Author Archives: Cecelia Dowdy

Love on the Menu

Have you ever had romantic feelings towards a coworker?

Well, Maggie is not really Hank’s coworker, per se, but, they do work together closely in this cute, sweet Hallmark Movie. I’ll admit, although this movie was cute and sweet, it’s not one of my Hallmark faves.

Hank, a widower, is stubborn when it comes to his cooking. A perfectionist, he wakes up early in the morning to make elaborate meals for his daughter’s breakfast. His daughter flip flops, not able to make up her mind, about being a vegan. She doesn’t always eat his food, which annoys me – who wakes up early to make all that food with nobody to eat it? I believe once in the movie, Hank had mentioned that he took the leftovers to the staff at his restaurant.

Hank’s restaurant – it’s failing! His brother-in-law (Bernie) used to be the bartender in the restaurant. After Bernie’s sister (Hank’s wife) died, Bernie stepped up to manage the restaurant, but, he’s a terrible manager! I’ll admit that Hank is a terrible business owner! Neither of them know how to account for their earnings and they even have an employee who was stealing cases of wine, and they had no knowledge of this until Maggie stepped in!

Maggie wants chef Hank to work with her company to create a gourmet line of frozen foods. Hank reluctantly agrees since he needs the money. Bernie admits that they have over-due bills. (BTW, I HATED Bernie’s tie clip! It looked so DORKY! I know that they wanted to portray Bernie as a business man, but, he needed to ditch the tie clip!)

Maggie agrees to help Hank make his restaurant profitable if he agrees to do the gourmet food line for her employer. While Maggie helps Hank save his business, she bonds with his daughter. They go shopping and Hank’s daughter admits that Maggie reminds her of her mom.

It was terrible when Maggie’s boss, Andrea, tells her that they won’t pay Hank any more money. After he’s given them their recipes for the frozen food line, Andrea refuses to pay him for more, and threatens to fire Maggie if she continued to work with Hank in his restaurant.

When Maggie tells Hank that she has to leave and go in search of another chef to create yet another line of frozen foods, Hank gets mad. Maggie’s boss, Andrea, was supposed to pay Hank more money and she’s not holding up her end of the deal. Maggie tells Hank that it’s not her fault – Andrea is the one who controls this whole project. Hank tells Maggie to leave his restaurant and he also says that she should’ve quit her job.

Really Hank? He’s so dumb. Such a goofball! I know if I’d been in that position, I couldn’t just up and quit my job – I’d have needed the money. I have my own bills to pay – the most I could’ve done was to seek out other employment while working for my current boss. (Although it does come up later that Maggie has a comfortable savings).

Hank finally admits that he’s wrong and asks Maggie to come back to his restaurant. Maggie swoops in and saves the day and becomes an investor in Hank’s restaurant and quits her job!

I loved seeing the food that Hank makes.

Do you like Italian food?

I love it! I make my own spaghetti sauce with fresh tomatoes and I also make homemade pizza using my sourdough starter for the crust! Yummy!

I loved seeing those homemade pizzas and pasta that Hank created! They looked so good! If Hank wasn’t so pig-headed, it wouldn’t have taken him so long to realize that he needed to update his menu. Just because a menu is classic, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be updated, just a little bit! Especially when profits were dropping!

I would’ve loved to have seen a recipe for Hank’s homemade pizza on Hallmark’s website!

So, have you ever had romantic feelings towards someone that you’ve worked with? What happened? Did you ever date?

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The Perfect Bride

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Have you ever stressed about having the PERFECT wedding?

When Molly (a wedding boot camp instructor) meets Nick (a wedding photographer) she’s instantly, deeply, attracted to him. But, unbeknownst to Molly, Nick is engaged! The cute banter they exchanged was only small talk on Nick’s part.

I really enjoyed this movie. It’s one of my Hallmark favorites. I’ve watched it over and over again and I never grow tired of seeing it!

Did you think any part of the movie was unrealistic?

Janna, Nick’s fiancée, is determined to have the perfect wedding. She’s jealous of her sister Karen. Her sister Karen’s wedding was perfect, and Janna wants folks to remember her wedding as being perfect. Yes, I can see someone being jealous of a sibling – so jealous that they do unscrupulous things to be perfect.

I thought it was unrealistic that Janna actually had a store mannequin in her house. Using devious ways, she “buys” Lisa’s (Molly’s sister) wedding dress and prominently displays it in her living room on the mannequin! That girl is crazy!

