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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

In Celebration of Fond Memories, Lovely Reviews & Pumpkin Ice Cream

Just a quick hello on this bright and sunny Tuesday morning! I'm blogging over at Austen Authors today about memories of a trip to England my hubby and I took once upon a time...

And, I just read a very thoughtfully written review of Friday Mornings at Nine over at Write Meg's blog. I loved the whole thing (!!), but I wanted to share this section here:

"But this isn’t a novel about infidelity. Before you’re turned off and click away, screaming, this isn’t a book full of cheaters — and there’s no tidy synopsis for Marilyn Brant’s latest novel, a carefully crafted, entertaining and yet philosophical look at love, marriage and family.

Brant, author of 2009′s According To Jane, masterfully writes on the intricacy of female friendship. In Friday Mornings At Nine, we’re dropped into an inner circle of women who have spent years forging their bonds of trust — but still remain skeptical of opening their hearts too much. Who hasn’t felt that way? That our inner lives are something to be guarded, something to be protected, even with close friends?

That’s what struck me most about this novel: how well Brant understands the complexity of women."


I'm sure you can see why I loved reading this :). Thanks so much, Meg!

On another note, a friend emailed me yesterday with talk of ice cream (really, it's an all-season topic for us, not limited to summertime -- LOL), which reminded me that we tried Edy's slow churned pumpkin ice cream for the first time this weekend. I wasn't sure I'd like it but, ohhhh, YUM! I'm a huge fan of cinnamon ice cream, too. What about you? Favorite seasonal ice cream flavors? Do you like the Thanksgiving ones or are you holding out (like my husband) for holiday peppermint?? Do tell...

Wishing you all a fabulous fall day!

13 comments:

Maria Geraci said...

Nice review! Congratulations! And I concur. I just finished reading Friday Mornings and I loved it!

Favorite ice-cream? Anything with chocolate!

Pamala Knight said...

That is an excellent review--awesome, thoughtful and most important--spot on. Congratulations.

I'm loathe to admit that I'm a rich, creamy vanilla ice cream lover. BUT, it's usually smothered in toppings so hopefully that counts for something ;-)

Caryn said...

What a wonderful review!! It must have been a delight to read.

As for seasonal flavors, I usually avoid them because they take them away just when I've gotten attached. My cravings are often out-of-season, which only adds to my pain.

Holy Toledo. My word verification is "forskin" (no 'e'). Nice.

Edie Ramer said...

What a fabulous review. She "got" your book!

I love cinnamon but never had cinnamon ice cream. I'll have to try it. My fav is mint chocolate chip. Yum.

Maureen McGowan said...

Pumpkin ice cream sounds awesome.

And congratulations on the very well-deserved fabulous review!

Tonya Kappes said...

What a lovely review!! I can see why you love reading it, I do to!!

My favorite ice cream for the Holiday is UDF peppermint. YUMMY!!

Robin said...

That's a terrific review - congratulations!

I usually stick to my favorite ice cream flavors year round. Pumpkin ice cream just doesn't sound that appealing to me. Although I had a piece of pumpkin cheesecake last week from California Pizza Kitchen (do you have those where you are?) and it was to die for! I highly suggest it!

Hope you're having a great week!

Marilyn Brant said...

Oh, you ladies are wonderful! Thank you so much for the comments on the review and for indulging my seemingly endless capacity to discuss ice cream!!

Maria, I hear you ;). Chocolate is almost always a key ingredient for me, too!

Pamala, you should be proud to admit your love of vanilla! Actually, though I usually fall into the habit of reaching for chocolate first, I tried this really creamy vanilla a few weeks ago with thick swirls of caramel in it. It was SO good...

Caryn, this is the problem my husband always has because he LOVES that holiday peppermint and craves it in April or July or something when no vendor seems to carry it anywhere... (LOL about "forskin".)

Edie, mint chocolate chip is my son's absolute favorite! As a result, we've gotten all varieties -- LOL! A few days ago we even got those Skinny Cow mint ice cream sandwiches (the ice cream filling doesn't have chocolate chips, unfortunately, but the chocolaty sandwich part makes up for it ;).

Marilyn Brant said...

Maureen, thank you! And, yes, the pumpkin ice cream was surprisingly delicious. It made me feel almost healthy eating it because it tasted just like having the pie with ice cream, but without the pie calories ;-).

Tonya, I'll bet the UDF brand is really creamy! I'll have to see if I can find it up here...I'm really tempted to try it and I know my husband will love, love, love it!!

Robin, yes! We have a few California Pizza Kitchens scattered around -- I've been to one or two in the city of Chicago, but I don't know if there's one closer than that. Thanks for telling me about the pumpkin cheesecake! As for the pumpkin ice cream -- see, that was *exactly* what I thought...the idea of it didn't really appeal to me either. I'd actually gotten it for my mom because she's a huge pumpkin pie fan and my parents were visiting. But I tried it and -- wow! Of course, it'll disappear after the holidays so I'm trying not to get too addicted ;).

Brett said...

That's a really good review, Marilyn! Congrats! As you know, I love ice cream and I'm not too picky about flavors. I eat as much pumpkin ice cream as I can this time of year while it's available! I've never tried cinnamon ice cream...I'll have to give it a taste. ;)

Marilyn Brant said...

Brett!!!
It is *always* so good to hear from you! Glad you enjoy the pumpkin ice cream, too...then again, you live in the land of Orange Custard Chocolate Chip, so you have LOTS of choices up there... ;) xo

Pamela Cayne said...

Pumpkin Ice Cream? Yum!

Marilyn Brant said...

Hee! Thanks, Pamela :). I hope you get to enjoy a scoop or two this weekend!!