Must have done something good

Do you watch Oprah? I mostly avoid her. It's not that I don't admire her for all the right reasons, it's just that I've been traumatized one too many times by those episodes that feature unthinkable things and personal experiences you just never want to know about. It's the same reason I stopped watching ER two episodes in and why you couldn't pay me to watch Dateline or any local news. Ever. I'm a little sensitive.

Moving on. My girlfriend, Melissa, tipped me off to today's Oprah. Set your Tivos, friends, if you're a super freak fan of The Sound of Music. It's REUNION TIME - Oprah style. I'm so excited to see the cast come together and talk about the experience they had in that magical village of Salzburg.

Subject for another post: My husband proposed in the original gazebo where the Captain and Maria danced and sang in the moonlight. It was a crazy, romantic and totally surprising experience. It's also a long story that I'll save for another day. But that's why that sweet little music box sits in our living room. (Thanks, Mel.)

Unexpected inspiration

A couple weeks ago, we visited my alma mater to see Michael Moore accept the Steinbeck Award, which is given each year to an artist, thinker or activist who has made a significant contribution to causes that matter to the common person. Really, it's a fitting tribute to a man who dedicated his writing life to shining a light on the plights of ordinary and often, marginalized people among us.

It's been said that John Steinbeck was the conscience of our country. I think there is painful beauty in that idea. And there is possibly nothing our culture needs more these days than a bit of a conscience.  

Setting politics aside, which admittedly is hard to do when in the midst of such a passionate man, Michael Moore's  story is inspiring. I took away so much from the evening and poignant moments from the entire experience continue to flood back for than a week later. The power of story telling. The importance of courage, (and outrage.)

But what struck me most, is the fact that Moore created his first documentary "Roger and Me" as a complete amateur. He had absolutely no experience in film, but he felt the need to tell a story for a community of American auto-workers who could not. I admit, I'm a total sucker for an underdog and Michael Moore is surely no longer an underdog, but he started out that way. He had an idea and didn't let a lack of experience or credentials stand in his way. I would love to have a wee bit of that courage and crazy confidence. 

Seasonal blues

Two images above from Scout & Catalogue.

This started out as a post about how bent out of shape I am about the change of seasons. My mood has not entirely improved from yesterday. I've been cold for a week and I'm already bored. I'm not up for boots or cozy sweaters and I certainly don't want the added responsibility of carrying an umbrella, just in case. I want to live where sundresses can be worn all year round and flip flops are the only form of shoes required. 

Thankfully, I found Scout & Catalogue. They get their inspiration from the bohemian beach culture of Mexico. Sign me up. I'll be planning my escape and stashing all the essentials in that bag. And by essentials, I mean that lovely blue scarf that will double as my everyday wrap/cover up, sandals and sunglasses. Who's with me?

Image above of scribbles from my studio.

In wholly unrelated news, I played with art supplies yesterday. It was an hour of magic and temporarily pulled me out of my funky mood.  Do you have any go-to attitude adjustment activities? I'll take all the tips I can get.

Hoping for a rainbow

I'd call it a case of the Mondays, but these blues have been chasing me for nearly a week. I'm seriously hoping for a change in attitude and perspective soon. So, Universe, consider this my official request.

Emerson and the neighbor boys drew huge double rainbows last week and they made the best welcome home vision at the end of each day. Steady rain washed away their sidewalk chalk, but for a quick second on Saturday I spotted out the kitchen window all the colors running together. It was a rather glorious moment in an otherwise unremarkable weekend.

P.S. Does anyone care that the San Francisco Giants are headed to the World Series? I was raised on a steady diet of the orange and black, but I haven't followed them with any passion since junior high school. (I had a major crush on then first basemen Will Clark and used to bring binoculars to the games so I could track his every facial expression).

I really only bring this up because my grandparents would have been over the moon with the Saturday night win over the Philly's. Seriously, champagne would have been popped in their condo. They were lifelong fans. I miss them hard this time of year. And maybe that explains my dark shadow this past week and my absence around these bloggy parts.

Celebrate

Today is my seven-year wedding anniversary. I'd be lying if I said I didn't really want one of those cream puffs for dinner tonight. And that I wouldn't mind having a bouquet of flowers to match my bridal bouquet. And that I'd totally put my wedding gown on tonight if there was a chance in hell I could zip it shut. And that I still tear up at the sound of a bag pipe player.

But, honestly, I wouldn't turn back time for anything. I'm so much happier in quite possibly every aspect of my life today. Growing up has that strange affect, I think.

Happy October 18, lovey.

P.S. Don't beat yourself up if you're feeling jealous of my awesome scrapbooking skills. Please tell me someone else keeps their most cherished photos in a warped plastic box that won't close.

Deep and meaningful thoughts

Illustration via Miss Capricho.

Now that it's fall I'm growing my hair out. But Miss Capricho's lovely illustrations make me lust for the scissors. A sassy little bob is always so chic. Don't you agree?

Questionable influence

Emerson is 2 and half today. Technically, she can take ballet and tap lessons at our local dance studio. I've been counting off the days for several months and happily anticipating the moment when I could buy her first little leotard and slippers. That day has arrived and now I'm not so sure.

Hindsight being painfully clear, I can now see the paths we take in early childhood are often more a reflection of our parents' participation and interests, for good or ill. And today I'm feeling the weight of that power.

Did you struggle in choosing your children's first "organized" activities? Could I possibly be over-thinking this? After all, maybe a tutu is just a tutu.

Recipe recap

Feeling awfully thankful to be back among the functioning this Monday morning. I managed a wee bit of kitchen time to make my favorite soup as part of Michelle's fall recipe exchange. It did not disappoint. A little chef's note: I had mine with dill and heavy cream and my husband enjoyed his with cilantro and sour cream. Both combinations worked well.

Today, check out Danielle at domestic dish to see what she is cooking up. We have two more weeks of cooking inspiration to look forward to.

Sunday's soup

I've been looking forward to making this veggie root soup for weeks. It's a cool weather favorite of mine. Which means it goes perfectly with crusty bread, a cheese plate and a chunky sweater. So I jumped on Michelle's fall recipe exchange and made big plans to promote the other ladies who signed up to share some kitchen inspiration.

And then I got the flu. I promise, you do not want to hear one single detail about my week. Trust that I did hit the grocery store with every intention of whipping up soup but only got so far as documenting the major ingredients. Hope to be functioning at the stove this weekend. Until then, please do check out the recipes that were featured all this week and know that there are two more weeks of mouth-watering dishes to come. And if you give the Winter Warmer Soup a go do let me know what you think. It's perfect comfort food in my book.  

Recipe's featured this week:
Oct 4 - Michelle - Pretty Mommy

Oct 5 - Torrie - a place to share...

Oct 6 - Katie - the30girl.com

Oct 7 - Karen- http://itallstartedatmothers.blogspot.com

Winter Warmer Soup from The New Vegetarian Cookbook by Roz Denny.

Serves 6
3 medium carrots, chopped
1 large potato, chopped
1 large parsnip, chopped
1 large turnip or small rutabaga, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp butter
6 cups water
salt and black ground pepper
1 piece fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 1/4  cups milk
3 tbsp heavy cream, sour cream or plain yogurt
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

1. Put the carrots, potato, parsnip, turnip or rutabaga and onion into a large saucepan with the oil and butter. Fry lightly, then cover and sweat the vegetables on a very low heat for 15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.

2. Pour in the water, bring to a boil and season well. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes until vegetables are soft.

3. Strain the vegetables, reserving the stock, add the ginger and puree in a food processor or blender until smooth.

4. Return the puree and stock to the pan. Add the milk and stir while the soup gently reheats.

5. Remove from the heat, stir in the heavy cream, sour cream or yogurt plus the dill, and extra seasoning, if necessary. Reheat the soup, if needed, but do not allow it to boil, as it may curdle.


