Okay...so the travel blogs didn't work out so well. BUT that is only because I have resumed my ever growing love affair with my new town. I have to go to work...but more later.
Later:
I've been working a lot... not really...but for me it is a drastic increase after being a house girlfriend for about 3 months. But the work is satisfying so I'm happy. I haven't been taking very many photos...I REALLY should start taking more. Summer is beautiful here. The peonies have bloomed. Unfortunately it's been raining, and we all know peonies are best enjoyed in the sunshine!
The photos I have taken lately are all of meals. Weird, eh? I feel like how people eat is the most accurate reflection of how well people are doing in life. I've been pretty proud of our tabelscape/stove top lately, so I've been photographing it. I'll put the series up tomorrow ( I have a short day at work on Fridays.) The best way to describe our table scape is to quote Oscar Wilde: "Those who live within their means suffer from a serious lack of imagination." While we have modest means, we eat well. I would say my lover and I eat better than most people in our cohort. Three cheers for a boyfriend that can cook!
At any rate...I leave you with this sentiment for how I feel at this very moment:
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
80 days, eh?
Right now I'm in the middle of settling into my adult life. I'm working, grocery shopping, doing laundry all that good stuff. I'm even working on building a better future for myself by going to graduate school. Of course, now that I feel settled here, all I want to do is travel. Although this town is still very new to me, and I still find novel things to love about it every day, I feel like now is a good time to stretch out in another new place, if only for a week or so. So that's exactly what I'm going to do. This week all posts will be regarding a place I'd like to visit, some for the first time, and some again. Let's start with...
Key West, FL
Beautiful beaches, reefs for snorkeling, Kinos (They are the most comfortable sandals and with such a reasonable price, they are addicting), a surprising number of restored historical sites with guided tours ( like the Hemingway house, the Truman house, and the Pirate Museum and the Conch Train), great food (Key Lime Pie and Rum Runners!!) , a party with every tropical sunset, and beautiful hotels. My family loves it there. My dad and his buddies go every August for the lobster mini season. Oh how I miss my beloved Margaritaville!
Key West, FL
Beautiful beaches, reefs for snorkeling, Kinos (They are the most comfortable sandals and with such a reasonable price, they are addicting), a surprising number of restored historical sites with guided tours ( like the Hemingway house, the Truman house, and the Pirate Museum and the Conch Train), great food (Key Lime Pie and Rum Runners!!) , a party with every tropical sunset, and beautiful hotels. My family loves it there. My dad and his buddies go every August for the lobster mini season. Oh how I miss my beloved Margaritaville!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
I am the Muffin Master!
Last week I made banana muffins from scratch using my own recipe, and they turned out fantastic...so fantastic that I have decided to be "that person" and keep the recipe for myself. However, I do have another muffin journey to share. In the past, when I made the muffins from a bag (you know, the ones that say "just add milk!" ) they turn out about 3/4 of an inch tall, and dry. So I decided to use what I know about baking, and doctor them up a bit. Here is the result:
Gorgeous, right? Here's what I did:
Preheat the oven to 425 (like it says on the package)
Add 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup oil, and one egg.
Mix by hand (you know how to do muffins, ever so slightly lumpy)
Fill muffin tin with 3 tbs of batter in each well. There will only be 5 muffins, so fill the empty wells with water. That way the pan won't warp. (Oh, and if you are using liners...don't leave the empty liner in the well when you put the pan in the oven...they catch fire when you do that. It's scary- I mean, I heard it's scary. Especially when you are a teenager.)
Bake for 18 minutes.
They will be so moist, and fluffy. I know some people (like my lover) prefer really dense muffins (like those banana muffins), but if you like a nice light lemon poppy seed muffin, this is the way to go. It's a really nice and fine crumb.
P.S. All the muffins were gone within 2 hours.
Gorgeous, right? Here's what I did:Preheat the oven to 425 (like it says on the package)
Add 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup oil, and one egg.
