Kale and Chia Chips Giveaway!

Looking for a healthier way to snack? Like to try new and interesting foods? Enter for your chance to win a variety of kale and chia snacks! 

SuperEats Kale & Chia Chips Giveaway!

Win an assortment of Kale & Chia Chips from SuperEats!

Hosted by: Savory Savings & Gloriously Green Gal

Looking for a healthy way to get your salty snack in each day?  Why not try SuperEats Kale & Chia Chips?  These crunchy and flavorful chips are loaded with Vitamins A and C among other wonderful antioxidants and nutrients!  Krista over at Savory Savings recently had a chance to review the fun flavors and shared her thoughts in this SuperEats review!
How would you like to an assortment of SuperEats chips (valued at $50)?  If you would like a chance to win, enter with the Giveaway Tool below.  If you have won a SuperEats giveaway anytime from another blog in the last 12 months, you are not eligible to win this giveaway.  The giveaway will run from July 22 through August 5, 2014 at 11 PM CST and is open to US residents, ages 18 and older.  Entries will be verified.  Winner will be notified via email (consider adding gloriouslygreengal@gmail.com to your safe list) – winner will have 48 hours to respond and claim prize or another winner will be selected.
Good Luck!

Book Review: Dragon's Debt by HL Burke

*I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions expressed are my own and I never commit to a positive review prior to reading*

As much as I thought that the first book in The Dragon and the Scholar series was fantastic, this book was even better.  HL Burke continues to fine-tune and polish her craft to excellent results.

Much of this book focused on Ewan and Edmond and their relationship as brothers of different species.  It was very interesting to see Ewan grapple with the guilt he still feels about Edmond's injury. Shannon's story is almost a side-plot in this book, as she is still figuring out her relationship with Ewan and must also deal with new romantic interest from the new character Prince Ryan of Westshire (brother of Edmond's love interest, Brighid). I still enjoy how well-developed Shannon is as a character. She is loyal, steadfast, intelligent, and brave, and she also happens to be a woman. I love that the author doesn't make Shannon's character remarkable because of her gender, she is simply a good person who happens to be female.  HL Burke does a really good job of weaving the increasingly complicated relationships between all of the characters. The characters all seem very real; at times I was as frustrated with their actions as I would be when a friend does something incredibly stupid.  

The dialogue in Dragon's Debt was superb and believable; it read as much more natural and less tongue-in-cheek than the diaglogue in Dragon's Curse.  This book did a good job of fleshing out the existing characters and introducing  few interesting new people, although I would have liked the focus to have been more on Shannon.  I also would have liked more drama. I believe this series has great potential as an adventure story as much as a romance if there was just a little bit more "edge of your seat" action at the climax.  Overall, though, this was another great read and I give it 4.5/5 stars. 

Dragon's Debt on Goodreads.com

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Free Pattern Friday: Church Gifts

It's Friday again, which means another free pattern post from me.  Today I'm focusing on patterns that would make wonderful gifts for your favorite pastor or church staff member.  I was inspired to make these patterns when the pastor from my church in high school announced he was retiring this summer.  All of these would make nice gifts for a retiring pastor, or to thank your church if you are moving away and no longer will be attending.  The first three patterns are my own creations made using stitchboard.com, the rest are links from other various free pattern websites. Enjoy!

Christian Fish Pillow

1. I want to start out with a simple pillow pattern.  This fish symbol would be a cute gift for your church staff or to donate to your church's youth center or community center as decoration.  It's a relatively simple pattern that I think anyone with a basic knowledge of crochet could figure out.  This graph is available for download on the stitchboard.com free pattern shop.

Email Me for Pattern

2. My second pattern is a throw blanket featuring the emblem of the Lutheran Church (the Luther Rose).  This is most definitely a pattern for the advanced crocheter and will probably take a few weeks-months to complete, depending on your skill level.  Also, if I'm being perfectly honest, I'm not 100% satisfied with the way this pattern turned out.  I need to make some more corrections, but it should at least be workable as is. If you would like this pattern, please email me (email address at top of blog) and I will send you a .jpg of the graph.

