"chateau lobby #4 (in C for two virgins)," by father john misty:
turns out he's real, master of none fans. but maybe you are cooler than me and already knew that.
Monday, November 30, 2015
Sunday, November 29, 2015
a ruby a day
it's snuggling season! any warm surface will do. towels fresh out of the dryer? check.
a lap? check.
a human lying down? even better.
a human whose legs are propped on the new ottoman, thus making a perfect cat-shaped bridge between ottoman and couch? best. option. ever.
if she keeps snuggling, i'll keep taking pictures. you better not get tired of them.
Monday, November 16, 2015
Friday, November 13, 2015
the thanksgiving plan
mom and dad are coming again this year (!), and i love to cook, so i'm already planning our menu. no turkey again this year (my parents are awesome), but we will have:
--fancy mac & cheese (i learned how to make a roux as a teenager using this recipe; i make it with penne noodles, because penne > macaroni)
--grandma norma's green bean casserole (a must, obviously)
--from the smitten kitchen cookbook, a recipe for roasted eggplant with crispy chickpeas and a yogurt tahini sauce (i haven't tried this recipe before but it looks awesome and could be a quasi-substitute for meat)
--smitten kitchen's kale and caramelized onion stuffing (which both my parents - independent of one another - asked if we could add mushrooms to, because in my family mushrooms are king. we will be adding mushrooms. this is another recipe i haven't tried yet but am excited to!)
--brussels sprouts of some sort, perhaps the pioneer woman recipe i've used before and love
--pumpkin pie of some sort, per mom's request (maybe another pioneer woman recipe that becky made one year - it's a pumpkin cream pie, which cuts the super pumpkin-y flavor and consistency of normal pumpkin pie...the exact specifications of this is still up for debate)
basically, this thanksgiving reflects my trio of food inspirations - family + smitten kitchen + pioneer woman. that about sums up what i eat in everyday life, too...plus a sprinkling of things i learned in cooking classes and things mark bittman taught me how to make.
--fancy mac & cheese (i learned how to make a roux as a teenager using this recipe; i make it with penne noodles, because penne > macaroni)
--grandma norma's green bean casserole (a must, obviously)
--from the smitten kitchen cookbook, a recipe for roasted eggplant with crispy chickpeas and a yogurt tahini sauce (i haven't tried this recipe before but it looks awesome and could be a quasi-substitute for meat)
--smitten kitchen's kale and caramelized onion stuffing (which both my parents - independent of one another - asked if we could add mushrooms to, because in my family mushrooms are king. we will be adding mushrooms. this is another recipe i haven't tried yet but am excited to!)
--brussels sprouts of some sort, perhaps the pioneer woman recipe i've used before and love
--pumpkin pie of some sort, per mom's request (maybe another pioneer woman recipe that becky made one year - it's a pumpkin cream pie, which cuts the super pumpkin-y flavor and consistency of normal pumpkin pie...the exact specifications of this is still up for debate)
basically, this thanksgiving reflects my trio of food inspirations - family + smitten kitchen + pioneer woman. that about sums up what i eat in everyday life, too...plus a sprinkling of things i learned in cooking classes and things mark bittman taught me how to make.
Monday, November 9, 2015
Thursday, November 5, 2015
i have a friend who is vegan, and his birthday was yesterday. i used it as an excuse to try mark bittman's vegan mexican chocolate pie WHICH WAS OUT OF CONTROL GOOD. as in, i was licking the blender. as in, i would make this again and i am not vegan. it was super easy to make and it came out of the pan pretty well (always my worry - whew) and people liked it! i only told them it contained tofu after the fact. :)
and the best compliment at all...one of the spanish teachers at school - who grew up in mexico - said it tasted exactly like this hot chocolate that her grandma used to make when she was growing up in mexico. victory! thank you, mark bittman.
and the best compliment at all...one of the spanish teachers at school - who grew up in mexico - said it tasted exactly like this hot chocolate that her grandma used to make when she was growing up in mexico. victory! thank you, mark bittman.
