A Place for the Living

More real life stuff!  We moved.  Drew already covered the outside area so I thought I would do a little tour of the innards.  So...here are the innards!  We'll start with the living room:

There's plenty of room for, you know, sitting on the couch.  Clearly most of our pillows have not gotten on board our UK theme but 1 out of 5 is, um, some low percentage.  

Next is one of my favorite rooms--the kitchen!  And it has counter and cabinet space to spare. 

It is such a delight to be able to throw things hither and thither while making dinner.  

Speaking of dinner, we have a new table and now it's no longer a choice between eating at the table or watching TV during dinner.  Now we have our cake and eat it too.

 As you can see, Toothless watches over us.  Now let us go upstairs!

It is fun to have stairs!  Sometimes I drop something upstairs or stomp around and, for a brief moment, wonder if the people downstairs heard.  Then I remember that only Drew is downstairs and he'll just have to DEAL WITH IT. 

Ahem.  

At the top of the stairs we have our children's library.  

So far one visiting child has taken advantage of it so we will call it a success.  

We also have a bathroom.  

It has a mirror in it!  And toothbrushes.

Lucky little squire Drew now has his own office room for work.  Gone are the days of having a kitchen table office, which is a win-win-win. 

If we were the kind of people to use the term, we would perhaps call this his "man cave."  As it is, we call it the office.  

One of the biggest upgrades here is that no only do we have laundry capabilities, but we have a laundry capabilities ROOM.    

Huzzah!

We also have a bedroom!  It features a window nook that is the perfect size for our new dresser.  Did I mention we recently went to IKEA...?

Yes, come morning it is very bright in there.  We are currently pondering curtains, though I always hate to cover nice big windows.  

This room also features a closet, with plenty of room to accommodate both of our wares.

 

I like not digging around in the dark to find my running stuff.  Actually, I like not digging around period.

And thus concludes the tour!  Of course it's best appreciated in person, where you can see other features like the backyard space, pantry and window seat/ledge/thing.  We are happily settled in and every time the dishwasher/laundry/AC run we do a high five.  Eiffel tower!

Birthday Shenanigans

And now for some real life exploits.  
I had a birthday!  It was delightful for many reasons.  Since it was on a Sunday this year, the celebrations began on Saturday.  First, I got my hair cut.  My grand plans of picking a place based on glowing Facebook recommendations rapidly devolved into "Hey there's a place" while we were at the mall.  A lady named Genevieve did the deed and while she did not do so gently, she did it in what felt like 10 minutes.  That's worth being stabbed in the head with a pick, right?  (Fortunately I do not have a tender head.)

After that I finished what I started the night before--cake!  Chocolate Quake Cake to be precise.  

 

I was a little concerned about some cosmetic issues of the individual layers, but if there is one cake in the world that is forgiving of cosmetic issues, it's this one.  Also, it is delicious.  One of the most delicious cakes I have ever had.  And the frosting!  SO good.  I look forward to making this one again, as soon as I have cause... (hint hint).

We left the finished cake at home and went off for dinner at Chef's Table (coupon in hand!).  I got...tilapia...I think...but I spent most of the time envying Drew's pan roasted filet mignon medallions, which was a most excellent steak.  We took no pictures, but instead you can imagine me alternating between enjoying my fish and greedily eying Drew's plate. 


Since it would have been absurd to eat the cake on our own, we had friends and family come help.  However only one of them made it into a picture:

  
But the house was full, a bag of Sun Chips was rapidly consumed and everyone left full of cake.  


On the official day of, Drewbles gave me a present here, a present there throughout the day.  I was kind of a bum this year and gave him little indication of my wants (not really knowing them myself).  But he got all creative on me and so now I have this little number to do Pilates on:

(Bonus points for being pink.)


And I also have this now, which I very much enjoy climbing on the couch to stare at: 

It is a perfect addition to our London-themed in-progress living room decor scheme.  Isn't it just the most delightful little thing??


We spent the day reading in the park, sleeping and I talked to most of my family.  Then I watched House Hunters International (London!) while Drewbles worked on the first of my two birthday requests: Velveeta with hot dogs.  He even used the Velveeta log and made the cheese sauce himself!  I was very proud and it was so deliciously goopy.  I can pretend to be all high brow with my grilled cheese with brie and pan roasted filet mignon medallions, but, really, there are few foods in this world I love better than Velveeta.


