Book Review: Delicious DIY Coffee Recipes That Will Impress

(Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links, see Disclosure page for details)
Book Review: Delicious DIY Coffee Recipes That Will Impress and Bring Out the Home Barista In Everyone: The Home Barista Series: Volume 1 (Delicious DIY Coffee Recipes … In Everyone:The Home Barista Series)

Author: Cut To The Chase Media

Genre: Cooking, Beverages

Rating: 4/5 Stars

The unusual recipes absolutely sparked by attention, especially with ingredients like Nutella and KitKat, which – for a chocolate lover and coffee addict like me, is like a dream come true.
At 22 recipes, this book is way too short, though. From a cookbook, I expect a few more recipes. Also, while some people might like the fact that it has no fluff, it does not even contain any information about the Author, and barely an introduction.

Overall the concept and the recipes are great, and well thought through, but because it was so short, I was somewhat disappointed.

You also may like:

B130 DeskPro Coffee Maker
 my personal favorite machine, when I want a quick cup of coffee.

Featured Artist Of The Week – Octavi Navarro

 

Pixels Hu by Octavi Navarro features fun designs that drew me in because of the artist’s unique ability to draw from video games, and bring that inspiration to life in digital applicable art. I had a chance to connect with him over the last few days and allowed me share some insights into his work and life as an artist.

 

Octavi Navarro – The Painter

 

What is the main inspiration behind your art?

I don’t think I can point out just one source of inspiration. The ideas behind my works always come in a very natural way, sometimes while watching a movie, playing a video game or reading a book. It’s really important for me to tell an interesting story in my illustrations, something that feels touching to me in some way, so these kind of sources are always useful.

 

Octavi Navarro – The Flood

What are the techniques you use and why?

I try to get as close as possible to the classic pixel art feeling of the early 90’s video games, but mixed with my own painting techniques. I’m pretty obsessed with lighting and shadows so I use the techniques that allow me to achieve the effects I want, even if it moves away from the “purist” idea of pixel art.

Octavi Navarro – Day Off

This charming technique is actually one of the aspects that drew me to your art in the first place, so I think you succeeded with your mission. So, how did you get started as an Artist?

As far as I remember I’ve been drawing and painting all my life. I was a very shy kid so I always used my drawings as a way to express myself. While working as a graphic designer in a technology company, I started looking for illustration clients and that’s how I started my career as a freelance children’s books illustrator. I had lots of fun those years but at one point I wanted to make something more personal. Something that really talked about my personality and my feelings. Pixel art was the best medium I could think of to make that possible.

Octavi Navarro – The Toy Maker

How can people get in contact with you?

I can be contacted from wy website: www.pixelshuh.com
Also, I try to be pretty active on the social networks too, so people can find me on Twitter (@pixelshuh), Facebook (www.facebook.com/pixelshuh), Behance (www.behance.net/onavarro), Dribbble (dribbble.com/pixelshuh), DeviantArt (octavinavarro.deviantart.com), Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/octavinavarro), and of course Redbubble (www.redbubble.com/people/pixelshuh).
Those who like my work can also support it on Patreon: www.patreon.com/pixelshuh

Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me today!

As always, please remember to support independent artists. Independent artists create a unique variety of creative art pieces, that are always worth a second look. You can find something for every taste and in every style. Thank you!

 

The Beginning Of An Experiment

I am volunteering myself for an experiment.

No, not what you are thinking, there are no taking weird pills, or sacrificing some part of my dignity (okay, that might not be entirely possible to avoid). I am talking about reading some books, doing what they say, and giving you the results.

To be more specific, I am speaking about inexpensive ebooks specifically written to increase blog traffic. I am not doing this out of entirely selfish and obvious reasons – what blogger does not want more traffic, right? – but I am also doing this because I want to dissect the following:

1. Do those quickly written Kindle e-books actually provide real information (more about that subject, and the people that are trying to sell us writer’s, bloggers and internet marketers write about as possible and profitable)?

2. Can they translate to real valuable information for the  marketing purposes of writers, artists, print on demand/product on demand designers, and other creatives ( so basically YOU)?

3. Are they all saying the same thing, or do they differentiate in content, so that it makes sense to purchase more than one of them?

