Just a Minute: June 2013

After a (ok, not so) brief hiatus, I've returned! And here's what I've been doing this past month, during my last month of maternity leave.

Cover image from Amazon

reading...I read Hunting and Gathering for my book club. It was my sister-in-law's pick, and I loved it. I cannot recommend it enough. It's just a bit quirky and one of those books that the word lovely was made for. Finding Nouf was my pick for our next book club read. We haven't discussed it yet, but I liked it. A short mystery set in Saudi Arabia, it was not your average whodunnit and the peek into Arabic life was interesting, but the book is far from deep or meaningful.

watching...Catching up on my Dexter, True Blood, and 
Game of Thrones before I head back to work. I will miss my quiet laundry folding time (while Eleanor naps) interspersed with diving toward the remote to lower the volume due to a suddenly violent scene when I'm back in the office. I knew there was some sort of shocker at the end of Game of Thrones Season 3 so I spent the entire 8 episodes trying not to like any of the characters very much so as to limit my devastation. I think it helped a little, but it was still pretty awful.

Cover image from Amazon

listening...Our girl loves her music. She seems to especially enjoy my favorites: Of Monsters and Men, Florence + the Machine, Mumford & Sons, fun., and Freelance Whales. Lucky me! Although I imagine Nathan thinks she especially likes his favorites which are more in the electronic music category. Guess we're just going to have a musically eclectic kid.

 

sewing...Eleanor's morning naps mean that I finally
have time to myself. Poor thing hasn't herself benefited from my recent sewing, but sooner or later I will get around to making her a dress. I've spent most of my sewing time making baby gifts for my friends...man, this is certainly the year of the baby!

Photo via Saveur by Todd Coleman

cooking…I've been cooking sometimes, though my favorite meal these days is one that Nathan made. The marinade and salsa in this recipe are fabulous on skirt steak but equally delicious on any kind of steak. So, so, so good. We've had it three times already since he discovered the recipe.