Today I am grateful for: family fun time, sleeping in my own bed, being able to be flexible, libraries, the candle that makes my living room smell good, Lincoln Park At Midnight (my current fave nail polish), La Brea Bakery sourdough, falling leaves, and independent films.

2010 Goals: October Progress

I set specific 2010 goals so here's an update on my October progress.

Read/Write/Blog
1. I read 9 books this month, so that's 73 books from January - October. I'm on track to read 100 books this year.

2. My writer's group caught up over coffee and went to an author reading. We heard Andre Dubus III read from his forthcoming memoir Townie. It was a phenomenal reading, probably the best one I've ever been to. I loved his book House of Sand and Fog (read my review here). This was also a milestone year for my MFA writing program, so I went to an event to celebrate it and saw many of my former classmates, teachers, and mentor.

3. Yes, I am happy to report a poetry submission for October. I've been a bit sporadic in my submissions and I figure a little something is better than a lot of nothing. I average 50 rejections per acceptance, so if I want to get something published I need to get a lot of rejections first.

4. This is my 152nd post of the year, so all is on schedule for me to meet my goal of 200 posts this year.

Healthy
5. I met my goals of participating in 2 races, raise money for a worthy cause, and go outside my comfort zone. I have participated in four races: Earth Day 5K, Girls on the Run 5K, Race for the Cure 5K (where I raised money with my Furiously Walking team), and in September I participated in a Half Marathon! October was a lot more relaxed, with yoga, walks and some more walks.

6. My original goal was to eat vegetarian 90% of the time. This month I did not keep track of how many meat vs. vegetarian meals I ate. I'm still enjoying produce from the CSA and trying to cook healthy meals. I made spaghetti squash (based on Facebook suggestions) from the CSA and it was terrific. I made spaghetti squash from the grocery store and it wasn't nearly as good.

Fun & Friends
7. A new thing I tried in September was visiting the "What Makes Us Laugh?" exhibit at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. It was my first time at the museum and I really enjoyed the exhibit and laughed and smiled a lot. The museum features a lot of work by non-professional artists, mostly of the self-taught variety.

8. I exceeded my goal of seeing friends at least once a week. I went on walks with a friend, got a fancy pedicure with a friend, went to a baby shower, a new life/housewarming party, and attended an alumni event for my undergrad university.

9. My Heart's Desire and I had a pretty low-profile month. We went to a wedding (the last of the 2010 weddings, as far as I know) on a perfect fall day. We also enjoyed going on walks, watching movies, and made our first fire of the fall on Halloween Eve.

10. Photo taken of My Heart's Desire and I? No. Maybe we could get a decent photo of us taken in November but I'm not holding my breath.

Bonus! It's All Relative.
11. My father-in-law came down for a weekend and stayed with us one night. We all went out with My Heart's Desire's aunt and uncle and cousins and toddler for dinner (kabobs, of course). It was very nice that My Heart's Desire and his dad got to spend some time together.

I liked The Magician's Assistant so much that I kept my eye out for other work by Ann Patchett. Then I read this article about her life and home in The New York Times that made me want to apply for the unofficial writer's retreat at her cozy home in Nashville. Or at least sit on her porch and drink tea.

I enjoyed her nonfiction book Truth and Beauty. It was good, but I was blown away by Bel Canto. I know this was a big book when it came out but for some reason I had been reluctant to read it. I got into it right away and read the whole book in one day (on two flights). Interesting story and really beautiful writing. 74-75/100

Last Night at Chateau Marmont

I was looking for a light, fluffy read and Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger fit the bill perfectly. I did not like The Devil Wears Prada novel or read her other books, so my expectations were pretty low. Fine, Last Night at Chateau Marmont was on sale and you know I love a bargain. It's about a nutritionist who works two jobs to support her singer-songwriter musician husband, and his decade of hard work turns him into an overnight success. Success, fame, and paparazzi soon follow. For what it was - a gossipy, fast read, it was pretty good. 73/100

The holidays have arrived... in the mailbox!

Last week My Heart's Desire and I noticed that the holidays have started to arrive via catalogs in our mailbox. We already have received at least a dozen catalogs, from Crate & Barrel to Heifer International. We have decided to save them all from now until Christmas Day and see how many we get, with a friendly wager. I bet that we will receive 44lbs of catalogs (oh, our poor mail carrier!) and he put his wager on 25lbs.

