Author: Dora Hiers

RELEASE DAY for Flirting with Mistletoe!

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments
Happy book birthday to Flirting with Mistletoe!!

Don’t you just love that cover? Yowza! Definitely my fave so far, but I say that with every new book. lol.

Free spirit Tori Stremme’s only goal each day is to capture perfect photo opps…and to torment Brody Rockford, the man who broke her heart with flimsy excuses of her missed dates and competitive spirit. Now, they just avoid each other, but that’s not easy with two sets of parents who shove them together–and her gangly Great Dane pup, Mistletoe, appears to be a conniving matchmaker, too. Brody’s days are scheduled to the last second. Volunteer firefighter, park ranger, and part-timer in his family’s antique shop, he doesn’t have a spare minute to worry about accident-prone Tori, but he can’t seem to shake her sweet, generous spirit or dodge that rambunctious giant puppy of hers. When Tori is offered an opportunity to advance her career and shoot her name to international status in a DC gallery, will Brody’s love be enough to convince her to stay or is he too late?

Oh, if you snag a copy and enjoy Flirting with Mistletoe, I’d be forever grateful if you spared a couple extra minutes and posted your thoughts (just a few words) online at sites such as Amazon and Goodreads. Your sweet reviews encourage me and also convince other readers to buy books. Thanks bunches! xo

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 9 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to The Liberty, advertised as “Charlotte’s First Gastropub” in the South End of Charlotte. The Liberty’s interior is well lit and modern, and their food elevates pub fare to another level.


This is only half the restaurant space.
Dora here. The interior was nice and roomy, but check out their patio. Beautiful! Too bad it was a bit chilly to sit outside.

As a starter, we ordered the house-made pretzels with beer cheese and mustard. These pretzels were great, served warm and buttery with just the right amount of salt. They were soft on the inside and paired well with the beer cheese dipping sauce. Our only regret was we didn’t order the larger size.

Dora here. Yeah! We brought Little Man. Why didn’t we order the tower? Good thing you can’t see the mangled pretzel on the bottom. We dug right in, so excited we forgot to snap a picture! lol. These pretzels were perfect, so soft and fresh. Forget the mustard. Dive right into that cheese. Yummo!

I ordered the Painted Hill’s Natural Crunch Burger. Pimento cheese, smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, and house-made chips stacked high. This burger was huge and so juicy I had to wipe my face after every bite. The combination of the pimento cheese and bacon worked great together and the added crunch from the chips added a unique feature to this burger.

Painted Hill’s Natural Crunch Burger

Dora here. The Irish Hills Black Angus Pub Burger was heaped with three or four thick slices of meaty bacon, cheese, caramelized onions, herb aioli, lettuce and tomato. Humongous! The aioli and the soft bun makes this burger sing, one of the best burgers I’ve ever tasted! And the chips? Ohhhhh! Consistently firm, not greasy at all, and seasoned just right. 

Irish Hills Black Angus Pub Burger

The Liberty is kid-friendly, if a tad pricey. The cheese spilled over on the grilled ciabatta, a huge portion (sorry I didn’t get a pic!), and hubby stole gobs of fries off Little Man’s plate. You definitely get your money’s worth on a child’s plate, and probably some food to take home…er, share.

Parking may be an issue since The Liberty shares a lot with Tupelo Honey Cafe, also a hopping place. (See our review of Tupelo here) But on street parking behind the CATS station (just beyond the parking lot) is FREE on Saturday and Sunday. Trust me on this. After you eat, you’ll be glad for the walk. 🙂

We rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food.


The Liberty Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato