tuesday things

1. I've had more blackberries in the past three days than the past year. J's aunt picked about 4 pints for us. They're delicious. Some are sweet; some are tart. Other than eating them plain, they're wonderful in a bowl with a bit of milk or cream splashed over them and a drizzle of maple syrup. Tonight, I'm making a blackberry buckle. It's possibly the easiest dessert recipe in the world and makes me break my no-baking policy.

2. I have been such a slacker this summer. I started off strong with grand plans of organizing and purging and working out and cooking and reading, but those have gone by the wayside. J is working on classes to become a CPA (only the credentials, not the job), and this is his first semester/summer in two years to be free. This fall will be a challenge as he'll have two really intense classes, so we've spent every evening together doing nothing except watching Community, Once Upon a Time, and Veronica Mars and playing Candy Crush on our phones. It's fabulous.

3. After I practically yanked Candy Crush from J last night, we booked tickets to New York City. I kind wanted to scream slash throw-up when we did it. Let the planning begin! I have a list of restaurants a mile long, so I should probably stop eating now to balance what we'll eat in the city.

4. I have some thoughts about the Paula Deen thing. I plan to write about it this week. Two of my favorite posts cover controversial topics. Nativity removal or presidential election, anyone? I'm still mulling it over. Check back tomorrow.

5. Have you seen the video series Conversations With My 2 Year Old? If not, you need to watch it. They're actual conversations replayed by a dad and a grown man, impersonating the 2 year old daughter. They are so funny!

tuesday things

1. I am lucky enough to have a job that I really enjoy. But in the summer, I love it even more. Although our office is open during the summer, our school follows summer hours. So, it's really like a part-time job for 10 weeks (three of which I have off). Not a bad gig for a non-teacher.

2. I've been much more motivated to cook since I only work 6 hours a day (minus a bit for lunch). Right now, I'm cooking my first brisket. If this things tastes as good as it smells, it will be a success. You should know that my brother makes mighty fine brisket. In fact, this spring he was invited with the rest of The Cherry Laurel to cook barbecue for Rick Perry, the Texas governor. So I decided that I'd try his method. Just 2.5 more hours.

3. Along with brisket, I'm going to make this recipe for esquites. My sister-in-law made it for Mother's Day, and I could have eaten just this. I think it will go well with brisket. (And if the brisket doesn't turn out, this will be good on it's own!)

4. We had the eaves of our house cleaned this weekend. We had a slight mildew issue thanks to humidity and the pine trees behind our house. The eaves look great. Unfortunately, whatever cleaning solution he used burned our newly planted vegetables and my pretty hydrangeas. I think I can trim back the burned hydrangea blossoms, but I think we have to replant all of our veggies. It makes me sick!

5. I'm in a major purging mode. I'm hopeful that my free afternoons will enable me to get our extra room unpacked this summer. If you're keeping track: we moved in over two years. Two-thirds of the room is boxes of stuff. At this point, I'm tempted to just donate the unopened boxes. I mean, if we don't know what's in them, will we miss it? Within an hour, our garage will be less one couch and two over-sized chairs. Yea!

tuesday things (on a wednesday)

1. I learned last week that I know nothing about HTML coding. Not even the 0.2% I thought I knew. I totally messed up my blog with an attempt to make things better. Thankfully, my wonderful designer at Designer Blogs came to my rescue. Comments are up and running again, as are the social media links on the sidebar.

2. I worked from home yesterday. I learned that I don't like working from home. It's super lonely, even for this introvert. It's a good thing I had dinner with a friend from church, otherwise my poor husband would've had to endure me getting in my 10,000 words once he arrived home.

3. I also learned that I hate our keyboard. It's so noisy and the keys are hard to push. So, I just ordered the one I have at my desk at work. With two day delivery. Oh, first world problems.

4. I'm in a big purging mode at my house. But I'm so busy that I don't have time to really dig into closets and cabinets to make piles of things to purge. And then, I'm torn between donating items and having a garage sale. I think I could make some good cash, but it's just so much work. Every time I have a garage sale, I promise that I'll never do another. But then I think it's a decent idea. Only in Texas it's never a decent idea to have a garage sale in the summer months. And if we don't get rid of some furniture in our garage, I'm afraid I'll be banished to parking in the driveway so that J can finally park in the garage. Oh, first world problems.