Janna reminds me a of Raven, a character in my novel, Raspberry Kisses. In Raspberry Kisses, Raven is desperate to get married. She actually buys a wedding dress and hoards it in her closet, hoping to find the perfect groom. She’s desperate to get married, but, she’s got other problems that she needs to address before she can even consider marriage.

I thought it was totally realistic that Molly fell for Nick when she first meets him at the wedding. From her perspective, I could understand why she thought he was flirting with her, especially when he said they should get together to swap wedding bride clients. I think Nick kind of liked Molly, too, initially, but, could not admit those feelings to himself since he was engaged to Janna.

Before this movie, had you ever heard of a bridal boot camp?

I’d never heard of it before I saw this movie. I Googled it and found that it really does exist! Molly was hurting from her broken engagement. She’d already purchased a wedding dress and everything, but, came to the conclusion that her and her potential groom were not ready to get married. So, she’d gorged on cookies, candies, sweets, etc. and she worked out to get rid of the extra weight she’d gained. Her experience compelled her to start her bridal boot camp.

I’m not sure if I could survive bridal boot camp! Besides, I love cookies!

I could really relate to Nick being a photographer. No, I’m not a photographer, but, I’m a writer. Being a writer is hard work and it’s difficult to make enough money to pay your bills by writing. Nick had a similar problem with his photography – which was why he started doing wedding pics – he needed the money to pay his bills!

One of a kind wedding dress shop?

Had you ever heard of that before this movie? I hadn’t! I Googled and found that such shops really do exist! One shop even touted that you don’t have to pay a high price for a one-of-a-kind dress! I also found some one-of-a-kind dresses that were over twenty thousand dollars!

I purchased my wedding dress, almost fifteen years ago, from a bridal boutique in Virginia. The boutique (Hannelore’s) has now closed! They had some amazing dresses there and I chose my dress from a bridal magazine. This is me – in my wedding dress!!

I was so glad that Janna and Nick broke up! It was no surprise since this is a Hallmark movie and it’s obvious that Nick was in the picture as Molly’s love interest!

So, tell me, have you ever been like Janna and stressed about having the perfect wedding?

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Very, Very Valentine

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Can a man an a woman be best friends without being romantically involved?

Well, that’s the problem that pretty flower shop owner Helen faces in Very, Very Valentine! This Hallmark Movie is one of my absolute favorites! I’ve watched it so many times that even my son has commented about my VVV movie-watching craze!

When Helen goes to a formal masquerade with her best friend, Henry, she’s in for a surprising treat. She meets a handsome masked man, whom she initially mistakes for Henry. They have a conversation and she’s stunned once her and the mysterious stranger are separated for the evening.

Helen is then obsessed with finding the mysterious stranger. Henry and one of her flower shop employees, Beth, jump in to help her. Henry saves the day by finding the masked man. The mysterious stranger turns out to be Charles Bronson. Helen and Charles date and Helen believes that Charles is the right man for her. She’s mistakenly basing her feelings on their mysterious meeting at the masquerade, as well as their enjoyable conversation at an art gallery.

But Charles has no idea how to woo Helen! Henry has to coach Charles, letting him know about Helen’s taste in books, Valentine’s Day expectations, etc.

But…deep down Henry wants Helen to be more than just a friend.

This was my favorite part of the movie. This scene occurs after Henry arrives at the flower shop to take Helen out to lunch. Helen’s Aunt Carol informs Henry that Helen is out to lunch with Charles. It’s subtly obvious that this news hurts Henry – Helen obviously forgot about their lunch date since she had a date with Charles! Henry goes to lunch alone and Beth spots him when she enters the restaurant. Beth is subtly interested in Henry, so she finagles a seat with him. Here’s the scene, verbatim:

Beth: “Henry?”

Henry: “Oh, hey Beth, how are you?”

Beth: “Oh, good.”

Henry: “Good.”

Beth: “Things were so crazy at the flower shop I needed a pick me up to make it through the rest of the day.”

Henry: “I guess you did.”

Beth: “Mind if I join you?”

Henry: “Ah, yeah, sure. Please.”

Beth: “Great.”

Beth: “What ‘cha reading?”

Henry: “Oh, um. Just something I picked up at the bookstore across the street. I was supposed to have lunch with Helen but things changed so…”

Beth: “You two have been friends for a long time, huh?”

Henry: “Since college and then we reconnected when we moved back to New York.”

