Thursday, June 30, 2011

this week's happy

on my list:

1. cereal with blueberries
2. taking the plunge & putting pen to paper
3. sweating through thrice weekly jogs
4. the glorious picnic photos in this magazine
5. news of friends' engagements
(and being asked to take engagement photos!)
6. the thought of sleeping in on saturday
7. the sixth month mark of my 365 day celebration!
8. my first art history class ever
9. getting to take classes in the main building

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

weekly reading

sad short story

f.x. toole's short story million dollar baby.
i hadn't seen the movie (until watching it in class today)
so i wasn't prepared for the terribly terribly sad ending.
i know that i've said that i don't mind sad endings. 
but, i take it back. i don't mind tragic endings, 
but only in works longer than short. i know
that's meaningless. but it's hard to appreciate
a short story with a sad ending. for me at least.
i recognize the wonderful writing, the idea, the
characters, the emotions, etc. i enjoyed it
for that. but i am not happy about it. 
has anyone else read this? 



p.s. the movie, of course, is a different story. and quite good, so far!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

scary, exhilarating, thrilling, tiring

the next three months

are going to be interesting. 
i'm challenging myself to write
everyday on a certain project.
i don't know what's going to 
happen, but i'm excited. 

day one:


p.s. just to be clear, the project is not for poets&writers.

Monday, June 27, 2011

not what you think ... or maybe it is

back to school with jack black. 
 
 
 
 
 no, that's not star wars. 
it's jack black as georgie from the film adaption 
of the short story "emergency" by denis johnson. 
because, 
for one of my classes this summer we're
reading a bunch of books and watching
the film adaptations. terrible, huh?
i know. it's just torture. ;)

Sunday, June 26, 2011

letting go

last weekend of summer break.


i concentrated really hard on enjoying myself
this weekend and disregarding all the little thoughts
about what i should be doing and how i wasn't
being productive enough and that sort. 
i find it's really an exercise to let go of worry
and anxiety and to enjoy the days for whatever
they are — i have a really hard time letting go of
my desire to control each day, to make it the day
that it "should" be, to work things out. it's not 
that i always want to be working. it's just that
i even have an idea of what needs to happen
for it to be a "good" day. and i've been realizing
that i actually have no idea what that means. 
i'm realizing that happiness is a state of being, 
not an outward circumstance or thing or experience.
yes, i have many duh moments in my life. 

so, this weekend i enjoyed: 
1. a movie date with jazz
2. salads with fruit
3. opening the blinds to see the thunderstorms
4. turning disagreements into laughter
5. sunday afternoon naptime
6. watching too much netflix
7. running, feel the burn
8. arguing about what our family traditions "will be"
9. laundry and other mundane chores
10. cereal for dinner


here's to starting the summer off right!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

snackbar

candy at the movies. 


just a little saturday afternoon date.
i hardly ever eat candy and when
i do it's usually twizzlers. but
i decided to go for the gummy bears
today since i was sharing with jazz.
he doesn't share my twizzle-love,
sadly. 


hope you're having a good saturday!

Friday, June 24, 2011

the kitchen window

photos from my kitchen lately. 


i've been using my time off to start
making real food again. gone are the days of 
freezer pizza (at least for this week).
i love knowing that i'm using fresh, nutritional
ingredients instead of all the processed, substitutional, 
chemically-altered junk it's so much easier to find. 
it takes more time, more planning, more
work to eat real food. but it feels so much better
knowing we're eating something that's good for us.
okay, the baked goods aren't good for us, 
but they were delicious! and don't worry, 
we're sharing the brownies tonight. 

dark chocolate brownies in the making
add an egg or two for baked heaven
best blueberry muffins
cuban bread and soup for din din
vegetarian split pea soup
greens, potatoes and chik'n scallopini (meatless)
italian-style lentils over rice
fresh string beans
soup staples: garlic and onion
Oven-roasted red potatoes
best potato recipe ever

Thursday, June 23, 2011

a picture for your summer night

fireflies. 


is there anything more evocative of 
summer nights from childhood? 
why is it, i wonder, that fireflies remind
us of being kids? when do we stop
chasing fireflies? stop noticing them? 
are they dying out or does the world
change so much when you get older? 

either way, they make it summertime.
 
via

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

eating my (strawberry) heart out

summer strawberry desserts. 


i've been having fun making awesome
summer desserts with fresh strawberries, 
whipped cream and crunchy baked good
= summer in my mouth. 
last friday i made this strawberry pie recipe
with a store-bought graham cracker crust. 
i didn't let it freeze for six hours so it 
was a little soft, but still amazing. 



and tonight i made this strawberry shortcake recipe.
i think i know what i'm having for breakfast.


i think someone needs to revise the newly unveiled
food plate chart to include a space for dessert. 

seriously, what is life without dessert?

