Life Essentials

Idea for this post from Joy the Baker.


My Essentials:

Books. Whenever I picture my dream house, the first image that comes to my mind is of books and bookshelves. After that, the rest of the picture starts to come into focus – hardwood floors, ghostly thin curtains, comfy couches, dogs napping on thick rugs, and cats padding down the stairs. But the books are always first. I love the look of books, the feel of books, and the feeling of excitement when I first open a book that promises to be amazing. Yeah, I’m a bit obsessed.

Coffee. Without coffee, there is no quality of life, and this is one area where I’m willing to splurge a bit. My favorite at-home coffee is a fair-trade, organic blend from Allegro.

Sunshine. There are no words to express how much I miss this in the winter.

Yoga. This is how I cope with lack of sunshine in winter. And I don’t feel like my day starts off right unless I do a half hour of yoga, have coffee and breakfast, and read my Bible, which brings me to . . .

My Bible. I’ve never not owned a Bible. I just grew up in a house where you had a Bible before you were old enough to read it. At many points in my life, I’ve been the owner of a very dusty Bible, (Don’t tell my mother.) but I do recognize its necessity in keeping me and my faith grounded.

Pets. I may have grown up with Bibles, but I did not grow up with pets (none bigger than hamsters anyway). Now that I have a cat, I can’t imagine living without a furry companion.

Knee high boots. Okay, this sounds like a luxury, not an essential, I admit, but I think this is one of the smartest things an adult female Michigander can possibly own. Sometimes, I just need to wear a dress in winter, which is just unpleasant if I don’t have tall boots. At other times, the additional warmth that comes from wearing tall boots over jeans is just welcome.

Cardigans. I’m one of those cold people. The ones who turn blue if the thermostat dips too far below 70. As much as my parents tried to make a hardy Ukrainian out of me, giving me the coldest room in the house growing up, I just need to be toasty warm at all times. This is why cardigans are my friend. They are cute and comfortable. Opera Boy is baffled that I always seem to have six layers of clothing on, but he’s not a cold person. Also, he can’t count. (Three layers, Opera Boy, not six. I’m not excessive.)

Hair elastics. Want to see me go crazy? Take away my hair elastics on a really stressful day. Or just before martial arts class or the gym. I won’t be able to take it.

My Favorite Non-Essentials:

Fresh sugar lip tint in passion, which is currently my favorite lip color.

Pinot Noir. Or any red wine, but Pinot Noir tends to be my favorite.

Any chocolate hazelnut combo. From Nutella to chocolate hazelnut in gelato or homemade granola bars, I love this flavor combo. Dangerous.

Magazines. One of my absolute favorite impulse buys. My favorites are Bon Appetit, Marie Claire, and Self, but I do enjoy the occasional travel magazine or ultra-fat issue of In Style.

Red heels. Or any type of shoe in red. Or clothing in red. Or electronics. I just really like the color red.

My Blackberry. Yes, that’s right. I don’t have an iPhone, and I don’t want one. But I do love my Blackberry. It’s especially useful as The Boy’s texting habit seems to be contagious.

Burberry’s Brit perfume. I like all of the Burberry perfumes, but Brit is my favorite.

What are your favorite essentials? Or favorite non-essentials?

My Life Right Now - February

I keep losing my gloves and then finding them outside, right next to my car. It’s really odd.

I actually cooked steak over the weekend (not for me). I won’t say I’m over my raw meat phobia, but it was a step in the right direction. Perhaps I will even attempt to cook chicken one of these days.

My 2012 resolutions are not going so well. Thus far, the only ones I seem to be managing are numbers 4, 6, and 15, and #4 is proving to be kind of annoying. I’m failing at numbers 5 and 17, and haven’t even started any of the others.

Currently working on: Getting up early enough to do yoga before work.

Currently reading: I just finished rereading The Historian, which took me a full month, but I enjoyed it as much on the second read. Also, I have just started Alyssa’s Austentatious!

Currently watching: Downton Abbey. I’m a bit late to the fandom, I know. Also, I finally watched Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (interesting but disturbing), Midnight in Paris (downright awful), and Star Wars Episode I in 3-D (not my idea).

