Self-publishing has been quite an adventure.  It has had its ups and its downs.  Despite all of the amazing support I’ve received since I put Creative Chaos out into the world, I have been on the downside of this process for the last few weeks.

When I  self-published Creative Chaos just over a month ago, I was beyond thrilled and nervous.  I put it up on the Kindle, the Nook and even had copies printed.  I finished writing Creative Chaos about 3 years ago and since then had to replace my computer.  I was confident that when I published Creative Chaos I had published the most edited version of the book, but boy was I wrong!

Luckily not everyone found all of the issues that my mom did (this lady knows her grammar and for that I’m grateful).  So, thank you everyone who has read the book and still enjoyed it!

Over the weekend I worked hard to get the changes up and available to readers and I have now updated the Kindle and Nook versions.  If you bought them already, I believe Amazon will send you an email to let you know it’s been updated and you can get the update for free.  On the Nook I believe you have to delete the copy you have and reload it.  But according to both sites, if you already own Creative Chaos you can get the updated version for free.

This update not only contains the necessary edits but also I jazzed it up a bit with some images.

I will have printed copies of Creative Chaos available through my website by the end of the week if you are interested in getting your hands on a physical copy.

Now that I have finished the updates, I can get started on book number 2!  Thank you again for all your support and encouragement it got me through the last few weeks!

Also, if you’ve read the book, let me be annoying and ask you to go out and post a review!  You can review it on Amazon, on Barnes & Noble or even on Goodreads!

This week’s Instagram, photo a day challenge:

April 21st – Day 112

Day 21 – bottle

I got to go to a wine tasting at Corner Wines in Plano and met wine maker Don Brady from Robert Hall Winery and got an autographed bottle. I’m not sure I’ve ever met a wine maker before, so it was extremely fun!

April 22nd – Day 113

Day 22 – the last thing you bought

A friend of mine knows Anna Zimmerman and mentioned this self-published book, so of course I wanted to buy it on my Kindle and support the author.

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I am in the B.R. Cohn wine club and have been for about 4 years, I believe.  Twice a year, usually April and October, I place an order for the bottles I want to receive.  I love this! Most wine clubs determine what bottles you’ll get in each shipment, so the fact that I get to chose with B.R. Cohn is why I joined their club.

But sometimes I feel like I need to appologize to them for being the lamest wine club member they have!  I like quite a few of their wines but my favorite is the “Classic Car Wine” because the price point is awesome and the wines never disappoint.  Because of this I rarely order much else, thus not spending much money.

In my April shpiment I ordered the Coupe Cuvee.  This is the first time, that I know of, that I have tried a Cuvee.  It was very refreshing but dangerous.  I know that wine is made up of grapes but this literally just tasted like grape juice, as in very easy to drink.

Though the longer it sat open the more it opened up and the more depth it seemed to develop.   More of the fruit flavors opened up and the wine got even more smooth.

I was nervous about trying this wine because I have shyed away from white wines in the last few years, but with how hot it gets in Texas in the summer time you almost have to drink white wine.  Or at least keep your reds in the fridge to get nice and cold!

Once again I am sad I didn’t just go out on a limb and order 2 bottles of this wine on the off chance I liked it.  Oh, well I’m sure October will be here before I know it and it will be time to place my next order!

This week’s Instagram, photo a day challenge:

Apr 14th – Day 105

Day 14 – how you feel today

This photo pretty much speaks for its self.

April 15th – Day 106

Day 15 – sunset

I spent Sunday night hanging with nephews so I missed the sunset…but E is crawling all over the place that I spent most of the night being “mooned.”

Josephine’s Italian Bistro is another gem in Frisco Square.  Remember a few weeks back when I talked about Sake Toro?  Well this place is just down a little and across the square.

I headed up there with the ladies from Life is a Run and our friend Ashley for a little catch up time and to hear about the marathon Ashley ran in Rome plus it was Wine Wednesday.

First of all, let me say they have some great specials at Josephine’s.  Happy Hour is 4-7 pm Monday through Friday, Monday is ladies night – ALL NIGHT and Wednesday you can get $5 glasses of wine all night.  On top of that all of the food, at least that I’ve had, is great!

We started with the Spinaci Carciofi Dip (or Spinach and Artichoke Dip).  I loved the two types of bread that it came with, both were delicious.  I’m pretty sure we scraped the dish clean!  I hate when a dip like this is runny, messy and hard to eat.  That was definitely not the case with this dip.

A bit later we decided to order a few more things and share it all.

Teal recommended the Insalata alla Caprese.  This is definitely not a salad I would normally pick because I am not a tomato fan.  I love tomato flavored things but just not actual big chunks of tomato.  I know it’s weird.

I loved the presentation of this salad.  Maybe other restaurants serve it like this, but I’d never seen it.  The dressing that was drizzled all over it was amazing!  I stuck with the mozarella and I’ve got no complaints about this salad.  If you are a Caprese salad fan I definitely think you’ll enjoy this one.

We also got a pizza and because I mentioned last time the Barbecue Chicken Pizza was really good the bartender offered to have that made for us.  When I had previously tried it, the pizza came with blue cheese which was good, but it was equally good without the blue cheese.

Last but definitely not least, at the recommendation of our neighbors at the bar, we also ordered the Macaroni and Cheese.  They make it in a very untraditional way that it is amazing!  I KNOW there was not a bit of that left when we finished eating.

Believe it or not, I actually don’t get up to Frisco Square all that often.  But when I do I’m never disapointed.  Both trips to Josephine’s Italian Bistro have been delicious!

