Ocular Update, Culinary Musings and Football.

Well, I can look up now.  This is day #2 of not having to stare at the ground.  And what better way to celebrate that than watching Julie & Julia with my momma and then watching the BCS Championship game.

All I have to say is WAR EAGLE!  A loss for Alabama that other team is a win for EVERYONE else.  And let's be honest - if you are a quarterback from Texas and your actual God-given name is Colt McCoy you deserve to win. 

I am also now dying to make a batch of the bruschetta that is shown in the opening scenes of Julie & Julia.  You know, the one with the heirloom tomatoes on top.  I just found the recipe here.  That probably isn't going to happen until I get back to Jackson. 

*Picture from the movie Julie & Julia*

Until then I'll keep myself happy with my mother's Mexican Chicken Soup (I'll post the recipe tomorrow.  No time tonight - the game is about to start!).

By the way: it's snowing here and has been all day! 

The Loot!

Well since I never blogged about what I received from Santa for Christmas I'll tell you about it now!

Three serving pieces of my sterling: a cake server, the sugar shell and the butter knife.

*Old Master by Towle

A cute vintage tablecloth that an elf (my mom) found at an estate sale.

I also got a set of stainless flatware from my grandmother...

and a new bedside table from my  grandfather.

*Hopefully, I'll have a picture of it in my room to show you soon!

Here are some of the other goodies Santa brought to our house:

The preppy brother got clothes...who would have thought.

Momma was given three antique olive jars from her three kiddos!

And for my birthday?  Let's just say the a trip to Anthropologie and J. Crack is in order :)

New Specs!

Oh!  Another happy - after 5 years I finally got a pair of new glasses!  I never wear glasses except at night right before I go to bed.  For this reason I haven't felt the need to buy a new pair in five years.  Well thanks to wonderful insurance I had a few hundred dollars that had to be spent by December 31st and it could be spent on glasses!  I went to the shop and spent about an hour trying on every pair available.  I finally settled on these!  I love them.

They were ordered the Monday before Christmas.  I knew I wouldn't be back in town until after the new year to pick them up, but though, "Hey whats two weeks when I've waited five years?"  Of course the next week I found out that I would be sequesterd in Alabama and half blind in one eye for at least two more weeks.  Thankfully, the shop in Mississippi shipped them to me in less than 24 hours and I have been enjoying them ever since. 

Birthday Happenings!

To quote a friend,
"I guess I'll turn 26 professionally, but I'm staying 25 socially."

Well said SJ!

My 26th Birthday began with several  'Happy Birthday" texts that arrived  while I was still in bed.  I skipped church (since I can't lift my head up) and had breakfast on the couch with my momma.  Breakfast-in-bed-on-your-birthday is a family tradition in our house, but since I've been spending so much time in the bed we moved it to the couch.

*This is where the picture of breakfast would be if I hadn't forgotten to take it.  Instead, here is a picture of the bracelet that I get to wear for at least two more days*

Shortly after that I received a phone call from two dear friends who were somewhere up in  Tennessee for a wedding.  Then informed me that they would be dropping by to say hello on their way beck to Mississippi!!!  Yay!  Best birthday surprise of the day!  They came by and stayed for about an hour and a half before it was time to head back home.

Just before my Mississippi friends had to leave I got another surprise visit from my favorite little friends.  Three adorably cute little ones, ages 6, 4, and 1.5,  (whose parents are also dear friends of mine) showed up on my parents doorstep with a birthday sign, birthday plates, napkins, candles and ice cream cookie sandwiches!  They also brought a basket of goodies (picked out by the girls, the oldest two) and a Snuggie!  I finally have one of my very own and it is pink! 

*A basket filled with a Barbie coloring book, cupcake oven mitts, heart-shaped measuring cups and spoons, and a bag full of glittered pink nail polish!  What sweet girls and what a sweet Mama they have!*

The oldest also brought me her Nintendo DS to borrow.   She thought I would enjoy it since I could  look down while I played it!  I've been figuring out how to play Cooking Mama for the past few minutes. 

