Thanksgiving Weekend Picture Post

I am really overwhelmed with work, personal projects, and the holidays right now...  So here is another picture post instead of a lengthy description of my holiday weekend.

We had J's friend over for a semi-traditional American Thanksgiving.  She has treated us to traditional Chinese food on more than one occasion and this was the least we could do to return the favor.  Ever since J and I started going to one another's family functions I have been in love with his Grandmother's Sage Stuffing.  I asked him to ask his mom how to make it - and for his first attempt at stuffing, he did an excellent job!  He also wanted to do most of the food on a grill, so we grilled potatoes instead of mashing them.

Our table for three.  We skipped the turkey (see the last post) and aside from stuffing and potatoes we had steak, vegetarian squash tart, salad, and grilled corn.  I was the only one who wanted the pumpkin pie, though... More for me!

A better view of our feast.  We sent our friend home with a ton of food and we still have leftovers.  I guess that's the American tradition- overkill.  (She liked the sparkling cider.  Personally, that is always one of my favorite family traditions.)

J and I went on a day-date on Saturday.  We decided to go to South Beach.  We hit up Bolivar again (we went their on a food tour with my in-laws).  We've both been craving their fried plantains and we decided to give tapas a try.  I've never had tapas before, but I think that it will be how J and I dine from now on.  We had a lot of fun, got to try a lot of different things- all wonderful, and it was reasonable ($40, tip included, for two people).  By the way- we did not touch the ketchup, the sauces (in the background) were amazing!

The purpose of our SoBe trip was to visit the Wolfsonian Museum.  We've been wanting to go to more art museums, but sometimes it is hard to justify the price.  This one was free for us.  It was a pretty small museum and had more of a "design" aspect than a straight-up "art" aspect.  It was neat, but we don't have to go back.  Me with the Wolfsonian Museum's famous "Wrestler" statue. 

J in front of the "Lo and Behold" or "Miro y Ve" fountain.  This picture doesn't do it justice.

It wouldn't be a blog post by me if I didn't include my babies.  This is an older picture that J took when walking the dogs.  Now Lily is as big as Ruby.  They are a funny duo. 

What a doll.  I like the way she crosses her paws.  You can tell how much bulkier she is than Ruby just by her paws alone.  This was after a particularly trying day at work a couple of weeks ago.  (You can tell because my hair is frazzled.  It likes to do that when I'm stressed.)  I love coming home to a full house.

Lily loves everyone.  Equally.  And she doesn't take the hint.  Tashi is an opportunist though, so if she thinks she'll get some nice cuddles out of it, she'll stay.  Lily is in her new sweater that we bought her last week.  Ruby has the same one in red.  I don't know WHAT we will do with them when we move to a colder climate.  They are wusses.

Saturday was a good day.  We had our day-date, went to the dog park, and then I came home to my Etsy package.  I had been spying on this little creature for several weeks and I decided that because I've made two sales (plus the ones to my mom) that I would treat myself to an Etsy item.  She's custom made and all the way from Australia.  You can't really tell, but she is sitting on a half-shell.  (You should check out the artist's work- she's great: http://www.etsy.com/shop/scarletsbones?ref=search_shop_redirect)  It has been a long time since I have ordered something online, so I was anxiously waiting for her arrival

 

 

So, that's my holiday weekend in a nutshell.  (Minus the top-secret holiday preparations for work and family/friends... and the two loads of laundry... and the massive cleaning on Thursday... and the grocery shopping... you get the picture- I just gave you the highlights.)

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with your loved ones.  I am glad that J and I were able to host our first successful psuedo-Thanksgiving.  We had fun.  I don't know what we'll do for Christmas, but honestly, I'm not even ready to think about that.  Now, I'm off to pull my laundry out of the dryer.  Fun stuff!

Picture Post

I have been busy with work and preparing for the holidays.  J and I will be hosting a guest for Thanksgiving and we want to show her a semi-traditional dinner (sans turkey because -hey- we're not the best of chefs and what is the chance of finding a heritage, free-range, ethically treated bird down here for less than $25 and how the heck can three people eat something that big anyways...).  I'm a bit nervous because she has had us over for traditional Chinese food twice now and she is an AMAZING cook. 

