Loved These Books

I have been reading quite a bit more than usual lately, due in large part to my recent trips to Phoenix, Vermont, and San Diego; I've read a few good ones, and I thought I would list a few of my favorites.


 Loved, loved, loved The Last Chinese Chef.  Mones effortlessly ties so many strands together within the novel to create a strong plot with beautifully developed characters.  She manageds to include Chinese culinary history, a woman's coming to terms with grief and loss, the examination of secrets in relationships, feeling like an outsider, the effect that race/ethnicity/culture have on one's definition of self, the sensuality of food, family relations, and a love story all in only 300 pages without making the novel feel overcrowded.

In fact, I enjoyed this novel so much that after finishing it I proceeded to buy and devour the author's other two novels, which were also set in China.  Mones's first novel is called Lost in Translation, but don't let that keep you from reading it.  It has absolutely nothing in common with the movie of the same name except maybe the underlying theme of a woman's feeling lost and finding herself through her experiences in an Asian country.  Her other novel, A Cup of Light, has similar themes, but features a woman discovering China through it's ancient pottery.

Motherless Brooklyn is a great novel because it takes a relatively common theme: the detective noir story, and turns it on its ear.  This Brooklyn raised orphan turned detective narrator has Tourette's Syndrome.  Not only are we following the path to find the murderer of Lionel Essrog's father figure slash mob boss, but we're inside the head of someone who suffers from the uncontrollable need to spout nonsense nonstop throughout the entire book.  It's a testament to Jonathan Lethem's talent that whether irritating, funny or sympathetic, the repetitive words spewing from Lionel's mouth never get old.

The Hunger Games is a phenomenal young adult book that I recommend to  adults anytime we talk books.  It was so good that I literally could not stop reading it until I finished it; I ignored conversation, guests, and yes, even food, until I had raced through the pages.

In this post-apocalyptic world, two teens are chosen from each territory to take part in the Hunger Games, a pop culture event where they must fight to the death.  Even if you are not wild about science fiction, I still recommend this because the characters are amazing and it is a fascinating (and quick) read. 

The second book in the series, Catching Fire, was also amazing.  Should you begin reading the series, you'll be as tortured as I am waiting for the final book, The Mockingjay, which is not coming out until the end of August.

 

The description of Little Bee sets this novel up as having a very surprising secret horror that will be given away if too much is explained about the plot.  After reading it, I don't understand why the publishers chose to set it up like this.  Though the event on the beach was horrible, it's not particularly surprising by the time you read about it.  The event has connected the lives of a 16-year old Nigerian orphan, called Little Bee, and a well off English journalist couple and brings about the retelling in both Little Bee and the wife, Sara's, voices.  The story accurately illustrates the struggle of refugees fleeing to the UK, of which many of us here in the United States are unaware.  Another book I could not put down, though reading it in a public place was a risk due to the fact I ended up in tears as my plane landed.  (It was dark; I don't think anyone noticed.)

I read the very French The Elegance of the Hedgehog with mixed emotions; though I am not usually a lover of philosophical and satiric novels, I found myself enjoying it immensely anyway.  The delightful main characters: 12-year-old Paloma Josse, her building's dumpy concierge, Renée Michel, and shrewd wealthy resident, Kakuro Ozu, make this bittersweet novel a lovely read even during the more laborious philosophical passages.  It's no surprise to discover that author, Muriel Barbery is a philosophy professor, but it was a surprise to find how some of those philosophical questions lingered in my mind after closing the book.

I have definitely been recommending The Help to people lately, but that one is getting more than its share of publicity already, so I figured that I wouldn't spend much of my shout out on it because chances are you'll hear about it from someone else too.  Needless to say, it's good.  I have read some negative comments about the voices of the black women in this novel, but it certainly never felt offensive to me, merely loving.

Oh, and I was just thinking of another one I read a little while ago and thought I'd add it because it's truly a lovely (and very funny) look at Judaism in particular and religion as a whole.  For someone who has a hard time defining herself as a follower of any specific religion, it put a lot of my feelings in perspective regarding spirituality.  Plus, it was pretty darn funny!  Author, A.J. Jacobs, a New York Jewish agnostic, (Jewish "in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant.") decides to follow the laws and rules of the Bible, beginning with the Old Testament, for one year.  The conclusions he draws from his time fully immersed in his quest end up being incredibly moving and reverent.

My Signature Scent

Spring smells like citrus and greenery...and now so do I!  I can't stop smelling myself; I even put this one on when I get out of the shower sometimes so I can smell my wrist as I lie on my pillow falling asleep.  It's so subtle, fresh, and clean smelling that I can't get enough. 

I fell in love with this perfume when I got a sample of it from Sephora last year, but I couldn't bring myself to spend the money on it because perfume is just too expensive.  However, as my tiny little sample capsule emptied slowly, and I went from wearing it daily to wearing it weekly to make it last longer, I finally decided to man up and shell out the funds to actually buy a bottle for myself.

It was good timing on my part because, not only is Miller Harris perfume not carried by Sephora anymore, but Tangerine Vert is getting increasingly hard to find.  I finally found it on eBay for about a third of the original retail price, so I am not only smelling amazing, but feeling lucky as well!  (This was definitely a gamble as perfume is often copied and nearly always copied badly.  I did check out the seller very carefully, making sure they had good feedback and a return policy, so I was pretty sure of what I would be getting.  And, sure enough, it was the real thing.)

There's the general fashion advice that you should pick one perfume and stick with it so it becomes sort of your signature.  The gist is that when people smell it, they will automatically think of you, but I've never really been able to stick with just one scent (as much as that indulges my love of being original and being the center of attention).  To be honest, I've never managed to finish an entire bottle of perfume before; I usually fail to think of perfume as a much-needed accessory.

I don't think that this latest perfume will change that for me either even if I keep wearing it everyday.  Orange notes are apparently very difficult to make last, so there will be no leaving a trail of scent in my wake as I dramatically exit a room.  A bit self-defeating on my part because the very light scent is what drew me to this perfume in the first place.  I do think that I'll keep wearing this one, so feel free to ask for a sniff of my wrist when I next see you.

Highlights of our trip to Phoenix this past weekend...

In no particular order...

NO WORK!  I didn't think about it for even a second from the minute I left the office on Wednesday afternoon to the second I flipped the switch to arm the clock alarm last night. 

Geckos!  Everywhere.  Who could possibly believe that those little cold-blooded suckers are so darn adorable?  And no, that's not just because I've been conditioned to think they speak with little cockney accents.

Sun. Sun and more sun!  Sun therapy will make life bearable for another week or so, at least.  This may or may not have also resulted in a lowlight of my trip: the unbearably white hand print I somehow left in the middle of my sunburned upper thigh, but I have no regrets.  The streaks on my right knee and biceps, on the other hand, I may have some regrets about.  How can one person be so terrible at applying her sunscreen?

Wildflower season!  Gorgeous flowers helped me keep my mind off the fact that I was hiking a questionable number of miles in extreme heat with no lunch.  Enjoyed the colors and sounds of the desert barefoot from the middle of a mountain stream as I waited for Nathan and Susanne to catch up (that's right, you read that correctly, I was ahead of them.  By a lot, I might add.  Of course, this was, admittedly, on the way back to civilization.  Air conditioning and a frozen cola slushy make quite good carrots in my opinion).

Good company!  Had a marvelous time hiking with one of my future sisters-in-law, Susanne, and Nathan (and other various wildlife).  Hung with fun people she works with (poolside with beer, no less).  Was reminded how much fun Nathan and I have on adventures together, and how much we appreciate each other when we're in the midst of adventure!

Excellent food!  Mexican food was on the menu pretty much every night of our stay with yummy discoveries everywhere we went as well as very tasty breakfasts every day.  Highlights would have to be Navajo Frybread tacos at Sacred Hogan, salted caramel almond ice cream from The Main Ingredient, and frozen raspberry lemonade from the Two Hippies Beach House.

Wouldn't mind if we made this a yearly visit....

Our DIY Wedding

One of the things that I have enjoyed immensely about planning the wedding is envisioning what the whole enterprise will look like on the big day.  The flowers, the tables, the weather (dear Lord, I hope it doesn't rain!), the lawn games, the smiles, the words (just beginning to begin to contemplate the ceremony though so that is still VERY diaphanous).
The plan is to have our family all gathered in the lush backyard of my grandparents' house under the tall pines and the soft blue of the Vermont summer sky.  We'll have croquet and badminton games set up at one end of the yard and the tables for the meal nearby.  They'll be lovely tables covered by antique tablecloths (some of which have embroidered W's on them-borrowed from my Nana-which I love because they also look like M's!)
One table will be set up to be the bar, one will have the amazing food from our locally based caterer, and one will be piled high with a dessert buffet!  The other tables will be set up using both Emily's planning for the decor and Jessica's flower design and arrangement.  I love that I don't have to give either of those aspects a second thought beyond knowing that they will be phenomenal.  I laugh thinking that E & J will spend more time making the tables and flowers perfect than I have spent on any aspect of this day. (My meeting with the caterer took 15 minutes!)