Right before Easter my mom asked me if I could make a brisket for Easter lunch.  I said sure, then realized I had no brisket recipe.  I’d made a pot roast in the crockpot but never had I attempted a brisket in any fashion before.

I decided after finishing Stephen King’s 700 page book last week, that I’d give The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks a try.

Now, I should preface this “review” by saying that I’m not a die hard Sparks fan, though I have to give him props for basing most of his stories in North Carolina.  His stories are such a tease.  You read this great love story (and I find myself thinking several times throughout the book, “this was written by a man?”) and then a terrible tragedy interrupts the happiness.  While reading his books I find myself mad at Sparks in the end.  Which I suppose is just him doing his job as a writer and evoking emotion.

Of course, because this book is about to become a movie I wanted to go ahead and read it.  Plus I’m not gonna lie, picturing Zac Efron as I read didn’t really hurt.  See, the second cover is quite an improvement on the first one:

I really do enjoy Sparks’ writing style and his attention to detail.  Though this was only the second book of his that I have read.  The other one was Dear John (hello, Channing Tatum was on the cover).  Though I wasn’t a really fan of that story or rather the ending he wrote.

I don’t know about you but I typically expect a happy ending for books and to be honest movies as well.  I just expect the story to wrap up all nice and tidy and with everyone happy; even if that isn’t how life always works out.

But enough about that, this would be my favorite book of Sparks’ so far and props to you Mr. Sparks you didn’t give me much time to stay mad at you.  Thank you for that!

I am definitely looking forward to seeing the movie adaptation of The Lucky One and will most likely pick up another Nicholas Sparks book though I’m not sure when or which one.

On a side note, I’ve label this book as “Chicklit” but is it really, if it was written by a man?  Or is it just a romantic fiction?

This week’s Instagram, photo a day challenge:

Apr 7th – Day 98

Day 7 – shadow

These guys are getting more and more fun to hang out with!  Both of them are constantly on the go!

Apr 8th – Day 99

Day 8 – inside your wallet

I know, I have entirely too much stuff in my Kate Spade wallet.

Wow it’s been awhile since I did a wine wednesday post, sorry about that! But it doesn’t mean I haven’t been drinking wine so don’t worry!

I first tried a Hahn Winery wine on a trip down to Dee Lincoln’s Bubble Bar and really enjoyed it. I believe it was a Pinot Noir.  But tonight I want to talk about the 2010 St Lucia Highlands Chardonnay.  Since the warmer weather has already started arriving here in Dallas, I’ve been drinking a few more white wines, just because it is a bit more refreshing.

We just had a Spec’s Wine & Beer store open in the neighborhood and I love their wine selection.  They had several Hahn wines for just about $12  so I thought I’d give them a try.

This Chardonnay reminds me more of a Pinot Grigio because of its citrus taste.  I didn’t really get the buttery flavor that most Chardonnays emit but overall I thought this was  pretty good Chardonnay.

Chardonnay was once my favorite wine but since moving on to red wines I’ve become more of a Sauvignon Blanc fan if I had to pick a white.  But I did enjoy this wine.  I drank it over a few nights and I don’t think aging it made that big of a difference but aerating it may have.  I might have to try that next time.

According to the Hahn Winery site, there is a coconut flavor to this Chardonnay and that just may be what is keeping me from falling in love with it.  Not to say I wouldn’t drink this particular wine again.  I’m just a bigger fan of their Pinot Noir and GSM.  They are both fabulous and the price point is pretty awesome as well!  I love when you can find a good wine that doesn’t make you feel like you were robbed when you walked out of the store with.

Once again I got a great crockpot recipe from my friend Jenn and I am so excited about how easy and delicious this crockpot whole chicken recipe was.  The recipe she shared with me originally came from Weelicious.

I have never before read a Stephen King novel.  I think I’ve seen a couple of his movies but reading his books has never interested me.  That was until I started hearing about 11/22/63.

To be honest before I started this book I hadn’t heard a whole lot about it other than it was really good.  And so far I haven’t been disappointed.  I am well over half way through the book and thought this would be the perfect time to review this book so I can ensure I don’t give anything away.

11/22/63 is a day that most Americans know exactly what happened without really giving it much thought, even if we weren’t alive during that time.  Being from Dallas, I suppose the Kennedy assissination has always fascinated me to some degree.  I’ve been to the 6th Floor Museum and to see Dealey Plaza and I even remember being in elementary school when the 25th anniversary of JFK’s death was remembered.  That is when I was first introduced to this tragedy.

When I first began this book I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how the story could go from a 2011 English teacher in Maine sitting in his classroom reading a story by the school’s janitor working toward earning his GED to 11/22/63 in Dallas, TX.  Then I learned that this book dealt with time travel; but not in a lame or over complicated way.

Jake Epping (the English teacher) is quickly introduced to the portal to 1958 by his friend, the owner of a local diner, Al Templeton.  Jake learns that Al has traveled through time countless times but it is not until Al is on his death bed and realizes he needs Jake to accomplish what he never could; to prevent the assassination of JFK.  Jake is of course leery of this proposition but eventually takes on his dying friend’s mission as his own.

This being my first Stephen King novel, I am really impressed at his writing abilities.  Though I guess to write the thrillers he is so famous for would require him to be a great wordsmith with an amazing ability to stir up his readers’ imaginations.  This book contains mystery, suspense, drama and even romance.  Just when you think the book is on one path it will quickily take a twist and lead you another way.

This week’s Instagram, photo a day challenge:

Mar 31st – Day 91

Day 31 – where you relax

I’ll give you one guess where this is…

Apr 1st – Day 92

Day 1 – your reflection

Notice the green color in the reflection? I was a few days late in taking this photo.  This was the day the tornados hit the Dallas area.