Living the Questions

last week, in my "it's officially fall post", i talked about how i had something planned to celebrate fall, but it wasn't really working at the moment. so, on wednesday, i decided to try again. i had planned this great cookie making adventure. i was going to mix the dough, turn it colors and use my pumpkin and leaf cookie cutters so the cookies would be fall shaped. when they finished baking, it would be decorating time. well, it didn't exactly go as planned. first, we didn't have the same amount of flour as required by the recipe, so i figured it would be cool anyway. 3&1/2 cups is a lot of flour. so i used a little less than 3. once i got into the recipe, i realized that the ingredients list was incomplete. the first step called for me to mix in the egg. however, it wasn't really clear whether it was one egg or two eggs. i looked at a couple of other recipes and guessed. two eggs, it is. when i finished the dough and got it all multi-colored, i had t...

the fall baking center at walmart!! seriously, it made my day to see this in the store: ahh, another sign of fall :) i love the fall baking center aisle. so much to choose from, so many ideas -- gingerbread, pies -- crusts and fillings, graham crackers, mint, all the fall spices in one place, even foil baking dishes so you can take the goods somewhere. i love it. just the other day, i was in the store and saw the touchdown/ football center -- you know, all the tailgate-type foods in one place -- and i thought, "soon, the fall baking center will be there instead." and my heart was happy. it's the little things, i guess :) and yes, i did sneak down an aisle and take a picture of it while i was grocery shopping.

fall, that is :) monday was the first day of the fall season. and i really should have posted this on monday, but i didn't. i've been anticipating the return of the fall season for awhile now (which, if you've read this in the last few weeks, you'll already know and likely be sick of hearing about). not only has fall officially arrived, but we actually had some cooler weather along with it. i woke up monday and life just felt differently. the sky was a different color blue than it usually is -- brighter, somehow. the air was crisper. and everything seemed new and fresh. what's that? fall is the season where things die, not become new? hmm....maybe, but for now i'm disagreeing with you. this first day of fall made everything seem new, crisp, fresh and simply amazing. and i'm ushering in fall with some baked goods that haven't been able to materialize yet, but soon, very soon, they will. and you'll see pics. rejoice, my friends! it's fall! anna...

so, in the last few days, i've decided a couple of things: 1) when i'm living in my own place, i will have really thick towels to use in the kitchen. my fingertips will never forgive me if i don't, because at the rate i'm going, all nerve endings in my fingers will be dead in a couple of years. 2) i really want to start catching up on movies i really should have seen by now, but never have. 3) it's now fall. and i want to go fall shopping. 4) because it is fall (well, it's official next week), i've decided to revolt against summer. i'm lighting my fall candles. baking my fall treats. my car is full of fall-ness, thanks to my autumn wreath scent from yankee candle. and for the most part, i'm retiring my sandals til next spring. i don't care how hot it gets. summer is dead to me til next year. to stay in the theme of this post, i have a decision to make. what to do with my life. it seems this in an ongoing thing, and makes me feel rather like i sho...

so, i was in barnes and noble today with my mom and sister on the way home from anna's final shower. now, if you know me, you know that i can wander around that store (or the like) for a long time, and pretty much in any section (with certain exceptions, of course....science fiction, economics, etc...). recently, however, due to various reasons, i always find myself drawn to the cooking/ crafty section or the kids section. among other wonderful children's books i saw, i stumbled across this book: the gentle art of domesticity , by jane brocket . you're probably thinking, as my sister did, "really? come on. that sounds ridiculous." before you judge, hear me out. although it's hard to describe everything this book contains, i'm going to try (and if it still doesn't make sense, go here . it's the corresponding blog). the secondary title of the book is "stitching, baking, nature, art and the comforts of home". and that's what the book ...

ugh. that's all i have to say.

can be brought on by the smallest things. today, my happiness has been caused by these things: we found my uga flip flops!!!! it's been so long, and i was afraid i'd have to buy a new pair. i was productive today (cleaning, dry cleaning, organizing, etc). i've decided to be creative with all the t-shirts i have from my life....more on that later.... and itunes pleased me today because shuffle picked good songs. you know those songs that remind you of something or just make your heart smile? itunes picked a lot of those today :)

the last few days my life has been consumed by uploading, organizing, backing up, copying and developing pictures. from my camera, my mom's camera and my dad's camera. pictures from a couple of years ago up to now. developing pictures is expensive . way more than it should be. but anyway, here are a couple of pics from my adventures with the cameras: me and anna sitting on the bulldog at broad and college, in front of starbucks. this is me, my aunt nora and reagan at a family reunion last fall. me, taping a wall in a school in baltimore so it could be painted....one of the few pictures that has me in it from this trip :) the last couple of weekends have been the property of showers. anna's had 2 showers already and this weekend we're preparing for a third this weekend. i'm not sure what i was expecting showers to be like, but they've been kind of fun. we've gotten to hang out with friends and family, and anna's gotten good stuff. my last post sound...