Becca's Backyard

Private by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

2012-01-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

Yay for a new series by James Patterson. The Private series is about former Marine Jack Morgan - who runs a private investigation company named Private. Private is the debut book in this new series.

Private revolves around Jack Morgan and all of the cases his company is working on. In his book, the company is working on a serial killer who is killing schoolgirls, a huge NFL scandal, and the murder of Jack's best friend's wife. Wow. It is awesome to have a book that revolves around so many cases. You are definitely never going to be bored while reading this book!

The next book in the series is out in hardcover so I will be waiting to buy it when it comes out on paperback!

Progress toward:

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge - 8/50

100+ Books In a Year - 8/100

Carrot Casserole

2012-01-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

I have to start by saying I hate carrots. I don't like them cooked or raw. I have no idea why I like this carrot casserole - but I absolutely love it!

4 large carrots, peeled and cut into pieces
1 cup flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

1. Boil carrot pieces in water for 25-30 minutes. They should be very soft. Drain and mash with a potato masher.

2. Add in remaining ingredients and mix until well blended.

This is what the batter should look like before you pour it into the pan.

3. Pour into a springform pan (or many little pans like I did) and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. You'll know it's done when you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean!

Enjoy! :)

It's a Heron!

2012-01-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

So for anyone who was on my blog yesterday, I asked about a mystery bird. It was a heron! I think that is the first heron I have ever seen. Really neat :)

Do you have any cool looking birds in your area?

Mystery Bird

2012-01-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

So.....my mom and I walked on a new path the other day to just vary our exercise routine (walking) a little bit. Right away, I saw an awesome (and pretty tall) bird. I had no idea what it was!

All of a sudden two men on bicycles rode past us and said "Oh what a cool _____". Grrrrr. I was so intrigued by the mystery of this bird and they knew exactly what it was.

So I ask all of you...do you know what bird this is? Am I the only one in the dark? Stay turned for the answer tomorrow.

1225 Christmas Tree Lane by Debbie Macomber

2012-01-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

It was bittersweet when I decided to read 1225 Christmas Tree Lane. I knew that after I read this book, I would never get to read a new Cedar Cove novel again! I know Debbie Macomber will write more book that I will love, they just won't include all of these characters that I feel like I know!

1225 Christmas Tree Lane revolves around Beth Morehouse, her Christmas tree farm, the puppies that were dropped off on her doorstep, and her ex-husband, Kent. What a great group of characters! The book also mentioned a bit about every other character in the series so that you kind of felt like you were getting some closure on all of them.

Well, I just have to hope that Debbie Macomber creates a new series that I will love as much as I loved the Cedar Cove series. :)

Progress toward:

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge - 7/50

100+ Books In a Year - 7/100

Santa Barbara Axxess Blogging...Year 3 #4 - Nicky D's Wood Fired Pizza

2012-01-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

I am failing miserably at visiting Santa Barbara restaurants to use my Axxess card. But I finally used it today at Nicky D's Wood Fired Pizza. They opened a while ago where Pizza Hut used to be. The biggest difference between the two places is that Nicky D's has a dine-in option. The deal there is 20% off your first visit.

There was only one other group dining in when we got there so we got our choice of tables...woohoo! The guy working the cash register (owner maybe) was also extremely nice, friendly, helpful, etc :)

My mom and I both opted for the lunch special. You get 2 huge slices of cheese pizza, a mixed greens salad and a drink all for $7.99. Wow!

This is my mom's salad with everything on it...onions, olives, tomatoes...I forget what else.

This is my salad with lettuce, croutons and cheese LOL

Look at these huge pizza slices!

My favorite thing about their pizza was that it only had a little bit of sauce. I don't love tomatoes so this was perfect for me. I think my mom's favorite thing was how full of "goodies" the salad was. I did love that they made my salad plain! LOL

We saved between $3-4 which is good for lunch. I think we will definitely be going back there in the future...I want to try their garlic bread next time! :)

Born to Die by Lisa Jackson

2012-01-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

I think I have only read one book by Lisa Jackson before. Her books all sound good, so I would love to read more of them now that I have read two and liked two.

Dr. Kacey Lambert is the starring character in Born to Die. When women who happen to look just like her start dying, she starts worrying that she may be next! Kacey soon discovers some of the women had a link to the man she just started seeing - rugged Trace O'Halleran. Soon Kacey, Trace and Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli are all working - both together and independently - to find out why a killer is targeting lookalikes of Kacey.

I think I have read one of the "to Die" series before. I don't remember it but since the detectives weren't prominently featured in the book, I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I am going to be digging through my TBR pile now to see if I have any more books in this series to read!

Progress toward:

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge - 6/50

100+ Books In a Year - 6/100

Cakedy Review

2012-01-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

I was really excited when I was given the chance to review Cakedy - Minnesota's Candy Bar. I requested to try the Peanutter and Choco Chocatus flavors.

While the bars aren't too big, I wanted more opinions than just my own so I split each bar 3 ways.

I take way too many blurry pics...this is the Peanutter flavor.

One really neat thing about the Cakedy bars is how dense the cake is on the inside. It is almost brownie-like! We all noticed it tasted a bit off....and when I looked up the flavor online...it has butterscotch chips in it! Once we knew that, my mom really liked it and my friend Danny and I thought it was okay.

The Choco Chocatus flavor was amazing to me! My dad also really liked it! My mom didn't love it because it wasn't milk chocolate. The slight mint flavor makes it really awesome and it was just decadent. Yum!

These chocolate-covered cake candy bars were great and I am so glad I got to try them out! And you can try them out to!

Cakedy is offering one of my lucky readers a chance to win a Cakedy two-pack like I won. Please enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. Blog comments will only count if you also fill out the Rafflecopter widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Slater's 50/50: Burgers by Design

2012-01-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

A fellow blogger reviews Slater's 50/50: Burgers by Design once on their blog and I just knew I had to try it! I mentioned it to my aunt on Xmas and she told me to let her know when we went and she and my cousin would meet us...yay! We invited my grandparents to go which was cool because they hadn't seen each other in almost 10 years!

Slater's has make your own burgers with everything imaginable, but they also have pre-designed combinations. We did a combination of both!

My mom got "The Ballpark" which is a beef patty, chili, cheese sauce, onions and 1000 island dressing. She took off the top bun and polished the rest off!

I ordered the "Peanut Butter and Jellousy" which is a beef patty, bacon, peanut butter, and jelly. Oddly enough, the bacon was the ingredient whose flavor was lost. But....this was delicious! I am so glad I gave this unique combination of flavors a try :)

My nana made her own burger with a beef patty, teriyaki sauce, pineapple and cheese. She loved it but brought a lot home!

I think myy cousin, Erik, ordered "The Old Timey" which is a beef patty, American cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, and 1000 island dressing. He made the mistake of ordering the 2/3 lb burger while we all got the 1/3 lb burger. He had at least half left!

My Auntie Marilyn ordered their signature burger, "The 50/50". The patty is half crumbled bacon and half beef. It comes with a sunny side up egg, avocado mash, and then she substituted in cheddar cheese and regular mayo. So unique!

Their burgers all come with pickles, but nothing else. So the six of us shared two appetizer combination plates. We had regular fries with bacon infused ketchup, sweet potato fries with pumpkin sauce, and deep fried artichoke hearts with sage mayo. The sides were all delicious and we actually had leftovers!

Deep fried artichoke hearts are my favorite and I almost always order them when I see them!

Everyone who tried the bacon infused ketchup loved it, but unfortunately I don't like ketchup so I didn't try it.

Have you ever been to a restaurant like this with such unique food items or combinations? What did you think?

Moo's Chinese Restaurant

2012-01-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

While visiting my grandparents, we always try to visit new restaurants. We tried to go to an Italian restaurant in Torrance, but they basically held all of their tables for reservations so we couldn't get in. We ended up going to Moo's Chinese Restaurant in the same strip mall and it was a great choice!

The menu had tons of options. We ended up ordering sizzling rice soup, sweet & sour fish, chicken chow mein and chicken with cashews. It was all so good and really reasonably priced!

The soup was crammed with meat, veggies and rice!

The fish was piled high. The menu listing was for whole fish, but thankfully they were nice and filleted it for us.

The cashew chicken came with broccoli...it was like my two favorite dishes combined!

I don't do chow mein but everyone else seemed to like it.

If you ever find yourself in Torrance wanting Chinese food, Moo's would be a great place to try!

Treachery in Death by JD Robb

2012-01-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

J.D. Robb / Nora Roberts is one of about five of my all-time favorite authors! I love the books she writes under both names - they couldn't be more different! Robb's "In Death" series revolve around Lieutenant Eve Dallas and take place around the year 2060. I love reading about Dallas and her futuristic world.

Treachery in Death is all about a dirty cop....ooooh! Dallas' partner, Detective Delia Peabody is taking a shower after a workout when she hears two cops start arguing about someone being murdered. She brings everything she learns to Dallas and they go from there. This book totally had my interest from the very beginning through the last page.

Whether or not you have ever read one of the "In Death" books, you should check this one out. It's easy to pick up these books from any point in the series and quickly figure out who everyone is. This book is different because you know who the bad cop is - you aren't spending the whole book wondering who did it. This time you are wondering...how will they prove it?

Progress toward:

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge - 5/50

100+ Books In a Year - 5/100

Mort's Delicatessen

2012-01-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

My mom and I were driving to visit my grandparents last weekend when we got hungry for lunch. We tried to go to Chipotle since neither of us have ever been there, but we accidentally drove right by the freeway exit to go there. My mom decided to get off at Reseda and just look for somewhere else to eat. So we got off the freeway and the first place I saw was Mort's Delicatessen - perfect! What is better than a deli?

The place was packed! They were turning over tables so quickly. We sat down, promptly ordered our food, and it came a few minutes later. What service!

My mom's chicken noodle soup that she loved.

My club sandwich that was delicious! It came dry though which was weird, I asked for ranch for my fries and ended up using it on my sandwich also.

My mom's corned beef sandwich plus both of our pickles HAHA

The food and service here were both great! We will definitely visit Mort's Deli again if we find ourselves hungry in Tarzana :)

Nails Inc Manicure

2012-01-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

I love trying new things on my nails! I saw something mentioning magnetic nail polish somewhere, and I just had to have it.

I bought two different colors. Teal and purple. Above is the bottle of the teal polish. You paint a first coat on all of your nails. You do your second coat one nail at a time, using the magnet immediately after the second coat goes on. If you let the polish dry for even 15 seconds it doesn't really work.

Below is the purple on my nails.

I love how it ripples black onto your nails. So cool! I can't wait to try out the teal :)

Have you heard of the polish? If so, have you tried it? If not, would you?

Zucchini Casserole

2012-01-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

I only eat a few vegetables, so remembering to eat even 1 vegetable per day can sometimes be a challenge. Zucchini is one of the few veggies I can stand so I try to find new recipes including so zucchini so I am not just always eating it sauteed. I found a great recipe on Food.com that my whole family loved!

1 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 cups thinly sliced zucchini

This recipe is really simple.

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.

It was so easy to cut the zucchini using our mandolin!

Onions were cut with the mandolin and the little Tupperware hand chopper

Everything unmixed in the bowl.

2. Pour into greased 9x13 pan (we used a round pan instead)

That's what it should look like before you cook it.

3. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

This is what it should look like fresh out of the oven....yum

Just a slice...sorry it's blurry!

If you like bisquick, zucchini and cheese, this recipe is definitely for you. We will definitely be making this again :)

Protecting Their Baby by Sheri Whitefeather

2012-01-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Some time last year I won a whole box of book from Sheri Whitefeather. Her books are definitely in the romance category. They are short, easy reads and very enjoyable.

In Protecting Their Baby, Lisa Gordon and Rex Sixkiller share a one-night stand...and she gets pregnant. When Lisa and her unborn baby are threatened, Rex takes it upon himself to protect her while also investigating who is behind the threats (Rex is a P.I.). Will a one-night stand turn into a relationship? Will Rex catch the perpetrator?

I read through Protecting Their Baby in about 24 hours. I NEEDED to know how everything would turn out LOL If you are into romance novels that are like Harlequin books, this is for you!

Progress toward:

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge - 4/50

100+ Books In a Year - 4/100

New Year's Resolution - 3.5 lbs lost

2012-01-13T00:01:00.001-08:00

How is everyone doing so far on their New Year's resolutions? I am actually sticking to mine...so far. Since December 26th I have managed to lose 3.5 pounds. Yay, that is actually more than my goal of 1 pound per week.

So far I am basically doing a few simple things to achieve my goal. I weigh myself every morning. I know you're not really supposed to do this, but I know I have to cut back a bit if my weight has gone up for some reason. I try to walk for at least 30 minutes a day. This isn't much, but it's a lot better than nothing! I am also trying to eat less and healthier. I have drastically reduced my sugar intake. I used to have dessert after lunch and dinner and now I don't even have it every day.

My trusty bathroom scale that measures by the 1/2 pound.

Do you have any tips for me to keep me headed in the right direction?

Veil of Night by Linda Howard

2012-01-12T00:01:00.001-08:00

I have read a few novels by Linda Howard in my lifetime. I have thoroughly enjoyed them all. This book was no different!

Veil of Night centers around Jaclyn Wilde, an event planner. When one of her clients (Carrie "Bridezilla" Edwards) is murdered, everyone is a suspect! More people disliked this woman than the detectives can keep track of! Unfortunately the lead detective, Eric Wilder, is someone Jaclyn is semi-involved with, which complicates things further!

I could't put Veil of Night down. I had to know if Carrie's killer would be caught, if Jaclyn and Eric would work things out, etc. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a love story combined with a murder mystery!

Progress toward:

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge - 3/50

100+ Books In a Year - 3/100

SuperPoints - Don't Miss Out

2012-01-11T00:02:00.000-08:00

About three weeks ago, I blogged about a program I am signed up for called SuperPoints. At that time, I was working on a $10 gift certificate. Now, I am already nearing a $20 gift certificate. I love how quickly you can earn points just through the daily email, clicking the SuperLucky button, watching videos, and completing offers and surveys.

You can only sign up with a referral link, so I am posting some for all of you. They only work once so please let me know if you need one.

http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/jgzlny
http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/470hi4
http://superpoints.com/wrpgs/g9siz2

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

2012-01-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

My mom has an awesome website called Recipe Barn that I love going to when I need to cook something amazing. For the New Year's Eve party I went to - I just knew I wanted to bring her Hot Artichoke and Spinach dip! As I hoped for, everyone loved it! It goes great with any kind of chips - but I'm sure you could use bread as well. Below is the recipe and pictures:

4 cloves garlic
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 ounce) container Alfredo-style pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened

Spinach and garlic (yes, I forgot to mash my garlic up and had to do it messily later)

Sliced up artichoke hearts

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place garlic in a small baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, until soft. Remove from heat. When cool enough to touch, squeeze softened garlic from skins and mash it up.

2. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.

All of the ingredients - pre mixing of course

3. Pour/spread the ingredients into an 8x8 baking dish.

4. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, or until cheeses are melted and bubbly. (I uncovered it at the end so it would get a little brown on top)

5. Serve warm.

Let me know if you decide to try this recipe out and if you like it!

Morning Glory

2012-01-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

I love my friends who have Netflix instant queue. It's so awesome to instantly be able to pick a movie that you want to watch, and get it on the spot! I had wanted to watch this movie for a long time so I was really excited when my friend Danny had it in his queue!