More cooking inspiration to come:

Oct 11 - Danielle - domestic dish

Oct 12 - Chassity - Look Linger Love

Oct 13 - Rebecca - Reluctant Floridian

Oct 14 - Elisabeth - You Plus Me Equals

Oct 15 - Jora -- Domestic Reflections

Oct 18 - Catherine - Rikshaw Design

Oct 19 - Abby - 5th Joy

Oct 20 - Stephanie - Scrumptious

Oct 21 - Jennifer - whiskitgood.com

Oct 22 - Kate - butthesqueal.blogspot.com

Oct 25 - Tina - Bull In A China Shop

Oct 26 - Kim - Lighter and Local 

Oct 27 - Elaine - Mama Seasonings
Oct 28 - Jess - Shades of Sunshine

Oct 29 - Michelle - Studio Surface, The Blog
Nov 4 - Miya - You Plus Me Equals 

Morning light

Last week I woke up to the most lovely early morning sunlight streaming through the kitchen window. It was a little bit of magic bouncing off the dirty dishes. It made my day.

Friends, I'm slowly getting over the flu. I miss you terribly. Hope to be back in blogging action soon. Hope all is well.

Class reunion equals offensive fashion

When Michelle at Studio Surface suggested a walk down memory lane, I jumped at the chance to relive the early 90s. But true to my high school style, I thought about the project all week and then waited until about 10 p.m. last night to get started. So today may as well be my high school French class final exam and I just slept through my alarm clock. It seems, some habits never die.

Here are the Cliff Notes to my more consistent fashion offenses: I was a friend to the hot roller for special occasions and never missed an opportunity to wear black velvet. I also rocked white fluffy socks with maroon penny loafers for two consecutive years and I was NEVER without a scrunchy on my wrist. I was uncharacteristically confident in a white denim mini and happily added shoulder pads to nearly every t-shirt. I fancied myself terribly sophisticated.

Rest assured, I've got a lot of material stored in the archives for future embarrassing posts. For example, I could dig deep to junior high and show you my large, pink eye glasses. Those were cute. But I'll have to work on my time management skills to prepare for that. For now, please check out the brave ladies below. And big thanks to Michelle for encouraging a bit of fun this morning. (Feel free to admit any of your own fashion follies from the tween/teen years).

Michelle at Studio Surface

Beth at Hello Splendor

Danielle at Elleinad Spir

Torrie at A Place to Share

The things we remember

Emerson and I had a picnic at a favorite garden last weekend. It turned out better than I could have planned. The koi fish had a million babies that were all fighting for our fish food, along with two precocious baby turtles. 

Emerson loved roaming the pathways that lead to various balconies, tea rooms and a forest of bamboo. But we both ended up quite taken with the water fall. It was shaded and cool had just the right element of danger to intrigue little E's adventurous side. She could not get enough of hopping from one stone to the next while crossing back and forth through the stream. It was good fun.

The experience has had me thinking all week of first memories, since I was about Emerson's age when I claimed mine. My mom and I were visiting friends in England and their daughter had a pretty awesome fort in her bedroom. It was pure magic under that roof of sheets. I remember feeling as though I had woken up to my life as I crawled out of that hideaway. It's a fantastic visual that I cherish.

During our walk, I collected this leaf on our way to the water fall and eventually let it float along, down the winding stream and into the koi pond. This absolutely devastated my girl. She cried and reached for that yellow leaf and worried for days about its whereabouts. I must have told her a dozen times that the leaf was safe in the pond and that it really hadn't been ours to begin with. It belonged to the garden.

I just can't imagine how she will not forever remember that day and the leaf that got away. But countless ordinary moments with her are some of the most spectacular I have ever experienced and she surely won't recall any of those. They are my memories. How is it that these past two and a half years will someday be just a part of her collective psyche but not exist in her memory? And now I wonder what that first memory will be for her.

What is your first memory? Is is ordinary or spectacular? Have you ever shared it with your parents and were they surprised by the event or activity that made such an impact?