Hello Friends!

All week I planned to do another “This moment” post. The idea of having a sort of themed Friday really appeals to me. I like schedules. But today is here, and my photos are not uploaded, and I have a bunch of other stuff going on so I figured I’d do two lists, one of the good things and one of the bad. Perhaps, it might make me feel better about some things.

 5 Bad Things Stressing Me Out Now

1. (The Kitten) Mr. Darcy’s cheek is extremely swollen. He looks like a hamster who stuffed his cheek with food.
2. I was coerced into taking Tex to the vet by my overly concerned parents, had to spend $167 on a blood test and appointment only to learn that Tex is completely fine (thankfully).
3. The weathermen are saying it may SNOW SIX INCHES TOMORROW. Just in time for my dad’s Surprise Party. (REALLY? REALLY!? It’s not even November yet!)
4. Because of increasingly cold temperatures and bad weather, Mr. Darcy needs to be able to be inside. But he cannot come inside until he’s had a rabies shot and been tested for feline leukemia and feline aides. I can’t afford to pay for his vet bills (and Tex’s) and so my dad may have taken him to the pound by the time I return home.
5. Last week, my mom’s mom (my nonna) was in a bad accident. She’s been in the hospital since. Her body is in pretty bad shape, and the road to recovery will be very long. I can’t say more about it now but suffice it to say a car and bike were involved. (prayers/ positive thoughts sent her way are appreciated.)

Some eye candy for you:

 

This photo is a random photo from a trip to Maine I took with Jon. It's a lake on Mount Desert Island.

10 Good Things I’m Thankful For Now

1. I know for sure that Tex is healthy.
2. Jon’s brother is lending me his tripod for my dad’s party tomorrow! YES! Hopefully my pictures won’t be blurry, unless I want them to be.
3. I got to spend a lovely two weeks with an awesome kitty, even if it was time to say good-bye this morning.
4. Planning and preparation. Almost all the deserts for the party were made ahead of time so there is only a somewhat stressful amount of stuff to do tonight and tomorrow instead of an overwhelming amount of stuff.
5. My nonna is conscious, can feel her legs, and is beginning to heal.  
6. Jon’s helping me with party prep-work and making me smile along the way.
7. My best friend is coming home AGAIN this weekend, and coming to the party tomorrow night!
8. Jon and Tex are wearing coordinating costumes tomorrow and they’re awesome. I won’t tell you what they are, but will show you on Monday! I think I’m disproportionally excited about this.
9. My dad is going to be 60 years old on Monday. I get to celebrate the fact that he is alive and well in a fashion I think he will very much approve of. He is the best person. I adore him and I am so thankful to have him in my life.
10. I was able to find my favorite hand-knitted (by Jon’s grandma not me) hat this morning and it’s keeping me warm and covering up the greasy spots in my hair.

Just so you know, these lists did make me feel better. I realize I have a lot more in my life to be thankful for than stressing me out (twice as much good as there is bad).

You also might like to know, that we’re not being callous in having the party while my nonna is in the hospital. We were very close to cancelling it but she did NOT want us to do that, so it’s on.

I’m off to do 101 things before the party tomorrow. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend, free of snow and other unhappy things that don’t belong in the month of October.

<3 Frankie

Goodbye Digital Camera, Hello DSLR

Dear Mr. Pentax,

I’m sorry to say that I’m going to end our relationship. It’s been an amazing six years but to be frank, you just weren’t cutting it anymore. It was time for me to move up in the camera world. It’s time for me to say good-bye. But before I let you go forever, I just wanted to thank you for the good times.

Thank you for taking crisp landscape shots in landscape mode, on my many camping trips with Jon.

Thank you for your museum mode and accompanying me to the Louvre and the Musee de Orsay.

Thank you for continuously shooting funny face contests between me and Jon.

Thank you for letting me pretend to take artsy photos.

Thank you for joining me for college and resisting the urge to judge.

Thank you for occasionally making me look skinny.

Thank you for sunset mode and the photographs to display its awesomeness.

Thank you for being quick enough to capture images of Tex as a puppy.

Thank you for being small enough to easily fit into the smallest wristlet.

Thank you for priceless photos of family and friends.

It’s been an amazing run, Mr. Pentax, but you weren’t without your fair share of woes. I won’t miss the photos blurry of their own accord, or the automatic focus that won’t photograph what I want it to.

 True it’s mostly been grand, but now I with Mr. Canon I have more control over my photos.  It will be less about his limitations and more about mine. So thank you Mr. Pentax, for being the best you could be. With Mr. Canon, I hope to be the best I can be.