Promises to Keep

I liked Jane Green's early books, like Jemima J, so much that I have read most of her books, hoping against hope for the good stuff. Alas, I'm still waiting. I got Promises to Keep from the library, having learned my lesson many novels ago that they aren't worth cold, hard cash or even warm, soft gift cards. 72/100

Hallelujah! The Welcome Table

I listened to Maya Angelou's Hallelujah! The Welcome Table and was utterly charmed. Read by the author, I loved hearing her tales and found this book a real treat. Any reader will feel Maya's love for food, writing, and travel (from Stamps, AR to Italy). The only downside? Now I'm craving caramel cake. 71/100

Today I am grateful for the lovely flowers My Heart's Desire surprised me with last night, a good night's sleep, magazines, beautiful fall days, honeycrisp apples, bargains at the library used book store (this week I bought 7 books for $16 - I used a coupon!), that it's almost flannel time, jazz, and knowing that the only constant in life is change.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender is a novel about Rose, a girl who can taste what people are feeling when she eats what they've cooked. A gift or a curse, Rose fears what she'll find out in every bite of food cooked by someone she knows, and seeks out junk food made my machines. Rose has her own struggles growing up and a complicated home life. This book was pretty good. 70/100

The Magician's Assistant

Ann Patchett's The Magician's Assistant is a beautiful novel that does everything right - characters, plot, action. Sabine is the title character, and Parsifal the magician was her companion and friend for 20 years. After Parsifal's lover dies, Parsifal and Sabine marry. When he dies (I'm not giving anything away, the first line of the book is "Parsifal is dead") she discovers he was not the family-less orphan he claimed to be. Tender, funny, and touching, this book was the best I've listened to in ages. 69/100

Om

In the spring, when my half marathon training kicked off, I realized I wanted to be outside more. So I quit the gym, happy to be no longer paying the monthly dues, and saw the world as my gym. Well, the world and some workout DVDs I borrowed from Netflix. Considering what I paid for swimming and race fees, it probably worked out to the same amount of money, but because I had so many different experiences, I feel like I got a lot more.

Since I am done with the walk/run training (yay! but I do miss it sometimes), I've been keeping my eye out for something new to try. When there was a deal for 10 yoga classes for $29, I bought them. I've done yoga with Rodney Yee for ages. I had a VHS tape of his A.M. yoga, which I actually wore out after watching and rewinding it for years and years so I replaced it with a DVD.

The yoga classes I've taken before were either at my fancy gym in L.A., or at a hippie studio that smells like nag champa. So that's what I was expecting when I went to the fitness studio for my yoga classes. Instead, I found a youngish guy who said peace about 15 times in 50 minutes and we practiced yoga to Bob Marley. No nag champa, no hippies, not even a dreadlock!

Mama Said

When I was in high school, I was surprised when my boyfriends (aged seventeen or eighteen) would be interested in playing video games with my little brother, who was then eleven or twelve. At first I thought they were just trying to get in good with the family by being nice to my little bro, then I realized that they were geniunely having fun.

My mom told me then that some guys, no matter what their age, are just big boys. The last three books I listened to proved her point.

Jonathan Lethem's Men and Cartoons: Stories wasn't my favorite. Some stories were clever "The Spray," being the standout. The rest of the stories were uneven. I was midly amused by You Don't Love Me Yet, which could best be described as lad lit with a touch of Details magazine. 66-67/100

The Way Home by George Pelecanos takes place in and around D.C., features a middle-class teenaged boy who lands in a reformatory for juvenilles, and when he comes out, he's not still a boy but definitely not a man. Overwritten and tedious, I only finished listening to this book because I couldn't get to the library. 68/100

Today I got up early, made fruit salad, took it to a baby shower, aww-ed over tiny booties, tub toys, and onesies, visited a garage sale across the street from the shower, returned a cardigan, went purse shopping at Filene's (no luck), came home and made a spicy black bean/corn dip, went to a housewarming/new life together celebration for the youth minister at my church who teaches Sunday School with me, chatted up the proverbial storm, came home and shared Chinese food with My Heart's Desire and watched some guilty pleasure television.

A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White is a good novel. Almost great. This book explores the complicated relationship between two half sisters who grow up together, until a plane crash tears their family apart. The younger sister is sent to live with her aunt in San Francisco, while her sister goes to live with her dad and his new family in southern Virginia. I read this book in 48 hours, then called my honorary grandma to tell her about it. 65/100

2010 Goals: September Progress

I set specific 2010 goals so here's an update on my September progress.