I do know one part of the table design.  It's one bit that I am most excited about right now.  Both the dinner and cake plates we're using are really fun ones we've all been picking up from antique and thrift stores.  Here are some of my favorites, but only a few, as I have about 50 more faves packed up already!  Thank goodness that I have an extraordinary photographer to capture all these gorgeous details so that I can share them with all my friends later...and thank goodness I have extraordinarily gifted family members to help pull it all off!

Just Call Me Jimmy

 So I just came across this really fun feature for my computer that makes every one of my keystrokes sound like they're coming from a typewriter.  The typewriter sounds for my PC-friendly version, sadly, do not contain the end of the line ding, but I will settle for this fun tappy, tap, tap at least.  It makes me feel like my blog postings are breaking news for the Daily Planet.

Lucky you if you have a Mac because I hear that the ding is part of this version.

A Grayer Place...

My sisters and I found ourselves making a beeline to the antique stores this weekend.  I suppose to anyone outside our family, shopping after having just lost our grandfather so unexpectedly might seem shallow.  But to us, antiques were the most immediate way to feel closer, not only to the grandfather suddenly no longer with us, but also to our grandmother and the rest of our family currently gathered in Vermont awaiting us.  

I spent a lot of time examining the influences my grandfather has had on me this weekend, and time and again I came back to my love of antiques being one of the biggest.  I am comforted to realize that this love permeates absolutely every aspect of my life. From the lamp that has been on my bedside table for as long as I can remember to the ring that Nathan will put on my finger at our wedding, Papa's love of these objects has clearly become my passion as well.

On trips and in life, Nana and Papa always made time for the treasure hunts.  They taught their grandchildren to see that every antique has a purpose and a story that adds to its value. Papa's interest in antique lighting inspired us to see the history in every old find.   His passion inspired all of us to find ways to do what we love and to surround ourselves with things that others have loved.

It is because of him that I know how to tell the difference between hand blown and factory made glass.  It seems a small thing really, but it represents all those times he took the time to share his interest with me.  All those times I tiptoed through his shop, trying my best to be graceful, while asking about oil lamps, shades, and electric wiring come to life every time I run my finger across the bottom of an old lamp. 
 
My grandfather was a fascinating man.  He was resourceful and determined.  He was talented and creative, and he was brave and proud.  And the world will be a grayer place without him in it.

Shoe Showdown

I'm currently deciding on my wedding shoes. You'd think that our wedding, being the nontraditional venture that it is, would make for an easy time of choosing an appropriate shoe.  In truth, I am finding it to be a challenge.  First of all, since the wedding is outdoors, I can't go with heels. So I am limited to wedges or flats. I would prefer them to not be completely flat.

This is one pair I ordered: Sophia by Seychelles.  They're pretty comfortable, will fit into the color scheme, and I will probably wear them again (although I don't really own any yellow clothes, and I will definitely be needing a tan). 

I also ordered: Bette by Seychelles.  The picture shows them in something of an aqua color, but I got them in off white.  Though they are completely flat, I was surprised by how much I liked them on.  Very comfortable and although they look somewhat frou frouey, they don't look over the top on.

 
And, I ordered (thank goodness for those free returns from Zappos): Chiara by Franco Sarto.  These look a little Pepto Bismal-esque, but in person it's more of a blush color.  More the heel height I would prefer, but not loving the color and the shoes aren't perfectly comfortable (although I could probably stretch them on my shoe stretcher to fit perfection).

Finally, my favorites: Grape by Franco Sarto.  A 3 inch wedge heel with tiny perforations.  I love that this could be my something blue, I love how cute they look on my feet, and they are super comfortable!  I would probably also wear these a lot afterward.  My only concern is that these are pretty substantial wedges for trotting about in a field...

Luckily though, I have a full year to return them for a refund, so I have lots of time to decide.  And, of course, I can keep looking.  This is by no means the end of my shoe shopping (I always love an excuse!)  Any opinions on these?  Also, if you come across any cute options as you are surfing the web or even doing some live shoe shopping, let me know.

Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies

I guess today I am living by the words, "if you can't stick to your own diet...ruin someone else's too." Sorry.

I always chow down at least 3 of these cookies as soon as they come out of the oven. I force myself to give away all but a dozen of them because if they are in the house, I WILL EAT THEM. (Last time, I took a giant bag of them to the gym...Yes, I see the problems with that plan.) It certainly doesn't help the situation that they are so incredibly easy to make, and I almost always have all of these ingredients on hand...