Email Me

3. The last graph that I personally made is the emblem of the United Methodist Church.  My husband and I are still finding a church that fits us best since we moved, but we really like our local UMC congregation.  I'm hoping to complete this to give to the lead pastor before we move again in a few years.  This pattern is also available by email so just send me a message and I'll get you the .jpg as soon as possible.

Now for some bonus patterns from other designers on other sites.  Happy crafting! :)

Crochet Lord's Prayer
Cross Bookmark
Lion and Lamb Pillows

Book Review: A Lonely Magic by Sarah Wynde

I received a copy of this book for free as part of a promotional giveaway.
4/5 Stars
Once again, Sarah Wynde excels at creating a mystical alternate realty where magic and fantasy reign. This book opens with intense drama and mystery and has enough plot twists and intrigue to keep all but the most jaded of readers happy. When you first meet the protagonist of the book, Fen, she is being threatened with her imminent murder.  At the last minute a mysterious stranger appears and stops her from being killed.  Things only get weirder for Fen after her attempted murder and subsequent rescue when she meets her rescuers family. She is forced to abandon the life she knew for a sort of private "witness protection program". Fen is soon completely ensconced in a new, exotic world, but not everything is as it seems.  Once she learns that her family had hidden some secrets of it's own from her, she must face the biggest choice of her life.  

A Lonely Magic

I really enjoyed this book; the writing was superb and the drama was fast paced.  The little bit of lust/romance thrown in was entertaining, but not too overwhelming to the central plot.  As with all of Wynde's work, it was very easy to become completely immersed in the writing.  My only complaint is that the "last of the species/tribe/line" theme that pops up towards the end is a little too cliche in fantasy writing.

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Weekly Wedding: Jazz Age Paper

Buhl Mansion Parlour

I just started watching the HBO show Boardwalk Empire this past weekend and it has inspired me to plan an elegant, budget, Jazz Age inspired wedding for this week's theme.  I actually originally had planned this wedding theme around the idea of using all paper decorations and bouquets as a way to save money, and then realized that this could work very well with a sort of 1920's inspired theme if the paper was gilded with gold paint.  I want to keep this wedding on the simpler side to really let the unique details shine through.  I imagine this as a bit of a smaller wedding that can take place in a non-traditional setting such as a library or private home.  I also think it would be really cool to have this as a morning wedding with a brunch in place of a traditional reception.

Jazz Age Inspiration

First off, I want the bride's dress to be simple but elegant.  A dress that hits just below the knees would be fitting for the Jazz Age inspiration, but a simple lacy fitted or sheath gown with a modest train would be nice too.  I particularly like this Amy Kuschel gown, with a tea length tulle skirt and illusion neckline.  A few similar dresses from David's Bridal are this Melissa Sweet fitted tulle dress and this sequined sheath with cap sleeves.  The bride will forego a veil and wear a pretty headband instead, and accessorize with some vintage looking teardrop jewelry from Icing. Some stylish white pumps would complete the bridal ensemble.



Since this is a smaller wedding, I imagine the bride would only have one or two bridesmaids, wearing gold sequined dresses and also carrying paper bouquets.  The bridesmaids would wear nude or tan shoes with a slight heel, as well as simple, understated jewelry.

Newspaper Flowers

The bride and bridal party's bouquets would be made out of origami newspaper flowers, spray-painted or edged with gold paint, and a few solid color paper flowers.  There are many different styles of flowers that can be made out of paper, as demonstrated in this Etsy shop.  The bride can save a lot of money using local newspapers and inviting some crafty and creative friends and family members to help out making the bouquets.  Having a flower making party also offers the bride a chance to spend some quality time bonding and having fun with her family and friends before the wedding.  As a bonus, these paper bouquets can be made well in advance of the wedding because they don't need to be kept fresh like cut flowers do.  Additional flowers can be made to use as decorations and centerpieces for the ceremony and reception.  I have seen some really cute paper decorations that range from large pinwheels that can be used as a backdrop for the head table at the reception, to balls of paper flowers hanging from the ceiling to frame a photo opportunity, to wreaths and boutonnieres made out of paper roses.