Read/Write/Blog
1. I read 5 books this month, so that's 63 books from January - September. I am confident I will soon reach my goal of reading 100 books this year!

2. I met with half of my writing group in September, and we caught up over coffee and went to an author reading. We heard Carolyn Parkhurst read from The Nobodies Album. I updated my essay for the Real Simple's contest. And...

3. I submitted the essay to the Real Simple contest! Finally, a submission! Now, to focus on a submission mailing.

4. This is my 139th post of the year, so 200 posts this year will likely be here before I know it.

Healthy
5. My goals were: participate in 2 races, raise money for a worthy cause, and go outside my comfort zone. I have participated in four races: Earth Day 5K, Girls on the Run 5K, Race for the Cure 5K (where I raised money with my Furiously Walking team), and in September I participated in a Half Marathon -- way outside my comfort zone! My summer was a blur of long, early-morning Saturday run/walks and shorter training run/walks during the week.

6. My original goal was to eat vegetarian 90% of the time. This month I did not keep track of how many meat vs. vegetarian meals I ate. I focused more on healthy meals, eating plenty of fruits and veggies, and consider myself a flexitarian for now.

Fun & Friends
7. A new thing I tried in September was going canoeing with My Heart's Desire. Of course My Heart's Desire has a canoe (paddles, life jackets, etc.) and we strapped it to his car, picked up sandwiches, and drove to a local lake. For the first time ever, I went canoeing and we paddled around the lake. Then we ate our sandwiches on a bench in the sunshine.

8. Seeing friends. I met my goal of seeing friends at least once a week. I went to a lovely wedding, dined on paella with my honorary grandmother, went to brunch, and celebrated a friend's birthday.

9. My Heart's Desire and I did have fun this month (see #7). We also went for walks, hung out at home, and had weekend breakfasts together.

10. Photo taken of My Heart's Desire and I? No. I'm considering making this a 2011 goal.

Mercury in Retrograde

Amazon recommended Paula Froelich's Mercury in Retrograde to me. After reading the reviews I decided to wait until I stumbled across it at the used bookstore. Lo and behold, I did and parted with $2 for the paperback.

It's easy to tell this novel is written by the former editor of Page 6 and is liberally sprinkled with horoscopes for the various characters, which wasn’t my favorite. $2 is the most I could part with for a book like this. Three stock heroines, a plucky journalist (is there any other kind?) of the Bridget Jones variety, a brave but scared attorney (professionally successful, personal life a blank), and the requisite socialite (financial cutoff from parents ensues shortly). If you need a book to read and leave on a flight for eight quarters or less, look no further. 64/100

Today I went for a quick walk/jog (the first real jog since my half marathon two weeks ago), made a Green Monster for breakfast, for the first time in a long time, when I left for work I was chilly and needed a jacket, said hello to fall, worked, bought honey crisp apples at the farm stand, considered pre-ordering Mariah Carey's new Christmas album (I love holiday music and am already working on this year's mix), hung out with My Heart's Desire, and wished it was chilly enough to require a fire.

Operation Beautiful

I really love the premise behind Operation Beautiful - change the way you see, not the way you look.

What a radical idea! I even participated in Operation Beautiful by leaving a note last year.

This self-love book is broad and covers a wide variety of topics. I'll always support messages that encourage women to love themselves and treat their bodies like friends, not enemies! I'd recommend this book for girls in late high school and college-age women. 63/100

Saturday

Today I woke up and read magazines for an hour, stared at the lush green of the leaves outside my window, met some old friends and new for brunch, browsed at one of my favorite consignment shops, returned a book I couldn't get into to the library, picked up a birthday cake (carrot) for a friend's milestone birthday tomorrow, did some laundry, made an appointment for a decent (read: expensive) haircut, talked to Dad, had leftover Thai spicy eggplant for dinner (just as good on the second day), went for a walk with My Heart's Desire around the neighborhood, read, and am going to bed early.

Sneaking in under the wire

Back in July, I mentioned that I was writing an essay for the Real Simple’s Third-Annual Life Lessons Essay Contest. I thought I would submit it in August, but I was too busy traveling.

I don't suppose it would hurt to mention that Real Simple is my favorite of all the magazines.

Tonight, I snuck in under the wire and submitted my (yes, revised) essay. Yay for deadlines!

