A Simply Enchanted Life

I am still clearing out my old shop in preparation for the consolidation with A Simply Enchanted Life. In doing so I am offering 10% off anything in my Enchanted shop as well as free shipping on orders over $15! Simply place your order, use your coupon code ENCHANTED10 pay for your order and I will then refund you your shipping via paypal. 

I got this recipe from a book written by Beth Wiseman and decided to try it out.

12 Slices of bread cut into one inch cubes
8 oz cream cheese cut into one inch cubes
1 cup blueberries (I used frozen)
12 eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 cup milk

The Night before, place half the bread cubes into a greased 9x13 in. baking dish.

Top with cream cheese, blueberries and remaining bread.

 Beat eggs, syrup and milk together

Beautiful eggs laid by my own hens!

Pour evenly over bread. Put into the refrigerator. the next morning, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until well done. Serves six.

Note: the recipe does not call for this to be stirred but I suggest pulling it from the oven to stir it well around 10 minutes before the timer is set to go off to 'toast" up the bread a bit

The Bridge of Peace by Cindy Woodsmall

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



'The Bridge of Peace' is Woodsmall's second book in the Ada House series and follows the story of Lena Kauffman. Lena is in her early twenties and is an Old Order Amish schoolteacher with a visible birthmark on her cheek, which she feels is the reason that she has never been courted. Taunted mercilessly as a child, she is unable to see her own beauty.

Grey Graber grew up with Lena and always admired her. However, being 7 years older, he never pursued a relationship with her. Instead he married Elsie, a beautiful Amish girl with a dark cloud over her soul. Their first child, Ivan, was born with a birth defect. This causes
Elsie to become withdrawn and depressed. The stillbirth of their second child sent her into a downward spiral of bitterness and hate. When tragedy strikes, Lena and Grey's lives seem to draw them to each other.  But Lena feels as if no man could truly love her and Grey has his own issues that he must work through.

Meanwhile, storylines from the first book are being explored and developed. Cara and Ephraim are still working on their upcoming marriage and Cara's conversion to the Amish. Deborah is coming to terms with Mahlon leaving and learning how to move forward with life. Also, there are some new characters that are introduced, including Dwayne, a troubled Amish boy who has a dangerous obsession with Lena.

I'm giving the book 5 stars because the characters were so real. I loved Lena's spunk, Grey's faith in his son, Cara's blunt ways, Deborah's journey to healing. I feel as if Woodsmall captured their very soul and brought them to life. It would be hard to dislike the characters in this series!



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Ingredients
2/3 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp rum extract OR Vanilla extract (this is preference, I prefer vanilla)

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour pan; set aside. In medium bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour, baking powder, salt, milk and rum/vanilla extract. Pour into (6) miniature loaf pans (I'm unsure the baking time required for a large loaf, I found this recipe YEARS ago and it was for mini loaves, so feel free to pour in a larger dish and then just watch for the time) Bake 20-22 minutes until a inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in pan. Invert only cooling rack and cool completely. Decorate or glaze as desired.

Additional Notes: You can add pecans or walnuts into this and I do not cool completely before glazing with honey

A Sister's Secret by Wanda E. Brunstetter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This book has a very slow start which is why I'm giving it the 3 star rating. If you can force yourself to continue reading, the story DOES get better. After finally picking up the pace, the story abruptly ended without any resolve whatsoever. I felt as if the author ran out of time after dragging on chapters worth of unforgiving attitudes from one of the characters. Suddenly, at the end that particular character pulls a 180 and decides to show forgiveness which felt completely forced and sudden.The continual need to describe the Amish words is redundant and elementary. A glossary of words at the beginning or end would have been sufficient. Perhaps for a first time reader of Amish fiction it would have been okay but as an avid reader of the genre, it threw off the feel of the characters. There were a lot of inconsistencies with characters using "mama" one second and "mamm" the next which also threw authenticity of the characters for me. All in all, it was a decent read. Not the worst but not the best either. I will probably pick up the second installment in the series just to satisfy the want to know how things turn out.



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"The Wonder of Your Love" is the latest book published in the Land of Canaan series by Beth Wiseman.  The story follows the life of Katie Ann, an older Amish mother to a four month old, Jonas.  Ivan, her husband,had left her for an Englisher woman before he even realized that Katie Ann had become pregnant. He died in a car accident shortly after.  Katie Ann struggles with feelings of betrayal, loss, grief and trusting God's path for her life.  Then she meets Eli, a widower of 17 years.  They're in two very different places in their life.  Eli is done with children and raising a family, while Katie Ann is just starting out.

  This book offers a resounding message of trusting God's wisdom as well as trusting His time-line rather than our own.  A wonderful read for for any christian who struggles with trust.  I did feel as if the book rushed some of the story line between Martha and Danielle (Katie Ann's Englisher friend and a troubled teen) in a way that didn't entirely tie up.  I am assuming we may see more from these characters in a future book, however.  All in all, I give the book 5 stars.  I thoroughly enjoyed my visit with my old friends from the series and can't wait to read the next installment.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html>

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