what are you into right now?

I AM:

-having fun playing with PicMonkey.  So much fun!  I don't have a clue when it comes to photo editing.  I usually just try to get things right with the actual photo, but there's not much time these days for perfect lighting and people who know how to sit still.  Sooo... this is a fun and easy way to make my crummy photos look a bit fancier, or just plain ridiculous.

-enjoying this series of interviews on the AV Club with Paul Feig about Freaks and Geeks.  There are two more to go (it's a 5 parter, with a new one each day) and we've really  been enjoying reading each one in the morning with breakfast!  I will never EVER get enough Freaks and Geeks, even though it only lasted 18 episodes.  Best series ever made, hands down.  (Yes, even more perfect than Arrested Development!)  Paul Feig is a heartbreak.  If you've seen F&G and love the cringe-worthy humor about adolescence, you should read his book Kick Me.  Everything embarrassing in that show happened to him in real life, except usually in a much worse way.

-SO IN LOVE WITH SWEET POTATOES.  I can't even begin to tell you.

-really looking forward to reading this book, Hungry Monkey.  Robert stumbled onto the author's blog, I was hooked by the sample, and we're already ordered a copy!  It's about a food writer figuring out how to feed his baby good stuff.  It looks hilarious, adorable, and informative!  Menu planning and cooking are pretty much the main activities in this house, so we're psyched to involve Audrey in the near future...  

What's everyone else into these days?

Happy Saturday!

Here's a little Etsy treasury that I put together just for the fun of it! 



Lovely vintage breakfast things and cute art prints, all in honor of my love of breakfast and coffee.  I could eat breakfast foods for all 3 meals in a day.  Sometimes.. I do.  Shh!  And after skipping out on caffeine for nearly a year, I have recently rediscovered a huge love of coffee.  It's so essential for groggy mornings.  I limit myself to one cup a day to keep the magic alive.

What's your favorite breakfast food?  Happy weekend to everyone!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway if you like neat free things!  Only a couple of days left - I will be drawing a winner on Monday!

valentine's day, realistically

coffee and valentines

Did you have a nice Valentine's Day?  We ended up having quite a lovely day!  By some stroke of luck, Audrey woke up to eat just before 6 (as opposed to 4 or 5) and then went back to sleep.  So I was up in time to have coffee and breakfast with Robert before he went to work!  Normally I'm trying to catch up on a little bit more sleep after being up at some ridiculous hour.  We exchanged the valentines we'd made for each other a couple of days before.  It was a really good way to start the morning. 

the essential heart shaped pizza, burnt bits and all

The day went quickly: I cleaned a ton during Audrey's morning nap, and then we had a couple of new friends over to play.  (Well.. Audrey ended up napping during the play date too!  Ha!)  Robert headed home from work just a little bit early so we could hang out.  And then, best of all, he entertained Audrey while I went to Target for some essentials as well as a mini shopping spree!!  Oh yeah, my idea of a spree is a $3 clearance shirt and a new purse.  Fancy times!  When I got home, Robert had already spread out the pizza dough in a heart shape, and we had a delicious margherita pizza for dinner.  Of course, Audrey got fussy during dinner and that was a bit of a fiasco, but it was still nice.

chocolate beet cupcakes... oh yes.

After she went to bed we topped off the night with some AMAZING chocolate beet cupcakes, from this recipe.  (Oh how I love Joy the Baker!)  Robert made them on Sunday and I iced them, while we were watching Groundhog Day.  (Told you I wanted to catch up on my holiday celebrations!!) 

I think it went as well as it could have!  How did you celebrate?  I love silly holiday celebrations.  Any excuse for tasty food and sweet gestures is a winner with me.

Dreamy Thanksgiving Foods

Startling fact: In just a couple of days, a baby will live in my house. I’m being induced tomorrow morning!  We are beyond excited. While we get settled and adjusted, it might be quiet here for a little while. I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Thursday is Thanksgiving, and hopefully we'll be coming home from the hospital that morning. My parents will be in town, so we’re going to throw together an impromptu meal.

Have you tried kabocha or delicata squash before? I like winter squash!