Naked Cake

Even though this wedding would be a brunch wedding, I still want the bride and groom to have their wedding cake after the eggs florentine and quiches.  To prevent the guests from going into a sugar coma so early in the day, a "naked" cake with just a bit of icing between the layers and decorated with fresh fruit would be the perfect cake to end the meal.

I hope this post has inspired you to add some gilded, Jazz Age flair to your wedding ideas!

Here are some great tutorials for making paper flower bouquets!
http://www.ourlakelife.com/2012/03/14/diy-handmade-paper-flower-bouquet/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zBbcCd7-2Y
http://www.ehow.com/info_8138257_tutorials-origami-flowers.html

Book Review: The Widow of Larkspur Inn

Rating: 3/5

The Widow of Larkspur Inn by Lawana Blackwell is a pretty good historical romance.  It wasn't super remarkable or innovative, but I really enjoyed the detailed characters and setting.  It was very easy to immerse myself in the village of Gresham, and the characters were so well developed that by the end of the book they felt like old friends.

The story begins with the death of the protagonist's husband.  Distraught over suddenly becoming a widow, Julia Hollis is even more shocked to learn that his business dealings were not what she thought they were.  Faced with being in charge of her own life and wellbeing for the first time ever, Julia must make some tough decisions and quickly learn about running an inn when she is forced to relocate from London to the tiny village of Gresham.  Although it is quite the change for herself and her children, they all quickly adapt and make new friends in their new home.  This story does a good job of illustrating the value of humility, hard work, and good friendships without being overly preachy or banal.  I actually enjoyed this story so much that I went to the library to borrow the other books in the "Gresham Chronicles" series immediately after reading this one.

If  you enjoy historical romances, stories about Victorian England, and stories with a lot of detail, this would be a good read for you.

The Widow of Larkspur Inn

PS: I've started linking my book reviews to the Goodreads page for the book instead of the Amazon page just because Goodreads offers links to most major ebook retailers instead of only one.  I think most people read Kindle books, but if you prefer to buy from Barnes and Noble or iBooks, or some other retailer, you can find all the links at the Goodreads page for that book.

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$500 Amazon GC Giveaway

Hello readers! I'm sharing an awesome giveaway with you today! This Mama's Life and Kinsights.com are sponsoring a $500 Amazon.com giftcard giveaway. Not only is this a fantastic prize, the Kinsights.com website seems really cool if you have little ones. Really, keeping track of all the medical records for your kid(s) can be difficult. I know even as an adult I have trouble keeping track of everything for myself so having one website that can safely store your medical information sounds great!


Amy over at This Mamas Life recently had a new little one and Kinsight.com is helping us Celebrate! One lucky reader will win an Amazon.com Gift Card

Hosted By: This Mamas Life Co-Hosted by: Barbara's Beat, StrangeDazeIndeed, Cherry Blossom Love and Joy of Momma Joyner Sponsored by: Kinsights.com

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*One Lucky Reader will receive the item shown above ( $500.00 Value) *Giveaway starts July 14, 2014 at 12:01am est. *Giveaway will end at 11:59pm est on July 31, 2014 *Giveaway is open to US only * You must be 18 or over to enter * Winner will be chosen at random via Giveaway Tools * Winners will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner will be chosen. * The lucky winner will be notified by email at the end of the Giveaway. * This Mamas Life, The Faux Menno,  and the other participating blogs are not responsible for prize shipment or fulfillment *Prize will be fulfilled by the Sponsor. BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE!

Disclosure: This blog did not receive financial compensation or product in exchange for this giveaway. Facebook, Twitter, & Pinterest are in no way associated with this giveaway. Prize fulfillment and shipping will be handled by the Sponsors

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