4. Should you disregard them completely as humbug?

 

The 5 books that I am going working through – one a month, beginning Oct. 1st, are:

1. Traffic Building Basics; 50 Ways to Increase Your Website Traffic and Explode Your Business Today! (web design, web marketing, marketing) –  by Online Business Buddy

2. BLOG TRAFFIC: How to Double Your Blogging Traffic in a Month by Susan Beth

3. BLOG MARKETING: 26 Top Marketing Ideas for Your Blog (Business Blogging Series Book 5) by Kaye Dennan

4. Pinterest for Food Bloggers: How to Grow Your Following and Increase Blog Traffic (markets itself to be useful for any blogger) by Mary Loudermilk

5. How To Promote Your Blog – 101 Free Ways To Increase Your Website Traffic Today by Richard Adams

In that exact order.

How this will work:

I will read through the book during the assigned month, putting in practice the advice given, unless it sounds like something I do not agree with, and I will tell you the results. Of course, I can not give you all of the details of the advice that each book gives – you got to buy (or rent for free) the book for that, that would not be fair to the Author, but I can and will give you the answers to the 4 questions I stated above. All reviews and thoughts will be posted no later than the 2nd of the following month, so the review dates are:

Book one: review posted on Nov. 2nd
Book two: review posted on Dec. 2nd
Book three…. well you get the idea.

I hope you will join me, and we will all learn something from this experiment. I sure hope that they do what they promise. Looking forward to sharing that with you.

Blessings!

Claudia

Chilling And Unexpected – “Fear Nothing” By Lisa Gardner

Title: Fear Nothing: A Detective D.D. Warren Novel

Author: Lisa Gardner

Publisher: Signet

Release Date: January 4th, 2014

Genre: Thriller/Mystery/Crime

Rating: 5/5 Stars

 

Seldom does a book get my attention as deeply as Lisa  Gardner’s work “Fear Nothing” had managed to do. Absolutely chilling, and superbly written, Mrs. Gardener used a very unique approach to tell this tale, by switching between third and first person, giving us a unique insight into the thought process of a seemingly straightforward, yet interestingly complicated, main character named Dr. Adeine Glen.

From the outside, Dr. Glen is a very sophisticated, highly functioning adult with a rare genetic infliction – she can not feel pain. Yet she manages her day to day life well, even if, added to her already disabling disease, she has not one, but two serial killers in her family.

When another serial killer surfaces, she works together with Boston Detective D.D. Waren to catch this madman.

The twists and turns of this book left me breathless and rooting for people I thought at first as evil, every page a surprise. Even though this book is a part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone book, as I have done. But be warned, once you read one book by Lisa Gardner, you will want to come back for more.

(Disclaimer: This book was NOT given to me by a publisher, as some of my other books are, in return for an honest review. )

 

Would You Like Some Coffee? A Weekend Coffee Share Post

Coffee  by Faith Family Fun Design

If you would come over for coffee, I would give you a tour of our new apartment and the grounds we live on. I would tell you that I am comfortable here for the time being, and I would tell you about our plans to move to Santa Clarita in about 6 to 9 months.

I would tell you that I finally created an editorial calendar, which is something I can no longer afford not doing, considering that my business is growing and I need to have a written focus for every day, otherwise I will become completely overwhelmed, and get nothing done.

The coffee would be poured into two of the cups I got from my fellow Zazzle artists, and I would tell you that the coffee we are having is the same one I grew up with in Germany and thanks to the internet I can actually get it here. While this might not mean much to you, it means the world to me, as simple things like finding a little treat from over there, helps me with not feeling too homesick.

I would hopefully not sneeze too often while you are visiting. I seem to have picked up more allergies, even more so when I am outside. But thankfully we have hardwood floors now, which helps with all of the indoor allergies everyone else had, including the dogs. A few months ago, both of them had a severe allergic reaction and lost all of their fur. Both have completely recovered, thankfully, partially because of the environmental change, and partially because we changed their diet completely from processed food to homemade dog food (vet approved!).

This chaotic time, though, brought forth the idea of me writing an ebook on making the before mentioned food, which I hopefully will release in January via Amazon. I have two kindle books in the works, which will be released before that, one called “Mixing Teas – 101 Awesome and Flavorful Tea Recipes” and

“Flashes of Light – A Collection of Very Short Flash Fiction”.

I would tell you that the next few days would be very busy – happily busy. I am putting the finishing touches on some of my blog posts for my new home decor and lifestyle blog, and will launch “Avalon Design” in the upcoming week. I would let you have a sneak peak, and show you some images of the dining room table I have bought, and should be delivered by Friday. Then, for our next week’s get-together, I could bake something from  my Grandmother’s cake recipe collection, and maybe we even invite some more friends over, turning this small coffee share into a full blown “Kaffeeklatsch” party.