Mom is now making my favorite cake for my birthday cake, a lemon cheese cake.  It's not a cheese cake and we have no idea why it has that name, but it's delicious and you can find recipes for it in most older southern cookbooks!  We are picking up take-out from P.F. Chang's for dinner and I imagine I'll have my nightly dose of Lortab before I hit the sack.  Then only 24 hours until my doctor's appointment!

I am cautiously hopeful that my 26th year will be one with a lot of hope and not as much change.  I'm a sucker for stability and all this excitement over the past few days has given me my fill of change. 

January 3

So today is my birthday...I am spending most of it looking at the floor, the sofa, the sheets on my bed, the pages of a book and the computer.  The recovery for a detached retina is not something I would like to experience again (do you hear that, eye?).  In two days I will go back to the doctor and, hopefully, will then be able to keep my head up all the time.  In the meantime, let me tell you what I've been doing to keep busy keep myself from falling asleep (you tend to do that a lot when you are lying face down).

Reading:

• I finished My Life In France on day two of recovery.  I loved it!  For those of you who are not familiar with the book it is Julia Child's autobiography of her time in France.  It will make you want to cook, eat, and travel to Paris to wander through the markets.

• I listened to The Firm on my iPod.  I liked it, but I have to say that John Grisham's books that center around small towns in Mississippi are my favorite - none of this mob and escaping to the Cayman Islands stuff.

• I started reading The Reason for God last night.  I'm only four chapters in to it, but so far, so good!  Tim Keller's writing is easy to read - you almost feel like you are in conversation with him.    

• I'm also listening to The Brothers Karamazov on the iPod.  I know, I know.  I may never finish it, but I at least have to give it a shot.  

Watching:

I've caught up on The Office, Scrubs and Parks & Recreation.  I've also listened to every football game (and I mean every football game) that has been on over the weekend. 

I can't forget to mention the manicure and pedicure I got yesterday.  If you are going to look at your feet they should look good!  I would definitely recommend this to anyone in my position.  I walked out of there with OPI's "Your Royal Shyness" on my fingers and "I'm Not Really a Waitress" on my toes!

Of course I can check my email and repeatedly check the Anthropologie website to see if a certain skirt is on sale...

Any other entertainment ideas out there? 

...And A Happy New Year!

Things will be a bit slow here during the beginning of 2010 as I just had emergency surgery on my left eye for a detached retina.  I can only lift my head for 10 minutes of each hour so typing is not the most convenient activity.  

Hope your 2010 is off to a great start and hopefully this will be the year of "hope and change" of all the right kind :)

"A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn."

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Time to party...in the snow!

Two weekends ago our house hosted our 3rd annual Christmas Party!  We shopped and backed until we couldn't anymore.

We had the invitations printed and sent out the week of Thanksgiving and planned our menu the next.  We  each decided to make three dishes for the party and split the cost of the paper goods.  If multiple people are throwing the party that's the easiest way to go!

If you're in the party planning mood or just want some yummy Christmas food here are a two new recipes I tried this year:

Eggnog Cupcakes with Bourbon Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting 
and  
Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes! 
(these turned out a little salty for my taste)

One roommate painstakingly created this gingerbread house.  It took her three days to make it and every kind of candy you can imagine!  This is the book where she found the blueprint and instructions: Gingerbread Architecture.  

And the best part of the party was the snow!

Right in the middle of our Christmas party, while we were all on the porch watching the Belhaven Singing Christmas Tree, snow started falling!!!  There were predictions all week, but being in Mississippi and being continually disappointed with no snow, we didn't quite believe them.  It was a small early Christmas miracle :)

Our "Narian" lamppost  in the snow!

My poor basil didn't make it inside in time...oh well, at least I made several recipes of pesto to put in the freezer a month ago. 

It's not the easiest to see in the dark, but the front of the house covered in snow with the Christmas lights was a beautiful sight! 

The snow fell all night and there were still remnants of some snowmen along our street for a few days.  
(That's a big deal in Mississippi)