Goodbye. I wish I could say I won’t miss you. But I might.

-Frankie

Pescatarian Musings

In today’s era of fruit and granola being sold at MacDonald’s,  there is an overabundance of information describing what is healthy and what is not. It’s hard to know what’s right and/ or worth it. Should I only eat locally grown produce or is it more important to eat organically? Should I follow a vegan diet or just limit my red meat intake to once a month? Do I only buy fresh fruit and veggies or is the frozen produce of equal nutritional value? The plethora of options is more than enough to overwhelm even the most seasoned foodie. So what is a girl to do?

Almost three years ago I opted to become a pescatarian. I have several reasons for eating fish but not meat or poultry. My pescatarianism was inspired by my friend Kelly, who told me about the negative environmental impact of meat and poultry production. However it has become about so much more.

One of the things about carnivorism that “bugs” me is that most people aren’t really thinking about what it is they’re consuming. When I worked at the daycare, it occurred to me that children don’t actually know what it is they’re eating. They eat ham sandwiches while watching Babe. Cows becomes steak, beef, meatballs, and hamburgers. Pigs become ham,bacon,pork, and sausage. Baby cows become veal. In our society, we use non referential names for the meat we eat. At least with poultry and fish we call it what it is.

Pescatarianism became about the importance of knowing where my food comes from. I never thought about the pig losing it’s life to satiate my bacon craving, but after become a pescatarian I began to really consider this aspect of meat consumption. I know that I could not personally kill a cow, a pig, or a lamb, so I don’t deserve to eat any of these just because someone else is doing the butchering for me. I also started to learn about the quality of life of animals bred for food consumption, which I won’t get into right now, but it’s not good.  As for fish, I know I would not have a problem filleting a fish, or sticking a lobster into a boiling pot of water because I’ve done the latter. I also have no moral misgiving about fishing with my dad.

 I don’t really like to talk about being a pescatarian. People always ask me my reasons and I feel inept at articulating them without sounding preachy or like I’m high up on my grass-fed cow-horse. I don’t want people to think I look down on them for their dietary choices because I don’t, but I also don’t want people to look down on me for mine. At parties or dinners, I try not to inconvenience people by drawing attention to my avoiding meat dishes. Instead I slyly take a large serving of salad and go confidently in my unconventional direction because despite a massive amount of information and opinions, it’s my choice.

<3 Frankie

Halloween Food Labels

Happy Monday Friends! 

I love buffets. I enjoy being able to have a choice of what I eat and how much of it I eat, but at parties, I’m never quite sure what certain dishes are. I hate to be rude or annoying by asking questions about what is served, so I generally just go with what I know I can eat- salad.

For the party we’re having for my dad, I didn’t want anyone else to have to go through the trouble.  So I planned to make nice food labels, so everyone would know what each dish was without having to ask.  Here’s what I whipped up staying true to our Halloween theme.

1. Draw ghost shape (with arms) onto white foam.

2. Cut out ghost shape from foam.

3. Cut long strip of cardboard. Fold as shown.

4. Tape the folded cardboard to the back of the foam ghost.

5. Make sure ghost stands the way you’d like. Adjust cardboard if necessary.

6. Cut small slits on the top of the ghost hands.

7. Put cut cardstock into the ghosts hands. (write food item on each card)

8. Line up your ghosts!

Top: Cut out bat shape. Trace on black foam and cut it out.

Middle: Add cardboard backing the same way you did for the ghosts.

Bottom. Sew orange thread through the one bat wing, the card stock, and then the other bat wing. Label card stock with food items

You can decide whether or not to give your creatures faces. I did but I’m not sure how I feel about them. This is the easiest project and these little guys are gonna be so cute at the party.

What do you think? Do you like my spooky friends?

<3 Frankie

{This Moment 1}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  Amanda Blake Soule

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Introducing…

Hello Friends,

Drumroll please… introducing our special visitor… the nameless kitten, who at this point is probably going to be a more permanent member of our clan.

This little guy introduced himself last Monday to my dad, by jumping up onto the patio table and drinking his coffee. We’ve been feeding him since then. He is beyond the sweetest cat I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. He really just wants to be loved.  And who am I to say “no” to love?

We do have a little obstacle in keeping him. Our older cat Autumn does NOT like him, not even a little bit.  While we don’t want to upset her, we really like this little guy.  He’s even started to grow on Tex. They actually go up and sniff each other’s noses. It’s really sweet.  

Currently, we’re keeping him outside, but he’s a little sneaky and keeps attempting to come inside. This morning I closed his little paw in the door but he didn’t seem bothered by it.  We also still need to take him to the vet and make sure he’s healthy and flea free. But I need help! What do I do if Autumn always hates him? I don’t want her to be unhappy in her home. She was really angry when Tex came home and she still misses our old dog, Hercules.

I am also looking for superior name ideas. We were calling him Irene before we found out he was a boy. Now my mom keeps calling him Tony, which I really don’t like.  I’ve tried calling him Tom, but I don’t like that either.  I don’t even think I want to keep the alliteration of T names! I don’t particularly like it when people give their kids names that all start with the same letter (like the Duggars), so why would I do it for my pets.

I’m thinking Oliver because he really likes food and I envision him saying “Please sir may have some more?”  Jon suggested Jerry when I was talking about calling him Tom.  I said, “Like Tom and Tex.” And Jon said, “How about Jerry, like Tom and Jerry.” I started rolling on the floor in a fit of giggles and managed to gasp out, “It’d be Tex and Jerry silly!” While writing this post, the name coffee occurred to me since that’s how he introduced himself.  But I just don’t know, I mean I named my dog after a Yankee.  Needless to say, suggestions are most welcome.

So I call this picture “Stalker.” I think it’s apropos.  It’s the first picture I’m sharing that I took with my new camera.  The size was the only thing that was edited. I took it in manual mode, meaning  I picked the aperture and shutter speed.  The lens was also on manual focus so I could get it to look exactly like I wanted. Anyway, I’m really happy with it. It’s one of my favorites I’ve taken so far.

What do you think? Do you like my picture? Should I keep the kitten? Anybody have any good name suggestions? Do you dislike when the children of one family all have names that begin with the same letter? Or Do you and your siblings have the same initials? Please share!

<3 Frankie

My weekend and blog changes

Happy Monday Friends!

I hope you all had a very splendid weekend. Mine was pretty busy and it went by way too fast as always. It was full of friends, photographs, pumpkins, baked goods, and maybe just a smidge of window shopping.

I may have purchased a fabulous new skirt (I’m currently wearing) from Anthropologie,  despite having banned myself from buying more clothing. With an extra  40% off of sale items, how could I keep my promise to myself? It was impossible. Oh well, October will just have to be an expensive month.

I picked up some pumpkins which are destined to be decorated and subsequently used to decorate my house for the surprise Halloween Party.  I have a really fun idea for one which I can’t wait to execute and share here. I also want to buy a pumpkin every single time I see one, anywhere, even at Shop Rite. It makes food shopping a struggle.  I may amass several hundred pumpkins before Thanksgiving. Somebody please stop me, because I can’t control myself. Seriously, I have no clue what is wrong with me, I don’t even like orange.

In other news, I baked a pumpkin cheesecake and froze it for my dad’s party. I did the same thing for mint chocolate chip cookies. You freeze cookies before you bake them.  If the mass amount of batter I ate speaks anything for them, then they’re going to be delicious.  I plan to do some more desert preparation this week and next. After all, sweets are the most important aspect of a Halloween Themed Birthday Party. I plan on having an exorbitant amount.  A request for red velvet cupcakes with fudge frosting was made (traditional-no, delicious-I hope). Recipe suggestions are very welcome!

In case you didn’t notice, I’ve been making some changes to my blog layout. I added categories to my all of my blog posts (who knew those were useful?). I changed my about page and added a recipes page.  I am in the process of adding a DIY page as well.  I also created a new header from a painting of myself I did a while back. I was impressed with how easy it was to do what I’ve done.  I know it’s not perfect, but it’s getting better.  I would love, love, love some feedback! Tell me what you love/hate/ are disgusted by.

<3 Frank

p.s. I bought the fabric for my Halloween Costume this weekend as well. I’m super excited to start making it. It’s the second year in a row that I’m making my own costume (with lots of much appreciated help from Jon’s mom). Last year I was a bumble bee, and my costume was incredible.  I should put it on and take some good pictures to share it here. This year, I may be being the most cliché character ever, but she’s one of my dad’s favorites and I already have the dog to match. I can’t resist. What are you being for Halloween? Did you make your costume?

How a Pumpkin Grows

Hello Friends!

Pumpkins are everywhere right now and I love pumpkins. I love pumpkin recipes, pumpkin lattes, and pumpkins as decor. This summer I grew pumpkins in my garden and it was super fun! The plants themselves are pretty amazing but I love the watching the little pumpkins go from green to orange.

