The Quotes- P & P Viewing Party

Kayla- “I love how Mr. Collins thinks that it is fashionable for Lizzie to reject his proposal.  That would not happen today.  You reject a guy, and he would be gone.  (Pause) Or not…depending on the guy.”

CLUNK

“Betsy?”

“Don’t worry!  Nothing broke!”

Pause

“Oh wait, yes it did.”

Betsy- “Plastic.  On my Trader Joe’s Rosemary.  Not very good.”

Karla- “This is not Hallmark lined paper.  I can’t work with this.”

Betsy- “How many ounces are in a 2 Liter?”

Katie- “67.6”

Betsy- “Did you just know that?”

Katie- “Yes!”

Betsy- “Are you lying?”

Katie- “Yes, I am lying!  I just read it off the label in front of me!”

The Pride and Prejudice Viewing Party

The Gifts- P & P Viewing Party

I (Katie) loved this gift, Kayla!  Simple, beautiful, and very memorable for our Book Club adventures.
Betsy, I also am super excited about my new hardback edition of Mansfield Park.  Hardbacks are lovely...but I don't have a picture yet to add to the blog :)

The Projects- P & P Viewing Party

I (Betsy) spent a while on the not-so-exciting task of measuring, cutting, and tying (Thanks for the help, Kayla!) embroidery floss for 17 students to make friendship bracelets during a special event at school this week.  I am just hopeful that the students will be able to follow the directions that I show them and not all of the bracelets will end up in knots.

 

I (Katie) worked the whole time on my Christmas cards...and only got about half done.  Here is the finished result.  It took a couple more days, but they are finally ready to mail.

I love the mess that we made over the course of the evening :)

One of the things that I (Betsy) love about our Book Club is how we have utilized the idea of keeping our hands busy while we visit and discuss our books or watch the movies.  We feel useful when we can multitask and work on projects that we enjoy while also maintaining good discussion and fellowship.  

When my dad asked how our day was yesterday, I told him how we were all working on various craft projects throughout the afternoon.  He was unimpressed, but I argued that our craftiness was not unlike how our ancestors would have spent their time crocheting, mending, knitting, snapping peas, etc. while visiting with their neighbors and catching up on each others' lives.  

In our technology-driven world of Facebook, cell phones, and so many other forms of impersonal communication, I'm thankful that we can take a few hours a month to sit with each other and enjoy face-to-face discussions.  The fact that we are able to creatively use that time to work on projects makes it all the more richer, in my opinion. The projects on which we were working will become gifts for our family and friends, who will hopefully be blessed by our handiwork, in the same way that we each were blessed by one another's company while we made them. 

The Food- P & P Viewing Party

I also made Peppermint Fudge Sandwich Cookies and Pretzel Bites.  I will post a picture of the cookies later, but you can access the link to the recipes now.  Even though the pretzels didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, maybe someone else will have better luck with them.   ~Betsy

Not pictured, was spinach artichoke dip. My favorite appetizer of choice. It was taken from a Cooking Light article years ago (and I mean years, as in I was in Jr. High). It SO good AND it's practically healthy.

Also not picture were the Chicken Enchiladas, which needed a little work.  Basic recipe:
Cook 3 chicken breasts.  Shred, and mix with one can cream of chicken soup, about a cup of mozzarella cheese, and a little bit of chicken broth.  Warm flour tortillas for 30 seconds in the microwave wrapped in a damp towel.  Place a heaping spoonful of the chicken mixture in the middle of a tortilla and wrap.  Place in a 9x13 pan sprayed with nonstick spray.  Repeat until pan is full.  Cover enchiladas with about a half a can of soup mixed with a little broth. (this is what I messed up- they just need to be barely covered). Cover with more cheese.  Bake about 30 minutes at 350.

The Drinks- P & P Viewing Party

 Delicious, multi step, specially made, amazing Salted Caramel Mochas, made by Betsy (with kitchen assistance from Kayla)

 

And...Cherry Coke Zero.  Which Katie and Kayla drank all of.

My Common Work (I Mean Laundry) Basket

Raising the Bar

I finally found the actual quote that I was trying to reference in a discussion that we had...I think about Emma.  Here's to raising the bar, ladies.


"The level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood...When man loves woman, it follows that the nobler the woman, the nobler the love; the higher the demands made by the woman, the more worthy the man must be.  That is why woman is the measure of the level of our civilization."
~Fulton J. Sheen

-Katie

Bliss.

Thanks, Katie, for making Pumpkin Spice Lattes at our last book club. Made my night!