Really?

I have found a new purpose for this blog - Ranting!
Today I'm bothered by something a bit more legitimate than actors that can't sing. Today I am bothered by insensitive people. I am not someone who takes too many things personally. I'm generally pretty good at just letting things pass buy. But, I do have a few hot button topics. Unfortunately, one of them is singleness. When 23 year olds whine about being single, I roll my eyes at them and do not feel bad for their plight in life. But, when people are getting close to 30 or have passed that milestone and are, against their desires, still single, I feel that isn't something to be taken lightly. I don't want people to feel sorry for me for the way my life is but I do appreciate when they recognize that it may be a bit of a sensitive issue and not something that should be ignored.
Here's what happened today to set me off just a bit. Very good friends of mine have a beautiful little girl that just turned 1 this weekend. This couple hosts a dinner almost every week as a kind of family dinner and are some amazing friends. One woman who regularly comes to dinner sent out an email asking if anyone wanted to go in on a group gift for the little girl so that we could get something really nice and fun. She suggested it because about a year ago we all went in on a gift for her son that he absolutely loves to this day. Super sweet suggestion and within five minutes she had several people say they would love to go in on it - including me. After people responded, she sent an email thanking everyone for their quick response and letting people know how much they should contribute based on the number of people that responded. She listed the people that responded with the following note (paraphrased) - "That comes out to about $16 per person (couples count as 1) so just get me the money whenever you can. Really, whatever you want to contribute is fine."
Here's the thing, the list was all couples except for me and my friend M. Now, M and I are kind of used to being the only single people in what has become a very large group of couples so we joke on a semi regular basis about being a couple (we are not). But, we both bristled at this just a bit. I had to go to a meeting right after this email was sent out so I didn't reply. I got back to my desk and had a note from him that said 'I hope I didn't speak out of turn' and then I saw the email from him that said, 'Liz and I would like to be considered a couple since all the rest of you are also dual income couples.' Now, I would have replied slightly nicer than that but basically would have said the same thing, so no, he did not speak out of turn. I even relayed this story to a married co-worker of mine and she couldn't believe that someone would think that way. If the entire list is couples, that's fine, divide it that way. But, if you have a mixed list, count individuals.
The kicker was that I saw her tonight and gave her money and all she did was make a little joke about how M and I didn't need to pay full price if we didn't want to. No reference to the fact that she might have been a little insensitive in what she wrote. I could have brought something up, but really, it's not worth the energy. Note, this has absolutely nothing to do with the amount of money that was asked. I am totally happy to contribute $16 towards a gift for people that host me for dinner once a week.
I don't expect everyone to understand everything that I am going through all the time, but I do expect my friends to be the tiniest bit sensitive. I promise, I will try to do the same.

*This has nothing to do with the four of you that read this - you are all pretty cool about this.

Les Mis

This is one of those times where I need to express my very strong opinions on relatively unimportant topics.
Earlier this week I finish reading Les Miserable - all 1195 pages of it. It was beautiful. It took me three months to finish (I started right before Christmas). When I started the book, I couldn't put it down for hours on end. As with most novels that are extremely long, the middle of the book gets a little slow. There are 100 pages or so describing the battle of Waterloo just so you get the full backstory to one fairly small detail that is needed later on. At the end, I knew some of those characters better than I know some of my friends. It is an absolutely stunning piece of literature. I don't usually do a whole lot of research before picking out a book but for this one, there are fairly drastic differences in opinion on the book depending on the translation that was read. I ended up with a newer translation by Julie Rose and was very happy with it.
Tonight I finally saw the most recent movie version of the musical of Les Mis. I never got around to seeing it in the theatre but I watch it at home this evening. I love the musical version. I think that it helps to not consider the book and the musical the same thing. The basic story is the same but beyond that, they aren't the same. When you don't think they are the same, there is room to love them both. I saw the stage version many years ago in LA. I own and have memorized the Broadway cast recording. I really enjoyed the movie version. I think they did an excellent job with it.
Here's where the really random strong opinion comes in.
I strongly believe that if you couldn't have gotten yourself casted in the Broadway production of Les Miserable, you shouldn't be in the movie version either.
There were several offenders in the movie but the worst offenders were Russell and Anne. Sure, Anne did a good job of acting Fantine and I really felt her pain, but she annoys me. Russell is just a bad singer and a bad actor. Oddly enough, he hit the few really big notes really well but then butchered everything else. Seriously, with most of the leads, the vibrato was out of control. Based on every Broadway show I have ever seen, they could have easily found people to play these rolls who could both sing and act.
So, there you have my opinion. Even though you are making it into a movie, a musical is still first and foremost a musical. Don't believe me? See the movie. See the Broadway production. Compare. While you are at it, read the book.