The main activity of the night was my second birthday request: watching the last mind-boggling episode of Sherlock.  It had both of us amazed. 

And that is the long and short of it!  I plan to spend the next year resisting the urge to freak out about my next birthday...

Foods for the Envying

We had these for dinner tonight.   

Roasted strawberry, brie and dark chocolate grilled cheese sandwiches.  Just FYI.  (Recipe here--I used at least twice as much brie because our bread was bigger)

(I think it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: we don't usually have chocolate for dinner.)

And then I made some cake batter! 

In a pot!  What a wacky world we live in.  The finished product will be making its debut when it's, well, finished.   Meaning tomorrow.  À bientôt!

I am pretty easily impressed and awed by nature.  Whale sharks impress me (so big!), Thailand rock...things impress me (so topsy turvy!), the Amazon rainforest has always deeply impressed me (so many creatures!).  Pretty much everything but mountains impresses me on some level.

But at the top of the list is the Northern Lights.  You can tell how impressed I am by the fact that I'm devoting a whole blog post to say how amazingly mysterious they are.  After all, I only blog about the most meaningful things.  But look at them!!!

  

Aren't they just the most mysterious and lovely things in the world?  I guess they aren't technically mysterious, since science explains them, but they're still mysterious.  A long while ago, LivingSocial offered a trip to Alaska for a Northern Lights expedition trip.  I don't remember the price or the dates, but I still check their website to see if it comes back up again.  There are lot of places/things I'd like to see and of course most of them I probably never will, like the Great Wall of China or (*tear*) the pyramids.  These, on the other hand, feel more possible since I can see them without leaving the continent.  Alaska's just a quick jaunt up the road.

As a random aside, the Northern Lights are one of the very few things I remember from The Golden Compass (those, and the polar bears [ARMORED polar bears]).  "Remember" is probably overstating it--I remember there were Northern Lights and they were terribly mysterious.  Is anyone counting how many times I say "mysterious" in this post?


I should also probably note, for posterity's sake, that I think I can trace my initial fascination back to the hours spent playing as Cammy on Street Fighter 2.  Showing here:

 (Ugh, DeeJay)

Anyway.  Let's look at more pictures of the Lights.  
     

    

What I Miss Today

Lovely, dreary, grey rainy London.  *sigh*  

On the upside, while looking for decent rainy London pictures I found a delightful landscape painter, David Atkins.  Here are my favorites of his rainy London paintings. 

Evening Rain.

 Rain. Picadilly Circus.

Regent Street in the Rain.

Spring Rain.

Now if only that whole "jumping into the painting" thing from Mary Poppins worked.

Food for the Eating

It's been a few months since the last recipe post so it must be time for another!  I'm happy to say that beans are not involved in any of them.   

Eggs in Tomato Sauce
I had never heard of such a thing as this before but now I wish I had.  I could have been eating this for years! One thing I will add is that the recipe says to use "tomato puree", which I did and which was not full of chunky tomatoes (like the pictures) or even flavor.  Mine didn't come out of a box so maybe that's my problem.  The second time I used the puree (I had leftovers since I could only find it in a 28 oz. can) but added a can of diced tomatoes.  Much better. Plus it's more saucy and if there's one thing I like, it's sauciness. 

Shakshuka  
After the deliciousness of the eggs in tomato sauce I had to try this too.  All during dinner we kept talking about how good it was and after dinner we were talking about when we could have it again.  The recipe says to use pitas for dipping but we just piled it onto a pita and ate it with a fork.  So good.  Seriously.  So good.  If you make one thing from this list, make this.

Portobello Fajitas with Fontina Queso
Mushrooms are one of the foods nearest and dearest to my food heart so of course this was perfect for me.  I skipped the cheese on this (me! skipping cheese!) because it seemed to take away from the simplicity of it, not to mention the healthiness.  Still tasty just with salsa. 

Grilled Caprese Sandwich
Basil.  Cheese.  Tomato.  Sold. 

