November come and nearly gone

Gosh. I feel like this month has just whizzed by! It is now (quite legitimately) the holiday shopping season. I enjoy writing and I often have these ongoing inner narrative going about what I want to blog about. But by the time I get to my computer I have lost the zest for the whole thing and am reduced to just lists. Let’s give it a go and see how it turns out.

THANKSGIVING
That was fun. We ate at janet and eric’s. Janet’s 80-something year old grandma was there. We bonded over knitting and watched really crappy t.v. I made the sour cream apple pie that I kept reading about in all those crafty blogs and also some caramel sauce. I wanted warmed apple tarts a la mode with gooey caramel sauce drizzled over it and man was that GOOD. Janet’s first ever turkey was fabbo! She was nervous over it but her nervousness was unnecessary. I’m worried that one day the link to the caramel sauce won’t work any more along with my memory of the ingredients and method. So I’m going to set it down here for safe keeping:

Caramel Sauce
Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream

Preparation
In a heavy skillet cook the sugar over moderately high heat, stirring constantly with a fork, until it is melted completely and turns a deep golden caramel. Remove the skillet from the heat, stir the caramel to prevent further darkening, and pour the cream into the side of the skillet carefully (the caramel will harden when the cream is added). Add 2 tablespoons water and cook the caramel mixture over moderate heat, stirring, until the caramel is dissolved. Let the sauce cool to warm.

Makes about 1/2 cup.

MOVIES
Lots of movies.

There was a double feature on Friday night at the New Beverly Cinema Theatre. Good pairing. I’d forgotten what a good film Casablanca is. Lots of funny and sharp dialogue. The Good German isn’t out yet (I think) but you should all go out and watch it. It’s very, very good.

Also watched:

Which was sadly, not as good. But still enjoyable and fun to pick apart afterwards with your Bond-snubbing husband.

And a few weekends ago we also saw this side-splittingly funny flick:

I recommend it highly. Not only did I scream (and I do mean SCREAM) with laughter, but there were also astonishing moments of poignance and heartwarming-ness. Go see it. Really.

And wow, was I really surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie. M thought there were some structural problems with the writing which I guess I kind of agree with. But over all it was incredibly entertaining, sweet and thoroughly enjoyable. Not since A Squid and A Whale* have I uttered words which I thought would never escape my lips: Wow. That Will Ferrell is ADORABLE!

*My shocking utterance after this film was: Wow. That Jeff Daniels is an AMAZING actor.

BIRTHDAYS
As in the ones I forgot to give shout-outs for… My buddy stacyM had a birthday first, then m, then H. They are very special and dear to me and deserve their own special post wherein I extoll their virtues and wondrousness, but sadly, I dropped the ball on that one. If I can get my act together, I really ought to do something about this.

CLEANING AND MOVING
There’s been a lot of cleaning up and editing out of stuff around the c+potion household. It feels good. I have always been a pack-rat, but am trying to let go off all the baggage (literally) that I have been lugging around for the past 5 years or so. We are embracing the concept of smaller living spaces inspired by a New York couple and their newborn in their 250 square foot (23.22 metres carre) Manhattan apartment. It’s pretty astonishing though inspiring. We’re currently drooling over a condo in Boston’s North End that is just barely larger at 388 square feet (36.04 metres carre). (Those of you who have been to the North End will probably remember it for its famed canolli’s. )

And now it’s the end of the day and I get to go home. ‘Night y’all.

I heart MK

Saturday was m’s birthday.

and I finally figured out how to use my camera with indoor night-time lighting:

(belated birthday cake)

gratuitous cake close up:

(still working on the closeup mode)

gratuitous cat photo:

Don’t know if you caught it in the above photos, but I broke in the bundt cake pan we received from h for our wedding. There should be enough kharma in that gift to bake cakes that knock your socks off. Did I mention that I suck at baking cakes? I tasted the crumbs off the bottom while it was cooling and it seemed okay. Definitely not sucky. Since it’s now almost midnight, the cake is still cooling and m and I are going to have to eat his birthday cake tomorrow after dinner. Or maybe in our separate offices at lunch. It sure smells good around here.

Oh, and the birthday-boy had a good time too. (He would interrupt here and say that he’s the birthday-man.) Did I mention how much I adore my husband?

office tschotchkes

One of the best things about my job is that I get an office…

Here’s the view from my chair:

And what hangs behind me:

this weekend

This weekend…

I baked:

Celebrated StacyM’s birthday:

I made curtains:

I made slip covers:

I upholstered chairs:

And plotted future projects with the evil cat:

I also went roller-skating for the birthday (the chocolate peanut butter whoopie pies* were baked for this occasion). And okay, I actually upholstered the chairs a few weekends ago. But it all goes so well together in my little photo montage.

I wish my camera took better photos. It’s so much more fun to post the pics at this size.

*I got the recipe from her 2005 Holiday Cookies book which I can’t find on her site. But she has a similar recipe which she must have printed in one of her mags.

this weekend

This weekend...

I baked:

Celebrated Stacy's birthday:

I made curtains:

I made slip covers:

I upholstered chairs:

And plotted future projects with the evil cat:

I also went roller-skating for the birthday (the chocolate peanut butter whoopie pies* were baked for this occasion). And okay, I actually upholstered the chairs a few weekends ago. But it all goes so well together in my little photo montage.

I wish my camera took better photos. It's so much more fun to post the pics at this size.

