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    We have still been having cold, rainy weather here in Phoenix and I've got to tell you that I have actually been enjoying it as I anticipate the approaching summer months.  It occurred to me that I had better get some baking out of my system now before we hit those scorching hot days when I won't be turning on my oven. 
​      I like to read April J. Harris' blog.  She has some wonderful recipes and this one, a Blackberry Apple Cake, was very tempting to me.  Unfortunately, I didn't have blackberries or some of the other ingredients called for in the recipe.  But I did have some frozen blueberries and Honeycrisp apples, so I decided to make something similar, but different with the ingredients that I had on hand.  The result of that decision came out quite delicious! 

     For ease of removing from the pan after it is baked, be sure to use a greased 9" spring form pan.  I made do for years without a spring form pan, but after I got one, I realized how nice they are.  I found this great set on Amazon that has 3 sizes of pans plus spatula and smoother at a great price! 

       You will smooth the thick batter into the pan and then top it with a brown sugar cinnamon mixture and the apples.  It looks great in the pan, even before you bake it!  

      Now, you bake it for 45 min.  The aroma is so amazing, warm and inviting!  It makes your mouth water just looking at it.  Here it is straight out of the oven.

       I let the kuchen rest for about 10 min. after coming out of the oven.  Then, removed the outer ring and used a long spatula to set it on a serving platter.  This is the beauty of the spring form pan.  You don't want to flip those beautiful apples upside down and hide them! The long, offset spatula is another tool I didn't know was so helpful until I got one. It is a simple thing, but is such a big help for jobs like this one. 

     This fruity kuchen will make a beautiful dessert or even nice breakfast coffee cake.  My husband and I ate dessert first last night!  That is one of the beauties of being empty nesters! You can do what you want! 

Apple Blueberry Kuchen

If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also enjoy these: 

     Well, last week's Friday Faves Favorite Things Party didn't have the overwhelming response I had hoped for.   If you forgot about it or just didn't have time to comment, you still can and I will love you for it!  
      One wonderful thing did come out of that party though.  A fellow grandmother blogger, Nana Kelly at What's Nana Making, introduced me to a great fabric resource! The website is called Connecting Threads and I have fallen so in love with it that I have applied to be in their affiliate program. (I am not an affiliate yet, but Nana Kelly is, so that is her link to the site!)  
     Connecting Threads is a site made for quilters, but of course you can use their fabrics for whatever projects you would like.  Their prices are wonderful.  If you are like me, I always head straight to the clearance section to shop first.  Did you see those fabric samples in the collage above?  They are all from the 30 PAGES of clearance fabric that are on Connecting Threads. The prices start at $ 2.79 per yard! Then, when you go to the regular fabric page, there are about 50 something collections of fabric. That means, in each collection there are groupings of fabric that coordinate with one another.  This makes sense when you are selling to quilters and crafters. The regular prices start at a reasonable $4.19 per yard. All of the fabric I have looked at is 100% cotton and 44 inches wide. They also have flannel and Luxe fabrics.  When you first sign onto the page, you get a 15% discount off of your first order! 

      Besides fabric, Connecting Threads also has (obviously) thread at a great price and kits for a myriad of items.  Here are some of my favorites. Click on the gallery to get a good view of them: 

     So, check out What's Nana Making for some project ideas, or check out some of our projects here.  Then go to Connecting Threads and get a great deal on needed supplies!  You are going to love it!  Thank you Nana Kelly for sharing with us! 

This post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you.  All opinions expressed are our own.  Thank you for your support.

This week for What to Read Wednesdays I've got a thriller and soon to be movie for you. In a Dark, Dark, Wood intrigued me because the title reminded me of one of my favorite children's books In a Dark, Dark, Room. I read In a Dark, Dark Wood in 2016 (actually I listened to it) and it was a very captivating read, though nothing really like my childhood scary stories book.

In a Dark, Dark Wood was written by Ruth Ware and became an instant New York Times Best Seller when it was published in 2015. It follows Nora Shaw, a writer who is invited to her old college friend's, Clare, hen-do (a bachelorette party essentially but bigger). Nora is confused because she hasn't talked to Clare in years, and they weren't exactly on good terms. The weekend holiday has a tragic turn of events when a man is shot and then Nora ends up in the hospital unable to recall any of the events from the weekend. Now she's the prime suspect!

In a Dark, Dark, Wood is a fun psychological thriller. It's a quick read and you'll probably like it if you liked Gone Girl (I haven't read this yet, though it's on my shelf) and The Girl on the Train (I listened to this around the same time as In a Dark, Dark Wood and I loved it). I didn't find it completely predictable so it made it an interesting story that kept me on my toes. It isn't your classic fast-paced mystery book with police chases and shootouts. But the unanswered questions really intrigued me and kept me tuned into the story.

AND Reese Witherspoon's production company, Pacific Standard, is attached to the movie adaptation and you know I'm going to be watching it! If you're like me and love to compare books to their movies, you'll for sure want to read this book. 

So do you like mysteries and thrillers? Will you be reading In a Dark, Dark Wood? Let us know in the comments below.