Catch up, catsup

While I think that “dealing with a brand-new human during her first seven months of living” is a pretty good excuse for dropping off the face of the blog-earth, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss visiting and adding new thoughts to this space. So…I’m back! And here’s what I’ve been up to:

• The aforementioned brand-new human. She is incomprehensibly enormous to me, even though she’s holding steady in her 50th percentiles for height and weight. She’s never really been interested in practicing sitting, always preferring to stand– even when she was less than four months old. This has meant plenty of arm work for me and GP, and plenty of exersaucer time for the little lady. She’s started eating food, like people! So far I’ve made everything she’s consumed (aside from rice cereal), and she especially loves sweet potatoes, avocados, and apples. The jury is still out on carrots, peas, and broccoli, but she’s willing to take them if they’re mixed with her favorites. We made our first trip out to the in-laws/extended family in NY and NJ in early June, and she was an absolute DREAM on the flight out– it turns out everyone is your friend when you have a happy baby on a plane. She was duly doted upon during our visit, and even has her own Mileage Plus account. (Though United seems to be continually wearing out their welcome with us. Seriously, United, get it together.) There’s more I could share, of course, but I’m trying to make this re-entry post a pretty brief one. Here, be satisfied with a picture of her boldly mixing patterns:

• I’ve been back at work for almost three months, though of course it feels like more. At various points during my maternity leave, I was really worried that I would hate returning to work, and that I’d get nothing done, but I have to confess that I feel like a better parent since I’ve been back. We absolutely love our daycare (run by my brother’s girlfriend’s mom, who is the sweetest), and both GP and I each have a “solo day” with her during the week, so I feel like I am able to be more patient and focused during the time I’m with her– without being frantic about the time she’s at daycare.
• Between maternity leave and that whole restricted screen time for infants, my media consumption has been all over the place. I polished off a couple series while I was on leave, and am now forced into “appointment” television– thank baby Jesus for the DVR. I’ve been reading less fiction recently, but keep renewing my library books in the hopes that proximity will spur me into action.

Happy summer, friends! I’ve missed you.

A quick goodbye to 2012

Oh, 2012, you kicked my ass. Maybe it was just these last three months in particular (because it’s never all bad, is it?), but I won’t be sad to see you go. Tonight I will enjoy the company of my husband, friends, and plenty of champagne as we bid good riddance to this year in one of my favorite places. (That’s the view from our bedroom– not too shabby, right?) A good friends reminded me not to challenge the universe, but I have to say that I feel like 2013 has to be better. Happy new year to all of you– may you all enjoy a year full of love and joy and adventure.

What’s making me happy this week

One of my favorite podcasts (that makes me happy just about every week), ends with this segment every time, and I think it’s a nice cherry-on-top-of-your-Friday to be able to reflect on the things that got you through the preceding week. Here are mine– leave yours in the comments!

• Eating like a human after a vacation spent largely in amusement parks. While there was a delicious Greek meal in Niagara Falls, as well as a wonderful stop at a bistro in Toronto, most of our eating was comprised of food-themed products as opposed to Actual Food. Yes, I like Chick-Fil-A (despite having pretty strong political differences with them), but this lady can only take so much Fried.
•  Ripening fruit in our yard. Right now, we’ve got some apricots, plums, figs, and the ever-present lemons. There’s also a mystery fruit tree about halfway down our driveway– I’ll have to post a picture, because I haven’t a clue what’s growing on it.
• Caving in and finally paying for an app on my phone: Plants vs. Zombies. I was morally against paying for apps in the beginning (lo those many two months ago), but I have a problem, and its name is Plants vs. Zombies. Basically, $2.99 = hours and hours of enjoyment. WORTH IT.
• A couple new Baggu bags that came with a Birchbox purchase (a new brush, Klorane dry shampoo, and Avene face wash, if you’re curious). Baggu was the first type of reusable bag that I owned, and they hold up so well. When Birchbox announced that they would be including them in all $60+ orders, I couldn’t resist. I’m not made of stone, y’all.
• Brave comes out today! I am trying to temper my excitement, as I don’t expect this to be quite as transcendent as and of the Toy Story movies, but I can’t help but feel eager about Pixar’s latest. Because we are elderlydon’t like paying a lot to see movies are relatively early risers on the weekends, we’ll probably end up seeing it Saturday or Sunday morning. Movie theater popcorn is a healthy breakfast, right? Whole grains and all.

