"In this delicious follow-up to There's Cake in My Future, Seema, Nic and Mel are back, adjusting to their new lives as a bride-to-be, a mother-to-be, and a recently single girl looking for love It's been about a year since Mel, Nic and Seema pulled their magical charms out of the cake at Nic's bridal shower and each of their happily-ever-afters seemingly came true. Now, Seema is about to marry Scott in an elaborate three-day affair that's stressing out everyone, including her Maid of Honor, Mel. Nic is glowingly pregnant, and Mel... well, Mel feels as if she accidentally veered off the rails of her life at some point and isn't sure how to get back on. On top of the possible threat of a layoff from her teaching job, she is single yet again, and has to find her own place now that Scott's moving in with her roommate, Seema. Nic thinks Mel just needs a little something to help her figure it all out. and believes a cake pull at Seema's bridal shower will be just the thing. Since she's poured so much attention into building a career, never making time for travel, Mel decides to ask for the passport charm. But once again, the cake proves to have a mind of its own, giving her yet another unrequested charm. Mel decides it's time to take matters into her own hands. A spur of the moment decision leads her to Paris and then Maui, where she finds herself on an adventure that she never could have imagined, experiencing the trials and tribulations of a life suddenly and perfectly unplanned. And she begins to learn that, however nonsensical it may seem, the cake is never wrong"--

Covering over 10,000 idioms and collocations characterized by similarity in their wording or metaphorical idea which do not show corresponding similarity in their meanings, this dictionary presents a unique cross-section of the English language. Though it is designed specifically to assist readers in avoiding the use of inappropriate or erroneous phrases, the book can also be used as a regular phraseological dictionary providing definitions to individual idioms, cliches, and set expressions. Most phrases included in the dictionary are in active current use, making information about their meanings and usage essential to language learners at all levels of proficiency.

A narrative history of the craft cocktail renaissance, written by a New York Times cocktail writer and one of the foremost experts on the subject. A Proper Drink is the first-ever book to tell the full, unflinching story of the contemporary craft cocktail revival. Award-winning writer Robert Simonson interviewed more than 200 key players from around the world, and the result is a rollicking (if slightly tipsy) story of the characters—bars, bartenders, patrons, and visionaries—who in the last 25 years have changed the course of modern drink-making. The book also features a curated list of about 40 cocktails—25 modern classics, plus an additional 15 to 20 rediscovered classics and classic contenders—to emerge from the movement.

From grain to glass--a complete illustrated history of brewing and breweries in the state more famous for beer than any other Few places on Earth are as identified with beer as Wisconsin, with good reason. Since its first commercial brewery was established in 1835, the state has seen more than 800 open and more than 650 close--sometimes after mere months, sometimes after thriving for as long as a century and a half. The Drink That Made Wisconsin Famous explores this rich history, from the first territorial pioneers to the most recent craft brewers, and from barley to barstool. From the global breweries that developed in Milwaukee in the 1870s to the "wildcat" breweries of Prohibition and the upstart craft brewers of today, Doug Hoverson tells the stories of Wisconsin's rich brewing history. The lavishly illustrated book goes beyond the giants like Miller, Schlitz, Pabst, and Heileman that loom large in the state's brewing renown. Of equal interest are the hundreds of small breweries across the state started by immigrants and entrepreneurs to serve local or regional markets. Many proved remarkably resistant to the consolidation and contraction that changed the industry--giving the impression that nearly every town in the Badger State had its own brewery. Even before beer tourism became popular, hunters, anglers, and travelers found their favorite brews in small Wisconsin cities like Rice Lake, Stevens Point, and Chippewa Falls. Hoverson describes these breweries in all their diversity, from the earliest enterprises to the few surviving stalwarts to the modern breweries reviving Wisconsin's reputation as the place to find not just the most beer but the best. Within the larger history, every brewery has its story, and Hoverson gives each its due, investigating the circumstances that meant success or failure and describing in engaging detail the people, the technology, the marketing, and the government relations that delivered Wisconsin's beer from grain to glass.

A posthumous country music novel on the conflict between commerce and art. Hillbilly singer Danny MacGregor must decide whether to sing commercials or devote himself to folk music, like his sweetheart. The time is 1949, the setting North Carolina and the novel analyzes a problem that is still with us, the destruction of genuine folk music by urbanization and commercial folk music.