Lock Every Door

★★★☆/5

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager was my first thriller of the year. I picked it up because two of my best book lover friends, Michelle and Claire, convinced me we should all read it together. I'm so glad they did!

The Giver of Stars

★★★☆ (3.75/5)

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes was a book I was both hesitant and excited to start. There had been so much hype about it that I expected it to be decent, but having read a Jojo Moyes book years ago, wasn't sure if I should expect a lot of fluff. Also, I believe this is her first attempt at historical fiction so I wasn't sure how that would affect her storytelling style. I have to say - I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book! The concept of a female-driven team of traveling librarians was a little unusual to me at first, I'll admit, but it was definitely something I was interested in learning more about. Moyes instantly creates characters that you can invest in, which set the framework for a good read off the bat. 

Nacho Average Cooknerd Challenge

Nacho Average Cooknerd Challenge:

So I (the Cooknerd) have to be honest, I’ve been lacking a sense of what the blog should be from a cooking perspective, and lacking consistency. But ladies and gentlemen, I think we’ve found the solution! First lets take a look at some of the issues that led to a lack of content:

1. When you buy the ingredients for the same staple meals every week, your leftovers don’t exactly cater themselves to creativity. The need? More VARIETY.
2. Where does the inspiration, technique (or lack thereof), and creativity come from? Copying a recipe is easy when you have the internet. Where is the CHALLENGE?
3. The last reason is the most serious, where does the weekly motivation come from? Life will inevitably get in the way, but this is an outlet and a passion. What will make me willingly ACCOUNTABLE?

So there we have it, the recipe for the Cooknerd requires variety, a challenge, and accountability. The answer?

NEW CHALLENGE CRITERIA!
Having recently gotten our feet under us in a new city, it’s time to venture out from the safety of our local haunts and explore some new places...specifically, places to eat! My new challenge and commitment to the Booknerd is to explore a new restaurant/food truck/diner/etc. every week- a “date night” of sorts. From there we'll select something from our meal to recreate. Armed with nothing but the menu description, our best guess of the ingredients, and the confidence of someone who has watched way too much Chopped, I will attempt to recreate the dish at home - in flavor, in presentation, and in skill (ignorance is bliss); all while staying on a budget.🎯

Now lets get into it!