inspiration

Excited about Reading: Love Arrives in Pieces by Betsy St. Amant

/ Dora Hiers
Amazon Purchase Link

The Cover Story:

Former pageant queen Stella Varland doesn’t trust beauty anymore after her divorce. Her appearance betrayed her and led to her brokenness—so instead of being beautiful, now she tries to make beautiful things, but always falls short. So she keeps her passion for her secret art to herself and focuses on her interior design work. But if she doesn’t get another job soon, she’ll be stuck living with her parents.

Contractor Chase Taylor is determined to live a life of no regrets after losing his fiancée in a car crash. Now he lives life at full speed, striving to see how much he can accomplish. He knows if he slows down, he’ll fall apart. So he returns home to Bayou Bend to renovate the town’s old theater, and is shocked to learn former flame Stella is the designer for the project.

Forced to work together, Chase and Stella battle their chemistry and their pasts as they struggle to compromise and come together on a vision for the theater. Chase doesn’t understand why Stella is such a subdued version of herself, while Stella doesn’t get Chase’s constant need for productivity and speed. Their wills clash as they attempt to hide their brokenness—and their unresolved feelings for each other—until Chase breaks through Stella’s walls and convinces her to enter her mosaic tile art in a contest.

A near catastrophe, a fire, and a small-town gossip mill finally force both Stella and Chase to realize that they have a choice—to hold on to the shards of their pasts, or surrender their fragmented pieces to the One who makes a beautiful masterpiece from the broken.

Sharing my takeaway:
Back home in Bayou Bend after the death of his fiancee, Contractor Chase was hired to restore the town’s old theater. From the blurb, I expected him to be a risk taker, but he wasn’t that way at all. He was steady and kind, quite the hero, coming to Stella’s rescue several times. Recently divorced Stella, a preacher’s daughter and ex-pageant queen, is trying to make a living as an interior designer, but will soon be evicted if she can’t work with Chase on the theater’s design. She hides her pain behind a fake pageant smile, baggy jeans, and no makeup. I could relate to Stella’s feelings of inadequacy and loss of self-esteem from divorce. 

The cover is stunning, a perfect match to the inside! The writing was exceptional. The author dug deep into relationships, and this book was so much more than a romance. It’s about people and pain, and how we hide it, and how a person so broken can find their beauty or, in Stella’s case, her “colors” again. It’s about loving people through their brokenness. The story kept me flipping pages, but some threads just didn’t come together as neatly or as satisfying as that last piece in a jigsaw puzzle. As the title implies, Love Arrives in Pieces seemed a bit fragmented, but maybe that’s by author design.

This is the first book I have read by Betsy St. Amant. Readers who appreciate a hefty dose of drama in their stories will enjoy Love Arrives in Pieces. This isn’t a book you’ll whiz through in a couple hours. Set aside a few nights to really dig in. 🙂

Disclaimer: Sending my thanks to NetGalley and Zondervan Fiction for the privilege of reading and reviewing Love Arrives in Pieces. I was provided a free copy of the book in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. I was in no way compensated for my review.

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 4 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us north of Charlotte to Huntersville and to the first gastro pub in Mecklenburg County, Killington’s Restaurant & Pub. This pub located in Rosedale Shopping Center has a great atmosphere with outstanding food and covered outdoor seating. They claim to serve “high quality food in a casual atmosphere.” After our experience, we’d agree.

Exterior

As an appetizer, we ordered a cup of chili sprinkled with cheese, a smattering of onions and a few tortilla chips. This chili had robust flavor and included at least three different types of beans, chick, black and pinto, and the spice level was perfect. Dora here….coughing. Yeah, perfect for one of us. Maybe that’s why I chugged two full glasses of iced tea before the main course arrived. Yowza! 🙂 

Cup of Chili

On weekends Killington’s offers some additional brunch items to cover those appetites craving a breakfast alternative. I chose a brunch special: steak kabobs and poached eggs served over home fries with sourdough toast. The kabobs consisted of colorful red and green peppers and onions and were blanketed with salsa verde. The steak was cooked perfectly, the veggies still had a crunch, and the salsa verde was the perfect complement for the dish. Outstanding, and I’d definitely order this again!

brunch special: steak kabobs

Dora here. So many items on the menu were calling out my name, but I finally decided on the Monte Cristo, ham, turkey and Swiss cheese piled on sourdough French toast sprinkled with powdered sugar and raspberry preserve for dipping. Oh my!! It’s been ages since I enjoyed a Monte Cristo. The batter on the bread was light and subtle, not eggy, and the raspberry jam took this sandwich from ordinary to lick-my-fingers delicious! 

