Short and Sweet...

No post yesterday, as I had friends over for dinner and ended up with company until late. A lovely end to the day. I had the day off from the Lab, so spent much of it sporadically cleaning. I often invite people over for dinner partially to force me to do a nice thorough house-cleaning...

Actually, I had two other motivations for inviting friends over; first was my desire to see people and still actually take the holiday off. If I invite my coworkers over, I see them, without having to go into work on a holiday. Second was my long-standing desire to make this frozen Grand Marnier torte with dark chocolate crust and spiced cranberries. I've been wanting desperately to make this dessert since I saw it in December, but only recently obtained the necessary springform pan.


This was a bit involved to make, but very, very tasty (the spiced cranberry topping is AMAZING). So good times, good friends, good food. A nice way to spend the day!

Lazy Sunday

It's been a nice lazy Sunday... my boyfriend K. and I had a friend over for a pancake brunch this morning, did the laundry, went to the gym, made pasta with meat sauce for dinner (one of my favorite comfort foods), and watched some television. Sometimes it's good to have a bit of time without doing too much...if I were a cat today, I'd look something like this:

Source: google.com via Nicole on Pinterest

We also got the opportunity to try out the culinary torch that K. got for the holidays on some homemade crème brûlée. K. makes amazing crème brûlée, starting with this vanilla custard recipe. Over the past several months, we'd tried a number of different ways to get the sugar crust on top without a torch; broiling just heated the custard and didn't caramelize the sugar, putting a bit of Gran Marnier on top and lighting that on fire wasn't hot enough to melt the sugar (though resulted in a nicely boozy dessert), and caramelizing the sugar in a pan beforehand made a crust that was 1/4" thick. It looks like a torch really is the best way to go! Unfortunately I didn't take pictures before the first one we made disappeared. Sidenote: this recipe also makes really, really good frozen custard. It's the same base, you just put it in an ice cream maker instead of baking it in ramekins. Amazingly decadent stuff...as might be expected from a recipe that solely consists of egg yolks, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract, and vanilla beans.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend and don't have anything too stressful planned for the week ahead!

Back up on my feet again

You know when you've been working really hard, and have a lot that needs to happen, and you absolutely cannot get sick now because if you do nothing will ever be done? And so you don't get sick, and work through late nights and stressful times, and then finally you have a break. And you relax, and take a breath. And then promptly you get sick. Or is that just me?

At the very least, that was me Sunday through yesterday, felled by some sort of unpleasant stomach bug. I did get out of bed and go into work for a bit yesterday, as I had a demo and a meeting, but I still was thoroughly not up to par. So these pictures are from today, the first day I've felt (mostly) normal.


Dress: Xhilaration, thrifted. Tank top (underneath): Express. Shoes: Naturalizers, thrifted. Earrings: handmade.


Also, this dress now appears desperately wrinkled from being sat down in at a desk most of the day. Oops.

I don't have very much else to say, today. I'm quite behind on my blog reading and commenting, which is sad because I like seeing what everyone I know in blogworld is up to. I've just been in bed, reading historical fiction and sleeping. And not wanting to eat, which is completely foreign to me and really quite disturbing. My day tends to be marked out by meals, for better or for worse. I know the cycles of my stomach and generally, in my conscious and subconscious mind, am aware of when I'm next going to eat. Heck, my regularity with mealtimes (and complete awareness of when I need lunch NOW, please) is a bit of a joke around the lab. But this week, I just haven't felt like eating. And that makes me feel like I'm inhabiting someone else's body.

The really terrifying thing, though? The awareness that I had, for a few moments, that I lost a little weight...and labeling that, in my mind, a "good thing." No, it's not a good thing if I lose a few pounds because of sickness and dehydration and not wanting to eat more than saltines for a couple of days. But it's scary to me to see that little voice in my head could pop up and be pleased at how little food it took to satisfy me for a day. I've never had disordered eating behaviors, thanks to a strong love of food. But I've definitely gone through periods of trouble with my own body image and self-confidence, times when I wanted a metabolism that would be easily satisfied with small amounts of food eaten on occasion, rather than one that demands (and relishes) my regular mealtimes. I certainly need to get back to my workout routine, yes. I need to make sure I'm eating primarily food that is healthy and good for me and nutritious. I prefer when I'm strong, I prefer when I'm eating food that gives me energy and fills me up for a while rather than just the quick burst of a sugar high. But I also have a sweet tooth, and some curves, and a personality/metabolism that enjoys the process of preparing and eating tasty food. I do really like my body, I think. (I hate that my impulse is to qualify that, water it down with the "I think"! Are we not allowed to say we like our bodies?) So...I do. I like my body quite a bit. And I will be glad when it's over fully being sick.

I suppose I did have a bit to say, after all...

Fun with Summer Dressing

I wore this on Monday and just loved it. I'd picked up this white blouse at the dollar-a-pound a few weeks ago (when it started getting hot and I realized that I ought to own much more white clothing). However, I hadn't figured out a way to wear it that didn't look fairly unflattering on me; a high round neck is not usually my best style, and the big sleeves and space in the torso could easily read as a baggy t-shirt. But when I tried it with this high-waisted skirt on Saturday evening while cleaning up my closet, then added a patterned belt, it worked for me.


I don't think it photographed quite as well as I would have liked, but I still really enjoyed wearing it. I've mostly been at the lab this week, working on code for the show, so it helps my energy levels to be a little bit dressy.


Shirt: Jack McQueen, thrifted. Skirt, Ann Taylor, thrifted. Belt, thrifted. Necklace, handmade from vintage pin and chain. Shoes: Naturalizers, thrifted.


A gratuitous dinner picture, too! Chicken with tomatoes, olives, and feta, plus roasted potatoes (from the farm share) with rosemary and garlic. SO good.


And this is actually what I wore today, for a long day of coding and interaction design work at the lab. I got a little portable tripod on a whim last weekend, making it much easier to take pictures outside! I still have to get used to the blogger thing of self-portraits in what could potentially be public areas. This may be why my photos from Monday were taken by a wall at the back of a building, near a dumpster.


Dress, thrifted and hemmed. Skirt (as petticoat), Forever21. Shoes, Nordstrom, thrifted.

Hope everyone's week has been going well so far!