by the by,

the above could prove very, very dangerous if i am not properly supervised...

if only this jacket would go on sale for about 75% off, i'd be so set for spring.

friday, i think that christian and i are going to tackle a new dish off the tried and true foodblog that made me wonder if there is such a thing as too many szechuan peppercorns in a dish (i'm pretty sure the answer is no). i may even bake that satsuma mandarin/vanilla upside-down pound cake that i've been drooling over for ages... now would be the time to try and finagle a seat for dinner friday.

retrospect

oh 2008, i barely knew thee.

i don't know if i could come anywhere near summing this past year up with the fanfare it deserves, but maybe i'll try a bit. maybe saying that i've been re-introduced to a certain tucker jaymes speaks the volumes i'd have trouble articulating? i'm pretty sure i have the best friends in the world and this man definitely made them multiply (almost like rabbits, is that weird?).

highlights:
- patriots v. terrorists reredux
- chicago x2
- the purchase of my motobecane mirage
- duluth with some of the vixens
- doittoit and introduction of the above tucker along with the amazing ashley and all of their talented and lovely friends (who i'm pleased to introduce now as my talented and lovely friends)
- sunday dinner
- a visit from jesse/james
- both the stormy red stag block party and the rainy bryant lake bowl block party
- rooftop parties/debauchery
- danell and her talented band putting on rad show after rad show
- bikerides to the beach
- the 5th classy birthday party with nels
- MMAUOHSMP (i think that is the acronym...)

while all of the above was lovely, it kept me away from the two resolutions i made last year, so i'll make them again:
1. write more/every day
2. stick to that damn allowance

sugar skull does halloween

but you're so little, sam.

i had no idea you were so tall, tom.

even though it was taken prior going anywhere, this photo is worth all of the words there are to describe last night.

little sister.

tammy faye: devil spawn

"don't make me turn this car around."

killing it.

i like to laugh so long and hard that i can't breathe/pull a muscle.

calavera

dear tucker, i'm sorry i drunkenly wiped my face on your towel. p.s. your flats are hot.

juripalooza preparty

I feel now that gastronomical perfection can be reached in these combinations: one person dining alone, usually upon a couch or a hill side; two people, of no matter what sex or age, dining in a good restaurant; six people, of no matter what sex or age, dining in a good home.

An Alphabet for Gourmets [MFK Fisher]

October 30th, 2008 8:30 p.m.

menu:
chicken and dumplings
steamed broccoli
whole wheat boule

cranberry apple tartlets with a vanilla glaze

gin and tonics

guests:
juri sorso
louisa marion
tucker gerrick
peter b.g.
ashley ryan
mike munzenrider
(with a late appearance by one sam cassidy)

so, we may have been one or two more than six and it was probably slightly drunker than MFK would have imagined (not by much), but last night is the kind of night that i would like to have more of in my life..

ducktacos.pumpkinpie.sunrise

blackberry mojitos mean class,

as do peacock feathers and earl grey gin. cafe maude is my new favorite place to drop large sums of hard-earned money.

my pumpkin pie: first pie i've made and first pumpkin pie i've eaten. mmmhmmm.

sam and samophile.

pumpkins and their adorable carvers.

and (!), the sunrise i wake up to every morning out my apartment window.

tucker: "i'm half happy, half retarded about this gin."

autumnal activities, $2

cranberry scones (rose levy berenbaum is my hero) and mulled cider for breakfast.

my backyard - best backyard ever.

lying with a beautiful girl in between two rows of spartan apples.

what i'm trying to tell you is that it has been a lovely, lovely day. i want several more fall days like this, days that seem longer than twenty-four hours and involve some of the best people that live in this fine city.

if you've not read after the quake by murakami, consider it required reading.

de verdad,

the first story in this book breaks my heart a little everytime i read it - in that way that you need your heart broken from time to time.

this letter confirms my suspicions that it is time to subscribe to the new yorker.

i wish i had a couple hundred dollars lying around for these (as well as for anything that emily has made recently).

the author of my current booklove is in town and i need a date.

i have the best friends that a girl could ask for and sunday dinner is the best beginning/end to any week.