Just Call Me "Babs"

Wintery!

H. went away for the weekend.

Snow came in her place.

 

 

Bun Tracks?

Little Bear, Lettie and I attempted a group picture:

And then we had our version of Don Rags, during which Let and I discussed Peter Rabbit and plans for Apple Cake this weekend. 

Since man/E. was not meant to be alone, God provided Betsy-Tacy as a companion.

Eeek! I just realized that I have four books left to read, not three. Yipeeeeee!

Well, you know what I'm going to be doing.

Cheers!

Jolly Post: Photos From My Phone

H. and I are both sicky poo, so we decided to think about jolly things. Here are a few from the past month:

Blanket Forts!

 

M. asked me to "put her hair up pretty". What lovely hair! 

 

This photo is jolly in retrospect.

 

Turkey Feathers! Or plans for a squishy ball. Maybe both. 

 

Scones on Domestica Day. 

 

H.'s scone and coffee. 

 

My scone and hot chocolate. 

 

This is not a recent snapshot, but it is a rather jolly scene. I can't tell whether S is amused/horrified/embarrassed/JUSTHAPPYTOHAVEAGELCUP.

Baby Cat! 

Baby Cat Love!

Yay, Cat!

"Harrumph"

Today I sat in bumper to bumper traffic for two hours. All the drivers around me looked rather "Hmmph". You can also use the term "Harrumph". My macbook dictionary informs me that this word can either be used as a verb ("to grumpily express dissatisfaction or disapproval") or a noun ("a grumpy expression of dissatisfaction or disapproval").

But how do you look Harrumph?

Maybe like this:

Photo courtesy of C.Larsen.

I felt Harrumphy too. 

My arms felt Harrumphy,

and they sent shooting pains down to my wrists.

~*~*~*~

But then I remembered jolly things, like the soybeans I ate for lunch. 

(Still on a soybean kick.)

Or when the chin-rest maker let me picnic on his hilly front lawn while he varnished wood and told me funny stories about Heifetz. 

Or how refreshing the country air feels when it blows through the trees.

~*~*~*~

And then I put in an unlabeled CD stolen from H.'s car and proceeded to have a seated dance party with myself. No one else noticed since they were busy Harrumphing. Thank goodness. I also had a sing along to Handel's Messiah. "EEEEVVERRRYYY VALLLEEEYYYY." (LOVE LOVE LOVE.) I finally listened to the complete Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto and the Mendelssohn Concerto, too. So I ended up switching back and forth between Messiah, MGMT, Michael Jackson, the Weepies, Regina S., Mika, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, and random gospel songs. Eclectic driving mix, but it made the 4 hour commute more bearable. Rather ironic that the first Messiah track to play after listening to Michael Jackson was "And He Shall Purify". 

I had a jolly good time.

And there was no more Harrumphing. At least not for me.

Rainy Week!

Rainy Week Agenda: 

 

-Taking my morning walk in heavy downpour. 

(Yellow Umbrella and Soaked Sneakers included. ) 

 

-Epsom Salt Bath of Wonderfulness. 

(My rhomboids thank me. I thank them. Relax. Take it easy, kids.)

 

-Chamber Music Concert on Tuesday Night.

(Courtesy of Friendly Neighbours. Also, Asian Networking occurs with the only other Asian woman. She wants me to e-mail her. ....) 

 

-Wednesday Nannying.

(...During which I braved an epic pre-bedtime tantrum. I also experienced night driving during a tropical storm. Fear and Trembling. And maybe some Tchaikovsky.)  

 

-Post Card Making/Letter Writing

 

-E. Tries To Learn How To Cook

(I can bake decent cakes. But cooking? Oh dear. Right now the kitchen smells of burnt soy sauce and honey. Yeah. I'm cooking. Oh well. 6 chicken legs at a time, right?)

 

-E. Buys Frozen Soybeans from TJ's and Includes Them in Every Dish She Makes. This too shall pass.

(Ma, I never thought the day would come when I would WILLINGLY put vegetables in my macaroni and cheese. In fact, I ate all the soybeans and picked around the noodles. Um. I'm still a picky eater, but we're making some progress. This house goes on a legume kick whenever I'm too lazy to cook meat and my body says "MUST EAT PROTEIN'. Plus, soybeans look fabulous when shelled and flecked over white rice.)

-Rainy Day Reading

(Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Too Many Cooks (by Emily Franklin), and perhaps some Hopkins?) 

 

House-y Things

(Dishes, laundry, planning my 3 hour drive tomorrow to visit a Chin Rest Maker in the D.C. Area.)  

 

And La Photo Cabine with Little Bear:

 

 

 

A Very Cheery Thursday to you! 

  

H&M Visit NYC(!!): Part IV--The Final Instalment

H. and I spent Monday morning exploring Central Park. 

(We ate another cupcake for breakfast. Actually, it was breakfast's dessert since we brought sandwiches, too.) 

Green...

 Green...

 More green..

Lovely, lovely!

~*~*~*~*~*~

A tour of our hostel:

H&M Visit NYC (!!): Part III

Even though H. and I took advantage of NYC's dessert opportunities, our main reason for visiting was this event:

 

(www.dreamlandorchestra.com)

Hoorah!

We made quite a fuss over what we would wear for this event, and my room was covered in clothes the week before our trip. (Oh, maybe it was also covered in clothes because I had just moved in. Yeah, that, too. You could say that it's just because we're girls. But the Jazz Party proved to me that Mister-Fellows enjoy dressing up just as much as the Lady Folk do. More on that later.)

I'm rather proud of how my hair turned out that day. Not that the style was authentically 1920's, but it was sufficiently curled, pinned, and tucked under a hat. I felt like Miss de Vine from Gaudy Night since my pins kept falling out all day!

Before. 

 As the pins began to fall...

We did H.'s hair in two braids pinned up and also tucked underneath her hat. I thought she looked absolutely charming.

If you look closely, you can see the braids peeking out from beneath her cloche. Isn't her dress fabulous?

*~*~*~*

I purchased a pair of perfectly round spectacles,

And they make me look perfectly silly.

But I'm determined to wear them if I ever have to write some sort of thesis. Or maybe just for term papers. Or if I'm ever feeling silly.

And we toured the cars.

 

We also picknicked on bread, hummus, cheese, and champagne sorbet. (No picture, but our meal was delicious.)

~*~*~*~

We danced, 

We watched a vintage bathing suit contest,

We listened to the masses of costume-clad people talk high society, 

 And we and managed to stay cool despite the 100 degree weather. 

~*~*~*~

We also decided that all men ought to wear suspenders.

Part IV will be about Central Park and our Hostel tour.

H&M Visit NYC(!!): Part II

Here's my confession to preface this post: I like cupcakes. A lot. But when the cupcake craze first swept through California, I refused to succumb to "the trend" and visit any popular shops. This was a silly vow, and it only lasted a few months. When the Perfect Circle Cupcakery opened a few miles away from my house, I give in to curiosity. Can you blame me? They advertised chocolate and buttercream! What more could I ask for? Well, I guess I could be more specific and ask for a deliciously moist chocolate cupcake topped with homemade buttercream. And this is what The Perfect Circle gave to me on that chilly October afternoon. It tasted homemade, and I was satisfied.

Okay, you're probably thinking: "WAIT WAIT WAIT. It tasted homemade?? Why would you buy a cupcake that you could make yourself at home?!?! You could have a dozen little cakes for half the price!"

(Well, that's what I said to myself at first.)

And this is how I responded to myself:

1) I don't want a dozen little cakes. There aren't always enough hungry cupcake-lovin' people in my house to eat the other eleven, and I really ought not eat all twelve. So in a way, I'm wasting less food by purchasing one cupcake for myself than by baking twelve and only eating one.

2) Sure, I'm paying for labor, service, supplies, ambiance, and the cuteness factor of the-little-white-box-and-brand name. But sometimes I'm willing to pay the price when I don't have time to bake and I want to eat a cupcake.

3) I would rather my cupcake taste homemade if homemade means delicious. (I'm sure you could debate over the definition of delicious and proper taste and what not, but perhaps you should do so over some coffee and cupcakes.) I've always preferred the taste of a cupcake made from scratch over a cake mix cupcake. Not as springy, but with a tender crumb and melt in your mouth moist. ...Ahhhh. 

