Weekend Reads

 

 

Short weeks always seem like the longest weeks, no? Yesterday, my day started with logging in to pay my credit card and finding a bunch of fraudulent charges in my account. I was less than pleased, especially when I was told my credit card had to be cancelled. Perhaps that's just the price I have to pay for living in a technology-driven world (I ironically state as I blog about this incident).

Anyway, today I had to put on a cardigan on my way to work because it was a bit chilly and that made me happy. And I'm gearing up for a bachelorette party tomorrow that's entitled "Sex on the Table: Aphrodisiac Cooking."  As long as they don't feed me raw oysters, I'm set.

In the meantime, I'm going to keep thinking about a visit to Bantam Bagels to try these amazing-looking bagel ball concoctions. Four of them equal a whole bagel. Let's just grab an entire box and eat a casual breakfast in the park one Sunday.

And now, some of my favorite links from the week. Have a lovely weekend! xo

• The new panda at the National Zoo is a girl. How cute is she going to look with little bows in her fur? Cute enough to make me want to jump on a train and visit, that's for sure.

• Splitsider featured comedy in television and movies for the fall. I'm really excited for some of these. 

•  I've been pinning recipes like it's my job. The one I can't wait to try: Jalapeno Cheddar Parmesan Cornbread

•  I want all of the products featured in this DailyCandy slideshow about drugstore beauty must-haves. I wish CVS let you try things out before you buy them though.

• Once is going to be at the Shubert in New Haven next year. I predict now that we will wait way too long to purchase tickets but will then snag really good, inexpensive ones last-minute. Optimism is my friend sometimes.

Photo of bagel balls courtesy of Bantam Bagels

Better Late Than Never

It may be a few days after Thanksgiving but I'm still thankful for so much and I hope that feeling follows me into December.  On Thursday, I was pleasantly surprised that my apple pie came out as pretty as it did, and I was able to watch about half of the Macy's Day Parade while preparing dinner and enjoyed every minute.  My grandmother usually makes the stuffing but my mother took over this year and it was delicious. It's silly how sometimes the smallest things make us happy.

But most of all, I'm thankful for Anthony, who truly is the best part of my life.  I couldn't ask for more in the partner department, that's for sure. xo

Autumn, aka Corn Mazes are Kind of Scary

I don't like being scared and I hate dressing up.  Obviously, Halloween is not my favorite day, but I do love fun activities so I was all for a trip with a friend to a giant corn maze last week.

Now I know why scary movies always seem to have people walking around lost in corn fields.  It took about an hour to maneuver through the maze and it was daytime, but I still got a slight panicked feeling when we hit another deadend or when the corn rustled for no reason.  We couldn't see over the stalks so I wound up feeling a bit trapped too.  Spooky.

Also, does anyone know what farmers do with these hay rolls? And how do they get them like that? Do they unroll them for the horses? So many questions about farm life from this city girl. xo

That Trendy Spaghetti Squash

Have you ever had spaghetti squash? I'm not a squash/zucchini person but this fall seems to be the season of the spaghetti squash so I decided to get with the trend. Once I cut it in half, scooped out the seeds and sprinkled with salt and pepper, the only thing left to do is let the squash roast for an hour.  When it's done, I scraped with a fork and wound up with a bowl full of a healthy bizarro version of angel hair pasta. I actually really liked it , although the consistency is odd. Bonus: this is the easiest side dish to make and I believe even the most inexperienced chef can pull it off successfully.

I was also able to use my new apple slicer, which I bought six months ago at a Pampered Chef dem (I didn't know what else to buy; $100 for a terracotta-like sheet pan that I'll never use didn't seem like a logical purchase).  It took me almost a half hour to cut up the apples for my apple crisp but the results were delicious and tasted just like autumn.

Currently, I'm sporting a huge bandage on the top of my right hand due to a mishap involving a hot oven and an even hotter Pyrex casserole dish filled with apple goodness. I'm calling it a battle scar and just patiently waiting until it's healed so I can stop applying neosporin.

How was your weekend? xo

It's Not Autumn Without a Trip to the Orchard

Every fall, Anthony and I go apple-picking.  It's a trip that I look forward to every year; we take our time walking the rows of trees, fill two large bags with apples, stop off at the farm store for cider doughnuts and then head home so I can make apple crisp, which we usually eat for dinner.

When we woke up on Sunday, it was overcast, but we decided to head to the orchard anyway.  Yeah, that's right. We apple-pick in the rain. 

Yesterday, I had three apples for lunch. And on deck for this weekend: apple pie.  Welcome, October. xo

To the Beach

I grew up in a beach town.  Our house was two blocks from the water and even though I didn't go to the beach often, we always had to drive along it to get home.  Maybe that's why the ocean makes me feel like I'm home.  I'm pretty sure I could never live far away from the shoreline or a major body of water for an extended period time.