Monday, November 2, 2015
october: 27, 28 & 29
three books this month! i'm back on track.
people of the book, by geraldine brooks (i…did not ever get into this book. this is the book that i read for weeks and weeks, just a few pages every night before i went to bed [because (a) i was so tired from how crazy my job was, and (b) i didn't like this book enough to go to bed early to read it]. this is a fictional story based on the real life sarajevo haggadah - who the author believes wrote and illustrated it, and the path it took from the 1400s to the present. it was a little too intellectual for me, which makes me sound like i like fluffy books, which isn't quite true. i don't know - this book didn't do it for me.)
we are called to rise, by laura mcbride (oh, i loved this book. it's the story of four people in las vegas who start out unconnected and their lives intersect by the end. a 50-something mother, an elementary school kid, a CASA worker, and a soldier. it was sad - very sad at points - but somehow also optimistic and uplifting, and i really enjoyed it. melissa picked this as our book club pick for last month, and she gets a gold star. i'd highly recommend it!)
david and goliath, by malcolm gladwell (in a surprise move, i found a note i'd written myself in early september that just had this book's title on it, and then i realized i had never included it on the blog AND OMG I READ THIS [LISTENED TO THE AUDIO BOOK] IN SEPTEMBER AND THIS COULD TOTALLY COUNT FOR SEPTEMBER AND I'M NOT [QUITE] AS MUCH OF A SLACKER AS I THOUGHT! oh, malcolm gladwell, how i like your books. this book is short pieces on interesting subjects, and there well written and will leave you pondering them after you finish reading [listening]. seriously: if you haven't read any of his stuff you should get on that.)
people of the book, by geraldine brooks (i…did not ever get into this book. this is the book that i read for weeks and weeks, just a few pages every night before i went to bed [because (a) i was so tired from how crazy my job was, and (b) i didn't like this book enough to go to bed early to read it]. this is a fictional story based on the real life sarajevo haggadah - who the author believes wrote and illustrated it, and the path it took from the 1400s to the present. it was a little too intellectual for me, which makes me sound like i like fluffy books, which isn't quite true. i don't know - this book didn't do it for me.)
we are called to rise, by laura mcbride (oh, i loved this book. it's the story of four people in las vegas who start out unconnected and their lives intersect by the end. a 50-something mother, an elementary school kid, a CASA worker, and a soldier. it was sad - very sad at points - but somehow also optimistic and uplifting, and i really enjoyed it. melissa picked this as our book club pick for last month, and she gets a gold star. i'd highly recommend it!)
david and goliath, by malcolm gladwell (in a surprise move, i found a note i'd written myself in early september that just had this book's title on it, and then i realized i had never included it on the blog AND OMG I READ THIS [LISTENED TO THE AUDIO BOOK] IN SEPTEMBER AND THIS COULD TOTALLY COUNT FOR SEPTEMBER AND I'M NOT [QUITE] AS MUCH OF A SLACKER AS I THOUGHT! oh, malcolm gladwell, how i like your books. this book is short pieces on interesting subjects, and there well written and will leave you pondering them after you finish reading [listening]. seriously: if you haven't read any of his stuff you should get on that.)
two days too late (but so true)
"i'm so glad i love in a world where there are octobers."
--anne shirley, "anne of green gables," by l.m. montgomery (a series i devoured when i was in middle school)
--anne shirley, "anne of green gables," by l.m. montgomery (a series i devoured when i was in middle school)
Friday, October 30, 2015
Thursday, October 29, 2015
i opened the mail today to find what is possibly the nicest letter i've ever received. it is out of the blue, as we occasionally email but rarely send real mail to one another.
we are all imperfect.
forgiveness is powerful.
i truly believe that the good we send into the universe will come back to us.
how much of what i do is to make myself feel better vs. how much is to make his life a little better? because it isn't 100% for him. i know that.
onward.
we are all imperfect.
forgiveness is powerful.
i truly believe that the good we send into the universe will come back to us.
how much of what i do is to make myself feel better vs. how much is to make his life a little better? because it isn't 100% for him. i know that.
onward.
i was just reminded of this poem, which i don't think i appreciated enough on obama's inauguration day. it is speaking to me today. it is worth a read. elizabeth alexander, "praise song for the day"
Monday, October 26, 2015
Sunday, October 25, 2015
october 25th = the first day this fall that i have been able to turn the AC off and open my windows to let in the cool night air!
i had a realization, as i threw the windows open, that some people live in a part of the country where they are now closing their windows for good because it's gotten too cold. what a weird world we live in.
happy fall (63 degrees!) from houston!
i had a realization, as i threw the windows open, that some people live in a part of the country where they are now closing their windows for good because it's gotten too cold. what a weird world we live in.
happy fall (63 degrees!) from houston!
Saturday, October 24, 2015
it is pouring down rain in houston today - we are getting the outer edges of the hurricane that hit mexico. it is very weird that we are close enough to mexico that this hurricane is affecting us, but then again, of course we are close to mexico. i just forget sometimes.
dinner tonight is homemade lentil soup, homemade baguettes, and a chocolate stout. post-dinner activities will include catching up on the good wife and snuggling with ruby (if she lets me). a good day.
dinner tonight is homemade lentil soup, homemade baguettes, and a chocolate stout. post-dinner activities will include catching up on the good wife and snuggling with ruby (if she lets me). a good day.
Friday, October 23, 2015
what i'm listening to right now
i'm late to the game on this one (like usual), but love her voice: "skinny love," by birdy:
Thursday, October 22, 2015
september: oops
this is where i admit that i didn't finish a single book in september, for the first time since i started my little reading project. not a single one. it turns out that being a college counselor for the first time, and guiding 24 little chickadees and their families through the process is exhausting and does not inspire a person to come home and read the just okay book on the nightstand. and by nightstand, i mean in my bed, because that's where the book i'm reading always lives. sigh.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
august: 22, 23, 24, 25 & 26
i'm a totally delinquent human being. this is what i read in AUGUST. i barely remember august at this point.
where you go is not who you'll be, by frank bruni (this is a book that a colleague lent me - it's about the college admissions process, and spends a great deal of time trying to convince the reader that where you go to college does not define who you will be as an adult. i didn't learn a ton from this book (which maybe means i know things! huzzah!), but i agree with almost everything that he says. i have, in particular, several times now quoted this statistic (which i will now butcher) to parents of kids i work with: the bottom 10% of kids at a harvard, for example, have fewer leadership positions while in school, publish fewer papers, go on to grad school at a lower rate, make less money, etc. than the top 10% of kids at a "second tier" university. he's trying to say that a student might get more out of being the best at a "second tier" school as opposed to the worst at a "first tier" school. this is something i believe is probably true. in short: if you are involved in college counseling or have a kid about to go through the process, this is a worth-while read.)
landline, by rainbow rowell (i read this entire book in one day - the day before i started back to work in august. it was this glorious day in which i just lazed around the house, reading this book and then playing with ruby and then eating and around again. it's a few hundred pages but a super easy read, and i finished it that night while lying in bed. this book symbolizes what you can do in the summer - read a whole book in one day if you want to! if you haven't read anything by rainbow rowell, you should. she writes beautiful characters and interesting story lines. fan girl is the next book of hers that i have on my list!)
angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging, by louise rennin (this is a young adult book that was recommended to me by a friend…and it was mediocre young adult, which means you shouldn't bother. quick read, nothing wrong with it, just not worth the time when there are so many other great books out there.)