4) Context? I don't eat cupcakes every day. Rather, they're saved for celebratory occasions like birthdays or surviving finals, etc.

Of course, not every cupcake shop experience has been wonderful. There are dry crumb days, and overly sweet frosting days, and even service-is-really-horrid-I-wonder-if-those-girls-eat-lemons-for-breakfast-days. But I think I'd rather try a bakery first before I deny the possibility of good cupcake shop experiences.  

.

..

...

....

 ~*~*~*~

That being said, you can guess what H. and I did in New York.

 I was very, very happy to have a Partner in Dessert (A PID?).

And although I'm still a bit sheepish to admit it, I was wildly excited that we bought cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery.

Banana Cake with Caramel Buttercream, Devil's Food with Mocha Buttercream,

and Chocolate with Traditional Buttercream.

(We could only finish the Banana and Devil's Food that evening. 

Chocolate was saved for breakfast the next morning.)

H. and I also stopped by Sweet Revenge, where we enjoyed their Pure Vanilla cupcake with a glass of milk. (I'm still not telling how much I paid for that glass of milk. But it was worth it.) We didn't bother to photograph anything since the room was very dark and the shop was closing.

Many thanks to H. for joining me with much enthusiasm on my cupcake search!

We win!

~*~*~*~

H. and I also enjoyed non-cupcake delectables during our trip:

Gelato on a stick from PopBar?

H. chose Almond dipped in Dark Chocolate. 

(There's your Asian tourist picture for the day.)

~*~*~*~

H. very graciously allowed me to drag her to one of my very favourite places: Le Pain Quotidien.

This restaurant will always remind me of my Dad, since he was the one who first took me here. It also reminds me of Sam, since we often stop in the bakery to pick up a muffin or cookie. And now the café will remind me of New York, too. 

(Please pardon the terrible image quality!) 

H. tried the Tuna Tartine and I tried the Quiche Lorraine.

We also shared a bowl of Fresh Tomato Soup,

And we had a very fine supper!

(I suppose it makes up for all of the cupcakes. Or maybe not.)

~*~*~*~

Next: Part III--Parks, Parties, and a Tour of the Hostel

NM to VA: Owl-y Breakfast, Southern Lunch, and Lots of Trees

~*~*~

 

Whenever you visit Santa Fe, you must always eat breakfast at Tecolote Cafe. This is a must. But you do not need to pose like a pathetic-broken-winged-owl in front of the Tecolote Wall.

~*~*~*~

Pa and I drove and drove and drove.

We do not have many pictures of Texas, mostly because I managed to nap the entire way. 

We did, however, see this:

 

(I guess it's ironic that we later passed a town called "Atkins".) 

~*~*~

Pa and I did not stop for beef.

But we did drive, drive, and drive some more towards Pork. And Elvis.

                                       

And I guess Elvis is about as cool as Rare Bears. ....

Or so he wishes. 

 

Pa and I found our Pork.

And after making a solemn pledge to someday bring Ma to such Pork, we then drove and drove and drove some more. 

~*~*~

Until we finally arrived in the land of trees.

~*~*~

Hello, Virginia!

~*~*~

CA to NM: "And they decided that all cars bear some semblance to hippos..."

Road Trip Revelations: Day 1

-Cars and Hippos. Don't the side mirrors on a car remind you of hippo ears? Or is this observation a result of spending most of the night packing and re-packing the car? Hmm. 

-The Beach Boys like geography. And girls. At least this is what my Dad thinks when he listens to "California Girls".

-I missed New Mexico more than I thought. It is so wonderful to be back, even if for a short while. I love the fresh mountain-y air, the reddish dirt, and even all of the adobe houses.  My dad and I ate dinner at La Casa Sena::La Cantina. (My dad used to take me here on dates when I was 6 or 7. I love my dad.) The building brought back many memories, and I fell in love with New Mexican architecture all over again. New Mexico, I love you I love you I love you.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A dog standing on its' hind legs? A woman with puffy bangs?

I love the highways of ABQ because they always lead our family to the zoo! How handy!

Hello, Jeep. Hello, rocky rolling hills. 

So, so luscious and green right now. :)

And so piercingly blue is the sky. 

"Puff!" say the clouds.

And we are happy. 

Cheerio for now!