Princes, Princesses, and Books

I read quite a bit - It's not just a habit from unemployment, in fact my reading habits have decreased since I was released back into the wild. But I do, on occasion, make it through a book.

Most recently I finished The Princess of Nowhere and I can tell you . . . skip it. She might be the princess of Nowhere, but this book goes no where. I love historical fiction, it's one of my favorite genres. But the characters are thoroughly unlikeable and the plot lacks . . . well, plot.

Some of you might recognize the author - Prince Lorenzo Borghese. Famed for his appearance on the Bachelor and now owns a pet products company. The head tag line on the back of the book reads "Princess Pauline Borghese was one of the most fascinating women of her day. Now her story is unforgettably told by one of her descendants . . ." The problem here being the writer in question in NOT an actual decedent of Pauline Borghese. Pauline Borghese married Camillo Borghese, they never had any children. The author is a decedent of Camillo's brother . . .

Believe me, everything is a little flimsy here . . .

Good Things to Eat in New Jersey

I was just up in New Jersey for the weekend. It was my baby sister's birthday, she turned 28 - somehow that makes me feel older than when it's my birthday.

We are always on the look out for fantastic places to eat. This trip we came across two excellent choices that won't break the bank.

First up is My Kitchen Witch - with a menu offering breakfast and lunch, you'll be hard pressed to find a better way to start the day. I had the Grilled Chicken sandwich - a very tasty piece of warm chicken with sliced apples, brie cheese, and bacon (done nice and crispy) on a roll. Kate had the turkey sandwich which was also excellent, but I can also recommend their blueberry pancakes.

Many of their items are named after the Wizard of Oz (and other famous witches) which makes this Kansas girl very happy.

Also delicious - try Lulu's Fresh Mexican Grill in West Long Branch, NJ. The taco are killer. The salsa's fresh. Two extra high thumbs up for the pulled pork tacos topped with just a drizzle of BBQ sauce. Lulu's is a tiny little place run only by its owner, Anthony, who is a really nice guy.

Happy eating all!

Spring Cleaning

It's a love/hate relationship. I'm oh, so glad when it all works out and everything is bright and shiny and clean. It's just the getting there that kills me. Actually, I take that back - it's the getting motivated and the staying motivated that kills me. Right now I have time on my hands to accomplish the task - but where is that motivation? I believe it's lying in the hamper with the dirty laundry I've been ignoring for the last two weeks. But I do feel Spring Cleaning sneaking up on me. Last year I read an article on how to organize you shoes in a half hour. I had a good long laugh. First of all, in all of the examples of ways to organize you shoes, the shoes magically had a closet of their own. Not on this girls budget. Second of all, what are they organizing 10 pairs? There needs to be real article out there that doesn't involve fantasy closets and unrealistic numbers of shoes. And really, if your shoes had their own closet, would you really only own 10 pairs? I think not.

All Hail the Book Lovers!

If you haven't been paying attention - and I won't judge you if you haven't, but really where have you been? -- Borders Bookstore is going out of business. While it's very upsetting for me to see any bookstore go under (I remember RainyDay Books from my childhood, it still upsets me and that's probably why I have to watch You've Got Mail ever time it's on TV), now is the time to reap the benefits. We're talking cheap, cheap books. Anywhere from 60%-80% off. Now my current budget restrictions prevented me from going hog wild (that and -other downside - they didn't have the book I wandered in for), I did walk away very happy and managed to purchase 4 books for the price of 1. And most of you who know me, if I had to choose between eating and buying books (or shoes for that matter), let's bring on the hunger strike!