a spicy giveaway!

Good morning and happy Saturday! Turns out, this is my 250th post, so I thought that a giveaway was appropriate, eh?

Today's giveaway involves one of my favorite things---

spices!

I'm sure I've made aware my cookbook obsession and mentioned recipes I've made, but those wouldn't be complete without some of the spices I use regularly. My favorite spice store is Penzeys. Do you know it? My best friend, a sous chef, sent me a few from there for my birthday one year and since then, I rarely buy them at a grocery store. You'd think that they would be more expensive, but that isn't the case at all. I've found that many of them are actually cheaper then even the store brand, and they are much better!

There are some that I use more often than others, of course, but I still have a pretty stocked up spice rack, I think (do you need to see pictures of that too?!). So, here's what I am offering you-

These are a few of my favorites---

Vanilla Sugar

Sweet Basil (French)

Sage (Albanian Whole Leaf)

Apple Pie Spice

China Cassia Cinnamon

French Thyme

California Minced Lemon Peel

Krakow Nights (Polish Seasoning)

Dutch Process Cocoa

The vanilla sugar is so nice sprinkled on fresh berries, to add just a bit of sweetness! I sprinkle the apple pie spice onto applesauce for a snack and I often add the lemon peel to muffins. The Krakow Nights was the first spice I got from Penzeys! I sometimes add that to kielbasa and potatos when I make those. Steve loves it!

Those are just a few of my favorites, though they have many, many more wonderful spices. The company is based in Wisconsin. If you are in the DC area, there is a store in Falls Church and Rockville, so go check them out. Otherwise, they ship, so order online :)

So for the giveaway-

For one entry, comment and tell me your favorite cooking spice.

For two entries, suggest a spice shop in your area that I may not know about, but should try.

For three entries, do the above and tweet about this giveaway and comment with the link.

For four entries, do the above and blog about this giveaway and comment with the link.

For five entries, do the above and become a follower of my blog. If you already do, let me know.

The giveaway will run for two weeks, until Friday, July 31 and the winner will be announced the weekend of August 1. It is likely that I will add a few goodies to the prize...not necessarily spices, but something else!

have one baby for the Führer

Last night, I finished a really interesting book- I flew through this one, I literally couldn't put it down. Lately, I've been reading a lot of Holocaust fiction and this one, My Enemy's Cradle, by Sara Young, certainly fit the bill. I definitely didn't hate it as much as other recent reads.

From amazon-

From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Children's-book author Young (who, as Sara Pennypacker, penned the celebrated Stuart series) makes a stunning adult debut with this beautifully told and heart-wrenching novel set in WWII Europe. Cyrla, half-Jewish, is no longer safe hiding in the home of her Dutch relatives under the increasingly harsh Nazi occupation. When cousin Annika, whom Cyrla closely resembles, becomes pregnant by a German soldier, Annika's father enrolls her in a Lebensborn, a birthing center for Aryan children, where the slogan is 'have one baby for the Führer.' In a tragic turn of events, Cyrla discovers her only chance of survival is to hide in plain sight: she must assume Annika's identity and live in the German Lebensborn until rescued. Within the Lebensborn's walls, mothers-to-be receive proper nutrition and medical care until their children are taken from them for adoption into Aryan families. The horrors Cyrla witnesses are softened only by her resounding optimism and strength.

I have read a good deal on this subject, but hadn't read anything like this before. I knew very little about the idea of a lebensborn, but isn't the purpose of a good book to introduce you to something new?

This book had a good deal of twists and turns and while I have read enough about the Holocaust to know that it was far from a pretty time in history, there were still passages that shocked me, that made me close my eyes for a monent in horror.

A lebensborn would house girls as young as 14 and 15 who were expecting babies. The fathers were Nazi soldiers, and in many cases, the girls didn't know the father at all. They only knew that they wanted to produce as many children as they could, because that is what was expected of them and that was their contribution to the cause. The children were taken from the young mothers and adopted out to German families. Before entering the lebensborn, the young mothers-to-be were tested to be sure that they were pure in the sense that Nazi Germany was looking for- blond, blue eyes, Aryan. Perfect.

Cryla was an intriguing character. I found myself talking to her throughout the book, urging her to look a certain way or think a certain thought. Maybe this was because I know the tragic history of Nazi Germany, or maybe I found myself identifying with her in some mysterious way. That might sound like a bizarre thought, as I did not grow up in WWII Europe, but I can identify with her passion for life, what she thinks is right and her fierce determination to protect the ones she loves the most in this world.

finally! they're here!

