Tales of Me and the Husband

apple cider and a little bit more.

my friend made the most delicious hot apple cider when i was at her house last night
she carmelized cream, vanilla, and brown sugar, i think?
then added it to normal apple cider and heated it all up.
folks, i don’t have the recipe
but it’s not like we severed ties last night…
i can get it from her.
in the meantime, i added some cream 
and a tad bit of brown sugar to apple cider last night
and it was still pretty yum
it was a lazy version of hers i guess.
not as good, but good things come to those who wait
pretty good things come to those who don’t
and it was pretty good.

First comes the hat then comes the Notebook.

I got this hat recently.  It reminded me of a hat you might find in the forties… or thirties… fifties even?  Whatever.  Sometime in the past.

Now that I’ve got this old hat, guess what else will inevitably happen?  Well, it’s so hum-drum but I’ll tell you anyway:

Introduction
It was an improbable romance.  
He was a country boy, she was from the city.  
She had the world at her feet while he didn’t have two dimes to rub together.

Some la-di-da day, my husband–we’ll call him Noah–will sweep me (for the sake of this story, I’m Allie) off my feet and through a Carolina swamp with white swans and storms and passion.  Because we were bored.

Then, as we pull up on the dock I’ll say things like, “Why didn’t you write me?!  I waited for you for seven years!”  And he’ll scream back, “You waited for me?  What do you mean?  I see you every day.  We live in the same house!  I wrote you 365 letters.  I wrote you every day for a year!  It wasn’t over… It still isn’t over!”  Then I’ll wrap my legs around him and we’ll storm into the house making out all the while knocking over the dog, and the kids, and the folded laundry, and the dinner cooking on the stove and inside there just so happens to be a roaring fire in the fire place and a huge fur blanket strategically placed and on it we do things that people do when they’re married.  Then he’ll say to me, “You’re gonna kill me woman!  I need sleep! I need food, to regain my strength!”
Does this sound familiar?

Apple crisp + Harry Potter + fire + husband worked.

Our weekend in pictures. And words. I can’t keep out the words. It’s the English major in me. It wasn’t terribly exciting. I think I need to spice it up a bit on the weekends so that come time to hit “Publish Post” on a Monday, there’s really something there worth clicking it for.
Nevertheless, here you go.

Gracie waits–sometimes patiently, sometimes not so patiently–for someone to move her ball.  Whether they mistakenly bump it or mean to give it a toss, she doesn’t care.  If that ball moves, she is on it.  Don’t distract her.  She’s working (but, if you do move it by accident, she will desperately try to make eye contact with you to determine whether it was a purposeful or accidental bump and whether she should then respond by fetching it or ignoring it.  It is seriously the cutest thing ever).

My husband. worked.  And worked and worked.  He does a lot of it these days.  See that giant book resting on the pumpkin?  That’s his PhD that needs updating in order to be published and the man lives, breathes, and dreams of it these days.  True story: he has woken in the middle of the night to write something down that he thought of in his sleep.  When I sleep: nothing.  My mind is a blank.  When he sleeps: “Ah!  Now is the perfect time to elaborate on the meaning of the word neighbor in Chapter 4, verse 18!  Indeed!”  We are very different.  I love him all the same.  But, truth be told, I’m ready for this thing to be over.  By thing, I don’t mean marriage.  I mean this sabbatical.  Just a clarification.