Beth: “She told me about that. Great story.”

Henry: “Right, although I’m not sure it can top mistaken identities at a masquerade ball.”

Beth: “Mistaken bouquets…”

Henry: “I like that.” <laughing> “Yeah, I guess so.”

Helen sees them, and you get a peek at her feelings for Henry (which I seriously believe she was going to confess earlier in the movie, right before Henry had revealed that he’d found Charles!). I also believe that Henry was going to reveal his true feelings for Helen when he’d initially asked her to the masquerade ball. Helen meeting Charles at the ball just messed things up for Henry. If Charles had not become acquainted with Helen then I seriously think that Henry would’ve asked Helen if they could be more than friends….

Anyway, when Helen sees Henry having lunch with Beth, she doesn’t have the courage to watch her them having lunch together. She loses her appetite and tells Charles they should go out for a walk instead! Chicken, Helen…just plain chicken to tell Henry about your true, budding feelings!

(As an aside, I doubt I’d have skipped lunch altogether. I don’t know about you, but, I can’t skip meals. Helen told Charles she wasn’t hungry and that they should go for a walk instead? Really? Charles seems like a man who’d have an appetite or something? Wasn’t he hungry? Seemed like they would’ve gotten a hot dog or something While they walked?)

So, after Helen and Charles leave, the scene continues:

Henry: “I don’t know if I believe in fate but at that moment, I was close…cause I’d just moved back to the city to make a fresh start. It was a bit of a tricky time. I was just finished a divorce, some things had been chaotic and as soon as I signed on with the Botanical Gardens I’d immediately regretted it and I was sitting in my office wondering if my entire life was a colossal mistake and then, in walks Helen with this silly bouquet and I just knew right then and right there that I’d made the right choice.”

Beth: “Oh my gosh.”

Henry: “What?”

Beth: “I can’t believe I didn’t notice.”

Henry: “Notice what?”

Beth: “You’re in love with Helen.”

Henry: “That’s…I’m not….” He hangs his head down.

Beth: “For how long?”

Henry: “Awhile.”

Beth: “Not since the flower mix-up?”

Henry: “Well..”

Her mouth hangs open. “And you never said anything?’

Henry: “The timing just was never quite right. When we reconnected she was in a relationship and by the time they broke up I had a girlfriend and we were never quite in sync.”

Beth: “You’re both single now. You finally had your window. Why tell her about Charles?”

Henry: “Because it made her happy.”

All I can say is…whoa…that scene…all of those emotions in that scene. You see how much Henry really loves Helen and how he’s sacrificed telling her his true feelings by finding Charles…just to make her happy? Such a gush-worthy moment! Man, if Helen doesn’t want Henry then I’ll take him for myself…pilot’s license and all… LOL!

And as another aside, Beth offers Henry a cookie…she says he needs it more than she does, based off his recent confession….

Well…a cookie sounds great, but, I wondered why Henry and Beth weren’t eating lunch instead of cookies? They seemed to have skipped a meal – just like Helen and Henry! Yeah, I’m rambling, but, just trying to be realistic!

My mom always told me that when a man and a woman are good friends, it’s not as it always appears. “One of them really (romantically) likes the other one, that’s why they’re such good friends.” <The word romantically was added by me to emphasize my mom’s point.>

Henry and Helen were such good friends…and Henry was in love with her…what do you think?

Can a man and a woman be best friends without having any romantic feelings toward each other?

I’m not talking about being casual friends or acquaintances, or co-working together – I’m talking about good, solid friendship where you see one another regularly and are involved in each other’s lives. Can such a bond exist between a man and a woman without involving romance?

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Snowcoming

Have you ever went home for a special school event?

Snowcoming! Don’t you just love that title? Snowball…love that too! Wasn’t this such a cute, delightful movie?

Samantha returns home for her father’s retirement party. Her dad is the high school coach. When she returns to town, she runs into Jake, her old high-school flame. Jake is a famous football player now and he’s also friends with Samantha’s dad. He’s bunking at Samantha’s dad’s house, and being so close to him puts Samantha into a tizzy!

Hard for her to admit that she still has feelings for him. I thought Jake was cute and sincere! He’s sorry for the way he’s treated Samantha in the past, and he wants to make a fresh start. But, Samantha is leery. Jake will be gone soon, back to his life of football fame, won’t he?

Didn’t you just love that tree house? I loved seeing that structure and could imagine curling up with someone in that big tree house.