Monte Cristo

Oh, and the outdoor covered patio was so relaxing, not too loud or hot, the best spot to enjoy this summer lunch. 

Covered Patio

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

What about you? Have you eaten at a gastro pub yet? What did you think?

Click to add a blog post for Killingtons Restaurant & Pub on Zomato

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 3 Comments
The first segment of Excited about Eating takes us to downtown Baltimore and to Nando’s PERi-PERi. I have never eaten Portuguese food but I was more than excited to give it a try.  Dora here. Hmmm…as I recall, I was the one excited to try it. You were a bit skeptical because of the chicken-heavy menu, and I dragged you along for the walk. 🙂

Exterior

I chose their famous ¼ chicken – breast/wing with flame-grilled corn on the cob and butternut squash medley. You can order their chicken spiced a multitude of different ways so I chose medium. The chicken was outstanding, juicy and grilled perfectly. The corn was charred from the flame grilling, giving it a deep smoky taste and the butternut squash medley packed in red onion, dried cranberries, cilantro and chili. Just a warning, this side is spicy!

1/4 Chicken Breast/Wing with Corn & Butternut Squash Medley
Dora here. Haha. Wasn’t everything spicy? A forehead slicker for sure! You kept calling for wipes. Lol. I chose the chicken breast sandwich on Portuguese bread with some lime-heated sauce. Yowza! The white meat was juicy and tender, and the whole sandwich was delish with eye-popping flavor! 

Chicken Breast Sandwich

When you enter the restaurant, you’re given a numbered rooster which corresponds to a table. You order at the counter, grab your condiments and drinks, and then sit at your assigned table. I loved the eclectic, exposed brick interior. Get here early because seating fills up fast and folks were huddled around the counter waiting to order. But not to worry if you can’t. The meals were delivered quickly and service was friendly and efficient. I’d definitely eat at another Nando’s!

Eclectic interior

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

Nando's Peri-Peri on Urbanspoon

Next, we moved on to the Chinatown area of Washington, DC, to Daikaya, serving Sapporo-style ramen. Ramen restaurants seem to be the rage lately. Dora here. Don’t conceptualize the packaged noodles you’d buy in a grocery store. Not even close. 

Daikaya – exterior


As an appetizer, we chose the gyoza dumplings, pan fried, full of flavor and something that you just want more of.

Gyoza Dumplings


Since we were told the serving sizes were huge, we shared the Shoyu Ramen, a hearty sized bowl with roasted pork, noodles, and veggies in a dark rich soy sauce. Now I have never tasted ramen before but this dish has made me into a believer. Deep flavors and full of noodles and vegetables, this dish was outstanding.  Also, they were right. Neither of us left the restaurant hungry. Dora here. Great experience, and I’d go here again, but I don’t think I’d like a weekly diet of Ramen unless it was twenty degrees outside. 🙂 

Shoyu Ramen


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

Daikaya on Urbanspoon

After several visits to DC and just as many attempts to get a table at Founding Farmers, a farm-to-table restaurant three blocks west of the White House, we finally made it! Reservations are the best way to sample this restaurant unless you have a couple hours to kill waiting. 

Exterior


Our waiter explained that Founding Farmers typically purchases from local merchants and farmers’ markets. When they can’t find fresh ingredients locally, they buy carbon offsets to ensure that regardless of distance, Founding Farmers is walking its talk that the planet matters. 

We started our meal with the Skillet Corn Bread served with sea salt and honey butter. This corn bread was great, sweet even without the honey, and packed with fresh corn. Unfortunately, we dug in so fast, we forgot to snap a picture. Sorry!

I chose the Signature Chicken Pot Pie, and the waiter practically dared me to finish it. Chicken pot pie is one of my favorites, so I have experienced this dish at many restaurants, but this one was excellent. Bursting with chicken and fresh vegetables and a broth that kept my fork coming back for more, I still couldn’t clean my plate. 

Signature Chicken Pot Pie


Dora here. I ordered the Butternut Squash Mascarpone Ravioli. Soft ravioli puffs, smooth and tasty, but loaded with flavor in a delicate, refined way. Delish! 

Butternut Squash Mascarpone Ravioli


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

 Founding Farmers on Urbanspoon

What heat level do you prefer? Light your mouth on fire? Sizzling? Warm? Or no heat?