2 c. peanut butter (The brand makes a clear difference; I usually use Skippy, but I've had it with Peter Pan too, and it was fabulous.)
2 eggs
2 t. baking soda
2 c. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients together and drop spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Do NOT flatten. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet. Meanwhile, heat 1/2 cup heavy cream in microwave for 1 minute. Add 1 c. dark/bittersweet chocolate chips and mix until completely melted. Place a small dollop of ganache on each cookie and allow to cool completely.

Captain Hook Would Hate My Living Room

Up until a few weeks ago, I only had one of these. But then I came across a few more, and I realized how much I love them as a group!



So now it's a collection. Nathan rolled his eyes at my declaration last night, but I can live with that. He may initially doubt my chic genius, but the fact remains that he loves the eclectic design style of our house. He sees the beauty in the old beat up stuff I love. I truly knew we were meant to be together forever when he came home with an old water-stained trunk he found in the alley. Better than flowers!

Anyway, there are so many cool little vintage alarm clocks out there, but they're pretty hard to find, especially working ones. It makes me want to apprentice myself to a clock repairman, so that I can learn how to fix those less expensive non-working ones. So far I've been lucky though, all of these work great (although you can't tell in that first picture because I hadn't set them all yet)!

Something Old, Something New

I have been mulling this necklace over in my head for months now. I've had the buttons from my grandmother's button tin for years, just waiting for some special way to use them. This necklace inspired me to start making jewelry last year mostly because I hadn't seen anyone making anything like I was picturing. If you can't find it, make it yourself. I had the basic idea of what I wanted: a pearl necklace connected to the vintage buttons in their respective settings, but it just wasn't quite right.

I sat down yesterday determined to figure out the puzzle. I think I initially stayed away from adding more of the intricately detailed buttons because I thought it would be too much, but it turns out that it's exactly what the necklace needed to become truly special.

It's funny, this is how all my favorites come about, I mull and I dwell and then all of a sudden I come up with the exact right thing and I put it all together in one sitting. It's just exactly what it was meant to be.

One thing I particularly like about this is that, except for three of the buttons, all of the buttons could actually be taken out of the necklace sometime in the future and used as buttons again.  I feel like that's the ultimate in the reuse, recycle, reinvent philosophy. 

Soup for When You're Snowed In

I was going to make this an entry with my top five recipes, but I realized that I have so many more than just five favorite recipes right now. I thought to myself, "heck, I could fill a list with just my top five soup recipes." So I decided that's just what I'll do. It's cold out. The buckets of snow that greeted me this morning certainly encourage me to head home tonight and start up a pot of one of these. So why not share them with you now? My other fave recipes will hold until next time. As you'll see, most of my recipes are sort of a taste and adjust as you go along, so feel free to do the same if/when you try them.
(small t.=teaspoon, big T.=tablespoon)
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Chicken Avgolemono (Lemon Chicken-That's Greek, I think.)
2 Chicken Breasts (bone-in makes for a more flavorful stock)
3-4 c. water (add more later you don't care for a thick soup)
1 chicken bouillon cube (more if you have boneless, skinless Chicken breasts)
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 c. brown rice
2 eggs, beaten
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 T. fresh chopped parsley
1/2 c. frozen peas
salt and pepper, to taste

In soup pot, cover chicken breasts with water. Add bouillon cube and lemon pepper. Bring to boil; simmer for 20 minutes. If using bone-in chicken breasts, remove them from pot and take meat off the bone. Add meat back into the pot with 1 c. brown rice. Bring back to boil; simmer 20 minutes. When rice is cooked, remove 2 cups of broth to blender. Add eggs, lemon juice, and zest to hot broth while blender is on low. Return to soup pot. Add parsley, peas, and more water (and possibly an additional bouillon cube) if preferred. Mix.
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Mexican Chili
2 chicken breasts (bone-in makes for a more flavorful stock)
4 cups of water
1 t. lemon pepper
1 t. ground cumin
Bring to boil until chicken is cooked (approx. 15 minutes). Remove chicken from water, remove skin, cut up, remove bone. Add the following:
1 t. lemon pepper
1/2 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1 can northern white beans, liquid too
1 can black beans, liquid too
1 can corn, liquid too
1 can green chilies
1 sm. can whole tomatoes, chopped, liquid included. (This way tastes better than buying the already chopped ones, I promise.)
4 heaping T. chopped cilantro
1 lime, zest and juice
1 tablespoon tequila
salt and pepper, to taste

Place in bowls for use as toppings:
4 stalks chopped green onion
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
tortilla chips
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Sausage and Kale Soup
3 cups water
1 cube beef bouillon
1 lb. hot Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
1 bunch kale
1 pkg. dried shitaki mushrooms
1 c. sliced button mushrooms
1/2-1 t. red pepper flakes (optional)