Thai Coconut Soup 
We made this instead of going out for Valentine's and it was definitely the right decision.  It was almost a little *too* heavy on the coconut milk, but it was a nice change of flavor from the Tom Yum we usually make.  Also, mushrooms.  

Grilled Coconut Lime Tilapia Tacos with Kiwi Salsa
Poor Drewbles has often ordered fish tacos only to be disappointed by them (as am I because they involve barfy corn tortillas).  Since we had some cod, I decided to try to satisfy his fish taco dream.  I don't usually like fish tacos because the fish is fried and I really only like fried fish with fish and chips--otherwise you can't taste the fish.  So if you like the taste of fish with your fish, maybe these are the fish tacos for you.  Either way, the salsa was a winner. 

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken 
Tomatoes.  Basil.  Cheese.  Sold. 
Okay, partially sold.  I prefer eating chicken shredded or cut up, and the chicken we happened to get was quite thick and big.  I think I'd like this better with smaller/thinner chickens.

Corn Salsa
I made this before dinner one night.  We had to put it away so we wouldn't eat it all right then.  Nuff said.

Brownie Peanut Butter Cups
You want to eat these.  Don't even wonder--you want to eat these.  It's even easier if you use a brownie mix, but just be sure to let them cool before you take them out of the pan!  Not that we learned from experience or anything... 

Chocolate Pudding Pie 
I had a goal this year to make a dessert pie.  It was my first time making a traditional crust from scratch and I think I made it through unscathed.  I love pudding and I love chocolate pudding so win win.  

Maybe next time I'll blog about, you know, actual life or something. 

WHAT.

Back in the day, this blog was filled with a lot of rambling about movies--what was coming out, what did best over the weekend, etc. etc.  Even though it is a lot more sophisticated now, I think it is entirely appropriate to devote a whole post to this news: 

Van Helsing is being rebooted.  With Tom Cruise of all people!

Okay, so, Van Helsing and I have this thing where it is terrible and I love it.  I mean...it's really terrible.  So terrible I roll around on the floor laughing at how terrible it is.  I mean, really, everything is terrible.  How can Tom Cruise improve on this??  Even the poster is kind of ridiculous.

Okay, so maybe they'll turn it into, you know, a good movie or something.  And yet I don't know how I could love it anymore.  Too bad, so sad.

It's May now...

...so I guess it makes sense for this song to be in my head. 

(This video is worth watching just to see the happy conductor.)

In Which I Binge

Here's a secret: I listen to Spotify when I'm at work.  Okay, that's not a secret--here's the secret part: I almost always put it on private just so people can't see how many times I listen to the same things.  

(It's unfortunate that play counts don't appear on Spotify because I like knowing just how insane I am with the repeat button.)

Since lately I have taken to blogging about completely useless bits of "information", it seems entirely appropriate to blog about some of my recent binges.  And just to make it a little more interesting ("interesting"), it's not just music.  Let us proceed!

Hurts Like Heaven - Coldplay


I'm still binging on all of Mylo Xyloto but this has been my favorite by far recently.  The best part of any run is when this song pops up.  Sometimes I resort to mentally hounding my iPod until it plays (it totally works).     

You & a Promise - Howie Day (a name I feel stupid writing every time [Sorry, Howies of the world])


This is just a small part of my binging on every Howie Day song in existence on Spotify.  It's so hard to pick a favorite, but this one was my first favorite.  *ramble*

(Sorry for the barfy video)

You Won't Feel a Thing - The Script


Truth be told, I had never heard of these fellows until last month.  But, well, let's just say we're very well acquainted now.  They get bonus points for being Irish.

Les Mis 

Well.  It only took me fifteen years but I guess I like Les Mis now.  I blame Alfie Boe entirely for this, and more specifically I blame Alfie Boe singing this, a song I have spent most of my life despising:


I just love his little bearded face.

Cadbury Eggs

I mean...does this NEED any explanation?  

(Does anyone else think the filling used to be runnier?  Or maybe it seemed runnier because I was a mere child then and didn't know it's best to just cram it all in your mouth at once.  Did I just admit that to the world?)

Creature Comforts 

Drewbles gets the credit for us watching these.  The premise is that everyday people are interviewed around the country on any number of subjects and then the interview audio is set to claymations with various animals (the same interviewee is always the same animal).  It started in the UK, with two seasons, and then there's an American version that was one (seven episode) season.  I think the US version is more outright funny, maybe because Americans are more prone to say ridiculous things, I don't know, but the UK version has its own gems.  The American version is on Netflix instant so what are you waiting for?  Binge away!

An Impressive Cake

I'm sure the Internet at large has been waiting with bated breath to learn how to make my patented Oreo cake.  Wait no more, Internet at large!  Now you too can amaze the world with your cake making skills.

 Bonus hint: it helps if your candle levitates.

A Theory

I figured out why Tyra Banks is so weird--she's from The Capitol.  How else to explain the many different hairstyles, the jumpsuits and the general insanity of Modelland?  She probably thinks of ANTM as her own Hunger Games, in which she plays the role of Effie Trinket. 

 

 

And really, there's no other way to explain this:

Right?

(Gifs from here)

Some Pictures of Some Stuff

I am a coughing invalid today.  I got the black lung, Pop.  So here, have a blog post.  These are some things that have happened in the last week or so:

 There was this madness.  There was also the madness of us running in it. 

I made this happen.

 This happened!  I made it for Easter dinner with Drew's family, which was also his sister's birthday.  Now that I haven't had a cake collapse in months, I will take most any opportunity to try a new one.  

 

It's a strawberry-lime cream cake and it was delicious!  Four layers of cakey creamy tastiness.  I added little decorative lime slices to it later but didn't take another picture. 

Speaking of cakes, I made the strawberry cake again for Drewbles's birthday, but swapped out the strawberry frosting for chocolate cream cheese frosting.  (I was going for a chocolate-covered strawberry effect)  So, that happened too.  

Also, this happened.   

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

I guess that's what comes from a lifetime of reading Carrie and only writing about things like dismemberment and death.  Oh wait, I mean I guess that's what comes from a seeing the end of Shawshank Redemption at least a dozen times on TV. 

*cough cough*

Yes Please

Okay, so I'm not technically on Pinterest, but I understand how it works.  In theory.  Basically, I write a blog post tutorial about something really awesome that I created and then it sets fire to the Internet via manic pinning.  Well, friends, I finally have an awesome, Internet-set-firing tutorial.  Have you been wondering how to make a birthday for a special someone extra special?  The answer is this: 

A paper crown!  How is this new devilry accomplished?  Here, let me show you. 

The first (and most important) step is to not make the crown until the last minute, preferably the last thing you do before bed.  This way you can say you live your life with spontaneity.

Secondly, don't buy anything special for the crown.  Just grab some paper you've had sitting around for years months.  Gather your supplies in another room and get ready to make a mess.  It's best if the victim object of your crown is in the next room, totally aware that you're doing something crafty--heighten the suspense!

Third, fold your paper in half.  Be sure to match up the corners and make a super neat fold, just like you learned in first grade.  This project is all about perfection in the details!  

Fourthly, cut out triangle shapes from the folded edge to create the crown effect.  Be sure your shapes aren't TOO even--in fact, make them kind of jagged and weird.  After all, you want your special someone to know that you made this yourself. 

Fifth, since you haven't measured your special person's head, assume that the two slips of vaguely crown-shaped papers will be long enough.  But just in case, tape the two pieces together with the barest bit of overlap, for maximum size.  Commence crossing your fingers because you don't want it to look SILLY for heaven's sake.

Now for the fun part: decorating!  Of course you'll want to use highlighter markers, for the maximum "What does it say?" effect.  You can write and draw whatever comes to mind!  Don't think about it too long though because it's late and you want to get to bed.

Et voila!  Your crown is done and it's fit for a king with a gold shortage.  The next day you can cram it onto your special someone's head and, naturally, they will be delighted and praise your craftiness.

Stay tuned for my Oreo cake tutorial!

26 Days

That's how long I lasted. 

I may not understand this whole TRON love thing...but I'm happy knowing it's in the house.

Picture This

...a rustic hunting lodge.  My latest kill roasting on the fire...