Although I enjoyed the scenes in the library, where Samantha acts as a mentor to the teenager who likes to read, I thought it was a bit far-fetched. Are there any public libraries that still allow folks to sign out books with those cards in the back? It appeared that library still used the Dewey Decimal System, too? Also, the teenager (the female that Samantha mentored), well…I’d imagine that a teenager, especially nowadays, would have no problem finding books, especially with the internet and Kindle and…I don’t know. I felt that the teen was clueless about getting books online. I felt that the teenager was in a bit of a time warp? What do you think?

That reporter kept getting on my nerves – the one that kept asking Jake all of those nosy questions. I wanted her off the set real quick. I couldn’t stand her.

I thought the romance between Samantha’s dad and the librarian was sweet and cute!

I noticed that Samantha’s best friend, the one who was pregnant, was a minority. Her husband was White. That was the first time I ever recall Hallmark having a mixed couple on one of their movies. I loved that they opened up and did that! I enjoyed seeing them interact with one another and it was super sweet that she was having a baby!


So, have you ever returned home for a school event, like Homecoming (Snowcoming)?

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Time For Me To Come Home For Christmas


Have you ever had a hard time coming home for Christmas?

Okay, I saw this movie a couple of months ago, started to blog about it and then I forgot to do the blog entry! So, here it is a bit late…I’m basing my entry on what I remember about the movie since it’s been awhile since I’ve seen it!

While Cara is flying home for Christmas, she meets country singer Heath. He spills coffee on her, and he feels bad about it. She dons a charming Christmas sweater (since her clothing had been stained by coffee) and she has gingerbread cookies and coffee with Heath.

Fans adore him. I wondered about Heath’s fame. Yes, he’s famous, sort of. People seem to recognize him, but, not to the degree of a “regular” star. I recall that he flew on a plane just like a regular person. He wasn’t followed around by paparazzi or anything. He could walk around without being attacked by anyone.

Cara’s family’s business is in trouble. She’s still grieving over the death of her mom and her dad is offended when Heath offers financial help for their business. Her dad was proud – that’s why he didn’t want to accept Heath’s help. Meanwhile, Cara makes some great nutritious candy bars – a recipe that’ll hopefully save their family business.

There’s also a cute little kid whom Heath and Cara befriend at the airport. The kid is flying alone and both Heath and Cara help him to feel at ease.

This movie was okay…not one of my faves. I liked it, but, didn’t love it. I liked how Heath and Cara were stranded in a snowstorm and they go into a church for shelter. I thought it was kind of strange that the choir was rehearsing, but, they didn’t say anything to Heath or Cara when they were there!

I’d imagine if some strangers strolled into a church during Christmas choir practice that they’d at least greet the newcomers and ask if they needed assistance?

Cara and Heath fall for each other while they travel home for the holidays. However, Cara gets jealous when she sees a tabloid linking Heath romantically with a model. This sort of thing is typical when dealing with famous folks.

So, have you ever struggled with going home for Christmas? If so, did you ever make it home in time for the holidays?

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Winter Love Story

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Have you ever met a famous author?

I could relate to this movie so much! Since I’m a romance author, I know what it’s like to have a book signing and hardly anybody shows up! I think the general public might not necessarily know that booksignings are not always glitz and glamour with fans clamoring to get your book!

Cassie is a new author and her book is not selling. She’s paired up with Elliot, a bestselling fantasy novelist. Cassie doesn’t really take his novels seriously, I mean, come on, how hard can it be to write a book about dragons? But, it’s dragons – even though it’s fantasy, it’s still writing and it takes a fair amount of work.

Cassie and Elliot go on a book tour. The tour includes book signings and and interviews. Of course, during the course of this week-long book tour road trip, they fall in love. You know that’s going to happen. It is a Hallmark movie after all!

I could really relate to both of these characters. When Elliot realizes that Cassie’s mom is a famous novelist, an old teacher of his, he reminds her that she’d encouraged him to change his major from Business to English. A similar situation happened to me when I was in college. When I took Freshman English, my professor said that I was a good writer. He asked me what my major was, and I told him it was Finance. He told me I was in the wrong major. He said I should change my major to English.

I didn’t listen to him. I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance. I caught the writing bug in my late twenties. Looking back, I’m not sure if I should’ve listened to him or not. My degree has given me access to halfway decent jobs. Making a living as a best-selling novelist, that’s rare. I wasn’t sure if I’d been able to find a decent job with an English degree. I mean, after all, I had to pay back my student loans.