Recipes 4, 5, 6 & 7

My list of recipes to try in 2013 keeps getting longer so I decided it was time to start crossing a few off. Last weekend I tackled four of them and was very pleased with them all.

First up, Cranberry-Pumpkin Seed Energy Bars:

These are my new favorite thing for breakfast. They have rice krispies in them so it's like eating dessert for breakfast. You can really use any kinds of seed and nuts and fruits that you want but for this round I followed the recipe. You then make this honey caramel-like mixture that holds everything together. They are sweet but not overly sweet at all. Buying all of the ingredients can feel like it's costing a lot because they aren't cheap things, but from every bag of nuts and seeds I bought, I'll probably get three batches of these and one batch is more than enough for breakfast each day of the week.

For Sunday night dinner it was Crispy mustard-roasted chicken:

This is from the Barefoot Contessa's new cookbook and the recipe isn't online yet so I don't have the link. Email me if you want the recipe. It's chicken dipped in mustard and white wine and then topped with panko with lemon and thyme and then baked until crispy. I did all chicken breast but you can do whatever you like. I paired it with some parmesan mashed potatoes and some broccoli for a yummy dinner. This was also really good left over for lunch during the week.

Then, as a treat for a meeting I was going to on Monday night, it was Salted Caramel Brownies:

These are also from the new Barefoot cookbook and oh my goodness they are tasty. They are incredibly rich (I am not kidding here) and kind of fudge-like. The base is her go-to standard brownie that I had never made before but might make my go-to standard. Then, as soon as you take them out of the oven you pour caramel sauce over the top and sprinkle on a bit of salt. The guys at the meeting I went to each at two very large brownies (I could barely eat one small one) and it was a good think I brought along the milk!

Then, for my regular Tuesday night dinner group, I made Carrot Cake. I don't have a picture of this and I don't have a link to the recipe so it's a little anticlimactic, I know. Again, it's from the new Barefoot cookbook and it's actually called Carrot Cake with Ginger Mascarpone Frosting. However, I changed it up a bit. I made the cake as directed and it was SO good. I just changed up the frosting a bit. The people I was making this for love carrot cake for the cream cheese frosting so I wanted to make sure that it had a lot of that flavor. So, instead of there being more mascarpone, I used equal parts of that and cream cheese. I bought the candied ginger that was supposed to get mixed in and I tasted it and didn't like it. So, I didn't put it in there. The cake was a huge hit!

*Sorry if the pics are really small still, I'm having some issues making them do what I want.

First Recipes of 2013

This weekend I tried out the first new recipes of 2013. My list of recipes to try is already really long so I figured it was time to start getting through a couple of them. They were both a success!

Recipe #1 - Fig Bars with Red Wine and Anise.

They sound fancy, but they are just like Fig Newtons! The biggest difference - way better! Honestly, the dough is a little hard to work with so the assembling of everything was a little different. If I did these again, I just make them sandwich cookies or something a bit easier to put together. Recipe is from Food and Wine and can be found here.

Recipe #2 - Pasta alla Vecchia Bettola.

 

This is a terrible photo of an absolutely delicious pasta dish. Basically, it's pasta with vodka sauce but even better. Kelly and I enjoyed this while watching Downton Abbey last night. It takes a bit of time but most of that is just the sauce being in the oven. I added some Italian sausage since this was our meal but it really doesn't need anything. It is just a bowl full of comfort on a cold night and it'll make your co-workers jealous when you take leftovers to work the next day. The recipe is in the Barefoot Contessa's newest cookbook and can also be found here.

New Year, New Habits

I've never been one for New Year Resolutions. But, as I've gotten older, I've started to appreciate the chance to start fresh and do something new that makes me a better person. So, I'm working on some resolutions for 2013. There are going to be the usual things about losing weight and being better about finances because, truth be told, those things need to change. I also want to make sure there are one or two things in the mix that are a bit more fun to carry out.