Mix by hand (you know how to do muffins, ever so slightly lumpy)
Fill muffin tin with 3 tbs of batter in each well. There will only be 5 muffins, so fill the empty wells with water. That way the pan won't warp. (Oh, and if you are using liners...don't leave the empty liner in the well when you put the pan in the oven...they catch fire when you do that. It's scary- I mean, I heard it's scary. Especially when you are a teenager.)
Bake for 18 minutes.
They will be so moist, and fluffy. I know some people (like my lover) prefer really dense muffins (like those banana muffins), but if you like a nice light lemon poppy seed muffin, this is the way to go. It's a really nice and fine crumb.
P.S. All the muffins were gone within 2 hours.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
BUSY!!
Usually, when people depict a cross roads, it's very lonely and eerily quiet. Why? The hard decisions are the ones that are crowded by the opinions of other people in a person's life. Otherwise your path is your path, and you have to follow it.
** photo from thecassandrapages.com
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Dance, Monkeys! Dance!
I first saw this in my intro to anthropology class a few years ago. It's a little quasi-intellectual bit of fun. Please enjoy.
*note:There are, in fact, no monkeys in this video...they're all apes. Anything that looks like a "monkey" is actually either a bonobo or a chimp.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
I was talking to my lover over dinner this evening, and for one reason or another I decided to share with him several women who I aspire to be like. I think it would be a good idea to record this for posterity ( and for days when I feel like crap).
1) My mom. Yes, I know most people put this on their "heroes" list because you're an asshole if you don't. But seriously, my mom is the most patient, caring (sometimes to the point of meddling/worrying), funny woman I know. She can say "roof shingle" and I will laugh. She is also an amazing cook. Try to make better Japanese curry rice than hers. You WILL fail. End of story. Thank you. Good bye. She also has a supremely strong character. I choose to believe I inherited that from her, I'm pretty hard to sway. Add all that to her crazy good looks (half of which I inherited as well) and you got on amazing person.
2) Sarah Raven. Historian, medical doctor, florist, gardener, author, culinary school teacher, cookbook author (it's different from author), business woman, television hostess, wife, mother. She is the renaissance woman of our day. If you are able to, buy her book "In Season". Everyone will think you are amazing, and you will think you are a freak because you just read a cook book cover to cover. ( Thank you for the best Christmas present ever, Lover!!!) She allows me to continue to believe I can be a nurse, reform American medicine, have a cake shop and a family...all before I hit 50.
3) Nigella Lawson- I think I've said this before here...or somewhere, but Rachel Ray cannot even begin to be as great as Nigella Lawson. This woman is FOR REAL. She cooks out of her own kitchen, and uses real ingredients from her pantry ( like, sometimes the ice cream isn't brand new...sometimes there are a few scoops missing from dinner last night.) She tastes everything, and most of her recipes are fudgeable. She also is so gorgeous, kind of in the same category as Kate Winslett. Totally glamourous, yet approachable. She eats a fairly healthy diet...with some midnight chocolate cake thrown in for interest, and considers laughing for hours on end an ab workout.
Yes, all three women can cook ( I'm not saying it is important to femininity or anything like that...just it's a passion of mine and will always be in my life). I think I can too...I hope I'm on my way to being someone's inspiration.
1) My mom. Yes, I know most people put this on their "heroes" list because you're an asshole if you don't. But seriously, my mom is the most patient, caring (sometimes to the point of meddling/worrying), funny woman I know. She can say "roof shingle" and I will laugh. She is also an amazing cook. Try to make better Japanese curry rice than hers. You WILL fail. End of story. Thank you. Good bye. She also has a supremely strong character. I choose to believe I inherited that from her, I'm pretty hard to sway. Add all that to her crazy good looks (half of which I inherited as well) and you got on amazing person.
