Black 'n' Gold Girl's Book Spot

Can you feel it? That little edge of crispness in the air and the undercurrent of excitement in the stores? The holidays are right around the corner and you know what that means. Decorations, baking and family? Uh…no. It’s time to tuck into snuggly pajamas, grab a steaming cup of cocoa and curl up on the couch with your favorite holiday movies! Every year, Hallmark Channel outdoes itself on the family movie front and this year is no different. With TWENTY-ONE new holiday features premiering on the network’s " Countdown to Christmas " this season, there is plenty of sweet, family friendly goodness to go around. One of these movies in particular has piqued my interest. It’s called Enchanted Christmas *. Here’s the description of the movie: Young widow, Laura Trudeau (played by Alexa PenaVega) was a remarkable dancer. Now working as a project manager in LA, she is tasked to renovate a rundown hotel lodge, in her hometown of Rosemont, Utah and have it ready by Christma...

Last week I received a delicious treat in the mail, a sample bag of Crazy Faith Coffee Awakening Blend courtesy of Family Christian . Unfortunately, the seal on the bag came open in transit, so I did't get to brew a cup, but mannnn, did it smell divine! I am positive that coffee beans with such a fresh, rich scent would make nothing short of a heavenly cuppa joe! While it's too late to get this coffee shipped to you before Christmas, you can visit your local Family Christian store to check out the Crazy Faith Coffee and gifts.

TARDIS Knit Dress Photo from Heruniverse.com I don't know many people who aren't suckers for the Christmas season. As much as I HATE the cold, I love the thought of a white Christmas spent with family and friends. In fact, I think Christmas is the only time of year I wish for snow. Of course it never seems to happen, but I can continue to hope, right? Oh well.

It's a new year, full of new books! But you can make Christmas last a little longer by enjoying Carlene Havel's latest novel, "A Sharecropper's Christmas." Also, help COTT ring in the New Year by entering our giveaway for a chance at three novels! Entry instructions can be found at the conclusion of Carlene's guest article. Enjoy! PURCHASE THE BOOK Amazon</a> B&N Guest post by Carlene Havel Someone asked me why I wanted to write about the 1930s. As a child, I loved to nestle in someone’s lap after dinner at my grandparents’ ranch while one story teller after another spun yarns from the Great Depression. “I tell you now, Boats, back in 1933, times was hard,” signaled the recounting of an adventure softened by subsequent years of prosperity. Great-uncle Boats got his nickname from the impressive size and shape of his shoes. In addition to those extraordinarily long, thin feet, I inherited my family’s love for telling ...

Here’s how you can help: 1. Download Storia® , Scholastic’s teacher-recommended children’s ereading app, and help pass on the reading to kids in need. Upon downloading Storia, families will receive five free children’s ebooks to start a home digital library. For every additional ebook purchased on Storia now through Dec. 31, 2012, Scholastic will donate a children’s book to a child in need through the Toys for Tots Literacy Program (with a minimum of 50,000 books committed). 2. Visit a participating The UPS Store location across the U.S. now through Dec. 31, 2012 to purchase a donation card to benefit the Toys for Tots Literacy Program, a year-round initiative of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. Every dollar donated helps provide new books from Scholastic for less fortunate children in local communities throughout the U.S. Customers can also donate online at The UPS Store Facebook page. As part of the longstanding collaboration with Scholastic Literacy Partners, The UPS...

Christmas Roses by Amanda Cabot Copyright 2012 Revell Books ISBN: 9780800720049 About the book: Celia Anderson doesn't have a husband on her Christmas wish list. But when a traveling carpenter finds lodging at her boardinghouse, she admits that she might remarry if she found the right man--the kind of man who would bring her roses for Christmas. It would take a miracle, though, to find roses during a harsh Wyoming winter. But Christmas, after all, is the time for miracles . . . My Thoughts: I am a reluctant reader of novellas just because I feel that the characters never have enough time to develop and as such I don't really feel a connection to the story. By the time I start to care what might happen the story is over. Christmas Roses is a novella but I decided to give it a try since I have so enjoyed the holiday books I've read so far this season. Amanda Cabot is a talented writer whose past books I've liked however this story didn't quite keep my ...

A Merry Little Christmas by Anita Higman Copyright 2012 Summerside Press ISBN: 9781609366889 It isn't Christmas yet but it is the time of the year when the Christmas books start popping up in stores and online. A Merry Little Christmas by Anita Higman was the first holiday story I've read this year from a big name publisher and I have to say it shined like the star on top of the tree. I'm sorry, I couldn't resist a little Christmas cliche. It had everything I love the happily ever after, the sigh-worthy moments, and a little bit of fun -- those things that usually pop up in romances and Christmas stories. What made this one unique and interesting was the fact that the author didn't make this a sugary sweet "fluff" piece but something of a "heavy hitter" that dealt with racism, segregation and also emotional abuse in families. It definitely wasn't something I was expecting from a Christmas story! It's not that often you find roman...

A Lancaster County Christmas by Suzanne Woods Fisher Copyright 2011 Revell Books 208 pages ISBN: 978-0-8007-1995-1 Fiction/Christmas/Contemporary From the publisher: Mattie Riehl was hoping to give her husband, Sol, the Christmas gift they have both longed for--news that a baby was on the way. But as usual, she is disappointed. The holidays bring an acute awareness to Mattie that her dream of a big Amish family isn't likely to become a reality. Will those empty chairs at the table ever be filled? Then a winter storm raging outside blows an impatient young woman and her husband into the Riehl home on Christmas Eve--and into a much slower pace of life. Both couples are about to find out if they can weather the storm--and if miracles still happen at Christmastime. My Review: ~4 out of 5 Stars~ The chill in the air signifies that winter isn't far away and the holiday season is almost upon us. If the northernly breezes don't get you in the Christmas mood, A Lan...

Yep, yeah, uh huh, yes...I completed all three of the challenges that I signed up for in the year 2010!!!!! I signed up for Margaret's, Christian Historical Fiction Challenge, a general Historical Fiction challenge and just last month I signed up for a Christmas Reading Challenge which I just completed. I'll admit the historical fiction challenges weren't really challenges for me since I LOVE historicals. I'm thinking next year I need to sign up for something that is actually a "challenge." Since I'm not a huge fan of Christmas related fiction I only signed up to read one book which just so happened to be really good ( A Forever Christmas by Missy Tippens) so I guess that one was sort of a challenge. I listed all of the books that I read for the Christian Historical Fiction Challenge HERE . The books that I read for the Historical Fiction Challenge I've listed below. Challenge levels as taken from the host, Queen of Happy Endings -- Curious – Read ...

I see the Eat 'n Park Christmas tree commercial! Ever since I can remember the regional restaurant Eat 'n Park , known for their yummy buffet and smiley cookies has had the same Christmas commercial. There are no funky characters and no words till the very end but if you watch it you will know why I love it. If you grew up in the Pittsburgh area, I think no matter how old you are you will always look forward to seeing this commercial around Christmas time. Merry Christmas!!!

Hannah @ Project Journal interviewed me about my favorite things of the holiday season. If you stop by be sure to enter my giveaway there ! Please visit Hannah's blog today and all month long for great guest/author interviews and giveaways.

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year despite the fact that I HATE cold weather. I know Christmas is not about gifts but lets face it we all would like to get something cool or even those fun gag gifts that make us laugh from family or office party gift exchanges. This year there isn't a whole lot that I want besides an e-reader, yes I've decided to take the plunge and actually buy one or hope Santa brings me one. I was afraid at first that I wouldn't like them because I have really sensitive eyes and anything on a screen is hard for me to read but once I looked at the Kindle in person I was in love...then I looked at the Nook and fell in love again! So my dilemma is which e-reader should I buy? Do you own a Nook? If so what do you like about it or hate about it? Is a Kindle easy to use? Why do you like it? I would love to hear what you think because I'm really having a hard time choosing between the two. To thank you for your help I'm giving away a ...

Challenge Requirements: (by Margaret @ Creative Madness Mama blog ) 1- Challenge will start Monday, November 15 and will end Friday, December 31. 2- You can read anywhere from 1 to 5 books for the challenge or even more! 3- They must be Christmas Christian Fiction related books. 4- The size of the book does not matter, nor does the genre. It is also okay for the book to overlap with other challenges. YA is okay. Audio, Re-reads, eBooks, and other formats are all allowed. As long as the book can be purchased it counts. 5- To sign up – leave a link back to your challenge post. There will also be a post for review links as well as one for challenge wrap-ups. 6- And…. there will be presents. At the end of every week that the challenge is running Margaret @ Creative Madness Mama and Christian Historical Fiction will choose one winner from the review links. Meaning the more books you read, review and link up, the more chances you have at winning a “present”. If you’d like to sign up for th...

Here are a few pics I took a few minutes ago of our tree. I put it up by myself. Mom strung up the garland and lights, I did the rest! Did you expect to see anything other than a "gold" Christmas tree from me Black 'n Gold Girl? There are really a lot more ornaments on the tree than show up in the picture but I still think it looks pretty nice! I think I'm going to add some gold bows but I'm not sure..what do you think? Oh yeah that puppy guarding the tree is my Collie, Coco!