The Domestic Goddess Gets Dressed

or tries to, at least.

I need shoe opinions. Unfortunately, you have to go without dress pictures. But in appropriate-for-autumn ness, what do you think? The dresses I'd consider these for currently are a black/red/fuschia/white print bubble skirt dress (the effect is a dark-ish red/fuschia) or a royal blue with black mesh/lace overlay (for a dark, dark blue effect) with embroidered embellishments empire waist dress.

I worry the last pair, the d'orsay style (with lovely 2.5in heels, my perfect heel height) are too light for fall. However.... wedding shoes? 0.0

















The dark blue dress- this is it in "teal", so the color's not as dark as mine is, but otherwise it's the same thing. This is appropriate as "cocktail attire", no?





Red dress.... and close-up of the pattern

Tunbridge Fair: now we wait.

Today D and I took our stuff over to the Tunbridge Fair! My final tally of entries:
adult pullover (a Louisa Harding pattern, made in 2004)
adult cardigan (another Louisa Harding pattern, made in 2005)
adult vest (Lelah top- done sleeveless)
knit item, other (clapotis)
socks (slippery socks)
jewelry (same silver and tiger's eye necklace I entered in the Cornish Fair)
pottery, thrown (large lamp I made in high school)

drop cookies (coconut macaroons)
bar cookies (jam squares)
cupcakes (chocolate cherry cupcakse)
quick bread (gingered banana bread)
other (cherry scones)

Fingers crossed!!!!

I didn't finish the baby sweater. I got home at 8:45, baked and baked and baked, ate dinner, baked, etc, finally sat down to knit around 11:30. I never sewn in the ends of the Lelah top, so I did that, then worked on the baby sweater. By 1:30 I had 8 rows left of the sleeves (done 2 at a time), the whole collar (9 rows of 58 st) and all the seams. I had to give up- it wasn't worth being exhausted today. I also had to bake the scones this morning.

We're going to the fair on Sunday. I want some ribbons!! I also hope it doesn't rain too hard. Big E is Saturday, and I know that'll be really rainy, because it always pours the day we go to the Big E. It's part of the tradition, or trying to be.

Bits and Pieces

I think it's going to be one of those weeks. I also think I've officially Begun To Freak Out about graduating- I'm glad it's now, very early, so I can deal with it before the time crunch comes.

I'm still enjoying my risotto as leftovers. The recipe said it would feed 4, but so far we've gotten 5 meals out of it, and I think what's left will give me two more lunches.

I'm getting ready for the Tunbridge Fair. I've had two late (til 2 or 3am) nights so far, and I'm fairly sure tonight will be a third. Everything has to be delivered tomorrow, and I think Denise and I will go over in the early afternoon to take our (and our boys') things.

Last night I finished my Slippery Socks.

I started the sleeves on a UFO Peapod Sweater I came across. Luckily, I started the newborn size. The sleeves are about 20% done, have to do the collar (pick up 58 stitches and knit 9 rows) and all the seams. I think this could easily be done tonight, and still let me get to bed at a decent hour, but....

I also have to bake. Banana bread (quick to prepare the batter, 70min to bake), jam squares (quick to mix together, 20min to bake, at the same temp as the banana bread, yay) and coconut macaroons (which I could even make in the morning, that's about 20 min from getting the ingredients to taking out of the oven). Finally, I have to stuff and frost the cupcakes I made last night (I burned half, sigh- not badly burned, just noticeably).

As you can see, it's a bunch of stuff to do- not even counting sewing in the ends on my Lelah top and baking scones tomorrow morning, so that they'll be fresh and as good as possible for the judging on Thursday.

We're going to the Tunbridge Fair on Sunday, because we have to pick up our things on Sunday to take home. On Saturday, we're going to the Big E YAY!! I love the Big E. This should have been an answer to the "what I love about fall" post. I adore the Big E. I've been going since before I could remember. My mom used to fake doctor's appointments for me in elementary school so we could run away to the Big E for the afternoon. It was awesome.

I am extremely specific at teh Big E, there are things that must be done. First, we go to the state buildings (starting at the end near RI), and go through them all. We buy Del's frozen lemonade and clam fritters in RI, this is 2nd breakfast (first breakfast having consisted of toast and eaten in the car). In VT, NH and MA, we buy bags and bags of maple sugar candy and taste-test later. In MA we buy raspberries, maple cream in tiny ice cream cones, and honey bears. In VT, we stop off so Dad can have a beer.

Then we go to the Grange building, tell everyone that works there the people active in our Grange that they might know, buy some jellies and pointless do-dads to give them money, and check out the things on exhibit.

After this, our schedule varies. We usually make our way to all the vendors and see what fun things are for sale, and at some point, we'll possibly have lunch at the Storrowton Tavern (an actual sit-down restaurant), we'll go to teh better living building and try to get samples of whatever "as seen on tv" things we can find. We'll go to the animal buildings and someone will have to drag me away from the incubator with all the chicks in it. We'll go to the sheep building (probably not buy any yarn in the Wool Knook, unfortunately, it's been kind of boring for the past few years), baa at the sheep and goats, and mosey over to the cow building and get a 4oz milkshake for $1. We'll end the day with those tiny little donuts that are made right in the window of the trailer, and on the way out, buy a big thing of kettle korn.

This year, Mom and I aren't volunteering in the Craft Adventure building. This is the first time we haven't in..... um.... probably longer than I can remember. They changed the volunteer shifts from 2hours to 4 hours, and 4 hours is just too long, even if you do get free parking and admission. So we'll have much more time for fairing.

In non-Fair news, I finally heard from my future boss. She wants me to work on a zebrafish project! Zebrafish! huh. I wonder if I have to kill them myself. I guess I could do that with fish, but taking them apart.... ew. My salary won't give me much more money than I get now, which is very disappointing, and I'm super glad that Clint got his new job.

I still have not heard from my spoilee for the Falling for Ewe Autumn Yarn Swap, which kind of annoys me. I have most of her first package assembled, and I want to mail it when I go home for my high school reunion on the 19th, so I can mail it from another state, but I don't want to finalize any of the stuff until I hear from her. She finally updated her blog, so she's around. My spoiler, on the other hand, seems very cool and I can't wait for my first package! (no rush, though, I'm excited in a patient way)

I skipped going to the gym on Sunday and yesterday I could hardly walk. :-/ I decided to also skip yesterday, so I must, must go today. I'm trying to fit into a dress for an October wedding (I'd also wanted to wear it to reunion, but I'm not sure if 11 days will be enough time to fit into it,
especially when I'll probably only get to the gym 5 more times), so gym is important.

Oh I want to make pumpkin bread soon. Does anyone have a good pumpkin bread recipe?

Falling For Ewe Swap Question of the week

The organizer of the "Falling for Ewe" Autumn yarn swap is starting a question of the week, to be answered on our blogs.

What is your favorite thing about fall?

Oh, nice question! Fall is my favorite season. I love all the seasons (summer the least, it's too hot, ugh), but I get more excited when I see the trees changing color and apple orchards opening for pick-your-own apples than I do for new leaves sprouting on trees, and the first snowfall. (Although I have to say, part of my love for fall assumes that winter is close behind, but you still have the expectation of winter coming- I like Christmas Eve better than Christmas Day for the same reason)

So, why I love fall.
The weather gets pleasant again, and you don't have to worry you'll get heatstroke from walking into town (I really hate the heat, I kind of dread moving to MA, where it gets above 90 regularly).
I love fall cooking- apples, pumpkins, various squashes, and tomatoes (in early fall) are in season and plentiful. I love days with a little chill in the air that make you want to stand near the stove and oven.
I love the rich colors of fall, especially after the spring colors fade into dried-out and anemic-looking summer colors.
Halloween. I love Halloween. I'm going to be really mad this year if I'm sick on Halloween again and have to miss out on it. (I'm using the costume I planned for last year, because it was a really good idea)
Thanksgiving: it's a holiday revolving around food!! What's not to love? Plus pumpkin pie, yum. I go all out on TG pies.
Pumpkins. They're so nice and orange and round. I love buying pumpkins of all sizes and arranging them on my coffee table.
Apple Cider. With Mulling Spices. (let's not talk about the number of tins of mulling spices I keep on hand, or about the amount of apple cider I can go through in a week) (and why didn't I buy any cider at the farmer's market yesterday?!)
Finally, I love the smell of late fall, that slightly smokey-ness in the air at twilight.

(Things I hate about fall: yellow jackets come out full-force, the sun is low in the sky and makes it difficult to drive at certain times, and I don't really like many of the flowers in season during the fall- I think I can work on that, though. Finally, the farmer's market only goes through the end of October! I'm always sad to see that go)

Risotto!

I haven't made risotto in a while. I think I first made it because Giada did, and I watched and saw that it's not difficult. I like risotto, because unlike other rice dishes, it actually has some flavor (ah, cheese, how I love you). I started making it and having fun with it. I made it with sausage and tomatoes (um, don't use maple sausage for this, it's strange with tomatoes), ham and fresh peas, and butternut squash. Yum. A friend has been trying to perfect risotto with her boy, and I hear her talk about it sometimes, and think, I should make risotto. I could make it with the contents of my pantry and freezer, so why not?

Yesterday in lab I was trying to think of what I could possibly have for dinner, and someone gave me a bag of fancy risotto rice (she said it was the "good stuff, not arborio, but better." I forgot to read the label and see what it really was) when she moved to Illinois, because why bother carrying rice halfway across the country? I also had freshly frozen corn in my freezer, so I decided on corn risotto. Then Clint's a saint and picked me up some bacon at the grocery store- I once had corn chowder with bacon in it, and it's a really great combination.

I had my doubts. You see, yesterday was nearly the suckiest day that ever sucked, and I was brain dead by the time I left. