What's Going On?

I think I may be in a bit of a rut. Work is really busy. It will be for the next three weeks, at least. Brian's work is also really busy. He was in Cleveland, Ohio last weekend. Colorado Springs today and tomorrow. It's not like we haven't been having a good time though. The boys and I had dinner with The Frigs last weekend, and got to do our laundry at their house. You see, our machine has been broken for two weeks -- the new one arrives Friday! In the meantime, I feel like I'm in college, bringing our dirty clothes where ever I go. Unless you don't mind that, you may not want to invite us over for the next couple days. On Sunday, we had a great brunch at the Elsmo's. I did not bring my laundry (but out of full disclosure, our laundry was cleaned in their machine earlier in the week). Monday, the kids had off for Martin Luther King Day. Brian and I did not. So my parents (even Papa) came down from Wisconsin to spoil watch them. Then last night, we had dinner with Tyler. He does things like start water fights with our boys. They think he's great. So see? We are doing great. Just in a bit of a rut.

Dusk

A Day at the Zoo

We went to the zoo today. Winter at the zoo is a great time to actually enjoy the indoor exhibits. Less people. Less odor. Spent most of the time connecting with the primates. There were a few little babies -- adorable. A gorilla even waved at me. Then threw hay all over himself. I'm assuming it was a boy. H & C also love the alligators and river otters.

Weardrobe 100

I have a little problem. I don't like shopping. At all. And while I also don't like spending money on myself, I am a big fan for buying quality over quantity. Which means I don't buy many clothes. See the problem? My wardrobe needs serious help. Weardrobe published an online book called the Weardrobe 100 -- "the best of 2009 street style from the top fashion blogs online." There are some really great blogs featured. Perfect for a little inspiration. (Shown above: Alma Luna, Fashion Fillers, Style Rookie, What I Wore, Cupcakes and Cashmere, Flying a Kite)

I Love Macarons with Feet

Over the weekend, I attempted another batch of macarons. The others turned out so great! These, not so much. No feet! They were malted milk, and I could tell right away that they just were not quite right. They may not look the way they were supposed to, but they still tasted great. (“J’aime les macaron avec les pieds” - I love macaron with feet tshirt by A Table For Two. My new motto -- I want it!!!)

Bowling

(Photo of H by Melissa)

Today, H went on a bowling field trip with the entire Circle of Friends group from his school. Circle of Friends is a club where the special education and regular students play together and basically just hang out. He was up by 6am this morning, so excited for his day. Melissa was one of the chaperones on the field trip. I was thrilled when this adorable photo showed up in my email.

5:58 pm Tonight

Getting ready to go out for dinner with friends. C wore a suit coat over his "monster" shirt. Handsome.

A Walk in the Snow

On Friday's, we first take C to his school. It's three blocks away (and takes a half an hour when you factor in snow angles and climbing on every single snow mountain along the way). From there, H and I go to his school. It's four blocks away (and not as many stops). Then, I walk to the train and head downtown (no stops for snow angels -- by now, it's just me and I'm freezing). It's another four blocks away. By the time I got to work, I felt like I had walked ten miles. Snow is exhausting!

Snowy Day

Homework....

As H left the house this morning, I warned him to do a little more homework than usual at his after-school program. He had reading, spelling, a page from his weekly homework packet ... and a poem to write (he also was supposed to draw a picture to go along with it). Plus, he had an extra math assignment thrown in the mix. If you ask me, that's a lot for a seven-year-old to do, especially after a full day of school. He's pretty self-disciplined about getting some of it done on his own, but he saved the spelling and poem for home. The poem had to be about a fish. He chose a pipefish. (See, I still learn something new each day myself). We brainstormed during dinner (got to love the chalkboard wall), and this is how it goes:

Hiding in the seaweed bed,
is a little pipefish I call Ted.
He is in the leaves,
so hiding is a breeze.
And yes, he does not want to be seen,
because other fish can be mean.

Missed Connections

Craigslist has a section called "Missed Connections." It was new to me, but some are really pretty funny. Artist Sophie Blackwell draws her interpretation of people's missed connections. Adorable. (Missed Connections Blog || Etsy) (via Cup of Jo).

Homemade Macarons

I've said many times before, I'm not a baker. I enjoy cooking, but never really liked to bake. Recently, however, I'm beginning to like it more and more. Over the past couple years, I've baked pies, flognardes, galettes, cookies, to name a few. And today, gave in to my current obsession and tried my first attempt at the macaron. About 2/3 were filled with chocolate butter cream, and 1/3 with a milk chocolate orange ganache. I'm not sure if I just lucked out (macarons are supposedly a "notoriously difficult recipe" and are easy to ruin), but both turned out to be really delicious. Yea!

Claudia Fleming's Macarons

2¼ cups powdered sugar
2 cups almond flour
2 tablespoon sugar
5 egg whites, room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F. Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl.
   
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off (which I did).
   
5. Pipe one-inch-sized mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners or parchment paper.
6. Bake the macaron for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

The Tinsel is Down

We spent today taking down all of the holiday decorations. I admit, I get a little melancholy doing it. At the same time, it does feel great to clean house. This year, we finally burned the ornament candle (above). For years, we've put it out as decoration, but never lit the flame. My aunt (my mom's twin) would give us some sort of quirky present every year for Christmas. We all looked forward to seeing what it would be, and always got a kick out of whatever it was. One year, we received this candle as a gift. It was one of the last years she was around for the holidays -- she passed away not too much later from breast cancer. I just could never bring myself to use the crazy candle. Every year Brian asks if we can light it. And every year I say "not this candle." But it's been almost ten years since that last Christmas, and I know it was given to us to be used. So we did. I think she'd like that.

The New Year

New Year's Eve. was spent with our friends, Chris and Penny, for a "Dishes From Around the World" party. The food was great, and we got to hang out with some really nice people. Surprisingly, no one brought the same thing. Our dish was inspired by German cuisine -- Sausage & Sauerkraut and Spätzle. Pork and cooked greens are considered to be foods that bring good fortune. Other dishes we had were cotechino con lenticchie -- sausages and green lentils (Italy), collard greens (US South), carrot tzimmes (Jewish), mince meat pie (UK) and a Greek salad. Brian made cherries jubilee -- something his family made every year. Both boys made it to midnight (barely), so we got to ring in the new year together. So far, 2010 has been great. We slept until 9am, then went to a New Year's Open House brunch at some friends who we met at C's school. What a great way to start the new year!