Now I am going to stop by to connect with the other participants of the Weekend Coffee Share. If you are interested in signing up and participating, click on this link for more information!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Claudia

Book Review: Cinderella Princess by Melissa McClone

Title: The Cinderella Princess (Royal Holiday Book 1)

Author: Melissa McClone

Publisher: Tule Publishing

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: April 2nd, 2015

Rating: 5/5 Stars

I recently began reading the Royal Holiday Series by Tule Publishing, which features short romances from different authors, but with a royal theme.
The Cinderella Princess by Melissa McClone is the first one in the series and got me hooked on it from the start. While this story is a modern-day fairytale – do not read this, if you want the most realistic version of contemporary romance – it was set beautifully and the now.
I love how the main female character, Emily Rodgers is not a weak character at all (a theme that repeats itself in this series and makes it even more appealing to me), instead she is a woman with her own career, her own ambition, and her own skills. She is not looking for a prince, yet finds him in Luc, who is as charming as he is wounded.
While I would have read a longer story by this author, I am glad she kept it short, anything beyond the length of the book would have made it drawn out.
Very nicely done!

Disclaimer: This book was given to me for free by the publisher via NetGalley, in return for a honest review.

Co-Creating At It’s Best by Dr. Wayne Dyer and Ester Hicks – A Book Review

Title: Co-creating at Its Best: A Conversation Between Master Teachers

Author: Dr. Wayne Dyer and Ester Hicks

Genre: Self-Help/Law of Attraction

Release Date: December 2nd, 2014

Publisher: Hay House

Rating: 3/5 Stars

I am a huge fan of Abraham, so I was really exited to hear of a new book by Esther Hicks, and even more so in combination with Dr. Dyer.
While I enjoyed their conversation, I found it lacking something new. If you have read their books, listened to their recordings or been to their shows, both Ester and Dr. Dyer are not bringing anything new to the table at this point, something that really is a different twist, or a different approach, or sparks more than just a moderate interest. I would recommend this book only for the fans of these two, but not as a stand-alone book, even less so as an introduction to the subject matter of co-creation, or to the energy named “Abraham”.

This book was provided to me by Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.

Snowed In – A Book Review

Title: Snowed In
Author: Sarah Title
Publisher: Kensington Books
Release Date: February 16th 2015
Rating: 5/5 Stars

“Snowed In” is an adorable, well written novella, steamy enough to heat any cold winter night! Short and sweet, yet thorough enough to create wonderful characters, that are loveable and dynamic. I love the two main characters, Maureen and Gavin to the point that I wanted more than fits in the framework of just one novella, at the same time no part of the story felt rushed, or moved along in order to keep the story short. The author knew when it was the right time to end it, and had a great feel for the needed length. This is absolutely one of my favorite romance novellas!

Happy Reading!

Claudia

Once Perfect – A Book Review

Title: Once Perfect
Author: Cecy Robson
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Publishing Date: October 7th 2014
Rating: 2/5 Stars

“Evelyn Preston’s future once looked perfect—until her wealthy father was caught in an embezzlement scandal and took his own life. Alone and struggling to pay her college tuition and bills, Evelyn finds a job as a waitress at the ultra-hip nightclub Excess, where she used to have more in common with the privileged private-school clientele than her fellow staff members. But something attracts her to the sexy six-foot-four bouncer and underground MMA fighter Mateo Tres Santos. Although they’ve led different lives, their troubled pasts bonds them in both survival and love.

Mateo is ex-army who wound up in prison for assaulting the man who harmed his sister. Now he’s feeling the same protective impulse for this petite blond waitress. When Evelyn experiences a panic attack at the club, Mateo comes to her rescue. And when Mateo is wounded shielding her from a brawl, Evelyn returns the favor and comes to his aid.

As their attraction intensifies, Mateo is determined to find out what nightmares are lurking in Evelyn’s past—even if that means tackling his own to save her.”

While the premise of the book is quite promising, and I was looking forward to a steamy romance, I was instead confronted with a main character I could not connect with. Considering that the book is written in first person, a connection to the character from which viewpoint is written, is essential. That was not the case here. A flat story line with predictable circumstances added to my frustration. I would not recommend this book. The only reason I am not given it 1 Star is because I have read too many romance novels who try to copy the style of Fifty Shades of Grey, and the Author did not do that, and attempted to find her own voice. That is commendable.