's been one of my favorites since Colin Firth's *Pride and Prejudice*.....and of course this has absolutely nothing to do with the gorgeous man (Elliot Cowan) playing Mr Darcy, yes he's no Colin Firth BUT he's still very good looking *snicker*



This is not good, you see I never watch a movie twice, NEVER. I'm the kinda gal that once I've seen something it's enough for me, but now having talked about Lost in Austen again and seen all these pictures and the video, I'm afraid I may just spend tonight stuck in Austen World.....yet again.

Oh dear!

I'm just going to go fix dinner and let you all track this movie down, here, I'll help you LOL

Netflix - Lost in Austen
Amazon
Blockbuster

NOTE: I decided to update this post with something fun. I'm putting up a Mr Linky and I want you all to join in, all you gotta do is leave the name of a favorite Chick Flick and even better if it's along the lines of Jane Austen.

Won't you join in? Get your friends to come in and drop a name on the list too, think of it as a huge movie suggestion list for us all. It will be fun to see what everyone has been enjoying and give us all some ideas on something to watch this weekend.

Slow Cooking Thursday!

Don't forget to add your name to Mr Linky and a link back to your SCT post so others can come by and see your recipe too.

Credit: Beauty that Moves

Santa Fe Beef and Beans

1 boneless beef roast, cubed/diced small. We use venison
2 cups salsa
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (I cook big batches of beans and keep them in the freezer for easy use)
1 1/2 - 2 cups corn (from the freezer)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced fine
2 Tablespoons sucanat or maple syrup
1 Tablespoons tamari/soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, according to taste
shredded cheese for the table, cheddar or Mexican blend
a pot of cooked rice to serve it over


Place all ingredients into crock-pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Serve over brown rice and top with shredded cheese. To make this vegetarian, just skip the meat and double the beans! If I get home very close to dinner time, I put on a pot of white basmati rice for the quick cooking time, if I have enough time I make brown rice. I've also served this over egg noodles.

Quiet Veteran's Day!

It's cloudy outside and quiet, really quiet. It's funny you don't really notice it unless you live on a Military base and celebrate these holidays dedicated to our soldiers.

Usually it's a busy noisy area, there's uniformed soldiers constantly on the move, going to or coming from work and there's the loud jet engines overhead.

Today, they're all at home, relaxing, enjoying their day off and their much deserved break.

I send my love and my appreciation to all the men and women, present and past, who have dedicated their lives to this country. Who fight day in and out for our freedom, for our children to have a future.

It's such a huge sacrifice and I think it goes unnoticed far too many times, they are taken for granted and I only wish that every single day could be dedicated to these amazing troops.

We have our very own hero at home, my hubby. He works extremely hard for our family and I love him for it. Thank you honey, for your devotion to me, to our children, to your country and to God.

We started the morning with a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs, little smoked sausages, biscuits and gravy. Yum!

It's one of those things that as homemaker, it brings me joy to do. The minute you start looking at your home as a place of love for your family as opposed to chores and too much work, your whole attitude changes.

Everything I do, I do with love.

It doesn't matter if it's cooking or laundry

Or washing dishes.

You know that I have a dishwasher but I find myself washing them by hand more often than not, and it's not because I hate the dishwasher, I just find dish washing relaxing. It's another way of simplifying my life, I don't have to get rid of the technology around me, I like having the option of using it if I'm sick or not feeling well or just don't want to do it by hand.

There's a common misconception that if you simplify your life it means getting rid of all the wonderful things around us. Wrong! At least for me!

It just means not relying completely on those things, it means that if the internet suddenly goes out I won't walk around in a daze not knowing what to do with myself.

If the TV isn't working, I will read a book and not freak out over the fact that I'm missing a show.

If the dishwasher is broken, I have two able hands that can do the work.

If I don't have a microwave available I make do without and believe it or not, I hardly ever touch my microwave.

I've learned to stop being afraid of telling people that I'm a homemaker. You know how it is, someone asks what you do for a living and you tend to shy away and do the quick "Oh I'm just a housewife".