We had too many apples, so I made an apple crisp!  Crazy weekend, huh!?  It gets crazier!  Oh yes, we had a bonafide movie night!  Complete with Dominos Pizza (which I kinda love but still consider myself a bit of a pizza-snob… a walking contradiction, perhaps?)!  I just finished reading the first Harry Potter to the two youngest.  We are determined to get through the whole series.  We’ll see, we’ll see.  Since the last few books are about three times the size of the first, it’s a bit daunting but we made it through the first in under a month so we’re at a good pace right now.  We read one, we watch its movie… so on and so fourth.  Again, quite exciting, yes!?
We had our first fire of the season.  I love fires in the fireplace when it’s cold outside and everyone is safe and cozy in their pajamas curled up around a good movie.  Makes me all sorts of warm and fuzzy.  For real.  I sound cheesy but I’m being serious.  I joke a lot, I know.  You guys don’t know when to take me seriously, huh?
The movie night became a little less magical when W started throwing up his Dominos into a bowl (deemed the throw-up bowl a long time ago, no worries) next to me.  Looks like the boy has got a stomach bug.  If there is a stomach bug within three miles of our house, he is always the first to catch it.  Poor guy (and here’s to hoping I don’t get it!). 
And it begins with Privet Drive.  Our overall estimation: good movie.
And a good weekend for the most part.  You?

The People vs. Uggs.

I still wear mine sometimes.  And I love them.  Their soft, fleecey insides still beckon my chilly feet, “Come, come.  I will make you toasty warm.  I will envelop you with softness and you will have cold feet no longer” (Your Uggs don’t talk to you?  Exchange them out for a talking pair immediately.).  I love that Uggs are public-approved slippers.  They are tall and cozy and wonderful and perfectly acceptable to wear to your Acme, Food Lion, Safeway, or Stop ‘n Shop.  But, I have always known that some people are Ugg-haters.  “Your words hurt me.  What did I ever do besides try to keep your appendages flowing with warm blood so you could focus your attentions elsewhere?”  (That’s the Ugg talking again.)  I must say, I’m on the Ugg’s side in the People vs. Uggs debate.  I have been loving them for about six years now.  You?  Are you a hater?  Be gentle.  You don’t want to hurt the Ugg’s feelings.

Rogue leg coming out of left armpit!  Someone call the doctor!

my birthday is coming up.

so… you there!  husband!  yes, you!  i’m making it really easy for you!

here’s my list.

what?  like it’s a lot?
(while we’re on the subject, i’ll take chelsea’s birthday list too.)
since i’m feeling a tad bit on the materialistic side right now, 
this is really where i should be focusing my efforts.
this place is awesome.  
you can give a bunch of chicks to a family for $20–providing them with endless eggs!
a water buffalo for $250!
trees for $60!
honeybees for $30!
i looooove charities that make sense like this one.  where the help isn’t momentary but keeps giving.
i’ll definitely be doing some of this too.  it’s not all about me.

a relaxing morning.

right now I am making a breakfast of hash browns, eggs, bacon, coffee, and o.j. for my husband and i.  he came home sans books and his computer last night and said that he was giving himself the night off.  this was such good news because he has worked and worked and worked… pretty much not stopping until 11 pm for the last month.  i told him if he keeps this up i would leave him (i wouldn’t really; in fact, i am so very proud of him.  he has more work ethic in his pinky finger than i have in my entire body.).  we watched the back-up plan in bed on the laptop (cute movie and i loved j.lo’s hair in it) and now we’re listening to george winston on the stereo (love him), gracie is trotting around happily with her ball in her mouth, the kids are safely in school, i am in a cozy bathrobe, i am spending part of the morning with the man i love, and the house is mostly clean.

today is going to be a good day. 
you want some george winston to softly usher you through the day?  click play!

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Now just hang on a second…

Before you go thinking that I am trying to become a fashion blog minus good pictures, lighting, or editing techniques, (or better yet, fashion!) relax.  Before you go assuming that this is now Tales of Me and My Closet (I’ve used that joke with two of you before so you don’t have to laugh), it’s not that either.  Before you go saying, “Bridget is so lame!  What is she thinking with these shotty pictures?  It’s crap!  This will go nowhere!” fear not because I’ve already thought it!