I really loved that they had a snowstorm. There’s just something so romantic about being cooped up with your romantic interest in a snowstorm. Also, while they were being interviewed, during that last interview, I LOVED how Elliot LOOKED at Cassie. He looked like a smitten man, a man that was IN LOVE, swooning over his future wife! My heart sped up when he looked at her that way! Oh my!

Near the end of the movie, I think they just dragged out the storyline with the ex-wife. All Cassie had to do was ask Elliot if he were still involved with her. There was so much unspoken between them during that last half hour. I would’ve tried to think of something else to create angst between them. Like, I probably would’ve shown the ex-wife coming onto him and Cassie sees it and gets the wrong idea?

Overall a good movie. I can’t wait to see this one again! Oh, by the way, most authors don’t go on book tours like that. Book tours are rare and the few authors that go on them (outside of bestselling NY Times authors) have to foot the bill themselves. Also, as far as publicity goes (outside of bestselling NY Times authors) the author has to foot the bill for that, too. Most publishers don’t do a lot of advertising for their new/non-best-selling authors. That’s just the way it is, and I wanted all to know that! Advertising can be quite pricey, and after you shell out the money for it, there’s no guarantee that it’ll have a positive impact on your sales!

So, have you ever met a famous author before? If so, where did you meet him/her?

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Surprised by Love

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Have you ever pretended to be in a relationship? What happened?

I’ve seen this movie so many times! I was off from work today since there was a snowstorm. Schools and jobs were shut down for the day. So while I spent the day writing, I happened to see Surprised by Love come on the Hallmark Channel so, I just had to stop and watch.

This is such a cute, fun movie and I love watching it over and over again. When Josie runs into Gridley in the park, they reconnect. Gridley and Josie are high school pals and they haven’t seen each other in a long time.

Gridley is a…well, I’m not really sure what to call him! He makes these artistic animals and creatures using driftwood, or something. Frankly, I think the animals that he creates are NOT attractive, but, Josie likes them.

Gridley doesn’t have a phone and it appears that he’s barely making ends meet with his animal/structure making business in the park. He sells these creations in the park every day. When Josie brings her boyfriend (Richard) with her to Gridley’s “selling place/business section” in the park, her upper-class boyfriend (Richard) comes up with a brilliant idea.

Since Josie’s parents dislike Richard why doesn’t she bring Gridley as her new “beau” to her parents’ anniversary party? Once they see “loser” Gridley, Richard will suddenly look like an amazing knight in shining armor! Her parents will learn to appreciate Richard after spending the weekend with “loser” Gridley.

I loved how Gridley made himself at home at Josie’s parents’ house. Her parents recalled meeting Gridley during Josie’s high school years (They didn’t like him very much). Soon the family accepts him into their home and they start to grow feelings for him. I was completely FLOORED when I found out that Josie’s grandpa could talk! He only trusts Gridley with his secret. No way could I hide something like that if I were grandpa.

I recall seeing the actor who played the grandpa, Tim Conway, long ago on the Carol Burnett show! I LOVED seeing him on that show! He was a hoot, oh so funny!

I loved how Gridley and Josie reconnected. I was surprised that Gridley used to be a student at MIT but dropped out when his mom died. I think Gridley is happy with what he does, making his driftwood creations, and is not concerned about money.

But, honestly, I don’t think I could be happy if I didn’t have the money to do all that I wanted. Like, if I want to get my hair done, or get a new outfit, or go out to dinner – well, if I’m always scrimping to the point that I think about every cent – well, that’d put a damper on my day. I scrimped a lot in my younger years, but as I’ve grown older and more settled and comfortable in my life and my job, it’d be hard to suddenly live my life working in a park – if you know what I mean! But circumstances arise and sometimes you do what you have to do!

But, since Gridley has no other obligations (He’s by himself and has no dependents), I think it’s easy for him to be somewhat of a hippie. I really enjoyed seeing Josie and Gridley go to their old high school and talk about old times. I also liked the side story about Josie’s sister – she kind of reminds me of Gridley in a way. She dropped out of school and she’s a singer – and she’s happy doing what she does. She also has a big crush on the boy next door, which was so cute! Plus, her green hair, thanks to Gridley’s cheap hat, is so adorable, too!

This movie is one of my faves! So sweet and good!