The movie is about Becky Fuller (played by the lovely Rachel McAdams) - a producer for a small, local morning show. When she is fired, her life is thrown into upheaval. Because it's a movie, Becky gets really lucky and lands a job as the executive producer of the lowest ranked morning show, Daybreak. It's her job to bring the ratings up. She enlists the help of world-famous news anchor Mike Pomeroy (played by Harrison Ford), only he refuses to cover any "news" that is beneath him. He also refuses to be nice to his co-anchor Colleen Peck (played by Diane Keaton). While all this is going on, Becky is also trying to build a relationship with another producer in her building, Adam Bennett (played by Patrick Wilson).

Will Becky be able to save her news show and get everyone to get along? Will her relationship with Adam survive? You'll have the watch the movie to find out!

Worst Case by James Patterson

2012-01-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

I love two of James Patterson's series - the one about Alex Cross and this one about Michael Bennett. Detective Michael Bennett is the single father of 10 kids. Lucky for him, he has his grandfather Seamus and his "nanny" Mary Catherine to help him raise his kids while he is out saving New York from awful criminals.

In Worst Case, a killer starts kidnapping children of rich and powerful people. Instead of asking for a ransom like most killers do though, he quizzes his prisoners to see if they are good people. Wrong answers will cost them their lives! This book brings in a fun character in Emily Parker, an FBI agent sent in to assist Michael Bennett in solving the case.

I read this book right after I read Toys, and I was just as drawn into this story line as I was that one. I had to know if the kids were ever going to be saved, if they were going to catch the killer, etc. I really loved this book, and I can't wait for the next book starring Michael Bennett to be released!

Progress toward:

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge - 2/50

100+ Books In a Year - 2/100

Szechuan Restaurant

2012-01-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

We are really into trying new restaurants lately. We love Chinese food, so we looked for a Santa Barbara restaurant we hadn't tried yet. We decided to try out Szechuan restaurant on the Mesa.

The sesame chicken was amazing! The sauce was delicious and the chicken was a very high quality!

I loved the sweet and sour fish. My mom said the sauce was too mild but I didn't notice that.

They give you fried wonton strips with sweet and sour while you wait for your dinner!

The egg foo young was really yummy. The sauce was amazing!

The fried rice was delicious...but cost us $6!!!!! Be careful about this one. They asked if everyone wanted fried rice and when we said yes, they charged us $1 per person plus another $3 because we only ordered three entrees. This was definitely the only bad part of the meal.

I would definitely recommend this restaurant to people because of the delicious food. Just be careful about the rice LOL

Toys by James Patterson

2012-01-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

One of the things I love about buying books and not reading them right away is that by the time I read them, I forget what they are about. OMG was that the case with this book! I thought it was going to be a run-of-the-mill action/mystery book like most of James Patterson's books, and I was so wrong! It takes place in the future!

Toys revolves around Hays Baker. He and his wife are Elites, a class above humans (called skunks in the book). Elites can hear better, run faster, and smell better than humans. The Bakers are rich, powerful and have a wonderful life...until everything changes one night. Suddenly Hays is on the run and his whole life is turned upside down.

I seriously couldn't put this book down. I had to know what was going to happen to Hays...if the bad guys were going to get him...etc. I finished the book in about 24 hours. It would be great if James Patterson wrote more novels in this futuristic genre.

Progress toward:

2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge - 1/50

100+ Books In a Year - 1/100

Winner of the Happy New Year 2012 Giveaway Hop

2012-01-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the winner of the Happy New Year Giveaway Hop $10 Amazon GC!

Ryan - rypm25@xxx.com

Kim Nails and Spa

2012-01-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

I recently decided to try out a new nail salon. I never know where to go so I just picked the closest salon to my house, Kim Nails and Spa. For anyone from Santa Barbara, it is right at the corner of Turnpike and Hollister.

I have been to the same girl there twice, and she is fantastic! She is super careful not to cut or hurt me and she makes my nails so pretty!

Below is an example of my new set of french tip acrylics, with gel top coat and acrylic powder nail art.

The picture I took is more zoomed in but blurry.

The picture my dad took is clearer but not so zoomed in.