5. A few months ago--which very could be a year ago--I mentioned that I needed to stop using "gonna" for "going to" in my daily vernacular. Umm...it seems a little east Texan. And then a friend's mom, who's a retired English teacher (from Wisconsin, so far from east Texas slang), commented that she loves seeing the English language evolve. Since then, I've been a bit fascinated slash intrigued by the idea of a language evolving. This article is one way that we're seeing a language change: Slash: Not Just a Punctuation Mark Anymore.

tuesday things

1. I just finished reading Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist. Y'all. It is good. I've adored her previous books, and I waited expectantly for this book to release early in the month. It's a memoir, written as a series of essays with recipes scattered throughout. So far, I've made three of the recipes, with great success. The Spicy Caesar Vinaigrette was delicious, and I'm normally not a fan of Caesar dressing. I actually was able to test a recipe for the book, so it was fun looking for my name in the book.

2. My breakfast for the past week has been yogurt and granola. I found a new yogurt that I like because it isn't overly sweet. Typically, I eat the same thing for breakfast for so long that I don't want to eat it again for a year or so. Brown Cow maple yogurt with granola full of nuts and dried fruit is my go-to breakfast for now.

3. Last Tuesday, Jeremy and I went to Dallas; he gave me tickets for my birthday to see Wicked. We headed out pretty early in the afternoon so that we wouldn't get stuck in traffic. The theater where it played isn't known for being in the safest part of town, so I called a friend to get a restaurant suggestion that would be close-ish to the theater  Though he gave a few, we settled on a suggestion in the Bishop Arts District. We had dinner at Eno's Pizza. We started with salads (mine was delicious with crisp Romaine lettuce, roasted pork belly, shaved jalapeno and honey tarragon dressing), and then shared a pizza with crust as crisp as a cracker. It was so good.

And although we were satisfied, we couldn't pass up the second part of the suggestion: dessert at Emporium Pies. We took an indirect route so that I could spy a couple having engagement pictures done. When we arrived, it was so difficult making a decision from the seven or so pies that they offer. Ultimately, I wound up with key lime pie, and Jeremy with the coconut cream pie. We both favored the mine; I've never had a better graham cracker crust! Though his was tasty, I make a coconut cream pie that's hard to beat.

Emporium Pies, Bishop Arts District

When we arrived at the theater, I was at bit shocked by how good our seats were. I typically have the theory that as long as you can hear the music, it's close enough. But I have been so wrong! Sitting close was fun and definitely a treat!

me + my date

tuesday things

1. About a month ago, I decided to switch to L'Oreal Sulfate Free shampoo and conditioner. Hello, hair transformation! It makes my hair so smooth. I've tried other sulfate free shampoo and conditioner, but my hair was so dry and wiry. This one's a keeper. (Plus fewer chemicals in my s&c means that I'll have a little extra room for the chemicals that I drink in Diet Coke. Even trade. Right?)

2. To keep hair care as a theme, Melanie on The Big Mama Blog recommended two products a few months ago. Her book is great (finished it in two days), but her hair care recommendations turned out even better. Both of these are by Kenra; the first is blow-dry spray. What used to be 15 minutes spent drying my hair is just over five minutes. Totally worth it. (Be careful though, one spray too many will result in some greasy hair.) The other product is dry shampoo. It is so much better than using baby powder. How did I not know this?

3. Disclaimer for the above: I hate the getting-ready process. These products speed it up and/or make my hair look good. I realize it's quite contradictory to use a shampoo and conditioner with fewer chemicals, and then use two new products on my hair AND drink a bit of Diet Coke. For now, I'm totally okay with it.

4. As of now, we don't miss paying for cable. Or even having cable, for that matter. Early this week I had some withdrawal symptoms since it was two weeks without New Girl, The Mindy Project and Modern Family. (Apparently, they aren't usually released to Roku for at least one week.) But all is well. I've caught up. Maybe not on the most recent episode, but it's okay.

5. We've developed a deep affinity for Community. It is so much fun. We've also tried The Following; I can't do it. Way too intense in the first six minutes. So Jeremy will watch that one alone.

6.We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. Although we've been known to skip church on Easter in the past (because we go year-round), we served during two services. This is definitely a Sunday that the church needs volunteers! We greeted and filled trays of pastries. It was a really nice morning. Then we headed to J's parents where we ate lunch and stayed the afternoon. Some of my family came over, which made it even better.

7. On Monday, I had a root canal. These get such a bad rap, but really aren't that bad. Plus it's the only time I'm prescribed a Valium. Valium + laughing gas = one not bad procedure. I'm a little sore, but it'll fade in the next few days.

tuesday things

1. I have two brackets for March Madness. I haven't watched a single basketball game all season. I know nothing about the teams. I won't watch any March Madness. Last year I chose based on which team colors and/or mascot I prefer. It didn't work well. This year, I decided to go mostly with those expected to win and chose a few upsets. Again, poor way to choose a bracket. Both of my brackets are busted. In one tournament, I'm ranked 63 out of 85; the other ranks me third from the last. Too bad my bracket name in the second one is "I'll Probably Win." Definitely not a self-fulfilling prophecy.

2. I am so excited that this is a four day week. In fact, my excitement got the best of me as I just realized that I'm not on my third day of the four day week. I only have two more mornings with an alarm until next Tuesday. I love working at a private school.

3. As reported last week, I had artichoke for the first time. And this week, I cooked them for the very first time. It was a success. Thirty minutes in boiling water plus five or so minutes on the grill (cut in half) makes for a great artichoke. For dipping, I mixed some sriracha with a bit of mayonnaise. Oh, yum.

4. I recently discovered Thrift Books. I love books and have an Amazon wish list a mile long, plus a stack at home that I haven't read. For some reason, books on my wish list are always more appealing than my actual books. But when I order from Amazon, I feel the need to order just enough to qualify for the free supersaver shipping. That means $25 minimum. (Though I can usually score three books for that cost.) But then I stumbled upon, thriftbooks.com. It's great, y'all. The books are less than $4 and it's free shipping. What?! I still can't figure out how they make money, but before they figure out they're losing money, I'm taking advantage of them. I will say that their quality for "good" or "great" doesn't match Amazon. They come a little more banged up, but for less than $4, I'll take it.

tuesday things

1. Last week was spring break, and it was such a great week. What started with not many things planned turned into a week of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, coffees, and a slumber party. It was time well-spent.

2. My intent over spring break was spring cleaning. That didn't happen. I bleached my shower and wiped the baseboards in our bathroom, and then decided I was done for the day. I never went back to it. We still have weeks of spring ahead of us, so it'll get done. And if it doesn't, I'll admire those clean baseboards in our bathroom often!

3. For St. Patrick's Day, we celebrated with cheddar and stout fondue (with bread, apples and asparagus to dip) and a chocolate stout bundt cake topped with chocolate ganache. It was delicious! And so much easier than a stew or hash.

4. At the beginning of the year, Jeremy and I set goals for us. One goal is to see 12 movies in the theater. I know. Priorities. We like movies, but saw maybe three last year. We're upping our game. This weekend, we saw Oz: The Great and Powerful. I loved it: the music, the costumes, the effects, the story. Only eleven more movies to go!

5. Last Tuesday, I returned our DVR box. It was difficult. I almost didn't do it, thinking I could convince Jeremy to keep it. But then our bill decreased by $60. I think I can do this. Plus, we have Roku that we'll use to stream our shows.

6. Our shows this season include: The New Girl, The Mindy Project, Castle, Modern Family, Top Chef Season 10, Duck Dynasty. We waited until Top Chef ended before making the break from cable--we have an obsession with that show. It's more like borderline addiction. We enable each other.

7. I am totally into memoirs right now. I love real stories. Some that I've read and loved: Crowded Skies: Letters to Manhattan by Tara-Leigh Cobble, Orange Jumpsuit: Letters to the God of Freedom by Tara-Leigh Cobble, and Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. The pendulum will swing soon enough, and I'll love fiction again. But for now, I love these stories.

8. We ate dinner with my brother and sister-in-law this week. My brother is a great cook. (It obviously runs in the family.) For the first time ever, I had real artichokes--not just the hearts that come in a can. We dipped and scraped the leaves on our teeth and dug out the thistle-y part to get to the heart. Oh, man, it was good. I have it on the menu for dinner one night this week, but I can see how they could become a regular vegetable in our house!