For those of you who have Thanksgiving plans, what’s on the menu? Look, my plans are a bit up in the air right now so I have to settle with some food fantasizing! I’ll be honest and tell you that I’ve never really enjoyed traditional Thanksgiving food. That’s not actually a secret; it’s been a joke in my family for years. While everyone else would pile up their plates with food, I usually just had a few bites of turkey and one or two dinner rolls. Dessert was the only part I cared about. But last year Robert and I hosted Thanksgiving for his family, and we came up with a menu that everyone really enjoyed!!

We ordered a country ham from Benton’s and then made a bunch of neat side dishes. [If you are a carnivore, you have to try Benton’s bacon at some point in your life. It’s made of magic.] For sides we had honey wheat rolls (so good with butter!), these awesome sweet potatoes with pecans and goat cheese, some kind of stuffed mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and a salad made with broccolini and sun dried tomatoes. And dessert? Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake. Need I say more? (Wait, I will: it has a crust made of ginger snaps!) It was awesome!

This year we’re going to keep it easy for ourselves. I’m sure I’ll be in a daze and everything will be crazy, so we might just have to wing it. But as of now Robert is planning to make a pizza… Yes, pizza! Butternut squash pizza, of course. We have to keep it autumnal around here. This is one of our go-to recipes, though we usually skip the sage and replace the gorgonzola with feta or chevre.  We’re REALLY hoping to have time to make this salted caramel cheesecake pie (just look at it!), but just to be on the safe side we bought a frozen pie for backup. Pie is pretty much the only staple for a Thanksgiving meal, in my opinion.

So what’s on your menu? Whether you go the traditional turkey route or do something a little different, I hope everyone has a lovely day and gets some quality time with family! We’ll be focused on a new little family member over here, so the food will just be a side note.

I feel like I have so much to be thankful for this year!  You know, aside from food.  Happy Early Thanksgiving!

lately

New record: almost a month without blogging!! Sorry, everyone: it just sort of happened. I've been out of my online habits lately, and I think that's actually a good thing for me. When I'm keeping busy in real life, I don't feel like I need this outlet. But now that I actually have a day off with no plans, I'll share some pretty pictures from the last few weeks! Just a tiny peek.

Recently I have...

...let some giant sunflowers take over the kitchen

...had some zinnias hanging around in a jar

...discovered a fallen robin's nest

...spied a giant butterfly

...attended a gorgeous wedding

...blueberry waffles!!

...been moth-watching...

...AND MORE! Much much more. Those were just the pretty bits. Now for the apologies: sorry I haven't been around to visit everyone! I actually haven't been reading blogs, because I know I won't have time to comment in any sort of meaningful way. Didn't mean to disappear like that, but I just haven't felt too much like talking lately. Everything is good over here. I'm being contentedly quiet.

five senses friday

Hey everyone! I've been keeping pretty busy around here... I recently started applying for jobs and lately Robert and I have been house hunting! It's definitely exciting in a real world kind of way, but unfortunately I don't have any pretty pictures of those activities (I know: I should), so you'll have to use your imagination!

How about a round of Five Senses Friday?

Tasting: Apple Pie French Toast!! So yummy. (Recipe via Closet Cooking) Also this week: chicken tingas (like spicy tacos with potatoes and peppers), blueberry buttermilk cake, homemade tomato soup and sourdough bread, and Gobi Manchurian [which was *way* spicy but delicious]. I am ridiculously spoiled in the food department thanks to Robert!

Seeing: Grey skies- it's been awfully rainy this week. Also seeing words on the page: I finally started reading Half Broke Horses for the Slow Readers Book Club! (We have a forum for discussion now!)

Smelling: The above mentioned foods? I always have a hard time thinking of smells! The Gobi Manchurian ('specially the fried cauliflower) smell stuck around our apartment a while, but it was okay!



This was an excellent package from Amazon!

Hearing: This week I've been listening to Devo (because Robert just got into this album and he keeps putting the record on!) and Elliott Smith's XO which I just got on vinyl. When I love every song on an album, it must be acquired in every format.

Feeling: Cold hands. A little sunshine earlier on in the week. Burning mouth from Gobi Manchurian. More than a few tears when I found out someone I've known since high school passed away. It's always so startling and sad when someone near your own age dies.

Aside from that last sad bit, it's been a pretty productive and satisfying week. I hope your week has been great and that the upcoming weekend is even better.