Where did November go?

I asked myself that yesterday morning, and still don't have an answer. 

November was a blah month, as I said it would be for me...  I feel like I was really busy the whole month, but didn't really accomplish anything, which I hate.  I failed on most of my goals, but I guess it was a valiant start... 

1. Cook more, eat take-out less (and start using vegetables as a main course instead of as a side dish).
2. Keep the apartment cleaner by doing chores every day instead of letting them pile up. 
3. Make my holiday cards so that I can give them to people other than family members (last year I was way late in finishing them and never sent them to anyone.)
4. Make at least one new item to add to my Etsy shop.
5. Exercise 30 minutes a day, three days a week.
6. Start getting ideas for Christmas gifts and start shopping before the rush hits.
7. Spend less money on things I don't need and save money for things we do need (like a house); start outlining a budget. 

I did accomplish two things that were extremely difficult for me to do: Cook more, spend less money.  I am proud that I accomplished those things, so I guess it wasn't a total wash of a month.  I'm going to push most of the goals I didn't accomplish into December and see what happens...

December Goals:

1. Keep the apartment cleaner by doing small chores every day
2. Make holiday cards and send them out
3. Add at least one new item to my Etsy shop
4. Exercise more than I currently do (which is none)
5. Enjoy the month of December to its fullest by spending it with family and friends
6. Keep up with old traditions and make some new ones
7. Reconnect.  I know I've been absent lately, but I just haven't had too much to say.  I'm hoping that the onslaught of December activities will spark my will to write again...
   

December is always a hectic, but happy month for me.  My family has a lot of really great traditions that I love to keep up.  I guess you could say that this is my manic month.  I turn on Christmas music as soon as possible (this year it was even before Thanksgiving), I decorate, I drink hot chocolate, I watch all kinds of Christmas movies (especially the ones from when I was a kid).  I become completely exhilarated with everything around me, and while it's not always as perfect and as idyllic as I'd like it to be, it comes pretty close.  I know that a lot of people have mixed feelings about this month, and to be honest, I've had mixed experiences with it too.  I used to get completely overwhelmed with the commercialization of the holidays, the expectations, and especially the crowds.  I found it depressing how greedy people would get.  A couple of years ago, I decided that I wasn't going to let that stuff bother me and that I would ignore everything that made me apprehensive in the slightest.  Getting the perfect gifts for people is still a stressor for me, but I've been making an effort to let go of those pressures and just do my best.  (Oh, and I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I'm a perfectionist, so admitting that is a big deal.) 

The thing that I appreciate most about this time of year, is that it's more about family than anything, and it's a time of year when past difficulties are pushed aside to make room for the joy and love that we so often take for granted.  Anyway, it's what I'm looking forward to...

Pre-Thanksgiving Madness.

 this is a williams-sonoma pie, not mine (unfortunately)... 

Last year, I took it upon myself to volunteer to make desserts for Thanksgiving dinner at two houses.  I decided to make an assortment of pies and a few extra things because I was feeling ambitious.  I also decided that it would be best if I made everything from scratch, since it was my first time contributing to the holiday meal -- No store-bought pie crusts for me!  I spent weeks collecting recipes for different pies, crusts, and whipped cream variations.  The week before, I made sure I had all the ingredients I needed, and waited until the day before Thanksgiving to begin my brilliant bake-a-thon.  While I want to say that I put on my apron, made pie crust that cooperated beautifully, and everything was wonderful, I cannot. 

 

First of all, I do not bake in an apron  (I don't even own an apron -- I bake in sweatpants and a sweatshirt), the pie crust was not cooperating beautifully; everything was not wonderful.  By 7pm (I had taken the afternoon off of work and had been working diligently since 2pm), the pie crust had reduced me to a teary, floured mess, the smoke alarm had gone off twice, and my carbon monoxide detector went off (I opened up all the doors and windows so as not to asphyxiate myself, because this pie crust was not going to be the death of me, and it was freezing outside).  I was determined to get it right, so I kept working on it until it was correct.  Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that night, although the pies were a hit-- Thanksgiving Miracle!   I learned a valuable lesson: Practice the art of pie crust in advance and do not wait until the night before Thanksgiving to begin these shenanigans unless you are experienced!! 

So, last night, I approached my kitchen, brought out my flour canister and supplies and went all John Wayne on them before I began: "Listen here Pilgrim..." 

I made three different batches of pie crust with no issues whatsoever. (I'm knocking fervently on wood, though!)  I think my successes were due to the fact that I found a "no-fail" recipe that I had tried out earlier last week in a quiche.  In case anyone fears pie crust like I do, you can rest assured: The nice people at King Arthur Flour have provided a recipe that is simple and delicious.  You can find the recipe here (with great step-by-step pictures), or you can read my variations below:

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups regular All-Purpose Flour (I used grocery store brand)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar (just omit this if you want to make a savory recipe, like quiche)
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk powder (I found it in the grocery store with the weird canned milk products -- condensed, evaporated, etc. -- that I never like to use, because let's face it, canned milk is weird, but powdered milk is also weird, so I guess just swallow your fears and proceed)
• ¼ cup vegetable shortening
• 10 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vinegar, cider or white (I used white, and don't worry, you can't taste it... the vinegar is used to tenderize the crust by preventing long strands of gluten to form -- yay, chemistry!)
  
• 7 to 10 tablespoons ice water

** For a Cinnamon-Spice crust, add 1/2 tsp Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, and 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg to your dry ingredients.  It's delicious! **


 Directions:

1. Mix together all of your dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter, or your hands, until it has formed pes-sized beads.
3. Add your butter in small amounts, cut up into tablespoon-sized blocks.  Use your pastry cutter (or hands) to incorporate it into the flour mixture as with the shortening.  You don't need to be overly-zealous with this process, and if you have big chunks of butter, it's ok.  I promise.
4. Add your vinegar and four tablespoons of water to the mixture one tablespoon at a time.  I found that it doesn't matter whether you mix the vinegar with water or add it straight to the dry ingredients, although mixing it with water will give you a guaranteed better dispersion.
5. Toss the mixture with a spatula or spoon to combine.  Add additional water to bring the dough together (I added approximately 8-9 T water).  
6. Gather the dough into a ball, divide it in half, form your halves into disks, wrap them in plastic wrap, then refrigerate 30 minutes to an hour. You could also freeze the dough for up to two months, according to the King, but wrap foil over the plastic to seal it well.
7. After you've chilled it, let the dough come to room temperature and roll it out to fit in your desired pie plate or tin.  Each disk should be enough for a one-crust pie recipe.
8. Decorate the edges of your crust however you choose.  I prefer fluting, but I am also a bit hoity-toity, so if you'd like to fork it, then go right ahead.
9. You're ready to bake your pie according to the instructions that will correspond to whichever filling you choose. 
   

 I highly recommend using a technique called "blind-baking" on your crust, so that you don't get a soggy bottom (haha).  Essentially, blind baking requires you to partially bake the crust before adding filling so you'll have a crispy bottom for fruit pies and such.  The details are laid out here.  After blind baking, you should use tin foil to cover your beautifully fluted crust, so that it won't burn to a crisp. 


After work today, I will be running a few errands before returning to the kitchen to roll out the dough, and finish the pies, as well as make some home-made vanilla bean gelato.  For pies, I'm making Pecan, and Pumpkin with traditional crust, and Blueberry with the Cinnamon-Spice crust variation (I even make little fall foliage cut-outs like in the picture above... awwwww, how cute, right?)  Hopefully there will be no tears tonight and certainly no carbon monoxide detector...

I hope that everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday!! 

Oh, and wish me luck -- I will need it!

How to tell when you're becoming a curmudgeon.

Well, I guess that title is really an exaggeration...

So, last Thursday, I had a really bad day at work.  I don't really want to make any further comments on it, but let's just say that Corporate America can suck it.  Anyway, I had asked my friend Kristin to get me tickets to see Ben Folds that night and she had agreed to join me, because she's a really good friend!  The concert was being held in a gymnasium at the university where I went to graduate school.  I really didn't want to go out.  (REALLY)  I was in a terrible mood, I was being angsty, overly dramatic, and crotchety, and I certainly didn't want to run into any of my old students while I was in such a terrible mood.  I went anyway, because Kristin always cheers me up, and I definitely needed it.


We decided that neither of us wanted to get there early to get front row seats (which would have meant standing in an overcrowded gym for multiple hours).  This is when I realized that I'm either growing up, or becoming a curmudgeon. I should probably mention that I've been to *nearly* every Ben Folds concert in my area in the past seven years.  I'm a bit obsessed, and in every concert that has taken place in a gym of some sort, I have been close enough to touch his piano.  I was also a member of his fan club until recently, when I was chided by my coworkers (but I'm probably going to secretly rejoin, because that's how I roll). 

We went out for a drink and some appetizers and missed the entire opening act, which neither of us were upset about.  We made our way to my preferred Ben Folds Concert position, which is on the left side of the stage so I can see him play, and we weren't even too far away for being so late.  Some of the curmudgeonly commentary included:

"If it goes past 11:00, we can leave."

"If these kids start getting rowdy, I'm going to stand by the wall."

"I think my ears are bleeding from standing underneath the speaker."

"He sounds like he has swine flu."

"These people are annoying me."

"There are too many people wearing Ugg boots and skinny jeans... I may vomit."

As you can see from my crappily snapped phone camera picture (gosh, I need a new phone), we weren't too far away, but things did get a bit rowdy and loud, so we skipped to the back of the crowd where we could see just as well, and actually hear the melody and vocals.  The people at the concert were really annoying.  A lot of the people were there to socialize and not really there for the music.  I couldn't really understand how people could be more interested in last week's episode of 90210 as opposed to the super talented person on the stage who managed to break off two piano keys while playing...  for real.  I will say that I was surprised that there were actually people in attendance who knew some of his older songs, but it didn't really make up for the annoying kids.  I can't believe I actually said rowdy.  

I left the concert feeling relaxed and rejuventated, even if it wasn't his best performance (and it wasn't -- he improvised a song about how he wasn't even going to accept this gig until his friend got cancer and needed money to pay for treatment).  Despite his obvious (to me, at least) ambivalence for the concert, it was exactly what I needed, and I made due note of that fact for future reference.  I was never a "concert-goer," but I have always been appreciative of different types of music, so I'm usually up for most concerts.  Lately, I just haven't been into it.  I haven't really had any desire to go see live bands and the fact that I had to seriously consider whether I wanted to go see Ben Folds perform at a venue that took me 10 minutes to drive to is crazy.  I'm hoping that it's just a passing phase, and I know that I'll probably go to see Ben Folds whenever I get a chance, but you can mark my words that I'll never go to another concert in a gym.  Ever.



i don't even know what this entry is about... sorry for the incoherent drivel.

Book Review: The Monster of Florence

So, if you've stopped by the blog recently (I'm assuming that most people read via rss feed, like I do -- and if you don't, then you should try it out), you'll notice that I've made some changes.  Mainly, I changed the look of the blog, finished the nip/tuck, and added a new box to the left... it's "My  Current Bookshelf Selection," or more commonly known as, what I'm reading right now.  I just finished up The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston, and I really enjoyed it. 

 image from here.

I will admit that this book isn't for everyone.  I think that I enjoyed it mostly because it was about two of my most favorite things: Italy and serial killers.  Yikes, I know.  I won't go into too much detail, just in case someone might want to read it, but the book is about an American author, Preston, who decides to live in Florence, hoping to glean inspiration for a new novel.  While there, he meets Mario Spezi, a journalist who has been covering the case from the very beginning, fills him in on the Monster of Florence case. 

The Monster of Florence was a serial killer that terrorized the hills of Tuscany from the late sixties through the mid eighties.  You can read more about Il Mostro here.  The Italian authorities could never find enough evidence to pin the crime on a single person, or even a group of people, so the crimes still remain unsolved.  This case was studied emphatically by Thomas Harris, and shows up in his novel Hannibal, which was partially set in Florence as a result of his interest in the case.  (Aside: "Hannibal," and all of the Hannibal Lecter books are among the greatest books I've ever read... read them if you haven't already done so!)  Preston and Spezi also find the case fascinating and begin doing some of their own research, which eventually lands them in a gigantic storm of trouble, and ends up becoming the focus of the second half of this non-fiction page-turner. 

While I found most of the contents to be very interesting, I was shocked to see how much Italian law enforcement and its judicial system differ from ours.  They tend to believe that the convicted is guilty until proven innocent, which is in direct to the tenants that the US judicial system are built upon.  It seemed as though some of the detectives & prosecutors on the case would make up theories, then find evidence to support these theories.  Many times, this "evidence" wasn't even physical evidence, just random items that fit into the theory.  Also, their crime scene investigation techniques were laughable (actually really sad considering that the investigation is at a dead-end as a result).  I will admit that I have done no real research into the background of the case, and cannot say that this is what happened, but I'm leaning toward believing what Preston wrote...  The book drags on a bit in the middle, when all you're reading is about the investigation, but ends up turning into an unbelievable story in the end.  I still have to remind myself that it's non-fiction.  In any case, if this kind of thing interests you, I suggest reading it. 

My next Bookshelf Selection is My Life in France, by Julia Child and Alex Prud-homme.  I haven't gotten very far, but I think I'm going to like it, since I loved the movie. 

that's all for now.

Etsy Finds: Wayside Violet

I saw an item by Wayside Violet on the Etsy Front Page one day, and instantly fell in love.  Jessica, the shop owner and coffee enthusiast, knits all sorts of wonderful things, but the item I fell in love with and hadtohavethatinstant was this:

Cable Knit Coffee Cozy

For someone who frequents Starbucks at least once a day (and you don't want to interact with me when I haven't had my coffee, trust), this was a must.  I absolutely love it!  It's eco-friendly, cozy, and CUTE!  I receive a lot of compliments on it too.

I'm currently in love with this gray one, and the pumpkin spice cozy for mugs is cute too!  

here.

here.

So, if you are a frequent flyer at any coffee shop, I highly recommend one.  You're doing the environment a favor (even if you're still using a paper cup & not a reusable travel mug, but I always forget mine), and looking super cute in the process!

p.s.  with sticking to my November goals, i will be resisting the gray cozy, since my green one is holding up just fine.  see?  i'm getting good at this goals thing... haha. 

November

I'm always inspired when I see people set public goals for themselves, so I decided to give it a try. 

November isn't my favorite month.  In fact, were it not for the days off from work, I would probably deem it my least favorite calendar month.  I don't have any particular reason for disliking November, it's just kind of a "blah" month for me.  I don't really like Thanksgiving.  I am annoyed that Christmas commercials are already invading my television.  The leaves are falling off the trees, but there's not a real chance of snow yet.  See?  Blah.  I'm hoping that setting a few goals will help me find more appreciation for this sad, place-holder of a month.  I haven't put a great deal of thought into these goals, but I've been meaning to incorporate them into my life every month.  I'm hoping that putting them out here for all to see will encourage me to actually do them. 

1. Cook more, eat take-out less (and start using vegetables as a main course instead of as a side dish).
2. Keep the apartment cleaner by doing chores every day instead of letting them pile up.
3. Make my holiday cards so that I can give them to people other than family members (last year I was way late in finishing them and never sent them to anyone.)
4. Make at least one new item to add to my Etsy shop.
5. Exercise 30 minutes a day, three days a week.
6. Start getting ideas for Christmas gifts and start shopping before the rush hits.
7. Spend less money on things I don't need and save money for things we do need (like a house); start outlining a budget.

I think that's a good start (and maybe a little over-zealous). 

In other news, Starbucks Red Cups are out today, along with their holiday seasonal drinks (peppermint mocha is my favorite!)  I don't know why, but this is always one of my favorite days of the year.  I get so excited for the holiday season -- the weather, the coziness, the family togetherness...  I love to do all sorts of cheesy nostalgic things too, and always try to find new traditions to start. 

Maybe November isn't all bad... it is the month of Red Cups, afterall...

Happy Halloween!

"The wind outside nested in each tree, prowled the sidewalks in invisible treads like unseen cats...

Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows' Eve.  Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet.  Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes of funeral parades.  From kitchen windows drifted two pumpkin smells: gourds being cut, pies being baked."

~ The Halloween Tree, Ray Bradbury

 

my favorite Halloween decorations...

  Halloween has always been a special night for me.  It's one of the best nights of the year, coming in second only to Christmas Eve (possibly even tied for first).  I always loved everything associated with the holiday.  It wasn't even so much about the candy as it was about the traditions: the carving of pumpkins before the sun set, the smell of the crisp October night, the tickling feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach as I walked to the neighboring street through the woods on winding country lanes, wondering which things that go bump in the night were waiting for us around every corner.  My dad would take my sister and me trick-or-treating with the neighborhood kids, while my mom would stay home to pass out treats.  He always scared us with a story about a little girl who was lost in the woods and now haunts said woods every Halloween night (hence the aforementioned feelings of dread).  We would come home tired, but eager to inspect the saccharine fruits of our labor, and would watch our recorded version of Garfield's Halloween Adventure and It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (complete with cheesy 80's commercials).

Some embarassing proof (and for some reason, I am always on the right in each picture):

1988: My mom always made our costumes... this unicorn was by far one of my favorites, and her Magnum Opus.

1989: We were asked to do a scary pose, probably because we had just moved into the new house a month ago 

and my parents were still wicked excited and awesome like that.

1991: the year of The Perfect Storm (and awesome high-top sneakers)... we went Trick-or-Treating in it.

The aftermath.  We were hardcore, and in need of a Twix.  For REALZ.

While I obviously don't trick-or-treat anymore (I do go with my nieces and nephew), I try to keep up some of the old traditions by means of watching our favorite Halloween movies every year.  Without further ado, I present you with my Top 5 Must-See list of Halloween movies:

1. Garfield's Halloween Adventure
2. The Halloween Tree (read the book, because it's no longer on tv or available on dvd)
3. Sleepy Hollow
4. Hocus Pocus (which was partially filmed in Salem!)
5. It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

Close runners up include (in no particular order & not really kid friendly) The Exorcist, Salem's Lot, Psycho, The Omen (both versions are good), and certainly none of the crappy movies that TV networks are calling "Halloween Themed" like Scooby Doo.  Please.  I'm pretty sure that I would not be looking back so fondly on my memories of this holiday had I associated it with Scooby Doo and Batman.  (What?)  I'm sure that I left some of my picks off, but can't really think of anything else right now...

Anyway, I hope that everyone has a happy & safe Halloweeeeeeeeeen!!!!