Currently listening to: Mumford & Sons. Opera Boy introduced me to their music, and it’s my current favorite.

Currently loving: Cacao nibs on my morning oatmeal (idea from Joy the Baker), polka dots, and red wine (which I need to enjoy now as I’ll give it up for Lent).

In Defense of Valentine's Day

Liking Valentine’s Day is unpopular. If one is a Singleton who enjoys the day, then she is siding with the enemy. If one is married or dating and enjoys the day, they are made to feel guilty about all the singles of the world who are supposedly all crying into pints of Ben & Jerry’s while watching Katherine Heigl movies.

Well, I’ll be a rebel (walking target?) and admit that I like Valentine’s Day. True, I’ve been single 95% of the time on this holiday, but I’d argue that the day is not just for Smug Marrieds.

Reasons to Love Valentine’s Day:

Chocolate. It’s unusually accessible today, and you totally deserve a truffle. Have two if you want.

Red. Almost every woman looks hot in red, so wear it and feel awesome. For some serious sassiness, don some red patent leather heels.

Presents. If you are single today, buy yourself a present. This should not be optional. And do not buy yourself anything practical. This is not a day for buying new gym sneakers. Some good options are wine, lacy lingerie (and none of those “But no one sees it except for me” excuses), new music, and anything from Williams-Sonoma.

Entertainment value. Valentine’s brings out the sappiness in a certain part of the population, and this makes one’s Facebook News Feed more comical than usual.

Nights out. Whether you’re going out for a romantic dinner with your significant other or out for cosmos with the girls, it’s a great night to get dressed up and head out on the town.

Mockability. Valentine’s Day is great because you can mock it and enjoy it all the same time. I’d argue that the mocking only enhances enjoyment of the day. I’m very sad that I didn’t find the time to write a snarky V-Day post this year, but I’m grateful to my blog archives for housing these posts, and I just now had the best idea for next year’s Valentine post.

Winter is Coming to an End. Even here in Michigan where the occasional spring blizzard can and will strike, the arrival of Valentine’s Day means that winter is at least half over.

Appreciation. It’s a great day to appreciate family and friends.

If all else fails, and Valentine’s still sucks, try this:

• Checking out vintage romance novel covers on the AbeBooks blog.
• Reading about “depraved” Valentines, circa 1805 on the Two Nerdy History Girls blog.
• Enjoying a Shamrock shake and begin planning for St. Patrick’s Day.

I have to admit that I sometimes miss memes

Remember the days when we used to tag each other for memes, and we all found out the nuttiest things about each other?  That was fun.  And yes, I do see the absurdity of being nostalgic for 2005.  Anyhow, I stole this from Cherie who participates in a weekly meme called Wednesday Hodgepodge.  I could link back to the actual creator of this meme, but I'm feeling kind of lazy, so I'll just move on to the actual questions.

1. What is something you are loving right now?

That I’ll see my boyfriend tonight. We live in different towns (only a half hour apart, but still), so we usually only see each other on weekends.

2. Paris, Venice, New York, and Rome are considered four of the most romantic cities in the world. Which one would you most like to visit?

Even though Italy is near the very top of my Must See list, I have to go with Paris for romance. Does anything sound more perfect than kisses in Paris?

3. Are you a romantic?

Yes and no. I’d consider myself to be a cynical romantic.

I have to say I hate sentimentality. If you post mushy praises of your significant other on facebook, you’d better believe I’m reading it and gagging. Depending on the number of exclamation points used, my estimation of your IQ may even plummet. I also hate things like Nicholas Sparks novels and about 90% of chick flicks (though I really like the remaining 10% of them).

But at the same time, I am definitely ruled by my emotions, which is something most people don’t notice about me, and I’m very idealistic, and that combination does make me a romantic.

4. What's your favorite love story made for the big screen?

At the moment, Bright Star. It’s the love story of John Keats and Fanny Brawne and is based upon the letters that the couple wrote. It’s incredibly romantic and it makes me want to move to the English countryside and read Keats in a garden.

5. Everyone loves Pooh bear and friends...which character are you most like and why? Click here for help in answering this question.

