Twelves

Hey!  It's 12:12 on 12/12/12!

Can you dig it?!?

by the numbers... lately

Despite the fact that I work at an accounting firm and I pretty much dream in numbers, it seems like a lot of happenings lately have been number-oriented...

 

{5,938th place, in a turtle costume}

 

{1st snowfall that stuck}

 

 

{my dad's 62nd birthday}

 

 

{and my grandpa's 91st}

I hope your Thanksgivings were lovely.  There will be some exciting changes on the ol' blog here soon... stay tuned, my friends.

The Sauce

the best holiday of the year is tomorrow.  though i don't claim julia child status in the kitchen (although i did learn today from morning npr that she always deconstructed her turkey before cooking so the light and dark meats could cook differently, then put it back together for the norman rockwell moment...), i've learned over the years what i like and how to get it there.  i've also learned what components are an absolute must for the thanksgiving feast, versus the ancillary not-worth-the-calories items (yeah, that's right, coleslaw and dill pickles, i'm talking to you).  one thing i'm an absolute die-hard-traditionalist-sucker for is... the sauce.  cranberry sauce, that is.  in fact, while this chart is likely accurate for most, 

 {source included on picture}

a graph of my consumption would be somewhere around a straight line at 4 marks up.  all year long.  however my fanaticism over this puckery sauce, i don't demand it for all holidays... just thanksgiving.

so, if you somehow find yourself without this essential holiday item before your meal tomorrow (and you coincidentally land here as well), here's a rather quick and easy recipe passed down from one of my grandmas:

(this recipe is for chunky cranberry sauce.  a text poll i just conducted my sources say that 1 out of every 2 people prefer chunky over smooth cranberry sauce.  like most things (peanut butter and jam vs. jelly, for instance), i like both but prefer chunky more.)

1 cup orange juice

1 cup sugar

1 bag cranberries

put all ingredients into a saucepan and stir together.  put the mixture on medium heat, being sure to stir frequently so the sugar doesn't burn.  eventually, the cranberries will explode (exciting and dangerous!) and the sauce will get thicker.  cook until the sauce is your desired thickness.  enjoy!

 happy spreads tomorrow!  i'll be in touch soon!

found this... i'm thinking this might be an awesome gift for a certain... moi.

{source}

trick or treat... on my street

we're sticklers for tradition at my house.  though these can be found surrounding just about anything, they occur most around birthdays and holidays.  call it "comfort food" for our to-do list, but these traditions make us feel warm and cozy... even if we're pulling them off at the last minute... 

putting knife to pumpkin in search of art... and then, once again, admitting this whole thang ain't easy and settling for a design much more simplified than the one in your head... yup, we do that.

{manda & the mondo one}

{the end product... all aglow}

in addition to the front stairs, we always put up gordon pumpkin, should we get any trick-or-treaters.

{gordo}

my mom always makes a batch of cupcakes that we take around to our neighbors (reverse trick-or-treating?).  we have quite a stock of themed sprinkles, so the desserts get dressed up too!

{unless they're nude-shocking!}

after traipsing to and chatting with our neighbors, we walk home to enjoy roasted pumpkin innards seeds and our sugary booty...

{yum & yum}

what did you do for halloween?

thoughts: hunkering down

source

"talk" lately has been 78% about storms and preparation.  as a north-easterner, i've been fuzzily aware that the days are flying by and my morning commute will soon involve numb fingers, chipping ice from windshields and recklessly trying to drive a 2 ton vehicle while looking through a tiny porthole of cleared space while hoping the blaring heat takes care of the rest, and soon.  

but something about the impending storm seems sudden, too early.  i want thanksgiving to be cold, so sitting down to a table groaning with the weight of steaming food is enticing.  i want christmas time to be white with snow, if not just to match up to those cards we receive (except for that guy from florida, whose cards always sport santa in bermudas with flamingos around him...).  but october... halloween... let's still have walkable streets for that scary night, eh?  alas, ready or not... here it comes.

despite my thinking the storm should have scheduled a later date, i welcome the idea of hunkering down.  multiple times this fall, i've been standing at the oven or stove, concocting this or following one of the interwebz' myriad recipes, and the wind produced some particularly big gust outside, the leaves rattled, and i smiled to myself.  because i was in.  because i had warm slippers on.  and hot cocoa available.  and good books.  all quality hunkering down materials.  

i'm a bit excited about possibly holing up this week.  are you?

remember friends:

source

summer bucket list

a very long while ago, i promised to post a summer "bucket list"... here we are, on the first day of september, and though there are technically 20-some-odd summer days left, i feel fall creeping on...  having a bucket list for a season is a very appealing idea to someone of my nature - first of all, it is about seasons, which, in the northeast, are pretty distinct (though they're getting a little grey around the edges...).  i love the differences between the four - not only the forms and amounts of precipitation, but what activities, what produce, what moods the season does or doesn't procure.  secondly, the bucket list is that, a list.  ah, lists... the double-edged sword of how my mind works - - on the one hand, they're very handy for organization, and i'll admit i get a little rush when i can cross things off.  on the flip side, it seems that once something is on a list, it is nudged a little further down the scale towards a "task" - something that has to be done, rather than something you simply want to do.  in some ways, i sense i'll feel like i failed if i don't get all things checked off the summer bucket list.  my friends jill and kate, who came up with the idea, thought to keep the lists in a binder (they like binders) to be revisited/reused next summer.  hope for a new summer and gratefulness for this one... that sounds about right.

my list for this summer was as follows (sometimes my job's "firm lingo" creeps into my daily vernacular...):

~have a picnic

~make lemonade

~go swimming in a lake, river or the ocean

~make popsicles

~go to a farmer's market

~family road trip

~make ice cream

~glow stick croquet!