So over the weekend, Steve and I drove out to my cousin's house to pick up my new toys, including MY SEWING MACHINE!!!!!!! Hooray!

Of course, none of these are new, not at all- most of them are maybe 50 years old! I may have mentioned it before, but my cousin's other grandmother (not technically mine, but we were still close growing up) recently moved to an assisted living home, so my aunt has been cleaning out her house, which she and her husband had lived in for all of their married lives- this is also the hosue that my uncle grew up in! When I was home a few weeks ago, we went over to help a bit and my aunt let us take some things. Of course, I couldn't carry it all on the plane, so my cousin brought it back last week, as he drove back with a dining room table!

So finally, here is the long-awaited sewing machine! This is my mother's old one, but still works well and I can't wait to start making things!

Look at this breadbox! I love it! I have no idea where it will go, since I have NO counter space, but I really thought I needed it. I've secretly always wanted a breadbox.

There is also a little drawer beneath.

I know, like I need anymore cookbooks, but these are classics! Both of these were printed in the 1950's, so they are the real deal! Plus, they have Nanny's handwritten notes inside, which I love.

Underneath the Fannie Farmer cookbook is a stack of tea towels, something that I collect, so that was an exciting find.

The meat grinder! I have no idea what I will use this for, but it was too cool to leave behind. Next to it is a pastry cutter, I believe...

Let's see, a strawberry huller, small tart tins, a butter slicer, a honey wand, a butter press, and that thing in the top left corner? I have no idea!

Two teapots!

Gorgeous blue plates. I found eight of them, plus a matching pie plate.

White linen napkins. The ones on the right are embroidered with a C, which is the initial for Steve's last name. I found about ten of those. The ones on the left have pretty embroidery too.

Sterling silver serving spoons. Maybe a copper ladle?

I found other things too that aren't pictured, but these are just the most fun things. I brought back several copper bottom pots and pans, a few baking dishes, another set of pretty desert plates with flower designs and a few other odds and ends. I felt bad about taking so much, but my aunt said that some things would be brought to Goodwill and she knew that Nanny would be happy to know that my sister and I have it. Trust me, there was still SO much that is going to Goodwill! This was all after my aunt and uncle and two cousins went through everything and took things for their homes.

Now I need to find room in my tiny kitchen for these new additions, not to mention find a place for the sewing machine to live!

PS. Stay tuned for a giveaway later this week! Can you guess what it is this time?

always a bridesmaid

As you may know, I am a bridesmaid in a good friend's wedding this October. The wedding will be held in CT. I'll be there in a lovely cinnamon colored dress. There will be two bridal showers; one in CT and one in MA. The MA shower is in mid-August and the CT shower is a few weeks later, in September. Clearly, I cannot go up for both. I plan to go up for the MA shower.

Originally, the MoH had thought we'd have the bachelorette party the same weekend as the MA shower, which worked out well, as I'd be there for the shower anyway. About a week ago, it was discovered that the bride has a prior commitment for that night, so the shower will be moved, most likely to the weekend of the CT shower. Of course, the girls asked if I could come up for that shower instead. I can't though. The CT shower was first slated for the last weekend in August, but was later moved to a couple weeks later, which turned out to be the same day as Heidi's wedding (whose invitation came in the mail today!). Clearly I cannot be in CT that weekend. I explained this to the other girls, I am unable to come up that weekend, but of course, I totally understand the need to have the bachelorette that weekend. I'd be sorry to miss it, but it is the best date for everyone else (oh, all of the other girls live in CT and MA, so they plan to go to both showers).

The MoH is now sending around a chart that we are supposed to fill out with the dates we are available, ideas we have and how much we are willing to contribute to the bachelorette. Here is my question. If I cannot attend the bachelorette, am I still obligated, as a bridesmaid, to contribute to the event? I don't want to come across as unwilling or uncooperative, but I am sending up ideas and doing what I can from miles and miles away.

As I said, I totally understand that they'll have it without me, and that is fine. I would never expect something to be changed just for me, as it is a bit harder for me to get up there. Should I still contribute, financially? How should I approach this?

What would you do?

look at this photograph, everytime I do it makes me laugh

Last night, I was looking around my apartment at some of the photos I have. They're all in frames, on the wall or on shelves documenting some of my favorite moments in time. There are pictures from the two years I lived in Krakow; all over the city and all over some of the others that I was fortunate enough to travel to. There are photos of my family; of me with my siblings when we were young and photos of my grandparents and a photo of my parents about twenty years ago when my mother's hair was long and curly. They are at the top of Mount Washington- it is one of my favorite photos of them. They look so happy and carefree, like they are at the top of the world (which they literally were! well, close!). There are photos of me with high school friends and photos of me with college friends. Photos of me with friends from in between. There are also two photos of me and Steve; one from my best friend's wedding a few years ago and the other at the Christmas tree at Rockfeller Center, also a few years ago.

Sensing a pattern here?

I found that none of the photos in my apartment are from later than 2005. Why is this? Well, I'd say that it is because of the arrival of digital cameras. Yes, I realize that they existed before 2005...but that is when I got one! I was in Poland from 2002 until 2004 and I had an older camera that took actual film that I would bring to get developed. I miss those days. One of my favorite things was to drop off a few rolls of film and then go back to pick up the pictures, with the anticipation of what was on the roll. Inevitably, there would be a few bad pictures, but they were developed anyway. There was no "delete" button if my eyes were closed or I didn't like the way I looked. I had the photo anyway, for all of eternity.

I was so sad when I recently read that Kodak decided to retire its iconic Kodachrome film after more than 70 years. Again, another move towards the world of digitalization. My two years in Poland are documented in hundreds of photos. They are in a large Rubbermaid bin, which sits in the corner of my apartment. I've begun to organize them into albums, but I can't work on this project for too long because I get so nostalgic and begin to daydream about ways to get back to Krakow and spend my days sitting on the Rynek Glowny in the sun. Those days were among the most amazing I've had and I can think of few things I'd like more then to be there again.

I suppose the solution to my dilemma is to print out new photos for frames, eh? Somehow though, it isn't the same. While I do have hundreds of recent photos, most of which can be seen on the dozens of albums on facebook, it still doesn't compare to the the thrill of real photos, fresh from being developed. I miss that.

What are your most favorite photos? Where in your house are they hung?


PS. Keep an eye out...I'll be posting a giveaway or two next week!

to send or not to send

As you know, I am a big fan of mail, both sending and receiving. I send birthday cards, anniversary cards, hello and how are you cards, happy new house cards, get well soon cards, sympathy cards, wedding cards, happy new baby cards, etc etc etc. Really, I should buy stock in Hallmark! I may also be single-handedly keeping the U.S. Postal System in business ;)

This is my dilemma. Like I said, I send cards for every occasion. That includes thank you cards, which is a big deal to me. I think that sending thank you cards is so, so important. Next week is the first wedding anniversary of a high school friend and his new bride. I attended their wedding last July in NH, along with a few other high school friends. I was invited to her bridal shower. I couldn't attend, but sent up what I thought was a really nice gift (a copy of the Cake Love cookbook!) Given that I was his friend first and she and I were not especially close (and frankly, I was surprised I was invited to the shower), I thought that was a nice gift. She never sent a thank you note. The only reason I know she received it is because I tracked the delivery online. I never received any sort of acknowledgement. Then came the wedding, which I traveled to NH for, from DC, of course. Steve came too. We spent time with my family of course, and did the wedding. I brought a gift- two sets of nice wine glasses, a nice bottle of wine and a few other wine related things that I can't recall right now. I don't believe they had a registry, so I wasn't entirely sure what to get them, though I don't do registries anyway, but that is another story.

Again, they never sent a thank you note.

Maybe it is petty of me, but I am really annoyed by their lack of manners and not sending a thank you note or ANY sort of acknowledgement. I took time off work to be there with them and no reply of any kind? I know that technically, you have a year to send thank you notes, but they are also both teachers, so these could have been done so quickly, since they had the summer off!

I've spoken to my other friends who were there and none of them plan to send an anniversary card either, as they are equally annoyed about their not sending thank you notes. I just think it lacks manners, you know? Still though, as bothered as I am, I still feel bad about not sending an anniversary card!

Maybe I should also add that I don't really speak to them all that often anyway. They didn't send me a Christmas card this year either. I am friends with the bride on facebook, but my friend isn't on there at all, so our contact is fairly limited these days. I haven't seen them since the wedding, now that I think about it and when I am home, I have such little time there that I want to spend it with my family and my best friend and godson, since I obviously talk to them all the time. Oh, and my best friend is a high school friend and one of the ones who didn't receive a thank you note either!

Is it wrong of me to feel this way? What would you do? Would you let it slide and send a card? Or just let the day pass like any other?

good golly, Miss Molly!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the American Girl dolls and how I received Molly one Christmas. Well, while I was home this weekend, I decided to bring her back to DC with me.


As you can see from the photos, I've been a terrible mother over the last few years and neglected my poor baby. Her braids are gone and her hair is a hot mess. She's sporting her Christmas dress, which is filthy, if you can see in the pictures! Also, her glasses are missing!!! Report me to child services!


Maybe I should send her to the doll hospital for a little TLC? While she's there, she can even get her ears pierced, should she want! Knowing how much I cried when I got mine pierced for the first time, I wouldn't want her to go through that alone...!










How do your favorite childhood toys look these days? Are you saving any for your future children?

yay craftiness!

As I mentioned yesterday, I made three more potholders while I was home over the weekend! I love the fabrics on this first one. It has a little Paris theme, with little Eiffel Towers and Arc de Triomphe's! So adorable.

I'm so excited to get the sewing machine here, but then the next big task will be to find room to set it up! I'd prefer to be able to keep it out, rather then having to lug it out each time I want to use it, but that also requires a table, something I don't actually have in my apartment, believe it or not. I have ideas that involve getting rid of the ugly blue loveseat and putting a table in its place, or moving my dresser into my closet, and setting up the sewing machine in the nook, but we'll see. I've got projects in mind! Then, of course, I need to think up a name for the etsy shop that I want to open! Any suggestions?

goodbye June, where did you go?

It's July? Really? How did that happen? Wasn't it just the middle of April? Alas, July is here, what more can I say?


This past weekend was really, really lovely. I was home in NH, just for Saturday to Monday. Of course, trips home are never long enough, but that is what makes them so very special, because I appreciate them that much more, I think. One of my very oldest and dearest friends turned 30 last weekend and her husband organized a big fiesta for her. She is a French teacher at the local high school and one of my favorite Francophiles, but hey, even they need a margarita once in a while ;) It was so, so nice to see her though. She has two babies, a four year old and an almost two year old and I can't get over how much they look like her! Some other old friends were there, including one who had a baby in February, so I got to hold and play with the cutest, chubbiest baby you've ever seen! Laughing and sharing old stories, being surrounded by old friends, it was just what I needed. There is something so special about old friends; the ones who have known you the longest, long before you were who you are today. They are the ones who have helped you get there, and I am so glad to have these people in my life.


Of course, I saw my grandmother too, who is doing so incredibly after her surgery last February. She's amazing, she really is. I went to my best friend's house and had breakfast with her and her husband, and little boy, my godson, who will be two this weekend (4th of July baby!). Since I am brilliant, I left his birthday presents here in DC, so I'll need to mail them and they'll be late. Well, one of the gifts is a savings bond, so that will take some time anyway. Once he is old enough to understand what those are, he will probably hate me for sending such boring gifts!


My mother also brought out her old sewing machine and I made a few more potholders. I'll post pictures later. My cousin is flying home tomorrow and will drive back with the machine next week, as he's bringing back some furniture too, and a few other things. I acquired a good bit of kitchen items too (long story), including a cast iron meat grinder! I have no idea what I will ever use that for, but it amused me too much to leave behind! Now I just need a bigger kitchen....


In other news, I decided at the last minute to take two classes during the second summer session. They begin next week, so from 7/6-8/14, I will have classes Monday-Thursday, 6-9:30pm. Awesome. At least that will complete my requirements for the degree....


How was your weekend?


PS. I think my blog might need a makeover. What do you think?

and another for you

Two giveaways in one day? Wowie! Maybe I should run another of my own soon?

Until then, check out Kate's lastest, for fun summer entertaining!

Real Simple fans?

Are you a fan of Real Simple? Here is a great giveaway, hosted by Iowa Girl Eats. She posts great photos of the things she makes, they all look so delicious, so go check them out!

jumping onto the blog carnival

Since everyone else is doing it, I thought I'd play too...

“This post is a part of 20SB’s Looking Back Blog Carnival, and Ben & Jerry’s is awarding free ice cream to lucky bloggers and readers!”

Here is one of the first posts that I wrote, a bit over a year ago. I haven't been blogging for too long, but I like this post because it still speaks to me. Also, it is appropriate, as July 4 will be my five year anniversary of living here in DC, which is crazy when I think about it. Like I said then, and have said again recently, I still wonder what I am doing here some days and wonder if I made the right decision. Of course I don't regret it- I've met some incredible people here, including my boyfriend who I like a lot (most days!).

At the same time though, it bothers me a bit, that even one year after this post, my thoughts appear to be no more clear today then they were that day. I still find myself questioning myself and second guessing some of the decisions I've made. My mother has no idea about my blog, but she knows about my uncertainty. She recently said to me "Lex, I really hope that one day, you'll find something that makes you happy."

