Art, Eats, and What Other

I haven't done one of these in awhile but now seemed like a good time. I've been reading but haven't seemed to able to finish anything.
Art
artist Karen Hallion has some great artwork that mixes Doctor Who and Disney Princesses, both of which I love. You can find Karen here: Facebook, Deviant Art

Visions are Seldom all They Seem

Come Away With Me

Eats
I like finding new recipes to try out with my picky eaters. I always seem to find something on Steph's weekly menu post on Plain Chicken.
Winter in Michigan (which still hasn't ended no matter what the calendar says) is always a good time to try new slow cooker recipes. One that we tried and liked was the Mississippi Pot Roast.

Recipe
3 lb pot roast (I used a Blade Roast)
1 packet Ranch dressing mix
1 packet Au Jus mix
6 pepperoncini peppers
1 stick butter

In a 6-quart slow cooker, add all ingredients and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
That's it, no liquid but it still turns out great.

What Other

Just because everyone should enjoy some dancing here's a mash up of Christopher Walken dancing in several of his movies.

New Releases ~ week of 3/24/2014

**All links go to Goodreads

A Match Made in Texas by Katie Lane (#6 Deep in the Heart of Texas)

After the Scandal by Elizabeth Essex (#4 Reckless Brides)
Amelia Bedelia Goes Wild! by Herman Parish (#4 Amelia Bedelia Chapter Books)
Battle of the Beasts by Ned Vizzini, Chris Columbus (#2 House of Secrets)
Below the Surface by Tim Shoemaker (#3 Code of Silence)
Between the Devil and Ian Eversea by Julie Anne Long (#9 Pennyroyal Green)
Bite Me by Shelly Laurenston (#9 Pride)
Blossom Street Brides by Debbie Macomber (#10 Blossom Street (Knitting))
Call of the Siren by Rosalie Lario (#4 Demons of Infernum Series)
Captain Awesome and the Missing Elephants by Stan Kirby (#10 Captain

Awesome)
Cave-in by Joseph Monninger (#2 Stay Alive)
Come Home to Me by Brenda Novak (#6 Whiskey Creek)
Dash of Peril by Lori Foster (#4 Love Undercover)
Dawn's Early Light by Tee Morris, Pip Ballantine (#3 Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences)
Empress of the Night by Eva Stachniak (#2 Catherine)
Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran (#3 Rules for the Reckless)
Hope Ignites by Jaci Burton (#2 Hope)
Indigo Dawn by Elle J Rossi (#1 Josie Hawk Chronicle)
Killer Physique by G A McKevett (#19 Savannah Reid)
Moonlight on My Mind by Jennifer McQuiston (#3 Historical Romance)

Murder Simply Brewed by Vannetta Chapman (#1 Amish Village Mysteries)
Notorious by Allison Brennan (#1 Maxine Revere)
Path of the Archon by Andy Chambers (#3 Warhammer : Dark Eldar)
Recklessly Royal by Nichole Chase (#2 Royal)
Rise of the Federation: Tower of Babel by Christopher L Bennett (#2 Star Trek: Enterprise)
Shadow Spell by Nora Roberts (#2 Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy)
Six Months by Dannika Dark (#2 Seven)
Sunstone by Freya Robertson (#2 Heartwood)
Take This Cup by Bodie Thoene (#2 Jerusalem Chronicles)
Taken With You by Shannon Stacey (#8 The Kowalski Family)
Tame Me by J. Kenner (#1 Stark International)
The Alpine Yeoman by Mary Daheim (#25 Emma Lord Mysteries)

