I've always said I would have chosen Duckie

Just when I thought John Krasinski couldn't possibly be more cheek-pinching adorable, I see this:



"His name is Blane? That's a major appliance, that's not a name."

Call me Violet

Today is costume day at work. (This benefits charity, I swear.) My friends and I are going as the rainbow, each of us taking a segment of ROYGBIV.

Kind of like this, except not trampy:


The capper is my friend who will dress as our leprechaun, complete with a pot of gold-wrapped chocolates he will toss to people. We threw this idea together yesterday afternoon, but at least it's comfy.

And when we stand in a row, I swear we are precious.

Delmonico, medium rare

Kristen, look away! October's Meat Meal is a juicy Delmonico steak, and this time I was courageous enough to take a "before" photo. I used this method from Alton Brown (Who doesn't love him? I mean, he is just so adorable and informative.) to cook the steak using the oven and my Grandma Stombaugh's cast iron pan that I borrowed from my parents' attic.


I bought a lovely Delmonico from the meat counter, which I have now learned to approach without nearly passing out. First step: bring it to room temp.


Then you season it with kosher (must be kosher!) salt and pepper, and drizzle a little oil on it. I had to use vegetable oil because olive oil has a much lower smoke point and is not good for this type of cooking.


I heated the pan in a 500 degree oven and them put it on high heat on the cooktop until it was branding iron hot, then threw the steak in for 30 seconds on each side to get a nice crust. Perhaps I should have gone with peanut oil, because there was a little smoke in my kitchen at this point.


Then pop the pan into the 500 degree oven for two minutes on each side of the steak and voila! A perfect, medium rare Delmonico with a nice, crispy crust that goes well with the juicy meat. And a side of sauteed squash and zucchini. Yum city. It wasn't quite as good as Dad's but, well, of course it wasn't.

This may have been my easiest, quickest meat meal yet, which is good, because what I have planned for November is going to be long and labor intensive. And then I have something pretty special planned for December, if I can pull it off. Stay tuned.

I don't even understand this kind of talent

Faber Castell from eric yeo on Vimeo.

Becoming an avocado person*

*That sounds like the name of a hideous Canadian sci-fi movie you'd see on MST3K.

You know how they say if you introduce a food to a kid 12 times, the kid will start to like it? (I think that's how my mother got Julia to eat asparagus. Blech.) Well, I'm about to try that with avocado.

I have never liked the taste of avocado (though I love the consistency) but it's apparently terribly healthy for you, so I think I should throw myself onto this bandwagon. I do not envision myself drinking those avocado smoothies that Kristen and Nicole and Becky love to make (the horror) but I am determined to make myself like guacamole.


I went to the DeLallo store in Greensburg this weekend and nearly wept at the beauty of their produce. The euphoria caused me to buy two avocados before I even knew what I was doing.


I have to say, cutting open an avocado is a lot of fun.


This recipe called for just scooping out the meat and mashing it with a fork.


The DeLallo store also had a huge display of gorgeous Roma tomatoes, one of which I chopped up for my guacamole salsa.


Then you add chopped green onion (which always makes me think of my grandfather) and half a jalapeno, chopped fine. The recipe listed fresh cilantro as an optional ingredient and I jumped right on that because, to paraphrase George Costanza, I would ensconce myself in cilantro if it were socially acceptable.


Sprinkle on some salt and pepper, add the juice of one lime, and give it all a mix.


Now, perhaps the true reason I am gobbling this down like a pancake-eater on Fat Tuesday is the lime and cilantro (one of my favorite flavor combinations ever) or the crisp green onion or the juicy Roma tomatoes. Maybe I'm not an avocado person just yet. But I'm getting there.

Were you, by any chance, in the mood to laugh hysterically?

Then go see this:


Here:



Details here.

Alexa and Taylor are the bomb.

Watch this, not that.

I just got back from seeing Dream House at the movie theater. I cannot recommend it. Formulaic and predictable, plus the preview mismarketed it and gave way too much away. The two leads got married in real life and lets hope their union is long and happy because something good had to come out of this film.

Alas, I could have better spent my time watching this amazing video 31 times instead. It takes stop motion to new levels and I love it.

Innsbruck, in pictures

Our first stop in Austria was the gorgeous village of Innsbruck. The people that get to live there are so lucky.

Innsbruck hosted two winter Olympic Games.

Emperor Maximillian's Golden Roof. How it sparkled.

Also sparkling? The steps at the Swarovski Crystal store.

The prettiest building in town.

And on the ground floor we found a shop where you could get gelato shaped like a rose.

We all partook.

The snow capped mountains peek over every rooftop. So beautiful.

Up next: We roam about Salzburg dressed up in nothing but some old drapes and have a marvelous time.

Neuschwanstein, in pictures

Our next stop was Neuschwanstein, one of the castles built by Bavaria's Mad King Ludwig. It's often called The Fairy Tale Castle because it inspired the castle in Disney's Sleeping Beauty film. It was most impressive.

The castle was gorgeous, but even better were the views:

The yellow palace on the left was one of Ludwig's "old castles," apparently not sufficiently grand for his taste.

It was quite chilly, but that lake was so clear and beautiful, I wanted to dive right in. Alas, I did not.

Gorgeous!

Next up: On to Austria and Innsbruck.

Even better than a day in Germany...

Julia took this one.

Now check out the faceplant:

She was coming to get me with tickles.

She was making a pile of leaves and suddenly the tree started raining leaves down on us. She was so excited.

"This is how high my pile will be."