Update
It's been forever so here are the updates.
◘ I'm back to work and it feels wonderful to be on a schedule. It seems like I have great students so far and I have some interesting projects going on besides the teaching.
◘ I've been making tons of pesto and freezing it so we can enjoy some delicious green basil-y flavor in the dead of winter. Plus basil is wonderful and cheap at the farmers market since our crop sucked this year.
◘ Speaking of the farmers market, I'm addicted. I've been buying amazing veggies and gorgeous flowers. I think this year I will have to check out this winter farmers market, something I didn't do last winter.
◘ I've been reading lots. For fun. Don't ask what, it's embarrassing.
◘ Even though the herb garden didn't fare so well, the African violets are looking good.
◘ I stood up in my cousin's wedding. It was gorgeous up on the North Shore, we ate well, had good wine, and danced a lot.
◘ I've had good coffee/tea and conversation with some friends recently.
◘ I finally got the nerve to introduce myself to this cool old lady I always see at the grocery store. She wears all purple every day and wears huge, round glasses with violet-tinted lenses. Her name is Norma and she appreciated my compliments of her outstanding fashion sense.
And here's what I'm looking forward to:
◘ Seeing some friends this weekend that we don't see as often as we'd like.
◘ Cooking and/or drinking wine with said friends.
◘ Going on an early fall scenic drive with Austin.
◘ More reading for fun.
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking, daily, family, freetime, friends, good things, weekend, work
Weekend
On Friday night, we were off to my cousin Lisa's bachelorette party downtown St. Paul. We stayed at the Hilton and had dinner at Pazzaluna; Kacie, Angie, and I shared a bruschetta appetizer, tomato-basil gnocchi, and pasta a la caprese. Some alleged former NHL players sent over lots of wine and we liked the house red although I didn't pay attention to the details. Then we were off to some bars and Lisa had a good time so our mission was accomplished.
I hadn't been sleeping well before the late night on Friday so when I got home on Saturday, I just laid around reading and relaxing. It was cool and rainy so lots of tea was in order. I went to bed at 9:00 and got up at 8:00; I knew I was tired but I couldn't believe that I slept in so late. I think it must have been because it was grey out and the sun wasn't beating in on me.
Now I'm feeling great and Austin and I are going to do some book shopping and run a few errands. Tonight, we're going to a "bon voyage" party in honor of one of my colleagues who is going to the Ukraine on a Fulbright teaching award. Monday my contract starts and life will feel normal again.
Etiquetes de comentaris: family, weekend
More Bullet Blogging
I've been behind on blogging so the only solution is more bullet points to bring me up to speed. I kind of like posting that way, maybe that's why I am enjoying my new
Twitter account thingie. Anyway, here's the latest in random order.
Stuff That's Happened◘ I finished my little summer stint at The Office.
◘ I visited with my sister and lots of other fam.
◘ I've gone on lots of walks in the company of my little shuffle or my friends.
◘ I had lunch with Sharon on Grand Avenue.
◘ I've gone to campus several times to work on random stuff. I'll be officially under contract next Monday so I'm enjoying the last days of unscheduled time.
◘ I made my friends
Cath and Siena a tortilla for lunch and Catherine shared French Granny's secret dessert recipe with me. Puff pastry and fresh berries, mmm!
Stuff That's Coming Up◘ My cousin's bachelorette party downtown St. Paul. Anyone been to Pazzaluna?
◘ Fall Semester
◘ My cousins' weddings (note the apostrophe s- two cousins are getting married two consecutive weekends in the Duluth area).
Etiquetes de comentaris: family, friends, good things, work
Weekend
We had a nice weekend visiting with the fam and getting to know Conner. He was very cute and very sleepy every time we saw him; unfortunately for his mama, he sometimes works on developing those lungs but we didn't get to see/hear it.
This weekend was also my sister and sister-in-law's birthdays (same day) so we toasted them.
Tonight I made a Spanish soup for dinner since it was sorta gray out. It was a chickpea soup flavored with the smoked paprika common to Spain; that smokiness made Austin call it the split pea and ham of Spain. I also made a smoked paprika infused olive oil which we drizzled on top, later adding a little plain yogurt too. It turned out great with some crusty bread on the side. I have put in a picture below with the cookbook from which I pulled the recipe; it was a wedding gift from my friend, Sharon.
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking, family, weekend
Gâteau au Yaourt
The springform pan got put to use again today when I made a
gâteau au yaourt as featured on Clotilde's Chocolate and Zucchini blog and in the eponymous cookbook. I am bringing it to the inlaws' house tonight and we'll have it later on or maybe for breakfast.
Our reason for the visit is to meet our nephew so I suppose this could be my little birthday cake for Conner.
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking, family, weekend
Bullet Blogging
So yeah, it's been awhile. Lots of things big and small were happening in all spheres of my life at once so I decided to take a blog vacation. Now I'm back and will bullet point some of what I've been up to.
◘ My nephew was born but had a little infection so I spent a lot of time reading his parents' blog and sending positive vibes out into the universe. Conner got to go home on the 23rd so he's doing much better.
◘ I cooked dinner for my inlaws for the first time and it was a success! We were up at the family cabin so I made Shrimp Monterrey and brought fresh greens, bread, and raspberries from the Farmers Market.
◘ I hung out with LeeAnne two more times; one day we went to Anodyne for iced coffees and last Tuesday we had lunch at San Pedro Cafe. It was our farewell since she is moving to Tucson for grad school. LeeAnne also very thoughtfully gave me all of her pantry items that she couldn't move so I got nice stuff like olive oil, interesting vinegars, cake flour, superfine sugar, etc.
◘ My parents came to watch the Mighty Sand Crabs play volleyball. We drank some good wine and went to Coffee Grounds for a tasty breakfast the next day.
◘ I went to my cousin's wedding shower and helped her organize an Italian themed bachelorette party. Anyone been to Pazzaluna?
◘ I worked at The Office.
◘ I worked on campus on some research stuff.
◘ I watched the first tomato of my vines ripen and am trying to decide what to do with it. I also watched my morning glories start blooming, beautiful pinks and purples.
◘ I've taken lots of walks in the company of my Shuffle and with friends. Today I went on a walk with a new friend and we had a great conversation.
◘ I've looked forward to Sharon's wedding in Iowa City for which we are leaving tomorrow morning.
◘ I read Harry Potter!
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking, family, freetime, friends, good things, work
Conner Owen
My nephew arrived today at 5:05pm, 8 lbs and 21 inches long. I'm an aunt for the first time and it's wonderful! Can't wait to begin spoiling the little guy.
Etiquetes de comentaris: family, good news
Relaxing at the Cabin
We spent the weekend at Austin's aunt's cabin, doing a sort of reunion. This year the crowd was of limited number due to life- one branch of the family tree was dealing with a grandma's death while another offshoot was too pregnant to make the trip! Still, a good group of us got together and we enjoyed some time just looking at the lake, sitting around the campfire, and catching up. I did lots of reading too.
We have more fun coming up starting on Thursday when we head to my friend LeeAnne's wedding up in Bayfield. Besides all the nuptial festivities, we also plan on checking out a winery, some art galleries, and of course the good ol' Gitchee Gummee. It's gonna be great!
Etiquetes de comentaris: family, friends, good things, travel, weekend
Summer Visits
I've been really busy the last few days squeezing in lots of visits with family and friends. On Friday afternoon, I found out that my cousin, Danny, was in town from LA. Austin and I were just planning on relaxing since he had had a stressful work week but we were happy to hang out with Danny. We ended up having him and his sisters (plus one baby) over for an impromptu dinner. Danny is a professionally trained chef so Austin and I were a little intimidated but we just threw together a shrimp pasta, green salad, and some good bread. It turned out fine and we had a wonderful visit.
On Saturday, my parents came to visit and we took them out to a pottery place we found in the middle of no where. The artist was home so he showed us his studio and kilns and we got to meet his cat, Earl Grey (if I ever have a cat I want an Earl Grey, both in name and specialness). Later we went out to a tepanyaki restaurant for dinner and it was divine as always.
Sunday was brunch at a fun cafe and then we went to a surprise 30th birthday for Danny out at my aunt and uncle's. It was there that I realized the simple pleasure of having a big deck surrounded by forest; I could have stayed there for hours.
On Monday, I got to visit with Bad Z! She was also in town from LA. We had many adventures, including a long lunch at the restaurant where she had her wedding reception, hanging out with her tiny niece, and tea shopping. It was perfect.
Today I'm back home and had a meeting on campus this morning. Now I'm doing the Domestic Goddess routine in between some reading. Tomorrow is entirely unscheduled! Friday is a full work day at The Office and then this weekend is a family reunion on Austin's side.
Etiquetes de comentaris: family, freetime, friends, good things, weekend
Friday
It's Friday, the only day this week I'm not at The Office but the one day I will be at The Campus. I'll be working with two colleagues on a project that we are trying to complete over the summer.
After that, I'll run a few errands and then do some cleaning in preparation for my parents' visit. They are coming tomorrow and we're taking them out for dinner at a haibachi grill restaurant, something they've been talking about trying for awhile. Then on Sunday, we're taking them to breakfast at a favorite coffee shop where my dad previously had been disappointed by arriving too late for a breakfast sandwich that he was craving.
It'll be a great weekend and then early next week, I get to see my good friend, Bad Z!
Etiquetes de comentaris: family, friends, weekend, work
Updates
It's been awhile since I've posted. Since I've started working part time at The Office, I've been really busy because I've also got some side projects with the university going on.
I also took a little time to go Up North to visit my parents. My mom and I went out to Red Oak Studio to have a painting by my Grampa framed. Roger, the framer (framist?) is an amazing artist who makes everything an aesthetic delight with just the right frame, mat, etc. He did all of our honeymoon art and we were entirely pleased. I can't wait to see how my Grampa original turns out.
My mom and I also went to a pottery place and to some little shops in my hometown. I went back to the craft store where I worked and while lots had changed, it was like walking back 10 years in time (in a good way).
Austin and I ran some errands over the weekend. Among them, I had to stop at the ATM that's in the bank drive-through. I deposited a check and then decided to get cash too. I was so intent on getting my receipt and changing some settings that I forgot my cash! A car behind me on the street was honking and waving like mad. A woman had noticed and sent her teenage daughter to get my money for me. The young lady came running across the parking lot with my $40 and I hugged the sweetie for her efforts! They probably thought I was crazy and I definitely felt that way after leaving my cash but I was touched at the honesty and thoughtfulness of their act. It also made up for the fact that someone in a giant black SUV, talking on a cellphone, had just cut me off and given ME the finger. I'm quick to focus on such negative instances but lots of nice things like the ATM People also happen too.
Etiquetes de comentaris: family, good things, weekend, work
Easter
I left work early on Thursday and didn't have to work on Friday as I tried to make up for not having the breakiest spring break. It was nice and I was able to give the house a bit of spring cleaning. After Austin got home from work, we set out on the trek down to Madison. We got there around 9:30 on Friday night so we basically talked to his mom and her husband for a bit, then crashed.
On Saturday we slept in a little and had a leisurely breakfast before setting out to run a few errands. With Austin and Paula's artistic input, I was able to find the perfect ingredients to make my friend's wedding invitations. The background paper is "paprika" in color and it will be followed by a layer of cream with gold swirlies on it topped off by the cream sheet with the invitation text. I loved the paprika and Austin found the accenting sheets. I am really pleased to do this for Sharon and Matt though I hope the invitations turn out in real life as well as I've imagined them in my mind. I'm not talented at the scrapbooking thing like some people are.
After that was taken care of, we popped into the next door World Market and Austin finally found the stemless martini glasses he had been wanting and for the low price of $2 each, he snagged six of them. We also found our favorite Spanish Rioja at almost $4/bottle less than the price at our local shop. After a little more wine shopping and tasting, we also browsed through some art galleries but we didn't find anything that we were dying to bring home with us.
Things were going so well that I was able to laugh when we had the Cake Structural Disaster. I had made to layers of carrot cake and was frosting them before heading to Easter dinner at my sister's house. I hadn't made the frosting before and it looked a bit thin but I was reluctant to add too much powdered sugar because I didn't want to diminish the lovely cream cheese flavor. Well, the structural integrity of my cake was compromised the top layer slid off! Ack! By then it was too late to make something else so Austin and I purchased a chocolate and peanut butter creation from the local grocery store instead of bringing my failed (but delicious) cake along. Paula was bound and determined, however, to make it work and she ended piecing together a very interesting shape. It's hard to describe, but the cake actually had a sort of Celtic look to it. I told Austin it is now my goal to make an elaborate layer cake all by myself sometime after classes are done.
Anyway, dinner that night was really great too. My sister and her husband made salmon, mashed potatoes, and steamed veggies. Then Austin and I headed back to his mom's, had another leisurely brunch, and headed back home.
Etiquetes de comentaris: Easter, family, weekend
Easter Plans
Tomorrow I don't have class but I will be doing a teeny amount of work from home. Then I'm spending the day doing whatever I want since my spring break wasn't entirely break-y, it was more work-y. After Austin is home from work, we are heading to Madison for the weekend.
We will spend Friday night and Saturday day with his mom and her husband. My mother-in-law is a graphic designer so I'm going to have her help me design and perhaps purchase the supplies to make wedding invitations for a friend. Since she lost her first husband, she wants her second wedding to be a totally different experience and each girlfriend is contributing to an element of the wedding rather than getting her another toaster or crockpot. I had a lot of fun designing my wedding invitations so it's cool to be able to do it again and in a different way as my gift to Sharon.
Saturday night we will have our Easter/Pagan Spring Type Holiday meal at my sister and brother-in-law's house. Austin and I are bringing dessert and I'm thinking of doing a tarte au citron. In fact, Austin liked it so much that he was experimenting with the plating of the tarte. He pureed some raspberries, pressed them through a sieve, and used a squeeze bottle to create different plate designs. Unless some lightning bolt of inspiration zaps me tomorrow, that is our plan.
It should be a nice weekend even if the weather is reminiscent of late November. Hanging with the fam (both sides) and having good food always helps brighten the days and warm the nights.
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking, Easter, family, weekend
Nice Day for a White Wedding
Saturday was Sean and Angie's wedding reception for all the family and friends who couldn't make it to Cancun. Austin and I were planning on having a house full of company but the weather changed those plans. Still, the show went on and a good number of guests showed up. It was a rocking good time and really suited the happy couple.
On Sunday, Austin and I pondered making a snowman but after the late night opted for naps and lots of reading. Late nights take their toll more than they used to and let me tell you about how I used to walk to school uphill both ways during a blizzard...
Etiquetes de comentaris: family
