End of summer is coming and cookie recipe!

Hello, everybody! I hope your summer is going well! We've been traveling, cooking, sleeping in late, writing, eating, gardening... You know, the best parts of summer! So, a friend gave me a delicious recipe for peanut butter and jelly cookies. I make peanut butter cookies about every three years so i was little skeptical on how great these could be. But she promised they weren't too hard, weren't too sweet, and were perfect right out of the oven. So, we had to try!

(We used our little cookie press on a few. So cute!)

 1 cup peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

1 cup butter

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1.2 cups flour

 

 Blend the eggs, sugar, vanilla, butter, and peanut butter together. Mix the dry ingredients together, then add to the egg and sugar mixture. Form balls and bake at 350F for six to eight minutes. Any longer and they start to get crispy, which is fine if you want crispy... but these are supposed to be like a PB&J sandwich. 

 When the cookies have cooled a little but are still warm, fill the indentations with jam or jelly. We used our strawberry jelly (from a previous post!). 

 The smelled amazing and tasted even better! A real treat!

 The morning glory in our garden is blooming. I had no idea this was considered a weed in some places! Here, we try to get the seeds started inside in the spring and then carefully transplant them outside. Facebook friends told me they take over the property in some regions and have to be ripped out! 

 And our seedless champagne grapes are ready. Maybe I already posted about it. Well, they're super yummy and I can't post about them enough. Grape season is so short here that we revel in it while it lasts.

 My neighbors zinnias! Really, they just had to be on the post. Too pretty not to share!

 And my polydactyl kitty is helping me with my new book. He's a great content editor! He goes to sleep if it's too boring...

And have to share this funny shot of our other kitty. He was yawning, I swear, but it looks like he's yelling, "M-om! He's TOUCHING ME!" 

I hope everyone has a wonderful last weekend in August! I can't believe it's almost September already!! Summer has just flown by! 

Come visit me on my Mary Jane Hathaway facebook page!

Quick Post to Announce Bonnet WINNER!!

Hi everybody!!

 This is a super quick (read: super dull) post to announce the winner of the awesomely awesome Regency bonnet!

JASNA N.Y., Rafflecopter loves YOU and wants you to have a Regency bonnet!! I'll e-mail you to get your address and then the bonnet will be shipped directly from Regency Austentation. (Goodness, she seems like a lovely woman. Or maybe it's just the Austen connection. I don't think I've met a Jane Austen fan yet who is less than wonderful.)

After hearing all the plan for how folks would wear their bonnet, I'm feeling an urge to get on myself. But as much as I love the green, I think I'm leaning toward ordering a straw bonnet so I can trim it with different colors of ribbon. I'm thinking, if it's straw then I can have pink, blue, green, brown ribbon... Am I right??

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day!

Jan Austen recipe card winner and new giveaway!!

HELLO everybody!

  It's spring here and we've been outside as much as we can, gazing up at that strange ball of fire in the sky... The sun feels SOOOO good! And then at night, the sky is clear again and we can see stars- and the moon!!

Isn't this amazing? The winter has seemed SO LONG, but we're finally at the end. And we're so much closer to the paper release of Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits in JUNE and Emma, Mr. Knightley and Chili-Slaw Dogs in July!
I feel like I've been waiting and waiting, like an expectant mother... except I know exactly what my babies look like. :)

 Ok, time to announce a winner! LUTHIEN84, rafflecopter loves you and wants you to have these awesome Austen recipe cards! I have a set and they really are the cutest thing. I'll have them sent straight from the etsy shop, so be sure to contact me on the Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits page with your address.

 So, you're all wondering what's next, right? Well, here it is! My favorite giveaway so far (and I've loved them all).

I've already ordered these, because I wasn't sure how big the book was, or how sturdy dolls were... and I was very impressed! It's a magazine sized book, with nice, thick pages and bright colors!

Do you all know what's better than a Pride and Prejudice paper doll book?

I mean, besides Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Quick Caramel Glaze, which I've shared over on the recipe site Yankee Belle Cafe. I'm there every Wednesday and the occasional weekend, and most of the time what I'm cooking is edible. No guarantees, but I try.

So,  what's BETTER than  Pride and Prejudice paper doll book? THREE Pride and Prejudice paper doll books! I suppose I could space them out a bit, but I think I'm running out of weeks, and still have LOTS of prizes, so I'm going to start doubling up.  Enter early and often, and if your name comes up twice, you'll get two! One for you and one for a friend... or two for you, if you're greedy like that.

Did anybody watch Austenland? Did you LLURRRRRRV it? Or just like it a lot? I liked it, loved JJ Feilds but I thin I'm still a BBC gal.


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Teacup winners and a new giveaway!

Hellooooo, everybody!
 I love being able to announce a winner but what's better is being able to announce FOUR WINNERS!

 Are you all ready??

BECKY CHERRINGTON
ANNA KERNS
SAGAN CHILDS
LYNDA EDWARDS

 Rafflecopter loves ALL OF YOU and wants you to have a pretty tea cup! Thank you to everyone who entered and never fear, there are many more prizes to come!

 Now, all giveaways have been sent or ordered at this point so if you haven't received your goodies, just be patient a little while longer. The teacups will need some tender loving care, so they won't be mailed until later this week (because I need to find the perfect little boxes to ensure their survival through the postal system).


  NOW, for the next giveaway! (You thought I was kidding when I said I had oodles and oodles of Austen gifts, didn't you? HA!)
As a foodie (or as the French say, une gastronome) I horde cookbooks like a film buff collects movies. I love them vintage, modern, ethnic, short, oversized, sassy, serious, and everything in between. Why? Because I like to cook! (I hope there's not another 'why' waiting, because that should be obvious: I love to EAT.)

  This next giveaway is a dozen Jane Austen recipe cards on heavy notepaper. I have a set of these and they're just darling, but yours will come straight from Dorothy Jane, which a wonderful little etsy shop. (I'm currently smitten with her  blue bird nest tags but have absolutely no reason to buy them. Note to self: find purpose for delightful gift tags even though all upcoming birthdays are for males over the age of 10.)

 Now, these recipe cards might just come in very handy with the NEXT few rounds of giveaways. *hint hint*

Oh, forget about the hinting! Here's a sneak peak at what we have in store!

WHOOHOOO! Look at all those fun books: Southern Cakes, Southern Pies, A Jane Austen Cookbook and Pride and Prejudice paper dolls!

 All right, my friends. Enter early and often- and good luck!
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Winner!! And tea cup giveaway!

Whooohoooo!

 I love this giveaway stuff!

VESPER,  rafflecopter loves YOU and wants you to have some Austen art!!
 Congratulations and now, we've had tea, a mug, Austen movies, Austen art.... What do we need now? A tea cup giveaway! Excuse the picture, it really IS a very pretty demi-tasse cup. So small, so perfect for espresso or a bit of mulled wine. (Or, I suppose, TEA....) And I have FOUR to give away!

What's been your favorite giveaway so far? Leave a comment below and let me know. I have lots of prizes left and only a few more months before Pride, Prejudice and Cheese Grits emerges in PAPER. I've seen an advanced copy and she's SOOOO PRETTYYYY. And I can say that, because I'm the mom. Book babies are all beautiful, but to the mom, they're perfection.


 Anyway, my plan is to make sure I have only a very SMALL MOUNTAIN of Austen items left when June arrives, and an even SMALLER mountain when July is here and Emma, Mr. Knightley and Chili-Slaw Dogs comes out!!
  I have more art on the way, another mug, and some snazzy Austen book cover earrings... because we all need Austen jewelry, right???
Okay, so, enter early and often, my friends. Remember, I have four of these beautiful little tea cups! I'm not sure of the age, but they're a beautiful deep red!
Until next week!
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Winner!! And Austen Art Giveaway!

You thought I was kidding... but I'm not. I have been collecting lovely Austen items for many months now and the time has finally come!

But wait, we have a winner of the Darcy mug!

     BROOKS, Rafflecopter loves YOU! I've sent you an e-mail and I'll post this on the PPCG facebook page. Let me know where to have this pretty mug sent, 'kay?



Now, for the next item.... *roots through her massive pile of Jane goodies*

This lovely piece of Austen art from a wonderful etsy shop called Castle on the Hill (Elinore and Edward from Sense and Sensibility) all the way from England. I've already ordered and received the picture, so it will ship from the US, but when I ordered from straight from the shop, it took hardly any time at all! This is the second time I've ordered from her and she's one of my favorite etsy stores!


 We've had movies, tea, a mug... and now a bit of book art! I own one of these (Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, of course) and I love it so much I can't decide which room to put it in. Maybe I should get a few. One for each room??

 All right, my dearies, enter early and often! Good luck!




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Winner of the Bingley's Tea!!! And the chance to win a Darcy Proposal Mug

Hellloooo, everybody!

 Rafflecopter has chosen a winner

for the wonderful Bingley's Teas sampler and it is SHARI .

Whoohooo!

Now, because I've been hoarding Austen goodies for MONTHS, I need to have another giveaway before my friends and family stage an intervention. This time, it's a Darcy Proposal mug!

 *swoon*

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Winners!! We have winners!! (****and ANOTHER giveaway****)

Is there anything better than spreading the love of Jane Austen?  Ok, maybe a few things, but STILL, I'm so excited to be handing out Austen movie!

 In my last post I announced that the fantabulous Beth Adams at Howard Books has taken over the heavy lifting with my Austen Takes the South series. To celebrate, I decided we all needed a big fluffy blanket, a big bowl of popcorn and some Austen movies. (We readers can't read ALL the time. We need to break up the monotony.)

SO, without further ado:

Christalee, rafflecopter loves you and wants you to have PERSUASION.

Linda M., rafflecopter loves you and wants you to have PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, 2005.

Aleena, rafflecopter loves you and wants you to have EMMA, 2009.

And last, but not least, Wendy! Rafflecopter loves you and wants you to have PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, 1995!

Thank you ALL for coming over to celebrate with me! I have many Austen items left, so....

Here's the next wonderful bit of Austen love...

A  Pride and Prejudice Anniversary Notions Sampler

 from Bingley's Teas!

Description:
For the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice, we are happy to fulfill a longtime request to have a sampler edition of teas.
Included in each "Notions" box, 15 grams each of Mr. Darcy and Longbourn Wedding Tea; and 20 grams each of Miss Elizabeth and Sweet Jane (Bennet).
Enough for you to discover which tea or teas might be your favorite. Find a cozy corner, steep and re-read one of the most famous classics ever written by Jane Austen!

Ok, everybody, have fun entering and get those mugs ready!

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