Santa brought me one of the reusable, insulated Starbucks cups for Christmas. I love, love, love it. Such a simple pleasure to enjoy my spinach smoothie or iced tea with a dry hand. It's the little things that make life tolerable. 
Whee! I gots me an iPhone today. I was eligible for an upgrade and all the other phones just looked junky compared to this baby. Never mind that I rarely receive calls (I'm not much of a phone talker) I'm in it for the apps! 
These leather club chairs from Overstock have caught my eye. I am looking for something for the man room and I think a leather chair would be just the thing. They have a 5* rating on Overstock but I know it will be a major PIA to send it back if not right. But I can't turn away from the price = $340!
Lordy loo! Today was glorious for I found the elusive sesame soba noodle bowls at Trader Joes! The are really tasty and vegan, too. (I'm not vegan but like to eat meat free lunches as much as I can). I thought these might be a west coast only item but there they were, right in front of me in Cary, NC!
Mah sconces are up in the dining room. Still need something for the chain-painted wall. Maybe a giant clock? And a few tables to go under the sconces. In other news, Jake's new Panasonic takes pretty good low-light images, n'cest pas?
The second stripe went up last week. I think I like it.
A blue tub. I'm just going to embrace it.
Funny little rubber elves from Japan
I heart Michael Ian Black. I hope his book I picked up at the library doesn't disappoint. Also, a Google image search for the phrase "my custom van" is pretty entertaining.
We booked our winter vacation to Costa Rica this week and Jake's immersed himself in hotel research. The Hotel Costa Verde features a guest room in an old 747 fuselage! Pretty cool stuff. It's a little pricey or we'd totally be booking it!
I busted out the dough hook and fired up the old Kitchenaid over the weekend to try RR's recipe for bavarian pretzels. It started with so much hope, so much promise. I assembled all my ingredients and preheated the oven. All went well until I needed to shape the dough into long ropes. I dug the dough out of the bowl and it was like glue. There was no way it was going to roll into nice, smooth ropes. I formed it the best I could and then dunked it in a bath of water and baking soda, per the recipe. Ugh - they got even gloopier and less easy to handle. Into the over they went, shaped more like breast cancer awareness ribbons than a pretzel.
The Sundance Channel show Man Shops Globe about the buyer for Anthropologie is really engaging. I thought it would be more uptight and stuffy but Keith's suprisringly down to earth. Although it's quite funny how he is so price-consious! When I was in the Durham store last, I spied a cabinet from England for $20k! I wonder what he paid...
During our weekend jaunt down to Charlotte, we headed back through Asheboro and stopped at the North Carolina Zoo. It was a little chilly (hence my wearing of Jake's blue hoodie) but a nice day overall for some walkin'. The zoo's spread out over 5 miles of pathways so we clocked some miles checking out the Africa and North America exhibits. My favorites are the elephants and apes and monkeys. It's also a kick to see all the little kids and their amazement at even the least-exotic animals! Look,mom, a SQUIRREEELLL!
I remember the first time I heard of such a thing as a fish taco, it sounded like the most repulsive thing ever! now I can't get enough of them. This Mexican red snapper sandwich is almost like a take on a fish taco. From my fave recipe source, Rachael Ray. Even though the summer is over and the leaves are starting to fall here in North Carolina, a summery sandwich still hits the spot. These are so easy and simple - I left off the radishes becuase I don't especially like them and it was still super tasty.
Another recipe recommendation from yours truly the newly inspired cook. Buffalo chicken club sandwiches from Rachael Ray. I know she's not for everyone, what with the Martha-esque overexposure but her recipes are generally easy and tasty. 