I have also been working on Christmas gifts.  I submitted some stuff to Ramble Art Festival down here again this year, and some sold.  I'm not sure how much because I haven't picked my things up yet, but it did take me awhile to pull everything together.

Instead of writing a long missive on what has (or hasn't) been happening in our lives, I figured I'd do a picture post.  I'm not the best photographer and I'm using J's camera (some of these are from his iPhone).  So please, disregard the quality.  I make no claims to be an artful blogger.  Just an honest, and hopefully sometimes funny, one. 

My Halloween costume inspiration.  Every year J and I watch something for Halloween.  The last two years we watched Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas.  This year, in honor of my Classic Movie Challenge, we watched the first season of The Addams Family television show (circa 1964).  They are a loving family through and through.  Gomez and Morticia are sickeningly romantic (they'd take that as a compliment).  John Astin is my favorite incarnation of Gomez, but Christina Ricci is my favorite version of Wednesday.  I loved Wednesday as soon as I saw the movie as a kid (circa 1991).  I have always had a soft spot for Cousin Itt, though.  In college I had The Addams Family comic day planner.  I wish I would have kept it.  That dark humor oddly brightens my dull Miami life.

 

 

 

 

This isn't my best costume ever, but it was just for work.  People kept saying I looked cute.  They didn't realize I was in costume.  All I could think was, "Wednesday would be mortified."  The only thing I had to do for this costume was braid my hair.  I guess I have a dark wardrobe if no one noticed the difference.  :)

What do you see in this picture?  I see three sunbathing cats.  Sassy puppies.  For the record, their mommy doesn't let them lay on top of the couch cushions like that.

My lovely Lily.  I wish a camera could do justice for her beautiful hazel eyes.  I adore her so.

I took these pictures a couple of nights ago when Trini and I were lounging in bed, wasting too much time on the Internet.  I have had her since I was seven.  This is what 18 years of friendship looks like: love, slight annoyance, and complete understanding of one another.  She is experiencing some difficulties lately due to age.  Her one eye is completely covered in a cataract (and the other one is going too).  She used to keep it closed all of the time, but after a couple of visits to the vet we seemed to ease the irritation for her.  Now her legs are giving out to arthritis and she doesn't move much.  She tries hard to make it to the litter box, but sometimes she doesn't realize she's in it and she misses.  My mornings are messy, but I would do just about anything for this cranky old broad.

Happiness is warm puppies.  My lap, and my heart, are always full thanks to a house full of animals.

Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving Weekend!

Since September...

I haven't posted since September... yeesh.  In my defense, J has been working diligently on his thesis and I have been trying to help around the apartment in little ways (planning meals, cooking dinners, cleaning, keeping a watchful eye on animals). He's finally done with writing and he'll be defending his thesis in the beginning of November.  I'm incredibly proud of him.  Aside from working like crazy for school, he is an excellent puppy parent, an avid runner, and he's been working on side projects like his blog: http://www.wxnotes.com/blog/

Our animals have been keeping us busy.  We've been taking the dogs to a new dog park that was recommended to us by a fellow UW-Madison graduate.  Sometimes we meet up with her there on the weekends.  We've started Lily in Puppy Classes with the same trainer that worked with Ruby.  We keep them busy because happy dogs are tired dogs... but that also makes for tired dog owners who'd rather relax than blog.  Guilty. 

I haven't been lazy though!  I have been working hard on my goal of reading 75 books in 2012.  I am currently reading two books (60 and 61).  If you want to keep up with what I am reading, you can check out my Shelfari account.  (http://www.shelfari.com/beccaf)  There is no doubt in my mind that I will meet my goal, but despite my fast reading pace, it still takes a lot of time to read that much.

I also was able to go home for a week in late October.  My mom and dad paid for my ticket to come home so that I could celebrate my second cousin's wedding.  It was really beautiful.  She and her mom did some cool things for me when I was planning my wedding so I would have been disappointed to miss hers.  Aside from the wedding, I was able to spend good time with my family.  My mom and I hit up a Wisconsin farm-stand and I bought goodies for the girls at work.  I also indulged in New Glarus Raspberry Ale and cheese curds.  I was able to get all of my favorite food stops in: Kopp's for Red Raspberry frozen custard, Bluephie's for Ooey Gooey Pasta (with two of my best buds), Noodles, and The Comet Cafe.  It was a really good trip.  I was dying to get as far away from Miami as possible for the last couple of months.  I needed a reality check: somewhere where people are nice and there are a few of them who care about me.  Sometimes it is hard living so far from family and friends- even if it is an adventure.