Today, I’m going to buy some more pumpkins, since I only got a few little ones from the garden, not nearly enough to decorate the house!  This weekend I’m going to make some desserts to freeze to eat at a Halloween Surprise Party we’re having for my dad. I also get to see my bestie Laura! I couldn’t be more excited.

What do you have planned? Whatever it is, I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

<3 Frankie

The Sweetest Simple Thing

Hello Friends,
 
Since I still can’t share about the special visitor and it’s been a while since a cheesy post about the boyfriend, I thought I’d talk about him just a little bit.
 
Jon and I met shortly before we both graduated from highschool, I was pretty smitten from the get-go although I didn’t realize it right away.  Luckily my best friend and his best friend were seeing each other so Jon would ask my best friend to invite me to hang out with all of them. Thinking about it now, I feel like a lot of stuff did not go smoothly that summer, but somehow when September rolled around, I was able to convince him to give long distance a try. Well we made long distance work for five years not that I recommend it to anyone. It’s really hard, and I still have difficulty believing we suffered through 5 years of late night phone calls and daily text messages being our only communication. We did visit each other about once every month and half, so that helped, but regardless our relationship’s history still impresses me.
 
Since Jon graduated a year and a half ago, we’ve been able to be in the same town together most of the time, but he’s always going off to pursue various avenues to find success in the art world. In the year and half since he’s been home, he’s also been to Japan, Ireland, Seattle a few times, New York State a few dozen more, Brooklyn quite often, Connecticut, North Carolina, Michigan, and we went to Portugal together. He’s quite the world traveler. Also in case you didn’t know, my Jon is an artist, a glass artist to be precise and he’s pretty amazing.
 
One of the reasons our relationships works, besides the fact that Jon has way more patience for my ridiculousness than the average joe, is because of the little things we do for each other (mostly it’s him doing nice things for me). This morning he did one of his signature sweet moves and it’s totally 100% the thought that matters. He left for work (in Connecticut) at 5:30am, and left me asleep in bed. When I got up and left, there on my keys by the front door, was a post it note. “Love you” he wrote, just for me. It was the sweetest, simplest thing. It reminded me of the (thankfully) long ago days after one of our weekend visits together, when I’d find little handwritten notes from him in my coat and jean pockets, under a cup on my desk etc. He used to hide them so I’d find them all for a few days after we’d said goodbye. I can’t tell you how much this sweet little gesture meant to me this morning. He had me smiling at 6 in the morning. (this is not an easy feat, as I am not nice after just waking up.)
 
Jon is sweet, thoughtful, and romantic. I am lucky to have him.
 
So I want to know, what’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for you? Better yet, what is the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for someone else? Please share!
 
<3 Frankie

Garden Salsa and Homemade Chips

I was planning to write about a special visitor we’ve had since Monday, but I am having trouble uploading photos from my new camera to the computer so I thought I’d post a recipe I never posted this summer. This is a post I wrote during the peak of my tomato harvest. I think this salsa was particularly delicious.

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After all those worries about not having any tomatoes, all of a sudden I have a surplus. Unfortunately, the size and flavor of these tomatoes doesn’t really make them good for making sauce. Instead, yesterday I made salsa. It was delicious. I used jalapenos from my garden and a variety of heirloom tomatoes. Here was one day’s garden haul.

I chopped them all up into roughly the same size small pieces.

Then I donned gloves, and cut up a jalapeno. You probably think I’m a little nutty for wearing gloves while cutting a jalapeno but the first time I chopped a jalapeno, I didn’t wear gloves. I was careful, I washed my hands when I finished. Then I scratched my nostril. Then I became a fire-breathing dragon and to calm my inflamed nostril the only thing I could do, after a quick google search, was stick yogurt up my nose. It helped but still hurt, and I had to keep it on there, walking around with a glob of yogurt up my nose like a two year old. It was very traumatic. Anyway, now I always cut jalapenos with gloves. So I put on my gloves and cut the jalapeno into tiny pieces. I added it to the chopped tomato.

I squeeze half a limes worth of juice into this mixture. I chopped cilantro and added that into the mix. Then I covered it and put it into the fridge while I made some chips from flour tortillas.

 

I cut 2 tortillas into small triangles. Then I brushed them with olive oil. On a cookie sheet, I baked them at 420 for about 3-5 minutes on each side, watching carefully as I didn’t want burnt chips. When they were done, I used them to dip into my homemade salsa.

It was all so yummy. I’ll definitely do this again as it was really easy and delicious.

<3 Frank