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
Farmers Market
We went to the Farmers Market on Saturday to pick up some things for dinner. We didn't know what we were going to make; we just let the market inspire us. It was perfect weather and with so many things being in season, the colors were beautiful.
A rainbow of peppers.
Organic, red tomatoes.
We bought red potatoes here.
Dessert? We sampled several truffles including wasabi-black sesame and ginger lime.
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking, good things, weekend
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
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
Weekend
Last Friday, Austin and I left for Iowa City where we were going to be attending a wedding. It was a six hour drive, partly through cornfields, but then we emerged in a cool college town. Most importantly, we got to be there to celebrate with Sharon and Matt. They had a wonderful ceremony in a gorgeous flower garden not to mention the mimosas and
five kinds of dessert that followed!
We had a little bit of time to check out the campus area. We found it very Big 10, cuter than Dinkytown and reminiscent of State Street. Two Indian restaurants, an Irish pub, bookstore, paint-yer-own-pottery place, etc. We really liked the feel of it. (Maybe
Takenob can share more insight.) The bottom line is that UI happens to have a really good grad program for what I want to do and it feels better applying there having at least seen the place.
Then we returned through Dubuque so there weren't that many cornfields. We came back on Saturday so we enjoyed a quiet Sunday and now the week is well underway, flying by. Tomorrow I am meeting Sharon (the bride above) for lunch. I'm looking forward to hearing her impressions of the wedding a week later.
Etiquetes de comentaris: friends, good things, travel, weekend
Bayfield Wedding
Our trip to Bayfield was great. During the day, Austin and I got to check out a few cool little shops and galleries and do some sight-seeing. The real reason we were there, though, was for Tom and LeeAnne.
Thursday night was the bachelorette party which had a hot and spicy southwest theme (LeeAnne is going to grad school in Tucson this fall). Friday night was the rehearsal and groom's dinner on Madeline Island, then Saturday was The Big Day! I went over to the island at 1pm for hair and getting ready, kind of funny to be a foot passenger on the ferry in the middle of the day all dressed up.
The ceremony was on the island, then we came back to Bayfield for a reception. Awesome food, awesome Champagne (<--note the capital C, Veuve-Cliquot!), awesome dancing. We partied with the couple until 2am and it was a blast.
Sunday involved much recovery since we were low on sleep. In fact, after all the dancing, we were sore and tired until yesterday! Yeah, I'm approaching 30...
Anyway, it was a marvelous time and I'm glad we were able to be there.
Congrats, Monsieur et Madame Godfrey!
Etiquetes de comentaris: friends, good things, travel, weekend
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
La Nostalgia
Exactly a year ago, Team Lunderoy was emerging from the wine country of Bordeaux and about to hit up cosmopolitan Barcelona.
Siiiiiiiiigh........... I miss it a lot.
But I am excited for our weekend plans!
Etiquetes de comentaris: good things, travel, weekend
Conferencing
I'm off to a conference for a few days and get to visit with my friend, LeeAnne, who will be getting married on July 7. Mixin' business with pleasure, oh yeah!
Etiquetes de comentaris: friends, weekend, work
Weekend
Hmm, now that classes are done, having a three day weekend doesn't have quite the effect it does during the school year. Friday we ran a few errands and made dinner and ate outside. I grilled some corn, buttered it, then rolled it in cotija cheese and squeezed lime on it. Really good but the grilling part was sort of irrelevant. You could easily boil the corn and not have to worry about pulling the husks down, removing the silk, pulling the husks back up, soaking in water, grilling, then removing husks. Just sayin'.
Saturday we started getting ready for our Sunday night get-together. Austin made his usual, awesome salsa and I gave the salsa verde a try, roughly basing my creation off
this recipe. I had only worked with tomatillos once before so it was enjoyable but with tomatillos at $3.99/lb, well, I guess I don't feel a burning need to make my own salsa verde again. Especially not with our favorite, nearby Mexican restaurant selling it by the pint...
Anyway, along with the salsa, we did a few other food prep tasks and some cleaning. Having people over is always good for the house cleaning because it means we have to clean to a level beyond our own sometimes lazy standards.
Saturday night we went to my friend and colleague's wedding reception. It happened to be where we had ours and happened to be just a year shy of when we were last there for our own wedding. It was fun to be on the guest side of it and really appreciate the venue.
Sunday we got ready for our guests. I made 14 lemon tartlets that we topped with fresh raspberries and mint. I basically used
this recipe which was the only recipe to survive the big dinner I made when Austin returned from The Great Paintball War. Instead of doing one big lemon tart, however, Austin had the idea of doing individual tartlets and luckily there are pre-made graham cracker shells just for that (I'm just not big on making my own crusts, bad housewife ha).
In addition to the tartlets, I made a really easy pasta salad that I had at a friend's graduation party a week ago. I just boiled up some pasta nuggets and tossed it with chopped artichoke hearts, peppercorn feta, and jarred pesto sauce. At the last party, they also included cherry tomatoes.
Later, Austin grilled brats and burgers and a boca-brat for me. There was much grazing throughout the evening and I think we'll be grazing on the leftovers today.
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking, weekend
Finalizing Final Exams & Grades
Last week sort of flew by since it was final exam week. On Tuesday, my colleagues and I wrapped up a project that we had been working on since January; we are making it into a presentation for early June and are hopeful that it will also be published in article format. We'll see, either way it turned out well and it feels good to have some closure on it.
Thursday I gave all my final exams and then took myself out to lunch, grading while I waited for my crab salad sandwich and garbanzo pancetta soup. The little cafe was rather busy so I got a lot of grading done and then headed to my salon for a haircut. This was followed by more grading.
On Friday, I went to visit some friends that I had met at my very first job out of college. Usually, you don't stay in touch with people like that but we went through a traumatic management experience together and I guess that's what solidified the friendship. They had a bonfire and we just relaxed and caught up.
On Saturday, I went to a friend's grad party. He had finished his Masters in International Management, very cool and had I stayed in a corporate setting, I think I would have considered such a degree. The party was wonderful- perfect decorations, awesome food, and it was fun to see some old friends again.
Saturday night I was back home again. Home alone, even, since Austin had gone off to fight in the Great Paintball War (aka his annual paintball/camping event with the boys). I enjoyed the night to myself and watched a chick flick set in Paris.
Sunday I ran some errands with the intention of making Austin a really nice meal, both because I had been too busy to cook lately and because I thought he might enjoy it after a weekend of subsisting on hotdogs and beer and cigars. The meal I had in mind was from the most recent issue of Bon Appetit but my culinary endeavors lacked the results I was hoping for.
First off, I made a lemon cream tart with a champagne-berry compote for the top. This actually turned out the best of the dishes except that I inadvertently bought a larger pie crust than I had intended so the tart itself was nestled down in a giant crust and looked ridiculous.
The other dishes (sorry, too lazy for hyperlinks) were roasted shrimp in a champagne-shallot sauce with an orzo shallot risotto. Well, the roasted shrimp turned out nicely (just tossed them with olive oil, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and some lemon zest-- can't go wrong there) but the champagne-shallot sauce was really runny and had been reduced to the point that it was too sweet. The orzo risotto turned out like a San Francisco treat gone wrong. It wasn't bad... it just wasn't good. Plus the recipe said you just throw all the liquid on top of the risotto and let it absorb. When I made more authentic risotto (also rice and not pasta based), you added the liquid in a number of additions, waiting for absorption before adding more. I have no idea what the science is but maybe that's what made a difference?
Anyway, we basically ate all the shrimp and had a nibble of the risotto. The tart was really good in spite of its unfortunate aesthetics and that recipe just might be made again. I probably won't try the other dishes again since there are other recipes that produce a similar effect that I know will yield better results. Ah well, that's how it goes.
Now it's time to spend most of the day finalizing the grades. They aren't due until tomorrow evening but hopefully I can finish them today. Then it's off to another Sand Crab v-ball game. Pinch, pinch!
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking, weekend, work
Weekend
On Friday evening, Austin's mom arrived and we went out for dinner. We got home around 9:00 and talked for about an hour before we all fizzled out and went to bed. This meant we woke up earlier than normal on Saturday so we went to a coffee shop for a relaxing and delicious breakfast. After looking at all the cool kitchen gadgets, wines, and other delicacies at the cafe, we headed to the farmers market. Even though it's early in the season, it was a lot of fun to walk around and check everything out.
Austin's mom left around noon to go see her mom so the Lunderoys descended to the basement to work on The Project. Storage Room A had finally gotten to an unbearable level of junk and needed to to be maintained. It was a two person job because we both had random things in there from our lives prior to cohabitation. In fact, some of my stuff was moved directly from my little grad school apartment to storage to the basement of our current residence. It was almost eerie finding my entire grad school backpack intact, bus pass and a to-do list in the front pocket ready to go.
Anyway, besides finding the occasional nuggets of long gone days, we ended up generating four and a half leaf bags of garbage and massive amounts of recycling. It was almost shameful and we solemnly swore never to be so disgusting again. It was also enlightening to remove so much physical baggage from our home and to have a good spring cleaning.
There is still more work to be done; I have to sort through tons of grad school files, binders, and packets. Austin has Rubbermaid bins full of various cables and cords that look like gigantic knots. I also need to go through Storage Room B though it's more like a glorified closet and won't be as bad to prune.
We worked on the cleaning and organizing most of Saturday, then I spent about five hours on work stuff on Sunday, and now it's Monday afternoon with our first Sand Crabs volleyball game coming up at 8:00pm... can't wait!
Etiquetes de comentaris: weekend
Weekend
We had a nice weekend with lots going on. On Friday evening, we stayed in but left on Saturday morning for Austin's sister's baby shower. It was a couples event that basically involved a nice lunch, gift opening, and visiting. We gave the growing family a baby bath center and when we pulled it out of the car, someone thought it was a baby carrier. Apparently guests came to the window to see the Mystery LundeRoy Baby. Ha!
After that, we ran to test drive a car that I was interested in. It was a cool Tiburon with a sports package and it looked great but driving it was another story. The clutch was awful, it was nearly undrivable. It was very near the neighborhood where I had my first apartment after college so our test drive took us past the good ol' Riverview Apartments on Blake Road in Hopkins.
We had a few other quick errands and then met some friends for dinner at the King and I downtown Mpls. The food was outstanding (I had been there once before but couldn't remember anything notable about the food). I had a yellow curry dish with shrimp and Austin did the classic pad thai. Our friends shared some sort of veggie dish in a rich peanut sauce, so good that Austin is hoping to recreate it at home sometime.
We came back home late on Saturday night and thus had the luxury of waking up in our own bed on Sunday, having a leisurely morning, then running lots of errands and cleaning. It was about 80 degrees out and we were going to grill some salmon but then it started to rain. We ended up baking the salmon, rubbing it with a brown sugar-soy mixture, and we also roasted some asparagus. We had a clean house and a nice dinner, the perfect end to the weekend.
Etiquetes de comentaris: weekend
Weekend
It's only Tuesday evening but it feels like the end of the week for some reason. This makes me feel like I'm late posting about the weekend but I guess it's not so bad. Anyway, I had a lot of cool things lined up for the weekend and it was a really fun time.
On Friday, Austin and I just hung out and enjoyed an evening in. We caught up on some TiVo-ed shows and were lazy.
Then on Saturday, I was off to see a couple of friends and catch up. First I met with my friend Kat from my grad school program (she and I took Women's Studies classes together). She is in the midst of writing her dissertation so we only met for a brief time at Caribou in Dinkytown but it was great because the last time we saw each other was at my wedding.
After that, I ran a few errands and then went to LeeAnne's surprise wedding shower. The theme was "little bites" so I chose to get petit fours for dessert which turned out really great (thanks, Lunds!) and the other attendees also provided an excellent spread from chicken satay to spanakopita to hand-dipped chocolate covered strawberries. Most importantly, however, the guest of honor was very surprised and had a wonderful time. It was nice to get the event in a little early before she gets too busy with the planning for her July 7 wedding.
That night, I made my way to visit Bad Z and fam. I got there kinda late so Bad Z and I had a little wine and talked before turning in. The next day, we had brunch at Caffe Latte and walked around Grand Avenue in St. Paul, shopping for spices, door knobs, children's books en français, etc. We had a lovely visit and have another big adventure on the calendar for June.
Now this week is underway and I'm bogged down with the subjunctive in adverbial clauses at work, díos mío!
Etiquetes de comentaris: weekend
Friday the 13th
It feels like we've been having a lot of Friday the 13ths in the past year but I could be wrong. One night, I tried to do the math to determine the probability of the 13th falling on a Friday. This futile exercise just proves that my math career really did peak when I had a trig as a junior in high school. My
TI-82 was sweet and we still use it :-) Anyway, Austin and a math professor friend set me straight but not without laughing at me a little.
The point is that it's Friday and finally, finally there appears not to be snow falling. It is mid-April so the sunshine that I saw while driving in was nice. I plan on leaving the office around 3:00 today and trying to get a walk in. This evening Austin and I are planning on watching a movie and making some shrimp that we tried last weekend; the recipe was awesome,
New Orleans Style Shrimp from Cooking Light. Austin calls it "Chex Mix Shrimp" because it contains Worcestershire sauce and, while baking, smells a lot like chex mix. It tastes great, though, and we had dirty rice on the side last time.
On Saturday I have a couple of events scheduled with some girlfriends and on Sunday I am excited to have brunch with Bad Z and stroll Grand Avenue arm in arm, pretending we are on Study Abroad St. Paul. Yeah!
Etiquetes de comentaris: cooking, daily, weather, weekend
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