~fireworks

~30-mile bike ride

~kebabs/roasted veg on the grill

~make pesto

~s'mores

here's some picture proof of my wanderings...

{i guess bloomy is an adjective... troy waterfront farmers market}

{yes, that is a dolphin balloon finding its freedom... easthampton picnic with the armstongs, katie and the mauters}

{did you ever notice everyone has their own favorite type of firework?... pyrotechnics courtesy of easthampton, ma}

{pennsylvania road trip with the fam... they grow cabbages big there...}

{recipe courtesy of erin, dishes courtesy of pesto}

i've also had roasted veg on the grill and s'mores, but no pictures of such.  in other goings on this summer (i'd like to pretend this is what has kept me from blogging, but in reality, my loving family did most of this while i was at work), my room got a makeover.

{deciding on the flooring was the hardest part... i felt like i was naming my firstborn... permanence!}

and, in moving out and back in, i realized (again), i have too much stuff.  more on that later.  have a wonderful weekend!

friday flowers - it's been a while...

blooms abound this summer...

 

{wildflowers roadside}

 

{bay window array}

 

 

 {oxalis detail}

{carnation detail - my mum has gotten into friday flowers & bought these for herself!}

 

happy friday all!

it's all the rage...

 

note: apparently all the "cool" kids are drinking this.  not that that's ever influenced me before, but it's water.  water.  what could go wrong? 

yeeeeuck.  you can keep your coco-pea-go water, kids of cool.

still laughing...

via here via here

for reals.

the south pole

if you're feeling quite oppressed by the muggy weather, please treat yourself to a trip to the south pole.  it's rather amazing.

the longest day...

happy first day of summer y'all!

inspired by my friends jill and kate, i'm working up a "summer bucket list" which i will share soon... 'til then, keep cool!

Notes From the Road - Day Ten

The day of 87 naps.... and the end of our trail for now... headed home.

Notes From the Road - Day Nine

Our second night in San Francisco was a bit of a splurge, but worth it, I think, for the quiet...

It was, however, within walking distance of some very tourist-oriented shops - never afraid to be ostentatious...

Notes From the Road - Day Eight

If I learned anything from this trip, it is that I try to pack too much into too little time (I really need to learn to get my relax on) AND I reaffirmed, once again, that I will always always always prefer the country over the city. We headed north from the ever-bustling San Francisco to the beautiful coast of Point Reyes and Inverness... and drank up the simple life... just what I needed.

Notes From the Road - Day Seven

This was the day of the accident. No pictures taken of that...I think that would have angered the woman I rear ended a bit..."hang on, gotta get this for my blog"... (:

Prior to said fun time, we did go to an excellent aquarium in Monterey where I got to meet these little guys - odd fishes with an equally odd name - the spiny lumpsucker.

Notes From the Road - Day Six

Some days are just about hiking and the trees you meet along the way...

Notes from the Road - Day Five

Better late than not at all... I'm on Day Ten, but if you'll forgive me, I'll go ahead and send out a flurry of posts anyways... things such as in-grown toenail removal and a minor fender bender with the rental car have delayed me... that, and my trying to see it "all", which I am working hard on today by taking 87 naps and seeing not much of anything except the inside of my eyelids.

Day Five found us in Yosemite, quite possibly one of my favorite national parks... and I've seen a few in my day...

The signs marking trail distances often bely the trail's near vertical ascension, but the bang for your (700-stair) buck is a priceless view...

Notes from the Road - Day Four

Feeling small and childlike near the giant sequoias...

Notes from the Road - Day Three

Sometimes a day with loved ones involves chocolate cake...and sometimes to make it through said cake, you have to eat half later in your hotel room.

Sequoias tomorrow friends, keep tuned...

Notes from the Road - Day Two

A trip to the Getty Center with my great uncle and Judy. We loved the lilies in the Garden Center and in the galleries.

Notes from the Road - Day One

It's been a while folks. I've been following you all closely, but not joining in the fun. I probably have a few posts to catch up on, but thought I'd start a little series as I'm on a little trip in California! Please forgive any weird formatting or delays - I'm trying this from my phone (:

Day one found us flying into LA. LA feels safer and cleaner than NYC, there are quite a few big men with little dogs walking the streets, and we didn't meet a macaron we didn't like (yup double negative).

Our 21-hours-of-being-awake day ended with an orchestra performance by the LA Phil. Sleepy, yet delightful.

Friday Flowers

{orchid exquisiteness}

i will take no credit for the amazingness of this flower - it was a gift to my mum from my dad for heart day, and if it were mine, it would likely be compost by now... things have been that busy, and i am that bad with plants... 

i am grateful it's still with us, and that the sun happened to light it just so one day... it has been waiting here for me to share with you... enjoy.  happy friday my friends.

Happy Pi Day!

{peach, fruits of the forest}

It's Pi Day - go get your pie on!

what i am today...

 {birds in squawkbox tree}

today i am:

feeling like i didn't have enough winter to be blessed by this spring

wishing i could have a cup of tea with my grandmas

listening to the civil wars' harmony

relieved at some medical results and nervous for others

soaking in the sun on my skin

February Photos 5

{10 am - usually a time at work when I grab a little pick-me-up... usually chai tea...}

    

{...and almonds}