Friday, July 30, 2010
Gone Adventuring....
We're off for the weekend to Mt. Greylock, the highest point in Massachusets! We'll be hiking, camping, and connecting with nature for the next 2 days! Stay tuned for trail reviews!
Book Review: "Her Fearful Symmetry" by Audrey Niffenegger
Like most avid readers, often seek out books written by authors whose work I've previously enjoyed. So, when I spotted "Her Fearful Symmetry" by Audrey Niffenegger (author of "The Time Travelers Wife") on the shelf at Borders, I figured I'd give it a try. It was another quick read, which I finished in 3 days, and it wasn't because I spent the weekend I bought it at our cabin with no TV. Obviously since I'm taking the time to review it, I enthustically recommend it, ok no joke, I loved it!
The book is about Julie and Valentina, twin sisters, whose Aunt passes away and leaves them her flat in London. This wouldn't be considered odd by most peoples standards, however the girls have never met their Aunt, who is also their mother's twin, and they must adhere to two rules: 1) They must live in the flat together for a year before they sell it, and 2) Their parents are not allowed to step foot in the flat. Julie and Valentina move to London, next door to the Highgate Cemetery, and we follow them as they develop relationships with their new neighbors (all of whom have eccentric quirks), explore the city, test the boundaries of their relationship, and make a few spooky discoveries. The book has twist and turns that made me gasp aloud, and characters you will fall for no matter their faults.
I will admit that the book does devil into the supernatural, which is usually not very believable for all of us. However, with all the Vampires and Werewolves wandering around the pages of our books these days, there is no reason we can't be sympathetic to ghosts as well! It's a very well told story, and if you liked "The Time Travelers Wife" I think you'll love "Her Fearful Symmetry!"
Now get reading! XO. SB.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
I'm in Love....
...with a coffee table!
Since it appears our apartment may not sell for a while, Mr.B has agreed to fulfill some of my house wish list items. Since my wishes have been granted, I've been scouring the Internet for a suitable coffee table. Mr.B likes glass topped tables and I could go either way, but wanting something that would please both of us. So, I have been trying my hardest to find something with a glass top that I like, which apparently is easier said then done.
Alas, my search appears to be over! Although Mr.B quite nicely pointed out the rather pointy edges of this table, which means if we have kids in the future (and trust me this coffee table will not be replaced any time soon, so lets call the future from now until 10 years from now), the table may be a hazard. So do we sacrifice our dream coffee table for our future non-existent children's possible accidents with said table? Or do we buy the table and deal with it later?
All I can say is, I love that table. SB.
Since it appears our apartment may not sell for a while, Mr.B has agreed to fulfill some of my house wish list items. Since my wishes have been granted, I've been scouring the Internet for a suitable coffee table. Mr.B likes glass topped tables and I could go either way, but wanting something that would please both of us. So, I have been trying my hardest to find something with a glass top that I like, which apparently is easier said then done.
Alas, my search appears to be over! Although Mr.B quite nicely pointed out the rather pointy edges of this table, which means if we have kids in the future (and trust me this coffee table will not be replaced any time soon, so lets call the future from now until 10 years from now), the table may be a hazard. So do we sacrifice our dream coffee table for our future non-existent children's possible accidents with said table? Or do we buy the table and deal with it later?
All I can say is, I love that table. SB.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Recipe For Disaster?
Recently hubby and I decided that we were going to start making some new recipes to add into our usual dinner repertoire, which got me to thinking about how I wanted to store and organize the recipes. I am a paper person, so I was thinking something along the lines of a recipe box or book:
Something cute and personalized, and above all organized. I feel if not in my home, at least at work I am probably one of the most organized people on the planet. I color code, excel spreadsheet, and post-it note it until the cows come home. So why not bring some of that organization into my home in a fun and easy way to keep all of our new deliciousness sorted?
Mr.B however is much more into storing our recipes in a data base on our computer (surprise, surprise). He argues that it's somewhere we'll never loose them, they can be easily sorted, and can be found at a moments notice no matter where you are. For instance, if I wanted to run to the store after work to grab so ingredients, I wouldn't need to come home first to get a physical recipe from a book or box. So I'm thinking that as dorky as it is, a database works. I can't however help wanting the physical written recipes in that cute, personalized recipe box.
How do you store and keep track of your recipes? Have any good ones to suggest? SB.
Something cute and personalized, and above all organized. I feel if not in my home, at least at work I am probably one of the most organized people on the planet. I color code, excel spreadsheet, and post-it note it until the cows come home. So why not bring some of that organization into my home in a fun and easy way to keep all of our new deliciousness sorted?
Mr.B however is much more into storing our recipes in a data base on our computer (surprise, surprise). He argues that it's somewhere we'll never loose them, they can be easily sorted, and can be found at a moments notice no matter where you are. For instance, if I wanted to run to the store after work to grab so ingredients, I wouldn't need to come home first to get a physical recipe from a book or box. So I'm thinking that as dorky as it is, a database works. I can't however help wanting the physical written recipes in that cute, personalized recipe box.
How do you store and keep track of your recipes? Have any good ones to suggest? SB.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Party Like A Rock Star....
....really? This past weekend I spent our Nation's Birthday in Washington DC with my best friend and one of our closest girl friends from college, and drank 3 nights in a row! I didn't even get a hang over! Ok, maybe I had a small one on Sunday morning, but nothing to write home about. I was shocked and amazed that I was able to keep up, and when Sunday rolled around I definitely thought I wasn't going to make it, but boy did I rally!
It had been a really stressful week at work, and I hadn't been drinking in preparation for what was promised to be a party filled weekend. So, when I arrived on Friday night after driving for 4 1/2 hours, and BFF offered me a glass of wine I certainly didn't refuse. She has these amazing wine glasses, that are enormous, and well I drank a bit to much wine because before you knew it I was very nicely buzzed. It was a mellow night in, and we had a great time catching up, but by the time we picked up our friend from the airport I was almost in a wine coma. The head nods were in full effect, and shortly after I took my little wino self to bed (aka couch).
If you live in the North East (or at least NYC or Washington, DC, not sure about the other parts of the NE), you know it has been hot as hot can be this past week, and Saturday was no exception. We spent most of the day relaxing by the pool, but the evening turned into a big beer fest. We started the night with a back yard BBQ at BFF's brother's place on Capitol Hill, Frisbee, Ladder Golf, and beer drinking ensued before we headed out for the night. Destination: One of DC's newest attractions, a German Beer Garden (anyone actually know the name of this place?). BFF, GF, BFF Husband, BFF Brother, and multiple other friends all gathered with our enormous (liter) beer steins filled with yummy cold beer, and hovered over people until we got a table. When I say these beer stein were enormous, I'm not joking, we were all trying to figure out the best way to hold them since they are so heavy! We laughed, we drank (a lot), and we were disappointed when they ran out of hot pretzels! We were all feeling very nice when we headed out of the Beer Garden, and headed over to a little place called "Sticky Rice" for some tatter tots. Yes, a sushi place that serves late night tatter tots, and man were they good. I had expected that this was some sort of dining establishment on our walk over, and was pleased to discover that it was actually a bar, with music, and dancing on benches. Dancing on benches is my favorite (actually I think it was the only not to crowded to dance part of the bar), and my GF and I became Dancing Queens! Overall it was an A+ night.
Sunday, July 4th, our Independence Day, I think we were all feeling our beer a bit. I've always been blessed with minor hang overs, and that day was no exception, but I could have really used a Gatorade! The kickers was, that Sunday was supposed to be our biggest party day, with a Bar Crawl on the schedule. This was BFF's Hubby's annual 4th of July Bar Crawl, complete with a new theme every year, and this year was golf. Luckily, GF's a pretty big golfer, and she brought us polo t's galore to choose from! BFF also dug up some pretty cute argile knee socks that rounded out my outfit nicely. We had a great afternoon/evening roaming around Adams Morgan with our golf clad crew trying to make "par" at each bar we stopped at. The evening was capped off with a wonderful DC fireworks display, before we were all ready to head home and pass out.
Overall it was an awesome weekend with great friends, and lots of fun partying. Just what the Dr. ordered you could say! I love a good party weekend, and don't get them so often anymore so it really did hit the spot. I was however able to realize, that I'm OK with the fact that I don't party every weekend (or let's face it weeknight) anymore. While I definitely enjoyed the alcohol fueled weekend, I know that most of what I loved about going out was having a blast with my friends, and quite frankly flirting with boys, which now that I'm married has lost it's appeal. So while I'm happy to be the life of the party (ha! So I'd like to think), I'm perfectly OK knowing that these occasions are now few and far between.
Do you miss your old party girl selves? XO. SB
It had been a really stressful week at work, and I hadn't been drinking in preparation for what was promised to be a party filled weekend. So, when I arrived on Friday night after driving for 4 1/2 hours, and BFF offered me a glass of wine I certainly didn't refuse. She has these amazing wine glasses, that are enormous, and well I drank a bit to much wine because before you knew it I was very nicely buzzed. It was a mellow night in, and we had a great time catching up, but by the time we picked up our friend from the airport I was almost in a wine coma. The head nods were in full effect, and shortly after I took my little wino self to bed (aka couch).
If you live in the North East (or at least NYC or Washington, DC, not sure about the other parts of the NE), you know it has been hot as hot can be this past week, and Saturday was no exception. We spent most of the day relaxing by the pool, but the evening turned into a big beer fest. We started the night with a back yard BBQ at BFF's brother's place on Capitol Hill, Frisbee, Ladder Golf, and beer drinking ensued before we headed out for the night. Destination: One of DC's newest attractions, a German Beer Garden (anyone actually know the name of this place?). BFF, GF, BFF Husband, BFF Brother, and multiple other friends all gathered with our enormous (liter) beer steins filled with yummy cold beer, and hovered over people until we got a table. When I say these beer stein were enormous, I'm not joking, we were all trying to figure out the best way to hold them since they are so heavy! We laughed, we drank (a lot), and we were disappointed when they ran out of hot pretzels! We were all feeling very nice when we headed out of the Beer Garden, and headed over to a little place called "Sticky Rice" for some tatter tots. Yes, a sushi place that serves late night tatter tots, and man were they good. I had expected that this was some sort of dining establishment on our walk over, and was pleased to discover that it was actually a bar, with music, and dancing on benches. Dancing on benches is my favorite (actually I think it was the only not to crowded to dance part of the bar), and my GF and I became Dancing Queens! Overall it was an A+ night.
Sunday, July 4th, our Independence Day, I think we were all feeling our beer a bit. I've always been blessed with minor hang overs, and that day was no exception, but I could have really used a Gatorade! The kickers was, that Sunday was supposed to be our biggest party day, with a Bar Crawl on the schedule. This was BFF's Hubby's annual 4th of July Bar Crawl, complete with a new theme every year, and this year was golf. Luckily, GF's a pretty big golfer, and she brought us polo t's galore to choose from! BFF also dug up some pretty cute argile knee socks that rounded out my outfit nicely. We had a great afternoon/evening roaming around Adams Morgan with our golf clad crew trying to make "par" at each bar we stopped at. The evening was capped off with a wonderful DC fireworks display, before we were all ready to head home and pass out.
Overall it was an awesome weekend with great friends, and lots of fun partying. Just what the Dr. ordered you could say! I love a good party weekend, and don't get them so often anymore so it really did hit the spot. I was however able to realize, that I'm OK with the fact that I don't party every weekend (or let's face it weeknight) anymore. While I definitely enjoyed the alcohol fueled weekend, I know that most of what I loved about going out was having a blast with my friends, and quite frankly flirting with boys, which now that I'm married has lost it's appeal. So while I'm happy to be the life of the party (ha! So I'd like to think), I'm perfectly OK knowing that these occasions are now few and far between.
Do you miss your old party girl selves? XO. SB
Monday, June 28, 2010
Book Review: "Still Alice" by Lisa Genova
I literally just finished this book (in under 3 days I might add), and I have not yet stopped crying. Lisa Genova's novel, "Still Alice" is a beautifully written and gripping first person account of Alzheimer's Disease. The main character Alice is a world renowned expert in linguistics, Harvard Professor in Psychology, mother of three, and a wife, who we follow from her realization that something is amiss, to her acceptance of the disease which is Robbing her of her memory, and beyond. To top it all off she is only 50 years old, and still in the height of her career when the heart breaking diagnosis is delivered.
It's hard for me to know where to start in this book review, because while I think anyone could really enjoy the book, I think I was so moved by it due to my associations with the disease. Not only did my grandfather on my mother's side have Alzheimer's, but my grandmother on my father's side had early onset Alzheimer's just like the character in the book. While reading the words on the page I was forced to also dredge up memories of my own grandmother, picturing her unable to speak or communicate what she needed from us. The book also touched on the genetic mutation that leads to Alzheimer's disease (and it's 50% chance of being passed on), which caused me to think about the possibility, or probability of my parents inheriting this heinous disease, or even myself and my siblings. In fact as soon as I finished the book I immediately sent an accusatory email to my Aunt who lent me the book, saying that I loved it but how could she let me read something that would touch so close to home, and then called my father hysterically crying.
Now, I know that this may sound like I'm not encouraging you to read this book, but oh cont-rare! I LOVED this book, it drew me in from the minute I started reading it, and couldn't put it down. I was immediately connected to the characters, and my heart broke along with Alice and her families as she lost sight of things that were once so familiar to her at a rapid pace.
I also think it was also important for me to read, because even though it's fiction, I feel like it helped me understand what it might have felt like for my loved ones to fight such a horrible illness. It also made me aware that I don't focus enough on it, and finding a cure. Why do I donate and participate in the fight for a cure for so many other diseases when this is the one that has the potential to tear my family apart the most? So I also emailed my family and decided to participate in this year's Memory Walk:
http://www.kintera.org/FAF/home/default.asp?ievent=338776&memory=homepageflash
The books the main character once says that if she could she would trade this disease for cancer, and while the thought is a terrible one, I can't say if in her shoes I would disagree. How many of us would rather be robbed of our mind instead of our body? Please look into the walk and consider participating.
Read the book with a box of tissues close at hand. SB
Friday, June 18, 2010
Phishing!!!!!!!!
So overdue with my next Africa post, but my computer literally died as I was putting on the finishing touches the other night, and I didn't want to leave everyone hanging!
Anyway, we are headed up to Saratoga, NY this weekend to relive Rob's youth and favorite past time Phish tour! We'll be camping out and jamming out all weekend! Not to mention getting wasted and making fools of ourselves (my favorite past time, j/k)!
I can't wait to get up there and get the party started! It's going to be a great weekend of music, friends, and fun! I'm really looking forward to being outdoors all weekend, escaping the stress of work, and letting my mind be distracted by amazing tunes. Wow, I really sound like a dirty hippy(but I'm thinking you guessed that based on my blogger name)!
I plan on making jello shots tonight, and since there will be plenty of them to go around they will be on sale for $1 each!! What's your favorite flavor jello shot, or favorite weekend activity that takes you back?
SB.
Anyway, we are headed up to Saratoga, NY this weekend to relive Rob's youth and favorite past time Phish tour! We'll be camping out and jamming out all weekend! Not to mention getting wasted and making fools of ourselves (my favorite past time, j/k)!
I can't wait to get up there and get the party started! It's going to be a great weekend of music, friends, and fun! I'm really looking forward to being outdoors all weekend, escaping the stress of work, and letting my mind be distracted by amazing tunes. Wow, I really sound like a dirty hippy(but I'm thinking you guessed that based on my blogger name)!
I plan on making jello shots tonight, and since there will be plenty of them to go around they will be on sale for $1 each!! What's your favorite flavor jello shot, or favorite weekend activity that takes you back?
SB.
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