That being said, I am not unhappy. Sure, everyone has their off days, but most days, I am happy and content with my life and th decisions I've made, but like anyone else, I think, I have days where I just wonder what the heck I am doing and how I got here. I wonder what life might be like if I had accepted that job that was offered to me in Portland, ME before I moved to DC and if I'd be there, living by the ocean with a guy who once had a large piece of my heart. He seems so long ago, and he was, but he had his place in my life and I am glad that I once knew him. What if I had moved to Boston, which was really the original plan? My sister is now in Boston. Maybe we'd be even closer then we are now. Despite the physical difference between us, we are as close as can be, though of course, there are a few secrets that I don't share with her, that I don't share with anyone at all, not even Steve, my mother or my best friend. Like Rose said in Titanic, "a woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets," and some of those secrets are not meant to be shared.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2008

I had a meeting with my advisor this afternoon, so I left work a little early. On the way back, I decided to get off at Eastern Market and walk, rather then switch at Metro to go to Union Station like usual. On a whim, I got off at Capitol South instead. It's been a long time since I was at Cap South. As I came up the escalator and Cannon HOB came into view, I began to think about the year I spent working in the Rayburn building. It was my first "real" job, after I finished my Masters. Moving to DC and working on the Hill wasn't really my idea, it wasn't something I wanted, per se. What I mean, is that it wasn't something I really considered initially. When I began looking for jobs, most of my resumes went to NYC and Boston, and a few here and there would come down to DC. I heard about the position with the Congressman through a former supervisor at a past summer internship, and she told me to apply. So I did. I didn't hear anything for a while...then they asked me to interview...then a second interview...and then, several weeks later, after I had accepted a position as the Deputy Campaign Manager for an election in Canada, they offered me the job. I told them about Canada, they said they'd wait for me, that I could come down to DC when the election was over. So that's what I did.

It all seems so surreal now, when I think about it. It feels like it was so long ago, yet it wasn't. July 4 is Independence Day, but it is also the day I moved to DC and began my life here, almost four years ago. While it may not have been the job of my dreams, I enjoyed it (most days!) and learned a lot. When I left the Hill a year later, I thought I knew what I wanted to do. Three years and three jobs later, I'm still not so sure.....

yummy in my tummy

I did some baking over the weekend! A few days ago, the girls at We are not Martha posted a recipe for strawberry shortcale cookies that sounded too amazing not to try. I picked up a few groceries, including two pints of strawberries and decided these couldn't wait.


They did not disapoint! Seriously, these cookies were amazing, maybe the best thing I've ever made! The girls at WANM take step-by-step photos, which I didn't do, I just have a few photos of the final product-----











They really tasted like strawberry shortcake! So, so good. Now I still have half a container of heavy cream, which isn't something I frequently use, but it will be soooooo good in a cuppa English Breakfast or Earl Grey tea!

I think this might be my new go-to recipe, whenever I need to bring something, I'll bring these! They were so easy and didn't take too long at all. Since strawberries are in season right now, you really should go out and buy some to make this deliciousness!

sew good

This weekend, I may take a trip up to Silver Spring and go to Honfleur Home, where they rent sewing machines by the hour. I found the shop by accident one day when Steve and I were in S.S. and have been thinking about it ever since. It is $7 an hour to use a machine, which isn't bad, I'd say. I still haven't bought one (mainly because I don't have a table in my apartment to put it on, seriously), so this might be good for now.


Anyone in DC-ish that sews want to come with me?

PS.

edited, to add the good news of the day!

I spoke with my cousin earlier today (he lives here in DC too) and he's flying home to NH in a few weeks and driving back with some furniture, so he will bring my mother's old sewing machine back with him for me! hooray!

my purse strings are empty

When did life become so expensive? By that, I don't even mean the "normal" things, like rent, utilities, groceries, etc (though grocery shopping has become a bit ridiculous lately, would you agree?). I am speaking of the extracurricular activities that life has to offer. It looks like this summer won't come cheap.

Today in the mail, I received an invitation to a good friend from college's baby shower. She and her husband are expecting their first baby in September (a boy!) and I am so, so happy for them. They are college sweethearts and couldn't be more in love. She and I studied abroad together and had some really great adventures (remind me to tell the story about how we walked to Germany one day). The shower is next month, in CT. Tonight I received an email about further confirmation for a bachelorette party for the friend who I am a bridesmaid for. The wedding is in October, the bachelorette is the same weekend as the shower, in August, in MA. Two weeks later, Labor Day weekend, I have a wedding in upstate NY for another college friend.

These are just a few of the events I have in the next few months!

I'm really looking forward to these events, but I guess I better start making more potholders and selling them in my etsy shop, in order to fund these activities!

Like they say, I should have been born rich instead of beautiful ;)