1. Is it too late to start thinking about my birthday plans? Mark just bought us tickets to see Bill Maher (on Feb 8th, 2 days before the big day)—and I’m contemplating where I want to eat dinner. The Bull is one of my favorites and worth revisiting, but with La Pizzeria re-opening a few months ago, and several places like The Wash House and Camellia Café that we haven’t tried yet, there are many options! Having too many choices for delicious food is a problem I don’t mind at all. Good thing I have 3 weeks to decide.
2. But the most important part is cake. I think I might try to make my own this year (why not?). It should include chocolate—naturally—and preferably something cookie doughy and/or peanut buttery. Although something lemony and light sounds pretty tantalizing, too. Hmmm… (Favorite recipes are welcome in the comments!)
3. While we’re on the subject of food—let’s talk about how I’ve suddenly become a fan of chili. Monday night Mark made Giada’s white bean chicken chili, and it was much more delicious than I remember. It’s so hearty and filling, but also pretty healthy with the beans, corn, and chard. Now to warm up to the traditional stuff…
4. Oh, and isn’t fresh Parmesan the greatest thing ever? I’ll admit to using the processed “shakey” cheese, as we call it, that comes in the jar when topping my pasta, but since the chili called for freshly grated Parmesan, we picked up a block and I can’t stop eating little chunks of it. Salty. Tangy. Delicious.
5. On a sad note, Tuesday we found out that the priest who performed our wedding was diagnosed with ALS. Although I don’t know him very well (we met briefly to discuss the wedding and then on the big day itself), he’s one of Mark’s favorite teachers/mentors.
6. I’m especially anxious for this week to be over with. Monday and Tuesday were Monday from Hell and Monday from Hell 2.0 (seriously—it felt like 2 Mondays) and Wednesday was incredibly slow, so I need some relaxation!
7. I’m obsessed with these new pants I bought on clearance at LOFT last weekend. Since none of my pants seem to fit anymore and wearing dresses requires daily shaving (um, it’s winter, that’s why we wear pants!!!), I finally found some perfectly-fitting black dress pants and these grey skinnies (similar to these) that feel just like leggings. They’re so stinkin’ comfy that I wish they’d had my size in black, too!
8. While I’m getting rid of clothes that don’t fit anymore, I probably should do a big closet clean-out since I’ve still got that “new year” feeling going on. Between my clothes and Mark’s, there’s not an inch of free space—and I have a habit of holding on to something just in case I might need it one day.
9. As a matter of fact, I tend to hold on to everything. Until a few years ago when we moved from the apartment to the house, I still had my old college notebooks (and a couple from high school!) tucked away in the closet. Of course I saved all my papers on my computer, but I don’t think I’ll need barely legible, doodle-covered notes about Death of a Salesman, the existence of universals, or Vatican II (liberal arts grad here if you couldn’t tell!).
10. And on that note, I’ll wrap things up. Happy almost-weekend, and remember to stop by Running With Spoons for more wonderfully random thoughts. 🙂
I went the chocolate and AB route for my birthday cake this year and it was completely fabulous. I definitely recommend going that way 😀 And I have the same.exact.problem when it comes to saving old things, because WHAT IF I need it for a brief second 10 years down the road?! It’s not as bad with clothes, but with old school notes and stuff like that? Yeahhhh I still have those. The good thing is that they’re cluttering up my parents’ place instead of mine, but the bad news is that they’re bugging me to go through them and either throw them out or take them. Eep!
Your birthday cake (& the runners-up) is what made me think about baking my own! Chocalate + nut butter always win!
Literally right before I read this blog entry I was perusing my pinterest dessert board (attempting to look for a cake to make for Leo’s bday this weekend) and took a look at this recipe I had pinned awhile ago but never tried: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/chocolate-cupcakes-with-peanut-butter-cookie-dough-frosting/
It just uses a standard box chocolate cake mix and tweeks it a bit but you could easily sub that out for a homemade cake recipe. But I thought it was worth sharing at least for the frosting, considering it combines the two things you mentioned: cookie dough and peanut butter!
Yum!!! Ain’t no shame using boxed mix; this is definitely an option! Thanks, Sarah.