Bon Voyage

Almost time to pick up SB from the airport, spend some QT with cousins and hopefully fall into a deep slumber before getting up and beginning Trip #1 tomorrow morning, followed immediately by Trip #2 on Wednesday morning. Wish me luck. I've been sleeping so little lately that I'm just hoping I can will myself to put one foot in front of the other, and eventually re-gain energy for all of this travel. It should be an adventure, though. My eyes will be on the horizon.

Other great adventurers with their eyes to the horizon...

Voilá! Dakota Bread

For the first time, I successfully made bread - it is delicious, rather than dense or dry (which is my usual outcome for homemade bread).

The recipe comes from the owners of Cafe Latte, and can be found in Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland (Authors: Dooley/Watson).

A few other easy recipes that I found and threw together this evening -- caramelized brussels sprouts and roasted potatoes with smoked paprika. I ended up going out to dinner with cousins, but still made these recipes at 8pm, just for the fun of it (and for the leftovers). Might as well get it in while I can, as I have three trips crammed into the next two weeks, which will be great, but will not allow for any cooking time.

Recipe from the blog: Eat, Live, Run

Roasted with oil, salt, pepper and smoked paprika

PS. While I'm writing this I'm watching Julie & Julia! Very inspirational.

The Calm Before the Storm

I can't believe that it is nearly the end of July already. We've been anticipating a trip "out West" for six months or more, and suddenly it will be upon us next week. It is surreal to think that it is going to occur and then, dare I admit, the PTO that I've been looking forward to for 6 months will have come to an end. It will be one of the longer trips that I've taken, and we're traveling by plane, train and rental car, so it will be the full experience. After all of the weekend trips we've taken lately, it will be a welcome break.

This week SB will be traveling for a conference with his co-workers and I will have the apartment to myself. It is interesting, because in the 2+ years that we've lived together, this will be one of (at most) a handful of times that we have been apart. In fact, I don't think that I've spent more than a few nights in our apartment by myself. After years of living alone, and my general nature that takes great pleasure in solitude, I'm amazed that I've been able to adjust to living in such close proximity with someone else. While part of me looks forward to the alone time, and will surely revel in it, I wouldn't be surprised if I curl up feeling a bit lonely without my other half so near. Funny how that works.

It will be quiet around the house and, fortunately, quiet in the office for me this week. After a very crazy week last week, a load has been lifted (even if only temporarily). It is a relief, and good timing since there will be a lot to do around the house in preparation for our travel. Also, I got a new and AMAZING cookbook from Half-Priced Books - Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland -  that I can't wait to utilize in attempting a few new bread recipes. Expect photos (if it turns out). 

Favorite Post-Farmers Market Breakfast

Poached egg on toast with tomato, basil, salt and pepper. Yum. I think for lunch we'll eat just about the same thing, actually, only with bacon instead of egg -- BLT! Oh, how I love the taste of summer.

I have also been obsessed with cucumber salads. When I wake up in the morning and want to throw together a quick lunch, I thinly slice a fat little cucumber from the farmers market and add a bit of apple cider vinegar and sugar. Mmmmm.

A literal bundle of joy that came from this morning's market was a bunch of sunflowers for only $3! And they add so much to the apartment. Like the fresh food that we get from the farmers market each week, the flowers give us another opportunity for savoring -- slowing down, and enjoying. Such a treat after a stressful week of work.

Hey-o Audio

Podcasts. Love love love them. I have been listening to so many and recommend the following awesome free ones (through iTunes):

This American Life: The classic. Approaches a topic from more angles than you would have imagined were possible. Very compelling journalism. Sometimes funny, sometimes devastating. Lovely David Sedaris readings featured, which you've got to love.

Radiolab: Awesome. FUN journalism that makes you laugh out loud. Totally fascinating topics. Often science-related topics, but usually addresses a topic from all kinds of angles, like This American Life. Listen to it!

On Being: Often very insightful guests. Cool topics that broaden "spirituality" into all realms of life.

Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me: In case you missed it when it was on the radio. A delight. And I feel old and nerdy for liking it, but I do.

WTF with Marc Maron: So, I was reluctant to like this because I lumped it with other male comedians that SB has listened to in the past and assumed that I wouldn't be into seemingly negative and self-depricating guy like Marc Maron (also, the intro to each show includes needless swearing, which was an immediate turn-off). As it turns out, though, Maron is fascinating, reflective, and much more positive than one would expect. And he interviews some awesome celebrities. I really enjoyed the strange interview with Fiona Apple recently. Beware of possible vulgarity.

Snap Judgement: Feels kind of like an amateur "This American Life." I enjoyed the Plasticity episode but have fallen off my regular listening lately. Some good stories, though.

Selected Shorts: I've only listened to a few of these - but they're actors performing literature (like one actor, from my experience, kind of like reading a monologue). Very cool concept. Nerdy at times, but at others they pick great pieces of literature to read. Each episode is based on theme.

Strong, Sexy and Stylish: This new podcast is proving to be "just okay" - but it features 3 MSP ladies who work in areas of fashion/style writing, strength training, and sex education. Some episodes are empowering, some are nerdy.

Desert Island Disks: BBC radio show that interviews people about their lives, the music and literature that they would bring with them if stranded on a desert island, etc. -- I've listened to interviews with Alice Cooper, Martin Sheen and Terry Gilliam.

Well, that's all that I've got to share at the moment. I requested about 5 books on CD for my upcoming travel to Iowa City and then to and around the Portland area. Looking forward to even more audio entertainment!

I'm Back (Again)!

1) Yes, I am finally updating my blog.

2) Because SB and I will be on our way to Portland soon and also because we have very happy wedding occasions coming up (not to mention an adorable niece!), we decided to get a new camera. It isn't super fancy, but much better than what we had and very exciting.

3) If you like mushrooms -- make these totally delicious, easy, relatively inexpensive Portobello Chile Tacos. YUM. A new staple in our household for sure. We even took a picture of the finished product (of course).

4) This weekend I ran The Color Run with my SIL. While I was my normal nay-saying self prior to the run, thinking that it would be a ridiculous mess and an unfortunate fate on a 90 degree day, it turned out to actually be quite fun (and a ridiculous mess, but in a good way). Color Run photo credit goes to SB, who was also my biking partner from St. Paul to Mtown via the Gateway Trail this weekend -- talk about a weekend of fun in the sun!

5) I've said it before and am again saying it - I hope to be better about updating this blog in the future. We have a lot of fun going on - between canning, cooking and just taking pictures around the neighborhood, to trips and weddings and more. The new camera should provide good inspiration, as should the poems that I have continued to collect and am eager to share. More to come!

PS. The new Wes Anderson movie, Moonrise Kingdom, is a delight and a must-see for all those interested in a youthful adventure. We've seen it twice in the theater...so far! Oh, and I've redesigned my blog with a bookshelf background, which reminded of another awesome Wes Anderson movie, The Royal Tennenbaums. Love it.