The Berkeley Square Affair by Teresa Grant (#4 Malcolm & Suzanne Rannoch)
The Brightest Night by Tui T Sutherland (#5 Wings of Fire)
The Coal Black Asphalt Tomb by David Handler (#10 Berger and Mitry)
The Reading Circle by Ashton Lee (#2 Cherry Cola Book Club)
The Revenant of Thraxton Hall by Vaughn Entwistle (#2 Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Seduction of Miss Amelia Bell by Paula Quinn (#1 The McGregors: Highland Heirs)
The Unfairest of Them All by Shannon Hale (#2 Ever After High: Storybook of legends)
Three Weeks with a Bull by Cat Johnson (#3 Oklahoma Nights)
Three Weeks With Lady X by Eloisa James (#7 Desperate Duchesses)
To'Aga by John Enright (#3 Jungle Beat)
Truth and Fear by Peter Higgins (#2 Wolfhound Century)
Twisted by Emma Chase (#2 Tangled)
Unwound by Lorelei James (#2 Mastered)
Waiting On You by Kristan Higgins (#3 Blue Heron)
Waking the Dead by Heather Graham (#2 Cafferty and Quinn)
Wallflower Gone Wild by Maya Rodale (#2 Bad Boys & Wallflowers)
What a Hero Dares by Kasey Michaels (#4 The Redgraves)
What a Reckless Rogue Needs by Vicky Dreiling (#2 The Sinful Scoundrels)
Win or Lose by Alex Morgan (#3 The Kicks)

Review ~ Elfquest: The Searcher and The Sword

Elfquest: The Searcher and The Sword 

by Wendy Pini, Richard Pini
published by ElfQuest
genre: Fantasy, Graphic Novel

Summary (Goodreads): Led by Cutter, the elfin Wolfriders have experiences equal parts triumph and tragedy, loss and gain. Now, the elves must adapt to a world without the Troll smiths, who forged their weapons and tools. Still in shock and recovering from her parents violent deaths, Shuna, the adopted human daughter of Cutter and Leetah, must cope with a rugged new world full of strange rules and pitfalls. Painfully aware that shes simply a human girl whos surrounded by impossibly beautiful, magical beings, Shuna embarks on a quest hoping to unite elf and humankind in peace.

My Thoughts: Picked this graphic novel up on a whim while looking through the libraries shelves. I have not read any other Elfquest comics and am not really familiar with this world/characters.
I liked the illustrations throughout the story. For the most part it was easy to tell the difference between the characters which I've found is not always the case. I also liked that it was full color front to back.
This story focuses mainly on two characters and quests that they decide to take. I found myself more interested in the making of a sword than in Shuna's quest to unite the human and elf world. While her story dealt with a more serious issue, more seemed to happen underground in the troll caves.
Overall, there were highs and lows with this story. Part of this may have been because I wasn't familiar with the characters. I can see why there were so many positive reviews for this series and could see myself reading some of the originals.

Rating: 4

Off Topic ~ Doctor Who Fan Art

I have always enjoyed art, especially any type of fantasy art. Today I'm sharing some fan art that I have come across for Doctor Who. All links go to artist/art page.

Doctor Who- Cute Collection
by cute loot 

Same Software, Different Case
by sugarpoultry

Michael has done a Doctor Burton fan art for all the Doctors. Showing 9 since he is my favorite.

Doctor Burton 9
by MichaelthePure

Review ~ Fables: Homelands

Fables: Homelands, Vol. 6

by Bill Willingham
illustrated by Mark Buckingham, David Hahn, Steve Leialoha
genre: Graphic Novel, Adult, Fantasy, Fairy-Tale, Retellings

Summary (Goodreads): Collecting issues #34-41 of writer Bill Willingham's Eisner Award-winning creation, Homelands follows Boy Blue on a mission of revenge as he uncovers the Adversary's true identity! Plus, the two-part story of Jack's adventures in Hollywood and the one-shot story of Mowgli's return to Fabletown.

My Thoughts: This was another big volume. A lot going on and reveals that we have been waiting for since volume 1.
I didn't dislike Jack's story but at the same time I'm not sure I would have read it if it hadn't been included with other stories. Jack has always been up to one scheme or another so finding him in Hollywood making his name as well known as Snow's, so he wold be immortal, made sense for his character. The ending made it seem like he was disappearing for good but I cannot imagine him not coming up with some way to get into something else.
I enjoyed Blue's adventures in the Homelands.  I've been waiting for this reveal and when it happened I was a little underwhelmed. At first I thought okay this works but they lost me when the Adversary started telling his story. There is still a lot of potential with this character, especially with how it ended between him and Blue.
Overall, a lot happened in this volume. Both the writing and the graphics were what I have come to expect from this series. As long as they keep entertaining me I'll keep reading.

Rating: 4