Bring water and bouillon cube to boil in soup pot. Remove from heat, throw in dried shitakis and let rehydrate. Chop kale into 1 inch pieces. Retain stalks. Brown Italian sausage. Remove rehydrated mustrooms from the water and slice thinly. Strain water to ensure there is no sand or grit from the mushrooms left in it. Add sausage and sliced Shitakis to the water. Saute onions in sausage pan. Add button mushrooms and kale stalks. Cook until lightly browned. Toss into soup pot. Add red pepper flakes if desired. Bring to boil.
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Loaded Baked Potato Soup
2 potatoes
1-2 carrots, chopped
1 vegetable bouillon cube
4 slices bacon
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1 tablespoon butter
4 cups milk
1 cup light cream
pinch of rosemary, sage & marjoram
1 clove garlic (Combine with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in mortar and pestle to create paste.)

Top with:
shredded cheese
sliced green onions
chopped tomatoes
bacon

(If I'm feeling really lazy, then I skip the whole making the soup from scratch thing and substitute in a can of Campbell's Cream of Potato Soup with 1/2 can of heavy cream and 1/2 can of milk. Continue with seasonings and toppings, including bacon.)

Scrub potatoes well and nick out eyes and dark spots. Do not peel. Dice into cubes; add potatoes, carrots, bouillon cube, and 1 cup water to saucepan. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook covered until potatoes are tender but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Cook 4 slices bacon in a cast iron saucepan. (If you cook more strips of bacon, discard all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease before next step.) When finished, set aside bacon and saute onion until tender in bacon drippings. Add butter, milk, cream, and seasonings to cast iron saucepan. Cook mixture over medium heat until very hot. Do not boil. Add potato mixture to milk mixture when it is hot. Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Before serving, garnish individual portions with shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, green onions, and crumbled bacon.
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Hot and Sour Soup (Another recipe for when I'm feeling lazy.)
1/2 lb frozen shrimp (approx. 10-12)
1 package Hot and Sour soup mix
3 c. water
1 lime, zest and juice
5 dried mushrooms, reconstituted and sliced thinly
10 springs cilantro, torn up
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 t. lemon grass, minced (the frozen chopped kind works well for this)
1 T. fish sauce
1 t. garlic chili sauce
1 serving of rice noodles, soaked in warm water until reconstituted (ramen work too)

Bring water, Hot and Sour soup powder, and shrimp to boil. When shrimp has just turned pink, add in all the other ingredients. Bring to a simmer.
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Worst Comeback Ever

Nathan and I were walking to the L the other morning when we passed a big guy just as he windmilled his arm in a windup reminiscent of a first pitch. Only instead of pitching the styrofoam cup in his hand into the nearest bin, he tossed it in a snowbank. Normally, if I say anything at all, it's sort of a passive aggressive mumbling to myself that wouldn't intimidate even the meekest of litterers. This time, however, it was so extremely ridiculous, that a "that was a shitty move" burst loudly from my mouth. Luckily, Nathan was also in the middle of a very sarcastic "Really?" so I could be relatively confident that he had my back should the big guy get shirty. It got even more ridiculous though as we heard the guy's comeback over his shoulder as he swaggered on, "Let God pick it up."

Huh? I don't know how styrofoam, a man-made, entirely chemical-laden product, would have any presence on God's radar. I mean, if God's not going to get involved in war, famine, or the division of Isreal, why the hell would He take care of litter?

I guess if the guy was going for a comeback to end all comebacks, that one was effective because I am still somewhat stuck on it. Even now, I don't know what I could possibly have said back. Perhaps, one of the following:

No, I'm pretty sure God wasn't the last one to use it, you were.

Sorry, God's busy cleaning the graffiti off the bus stop shelters right now.

If God is responsible for trash, then what are you still doing walking the street?

Will you be my mixtape penpal?

Nathan told me that a coworker of his is really into music and that her taste is a lot like mine. After first asking what he thought my taste in music was ("Well, I know you like girl singers." -Oh, how well my beloved knows me.), I decided to make her a CD. Admittedly, it's a bit of a stab in the dark being that I haven't met her and am learning about her from my somewhat less-than-observant fiance, but I do have a current "go to" list of favorite songs that, if I'm honest, I would put on any and every CD I make. Thought I'd share them.

I'll just list my top five right now...

Bon Iver -Woods


Anya Marina -Vertigo



fun. -All the Pretty Girls


Matt & Kim -Daylight


Chromeo -Night by Night