So, have you ever been in a pretend relationship? If so, what happened? Did you develop feelings for the other person?

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One Winter Proposal

One Winter Proposal PODCAST

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you enjoy movies such as One Winter Proposal then you should try Rocky Road Dreams by CECELIA DOWDY. Rocky Road Dreams is about a lawyer named Kyle Baxter. Kyle is on a month-long Christmas hiatus from his job. He rents a house on the Outer Banks for his extended vacation. Melanie Richards, his childhood friend, lives across the street. When they were kids, Melanie had a crush on Kyle’s identical twin brother Keith. Kyle never thought he stood a chance with Melanie since she was smitten with his brother. Keith is now married and both Kyle and Melanie are single.

 

 

Will Melanie give him a chance?

 

 

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Kyle’s mom died when he was three and he barely remembers her. He’s determined to find out more about his mom. As Melanie and Kyle reconnect during the holiday season they take a long road trip during a snowstorm so that Kyle can find answers to his questions about his mother. The road trip is also something that Melanie must do so that she can save her business. See ceceliadowdy.com/books or click on the link at the end of this blog post to purchase Rocky Road Dreams. Rocky Road Dreams is available on Amazon.

Are you married? If so, how did your husband propose to you?

My favorite part of this movie was the proposal at the end. Those red flowers, that tux that Ben was wearing, Cara’s dress….so pretty, and it was a special treat that Ben was able to surprise Cara, wasn’t it?

Cara is a first-time-published novelist – a profession to which I can relate since my first book was released well over two decades ago!

Ben and Cara return to the ski resort where they met one year ago. They’ve been dating and Ben plans to propose to Cara. But, it’s hard to surprise her – Cara just knows things, if you know what I mean. When she finds a jewelry store receipt for the re-sizing of a ring, she gets excited and tells her pal Megan. They shriek with glee.

I was really glad to see Megan and Sean. Kudos to Hallmark for putting more African-American characters into their movies. Megan works hard, too hard. You know, sometimes, when you work hard for a career, it’s difficult to say no when you’re asked to do certain tasks. Megan and her assistant are sent to the ski resort to take pics to feature in the new travel section of the magazine where they work.

Megan’s and Sean’s romance, which started a year ago, kind of fizzled since they were both so busy and there were a lot of missed phone calls and email messages between them.

I was glad when they decided to give their relationship a chance and make time for one another. Weren’t you glad to see Megan and Sean take another chance on love? Hey, maybe Hallmark can feature another movie with Sean and Megan – in the next flick, Sean will propose to Megan! Wasn’t Sean’s teenage niece adorable?

Oh…the book….Megan is a novelist and Ben assumes that the book she’s written is about the two of them. This makes him leery about proposing to her since the characters in the book do not get married at the end. When I write books, I don’t usually write about people that I know personally…for the most part. I wrote a book partially based on my husband’s life, but, most of the material (the events) were fictionalized. The character was partially based on my husband’s unique experiences and his personality was used, too!

I noticed that Hallmark features writers in their movies quite often. I assume they do this because they also publish romance novels. Also, some of those romance novels are made into movies (and vice versa – they have the book written after the movie). It’s interesting seeing movies about writers since I can relate to the journey to publication.

I thought this was a light, sweet movie. Not one of my faves, but enjoyable. I loved the scenery. Snow, mountains, snowboarding….ahhh…so wonderful! What are your thoughts/feelings about One Winter Proposal?

So, are you married? If so, how did your husband propose to you?

This blog post is sponsored by Divine Desserts Publishing LLC. If you enjoy movies such as One Winter Proposal then you should try Rocky Road Dreams by CECELIA DOWDY. Rocky Road Dreams is about a lawyer named Kyle Baxter. Kyle is on a month-long Christmas hiatus from his job. He rents a house on the Outer Banks for his extended vacation. Melanie Richards, his childhood friend, lives across the street. When they were kids, Melanie had a crush on Kyle’s identical twin brother Keith. Kyle never thought he stood a chance with Melanie since she was smitten with his brother. Keith is now married and both Kyle and Melanie are single.

 

 

Will Melanie give him a chance?

 

 

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 1642896150.png

 

 

Kyle’s mom died when he was three and he barely remembers her. He’s determined to find out more about his mom. As Melanie and Kyle reconnect during the holiday season they take a long road trip during a snowstorm so that Kyle can find answers to his questions about his mother. The road trip is also something that Melanie must do so that she can save her business. See ceceliadowdy.com/books or click on the link at the end of this blog post to purchase Rocky Road Dreams. Rocky Road Dreams is available on Amazon.