Summer ahoy!

One of my recently-adopted podcasts (and new obsessions) is the Joy the Baker Podcast– I love it because Joy the Baker and Tracy from Shutterbean talk to each other in exactly the same way that my friends and I talk to each other, only with a few more “abbrevs” (dude, watch Happy Endings, it is wonderful). At any rate, something raised in one of their recent episodes was the Summer Bucket List. While I cannot bear to call it a “bucket list,” as something about the word “bucket” does not sit right with me, I am all about creating one. And so, in celebration of this first actual day of summer, here’s mine (some items are more vague than others, but I think they’ll figure themselves out):

Go to the beach at least twice (and avoid getting sunburned)
Funnel cake and/or garlic fries on the Boardwalk
Maxi skirts and dresses (I don’t wear shorts, so these are basically as breezy as my summer attire gets)
Summer Pops concerts at SJSU (free music, yay!)
Picnic in the Rose Garden (such a short walk from home!)
Braids for-ev-er
San Jose Giants games (cheaper than a movie)
Make jam, pickles, popsicles (we have some fruit ripening in our yard– has anyone ever pickled an apricot?)
Olympics! No lie, I love the Olympics.
Gone with the Wind (Hello, I still haven’t read this. I’m sorry.)
Bike rides

You don’t have to call it a bucket list, either, but tell me– what will you be up to this summer?

Post-vacation ennui

We just returned (well, last week) from our only strictly-vacation of the summer (we have a wedding to attend in August, but GP is a best man, so there’s something planned other than simply hanging out). I’ve managed to upload the pictures from my phone (yes, I took an actual camera, but the ennui! It is powerful), and you can see them here. I’ll be back with the fancier-camera pictures, a medium-sized recap, and maybe some links to GP’s trip reports. We visited four amusement parks in six days; never let it be said that I am not a good sport. (He did humor me by letting me drag him around a museum, of course.)

Lately

Recently, things ’round these parts have been…

…sleepy. Mostly because of this guy, who still hasn’t quite figured out that, in this family, we sleep all night. (And remember to go to the bathroom outside, but one thing at a time, right?)

His full name is Samuel Reginald Sarkisian, but usually he is "puppy." Either that or "leave the cat alone!"

…social. We’re attempting to get Sir Puppington used to being around people that aren’t us (he does enough growling/barking at GP as it is, so we need some socialization STAT), plus there have been various out-of-towners to  entertain for the last couple weeks. Remember downtime? Me neither.

…cultured. Both low and, well…medium? In the last month, I’ve been to a concert, a handful of hockey games (including the playoffs, holla! But don’t get too excited, because this series is a nailbiter for Los Tiburones), and a musical.

Look, it's not like it was the opera or anything. There were numerous fart jokes. Still, THE THEAT-AAAHH! (Which is how I pronounced it all night long. Sorry, GP.)

…pretty. I finally caved (to…myself? Is that a thing?) and signed up for Birchbox, which has brought me a new scent to try (probably not a keeper, but pleasant enough to use up the sample), eyeshadows to practice my rarely-used “smoky” skills, and a couple natural face-related products. Oh, and this hair oil! That I am already obsessed with, even though there’s no way I can justify a full-priced bottle (yes, even with free shipping).

…industrious. You know how sometimes all the projects you’re a part of at work are super-busy at once? Yeah, that. Spreadsheets, mail merges, and paper-cuts for days.

Friday Five

End-of-week randomness? You’ve got it!

I have been eating grapefruit segments over plain Greek yogurt, topped with chopped roasted almonds, all week. Grapefruit is something that I could have sworn I didn’t like– “I only like grapefruit-flavored things,” I’d say– but wouldn’t you know it, I dutifully segmented a juicy ruby-red on Monday and haven’t looked back since. I have very few food aversions, so I’m happy to have checked this one off the (pretty short) list.

—–

I am having what Rachel Zoe would call “an orange moment.” I bought Essie’s Orange, It’s Obvious and Revlon’s Orange Flip lipstick (a Cupcakes and Cashmere favorite, and I am nothing if not highly suggestible), and have decided on orange as my “base-bright” for the spring (and summer? Probably). It’s been alternating between pouring and drizzling outside for the last few days, and this orange manicure is basically the only thing keeping me from rocking myself and whimpering softly in a corner.

—–

My grandma recently acquired her first computer! This is a big deal, because now she has email and I can feel better about not calling her that frequently (I call her! Just…not frequently). In true Grandma fashion, her email handle is [Grandpa’s name][Uncle’s name]@domain dot com. Yes, she has two other children. No, I have no idea why they’re not included in her email address. Maybe gender uniformity? Please tell me hilarious stories of your parents and grandparents on the internet, like these.

—–

I am thisclose to being done with 1Q84, which I have checked out in both hardcover (pages 1-635, then had to return it) and Kindle formats (pages 636 to end). I like its brand of magical realism, could do with less plentiful descriptions of breasts (is this a Murakami thing? I hope not), but would ultimately recommend. Has anyone else read it? What should I read next?

—–

We’ll be spending the weekend braving forecasted rain in southern California, testing the resiliency of our bodies on roller coasters at Magic Mountain. Because we are nerdy enough to be (LITERAL) card-carrying members of an actual roller coaster enthusiast organization, we’ll be able to ride them until…well, until we just plain can’t take it anymore.

Accidental hiatus

Eff you, hotel magnet. Mommies and childless married ladies go on business trips, too.

Sorry, folks! I know, I know…I answer eleven random questions and then big fat disappear for over a month. I have my reasons, the largest of which was a two-week work trip to South Carolina (maybe a little recap is in order? I did manage to have some recreational time while I was there, in between asking 12-year-olds questions about sex) and a minor one being that GP and I made our annual attempt to watch many/most of the Academy Award-nominated films (via illegal download, shh). I’m happy to report that we’ve watched eight of nine Best Picture nominees– all except for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which neither of us believes has a snowball’s chance of winning anything, given critical response. This year’s field seems much weaker than last year’s, and I have a hunch that Hollywood (who, more than anything, love Hollywood) will go for The Artist, which was completely charming. Hello, tap-dancing! So fun.

In slightly-less-exciting news, I have added this calendar to my cube and this recipe (with an andouille substitute) to my repertoire. Basically, I’m winning life.

Anyone at an Oscars party tonight? We’re off to my parents’ house for dinner and gown-judgement.

 

Eleven questions

I came across these questions from the lovely Hannah J. Holmes in my Reader, and thought I’d give them a whirl because: a) Insta-content! I haven’t gotten around to editing/culling our 700 (no joke) Disney World pictures yet, so that recap will have to wait, and b) They’re interesting enough to give some insight into the respondent without being as tiresome as the usual “A to Z”-type memes. I’d love to see your responses, either in the comments or in a post of your own! Here are mine:

• Let us begin with the most important matter: Do you like cake? Why or why not? I think the answer here is obvious: it’s half of my blog name, you guys. I am a cake fan, but also a bit of a pie die-hard. In the eternal battle of cake v. pie, I’m going to have to be Switzerland. It doesn’t to anyone any favors to declare the supremacy of one over the other; excellent cake and pie are wonderful, and mediocre/bad cake and pie can bring a party right down. I’m sure there’s an extended argument to be made for crust v. frosting, but it’s too early to contemplate baking and whipping together butter and sugar.

• Have you ever been to Paris? If you have, tell me about it. If you have not, would you like to go someday? I’m lucky enough to have been to Paris twice. The first time, I was twelve, and was just there for a day (I was visiting family in England, and we did the obligatory Eurostar/bus tour). The second time, I went with GP and his parents, and…this happened. I can’t wait to go back (we sort of have to, right?), but there are many other destinations on the list before we can make a return trip.

• Given the choice, would you rather go out to eat at a fancy restaurant or stay home and order takeout? Provided that I have something to wear, some cash to spend, and am in good health, I’ll choose to go out to eat any time. This has mostly to do with my predilection for fancy food and dressing up, but also the lack of good delivery food in my neighborhood: our options are limited, I believe, to Indian, pizza, and maybe Thai.

• Similarly, would you rather go out dancing or or stay home with a warm blanket and a good movie? Here is a poorly-kept secret: I am not a “club” person. Between the dodgy dudes and alarmingly strong drinks made with alarmingly cheap alcohol that I survived as a member of a sorority in college, my desire to be bumped around by a lot of sweaty strangers is nearly nonexistent. On a Friday or Saturday night, the warm blanket and good movie (or even mediocre movie, I’m not too proud to admit) win out most of the time. That said, I wouldn’t rule out a cat-alarming dance party in the living room!

• What’s your opinion of Ugg boots: cute and comfy or too ugly to meet the sun? As the owner of a legit pair of chocolate-brown Uggs, I’m going to have to split the difference: yes, they’re sort of ugly, but they’re comfy as hell and are basically like being allowed to wear slippers in public. I generally wear them on weekends only, and have a strict set of rules about what they can be worn with (the only pants that get tucked into them are the jegs, and the thought of wearing them with anything but jeans makes me sort of itchy).

• Now onto the second-most controversial shoe known to man: What is your take on Crocs? While I will admit that, in a moment of pre-Disney weakness, I considered purchasing a pair of Crocs flats (there is a lot  of walking around at Disney World, you guys, and people seem to go ape over these shoes), I stayed strong and resisted the urge. The traditional, clog-type Crocs? Ugly as sin, and only vaguely cute on children. Don’t get me started on the idea of Crocs (which are shoes that have holes in them) as appropriate kitchen footwear, Mario Batali.

• Do you sing in the shower? The car? The opera house? I hum in the shower, sing my lungs out in the car, and have anxiety dreams about singing in opera houses.

• Do you have any unusual fears or dislikes? Well, no. Because it’s not unusual to dislike birds, which carry disease and are living dinosaurs. (CREEPY, is what I’m getting at.) I do like them as a design element, but will straight up kick a bird in its face if it comes too close to me.

• Have you ever seen snow? If so, do you remember your first snow? My first memory of “going to the snow” (which is what Central Valley Okies call it, or at least the ones I’m related to) is probably from when I was about six, and we tobogganed down a medium-sized hill in the lower Sierra. I’ve made up for my lack of early-life snow by marrying a dude who both snowboards and is from a place where it snows in the winter– which means that recreational winter trips include a lot of me staying inside and reading.

• Would you rather play in the snow or spend a day at the beach? Beach, but only with some sort of shade. I’m not an entirely crazy person, you know.

• Do you peel your banana the right way or the wrong way (meaning from the bottom or from the stem)? I’m going to have to take issue with the phrasing of this question, because this article clearly proves that the “right” way to eat a banana is from the bottom to the stem. Hence, I eat bananas the right way, but not in the way that this question seems to think.

#1: Eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant

I was lucky enough during the holidays (barely a couple weeks after I’d originally created and posted it) to begin checking items off my 30 Before 30 list. The first one to be completed was, completely coincidentally, the first one, to eat at at a Michelin-starred restaurant. The criteria for this particular one was a bit arbitrary, even if the Michelin guides are pretty reputable: there are quite a few restaurants in the area that have one or more stars, and just because I had this one meal doesn’t mean I would turn down an invitation to Manresa or The French Laundry. (Of course not, I’m not hopelessly ridiculous.)

As a Christmas gift, my grandma opts to take us all out to a nice dinner rather than having to buy a sleigh-ful of gifts. This works out well for her, as it simplifies her Christmas errands, and it works out even better for us: shalom Christmas, shalom awesome meal! This year, we went to The Plumed Horse in Saratoga, which has one Michelin star. Because their holiday bookings were so, well…booked, we ended up at the chef’s table, which has a big window so that we could see into the kitchen as our (and others’) meal was being prepared. There was no Gordon Ramsay-style shouting, just a lot of precision and very shiny pots and pans. And the food! Oh, the food. We had a seven-course tasting menu (plus a couple add-ons), which consisted of…

Caviar and blinis

Lobster cannoli

Seared Yellowfin tuna with Ankimo Torchon (and a little more caviar)

Black pepper and Parmesan souffle with uni and Dungeness crab fondue

Seared foie gras

Kobe beef with shaved black truffles

(Slightly blurry, sorry) Pineapple panna cottaIce cream atop tapioca with foam

Bruleed bananas with sorbet

Raspberry sorbet and layered gelatin

We ended the meal, as you might imagine, completely stuffed and at least a little tipsy (not pictured are the cocktails, ice wine, and various reds and whites that complemented each course). It was fantastic to get through a first 30 Before 30 item, and all the sweeter to have enjoyed it with my family.

Sorry my arm looks like a football player's thigh here-- but I'm wearing the Mad Men dress!