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Halloween weirdness!

Can you see the jack o' lantern in my coffee?  How weird is that?!?!  Now I'd like to be able to brag that I am a master of latte art and I planned it that way, but I totally did not!

Every morning before school time, I make myself a latte and lately Maddie has a steamer (steamed milk with a touch of vanilla).  So this morning I filled my cup and her cup and had a little extra steamed milk left in the pitcher so I just swirled it over the top of my latte -- et voila!  A Halloween miracle!

Happy Halloween all!

2 Weeks without a Post?!?

It's been a busy couple of weeks here -- always seems to get crazy in the second half of October since we have so much partying to do! 

First Maddie turned 7!  I really can't believe she's already 7 -- it seem like we just brought her home from the hospital yesterday sometimes.  If I'm this emotional about her growing up now, I can't imagine what a wreck I'll be when she's 16 -- or when she goes off to college.  Yikes!

We had a family party and the weather was *so* warm that we had a pinata outside.  And this was one well constructed pinata -- I thought we would never get it open, but finally (with a little help from me) they did.

We extended the fun for a couple more days -- Pete took off the Monday before her birthday so he could spend more time with her and Tuesday was her actual birthday. 

Here she is on her actual birthday -- sporting her new hairdo.  I think the shorter hair suits her and I'm glad I cut it off -- although I was a bit nervous after I made the first cut.  She has super thick hair and I wasn't sure I was up to the task, but it turned out pretty well.  I think her next haircut will be done by a professional though.

And then this past weekend it was time for the annual pumpkin carving contest.  Every year we meet at my mom's house, eat chili and carve pumpkins.  It is so much fun!  I tried to get a good photo with the pumpkins lit up, but this was the best I could do.  Can you guess which pumpkin was mine? 

I didn't take any individual pumpkin pictures, but here is a blown-up cropped image of mine:

I tied for second place with my sister Heidi -- whose pumpkin is on the far right.  And my sister Amanda won -- hers is to the left of mine.  Fun fun!

And the festivities haven't ended -- tomorrow night is Trick-or-treating with my family.  We are so lucky to live so close to each other.  We all meet at my mom's house and the cousins trick-or-treat together.  Good times:

Happy Halloween to Everyone!

Good Reading

I've been on a reading binge lately -- perhaps because of the cooler weather.  Here are my latest reads. . .

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver was an amazing book!  So amazing that every night I would read a chapter and then go on and on about it to Pete.  I couldn't help myself!  The whole locavore movement is so interesting to me that I just ate this book up greedily (no pun intended).

I have been a fan of Kingsolver's fiction for years but wasn't sure how she would translate to non-fiction.  I needn't have worried -- her voice is frank and honest.  You almost feel like you are sitting down to a meal with her and having a chat.  I feel like I learned so much and am now questioning many things since I read this book. 

If you are at all interested in eating local, in season or organic, give this book a read.  If nothing else, it will really get you thinking!

Peony in Love by Lisa See was a no brainer for me.  I absolutely loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and recommend it to people any chance I get.  So when I saw that she had a new book out, I was quite excited.

Peony in Love is a love story based on two actual Chinese works -- "The Peony Pavilion" which was an opera first published in 1598 and The Three Wives Commentary which was published in 1694 and is the first known work to survive which was written by women (and actually published).  This is historical fiction that will transport you back to a time and place that you may know nothing about.  It gives you a glimpse of what life was like for women during this time in China when they found a brief period of freedom.

If you liked Snow Flower and the Secret Fan I think you'll like this book also.  If you haven't read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan yet -- well, what are you waiting for!

McEwan has done it again in his most recent work of fiction -- On Chesil Beach.  Once again, I am a huge fan.  I really enjopyed Atonement, Saturday and Amsterdam.

McEwan is master of taking a single moment in time and examining it in such detail that it seems as if this moment were the fulcrum of his characters lives.  This is true of his latest novel, set on the wedding night of a couple just on the cusp of the sexual revolution.  What I love about this book is it's simplicity.  It focuses on one moment, but in exploring that moment we are led to think about issues in the context not only of the times in which they are set, but in the society, and more broadly as universal truths.  He makes you believe that one moment can change the outcome of a life.

This is a very quick read (I read it in a day) and I think that if you haven't read any McEwan, this is a good place to start.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick is one of those rare books that breaks the mold and is unclassifiable.  I suppose you could call it a graphic novel, but it's so much different from any graphic novel you have probably seen.  An illustrated book?  That doesn't capture the unique way in which illustrations are used here.  I suppose it is a children's book, since I found it in that section at that library, but at 37 I enjoyed it immensely.

While the book is quite heavy, it took me only an hour to read.  It's printed on thick paper and includes many pages of illustration and also quite a few pages with only a paragraph or two.  The feeling is cinematic -- from the opening pages where you zoom in on the main character to the decorations at the beginning of each chapter that bring to mind silent film captions.  The story is everything you could want in a children's book -- an orphan, magic, mystery, stealth and in the end, belonging.

Pick this one up for your favorite niece or nephew -- or maybe your own child -- and read it with them.  It's really a fun book!

Whew!  I think that brings my reading log up to date.  Right now I'm more than half-way though The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones by Anthony Bourdain -- love his raw look at the restaurant/chef world.  His voice is awesome -- fells like you & him are sitting down in a grungy bar with a good stiff drink and swapping war stories (although he is the one with all the stories and you just sit open mouthed, staring with fascination -- or is it horror?)  More on this book soon.

Feeling crappy

Something has got me down.  I have been getting terrible headaches, sinus troubles and general lethargy (which is aggravating my depression issues -- but that's another story).  So I'm sipping some hot tea with honey -- really wish I didn't use all my lemons last week now.  Allergies?  A cold? Am I getting my sister's sinus infection?  (No fever, so I don't think that's it.) Not sure of the cause, but I'm really feeling blah.

On a related note.  Where do you buy your tea?  I've bought mine from several places, including Adagio.  I really need to order some new loose tea now that the weather is turning cooler and I'm wondering who has the good stuff.  Leave me a comment and let me know your favorite online tea shop! 

I haven't just been playing Zelda. . .

I've also been riding around Chicago in a limo with my family:

My Mom, sister Kristy, her husband Gregg (hidden), sister Heidi & her boyfriend, Kevin (belongs to my sister Amanda) & Pete


Other end of the limo -- Me and my sister Amanda

We have 3 brother-in-laws in the family and their birthdays are all around the same time of the year (Sept/Oct).  We used to have individual get togethers for each one, but three years ago my mom suggested one fancy dinner instead of three pizza/bbq type things.  It was so much fun that we've been doing it every year.

This year we took a limo so that everyone could enjoy a few beverages and we went up to Chicago to Keefer's.  Very nice place! 

I've also been cooking and baking quite a bit.  Recently I made the Crumb Coffeecake from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion.  So good!  And it makes 2 - 8" round cake pans, so I froze one for later.

THen today I pulled out Beth Hensperger's The Bread Bible (not to be confused with Rose Levy Beranbaum's  The Bread Bible -- also and excellent book) and made Real Lemon Muffins with the bag of lemons I had in the fridge.  I am completely powerless against lemons and when I see bags of them at Trader Joe's I often will throw them in my cart.  I never know what to do with them, but since trying this recipe I will never have that problem again.  Delicious and very lemony!  I used the whole bag of lemons for this recipe and it only makes 8 muffins, so there you go.

Speaking of Beth Hensperger, I just love her cookbooks and have had great success making everything I've ever tried from them. 

Another thing I've been trying to do on a regular basis is cook dinners from scratch.  I love to cook and bake and got away from this habit when Maddie was little and work was eating up all my free time, but as I step back from work a bit and Maddie becomes independent I find I have more time.  So, I've been trying to cook things fresh, organic and whole. 

I actually find that I'm loving Everyday Food.  From the current issue I've tried 3 recipes and all were a success!  (Well, Maddie wasn't a fan of the mushroom risotto, but it was delicious and turned out just great.)  The whole family loved the Chicken Parmesan recipe and it was so easy since nothing needed to be fried.  Of course, it always takes me longer to make the meal then they say it will, but I plan ahead for that  :)  (The third recipe I tried was the carmel corn -- very good, but I will make more caramel stuff next time I make it.)

So, I have been doing something besides playing Zelda -- really I have.  In fact, I have some book reviews to post very soon!

The Legend of Zelda -- Phantom Hourglass

Sorry, no time to post.  I'll be busy playing this for the rest of the day:

Woo-hoo!!

Is there anyone else out that likes to play Nintendo DS or Wii games?  I'm thinking of reviewing a bunch of games here -- ya know, from the *ahem* older, female perspective.  I'm a DS addict and play every day -- seriously.

Hawkeye Picnic Basket

On Friday Pete took the day off of work because we were driving down to Champaign for the U of I game, so he was able to join Maddie and I on our weekly garage sale expedition.  Every Friday we get up, head out the door and hit the yard sales, stopping for junk food and coffee as needed.  Maddie loves it and always looks forward to Fridays.

This week was pretty good.  I got this great, vintage Hawkeye picnic basket (made in Burlington, Iowa) for only $4.  What a bargain!  It still has it's hanging shelf inside and is big enough to hold a whole bunch of things. 

As you can see, the cats had to get in on the photo shoot.  First Spike walked in. . . then Mud had to see what all the excitement was about.  They don't prefer hanging out with each other all that much though, so Mud made a swift exit.

Leaving the adorable, yet constantly befuddled Spiker to pose with the basket. 

I also picked up a little "Weave Easy Hand Loom" for only 25 cents.  It was complete with the original box and directions, so I'll have to try it out and report back.