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ROCKY ROAD DREAMS BOOK LINK

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The Birthday Wish

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Have you ever made a special wish for your birthday?

Oh my! This movie is definitely one of my favorites!

When Gwen makes a special birthday wish, her life gets pretty interesting! Gwen wants to be married by her 30th birthday. After a secret birthday wish, she discovers that she has vision problems. She visits the optometrist and the strange doctor provides a glimpse into her future – her future with her work mate Dave!

Both Dave and Gwen work together as commercial directors. I loved seeing them on the set! So interesting seeing them in that work environment! They grow close working together on the set. But Gwen can’t let her feelings grow for Dave because, she’s seriously dating Alex, the weatherman!

Didn’t you think that Dave was cute?

I did! He was so nice and SO PERFECT for Gwen! Alex was just a wet blanket. Gwen initially felt that Alex was the right guy for her and she really was expecting Alex to propose.

I really would’ve liked to have known more about the supernatural element to this movie. Like, what made Gwen able to see into the future? What kind of mystical powers were bestowed onto the optometrist?

I could really relate to Dave’s fear of eating street food. A street food vendor used to come to my day job for lunch. I’d purchase food from him. I got sick once. Really sick. I don’t think all of those street vendors are sanitary, although, most of them are. I don’t fear eating from them, but, can understand why others would be leery.

I thought it was sweet that Dave helped Gwen to get over her fear of dogs. Those pups were SO ADORABLE, weren’t they?

I also loved how Dave really adored Gwen, truly adored her. I loved seeing those glimpses into the future.

Wasn’t it great when they were playing that trivia game at the restaurant/bar? Gwen whooped when she got some correct answers. Dave gives her the most tender look and then he says, “I’ve never seen you look so relaxed. Can I get you another drink?”

Oh, my heart melted when I saw that! Truly emotional. Gwen was always a bit off-base and edgy when she was around him. She was just confused, trying to figure out these things she saw in the future. When she saw her future unfold whenever she saw Dave, she just didn’t know how to handle it!

Needless to say, I simply COULD NOT STAND Alex! He was the most narcissistic weatherman! Oh! He didn’t deserve Gwen…and that proposal??? Pathetic, simply pathetic!

So, have you ever made a special birthday wish? If so, did it come true?

https://ceceliadowdy.com/bakery-romance-series/

 

Ice Hotels!

Have you ever visited an ice hotel?

When I posted about Winter Castle some folks on my Facebook Page were wondering where the movie was filmed. I’m not sure. Do you know where Winter Castle was filmed?

I also found some really cool stock photos for ice hotels so, thought I’d share them here! I see that the ice hotels are NOT in the United States. From what I can gather, the only ice hotel in North America is in Canada. It’s called Hotel de Glace and it’s in Quebec.

Ice hotel suite in Lainio snow village, Yllasjarvi, Finland

The hotel suite above is from a snow village in Finland. Isn’t it gorgeous? So pretty! I love looking at this. I can imagine all sorts of scenes happening in ice hotels. Hey, maybe I’ll use an ice hotel in my next Christmas novel! How does that sound?

a hotel room in ice hotel

This one’s pretty, but, I don’t know where it’s located!

There’s also a WONDERFUL LOOKING ice hotel in Sweden!

From the little bit of researching that I’ve done online, I’ve seen that these hotels are seasonal. You stay warm by sleeping in a warm sleeping bag. I’ve also seen some places have both warm and cold rooms. The cold/ice rooms are not available all year. From what I’ve seen, folks will usually stay in the ice room for only one night. The other nights they stay in a warm room.

I wondered about these ice hotel rooms. I wondered about taking a shower and going to the bathroom. I found my answers here. It appears that the shower, sauna and bathrooms are in a separate area.

I think these hotels are wonderful looking BUT, I’m not so sure I’d want to stay in one. I’m not one to appreciate the cold, at least not enough to stay in a room made of ice! I do get hot a lot in recent years (hot flashes), but, after a flash, I can get a bit cold.

Even with the thermal sleeping bags, I’m not so sure I’d want to stay in that room. I think I’d prefer staying in a warm room and just enjoy the ice sculptures/attractions during the day.

So have you ever visited an ice hotel? If you haven’t, would you consider visiting one in the future?