2) Sarah Raven. Historian, medical doctor, florist, gardener, author, culinary school teacher, cookbook author (it's different from author), business woman, television hostess, wife, mother. She is the renaissance woman of our day. If you are able to, buy her book "In Season". Everyone will think you are amazing, and you will think you are a freak because you just read a cook book cover to cover. ( Thank you for the best Christmas present ever, Lover!!!) She allows me to continue to believe I can be a nurse, reform American medicine, have a cake shop and a family...all before I hit 50.
3) Nigella Lawson- I think I've said this before here...or somewhere, but Rachel Ray cannot even begin to be as great as Nigella Lawson. This woman is FOR REAL. She cooks out of her own kitchen, and uses real ingredients from her pantry ( like, sometimes the ice cream isn't brand new...sometimes there are a few scoops missing from dinner last night.) She tastes everything, and most of her recipes are fudgeable. She also is so gorgeous, kind of in the same category as Kate Winslett. Totally glamourous, yet approachable. She eats a fairly healthy diet...with some midnight chocolate cake thrown in for interest, and considers laughing for hours on end an ab workout.
Yes, all three women can cook ( I'm not saying it is important to femininity or anything like that...just it's a passion of mine and will always be in my life). I think I can too...I hope I'm on my way to being someone's inspiration.
Friday, May 8, 2009
I am employed!
I have not exactly been prolific in my writing lately. I got a job! I hope to have lots of things to write about later since I think the job will be a wealth of resources. Until then, I haven't quit blogging, I've just been busy. I have the afternoon off though...
Friday, May 1, 2009
Assorted Goodies
- Yesterday was my lover's birthday, so I made him a Black Forest cake per his request and we shared it with all our friends (except one, poor thing had only 8 hours of sleep in the past 72 hours) and it was such a hit (*big smile here!!*) that it was all gone before I got a chance to take a snap shot. I wanted to get the filling and layers because, lets face it the outside of a Black Forest cake can be very nondescript. I'm very sad to not have documentation of my work...I guess I'll have to make another one very soon!
- It was my lover's turn to pick what we checked out from the Library DVD collection, and he picked Black Adder. It's a show starring Rowan Atkinson (most famously known as Mr.Bean) who plays a member of a different generation of the Blackadder family in each season. In this clip (from the second season) Lord Blackadder is having dinner with some relatives who are very strict Christians. I just so they are there to discuss what could possibly be his rather large inheritance on the same day he accepted him to a drinking contest/bet for who can handle his drink the best. In his efforts to keep the two parties separate Lord Blackadder faces some pretty funny situations.
SO FUNNY!
Also, Hugh Laurie plays some pretty humorous, non-House-like characters which are pure gold.
- Finally, I have just seen that Zoe has mentioned me in her blog, and I couldn't be more pleased! I'm going to get real here for a moment...I screamed like I had won the lottery. Not only was I surprised to find that ANYBODY read my little fledgling blog, but that it was the author of Glorious Nonsense, which is the first blog I ever read on a regular basis (I've been a fan since the A Boy Wearing Makeup post.) Zoe, you made my day. :o)
- It was my lover's turn to pick what we checked out from the Library DVD collection, and he picked Black Adder. It's a show starring Rowan Atkinson (most famously known as Mr.Bean) who plays a member of a different generation of the Blackadder family in each season. In this clip (from the second season) Lord Blackadder is having dinner with some relatives who are very strict Christians. I just so they are there to discuss what could possibly be his rather large inheritance on the same day he accepted him to a drinking contest/bet for who can handle his drink the best. In his efforts to keep the two parties separate Lord Blackadder faces some pretty funny situations.
SO FUNNY!
Also, Hugh Laurie plays some pretty humorous, non-House-like characters which are pure gold.
- Finally, I have just seen that Zoe has mentioned me in her blog, and I couldn't be more pleased! I'm going to get real here for a moment...I screamed like I had won the lottery. Not only was I surprised to find that ANYBODY read my little fledgling blog, but that it was the author of Glorious Nonsense, which is the first blog I ever read on a regular basis (I've been a fan since the A Boy Wearing Makeup post.) Zoe, you made my day. :o)
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