Today I am grateful for: bookstores, having a tiny commute, laughing at myself when I won't buy a drugstore mascara without a coupon, Trader Joe's Irish Breakfast tea, Spa Week coming up next month, pashminas, lovely weather, clean laundry, old school jams, sharpies, my self-care cards that my mom gave me about 10 years ago, and fresh fall apples.

A photo is worth a hundred blisters

2010 Goal #5: I did my best

The Nobodies Album

The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst is a clever, thoughtful, well written whodunit, if a bit over literary at times. She explores the relationship between a mother (a successful writer who re-writes the endings to all of her books) and her estranged son, a famous rock musician accused of murdering his girlfriend. This book delves into their tragic past and intrigues the reader. Compared to her previous work, I enjoyed this book more than Lost and Found and almost as much as Dogs of Babel. 62/100

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a well written YA novel that will open your heart and break it. This semiautobiographical story is about Junior, a 14 year old growing up on a reservation near Spokane, Washington, who wants more. After a teacher recognizes the fire inside this often picked on kid, Junior transfers to the rural school twenty-two miles and a whole other world away. The only other Indian there is the school mascot. Junior straddles both worlds until he plays basketball for his new school against his old school. I read this short book (with illustrations) in one sitting and I'm still thinking about how good it is. 61/100

Fly Away Home

Well written, honest, and touching, Jennifer Weiner's Fly Away Home was the best novel I've read since Moloka'i. My honorary grandmother lent it to me and she liked it at least as much as I did. This book went beyond the scorned political wife story and opened up the hearts and minds of three women (the wife and her two adult daughters) and what happens after. Each of the women finds herself in a difficult situation and has hard decisions to make. Finding out what choices they each make and why is captivating. 60/100

2010 Goals: August Progress

I set specific 2010 goals so here's an update on my August progress.

As I mentioned, I was a traveling fool in August. I visited four cities — New Orleans and Phoenix for work and Denver and New York for fun. I did not blog much during my travels and then I came home exhausted. I'm very happy to be home and back to the usual. It really took me a while to become un-jet lagged and unwind.

Read/Write/Blog
1. I read 4 books this month, raising my yearly total to 58. I will post some more books that I've read soon. My goal of reading 100 books this year - I'm coming for you!

2. My writing group scheduled a meeting in September. I wrote an essay for Real Simple's contest. One of the writing group members critiqued it and I owe her an updated draft.

3. Submit... I had no idea that this would be as cumbersome a chore as it is. Well, I did not meet my goal of submitting once in August. But I'm on for September!

4. This is my 128th post of the year, so I'll take an educated guess that I'll post 200 times this year by Thanksgiving.

Healthy
5. I will be run/walking a half marathon later this month! It seemed so far away when I started training for it this spring and signed up for it this summer. My longest run so far was 11.6 miles on Monday and I was beat when it was over! And my feet! So sore! I think the sneakers I've been training in are shot. I'm going to do my best to break a new pair of the same style in so I can wear them in the race.

My workout goal for August was 31 workouts! I went for walks, I did Yoga, I swam, I went for walk/jogs, I worked out in hotel gyms, and at rec centers, and even went for a 7.5 mile walking/jogging tour of New York City! 31 was a very ambitious goal and I got in 26 workouts!

6. This month I did not keep track of how many meat vs. vegetarian meals I ate. I definitely ate way more meat than I have been and ate vegetarian meals a whole lot more than not. I'm still reevaluating my kibosh on eating meat regularly and trying to figure out how I can be healthier.

Fun & Friends
7. This month I tried new foods and lots of them. For the first time, I had barbequed shrimp and beignets, neither at all healthy but amazingly delicious!. It's a good thing I walked everywhere in New Orleans. I also took a big leap out of my comfort zone by signing up for a running (though in my case, mostly walking with a little jogging) tour of NYC through City Running Tours. It was great!

8. Seeing friends. Even though I was gone a lot, I still exceeded my goal of seeing friends at least once a week. Good times all the way around! I went to a bridal shower and saw lots of lovely ladies, saw a friend from college who I haven's seen in ages, went to a Mad Men-themed party at a museum, went to a cookout, and went to New York City for a super fun weekend with one of my friends! I love New York and came home with a moderate case of New York envy.

9. My Heart's Desire and I didn't see each other in August as much as we usually do. And we had to spend a lot of our time together doing errands or chores. We did have plans to go out to brunch at a new restaurant I've wanted to try for restaurant week, but I cancelled the reservation after I decided I'd rather stay home and lounge instead.