I am guilty of doing it and I think it's because for the longest time I was under the impression that it was a bad thing, it was embarrassing.

Not anymore, I am proud to say "I'm a Homemaker". It's what I am, I am not just an invisible part of my family's life, I'm an integral, pivotal, important part.

How many of you are able to say it? How many of you still feel a little shy about it?

Let's chat, I want to know what you think of housework, do you do it because you have to, or do you look at it as more than just a chore?

White Picket Fences - Book Review

When the storybook-perfect Janvier family temporarily "adopts" their teenaged niece, Tally, they assume they'll be helping her. But when Tally befriends her cousin, Chase, she soon realizes that he badly needs encouragement, too. When the troubled teens interview two holocaust survivors for a sociology project, will they trigger the healing process that everybody needs?

Author Bio:
Susan Meissner cannot remember a time when she wasn’t driven to put her thoughts down on paper. Her novel The Shape of Mercy was a Publishers Weekly pick for best religious fiction of 2008 and a Christian Book Award finalist. Susan and her husband live in Southern California, where he is a pastor and a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves. They are the parents of four grown children.


My thoughts:
I am only halfway through this book but I'm really enjoying it. It is so well written and of course not surprising considering who the author is.....Susan Meissner.

Just fair warning though, there are quite a few storylines going on at the same time but don't let that scare you off because everything is explained, everything is understood and nothing is left hanging.

This book delves into families, into the way of life, into those walls that some tend to build to protect themselves, what do you do when the storybook perfect life you've built is about to crumble?

I absolutely love that at the end of the book we get an interview with the author and she does answer a lot of questions that seem to plague your mind while you're reading.

Like I said, I haven't quite finished the book yet but I should have it all read by tonight, it's that good of a book. I find myself sneaking little peeks here and there, in the car while waiting at the school for the gate to open, at the grocery store while waiting to pay and even while watching tv during commercials.

If you love Susan Meissner, you will love this book.

To purchase the book for yourself, you can go here.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Happy Homemaker Monday!

<a href="http://familycorner.blogspot.com" title="hhm by jasnicmommy, on Flickr"><img width="150" alt="hhm" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3362/3608789834_4d1bac04e0.jpg" height="150" /></a>

The weather in my neck of the woods:
The bluest skies I've seen in a while but the temperatures have dropped so it's a little on the chilly side this morning.


One of my simple pleasures:
The whole family crowded on my bed watching a movie....and when I say the whole family I mean us and the kids AND the dogs LOL


On my bedside table:
Vicks, Kleenex, books and more books


On my TV:
Stargate SG1 Season 1


On the menu for tonight:
Chicken Rissoles - Rissois de Galinha (recipe will be up later)


On my To Do List:
Mop and sweep
Laundry
Change bed linens


New Recipe I tried last week:
The Firehouse Special - it was pretty good my kids loved it.


In the craft basket:
Wrist warmers and crochet birds


Looking forward to:
Jasmine's first Band Concert in December, she is so excited to be playing the Clarinet.


Homemaking Tip for this week:
Don't be afraid to use paper plates. No seriously, I know a lot of you out there probably feel like I used to, that paper plates were ok for a picnic or a cook out but not for dinner, but along the years I've learned that there is nothing wrong with using them once in a while, especially if you're sick or busy. Cuts down on a lot of time spent in the kitchen doing dishes.


Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
I caught up on all my reading last week so there were tons of great posts. If I have to pick one though I would say "A Walk Around the Cottage/Living Simply" by an Aspiring Homemaker. Love this blog.


Favorite photo from last week:

Arizona sunset....so beautiful.




Lesson learned the past few days:
You have to make an effort to keep the relationship with God alive, you can't just sit back and take for granted that He's always there. For me, it's when things tend to go downhill, it's sort of a wake up call to let me know that I've been neglectful.


On my Prayer List:
My children, so they will get over this cold/flu
Soldiers and families at Ft. Hood


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
Proverbs 3:7-8