The Friday 56: Nathaniel Hawthrone and The Search for Love

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) 

I just discovered The Friday 56 on a Monday, but that doesn't stop me from playing along! The concept is that you take any book, flip open to page 56, and post one sentence that strikes you as interesting.

On my desk is a copy of  American Gothic Tales edited by Joyce Carol Oates. That says something about me, doesn't it?

I flipped to page 56 and opened up the third short story in the collection. It's by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the story is "The Man of Adamant, Young Goodman Brown".  Here's the page 56 sentence that got me to post:

What if a wretched old woman do choose to go to the devil when I thought she was going to heaven: is that any reason  why I should quit my dear Faith and go after her?

What would you do if that wretched old woman were actually a beautiful young lady or a beautiful handsome man? Would you chase that person into the depths of darkness? How far would you go for a person you love? These are the sorts of questions that can change your life. 

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A Night on the Town with The Happy Baker!

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Life is full of surprises and twists, and last night was one of those awesome nights. What made it so great was that I crashed a condo holiday party {yes, I was the token party crasher, but I wasn't wearing a sari!} and I met an eclectic group of individuals ranging from Mafia-looking guys in suits to a guy dressed like Brett Michael's. No kidding-this holiday party was off the hook! In the midst of this party, I literally bumped into Erin Bolger, who isn't related to any famous Boston mafia families with the same last name.  She jumped at the opportunity to tell me about her book, The Happy Baker: A Dater's Guide to Emotional Baking, which was also listed as one of the top cookbooks of 2010 by the New York Times! I couldn't stop from doing a happy dance for her! A top cookbook listed on the NYT is serious street cred.

Meet Erin Bolger

From the moment I started to talk to Erin, she had me laughing and mesmerized.  She has such a natural gift for telling stories with humor that I wasn't surprise to learn that her book combined not just recipes, but tales from the front lines of dating. Later that evening, I had an opportunity to check out her book. It's filled with beautiful full color photograph and tons of sweet recipes for helping a girl out through the tough side of dating. I also got a tasty preview of a her new Peanut Butter Fudge recipe. To die for yummy! Erin is in fact so generous she's sharing this recipe on her blog, too.  Now, I'm married, but I totally remember the era of my own single days, filled with all the leaps and falls.  This cookbook is better than hanging with Dr. Phil. It's a must-have for all girls, single, married, or in between.  Want to get a feel for some of Erin's zest? Check out this awesome video. I'm telling you...you're going to love Erin as much as I do!