This month it was my turn to host our Saucy Ladies book group and our book was Listen For The Lie by Amy Tintera. Let me begin by saying I am not a great cook. I am not even considered a marginal cook but I have a wonderful husband who knows his way around the kitchen and who stepped in and saved the night.
If you haven't read the book yet, and I recommend that you do, it is about a young woman who is suspected of killing her best friend. This woman doesn't have any memory of the night and although most of the people in the small town believe she is the murderer, there isn't enough evidence to charge her. Five years later, a podcaster focusing on unsolved crimes has decided to dig into this murder case and is the jumping-off point for this page-turner.
It was a great book for discussion but there are a lot of characters so I printed off a character list to help us keep them straight.
I like to bring in a theme when I am hosting our book group and since this book takes place in a small town in Texas, I decided to run with a Texas vibe but needed it to blend in visually with the tropical and coastal colors in my home. So yes, I went with bandanas but instead of the usual red and navy, I went with green, pink, and coral. Green and coral on the table
and pink in the kitchen.
I love tablescapes and this was a fun one but I kept it simple.
Cowboy boots with fresh flowers and green glass bottles as candle holders.
The vintage-looking microphone was my nod to the book's podcast theme.
I had fun with the signage. Give me a color printer and I can go to town.
It was fun tying in the Texas theme wherever possible like naming the food dishes and referring to the cornbread as hay bales.
When it came to the menu I had to do a little research and learned that Texas is known for its pecans. So for the dessert I cheated and bought these mini pecan pies. To highlight the theme one last time, I added small Texas flags to each one and placed them on pink bandana napkins. Easy peasy.
Nothing about this was difficult or expensive. Thanks to Amazon and Hobby Lobby for the Texas flair, Trader Joe's for the flowers, a remarkable partner as my head chef, and a bit of planning on my part, the evening came together "without a hitch". (Pun intended).
Again, this book was a fast read. You could finish it this holiday weekend.
Enjoy!
