inspiration

Excited about Reading: London Tides by Carla Laureano

/ Dora Hiers
Purchase Link

The Cover Story: 
Irish photojournalist Grace Brennan travels the world’s war zones documenting the helpless and forgotten. After the death of her friend and colleague, Grace is shaken.

She returns to London hoping to rekindle the spark with the only man she ever loved—Scottish businessman Ian MacDonald. But he gave up his championship rowing career and dreams of Olympic gold years ago for Grace … only for her to choose career over him. Will life’s tides bring them back together … or tear them apart for good this time?

My Takeaway:
I read Five Days in Skye, and LOVED it. You can read that review here. It’s not necessary to read Skye first although London Tides revisits Skye for a joyous celebration, so I’d recommend it. 🙂

“She shouldn’t be here.” London Tides pulled me in with the first line. It didn’t take long for Ian and Grace to reconnect after a ten year separation, and, oh, what a sweet romance for a few pages! Always a but, though, right? This is one of those books where I knew the bottom was going to drop out any minute and that my heart would be ripped into shreds. Yes. That’s exactly what this book did.

“You can’t see all the suffering and violence and hatred without wondering if there’s still good in the world. Most of my colleagues see evil as proof that God couldn’t exist. But despite all the bad, there are still people who help others when their safety, their very lives are at risk. When I see that, I know without a doubt he has to exist. I think without God, the good that remains couldn’t survive.” ~Grace

I was so invested in the characters. Grace because she was hurting, suffering from PTSD after living through the horrors of war zones and, since her identity had always been wrapped up in her job, wondering who she was now. Ian because he never gave up loving Grace, not after ten years apart and not even when a close friend and his well-intentioned mother tried to convince him otherwise. But at a crucial spot in the book, I wanted to throw my hands in the air and scream at Grace, “What are you doing? Just tell him how you really feel!”

For me the ending was a bit too abrupt. After ravaging my emotions, I wanted a little more happily-ever-after, a bit more “ahhh” factor when I flipped to the last page. But don’t let that stop you from scooping up this sweet romance! With a subtle faith thread weaved throughout and a plot that’ll keep you guessing whether Ian and Grace will actually enjoy a happily-ever-after, London Tides will appeal to contemporary romance readers across genres.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from NetGalley and David C. Cook Publisher for the purpose of sharing my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I received no monetary compensation.

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers
This edition of “Excited about Eating” takes us to the downtown district of Indianapolis, Indiana. Downtown Indianapolis is more modern than we expected, with professional sports teams, hotels in all price ranges, and restaurants featuring almost every cuisine. We chose three of our best experiences to be included in this edition. Dora here. Want to know the coolest part of Indy? An intricate maze of sky bridges and walkways that allowed us to wander through downtown without ever having to brave the wind and 30 degree temps! And, for Pete’s sake, there’s a four-story mall!
Our first evening we visited Rock Bottom. During our visit, a fire department instructors conference was taking place at the convention center so the restaurant was decked out in fire department paraphernalia.
Dora here. Imagine that. Isn’t that why we were in Indy? Lol. Even bursting with fire personnel, we didn’t wait long for a table, and our server was friendly and knowledgeable, even recommended a couple spots for ice cream later.
I chose the Chipotle Brisket Barbacoa Pizza with honey chipotle BBQ sauce, mozzarella and asiago cheeses, beef brisket and pineapple salsa.  The pizza was outstanding, and the sweet pineapple salsa took this dish to a new level. 
Chipotle Brisket Barbacoa Pizza

Dora here. I stole a piece of hubby’s pizza, and I totally agree! I opted for their famous Classic Mac’n Chicken, creamy spiral macaroni and cheese loaded with chunks of chicken and chased with a bit of a kick from Tabasco and Paprika. Awesome, and just the right portion size for me. Some of the best Mac’n cheese we’ve ever tasted. 

Classic Mac’n Chicken

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

Rock Bottom Brewery on Urbanspoon

 **
For another dinner, we dined at Weber Grill, the first location outside of the metro Chicago area. One thing that makes this restaurant unique is that all cooking is done over authentic giant Weber Charcoal grills.
Weber Grill

Since there was so much on the menu that we wanted to try, we chose the three meat BBQ Combo with Hickory BBQ Ribs, Beef Brisket, and Black Angus Meatloaf served with a sweet and tangy Hickory BBQ sauce, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Mac N’ Cheese. The ribs were BBQ competition quality, tender but not fall-off-the-bone. The brisket was tender and had deep smoke favor, and the meatloaf was smoky with great texture. The sides were equally good; the mashed potatoes full of favor and the mac n’ cheese firm and cheesy. Dora here. Only one word: yum!
I would rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food.

Weber Grill Restaurant on Urbanspoon

**
We’d read good things about Pearl Street Pizzeria in the Warehouse District and couldn’t wait to try it. This locally owned back-alley restaurant is in the heart of downtown and just a couple of blocks from Monument Circle, Bankers Life Fieldhouse and Lucas Oil Stadium.
Pearl Street Pizzeria
For dinner, we shared a twelve inch deep dish pizza, meatlovers on half with sausage, pepperoni, bacon, ham and mozzarella, and just pepperoni on the other half. This pizza would stand up to any deep dish pizza we have eaten in Chicago. The meatlovers side was full of meat and the entire pizza had just the right amount of cheese and sauce. The crust was firm and the pizza was not greasy. So tempting, we dug into it before taking a picture. Sorry. 

Dora here. Not a fan of real saucy pizzas or thin crusts, so whenever I can talk Ernie into deep dish, I’m all over it and this pizza was perfect! Just the way I love my pizza. Heads up, though. The place is small, and it was jammed and really loud. Get there early if you don’t want to wait to sit or order one to go. 🙂 

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

Pearl Street Pizza & Pub on Urbanspoon

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 3 Comments
This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to Three Amigos Mexican Grill and Cantina located in the Midwood area of Charlotte. Dora here. You getting tired of Midwood yet? I’m not. 🙂 This restaurant located in a small strip center provides an ideal location for a quick drop-in lunch or a family get-together for dinner.
As part of an online app promotion, we started with a free Beef Empanada, a pastry shell turnover made by folding dough over a filling, beef hamburger in this case, sealing it, and frying it. 
Beef Empanada
This Empanada was great, fried golden brown, with a juicy filling including cheese. Dora here. And what a great start it was! Gooey cheese pocketed in the perfect crust. 
For the meal, I ordered the Fajitas De Camaron, shrimp fajitas cooked with onions and green peppers served in a cast iron skillet along with sides of rice and refried beans, delivered to the table, sizzling. The shrimp and vegies were tender, but I would have liked more seasoning to bring out the flavor. 
Fajitas de Camaron
Be prepared for ginormous portion sizes. If we’d known, we could’ve easily shared.
Dora here. So hubby knows that I usually order fajitas at Mexican restaurants. At his prodding to try something different (I find it interesting that he ordered fajitas, don’t you? What’s up with that? 🙂 ) and the server’s recommendation, I opted for the Bistec Encebollado, grilled steak with onions along with rice and refried beans. And tortilla shells, of course.

Bistec Encebollado

In my opinion, this tasted much like steak fajitas and I would’ve enjoyed it with a bit more zest as well. Other than that, the tortillas, both flour and corn, tasted like they were made on site and the beans and rice were good. Overall, the meal was pleasant.

I would rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.

What are your plans for Cinco de Mayo? 
Do you have a favorite Mexican restaurant?

Three Amigos Mexican Grill and Cantina on Urbanspoon