One of the things that I think that I have decided on is to have friends over for dinner at least once a month. I'm also going to start a list of all the new recipes I want to try in 2013. This all started when I was reading the latest Food and Wine magazine and loved a ton of recipes in it. I realized that I never remember the recipes I want to try so I started a list of them. I'm keeping track of the recipe and where I find it so that I can find it again. I started doing this list and then realized that it's going to be way too much food for myself. Hence, I will have friends over for dinner once a month. I figured that once a month wasn't too much but it gives me a chance to be a bit fancy and try out new things. It's also a chance to get to know some people a bit better.

I'll have to solidify all resolutions in the near future and I'll keep you posted on things. Stay tuned for a recap of the first dinner sometime in January!

December Birchbox

I realize that I never reviewed my November box but I've already put things away (or thrown them away) and I didn't take pictures so it will have to remain a mystery. I won't fail you on the December box though. It's a pretty good box. Here it is.
Frownies Eye Gels. These are supposed to fight puffy dark circles under my eyes. There are two patches in here and they should each last a couple of days when sprayed with some tonic that is not included. So, we'll see if I get more than one use out of each of these. Haven't tried them yet but I like them in theory.

ModelCo SHINE Ultra Lip Gloss. This is from Australia so it must be fancy. I'm a fan. This particular one really has no color to it but it adds a nice shine. It's not sticky like some and it lasts pretty well. Plus, it has a slight taste of strawberries that is kind of nice. This is my favorite of the box.

Cartier Baiser Vole Eau de Parfume. This is an award-winning scent with a single-not composition of pure lily. It's actually kind of nice. It's a little strong for me for daytime but would be lovely for a night out.

Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream. The lightweight cream naturally improves skin tone with vitamin C and grape-derived resveratrol. We'll see. Again, I haven't tried this one yet but the tube is so small, I'm guessing I won't see much results before it runs out.

Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Advanced Volume Shampoo. It's purple. According to the description, it's also buzz-worthy. I mostly just like that it's a nice travel size. I'll be sticking this in my stash of things to take on trips with me. I'll let you know if it's anything special after my next trip. UPDATE: I used this while I was home for Christmas and it's pretty good. It gave my hair good body even in the winter when my hair usually goes flat. It's unlikely I'll hunt down a full size bottle and/or order it online but if you happen to run into some, give it a try.

And then, just to rub salt in the wound, they included this lovely present for the Birchbox man in my life. Again, they forgot to also include the man. It's a nice little scent. I'd appreciate it if a man smelled like this. I accidentally sprayed some on my chair so I keep getting a whiff of it and I don't mind.

There you have it. That's the excitement for December! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Oh right, I have a blog

So, I'm not the most consistent blogger in the world. The two of you that read this will forgive me, right? I have a Birchbox that needs reviewing and I said something about some blogs about shoes that you should look forward to. I'm sure there have been some other somewhat exciting things in my life that I could tell you about. But, I've failed you. Sorry. I've had a lot I've wanted to say but haven't felt like I should ramble about my personal life and my frustrations with it in such a public forum. So, I've kept it to myself and to a few trusted friends and one-on-one, actual human interactions.
I've been a little down in the dumps lately. I've understood why people want to just sit around and drink all day (and, my problems are not anywhere near what some people deal with). I've wanted to just lay on my couch and watch Twilight movies all day. I'm working my way out of it though, so don't worry too much about me. If you want to know more details, feel free to contact me some other way. It has to do with boys and feeling like I'm not really going anywhere in life and wishing I had a reason to take pictures with someone (a friend keeps posting her fantastic photos of lovely couples and families and it makes me want to have photos).
On the bright side, today I got a sweet reminder that I have fantastic people in my life who really do love and care for me. This shouldn't be a revelation to me because I am very fortunate to have always had wonderful friends and family. But, sometimes you just need a reminder. I got home from dinner (again, with friends that I am lucky enough to see all the time) and there was a package waiting for me. I was a bit surprised because I didn't order anything and it's not my birthday and it's too early for Christmas. When I opened it, it was a lovely set of my very own personalize stationary! Very simple cards with my name at the top in a lovely apple green color. Turns out they are from a friend of mine who just wanted to be sweet. I had mentioned to him awhile ago that I was jealous of his personalized stationary and that I had thought of getting my own but never had. I had pretty much forgotten about that conversation but I guess he remembered. The stationary is lovely but I think it means even more that he remembered such a short conversation and thought that I could use a little treat.
I really am incredibly blessed by the people in my life.