Going back to Wisconsin helped also get me back into my creative groove.  One day my mom and I made a pumpkin still life that was inspired by some of her home decorating magazines.  I miss having a crafting buddy.  I always did my scrap-booking and card-making with her.  I hate doing those things alone- so I haven't done them in years.  We made a lot of elements for my wedding together and making those pumpkins was a fun activity.  When I came back to Miami (after I was sicker than a dog for two days) I pulled out my crafting supplies and started on some new projects.  I'll add some pictures below.  You can see more at my Etsy site.  And speaking of Etsy- I made my first "outside" (as in someone I don't know) sale two days before my trip!!  Someone in Nova Scotia bought some magnets.  I jumped for joy!

Current projects I've been working on:

The first altered Moleskine journal I made.

Another altered journal.

Another.  I'm sort of addicted.  I have to wait and see if these sell before I buy more journals to alter.  I don't want to end up with too many sitting around like some of my other crafts. *See footnote*

A Fairy Ornament that I decided to try.  The idea came to me when I was trying to sleep and after I thought of it I couldn't actually fall asleep because I was so excited to try it out.  It finally gave me an idea of what to do with all of the bits I've collected/found over the years.  This one is sea-themed.

This one is Halloween-themed.  I wanted to do one in colors that reminded me of the holiday.  Please don't judge my photo styling.  I'm not a photographer and I was trying to get the pictures taken while there was still some natural light outside.

Where my ornaments are currently residing: on the wine bottles that we don't drink. :)

On Monday I go back to work.  I know I'll have a lot on my desk.  I was supposed to go in to work the two days after I got back, but I was sick on Thursday and worse on Friday.  I got up and took a shower at 7:00 AM both days.  On Thursday I was exhausted from traveling and had a headache/sore throat, so I didn't even bother getting dressed.  On Friday I woke up feeling even worse, but I figured I really had to go in since it would only be me and one other office member.  I pulled on my clothes, told Joe that I might be home early, drove about a mile, and then pulled into a gas station so I could get sick all over myself.  I called my co-workers and explained that I would not be in, I needed a shower and different clothes, and then I went home and got sick three more times.  It was, by far, one of the worst days of being sick/having a migraine in my life.  I couldn't keep anything down: water, saltines, Sprite, or medicine.  I just iced my head in bed until 1 AM when I finally fell asleep.  On Saturday I still had a bit of a headache, so I took it slow in the morning, but by Saturday night I finally felt better.

I should go get ready for my first day back at work since the 17th.  Besides the work I have to get a campus parking pass and schedule an allergy test- a tale for another day- so I'm sure tomorrow will be crazy.  But I kind of don't want to get up to make my lunch right now.  I have two tuckered puppies cuddling my feet and I don't want to disturb them.  They look so angelic... then they wake up.  :)

 - - -

* I went a little crazy with the magnets I was making.  I liked repurposing magazine pages and it was so easy to put the magnets together that I made more than I needed.  I personally like the painted ones best, but I can't make too many at a time without getting a headache from the fumes.  When I was meeting with another Etsy crafter (http://artzazzle.blogspot.com/) she mentioned that it would be cool to leave crafts like geo-caches.   I used to geo-cache with my mom and I loved the idea.  I'll save the geo-cache idea for when I live in another city, but I decided to leave some gift bags around town of some surplus magnets, my business card, and a note that reads, "Surprise!  A gift for you or someone you love.  Just a little way to brighten your day."  I hope people find them and enjoy the fun that is finding a little secret. Who knows?  Someone will probably find it, hate it, send me an e-mail telling me what a jerk I am for some inane reason, and then instead of making their day better they'll ruin mine.  (I've been living in Miami too long; I expect the worst of people.) *

5 Things: Songs to Write To

I once could not do any homework, reading, or writing unless it was dead silent.  Then I went to college and I learned quickly if I didn't make the most of every moment because I was bothered by noise, I would never get anything done.  Still, I do not like to read with music in the background- moderate ambient noise is okay.  When writing for this blog or for fun I have to listen to low-key music.  Anything too bouncy and my mind focuses on the beat (probably because I'm daydreaming about being the best drummer that ever lived!).  Here are five songs from my iTunes Music for Writing To playlist.


My Only Swerving by El Ten Eleven

So Long by Guster

North by North by Faded Paper Figures

Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Easier to Lie by Aqualung



Let me know of any music you like to work to.  I'm always looking to expand my playlist.  :)

Lovely Lily

I haven't posted much lately, and for that I apologize.  Work has been really hectic and then we had to leave town to go get Lily.  Despite the tropical storm, things went off without a hitch.  We lost power for a short while and work/school was cancelled on Monday.  Today was rough- I am fighting one of the worst migraines I've had in awhile, but I did want to post pictures of my second fur-baby.  I will write more about her personality and our story of the first couple of days with our little Lily in the near future.

Ruby in July

Adorable and Tired

Beautiful Blue Eyes- those won't stay like that.  Lily is very cute, very soft, and very affectionate.

All my girls in one picture.  (Ruby in the background, moping, Tashi, Lily, and Trini)

It is taking Ruby a little while, but gradually she is warming up to Lily.  Lily follows her big sister's lead.

5 Things: Places I Want to Live In

Portland/Seattle

I have been to Portland and I have been dying to go back.  J and I have wanted to do a roadtrip through the Pacific Northwest for our honeymoon.  I have no idea when we will get to that.  All I know is that this region is beautiful.  These cities are big enough to be cultured, but the surrounding areas are beautiful enough to escape to.  (The closest thing I have to that here is the Everglades, and trust me, you don't want to "escape" to that.)  The dining and music scenes are also phenomenal.

San Fransico

J's brother is currently living here.  Boy, I am jealous!  Actually, I'm really happy for him.  San Fransico is iconic and has a rich history.  It's more laid back than other big cities and unlike L.A., appearances aren't everything.  I've been told that UW-Madison was based off of the Berkley campus, and I've always wanted to go and take a peek (and maybe a class or two).  I hear that there are lot of excellent restaurants there, too!

Denver

Another great city that is surrounded by nature.  As a kid and a teenager I enjoyed being outdoors.  I would love to go white water rafting, canoeing, and hiking.  I feel like I am out of touch with nature living in Miami.  I do like living next to a large body of water (I grew up with Lake Michigan in Milwaukee and Lake Mendota and Menona in Madison), so being landlocked is the one thing I wouldn't be crazy about here.  But I'm sure there are plenty of things that would make up for that if I was living in Denver.

Abroad

I have dreamed of living abroad.  One regret I have about college is that I didn't take the chance to do so.  I didn't really have the funding for it, but it is one of the few times in your life when it is exceptable to pick up and move without being too tied down for a couple of months or a year.  Living in Miami is sometimes like living in a different country and I've made life work for me here, whose to say I couldn't do it elsewhere.  J and I sometimes discuss the post-doc oppurtunities abroad.  I don't know if we'll ever have the chance to live in Europe or Asia, but if the oppurtunity ever came, I'd be hard pressed to turn it down.

Madison

I don't know if I'll ever live in Wisconsin again.  I'm okay with that.  In some ways I really miss the state and in others I don't.  Madison is the place I think of when I think of home.  It was my first time out on my own.  I had to establish myself and figure out a lot about life.  Madison was a great city to test out my wings.  I didn't always fly beautifully, but there were times like I felt I was soaring there.  I have not been able to recreate that feeling here.  In Madison, during my college years, I had a mix of friends, school, work, community, art, music, food, comfort, and new experiences that I don't think I'd ever be able to recreate.  If J's career brought us back to Madison, we'd be pretty happy campers.

