Showing posts with label weddings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weddings. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Wedding Bells - #4


by Nancy Jill Thames


This past Saturday our daughter Holly got married. Our last child married Hudson her beloved in a sweet ceremony led by my niece's awesome husband Nate - the only ordained minister I know who changes into his tuxedo T-shirt for the dancing!

For those of you who've happily experienced passing the baton of parenting over to the new spouse, you'll understand my husband and my feelings of joy and relief! Hudson will take good care of her.

I posted in October of 2012, "God has been so gracious to provide wonderful mates for three of our four children. We trust Him to provide for our youngest daughter Holly as well." And in 2015 He did!

The wedding had a few breaks from tradition - one being the guests were served chocolate cream pie instead of wedding cake. It was our daughter's wish so her father and I made 16 pies, transported them 35 minutes away, and served them to 110.

I've included my recipe at the end of this post in case any of you are feeling domestic.



Amazon Kindle, Nook, SW, and Kobo
Amazon Kindle, Nook, SW, and Kobo
At the end of Book 7 
"THE RUBY OF SIAM" Jillian Bradley gets married in London at an upscale hotel across the street from Buckingham Palace. 


But unlike our daughter's picture perfect wedding you'll read in Book 8 "THE LONG TRIP HOME" about a tragedy that occurs at the reception. It all ends happily, though - thanks to the vehicle of fiction.

There's still time to enter the $200 Amazon Gift-card Giveaway contest. Thanks to all of you who've followed our sites and liked our pages. Click here for your chance to win: 
http://cozymysterymagazine.blogspot.com/p/cozy-raffle-200-prize.html

Cheers!

~Nancy Jill    


Nancy Jill's Chocolate Cream Pie  
For the Ganache:

1 c sugar
1/4 c flour
2 T cornstarch
1/4 t Salt
1 1/2 c whole milk
1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream
3 egg yolks. membranes removed
2 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 T butter
2 t vanilla

For Ganache and Topping:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla

1. In a heavy 2 qt saucepan mix sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt together. Add milk and 1 cup of the whipping cream.
With a fork mix the egg yolks together and add to remaining 1/2 c of whipping cream. Mix then add to saucepan combining ingredients well.


2. Cook over high heat stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir until melted, then add butter and vanilla.


3. Pour mixture into freezer proof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap pressing down until no air remains and sides are sealed.
(Prevents skim from forming.)

 4. When cool, whip heaving whipping cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Fold in 1 cup of mixture to ganache.


5. Pour ganache into baked pie shell mounding to center.
Cover with remaining whipped cream and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips, chocolate shavings or chocolate sprinkles.
Chill for at least 4 hrs before serving.




Nancy Jill Thames was born to write mysteries. From her early days as the neighborhood story-teller to the Amazon Author Watch Bestseller List, she has always had a vivid imagination and loves to solve problems – perfect for plotting whodunits. In 2010, Nancy Jill published her first mystery Murder in Half Moon Bay, introducing her well-loved protagonist Jillian Bradley, and clue-sniffing Yorkie, “Teddy.”

When she isn’t plotting Jillian’s next perilous adventure, Nancy Jill travels between Texas and California finding new ways to spoil her grandchildren, playing classical favorites on her baby grand or having afternoon tea with friends.

She is a member of Leander Writers’ Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW CenTex Chapter), and Central Texas Authors

To learn more about Nancy Jill, visit these sites.




Friday, October 19, 2012

Wedding Bells

by Nancy Jill Thames

Tomorrow is the big day! Our son Mike is marrying Catherine, his beloved. For those of you who've happily experienced passing the baton of mothering to your son's new wife, you'll understand my feelings of joy and relief! She'll take good care of him, I believe. God has been so gracious to provide wonderful mates for three of our four children. We trust Him to provide for our youngest daughter Holly as well. As I posted previously on my Cozy Mystery Author blog, the many details of preparation seem like happy steps toward the wedding. Instead of feeling burdened with huge lists of things to do, I feel energized by the thought of God's answering our prayers for mates who are believers. And guess what else God did? He spurred me on to get "Waiting for Santa" rewritten and into the hands of my editor before the week got carried away with all the things to do. "We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28 HBP).

See you next week here on Cozy Mystery Magazine!

~Nancy Jill

Nancy Jill Thames is the author of the Jillian Bradley Mysteries - stories often set in exclusive hotels and resorts, based on real life travel adventures with her husband of 44 years. Her mysteries incorporate her love of afternoon tea, which has earned her the title of “Queen of Afternoon Tea.” She holds a music degree from UT Austin and lives in Leander, Texas where she is a member of the Leander Writers Guild. She has won awards for her blogs, a pie contest for her Chocolate Chip Cream Pie, and has been on the Author Watch Bestseller List numerous times. Nancy Jill is busy working on book 6 Waiting for Santa, a murder mystery taking place on Christmas Eve near Jillian Bradley’s home in Clover Hills.

To check out her books, Murder in Half Moon Bay, The Ghost Orchid Murder, From the Clutches of Evil, The Mark of Eden, and Pacific Beach, please visit the Cozy Book Store and her blog:
Queen of Afternoon Tea ~ Nancy Jill Thames.



Friday, October 12, 2012

The Cozy (Crazy) Fall Season

by Nancy Jill Thames

Watching a lot of television is not in the cards for me, but I do get snippets of news from online friends all over the country. Posts of early snowfalls in the Northern regions, photos of crock pots plugged in with tasty stews and soups simmering, and glimpses of plans for celebrating Halloween pop up on my screen indicating Fall is here. In Texas, the seasons are unpredictable. I've been here when the temperature is 90 degrees one January, and ice storms rage the next. For now, though, the temperatures are settling into the lower 80's with 60's in the evenings. Nice. Finally, I can say we're coming into the cozy fall season! 
Or should I say the crazy fall season? 

This fall our youngest son is getting married to a lovely young lady whom we are growing to love more each day. What a blessing! And what a crazy time getting the wedding together. Maybe it's just me, but when I have company coming, I want everything in my house to be just "so." In order to accomplish this major feat, many shopping trips are needed. Yesterday I went to four stores and came home with a sleeper sofa, ottoman, bed linens, new bathroom shower curtain and accessories, and a sack full of table toppers for the rehearsal dinner we're giving at our house. Whew! Crazy! But oh, so much fun. And what better excuse to buy all the things I've been wanting for the past couple of years? The best thing about this crazy cozy fall season, though, is that my family and friends from California will be coming to visit for a few days. I'm even throwing in a family reunion luncheon for my mom's side of the family - one cousin she hasn't seen for 75 years! Crazy! Well, maybe, but the memories of this particular fall will be precious, especially when our son and his bride walk down the aisle next Saturday evening and say, "I do."

~Nancy Jill

Nancy Jill Thames is the author of the Jillian Bradley Mysteries - stories often set in exclusive hotels and resorts, based on real life travel adventures with her husband of 44 years. Her mysteries incorporate her love of afternoon tea, which has earned her the title of “Queen of Afternoon Tea.” She holds a music degree from UT Austin and lives in Leander, Texas where she is a member of the Leander Writers Guild. She has won awards for her blogs, a pie contest for her Chocolate Chip Cream Pie, and has been on the Author Watch Bestseller List numerous times. Nancy Jill is busy working on book 6 Waiting for Santa, a murder mystery taking place on Christmas Eve near Jillian Bradley’s home in Clover Hills.

To check out her books, Murder in Half Moon Bay, The Ghost Orchid Murder, From the Clutches of Evil, The Mark of Eden, and Pacific Beach, please visit the Cozy Book Store and her blogs: