Crane

Every year I try to go to the Crane Paper Sale in Dalton, MA. I buy bags and bags of stationery -- more than I will ever use up in a year. I even bought some stationery with my future new initials! Can't use that for a little while, though.

This year they had a row of beautiful sheets of paper, so I bought some, not having any idea what I would do with it.

After having it rolled up in a closet for months, I finally made some pretty light switch covers for my kitchen like these. But mine were actually much, much easier since I just used paper, tape and scissors!

Now, what can I do with the rest of this pretty paper?! Party hats? Origami? Paper chains to count down the number of days until Christmas vacation?

Kidding! I'll post later today with some different ideas I've found!

P.S. I know my photography needs work. That would actually be a good hobby! But I don't really like taking pictures, so it wouldn't really work with the whole, "let's have some fun" theme...

Mini

I'm not so into Halloween decorations. Spiders and fake cobwebs and such are sort of gross, right?

I think these little gourds are nice middle ground.

All from Trader Joe's for $1.99 a bag!

Wine Tasting

Peter and I invited our families to Tanglewood over Labor Day weekend to see John and Bucky Pizzarelli at the Jazz Festival. We had so much yummy food -- Pam's famous potato salad with lots and lots of dill, very rare steaks, and Peter's favorite-of-all-time ameretti cookies from a bakery in Litchfield, CT.

Peter's dad Pete owns a lovely wine shop called The Bridge in New Milford, CT (You should visit!), and he nicely led a little wine tasting at our picnic. It was so fun. Pete always gives amazing recommendations, and he gets a special satisfaction out of finding really great bottles that are also really cheap. Below is a list from the Italian tasting we had that afternoon, with Pete's helpful descriptions:

• Saladini Falerio: clean, dry crisp wine made from a blend of three rather obscure white Italian varieties from the Marche region. $6.99 per bottle.
• Amerini Falerio: 100% Sangiovese from Umbria. More "Old World" in style. $5.99 per bottle.
• La Cacciatora Sangiovese: 100% Sangiovese from Publia. Bright red berries on the front of the palate, more "New World" in style. $7.99 per bottle.
• Priore Campotino Montepulciano: 100% montepulciano from Abruzzo. More weight than the other two Sangiovese's above, best food wine of the three reds. $9.99 per bottle.

Aren't those prices amazing?! You will love them, I just know it.

Parties

I'm afraid to throw a party. Not dinner parties, of course, but PARTY parties.

The first fear is, obviously, that no one will come. I will put up awesome decorations, and make themed cupcakes, and stock up on Two Buck Chuck. And then no one will show up. Peter and I will end up playing speed scrabble* until 9:45 PM when I put myself to bed.

My second fear is that everyone will come. They will drink and eat a lot, and until I run out of absolutely everything. They won't fit in the apartment and the baby that lives upstairs will scream and cry until everyone goes home. At 4:30 in the morning.

I'm not the only person with these fears, right? Please say no...

Anyways, this was a long way of saying that I saw these adorable party ideas on Williams Sonoma this morning, and now I am desperate to have an Oktoberfest party or a Halloween Open House.


But would anyone come?! Would they ever leave?!

*You play speed scrabble, right?!? Really fun. It would almost make you forget that no one came to your party.

Gin & Tonic Picnic

Yesterday at my desk, I had a brilliant idea. An indoor picnic! Maybe not the most original idea, but still. Brilliant.

When I got home, I set up everything really fast so I could surprise Peter when he got home. I pulled out the extra fleece blankets that I keep well hidden behind the love seat, pulled the big pillows off of our bed, and lit every candle we have.

I threw together a quick tray of snacks: olives, rice crackers, hummus (for me), bread, brie, goat cheese (for Peter). When Peter came home, he made delicious gin & tonics.

We talked about debate club, and greeting cards, and all the upcoming trips we want to take. (Portland, Maine, Williamsburg, VA, and PARIS!!! Just in case you were curious...)

I have hobbies?

Oh, it's been so long, Fresh-Basil. You've missed me? I've missed you, too, actually.

So I'll come back to you! BUT! The cooking thing is still stressing me out a bit. I'm still cooking (almost every day, in fact!), but it's just not as fun as it used to be. So let's branch out a little bit. Maybe? I'm thinking about other things. Like hobbies.


Something to be quite clear about, right off the bat: I don't really have any hobbies. Not at the moment anyway. Sure, I read, I cook, I plan our wedding (!!!). But maybe it would be fun to have some more. To have an impetus to try some new things, to actually invest some money into it?

Some things that may or may not be explored:

• Calligraphy
• Map-making
• Quilting
• Rug braiding
• Tennis
• Golf
• Book club
• Travel and such
• Decorating
• Cooking

And maybe more awesome things! Who knows!? You'll have to stay tuned. I'm just feeling that pull to focus on happy, joyful nouns.* So we'll see where that takes me.

P.S. Do you like my new banner-thingy-majig?! I made it all by myself!!!

*People, places, and things, of course!

Vegetable Love

Vegetable Love

Feel a tomato, heft its weight in your palm,
think of buttocks, breasts, this plump pulp.
And carrots, mud clinging to the root,
gold mined from the earth's tight purse.
And asparagus, that push their heads up,
rise to meet the returning sun,
and zucchini, green torpedoes
lurking in the Sargasso depths
of their raspy stalks and scratchy leaves.
And peppers, thick walls of cool jade, a green hush.
Secret caves. Sanctuary.
And beets, the dark blood of the earth.
And all the lettuces: bibb, flame, oak leaf, butter-
crunch, black-seeded Simpson, chicory, cos.
Elizabethan ruffs, crisp verbiage.
And spinach, the dark green
of northern forests, savoyed, ruffled,
hidden folds and clefts.
And basil, sweet basil, nuzzled
by fumbling bees drunk on the sun.
And cucumbers, crisp, cool white ice
in the heart of August, month of fire.
And peas in their delicate slippers,
little green boats, a string of beads,
repeating, repeating.
And sunflowers, nodding at night,
then rising to shout hallelujah! at noon.

All over the garden, the whisper of leaves
passing secrets and gossip, making assignations.
All of the vegetables bask in the sun,
languorous as lizards.
Quick, before the frost puts out
its green light, praise these vegetables,
earth's voluptuaries,
praise what comes from the dirt.

By Barbara Crooker

(If nothing else, I'm certainly feeling the vegetable love these days.)

No. 7

Peter and I have been to No. 7 in Fort Greene a few times, and have always come away impressed and excited by the experience. We've had delicous raw oysters, excellent meat and fish, and great service. The back of the long restaurant has a garden-y feel. It's an all-around lovely place to eat.

And Bon Appetit agrees! The restaurant was listed on their Top 10 Best New American Restaurants list.

Julie and Julia

Oh, I am so excited to see Julie and Julia soon!

This is a fantastic article from the New York Times about the trials and tribulations the food stylist went through to make the food look good in the movie.

Postcards from Brazil