Classic Movie Challenge: The Gay Divorcee

I went a bit academic in my review for The Seven Year Itch.  I couldn't help it.  That movie had me itching in disgust (bad pun intended).  I actually watched that movie and The Gay Divorcee on the same Saturday.  I had a rough week at work and I wanted to curl up with movies and unwind.  I am having another crummy week, but I don't know if I'll have the luxury to catch up on movies this weekend.  Then, next weekend, Lily comes home!  And J and I will be catching up on sleep (due to new puppy parenting) and not classic films.  So, I apologize for two reviews back-to-back, but a blogger has to do what a blogger has to do, and I scheduled them to post a couple of days apart, so it's not that bad.  ;)

Instead of critiquing the story and its execution behind The Gay Divorcee in the way that I did with The Seven Year Itch, I am going to instead, focus on the lighter things.  However, I would like to mention that I thought this movie was interesting in Mimi's approach to getting a divorce: get caught cheating and your loser husband will HAVE to acquiesce to the split.  Here is the synopsis from Wikipedia:

Mimi Glossop (Ginger Rogers) arrives in England to seek a divorce from her geologist husband Cyril (William Austin), whom she hasn't seen for several years. Under the guidance of her domineering and much-married aunt Hortense (Alice Brady), she consults a bumbling and less-than-competent lawyer Egbert Fitzgerald (Edward Everett Horton), who happens to be one of Hortense's previous fiancés. He arranges for her to spend a night at a seaside hotel and to be caught in an adulterous relationship, for which purpose he hires a professional co-respondent, Rodolfo Tonetti (Erik Rhodes). But Egbert forgets to arrange for private detectives to "catch" the couple.

By coincidence, Guy Holden (Fred Astaire) an American dancer and friend of Egbert's, who briefly met Mimi on her arrival in England, and is now besotted with her, also arrives at the hotel, only to be mistaken by Mimi for the co-respondent. While they are in Mimi's bedroom, Tonetti arrives and holds them "prisoner". They contrive to escape and dance the night away.

I've seen Astaire's dancing skills in Funny Face and I was excited to see him dance again.  Although I adore Audrey Hepburn (she has a background in ballet), she doesn't compare to Ginger Rogers.  I know that people have often commented on the dancing duo of Astaire and Rogers, so I'll keep it brief: they are amazing.  I smiled while watching them dance.  This was the first musical where I was willing to be swept away in the silliness while not worrying about the plot.  I didn't know a thing about Rogers before watching this movie and I was really captivated by her beauty and gumption.  She brought Mimi to life in a complex way: she's guarded, but sweet, beautiful, but strong.  The dances were awesome.  Astaire was awesome.  Rogers was awesome.  But the thing that I loved most about the movie was the CLOTHES!  Oh. My. God.  I'd die for that wardrobe!

Rogers in an early scene of the movie.  I love the beret.

If they sold this outfit at Anthropologie, I'd buy it in a heart-beat.  She's sad, but she's so chic!

This dress was poetry in motion.  What is is about black and white movies that make diamonds sparkle more?  I wish there was a better picture of it.  I was mesmerized during this number (Night and Day).

Everything that Mimi wears in this movie (even what her older aunt Hortense wears) is simply stunning.  Her day-to-day fashion was adorable.  Oddly enough, some of the fasions in this film could be applicable today.  Just look at this jumpsuit from the number Knock Knees (sorry that the picture is so small):

Eggbert's socks and sandals are an affront to fashion- but I forgive him since he's the lovable goof in the film.  (You're not off the hook, Dad!)  This jumpsuit, while I wouldn't wear it, is similar to what pop stars are rocking today.  (This is not Rogers, by the way.)

The women in this film were glamorous, the men were dapper, and the interiors were beautiful.  I wanted to take the hotel room Mimi was staying in and make it my living room.  It was fabulous and graphic- I guess it had to be when film was black and white.  The writing and performances were pretty good too.  Unlike The Seven Year Itch, there was only one character I didn't like (Mimi's husband).  In The Seven Year Itch I only liked one character: Monroe's.  But one thing that both of these movies have in common is that they were both adapted from plays.  It sort of goes to show you that there hasn't been an original idea in Hollywood for a loooong time. 

I would highly recommend this movie for someone who is looking for something pleasant and light to watch with a glass of wine after a long day at work, for a musical lover, or for someone who wants to enjoy some serious fashion.