Lately I have not been on Facebook very much.  I mean, I look but I have very little to say.  I don't know why this is, but since I haven't said much there, I should probably say more here, just to keep the universe on kilter.  This is kind of a modgey podgey post of things that I have been liking lately, with a headline of what I would have said on Facebook about it.  In other words, here are "The Facebook Posts That Might Have Been."


I want to eat these every day.

(Click on the picture to check out the recipe)

Tomatoes?  Basil?  Cheese?  I mean, if you stuck mushrooms on these babies (plus four more kinds of cheese) it'd be all my favorite eats on one stick!  

I want to listen to this every day.

 

Actually, I pretty much DO listen to this every day and it never gets old.  I might even have to concede now that I like it better than Viva la Vida--and I like Viva a lot.  (Parachutes is still holding steady at #1)


I want to read this...often.

I recently finished reading this for the second time (the first time was at least 10 years ago) and I just loved it.  Loved it!  I wanted to roll around on the floor with it clutched in my hands.  Instead I wrote a review on Goodreads, but maybe I'll still do the rolling on the floor thing later.


I want to watch this soon!

Maybe I'm partial because it's the first adaptation I ever saw (and was my first exposure to the story), but it's still my very favorite.  It's so gloomy and dreary and full of moors.  Plus, you know, it has the best movie kiss ever.  (Ever!)  

I want to see this again.

Such a lovely, classy movie!  I was completely surprised how much I enjoyed it, and it's the first movie in a long time that has me eagerly anticipating a second viewing.  I must concede that the Oscars actually got it all right (as far as this movie goes anyway...).  AND it wasn't even pretentious!  Which is what I expected...

Now that this is all said and done, I can get back to blogging about the really exciting things going on.  Like TRON!  Or as I like to say it, TRONNNNNNNNNNN.

I'd Rather Kiss a Wookiee

Since I made mention on this blog of when Frank Frazetta died, I thought it only fair that I mention Ralph McQuarrie, who passed away on March 3rd.  He was a concept artist for a number of science fiction projects, but his most notable (and first) work was for the original Star Wars trilogy.  Does any of this look familiar? 

 

 

 

You can read more about his influence in those movies via the link above, but in short, many of the designs were his, including Darth Vader and his breathing apparatus, and his  concept art helped get funding from the studios to make A New Hope.  He didn't work on the prequel trilogy (he was "out of steam"), but it's interesting to wonder how things might have looked with his involvement.  

As a teenager, I checked out The Illustrated Star Wars Universe many times from the library, and if you're interested in Ralph McQuarrie or Star Wars, I highly recommend it.  It showcases various planets in a tour guide sort of way, but of course it's worth a look just for the art.  My very favorite painting in the whole book comes from the section on Alderaan.  Every time I look at this painting I just want to crawl inside it and live there.  Doesn't it look so warm and green and peaceful?

I think it's time to make a trip to the library.

Do You Know Jules Verne?

Back in the days of Ye Olde 2010 I saw the new TRON movie with Drewbles and my sister at the trusty (only) movie theater of my hometown.  I liked it best of our group, which was not really saying much.  It looked really cool and had a lot of potential, but mostly it was kind of dull and also there was CGI Jeff Bridges to contend with.  Oh well, right?

Well.  Last fall I noticed it was streaming on Netflix, and I decided to give it another shot.  I sometimes put on some Netflix thing to listen to at work, and that seemed as good an option as any.  And then...something happened.

Confession: since October 20th of 2011 I have watched TRON nine times.  Nine.  Nine times.  That is eight more times than any other streaming movie on Netflix.  That is seven more times than any Office episode and at least six more times than any episode of the The IT Crowd. 

I don't know how it happened but somewhere along the line I really liked that movie.  Did it help that I was listening to it and couldn't see CGI Jeff Bridges?  Perhaps.  Did it help that I have an irrational fondness for Sam Flynn?  Who knows.  But that brings us to today--a day where TRON is no longer streaming on Netflix.  

Oh, the hours that TRON and I could have spent together!  Mine are bitter tears.  Even though it's STILL kind of dull and has CGI Jeff Bridges, I will miss it.  Here's to you, TRON, and all your inexplicable delights.  We'll always have Flynn's Arcade.

And those nine times.