10. Photo taken of My Heart's Desire and I? Nope.

11. Bonus! It's All Relative.
I had family fun with my sister and her husband, my mom, my dad and stepmom. It was all terrific! I also got to see one of my favorite aunts who I hadn't seen in too long.

Heart of the Matter

Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin is an after school special for adults. Maybe you haven't heard breaking news— marriage is complicated at times, especially when there are children, private school and egos involved. I really wanted a light, fluffy, enjoyable read (which her other books were) but I was disappointed by this very special tale. 59/100

Today I am grateful that I am done traveling for a little while, doing Yoga this am, a Green Monster for breakfast, not having to freak out when things don't go my way, making different mistakes, having health insurance and flexible spending, guilty pleasure magazines, having a homemade grilled cheese on hippie bread with grape tomatoes from the CSA for dinner, and for all of the awesome people I love who live far and wide who I was able to see and hug on my travels this month.

Double Digits!

I've been training for a half marathon this spring and summer, though it's been more challenging than I expected due to the unprecedented heat this summer. I usually swim when it's too hot (I'm not running in heat advisories) or when it's pouring rain.

This weekend I went for my first ever double digit run - 10 miles! And when I say run, I mean walk/jog. I was going to do it on Saturday, but I woke up with a headache so I went back to sleep until it went away but then it was too hot. So I got up early on Sunday, everything was all laid out and ready. My water, Gatorade, and snacks were already packed and ready to go, and went out.

It had been over a month since my last long run (9 miles) so it was cooler in the morning. I didn't bring enough water for the last mile and a half so that wasn't great. I also walked a lot more than I usually do, but mileage is mileage.

The Last Time I Was Me

The Last Time I Was Me by Cathy Lamb was an okay read with characters that almost broke through their stock expectations. Note to chick lit writers: enough with the shoes already. Rather a lot of sub-plots (one of which was foreshadowed throughout the whole novel which I found unbelievable), this was a sometimes entertaining story surrounded by random mishmash. 58/100

Traveling Fool

No, I didn't fall off the Internet. I have been a traveling fool this month!

On the first flight, when I sat down in my airplane seat, I cracked open Laurie Notaro's Spooky Little Girl, which was $1 at the used bookstore. It was an adequate one-buck read, and I left it in the seat pocket for the next person to enjoy. 57/100

I often take cheap books with me on travels so that I don't have to bring them home. My Heart's Desire has pointed out that I could probably travel with just a carry-on if I had an electronic reader, and he's not wrong. But I hate the idea of reading books on a screen. I'm a tactile person, I need to feel the weight and heft of a book. I read mostly because I enjoy it, whereas staring at a screen feels like... work.

Today I am grateful for: library used book sales, easy and inexpensive public transportation, single serving Honey Nut Cheerios that pass for an adequate dinner when the Subway flatbread sandwich is really bad, trashy magazines (even when I don't know who most of the people are), that CVS has an As Seen On TV section, comfy shoes (I broke down and bought a new pair after 2+ years with my old standbys), staying in touch with my favorite people, no matter how far away they are, songs that remind me of a specific time or event, that I live nowhere near homemade New Orleans beignets, and that the best things in life are free.

On Writing

In January, my writing group decided to read On Writing by Stephen King, which is one of my favorite writing books. My copy was a gift from my mom.

In 2007 I got it from the library and listened to it (on a road trip to Gettysburg for a friend's wedding) but haven't read it since. Even though my writing group hasn't gone back to it yet, I wanted to give it another read.

King advocates four to six hours a day of reading and writing, every day. Which sounds about right, given Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule. 20 hours a week for 10 years is 10,000 hours.

I'm a big reader and always have been, I've easily read more than 20,000 hours as an adult. But writing? That's a different story. I wrote that much for the three years I was in my graduate creative writing program, but not since. I write for work, but for me that doesn't count since it's professional writing. This book definitely put a bee (and a clock!) in my bonnet. 56/100

2010 Goals: July Progress

I set specific 2010 goals so here's an update on my July progress.

Read/Write/Blog
1. I read 7 books this month, raising my yearly total to 55. I'm almost done listening to another. I am confident that I will meet my goals of reading 100 books this year!

2. My writing group scheduled a meeting in September. I wrote an essay for Real Simple's contest and one of the writing group members is critiquing it for me, then I will revise and submit to Real Simple.

3. Submit... I had no idea that this would be as cumbersome a chore as it is. Well, I'm setting a goal: submit at least one piece one place in August. A little something is better than a whole lot of nothing!

