old

I've been waiting for the new episode of 'Life on Mars' for a few weeks now. Love the music, love the clothes, love cute Jason O'Mara. And what do I do? I fall asleep on the couch like a little old lady!

Oh well. Good thing I can watch it online.

snowy day

Soft flurries all morning. A day off from work. Warm cats and soft afghans await...

can of worms

My friend Janet, an avid photographer and all-around artsy gal, suggested I create an account in Flickr. Can of worms is now open. I spent a good number of hours this weekend (between a visit with Grandma and going away party for a dear friend) uploading some of my photographs onto my own page. I have a lot of photos still left to go through, and I'm not sure how good I'll be about keeping the page updated, but it has been a lot of fun revisiting over a year's worth of photographs I have lying around (or still on the camera taking up precious space!).

Here are a couple from this summer. A wonderful summer twilight sky and a bouquet with chinese lanterns that I grew in my garden. I still have those bright lanterns sitting in a vase on my kitchen windowsill (they dry beautifully).

Brief

Well, this week has been a little bit of a roller coaster at work (we found out there may be layoffs) and I've been really pushing to get things done before I leave for a week-long conference at Colonial Williamsburg (to which I have to go but my company won't pay for lodging). I'll hopefully be crashing on a friend's couch for the four nights I need a roof over my head. It'll be an adventure!

My Coffee-mate Peppermint Mocha creamer supply is running low. I think I just opened one of the last four bottles this morning. I'm not looking forward to returning to my basic hazelnut or french vanilla flavors. Oh the tragedy.

Colette (the black cat) has been sneezing a lot lately. I think she has a cold or is suffering from the dry heat that's cranked in the house. Maybe I should have taken my dad up on his offer of that humidifier. Oh, she also has developed very dry skin and it looks like she has dandruff. Fabulous. Guess you really can't put lotion on a cat like we use, right?

I'm loving Hulu.com. Yesterday I watched the first episode of Doogie Howser, M.D. (since I adore NPH) and a second season episode from 90210. Best part is that it's free. Amazing.

As far as my resolution to buy only cruelty-free beauty products, I've made one purchase: Avalon Organics Vitamin C Cleansing Gel. You can buy some of this company's products at Target, which is certainly convenient for me since I don't live near crunchy granola stores. So far, so good...

Thaw

So, I got sick of waiting around for a second day for the plumbers. They are not proving to be the most reliable company (well, I did just pick them out of the phone book, so who knew?). I mean, I have hot water and can take a shower so it's not an 'emergency' anymore. So, instead, I got myself together and went shopping. With money leftover from Christmas gifts burning a hole in my pocket and with an itch that I've had quite some time for an Orla Kiely stem print bag, I made my way to my favorite Fredericksburg store and treated myself. Just my luck that they just got new spring bags in.

I also took a cue from this blogger and found myself a pretty little primrose at the grocery store to brighten my day even more. These should tide me over until the thaw...

Frozen. For real.

Well, the past 24 hours has been interesting to say the least. I awoke Saturday morning to frozen water pipes. I have a feeling my house isn't used to temperatures this low (I know I'm not). My cute little cement block house with hearts on the shutters also has a cute little crawl space underneath that obviously is not well insulated. And that's where all the water pipes run. In the wide open. No insulation wrapped around them. I know. I crawled in there and looked.

After hours of blasting the heat, opening all cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom, and space heaters strategically placed, I have running water (both hot and cold). Now all the faucets are on a trickle to keep water flowing and I just have to wait around all day for the plumbers to come and crawl around underneath my house to make sure nothing is leaking. Think my landlord could invest in some insulation?

Frozen

Well, the weather is finally cold and staying that way here in central Virginia which makes me want to just stay inside and hibernate. I am not a cold weather person. Could never live in a place where winter is a way of life rather than a passing fancy. Don't get me wrong - I love cashmere scarves and the nip in the air, but I hate driving in the icy mix we tend to get here and I definitely wish for spring before winter has even really gotten underway.

Winter also means fresh veggies and fruits are minimal. There are the "winter" veggies listed here that I do love, but are hard to find from local sources in my generic grocery store. So in the meantime I resort to frozen veggies to tide me over. It is my hope that next winter I'll have my own farmer's market-provided veggies stockpiled in the freezer (the best laid plans...), but in the meantime, Trader Joe's green beans are my friends - I've lately been roasting them on a high temperature in the oven to make green bean fries (except baked really, not fried).

Please send me any great recipes you have utilizing frozen veggies as I'm a little uninspired right now. I'll be here under my afghan waiting for springtime...

Golden

Oh how I love the Golden Globes - the awkward table setup so that it takes winners forever to get to the stage and they do that shuffle and look confused as to the best path; the irreverent winner speeches at the end of the night when everyone has had a little too much to drink; the great clothes; seeing the footage of them mingling during breaks. It was fun again this year. I made quesadillas to eat while I watched (I experimented with using dried beans, T, and definitely didn't cook them well enough...hmmm...guess I need more practice). My one complaint about the show this year - well two really: First of all, how could Neil Patrick Harris not win? And secondly, could Brad and Angelina not be invited next year? They just looked so bored the whole time, which is totally against the spirit of the GG's - save that for the Oscar's. And bless Kate Winslet's heart for briefly forgetting that Angelina was nominated in the category with her in her acceptance speech! Loved it!

Image courtesy People.com - check it out for best dressed, best moments, etc. of the night.

When I was thirteen

I took off my bordeaux nail polish last night and took the time to actually look at the ingredients list on the nail polish remover tub (I use the kind with the sponge in the tub that you stick your finger in and swish around). There's gelatin in my nail polish remover. This discovery made me all the more adamant that 2009 would be a cruelty-free beauty product year. I'll use what I have on hand, but when it comes to buying new, I'm making sure my haircare, makeup, and other beauty products are cruelty free.

This issue of animal testing for beauty products is actually what brought me to vegetarianism in the first place - I did a report on the topic in my 6th grade language arts class and it really opened my eyes. Years later, I think I'm doing so well, using natural products and being what I think is a conscious consumer, and then bam! I find an animal product in my nail polish remover. So here I am, making my New Years' resolution: I'm making the pledge to go cruelty free in 2009.

I used to be so vigilant about it but I've slacked off in the last few years. There are issues that I have chosen to either ignore or simply not ask about that used to impact how I shopped when I was passionate about the cause. In my return to this idealism, the biggest adjustment will be finding a new makeup collection - Origins doesn't test its final products on animals and doesn't use animal ingredients, but it doesn't have any rules about using animal-tested ingredients. Perhaps I'll be making the trek back to The Body Shop like I did when I was 13. No worries, though, I do promise to continue to wear deodorant and shave my legs!

The positive thing is that there are lots of readily-available products out there and it's pretty easy to make this pledge once you set your mind to it and pay attention. I'll report back with new product finds as I make my changes. By the way, that bordeaux nail polish by Essie - I've now learned it's only 50% cruelty free. Guess my nail polish choices need to be revised as well...

Pen and ink

Is there anything better than a fresh new notepad and a great inky pen? I love the bright paper, the clear blue lines, and the sound the pen makes when it scratches its words across the surface. I had to pull a new notepad out today when I was working at home taking notes on a 1980s interpretive report of my historic site and I must say it made my day (no, that's not pathetic!).

While my last post was about getting with the modern times and the joys of wireless internet, for me nothing will EVER replace the joy of pen and paper. Not eco-friendly of me I know, but hey, I work in the history field and we love pieces of paper and scratchy ink marks and what they have to say.

Getting with the times

I recently made a few technological changes around the house. It was to save a little money but also just to get rid of services or options I rarely used. Streamlining, I guess you could call it. I got rid of my land line and rely on my cell phone only now. I downgraded to basic/local cable and got rid of my DVR and now rely (gasp!) on my VCR to tape shows. I also (as a result of my ditching my land line) switched from DSL to cable internet. This of course forced me (contrary really to the trend of getting rid of things) to purchase a new cable modem. Here I splurged and purchased a wireless one so that now my laptop doesn't need to be plugged into the one phone jack in the house and its cord draped precariously across tables and chairs to get online.

So, I totally took advantage of this new development last night by having my laptop right up on the counter with me as I tried a new recipe off of vegetariantimes.com. Result? Success all around. I love new technology and getting with the times!

Baked Tofu with Peanut Sauce
(Adapted from VegetarianTimes.com)

I guess you can term this comfort food for vegetarians? It was warm and like a casserole and gave me a shot of protein that I've been missing lately with my poor holiday eating habits. Plus, it was yummy. I only hope it reheats well - it made quite a lot for one person.

• 2 12-oz. pkgs. extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (except I used one package of regular firm tofu and I think it made it a little watery)
  
• 1 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (3/4 cup) (I used shallots I had hanging around)
  
• 1/2 cup diced canned tomatoes, drained (I used 1 cup since the recipe calls for tomato paste which I didn't have on hand)
  
• 1 1/2 tsp. chile-garlic sauce, such as Huy Fong (Okay, I sadly used Tobasco here)
  
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup frozen okra slices (I instead subsituted chopped frozen green beans)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 13- x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray, and place tofu slices on bottom overlapping slightly.

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onion in oil 5 to 7 minutes, or until translucent. Add tomatoes, chile-garlic sauce, and thyme, and sauté 1 to 2 minutes, or until it begins to darken and thicken. Stir in peanut butter, okra, and 1 cup water, and bring to a simmer.

Pour peanut sauce over sliced tofu, cover with foil, and bake 5 to 7 minutes. Remove foil, and bake 5 minutes more, or until heated through. Serve over rice or other grain (I used whole wheat couscous which gave it a nutty, toothy addition that went great with peanut).

Dolled up

All dressed up and ready to head out this evening for a birthday party, I got a call that the party was postponed due to the birthday girl feeling under the weather (feel better soon Janet!). So I did what any single girl would do when she's all dolled up and wearing her cute velvet heels...

I changed into comfy clothes, curled up on the couch with a big glass of red wine, and watched a favorite movie: 2000's Love's Labour's Lost with the quite adorable Alessandro Nivola. (He also played the charming yet evil Henry Crawford in the 1999 version of Mansfield Park).

Nothing like a little Shakespeare combined with some entertaining 1930s music, dancing, and awesome costumes on a wild Saturday night.