What is for real is that I liked my outfit and I thought you might too.  I also had to provide evidence that I do wear things other than shorts and tights.  Yes, one can even wear a maxi dress with a long sleeved shirt underneath and–poof!–summer attire becomes fall once again!  So… when I got home at 6 pm, ate dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, and then decided to take a picture, good lighting had left for the day and flash photography does not do a body well.  So, whatcha see is whatcha get.  Next time, if there is a next time, I’ll do better.

one of our favorite, favorite, favorite cold weather meals.

chocolate chili
(serves 2-4–i always double)
1/3 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 T oil
2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into small pieces
1 T salt
1/2 T freshly ground black pepper
1 t ground cumin
2 T unsweetened cocoa
1 14-oz. can chicken broth
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
1 c chopped fresh parsley
2 15-oz. cans white kidney beans (or cannellini), drained
1 T masa harina dissolved in 1/4 c water*
2 T honey
1 c sour cream
1) in a dutch oven, saute the onions and garlic in the oil until soft.
add the chicken and cook until browned.  remove from the heat.
add the salt, pepper, cumin, and cocoa, stirring well.
mix in the broth and 1 1/2 cups water, the tomato sauce, and parsley.
return to the heat and bring to a boil; cook at a very low boil, partially covered, for 35 minutes.
2) add the beans and cook 15 minutes more.
add the masa harina mixture to the chili and cook 5 minutes more.
remove from the heat and stir in the honey and sour cream (sour cream tends to clump a bit, don’t worry).
*when i first got the ingredients for this recipe, i had no idea what masa harina was.
 so, here!  i will save you the trouble.
it is soooosoooosoooo good.
i never make it without also making trader joes cornbread–
better than any cornbread i’ve ever eaten anywhere.

our weekend…

  • steve chatted on the phone while gracie sat on top of him.  she thinks she is a lap dog.  i don’t blame her though cause we kinda treat her like she is.
  • i made these blueberry muffins.  they were good.
  • it was nice and sunny, even if a bit blustery… and my body was screaming for some vitamin d (doesn’t yours?), so we walked gracie.  and i’m doing shorts and tights again- me loves!    plus, more skin surface area for vitamin d–bonus!  gracie tried to play tug-of-war the whole way home with the leash in her mouth… that’s what you see happenin’ in that last pic… it is not me trying to strangle her.  but even if it were, what’s it to ya?  (no not even, i am so anti-animal-abuse.  duh).  also, boot credit goes to sydney who i copied.  no shame.  what is a fashion blog after all if you can’t copy them?!
  • we watched clash of the titans with j.  i try my best to be fair  with the netflix queue and not just hog it for myself with movies like pretty in pink (that movie is my childhood along with beauty and the beast) and/or you’ve got mail for me and hubs (or reruns of felicity for me.  gosh i miss that show.).  gotta put some greek warfare in there for the teenagers to keep the peace in the house.  teenagers. must. have. violence.
  • i read your blogs.  duh.  looks like the time might’ve been better spent cleaning that dirtay kitchen.  what?  no.  next to me is trader joes dark chocolate pretzel slims.  have you had these?  THEY ARE SO GOOD.
  • i ate pears with cinnamon on top (thanks for the tip, sister!).  they’re so delicious that way and did you know that cinnamon is actually really good for you?  
  • clearly i had a pretty mundane weekend if a walk with gracie, steve on the phone, pears, and blog-reading makes the list.
  • speaking of pretty in pink… best scene.  when steve is really trying to woo me he does a little rendition of his own to otis redding.  just like duckie and i am molly ringwald.  it’s so sexy.

i think this is it.

remember i asked a question about clogs with less heel for us amazon women?  some of you commented that when i found it, to let you know.

well ladies, here’s one.

i think it’s perfect.  i could still do with a smidgen less heel.  he’ll never admit it, but with minimal heels i’m eye-to-eye with my husband and i think that ruins the whole male-dominance thing he strives so hard to maintain.

but still.  this shoe is perfect.

duh, leave it to free people.  i lovelovelovelove that store.
(so i just went back to that other shoe from my first clog-post and it turns out that both of these are 4″ heels.  therefore that makes me 6’2″… not only eye-to-eye, but taller than… oooh, sorry hubs.  look who’s in charge now!  anyway… this one just looks like a smaller heel than the other, right?  meh.  whatever.).
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