Giveaway and Book Promotion: The Trouble with Missbehaving

The Trouble with Misbehaving

by Victoria Hanlen

This post contains affiliate links.

Calista ‘CC’ Collins is used to being the talk of the town. With her scandalous past she’s learnt the hard way that a woman needs to be strong to get what she wants in a man’s world. And what she wants is the infamous Captain Beauford Tollier—roguish son of an earl, notorious blockade-runner and all-round knave of the seas.

However, Captain Beau is not one to be cajoled—he is done with the dangerous sea life and ready to follow the life of the straight and narrow. But with many powerful forces circling around him, Beau doesn’t stand a chance…

Excerpt

“Dear brother, it’s more than cultural differences! She’s been here a decade. We’ve talked ourselves hoarse trying to convince her she only reinforces the rumors of instability with outbursts like those at dinner. She truly acts chastened and then does it again. I’ve a mind, deep down, our Miss Collins hates men.”

Beau slowly rolled his cigar in his mouth remembering how her soft, full lips moved so delightfully under his and how her lush body melted against him. He jerked the cigar from his mouth. “There must be some mistake.”

His brother’s expression grew reflective. “Had a mare like her once. Refused every stud we presented. Nearly gelded one or two we had mount—”

Mount. Dear God. “Well I—” Beau coughed as he struggled to keep a provocative image of he and C.C. from his mind. Fatigue, too much brandy and now this added bit of mischief made his head pound. Pinching his eyes together, he blinked and grasped for some topic to erase the image. “Does she have outbursts with women?”

“Never seen one. Can’t say she’s ever spoken to me in any way but cordial either. Odd woman, our Auntie Cali. The insanity must come from her American mother’s side.”

Thomas turned and slapped Beau on the back. “I’ve a wonderful wife and must occasionally brush up against some of her crazy relatives. You, on the other hand, are free to keep whatever company suits you. Miss Collins is a pretty package but believe me, you can do better.”

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AUTHOR Bio and Links

Award winning, historical romance author, VICTORIA HANLEN, has worked at a wide range of jobs, from fashion, to corporate business, to treading the boards of stage and professional opera. A lifelong writer, she once put her skills to use in PR and advertising. But her favorite form of writing is happily-ever-afters spiced with a dash of wit and a page-turning mystery. Victoria and her husband live in rural New England surrounded by a host of wildlife.

She enjoys hearing from readers at:

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Grove Collaborative Mrs. Meyers Luxury Set Gift Ends Today

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Travel to Northern Michigan

I grew up in Northern Michigan, Harbor Springs to be exact, and tourist season is usually Memorial Day to Labor Day.  However, winter is a beautiful time to visit, and there are still plenty of activities to partake in.  My family takes many weekend trips ‘Up North’ to visit my parents, who still live in the picturesque area.  

My brothers and I grew up on the slopes at Boyne Highlands and Boyne Mountain, and this past winter we introduced my girls to the pleasure of the slopes.  Both locations also offer extensive trails for cross country skiing and sledding hills.  After a day on the slopes, we usually grab a beer and wings at The Slopeside bar.

One of our favorite family pastimes while in Northern Michigan during the winter is snowshoeing.  We each have our own pair, and the trails abound.  We usually stick close to my parents’ house and use the wooded trails their neighbor cuts and grooms.  This is especially fun after dark with headlamps.

When we venture out, it is usually for food or drink.  Coffee and pastries are best had at Dripworks in Petoskey.  Sandwiches for lunch are always grabbed from Gurney’s Bottle Shop.  While dinner favorites are Moosejaw Junction located in Pellston and The City Park Grill in Petoskey.  The best place for craft beer it is Tap 30 in Petoskey.  

While many summer visitors believe Northern Michigan to slow up and hunker down in the winter, I have attended many great festivals and events.  The Harbor Springs Chili Cookoff is the best chili competition I have been to.  During Boyne Highland’s Brew-Ski Festival, my mother and I discovered Wood Fired Up, a food truck that serves wood fired pizza; there was nothing left to take home.

It will ALWAYS be home.

Spiralized Roasted Potatoes and Onions

Our family loves roasted potatoes with onions.  I bake them in the winter months and roll them in aluminum foil for the grill in the summer.  The seasoning on the potatoes varies depending on the meat we are having with them.  My basic recipe gets better here because I now have a veggie spiralizer and grinders for fresh salt and pepper.

I have a fairly large spiralizer that suctions to the counter and has multiple blades for slicing and spiralizing in different sizes.

