oh yeah,

hey, guys, i forgot to tell you about something important that happened to me yesterday that will now be known as THE WORST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME.

joe, clementine and i were on a walk. usually, on our walks, we get to the park near our house that is attached to an elementary school. when we get there, i find a stick, we let the little monster off her leash and we run around and play fetch. so, we get there, and sticking out of this snowbank is a great looking stick. i grab it with my gloved hand and start to pull and it sticks a little bit more than i expect. i pull harder, thinking, for a split second, that it must be part of some roots or something from the looks of it WHEN I REALIZE IT IS A DEAD AND FROZEN SOLID SQUIRREL. then, joe laughed at me.

uh-huh.

you told me again...

i know, i know, i'm a bit late on the bandwagon. but mad men? in love.

tucker has the second season and with the rate that i'm watching this first season, we'll be starting it next week. can't wait.

this year i...

.fell in love.
.went to duluth.
.went to st. louis.
.was promoted.
.bought a house.
.watched my sister marry.
.adopted the sweetest of mexican puppies.
.cooked a duck.
.bought my first NEW bike since middle school.
.ruled at ping pong.
.said yes.
.went to mexico.
.cooked a rabbit.
.read 29 books (for shame - must do better).

(inspired by S A M)

swoon

so, if anyone has a lot of money to throw around and wants to buy me a present, they should visit this woman's site. the plum coat or the normanville in red would do nicely.

xoxo

a bit more -

joe and i bought a christmas tree - it's aluminum and beautiful and needs to be put up this weekend. does anyone know where one can find awesome vintage ornaments (i'm really only interested in bulbs and an amazing star topper ((maybe midcentury modern))) for a respectable price?

i'm loving this man's photography right now. beautiful (and beautiful subjects).

puny (joe) and zeus jones (sj) have joined forces for a good cause - support it.

the other night i dreamt that i was in an infomercial for mascara and then, the next day, i went out and bought some new stuff - somehow my dreams are marketing to me. the final marketing frontier.

i just finished All the Pretty Horses. loved it. it deserves a blogpost of its own, but i'm busy and lazy all at once right now and can't bring myself to do it. maybe after bookclub next week...

two days ago, we celebrated the birthday of my absolute favorite lady and i made the best cake i've ever made. just saying.

VIII [john dos passos]

A brown net of branches
quivers above silver trunks of planes.
Here and there
a late leaf flutters
its faint death-rattle in the wind.
Beyond, the sky burns fervid rose
like red wine held against the sun.

Schoolboys are playing in the square
dodging among the silver tree-trunks
collars gleam and white knees
as they romp shrilly.
Lamps bloom out one by one
like jessamine, yellow and small.
At the far end a church's dome
flat deep purple cuts the sky.

Schoolboys are romping in the square
in and out among the silver tree-trunks
out of the smoked rose shadows
through the timid yellow lamplight...
Socks slip down
fingermarks smudge white collars;
they run and tussle in the shadows
kicking the gravel with muddied boots
with cheeks flushed hotter than the sky
eyes brighter than the street-lamps
with fingers tingling and breath fast:
banqueters early drunken
on the fierce cold wine of the dead year.

a platter of figs

i first ran into david tanis's A Platter of Figs sometime early this past summer at sarah's house. i had shown up characteristically early for book club and we were lazing in her screen porch eating some delicious cheese and drinking our red wine out of chipped tea cups - both of which are oft occurrences at her lovely apartment. i started paging through her copy and was immediately captured by the beautiful photography throughout. i read a page or two and decided i must have it, if not for the actual recipes (which i hadn't yet delved into), then for the lush food photos. it is a foodie's coffee table book.

while i've now owned my own copy for several months and scoured every recipe, i've been intimidated by his beautifully simple menus. i can't really say why - maybe it is the many ingredients i've not worked with before or maybe it is just knowing the skill with which they were carried out the first time and penned into this book. however, i finally got over the hump and made (part of) a menu. both the oven roasted rabbit and the parsnips from were served this past saturday to the fantastic mike and mali. and let me tell you, that rabbit was most certainly the most delicious thing that i have ever made in my entire life. perfectly tender and popping with the herbs and bacon. delicious. i urge you to try it - will even give you the recipe if you ask nicely.

also, in the middle of making some maple butter. have i mentioned that fall foods are my favorite?