Anthony and I currently live right at the entrance of the town beach.  In the morning, you can hear the seagulls and sometimes, when it's very quiet, the faraway sound of waves, but my favorite thing is how the air seems extra salty and crisp at the beginning of autumn.  On a Sunday walk down to the pier, my friend and I watched boats crawl between the sandbars.  The sun was warm but the ocean mist was cool.  Summer is really on the way out and I'm more than ready for corduroys and pumpkin bread. xo

Photo taken at Short Beach in Stratford, Connecticut

Red Cups!

 


As I've stated before, I'm not a huge Starbucks frequenter, but last night, I was with a friend and we stopped off to get a warm beverage after dinner.  You can imagine my excitement when I saw that my drink came in a signature Starbucks red holiday cup!

This does seem like something silly to be happy about, but the truth is, the red cups symbolize the start of the holiday season for me, which also happens to be my favorite time of the year.  I love not only the Christmas carols, the cold weather and the jolly decorations in stores, but also the exhilaration.  I love writing out Christmas cards (I'm thinking of actually making my own this year!) and I love buying and wrapping gifts to give to my loved ones.  The last few years have been hard in a way--I'm always rushed at the end and that takes some of the enjoyment out of the celebration.  I'm determined not to have that happen this year.

So welcome, red cups!  I'm truly happy to see you, especially at a time when I could use some cheering up.  Holiday joy never hurt anyone, right?


Photo courtesy of Eater, who also has a blurb on Starbucks red cups!  Looks like I'm not the only one who is excited!

Is it Friday yet?

 Photo of Dana Hotel in Mission Bay, San Diego

 
The past few weeks have flown by.  With my brother's wedding and all the preparations that go along with it, I haven't had a spare minute.  Last Friday night was the bridal shower for my future sister-in-law, which was a great time and well-worth the work though.  Then, my dad's birthday was Sunday so I had my parents, grandparents and my brother and his fiancee all over to our small apartment for brunch.  Overall, it went well and I was a little impressed with myself because three of the dishes that I made (home fries, scones, and bacon cheddar biscuits) were things I had never made before and they still were pretty tasty!

And now with just a few weeks until the Big Day, I'm so excited to look beyond the wedding and make plans for November and December.  Fall and winter are usually the seasons when I meet up with close friends from college that I hardly ever see, and I am really looking forward to that this year.  Also, I keep telling myself that we can't go on vacation now (even though the only thing I want to do is go away for a while) so it didn't help that I just received an email from my favorite hotel in San Diego offering very inexpensive rooms--I am having trouble not booking two tickets to California, grabbing Anthony and making a beeline to the airport. 

Even though it's only Wednesday, I want the weekend to be here already.  Friday can't come soon enough!

Monarch Migration

Today, I received this e-mail from one of the attorneys in my office:

Dear West-Facing Window Colleagues: 

In the last hour, I have seen three monarchs float by my window heading south, which leads me to   believe the fall migration has begun (http://www.monarchwatch.org/tagmig/fallmap.htm) and that I need to focus more on my work.  

Regards, COWORKER

As soon as I saw this message, I turned around and looked outside until I saw one too.  For some reason, the sight of this little creature fluttering through the windy sky really touched me.  I wrote back to my colleague:  

I just saw one myself!  Thanks for letting us know, and for giving me a reason to stare out my window for 7 minutes. 

He sent me the perfect response back:

So tiny and so far to go!

He couldn't be more right.  Good luck to all of these beautiful butterflies heading south for the winter and braving the unknown skies ahead.   I'll keep an eye out for you in the spring.

The map that my coworker sent along showing the migration patterns of the monarch butterflies

Image via www.Monarchwatch.org
Cloud photo from weheartit

Did You Say Alpaca?

We spent our last day of vacation in Portland, Maine (I know, I know, I still haven't posted on the trip but it's coming!).  After a delicious late lunch of fried shrimp and scallops, we walked along the water a bit, checking out the boats and the beautiful views.  And that's also where we came across one of those displays with hundreds of pamphlets of area attractions that I can never pass up.  I'm sure Anthony inwardly groans every time I stop and start loading up on cards about hot air balloon rides and outlet shopping and wax museums.  This time, I controlled myself a bit since we were getting ready to head home to Connecticut leave behind all good things in Maine, but I couldn't help taking a pamphlet for an alpaca farm that was three hours north of Portland.  The farm itself looked gorgeous and the fluffy alpacas were adorable.  Maybe on our next trip, right?

Or maybe on our next "Exploring Connecticut" weekend.  Last year, we made a list of several things in Connecticut that we wanted to see.  There are so many things to see and do right in our own state.  A little searching led me to the Safe Haven Alpaca Farm in Hampton, Connecticut, just far enough for a fall day trip.  Now all I have to do is convince Anthony...

Photo courtesy of metro.co.uk