*I got the recipe from her 2005 Holiday Cookies book which I can't find on her site. But she has a similar recipe which she must have printed in one of her mags.

this weekend

as in the one that just passed…

Hi, how are you? Did you have a nice weekend? There’s a guy that I work with (two that I can think of at least) who must live for his weekends. Or he hates his job. Or both. But man oh man he cannot let a passing greeting of “Good morning” slip by without his snazzy response of ”For a Monday.” He’s that guy.

I was sick on Friday and remember little of it except once I got up because my back hurt from lying down for too long and so I schlepped out to the couch and passed out there for an hour or two.

Saturday we got cable (!) in anticipation of a very important game* the following day. I can’t remember much else of Saturday though I was feeling a lot better. I got offered lots of different fast food for my meals. M says that’s what happens when dad’s in charge and mom is sick. (Don’t be alarmed. No one’s pregnant. At least no one that I’ve written about here. I’m sure there are people out there that we know who are pregnant like Jim and LiAna for example and Ian and Amy for another. And don’t you think I’d let you know in a more personal way than in my blog??)

Sunday I woke up all jazzed to start my day despite only getting a few hours of sleep. Damned neighbors. I went to Ikea to buy curtain stuff, rods and hang-y things and what-have-you. And then lunch and more errands (Wow. I almost typed up all the little things that this entailed. Then thought better of it and condensed this to: more errands. Good catch. I need to remember to be more concise. Like how I’m not being right now. Right.)

The Game ™ started at 5 with M and Pekoe at the ready (Pekoe is the football buddy if you remember correctly). I put together dinner and Janet called repeatedly to harass m about his beloved team’s errors and setbacks. We invited them over for dinner but they foolishly declined. The menu was Cauliflower with Leeks au gratin (this is different in France. If you are french and reading this, it’s not the same when we say something here is au gratin as gratinee. It’s dumb, but I didn’t make up this translation), sauteed green beans with a wilted tomato sauce (very light and savory), butterflied leg of lamb roasted with a dry rub of herbs. Yum, yummy, YUMMERS. And freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Our house smelled awesome last night.

I have this new theory about sweets. Let’s see how this works out. M has an insatiable sweet tooth. Particularly after a rough day at work, he’ll crave something sweet and chocolatey to console him. I love to tease him about it, but for some reason I have decided that the Betty Crocker desssert mixes that he buys (on mega sale) are evil. I really want us to eat healthy (and for the most part we do) and the thought of something so processed going into his system grosses me out. And I don’t want him to get into the habit of keeping such things around the house. So I figure if I bake him something that tastes so good and so tasty, he won’t need to reach for Betty Crocker or Duncan Heinz. Brilliant, right?

So last night was chocolate chip cookies. He got to eat raw dough to boot (gross. I tried some and was disgusted to find that it actually does taste good, but yeah…raw eggs. Gross.). The recipe I used was from Martha Stewart’s Holiday cookies book that was published last year. I’ve made three or four of the cookies from this book already and they turned out pretty good. The cookies last night were soft and chewy (just like I like ‘em) though a little flat. Perhaps a little more flour or a little less butter next time. The recipe was supposedly for 3 dozen cookies, but I think I’ll just get a little over half the amount.

Bets on how long this batch will last? I made 10 last night and five remain. For the sake of our respective dignities, I will not divulge who had 1.5 cookies and who had 3.5. The rest I put in the freezer cause I like my cookies fresh out of the oven. We can also bet on how much of the cookies will be consumed as raw dough and how much will be consumed as baked cookies. I wish I could devise an interactive graphic for this, but I just don’t feel like doing the research.

Next week’s dessert: Brownies? There’s an unfinished tray of the box stuff sitting on our kitchen counter right now. I take personal offense to them. I want to put those yucky things to shame so that he will never reach for that evil red box again. Am I mean?

*We’ve talked about this before. Or at least the conversation goes something like this:

me: How come you say this every weekend? Are they all Very Important Games or what?
he: That’s a good point! They ARE all Very Important Games.
me: Whatever.

a stripey kind of day

I drive down Wilshire Boulevard straight through Beverly Hills every day. The drive is pleasant if a touch congested. I pass Rodeo Drive and all the fancy schmancy department stores along the way. The store window displays are always fun to check out as they update them at least once a month. My favorite window is in Neiman Marcus. Whoever does designs their windows is a genius. Many times I kick myself for not having my camera and taking photos of the brilliance. This is no static runway of dummies dressed in designer fashions. They create stories, there is texture, they must have an amazing props room.

Anyways, past all the glitz of the department stores at the very end of Wilshire just before we cross Santa Monica, there is a crowded shabby little craft store called Nettie’s Needlework. Nettie’s is one of two yarn stores near work that I mentioned. I don’t go there anymore.

But next door to Nettie’s is a bridal shop. And they have pretty displays too. But I think their storefront gets lost in all the hustle of high-rise buildings and traffic on Wilshire Boulevard. I don’t even know the name of the bridal shop. But they’ve had this dress in their display for a few weeks and I am so in love with it. I covet it lamenting the probably too high price tag and the lack of practicality. When would I have occasion to wear this pretty thing?

I thought it was peppermint striped and fell in love with the idea of a swirly creamy white striped peppermint dress. How Audrey Hepburn! But it’s actually a rusty orange against a creamy white. If I ever make this dress (cough), I will keep it the way I see it in my mind peppermint-y red and white.

I finally remembered to bring my camera in and walked the length of Wilshire (just over a mile) to the bridal shop to snap a photo. Before they changed the display and my pretty dress would be lost to me…forever…

And along the way I saw this peppermint striped rose: