lit*chick

10 on Tuesday: extra January edition ...

1. Oh I wish I could figure out which blog I read that referred to February as extra January, but am adopting is as it suits this little month so perfectly. Anyone have any big plans for leap day? Do tell.

     

2. Every Friday this month, Evie and I have visited our new library (not the closest, but worth the extra gas). It is stunning - practically a resort (for book nerds, anyway) - with a mosaic tiled waterfall in the lobby, beautiful stone & glass architecture (I had a great picture, but see no. 3), a garden, and a lot of shiny new books. Observe - the return area where your books are fed into the wall via conveyor, barcodes read, and receipt printed (or not). It is the perfect rainy day outing.

3. My phone wiped itself clean and upon rebooting, all contacts & photos are lost. Apparently the lesson is to backup and it can only be learned after all is lost. The upside? It coincides with my contract renewal which might mean an iPhone. Hello instagram. Goodbye retro camera. I think we can all agree that an iPhone is way to much phone for me, c'est la vie.

(it would be nice if just once, i could get a picture from inside our house without a dirty sock in the background, sigh)

4. One day a week, Evie decides she would like to use the potty. Only one though. She is not an overachiever, clearly. Unless she's just worried the tutu will get in the way. And I am not pushing it because it was not on my spring to-do list. But it is on Grammy's.

5. I made soup (three actually, over the course of three days) for 60 people to be served at our monthly church supper. And I had a lovely team of helpers to handle all the rest of the food, the service and the clean up. There are few things more humbling than to watch a great grandfather up to his elbows in dirty pots & pans.

6. Wouldn't it have been nice if I had taken pictures of this month? Yeah, I thought so too. It is hard to break from the doing, I find. Baby steps. (It also helps to backup your camera, ahem.)

7. The shop had a request for notecards and I am happy to say they are on the way. Meaning I have them but need to upload pictures. It was on my 2012 list and now I can cross that one off (and add ordering card boxes). For now, they will be wrapped with ribbon from the dollar bin. Not sure yet they can be priced for wholesale but at this point I'd be thrilled to license them and leave production to someone else. Perhaps that is a 2013 list item?

8. We are apparently not going to have a proper winter, I thought one uber cold week was the start, but it is in the high 50s lately with nary a flake in sight. I wouldn't mind one snow day with a quick resolution and no power outages. But I cannot complain that the boys can go outside afterschool - having them cooped up doesn't do anyone (especially me) any favors.

9. Lately I find I am less concerned with homework and content to let them play until dark. As daylight minutes extend, this practice may not hold much longer, but I am so glad they still love to play outside instead of nagging me about video games. (The only reason they don't ask is because we have a no game policy on school nights. Plus we only have a Wii - an item where the true value comes in the threat of removal). But it is nice to have them come to dinner hungry and close to worn out. Because I am pretty worn out by 6:30 too.

10. I'm not proud to say it only took me 5 days to watch all of Downton Abbey Season 1 & 2 & Christmas. And I'm totally hooked - big surprise. I apologize to the fam for all those dirty dishes in the sink...our dishwasher has been running non stop. (Soooo worth it.)

10b. Come back around tomorrow for the review & giveaway of Julia's Child by Sarah Pinneo.

The End.

 

 

Friday Five

Source: dropular.net via stephanie on Pinterest

 

1. Just because I am a borderline obsessive reader, please don't get the wrong impression that there is a trickle down effect in my home. While I think I have properly followed whatever formula grows little readers, namely reading aloud, the results may say otherwise.  Two of my four are reluctant readers.  Owen's class has a bookworm challenge - points for every 50 pages read, which means chapter books! - his pace is slow, but with some encouragement he finished his first one - Pirate School. And all my children's literature snobbery is thrown out the window. Because I would gladly procure multiple cheesy short chapter books for more  "I did it" grins.

2. Happy February!  (How can this be?)

3. The Official New House Search was scheduled to begin February 1st. But there was a request made by the person whose income makes house searching possible to postpone, hence I am waiting. VERY IMPATIENTLY I might add. 

4. Ordered Downton Abbey Season 1 today. Because even though the weather has been pretty mild, I want to be prepared for any future hunkering. And it's still new enough that I can successfully catch up.

5. If you haven't already, check out my giveaway for Paris, My Sweet - it ends in a few hours - and share your favorite treat.  I had one in mind until I read your favorites and decided I love them all. But seriously, tiramisu is my all time fave. For pastry - it is pain au chocolat. Although I also love German pastry Chocolate Schnecke (reminds me of a combo of pain au chocolat and rugelach) which I can't help but pronounce like Chris Farley - Schnikies!

The End.

 

10 on Tuesday: First Half of February

 
1. Smooching: belated Valentine's greetings from our Elmo lovin' Evie. (We are in pigtail training, it's not pretty and I fear she may go bald from pulling out clumps of hair with the clippies. Any advice?)

2. Winning:  the new Allison Pearson book, I THINK I LOVE YOU is Michelle from 1 More Chapter.  I loved reading who everyone's teen idol crush was and I recognized them all. Hee hee. I wonder who Evie's will be...ack!

3. Working on: the planning stages of the school cookbook...the winning company will most likely be the one that allows users to submit recipes online. Um, hello no brainer.

4. Reading: finished The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. Still working on The Winter of our Discontent. It always takes me a while to ramp up when I read Steinbeck and by the time I'm on board, the book is over. Beginning The Nine Tailors. And I guess I have to choose classics for March. Any suggestions?

5. Cooking: made Unstuffed Peppers from a Rachael Ray magazine reader. I changed it a little based on what I had on hand....and we always add more meat. We used:

• 1 cup basmati rice (it calls for long grain/wild)
• 1 pound mild Italian sausage, casings discarded (we used 2 lbs sweet)
• 1 green bell pepper (original called for 2 peppers)
• 1 10-ounce package white mushrooms, sliced (we used baby bellas)
• 1/2 red onion, chopped (it called for a whole one).

If you want more info, I'm happy to email you the instructions since I can't find a link. But you can probably figure out it involves boiling the rice, browning the sausage, cooking the veggies and combining :).

6. Bread making:  deserves it's own post. I took pictures. An overabundance of dough. And then it grew. And grew some more. And we ate a lot of bread. Every day.

7. Book clubbing: we met and selected our 2011 reads. The first is Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. We think it will provide some lively discussion. Roar.

8. Listening: since I still can't find my Ipod, ahem, I am settling for Owen singing his own words to the tune of Arcade Fire's Ready to Start.  O was onto them way before the Grammys, he doesn't know what Grammys are, but he knows what he likes.

9. Planning: our road trip to Nashville to visit dear friends. Do you have a family of besties? What do you call them? (besides their name of course) I think I'll borrow from Charlie & Lola - the Ls are our Favorite and Best.

10. Tomorrow: Trish's Review Trifecta. That's three people ;)

The End.

 

11 on 1-11-11

1. Preparing for snow. Pantry is stocked. Books are standing by. Schools are closing early. Bring it on.

2. My car battery died this morning. Thankfully it was in front of the house, not in the garage.  And Karl was starting my car for me at 7:30, which is about 3 hours earlier than I normally leave the house. AAA came quickly, I drove it to dealer and was back in business by 11am. Quick turnaround left me unable to take advantage of the dealer's free manicure while you wait service. Of course.

3. Working on new designs for The Paper Pear .  Saw similar collage art in PB Kids and Ballard Designs catalogs this week.    Feeling validated instead of discouraged. Also pricing prints for wholesale - found an awesome enviro friendly local printer.

4. Still reading Madame Bovary for classics read-a-long. Anyone else started this one?  Miji described this as "you think it's going to be like Anna K., but it isn't". So far, she's right. (Do not fear it is MUCH shorter.)

5. Made the Spicy Pulled Pork from PW Cooks. That was a big hunka meat - SEVEN pounds of pork. Everyone (the guys) loved it. Say hello to leftovers. It made tons - I'm adding it to my large gathering recipe file. I would have taken pictures but it didn't look as good as it tasted.

6. Eagerly waiting for the arrival of this book to my door:

I love Orla.

7. Did you know I have a small obsession with melamine trays? Here is my latest fave:

Scrimshaw Moby Tray by Thomas Paul @ Velocity Art & Design.

 

8. Evie update: she is extremely busy - talking on the phone, accessorizing (with her dollar store bead necklaces) , cooking (her bead necklace souffle), feeding baby doll (while talking on the phone and baby hangs upside down), closing important business deals. You know, pretty much the same stuff I do except she's more productive.

9. Other things I am working on: slideshow for a PTA meeting, researching a cookbook fundraiser for school (anyone have any experience/recommendations?), locating my missing ipod, clearing off the kitchen counters (hoping to find previous item), doing a large review post for the last 5 books from 2010, finishing the take no prisoners closet/dresser cleanout.

10. As an update to Professor Grant Horner's Bible Reading Plan - turns out my parents are friends with his parents. Not from church but professionally - pre-retirement. I obviously didn't put it together because I only know their first names.  But I do enjoy It's a Small World moments like these. Here is the nifty checklist we are using to keep us on track from takebackyourtemple.

11. There is a house for sale that I love but it is lacking a desired 4th bedroom. Notice I didnt say required. The hubs might say required, but I say squeeze 'em in! I know a lot of people are in the every kid should have their own room school of thought, but we have always had some combination of boys sharing even with 4 brms. We also only have books and music and beds in their rooms - they aren't set up as playrooms or for homework. What are your thoughts on sharing bedrooms? I mean, I have to share mine...

The End.

 

10 on Tuesday: Finding Christmas

1. I have always wanted to simplify at Christmas, but forced simplicity is not so fun. Our tree is 18 inches tall, has no ornaments and sits on a side table. All our decorations are in storage and the effort to get them out, and then have no place for the empty boxes seemed too much. Plus our usual real tree/falling needles/disposal/no extra space issue seemed rather daunting. That nasty stomach bug didn't help either.

2. Our Christmas cards were ordered this week, arrived yesterday and I had to use a picture from 5 months ago. We realized not sending out change of address cards earlier this year may explain why we've only received 3 Christmas cards. Hmph.

3. Apart from getting the cards out (the hardest part of sending them, I think), my main goal - if I do nothing else - is to remember to dig out the stockings from Grandpa's basement on Christmas Eve. Otherwise, we are going to need some puh-retty big socks. And since I don't wear socks, we may be in trouble. Anyone ever seen snow boots hung on the mantel?

4. A little bit of snow would help set the mood for sure - at least the outside would be decorated!  Pajamas inside out. Spoons under the pillows. What other wacky snow day superstitions are there?

5. For Christmas Eve, I'm planning to make this Gingerbread Trifle - recipe found here.

6. Owen's favorite book for the last few months has been Brett Helquist's version of A Christmas Carol.

We have plans for watching multiple versions of the movie, and have already started with the Patrick Stewart one. I would like a marathon of White Christmas alternated with It's a Wonderful Life, but I'm usually outvoted.

7. Project move Christmas CDs onto Ipod is not moving very quickly. Methinks this is a project for the pre-teen in the house who likes gadgetry and repetition.

8. I did not plan well for the boys to be home this week. Two week breaks are nice in theory and I imagine are especially nice if you have travel plans, but not so nice when you have no strategy for three extra bodies hanging around bickering and hungry and stuck indoors.

9. If this post looks like complaining, it's not meant to. It's just a snapshot of this Christmas, this year, when we are in transition and not quite ourselves. I imagine we will add this to our remember whens, not with fondness exactly, but acknowledging with a trace of amusement how bleak and ridiculous it all seemed.

10. Even though Evie is running around with the mini tree skirt on her head and unraveling tape with frightening speed, I am grateful for much - all the usual things and then some. But mostly I am humbled when I remember the Light of the World arrived as a baby, what that means and how the rest of the story unfolds. And then all that other stuff and nonsense falls away.

The End.

10 on Tuesday: Shopping for Books, etc.

1.  Chronicle Books has extended its friends and family 35% off sale. They have some unique titles and gift items and this is a fabulous sale. Use promo code FRIENDS at checkout thru Dec. 12.

2. Don't forget Book Closeouts for discounts on great books.  I have a list of titles and search for them at greatly reduced prices. The only drawback...you probably have to order now to get them in time for Christmas - shipping is not the fastest. But they have such good deals it's worth it if you're prepared.

3. I'm all for bundling. For example, the new Louisa May Alcott bio by Harriet Riesen, combined with this lovely Penguin Classic of Little Women (or this one - love the cover 
combined with a favorite movie version and a set of paper dolls or coloring book  would be a super fun mama/daughter gift. Ditto with any of the classics - Anne of Green Gables, Jane Austens, Sherlock Holmes etc. LEGO would do well to branch out into the land of classics, the nerd in me has already built a Little House on the Prairie settlement out of Lincoln Logs. I'm just saying....

4. I have become well acquainted with several of my local used bookstores and they all have frequent buyer programs for very little money. I think it's $10 a year and buy 3 get the 4th free - the kids love going there too. You should check them out - or put together a little used bookstore daytrip with girlfriends. Plan a route, have some lunch, usually used stores are in cool parts of town with other indy shops and you can discover hidden treasures close to home.

5. Besides just reading, books make great decorations. Stack books (without jackets) to give height to picture frames, glass jars filled with ornaments or other seasonal decor, or as a centerpiece with those nifty flameless candles. (paper + fire = bad idea) This is also where used bookstores are awesome - you can get old copies of A Christmas Carol or other classics.

6. A bookclub basket for a reading mama or grammy.  My choices would include: What Alice Knew by Paula Marantz Cohen, Every Last Thing by Anna Quindlan, Bloodroot by Amy Greene, Starting from Scratch by Susan Gilbert-Collins, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson, The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin, Saving Ceecee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman, Room by Emma Donoghue, and A Novel Bookstore by Lawrence Cosse. And anything by Beth Kephart.

Oh look, those are my favorites from this year!

7. Cookbooks. I never buy them for myself anymore. But I love to get them. Oh yes I do. These caught my eye and would go great paired with a kitchen tool or baking dish or new dishtowels. I started to list some here, got carried away, and it will be a new post tomorrow...

8. Books in art - my fave is Jane Mount. Check out her etsy shop for The Ideal Bookshelf.

9. For a family with a newborn or young children, I think these compilations that suggest even more books are great. A Family of Readers: The Book Lover's Guide to Children and Young Adult Literature by Roger Sutton or The Book Tree, or the Read Aloud Handbook.

See also What to Read and When by Pam Allyn.

10. If you haven't signed up for Amazon Prime yet, I must recommend it.  For $79 you are guaranteed 2 day no more cost shipping all year. And while it turns out to be worth it just for Christmas, I am thankful I did it each time I order. It's a keeper and might be someone's favorite gift that keeps on giving.

10 on Tuesday: Where I've Been

1. My computer has been wonky and wasn't playing nice with typepad. All better now. Thank you tech support, aka the hubs.

2. We had an anniversary (14). And it was quietly celebrated with sushi and wine following an evening of soccer practice and homework. Love you, K.

3. No trick or treating for us this year.  No one was especially sad about that. We did a hayride/fall party on Saturday afternoon and that seemed to do the trick, um treat.

4. Owen was learning about mummies in school while studying Egypt. His fifth grade buddy wrapped him in toilet paper as part of the lesson. I highly recommend mummifying the littles if you're looking for a rainy day activity.

5. My fall splurge: shoes from here, purse was on sale at Nordstrom and now I can't find a link. If you see the word splurge, you can rest assured it's either going to be shoes or purses.

6. Reading some good books these days:  Madame Bovary newly trans by Lydia Davis ; The Heroine's Bookshelf; and The Tin Ticket by Deborah J. Swiss. I'll have more to say about them soon.

7. Also coming soon....my holiday list series - some books, some etsy, and other cool stuff all found online.

8. The return of Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Shortbread Star Cookies. I may have to do a giveaway for those of you that are TJ's deprived. Seriously.

9. 

Evie...what can I say about our girlie. She loves raspberries, baby dolls, and was last seen putting a coffee sleeve on her sippy cup. We are all entranced.

10.    

   Finally, I wanted to share my new etsy shop : The Paper Pear. It was a lot more work than I anticipated but I'm happy with the progress. I love old books, I love paper, and I love cutting & pasting. So I started making cut paper designs using old hymnals, dictionaries, and classics. All of the pieces are original, not prints.  My lovely readers can expect an extra treat if they order. Just add the phrase  "I read lit chick" in the message to seller.

That's all for now...

The End.

 

 

10 on Tuesday: to do list

  bookish owl notepad by stephanie fizer

Friends, please forgive the indulgence of using the blog for listmaking but it happens to have 10 items...

1. Shower. I realize it may seem like an odd thing to actually put on a list, but it will feel good to check something off...and be clean. :) Are you with me?

2. Vacuum out the truck. Can't do it with E in her seat or she'll freak. How I love those high-powered vacs though.

3. Go for a walk. Taking your advice, dear Katy. Going to explore some more of the neighborhood. It's a cool, damp day and lil E has a bit of congestion but I think fresh air tips the scales in favor of a walk.

4. Changing our voting info so we can participate on election day. Must get the paperwork ready and deliver tomorrow.  Too bad this can't be done online...I understand why, but feeling lazy.

5. Make Caleb a dentist appt. He has a cavity, I am not looking forward to this.

6. Read Anna Karenina. This book has made it's way onto my to-do list. So I can be reminded each passing day that bookclub is coming closer. And I am not making much progress.

7. Send our property manager a list of fixes. Small items that nag. The list grows.

8. Kill some flies, check for ants. We are serious crumb droppers, but have never experienced anything like this before. I kill lots of flies and find lots of ants. It grosses me out. And I declare WAR.

9. Gather materials for Caleb's project. Creating a board game from a historical fiction book (Detectives in Togas). He sketched out the idea and rough draft yesterday. Tonight is construction - times like this I am so glad I have gobs of scrapbooking and crafty things.

10. Dinner tonight. I am currently without plan. We have been doing a good job the past few weeks of meal planning which is about to come to an abrupt halt. Time to pull out the tried & true. Maybe soup? Or jambalaya. Something involving one pot for sure. Total score  - just found TJ's Mahi Mahi Burgers in the freezer plus sweet potatoes (think fries). Woohoo!  And so it goes...

What's on your list?

The End.

 

10 on Tuesday: Fall Funk

1. I'm in a bit of a funk. Former house related - I miss it.

2. I think one way to overcome it would be a little scrapbooking. Definitely more constructive and healthier than say, baking something with lots of chocolate.

3. Went to Hershey Park last weekend. And ran into several people we know - isn't it weird to see familiar faces far from home?  One of the families we stumbled upon were our favorite neighbors. Actually ran into them while making a  pre road trip bagels & coffee run and realized we were both headed to the same place. It was good to hang out with them again. Sigh.

4. Loving the blog Small Notebook. Manageable and usable advice kindly given for living with less. I'm particularly fond of this post:   How To Make Things Harder and Do Nothing. Scary when it seems a stranger is privy to your inner workings.

5. I fawned over the latest John Derian goodies at Target yesterday. Specifically school/office supplies (like I need those).Oh my.

6. Finished this:  Room by Emma Donoghue - currently shortlisted for the Booker Prize, definitely getting a lot of hype. After a few days of sitting with my thoughts on this one...it's a stunner. But not in a cheap thrill kind of way. Powerful and brilliant and masterfully done. Skip reading too many descriptions and try to read it straight through (it's hard to put down).

7. Almost finished with  What Alice Knew by Paula Marantz Cohen - historical fiction/mystery. Good stuff.

8. Here's our girlie... waiting and watching for her brothers.

9. Visited Lower School Chapel today - the 3rd grade (our Caleb)- performing Noah's Ark. Kids singing in bathrobes with stuffed animals can brighten any morning.

10. What do you do when you are feeling blue?

The End.

10 on Tuesday: Running Late as Usual...

Thought I'd show you what is catching my eye this week in books and life, with a distinctly homekeeping/cooking slant. My nesting is not a result of pregnancy, I promise. I blame September.

1. My new favorite bookish website, a total lifesaver/timesaver for me - Any New Books. Subscribe and get weekly emails with all the new titles you wish. Ahh..Enabling at it's finest.

2. Found thanks to Any New Books... The Farm Chicks Christmas.

3. Making today:  dinner for a friend with a new baby.  Tortellini soup with turkey meatballs. And an apple crisp. Trying out some newfangled paper baking dish...is it bad that I smell burnt paper instead of warm apples? 

4. Things we are loving from Trader Joes's...the salt and pepper rice chips dipped in TJ's white bean tuscan hummus.  Nectarines.  Mahi Mahi burgers. I put blackened seasoning in some mayo, add mixed greens and the kids are downing some serious fish burgers. Hooray!

5. Finished Atlas of Love last week - loved the narrator's perspective on life as a story. Also reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (my prediction for Oprah's next book club pick-tba Sept 17) and Emily Hudson by Melissa Jones. Started The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise by Julia Stuart, and I must say so far, I'm not impressed.  Total bummer. I'm only sticking with it because Books on the Nightstand loved it and they are usually right.

6. Tangled Web: Through My Friend Amy, stumbled on the Rabbit Room, and then to artist Evie Coates' blog where I have been lost for the last day or so. And it's nice to find another lovely Evie in the world.

7. Our Evie has taken to wearing a green bucket on her head.

8. Currently: giving up our garage in order to get all the unpacked remnants out of daily living spaces. It was weighing me down spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Now I get to clean the garage, but it is much better than tripping over boxes and feeling like our house is not a home.

9. My back to school present to myself was this:

the other side says i heart nerds. And yes, the canvas is lined like kindergarten writing paper.

10. This week: Out the house - back to school night, family night at church, opening day for soccer season, and a back to school picnic. In the house - the start of soup making season and trying not to be late for all out the house activities.

What's new in your world this week?