Actually, I don’t love Pooh Bear and his friends. It just wasn’t part of my childhood. No, I didn’t grow up under a rock, but I did grow up in Saginaw, which is a remarkably similar experience. I did take the quiz in the link, though, and apparently I am Kanga (and more maternal than I realized).

6. What's the best chocolate something you've ever eaten?

Brownies. The gooey, fudgy kind. It’s certainly not chocolate in its most romantic form, but I can’t think of a better way to eat chocolate.

7. Share a favorite quote about love.

I don’t have one. That would be sentimental.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I recently heard that one is supposed to soak oats overnight before cooking, and if you don't, the oats will block vitamin absorption.  Is this true?  Does anyone soak their oats overnight?  I've started soaking my oats, but I have no idea if I'm doing something heathful or just silly.

Coyote Wranglers: More Communication from my Apartment Complex

I've already talked about how much I love the leasing office's little memos to us tenants.  There is now another classic one posted by our mailboxes.  It begins with, "Notice to All Tenants.  Two coyotes were spotted on the premises" blah, blah, blah.  This is no surprise as we are at the edge of Ann Arbor, at the edge of a city park, and about a mile from a rural area where coyotes thrive.  The notice talks about the coyotes for a while, basically telling us not to pet the coyotes (while totally neglecting to instruct people to keep their cats indoors), and then ends with, "Please report all suspicious activity and persons to the police."

WTH, Leasing Office?  Are there people in league with the coyotes?

Friday Flashback to 1991: Agatha Christie mysteries

When I hear the word “mystery,” the first thing I think is “Agatha Christie.” I realize it’s a broad genre ranging from cozy mysteries to Phillip Marlowe to Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys to thrillers, but my expectations of what a mystery is and ought to be are very Christie. I like my murder English, curiously civilized, with “Where did that come from?!” endings.

I read my first Agatha Christie novel in seventh grade for a book report. I remember the cover for And Then There Were None was not particularly intriguing, so I half-heartedly pulled it from the shelves, figuring a mystery couldn’t be that bad. Almost instantly a couple of girls in my class assured me that I would absolutely love the book.

They were right. I loved the isolated island setting, the diverse cast of characters, the downright creepy use of a nursery rhyme, and the amazing ending. And then began my second mystery novel obsession (the first obsession was Nancy Drew in elementary school), as I read my way through all the Agatha Christies in the local library. I recall reading a great deal of Hercule Poirot, a highly boring man who solves fascinating mysteries, and to this day, I have not read a Miss Marple.

Like all reading phases, the mystery obsession did not last long, and these days, the mysteries are one of the least visited sections of the bookstore for me. I did reread And Then There Were None in the last year or so for book club though, and even I have to admit that book is still pretty awesome.

What genre have you not read in a while?

My Life Right Now - January

I made 17 new years resolutions this year, which is more reasonable than last year where I made 20.

I’ve been making ebelskivers, which are little filled pancakes. Random, I know, but Williams-Sonoma sells the ebelskiver pan, and I’ve always wanted one, and I got one for Christmas this year. They make tasty breakfasts and desserts.

I’m now a student at the Ann Arbor College of Martial Arts. My uniform is a bit unfortunate. The A2CMA ran out of their standard black uniforms and gave me a white one, which makes me look like a marshmallow. Guess it’s fitting given that I’m not quite dangerous and ninja-like yet. Just add my new wrestling shoes (which I bought in the little boys’ department since they don’t seem to come in women’s sizes) and I am one sexy marshmallow.

I’m horrified by this NYT article, but not horrified enough to stop practicing yoga.

I want to make this truffle mac & cheese. It sounds heavenly.

Currently Reading: I just finished Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks, which was interesting and educational. Now, I am rereading The Historian for book club and will begin War and Peace soonish.

Currently Listening to: The National, mostly.

Currently Watching: I finally saw Harry Potter 7, Part II, which was mildly disappointing. I also saw Something Borrowed, which was more than disappointing. What sane woman picks a man who once chose her best friend over her (and then got engaged to that best friend) over John Krasinski? It makes no sense, I tell you.

In theaters, I saw Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (awesome) and War Horse (not really my thing).

Currently Loving: Kind bars, my (fake) fur trimmed lace up booties, the miso soup I just made.