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

tuesday meet-up with a friend

former roommate, forever friend.


some friends are like family. 
even though we don't  live near each other 
and maybe go months without talking,
you will always be one of my dearest
friends, gram. that's just how it's gonna be.
i think it's time for you to move to atlanta, 
so i can see you and the 
cutest baby on earth all the time!



p.s. thanks for the coffee!

Monday, June 20, 2011

a new magazine subscription (what i'm reading)

inspiration for a food lover.

i really love reading about cooking. 
i think i like reading about it more than
i actually like doing it. but maybe that's just
because i haven't had a cooking magazine subscription!
hence, my new subscription to bon appétit. 
speaking of food magazines, can you believe
gourmet magazine isn't in print anymore? 
anyway, i'm looking forward to some more
cooking round these parts ... 
so far, i am hankering for some homemade
shortbread and everything chocolate. 
but what else is new? 



Sunday, June 19, 2011

one in a million

father's day 2011.


we spent the evening enjoying homemade
pizza, coffee ice cream and pirouette cookies 
with the sweetest father-in-law (and m-i-l!) in the world. 

happy father's day to all the wonderful fathers out there.




Saturday, June 18, 2011

Saturday night Izakaya

a japanese birthday dinner.
 
 
we went to a dinner birthday for one
of jazz's work friends at a cute
(my) highlight of the night was getting to 
try a bounce flash for my camera that one
guy just happened to have in his car.
look at how great these pictures came out! 
(the first two were done with the flash).
i need it
 


Dragon Roll. I thought it was a caterpillar.


The birthday boy. Happy 26th, Chris!

 
vegetarian confession: i want to eat sushi.

Friday, June 17, 2011

sunny photos for a rainy friday

dianas from the beach.

i'm sure you're all tired of our vacation, 
but i can't resist posting the photos i got back
from the wonderful diana. i love not knowing
what the photos will be like until i've
had the film developed, but i wish there
were more than 12 or 16 in a roll. 
and i wish we could go back and take more!






Thursday, June 16, 2011

this week's utterly happy list

how to enjoy a week off: 


1. discover a coffee shop with a yard for your dog!
(sit outside with him or he wont be able to enjoy it).
2. savor your morning cup of coffee. then have more.
3. make as many green monster smoothies as you want
—however you want. 
4. trade the morning walk for a late afternoon 
mad dash through the rain.
5. snuggle with the family.
6. snuggle with the couch.
7. read like they'd never invented tv.
8. wear your hair down.
9. snack on a giant bowl of blackberries.
10. spend a lot of time staring into space. 

yep. that's about all it takes to 
make me happy these days. 





Wednesday, June 15, 2011

of sands and seas

The Prince of Tides. 


i read Beach Music 
in high school and i think i read it for
three days straight. maybe two.
so, maybe it's been awhile, maybe this 
is a different kind of story/writing, 
but it's just not exactly what i expected. 

to be fair, i probably shouldn't have 
read this so soon after possession, 
which in my mind is almost unparalleled
for wit, loveliness, dexterity with language,
believable, real and whole characters, 
mastery of dialogue, flawless storytelling
and the seeming ease of intellect, genius, 
literary comprehension and creation...

i find myself getting tangled in some
of the writing, thinking to myself, 
hasn't he already said this? 
feeling the bloat of words, 
which i still sometimes like. 
but, the stories in it are fascinating.
they are southern, they are cliched, 
they are beautiful and pained.
so, i'm reading pretty quickly, 
enjoying it — if not as much in awe
of it as Possession, nor quite as in 
love as i was with Beach Music —
and recommend it. and maybe, 
who knows, i'll be blown away
by the end.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

good times with the peeps

howling at the moon
and other fun moments at our house.


bedtime bonding is the best. 
lars' favorite thing is hide n seek. 
his second is joint moon howling. 
his third is cuddling, of course.
his fourth is picture taking. :)