Today I spent a luxurious afternoon watching a three-hour movie just for me. The kids were occupied with various video games, and the movie was due back to the library, so I hunkered down and gave it a try.

It was weird and cool and freaky and fun all at the same time.

It was Lost in Austen, an original UK TV mini-series. Basically it was the story of Amanda Price, a modern-day Londonite whose love for Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice took a decidedly fantastical turn: Elizabeth Bennet stepped out of a hidden door in the wall above her bathtub, a door which originated in the Bennet’s attic. So naturally, Amanda stepped through the other way and then found herself locked in by the precocious Lizzie Bennet.

It had the usual fish-out-of-water elements and was quite funny, but my favorite part was how they twisted the entire story. As expected, the story began to derail due to Amanda’s (initially unintentional and then blatantly intentional) interference. But what made it really fun was how they tweaked the original story itself. For instance, Wickham was really a good guy–let that roll around in your mind for a little bit!–one lie had just spiraled out of control. And Mr. Collins had three loathesome brothers whom Lady Catherine de Bourgh was pushing off as husbands for Lydia, Kitty, and Mary.

Meanwhile, Lizzie was back in twenty-first century London, working as a nanny. She’d read all about Pride and Prejudice when Amanda came back to find her. And she still wasn’t all that sure about that Darcy character.

I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t say anymore, except this…
If you thought you knew everything about P&P, think again. And go watch this movie.

A few weeks ago I decided it was time to start reading all those books that had found their way into my TBR stack and then, over time, been slowly forgotten. Plus, I had an urge to read a few old standbys (I’m currently working on The Bride of Pendorric by Victoria Holt). I’m also spending four out of five weekday mornings at the pool while my boys participate in swim team (somewhat disguised as advanced swim lessons). Rather serendipitously, I’ve hit upon some great reads to pack up for poolside.

Having long ago read Julie Kenner’s Carpe Demon (and greatly enjoyed it), I had California Demon on my shelf, whiling away the time until I felt the fast-paced pull of a witty, multi-tasking demon-hunting soccer mom. And while in book 2 of this series there is no mention of anyone actually playing soccer (or being on a soccer team), I greatly enjoyed this book too and have since gone searching for more. Demons are Forever and Deja Demon are currently on loan from the library, and a brand-new book, Demon Ex Machina (clever, clever) is due out in October!

If you’ve never read a Julie Kenner novel, I highly recommend it. As a writer she is fast, feisty, and fun. I’ve also read her Code-Breaking Trilogy. Having met her at both a book signing and a writers conference, I can comfortably say that in real-life she is sweet as can be.

I also just finished Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs–very much enjoyed it–and I am looking forward to The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie–the one book I have splurged on in recent months. What are you reading??

I have survived the great family get-together on the 4th of July and a visit from my sister’s family over the subsequent week. And we have been crazy busy! We hit the beach, the Wildlife Animal Park, and we hit the snowcone stand three times! I rarely get a snowcone, preferring to dedicate those calories to a ice-cold can of Dr. Pepper, but it was so hot, and we were in line for so long, that I broke down. And I didn’t mess around–I got a butterscotch snowcone drizzled in cream. Omigosh!–talk about yummy–and decadent! I may have to forego the Dr.P in weeks to come.

My husband and I have been discussing trying to rig some sort of contraption to shave our own ice. I’d like to try my hand at making my own snowcone syrups, like this uber-cool entrepreneur. What can I say…I’d love to have that adorable little trailer too!

If you happened to notice the title of this post, you may be wondering how any of this relates to cream cheese. You find out now:

I love cream cheese, could eat it on pretty much anything (okay, most things), but I think it really shines in (obviously) cheesecake, cream cheese frosting, and cream cheese danish–oh, how I love thee. My husband detests cream cheese and will not eat anything it’s touched. (Rather unbelievably, his mother is still trying to sneak it in recipes after thirty-some-odd years).

My sister was here for her birthday, and she requested Butter Cheesecake as her birthday dessert, which, if you haven’t had it, is basically a cake mix stirred up with a stick of butter, a couple of eggs and some pecans with a cream cheese/confectioners sugar concoction poured over the top of it. It’s then baked till the edges are brown. So the two of us had been slowly working our way through this dessert since the beginning of the week. But I’d promised her a stop at the Kolache Bakery for some cream cheese topped kolaches. Yesterday, her last day with me, we finally picked them up, and as the lady was filling our bakery box, our eyes were caught by a huge cinnamon roll on the bottom rack of the glass case. Its characteristic swirl was hidden by a smear of something. Turns out it was cream cheese filling!! The bakery has started selling ginormous cinnamon rolls with their tops decked out in sweetened cream cheese. I nearly swooned on the spot. One shared look between us, and my sister and I agreed to toss one of those into the bag–to split. (I still haven’t eaten my half, but I love knowing it’s waiting for me…)

So then I drove her and her daughters into Houston proper to drop her with her in-laws, and on the way back home, I swung by Crave Cupcakes, having already forgotten all about the cream cheese heaven awaiting me at home. Well Crave varies their selection based on the day of the week, and I’ve never been on Saturday before, so I was facing some new taste sensations. I bought a half-dozen cupcakes, three stand-bys: vanilla-vanilla (cupcake-frosting), chocolate-vanilla, and dark chocolate. And then I had them add a pumpkin (my husband loves pumpkin), a banana (my husband loves banana), and a dark chocolate-coconut (my husband HATES coconut). Delighted with my purchase, I headed back home. I’m halfway there when I realize that my purchases might–just possibl–be contaminated with cream-cheese. I quickly check the cupcake key I’d picked up. Yep, the pumpkin cupcake is topped with ‘cinnamon cream cheese frosting’. And the banana cupcake is topped with ‘sweet cream cheese frosting’. And even the dark-chocolate coconut cupcake is topped with ‘coconut cream cheese frosting’–a double whammy! So what does all this mean? Out of half a dozen cupcakes, I get three, and my husband and sons each get one. Seems fair, right?

LONG LIVE CREAM CHEESE!