4. This is my 119th post of the year, so I will easily post 200 times this year.

Healthy
5. I will be run/walking a half marathon! This is a really ambitious goal and I have been training, my longest run so far has been 9 miles. My weekly training consists of two short runs (for speed) and one long run (for distance). The last few weekends have been so very hot that I haven't been able to go for my long run. On those days I swim laps or do a variety of indoor cardio machines, like treadmill, bike, and elliptical. I'm also setting a workout goal for August: 31 workouts! Run/walk, swim, elliptical, yoga, walking - I'm planning on having an active month.

6. I exceeded my goal of eating vegetarian meals 90% of the time by eating veggie 96% of the time. I found out that replacing lean meats with dairy is not very healthy, which is what I have been doing, eating lots of cheese, yogurt (you know I love Fage), and milk. So now I'm reevaluating my kibosh on eating meat regularly and trying to figure out how I can be healthier. A hippie store near me sells clean meat, including organic, grass-fed beef and pastured poultry. Yes, it's expensive, it's also meat I can feel okay about eating.

Fun & Friends
7. The new thing I did this month was go to a charming town on the seashore for my cousin's wedding with my mom and My Heart's Desire. It was nice to get away and celebrate love.

8. Seeing friends. I saw lots of friends and family at our fourth annual Fourth of July cookout. I love this tradition! We host a fun, low-stress event every year with yummy food, great people, and celebrate America's birthday. Some people even brought patriotic desserts, which everyone got a kick out of. What could be better? I also went to a farewell brunch, had dinner with a friend at a hippie restaurant, had a friend over for dinner with my mom and me, went to a brunch with lots of wonderful girls, and took my honorary grandmother to see The Kids Are All Right, which I liked and she loved.

9. My Heart's Desire and I had a lot of fun this month. We both enjoyed the 4th of July cookout and the weekend away. We also went to a movie.

10. Photo taken of My Heart's Desire and I? Nope.

11. Bonus! It's All Relative. My mom came to town and I took a day off from work. We went shopping (and by that I obviously mean thrift), went out to lunch and to the movies, browsed for books, and had frozen yogurt. I also hung out with my aunt and uncle, cousins, and met my cousin's adorable sons.

Outliers: The Story of Success

I had high expectations for Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell and I was not disappointed. I read the first half of this book in one sitting and finished it two days later. What did I learn about success? Context is everything. 55/100

Today I am grateful for: good night's sleep, electricity (!) and all the things it allows me to enjoy (air conditioning, washing machine, dishwasher, stereo, TV, computer, etc), getting wedding invitations, spicy eggplant from my favorite Thai restaurant, having a short commute, accepting that I am a morning person, finding a bargain, email, plans to look forward to, and hanging out with My Heart's Desire.

I listened to Steve Martin's The Pleasure of My Company and honestly couldn't remember if I had read it before or not. I didn't like his earlier work, Shopgirl, so I was a bit of a reluctant listener. While my disbelief had to be suspended many times, the book was read by the author and was a mildly enjoyable tale. 54/100

The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove

The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove by Cathy Erway is the story of a Brooklyn hipster who swore off eating out in New York City for two years. She expanded her culinary horizons, found alternative non-restaurant group dining events (like supper clubs and cook-offs), and explored other non-traditional eating methods, like urban gathering and freeganism. Interesting premise but it reads very much like what it is -- a blog in book form. 53/100

I Love Leisurely Weekend Breakfast

This morning I made french toast with Trader Joe's wheat bread (lightly toasted first so it doesn't get soggy). Then I covered some banana slices with cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and cooked in the George Foreman grill. They pretty much fell apart.

Then I made french toast with the same ingredients, and added an egg and some egg whites. I cooked the toast in the George Foreman but I was using the wrong plate (should have used the griddle plate) so after a few minutes My Heart's Desire just cooked the french toast in a pan on the stove. I topped with the smushy bananas and some chopped pecans, with maple syrup on the side for dipping.

My Heart's Desire made fried eggs and toast for himself, and some veggie sausages for us to share. It was fabulous!

How I Live Now

I listened to How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff because this novel was accidentally shelved in the regular fiction section rather than in young adult.

Regardless of the intended audience, I found the book engaging, well-written, and very suspenseful. This novel has a lot of elements found in sentimental literature: a motherless daughter with an evil stepmother, wartime, a taboo romance, struggle in the wild, and connecting to the pain of others as well as life-changing learning experiences. 52/100