A BLAST FROM THE PAST: ANOTHER GUILTY PLEASURE — JUNE 21

Does this image take you back to another time?  From 1978-1991, this very popular show captivated viewers, including me, even as we hated some of the characters and rooted for others.

When it went off the air, my TV viewing was never quite the same.

One of the guilty pleasures I enjoyed while watching Dallas on Friday nights was a bowl of Maple Nut ice cream.  Do you have favorite snacks you associate with a TV show or a movie?

Rich, creamy, and deliciously sinful!

But I haven’t been able to find this flavor anywhere in ages.  When I Googled it this morning, this image and brand came up.  Never heard of it, but you can believe I’ll be searching.

Because, guess what?  The new Dallas has arrived, with some of our favorites from the past, along with a whole new younger cast to carry on the traditions created back in the day.

Have you seen the show?  Did you see and enjoy the original?

It’s a lot of fun to revisit the past in this way, with a piece of the original added to something new.  Like great new characters we love to hate.

What are your favorite guilty pleasures?  What “floats your boat” these days?

 

GUTSY NIKKI SAVES THE DAY! — A REVIEW

When aspiring actress/waitress Nikki Sands waits on a handsome man and his rude date, she unexpectedly piques his interest by her knowledge of wines. He pursues her after his dinner to offer her a job at his Napa winery.

Because she is intrigued, she accepts the chance to at least visit the winery and think about the proposition.

But almost immediately upon her arrival, Nikki stumbles upon a dead body behind the guest cottage where she is staying, and now she is thrust into the midst of the investigation.

Considering herself something of a Nancy Drew kind of girl, Nikki starts following clues that lead in a completely different direction from where the police detectives are going. Because she trusts her instincts–her aunt was a police detective and taught her a thing or two–she keeps checking things out.

What will Nikki discover about the winery belonging to Derek Malveaux and his “loony” family members? Will her gut feeling about stepmother Patrice and Derek’s ex-wife Meredith lead in the right direction? And what, if anything, does Derek’s half-brother Simon have to do with the shenanigans unfolding over the subsequent days?

I enjoyed the gutsy Nikki, whose persistence definitely paid off, and the setting of Napa Valley was very appealing. I could almost taste the wines, too, as the characters sampled various choices.

The pace was lively, the characters were intriguing, and after several of the chapters, the author offered recipes for the menu items. Murder Uncorked (Wine Lover’s Mystery)was a fun read for which I’m awarding four stars.

READING, MIMOSAS, & CHOCOLATE: ENJOYING THE MOMENTS — JUNE 3

When life hands us unexpected challenges, our “guilty pleasures” have to fall into line with the new reality.

That’s what I’m telling myself on the first weekend after my oral surgery.  The upside:  the pain is now gone.  The downside:  soft foods reign.

But since I’m no longer on antibiotics, I can enjoy my Sunday mimosas!

And I actually have a Mounds bar waiting for this afternoon’s snack.  Soft…right?

Meanwhile, reading books that I enjoy has to be up there on the list of fun things to do on a Sunday.  I’m totally loving a couple of my reads:  check out my Sunday Salon post to find out more.

It has been very hot here, which was compounded on Friday by a power outage that lasted more than an hour.  I know, not long…but we don’t have them that often, so we feel quite deprived when we do.

Yesterday was a fun day of eating out and movies with my granddaughter Fiona…..

She is enjoying her summer break, having worked very hard this past year.

Today….I can feel the morning breeze coming through the patio door…and I’m hoping we don’t hit the triple digits.

What guilty pleasures are you enjoying today?  What favorite things capture your imagination during the summer months?