Wednesday, November 23, 2011

A Word for Wednesday

S


isyphean: a task or labor that is unavailing; endless; (of or pertaining to Sisyphus)


In Greek mythology, Sisyphus, was a hubristic (another great word) king whose ultimate punishment was having to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down before reaching the top and to repeat this throughout eternity.

As heard in this Bright Eyes song, Shell Games-one I have been listening to of late:


Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische.

definition via here

Monday, November 21, 2011

Leafy Craft

The leaf mobile that I made and (James) hung in Jones' room:


I collected leaves from around the neighborhood--I tried to get different colors, types, sizes.  Then I "laminated" the leaves in Contact paper, punched a hole through each, and tied them to a large skinny stick with fishing line.
I got the inspiration from one of the Parenting magazines I've read recently (can't remember which one!)

It was super-simple, but gives Jones' room a cool, nature-y feel.  He loves to look at it, and someday I can tell him that we collected the leaves on our walks together during his first-ever Fall.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Thursday's Thinking of Food (on a Friday)

So, as promised, here is a quick photo re-cap of the oh-so-amazing Harvest Dinner that we enjoyed at City Roots last week:
 Pre-Gaming:
Shaking up an American Harvest Pineapple Basil (or sage--can't remember!) cocktail
American Harvest Organic Spirits

Dinner:
pretty fall tablescape by The Southern Greenie
dinner was in the City Roots greenhouse instead of the field due to cold & rain
me & the hubs
the delicious salad that I blogged about here; my husband's new "favorite salad"
local beef carpaccio with City Roots micro greens by Chef Ryan Whitaker of @116 Espresso & Wine Bar
Butterscotch Oatmeal cookie from Pink Magnolia- I am totally a simple-dessert-kinda-girl, and this was perfect

There was also a wonderful fish dish, created by Chef Steven Blitch of Tombo Grille, (which I sadly have no pictures of), but was awesome.  It was an awesome night-wonderful local food, great wines, we made some new friends, and we will be back. 

Random food news for the day: did you see that Congress protected pizza as a vegetable in school lunch?!  If this pisses you off as much as it does me, please take a moment to let your Congressmen and women  know.


And, finally, Jones and I will be at the Food Truck Rodeo at City Roots this evening--will you?! 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Grammar Love

via here

New Favorite Salad

This is a preview of my full post coming Thursday about the City Roots Harvest Dinner that we attended last week.  It was ah-mazing.  If you are thinking of attending one in the future, do it.

the hubs exclaimed: "this is the best salad I've ever had." and meant it.
Seriously yummy salad consisting of City Roots micro-greens, local feta, thinly sliced radishes, and an amazing cumin vinaigrette, for which James swears he's going to call Chef Ryan at 116 Espresso & Wine Bar to get the recipe.

The bread was from Heather's Artisan Bakery and it was slathered with anchovy-butter (from Happy Cow Creamery) and topped with thinly sliced radishes.  Amaze.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Jones- 9 Months Old!

Our baby is 9 months old!  Jones, I believe, is just not going to crawl, (in the conventional sense, anyway).  He can scoot, dive, roll, and pull his way around to get where he wants to go, but as for moving legs and arms in tandem while on all fours, it's not happening!  His unorthodox methods sure are cute and entertaining though.

What?  I may not crawl, but I strike a cute pose...

This past month we celebrated his first Halloween, where he dressed as a chicken and attended a fun Halloween party with plenty of other adorably-garbed baby friends.

Party fowl--a chicken, a penguin, and a duck
Ready to "trick or treat"
Jones is still a super laid-back baby and goes with the flow on most occasions, but he's getting more opinionated when it comes to certain things.  He has gotten very independent when it comes to feeding/eating, so I must give him his own spoon to hold while I feed him or else he'll grab the one I'm using before it can get to his mouth.  Because of this, I try to feed him mostly foods that he can pick up himself!  I am still making some of his baby food--organic applesauce, mashed sweet potatoes/banana--but mostly, he's eating what we eat.  He still loves peas and pretty much all fruits, but chicken (and soy "chicken") are his favorite things--behind Trader Joe's Organic Animal Crackers!

Notice dog, Peach, lurking beneath the high chair...the only reason my kitchen floor is ever "clean."

We're still working on waving, he can do it and will on occasion, but not consistently yet.  He claps all the time--unprompted, to get our attention, or when he's excited.  His smile melts my heart, and he smiles all the time...he has a sweet dimple and adorable teeth!  The top 4 teeth are all in the process of coming in and he has 3 teeth on the bottom.

SC State Fair-wonderment at its best

His favorite toys are anything that he can shake or bang together to make noise--blocks, rattles, balls, anything.  He also loves to grab the entire box/bin/basket of toys that are nearby and dump it--and then play with the box.  Looks to be a cheap Christmas around our parts--Jones will be content with cardboard boxes :)

Jones channeling his old man persona--the boy loves a hat (and so does momma)

Our sweet boy is growing so fast--pulling up on furniture and wanting to stand (with our assistance) all the time!  He is babbling constantly now, and though he hasn't said it directly to him yet, he says "DaDa" pretty often.

And, just to embarrass him someday, I leave you with this picture of his "rooster hair" that he woke up with one day this week.
Look closely--there's a nice spike at the crown :)

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

A Word (kinda) for Wednesday

O 


xford comma: "The 'Oxford comma' is an optional comma before the word 'and' at the end of a list:
We sell books, videos, and magazines.
It's known as the Oxford comma because it was traditionally used by printers, readers, and editors at Oxford University Press.  Not all writers and publishers use it, but it can clarify the meaning of a sentence when the items in a list are not single words:
These items are available in black and white, red and yellow, and blue and green."
definition via here

So, it's not so much a word, but an actual thing...something I personally believe in and use implicitly. 

their eponymous first album, image via here

Oxford Comma is also the name of a song by Vampire Weekend, a band that has been around for a hot minute, but to whom I just started listening.  I am really loving their sound, especially the song Horchata, from their new album, Contra--it has been stuck in my head for days.



So, do you use the Oxford comma?  Do you like Vampire Weekend?
XO, Happy Wednesday!

Daily Drop Cap by Darren Booth, for Jessica Hische

Friday, November 4, 2011

Like Crazy

I really want to see this film. Read a review here first.

It won the Sundance Grand Jury prize.



The raw innocence and giddy love scenes get me every time.

The State also picked up the LA Times review of it here