Into The Wild Nerd Yonder

Into The Wild Nerd Yonder, Julie Halpern
At 5:30 this Saturday, I walked upstairs and asked the Dude "How do you know when a book was great?" He smirked at me and answered "I'm guessing it's when you just read the whole thing in two hours." He was right. I sat down Saturday afternoon with Into the Wild Nerd Yonder, not knowing what to expect, and was immediately drawn in. The book chronicles' Jessie's sophomore year of high school, when the two best friends she has had since she was a toddler decide they want to become punks and Jessie isn't sure where she fits in any more. Based on that sentence, I'm sure you can tell that this could be just another teen coming of age story, but Julie's character is so clever, funny, and real that it loses any concerns about being cheesy. It is made stronger by the great supporting cast, including her older brother Barrett and her quirky parents. Jessie is smart and enjoys school, but worries about being nerdy, something I could definitely relate to. Is it better to be lonely and unlabeled or throw yourself in with a fun group that others call nerdy? I absolutely adored this book as it is just plain fun. I'll definitely be looking into Halpern's other novels even as I'm busy harassing all of you to read this book!

Borrowed from the library

Hello My Deer!

My friends come from all over the United States and most of us believe that our state is the best. If we want some data to back it up, this link should be helpful...it shows something that each state is the best at. No surprise that Pennsylvania wins for most deer collisions, but would you have guessed that Colorado is #1 for beer production? Expect lots of new residents next year, Colorado!

Some other highlights: My engineer friends may want to consider a move to Delaware, since they have the greatest percentage of PhD level scientists and engineers. Illinois has the highest rate of gang membership...um, thanks, Chicago. If you have a lead foot, avoid Massachusetts since that state has the highest level of speeding tickets. Nevada is a triple winner with the lead in teen pregnancies, foreclosures, and meth use. Way to go Nevada! I would never have guessed that Ohio ranks first in swiss cheese production.

Check it out!
http://1bog.org/blog/whats-your-state-good-at/

What's your state the best at?

2010 In Review

January:
Max watching PSU win the Capital One Bowl












February:
Made the library into a comfortable reading room.















April:
Tried deep fried bacon at the rodeo (it was gross!)...















...and visited Austin with my parents
















May:
Camping at Brazos Bend State Park













June:
Welcomed Layla to the family












July:
Brewed our first batch of beer...















...watched The Netherlands in the World Cup...













...and went skydiving!













August:
Went to the Philadelphia Folk Festival













October:
Went to New Orleans to celebrate my first anniversary with The Dude!
















November:
Returned to Pennsylvania for the wedding of a great friend (photo below courtesy of the Dude not leaving us alone)













December:
Spent a great Christmas with family and enjoyed real snow! (the handsome fella in this photo is my parents' dog, Duke)













2010 was a fun year for me. I have so much to look forward to in 2011!

Pirate Dessert

I few weeks ago I was meandering through the interwebs and stumbled on a thing of beauty: the apple pie-rate ship. That's right, an actual pirate ship made out of apple pie. Immediately this beautiful baked good rocketed into my list of top 10 awesome edibles. Although I make an excellent apple pie (if I do say so myself), I realized that my skills lie in the round, flat pie arena and that even a small fishing vessel, let alone a full sized pirate ship, would be beyond my feeble landlubber talents. So I sent the apple pie-rate link to the most talented baker I know: Erin!

I suggested to Erin that a duo or even a fleet of apple pie-rate ships, perhaps floating through a blue candy see with whipped cream whitecaps, would make an impressive (and delicious) Thanksgiving centerpiece. Oddly though, Erin seemed to think that this brilliant idea might be "too much work" on top of making turkey, stuffing, and all the sides for 12 people while hosting a half dozen family members. I know, I was shocked too. So I sadly resigned myself to a life without an apple pie-rate ship and buried my face in my grog.

That weekend I headed over to the aforementioned Erin's house for one of our favorite activities: a fancy lunch consumed while spending a few hours watching a girly movie whose entire plot could be deduced from a thirty second preview. It's a great time. But this weekend was even greater as she told me she had baked me a surprise. What could it be, I wondered? Eyeball cake balls for Halloween? Some kind of pumpkin delight? But NO! Better!

An APPLE PIE-RATE SHiP!!!



Feast your eyes on its pirate-y, apple-y, doughy glory!



Reader, this was as tasty as it was good looking. Erin has redeemed herself...at least until I get another idea. Like a pirate's treasure island made out of baked goods. Hmm...

*Please excuse the terrible picture quality; another skill I lack is using my phone camera!

Rodeo Houston

I finally pulled a bunch of pictures off my camera, including those from the Houston Rodeo! John and Nujoud invited us to join them in a suite to see the Black Eyed Peas. The suite was, well, sweet! (Sorry, I just had to say it.) Of course before we went to the suite we had to enjoy one of the most important parts of the rodeo: the food! For those of you who haven't had this experience, the rodeo is known for everything fried, batter dipped, and on a stick. This year we discovered a new delicacy: chicken fried bacon! We had to try it.


The good news for our overall health is that this was disgusting! You could barely even taste the bacon flavor...it was just greasy. Two bites were enough for me and it was time to eat the yummy food. Dinner included a roasted turkey leg and a corn dog I split with the Dude. Mmm! Then we headed inside for the actual rodeo events. I had a great time watching the bull riding and calf roping, but my favorite event was the new "mutton busting." This is where 5-6 year olds are put on the back of sheep as big as they are and hold on as long as possible. It was hilarious! Unfortunately it was at the other end of the arena so I couldn't get many good pictures, but in this one you can see a little girl holding on tight.

The final event of the evening was the Black Eyed Peas concert. They put on a great show, although it was strange to see their super-futuristic costumes in the middle of a dirt floor.

I never thought I'd be the type of person who'd like the rodeo but I surprised myself! Who else has been surprised by something you never expected to enjoy?

Moderately Extreme Makover: Library Edition

Although having my own library is one of my favorite parts of our house, in recent months it has become a bit chaotic and filled with piles of wedding stuff, books to shelf, and papers to put away. In addition, the ancient chair I had was comfy but just not right for reading. All that made sitting in there to read extremely distracting and I was more likely to just read on the couch and get annoyed when I was interrupted.


Recently I saw a daybed/sofa I loved at World Market (where else?). I knew it would be perfect for the library but couldn't justify buying it when the room was messy and I rarely sat there. But a few weeks ago the Dude got new furniture for the man cave and ended up needing to clean out his closet. When I saw it filled with neatly stacked clear containers my type-A, OCD, neat freak side finally overcame my avoidance tendencies and I knew what I had to do. Less than a week later, the clutter is gone and the library makeover is complete!

Unfortunately for you there are no before pictures so you can just use your imagination. Quite appropriate for a room I use to read, don't you think?

The beautifully neat (and way less full) closet.

Note the cleaned off desk and lack of piles on the floor.

And now for the best part...the daybed! I got some bright pillows to lighten up the room and a pretty basket to hold all the books I am waiting to read. The sides of the daybed can either be up (as shown here) or down (for stretching out legs or nap time). The wreath above it was a Christmas present from my friend Heather. It's actually made out of pages from my favorite books! Before you get concerned that she tore up books, don't worry...she printed them onto vellum. How great it is that gift??


In this picture you can see the view as you walk in and see the side of the daybed folded down.

It's so exciting when a room really comes together! I can't wait to spend a long time holed up in the library with a great read.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have a lot to be thankful for this year since it has been full of milestones. The following are in calendar order.

• I'm thankful for my beautiful home (we closed 2 days before Thanksgiving last year and ate dinner in our old place surrounded by boxes).
• I'm thankful for my crazy goofy gorgeous dog (who as I write this is almost fully recovered from his surgery and just ran upstairs to terrorize the Dude).
• I'm thankful for my wonderful family and amazing friends (who came together from across the globe for my wedding and completely overwhelmed me with their love as I started down the aisle with my father).
• I'm thankful for my parents (even though I am not with them today, I'll be on the phone with mom at noon ET to sing along to Alice's Restaurant. You should try it sometime.)
• I'm thankful for the Dude, who is now my husband, and who makes me laugh and treats me like a queen.

We're cooking our first turkey today (and by "we" I mean "him") and having friends over for dinner tonight. It's going to be a good time. I hope all of you are surrounded by joy and stuffed by turkey today! Happy Thanksgiving!

PS Copying from Erin, leave your best turkey impressions in the comments!

I'm a Wifey!

I owe you all quite a few posts about my wedding, honeymoon, and the many many books I read therein, but for now I will just give you the beautiful pictures the photographer took. Sorry to those who have already seen them!

Amazing Pictures

8 days to go!

From Jen's blog.

watching...Flash Forward

smelling...the reed diffuser sitting on the console table

reading...the blurbs about the 13 books (10 library, 3 purchased) that I got for the wedding/honeymoon so that I can decide which ones to read when.

enjoying...the knowledge that after 1 more day of work, I have more than 2 weeks off!

listening...to the laundry machine cleaning the clothes for my trip!

knowing...that in 8 days I am going to have a fabulous day with the ones I love

drinking...Diet Pepsi so I can stay awake

embracing...the excitement in my life! (and Max, naturally)

Summer Book Reviews

I have put this off for a while so instead of three books I have FOUR for you! Try to contain your excitement everyone.

My Life in France, Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme
As I mentioned in my last book review, I was trying to read this so I could go see the movie. Not a problem. I started it on a Friday and was done by Saturday night. This book was so engaging and fun; it really felt like Julia was just chatting with me. It was fascinating to learn more about her life and how she went from an American in Paris to the Julia Child we all know. My first introduction to Julia was when I was young and my mom watched her show on PBS. I remember thinking of her as the woman with the funny voice who used lots of butter (not too far off!). I was surprised to learn that Julia was interested in the science of cooking and spent days recreating recipes to ensure that they worked every time and could be replicated by the home cook. The book was a great read for everyone, even if you're not into cooking. I did see the movie a few days later and enjoyed that too. They had clearly done a lot of research and the Julia portion of it was accurate and hilarious. Two drumsticks up!

Book of Lies, Brad Meltzer
I first read Brad Meltzer's books in high school. He was like a younger John Grisham then and I enjoyed it. Now he's trying to be the next Dan Brown and frankly it's not working. The plot did keep me interested but the characters were flat. The addition of a Biblical basis for the plot seemed contrived. I think he was a better writer when he came up with his own story lines. I would recommend his earlier work, such as Dead Even or The Tenth Justice. Still, this is not bad if you're looking for a quick vacation read.

Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass, Natalie MacLean
This book was a shower gift from some very special ladies. In it, the author takes you all over the world of wine, from Burgundy in France to Napa Valley to Chile and Australia. She did get a little wordy and technical at times but I learned a lot about how wine was made and it definitely made me want to try a real tasting some time. The last chapter gives recommendations for what types of wine to drink with different foods so that will be a great reference for me.

Sarah's Key, Tatiana De Rosnay
I had read a review about this and then stumbled on it again in the bookstore. It blew me away; I read the whole thing in less than 24 hours and that includes a work day. It's the story of a young Jewish girl in Paris who is rounded up to be sent to the camps. Her brother hides in their secret cupboard and she promises to return and let him out. Sixty years later an American woman living in Paris discovers a connection to the story and sets out to discover what happened. The action goes back and forth between past and present. It's haunting and gripping. The characters and plot are well developed. This book was amazing and I expect all my readers to clamor to borrow it.

Showered with Books

The Miracles of Prato, Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz
I picked this book up off the new arrivals shelf at the library and wasn’t sure what to expect. I have enjoyed quite a few books about Italian Renaissance art and if I ever go to Italy I’ll have trouble remembering what about the artists is fact and what I have read in fiction. That’s fine with me though! This novel focuses on Fra Filippo, a monk/artist in the Italian town of Prato, and Lucrezia Buto, a merchant’s daughter who is sent to the convent in Prato after her father’s death. Fra Filippo meets Lucrezia and uses her as a model for the Madonna in one of his paintings. Lucrezia is caught between her desire to be a good person and longings for the secular life. Both she and Fra Filippo are manipulated by many people who are motivated by greed, lust, and fear as much as they are by a desire to be close to God. I enjoyed the novel as a quick read but if you are specifically looking for something about this time period I’d recommend The Illuminator by Brenda Rickman Vantrease, or The Lady and The Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier. And if you do read The Lady and The Unicorn then you'll definitely have to read her other book The Virgin Blue because it is fabulous.

Brooklyn, Colm Toibin
I had seen this novel recommended on multiple blogs so I was thrilled when I actually found it on the shelf at the library and didn’t even have to wait for it to come in. When I see something recommended so many times I go in with high expectations and this met them. Brooklyn is the story of a young Irish girl named Eilis who comes to America to get work and finds herself torn between her old life and her new life. Although the novel has plenty of plot to keep it moving, the real page turning force is Eilis’ personality and her struggles to define herself in America and reconcile that with the life she had expected to have in Ireland. In addition, there are great period details about the social divides between Italian and Irish immigrants. I read the whole book in one day and my only disappointment was that it had to end.


The reason I got so much reading done this weekend was because I had time on the plane to and from Philadelphia. My wonderful friends and family threw me a bridal shower at my mom’s house, and I’ll be posting more about that later. The bridal party suggested that people give me books to go with their gifts and I was thrilled with an abundance of cookbooks, nonfiction, and novels. At the request of some of my cousins here’s a list of the non-cookbooks I got. I can’t wait to dig in!

My Life in France, Julia Child
Red, White, and Drunk All Over, Natalie MacLean
The Woman Behind the New Deal, Kirsten Downey
History of the World in Six Glasses, Tom Standage
Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life, Karen Rauch Carter
The Coffee Trader, David Liss