For this recipe I just used freshly ground salt and pepper.  We use a peppercorn mix and Himalayan pink salt.  You can add garlic, chives, parsley, or any other seasoning that you like.

I ran six red skin potatoes through the spiralizer to create long, flat slices of potatoes.  I like this better than hand slicing the potatoes because they come out even, which makes cooking easier.

I then repeated the spiralizing to slice the onions.  Onions don't come out in long spirals, but are thinly sliced.  I did have to cut the potato ribbons into sections, so they were easier to serve.

I finished the side dish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Baking happened at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.  You can broil for the last 2-3 minutes if you want your potatoes a little crispier.

Here are the exact products used in this post.

 I have received complimentary versions of these products in exchange for reviews and promotions.  The opinions here are 100% mine!  This post contains affiliate links.

Stitch Fix February

It's that time again-Stitch Fix mail for February has arrived.  Apparently box #15 was the winner as I kept all five items because I loved each of them, and they fit perfectly.

What is Stitch Fix?

It is a styling service that for $20 (which gets credited towards any items you keep) you get five items hand-selected for you by a stylist.  You fill out a style profile and link a Pinterest board, so your stylists know what you like.  If you are interested in trying out this service, please use my referral link as I can get credit for sending you their way.

After a slightly disappointing box in October, I have taken Steve's advice for the last few fixes and requested fewer specifics.  He was right, my boxes have been better than ever.

This months pictures make me a little sad because two days after they were taken, we got the biggest snow storm of this winter, and now my yard is under a foot of snow with supposedly more coming.  Photo credit goes to Potumus, who also helped style each outfit in this post.

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I have been on the hunt for another pair of colored jeans since I got a fuchsia pair in Fix #2 and a dusty rose pair in Fix #11.  These mint ones will be the perfect addition.

Potumus and I decided to follow Maha's advice and pair it with the dolman top.  I don't own a dolman nor do I think I have ever gotten one in a fix before.  Clearly I was missing out because this top is the softest most comfortable top I own.  I can't wait to wear it to work next week.

The jeans are the softest pair I have ever tried on.  I imagine this is what seals or otters feel like.  They are longer, and I may decide to have them hemmed, but we will see.  I paired this with my Merrell Sandals.

Level 99 Giovanni Straight Leg Jeans $108 KEPT
Market and Spruce Corinna Striped Dolman Top $48 KEPT

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I asked for something tunic length as I have a pair of black pants from The Loft that I adore wearing to work, but they really need something tunic length to wear on top.

I was not disappointed with what Maha sent me; plaid, tunic, and teal.  What else could a girl want?  I especially like that I can layer a tank underneath if the weather is cool or not as the weather warms up.  I paired this with my teal jeans and fuchsia Sperrys at my daughter's suggestion.

Fun2Fun Ottoline One Pocket Tunic $48 KEPT

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After some consideration of my wardrobe this winter, I realized that I need to expand my dress pants selection, so I requested a pair of dress pants too.

Once again I was not disappointed.  I don't own high waited anything, so these were a welcome change.  In addition they are made of an interesting fabric and don't have a button or zipper; they look like leggings on top, but the style card says trouser, so they are trousers.  I know that wearing these to work all day would not be an issue.  I paired them with a holiday sweater (my friends thought that was the item I got and said I should send it back) and my black flats.

Margaret M Emer High Waited Trouser $98 KEPT

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I wasn't super excited about the last item because I had a top very similar to it already, but if you didn't have a black and white polka dot blouse, this is a good one.

I paired this top with my dusty rose jeans I mentioned earlier.  I layered it over a black tank, and it is lovely.  Honestly, I kept it because it was cheaper to keep it than return only this one item.

Daniel Rainn Koda Split Neck Blouse $68 KEPT 

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My first 5/5 box.  I am still reeling from the cost, but Steve assures me that I deserve it and need to continue building my wardrobe for work.

I haven't decided what to ask for in my March fix, and I have some time as our school band has a Disney trip coming up, so I pushed my next Fix back a couple week until the end of March.  Any suggestions on what I should ask for?

Be sure to follow my Pinterest Stitch Fix Board:

Follow Sarah's board Stitch Fix Board on Pinterest.

If you are interested, please use my referral link as I get a credit for letting you know about Stitch Fix.

I would love to know more about you in order to help you more: Do you Stitch Fix already?  What brought you to my post?  What kinds of pieces should I try in my wardrobe?

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