the martian, by andy weir (i loved this book! i'm totally charmed by the idea that the author self-published it on his website and then as an amazon kindle book, and then within three weeks of each other he got a real book deal and then a movie deal. he does an excellent job building tension and telling a believable science fiction story, and i didn't mind too much the slogging through of the science-y bits.)
mountains beyond mountains, by tracy kidder (i listened to this audiobook, and as evidenced by blog posts along the way here and here, i LOVED it. my friend other claire bought this book for me years ago, and i can't believe it took me this long to read it. paul farmer is an american doctor who devoted his life to health care in haiti, and tracy kidder wrote this book about his life and work. a poignant and meaningful story told by an author with a real talent for telling stories. this is absolutely worth putting on your "to read" list.)
where you go is not who you'll be, by frank bruni (this is a book that a colleague lent me - it's about the college admissions process, and spends a great deal of time trying to convince the reader that where you go to college does not define who you will be as an adult. i didn't learn a ton from this book (which maybe means i know things! huzzah!), but i agree with almost everything that he says. i have, in particular, several times now quoted this statistic (which i will now butcher) to parents of kids i work with: the bottom 10% of kids at a harvard, for example, have fewer leadership positions while in school, publish fewer papers, go on to grad school at a lower rate, make less money, etc. than the top 10% of kids at a "second tier" university. he's trying to say that a student might get more out of being the best at a "second tier" school as opposed to the worst at a "first tier" school. this is something i believe is probably true. in short: if you are involved in college counseling or have a kid about to go through the process, this is a worth-while read.)
landline, by rainbow rowell (i read this entire book in one day - the day before i started back to work in august. it was this glorious day in which i just lazed around the house, reading this book and then playing with ruby and then eating and around again. it's a few hundred pages but a super easy read, and i finished it that night while lying in bed. this book symbolizes what you can do in the summer - read a whole book in one day if you want to! if you haven't read anything by rainbow rowell, you should. she writes beautiful characters and interesting story lines. fan girl is the next book of hers that i have on my list!)
angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging, by louise rennin (this is a young adult book that was recommended to me by a friend…and it was mediocre young adult, which means you shouldn't bother. quick read, nothing wrong with it, just not worth the time when there are so many other great books out there.)
the martian, by andy weir (i loved this book! i'm totally charmed by the idea that the author self-published it on his website and then as an amazon kindle book, and then within three weeks of each other he got a real book deal and then a movie deal. he does an excellent job building tension and telling a believable science fiction story, and i didn't mind too much the slogging through of the science-y bits.)
mountains beyond mountains, by tracy kidder (i listened to this audiobook, and as evidenced by blog posts along the way here and here, i LOVED it. my friend other claire bought this book for me years ago, and i can't believe it took me this long to read it. paul farmer is an american doctor who devoted his life to health care in haiti, and tracy kidder wrote this book about his life and work. a poignant and meaningful story told by an author with a real talent for telling stories. this is absolutely worth putting on your "to read" list.)
Monday, October 19, 2015
i'm loving and pondering this right now
it all matters. that someone turns out the lamp, picks up the wind-blown wrapper, says hello to the invalid, pays at the unattended lot, listens to the repeated tale, folds the abandoned laundry, plays the game fairly, tells the story honestly, acknowledges help, gives credit, says good night, resists temptation, wipes the counter, waits at the yellow, makes the bed, tips the maid, remembers the illness, congratulates the victor, accepts the consequences, takes a stand, steps up, offers a hand, goes first, goes last, chooses the small portion, teaches the child, tends to the dying, comforts the grieving, removes the splinter, wipes the tear, directs the lost, touches the lonely, is the whole thing.
what is most beautiful is least acknowledged.
what is worth dying for is barely noticed.
--from we are called to rise, by laura mcbride.
what is most beautiful is least acknowledged.
what is worth dying for is barely noticed.
--from we are called to rise, by laura mcbride.
Friday, October 16, 2015
what i'm listening to right now
"great big storm," by nate ruess - i'm dancing around when this plays just as much as he does in this music video.
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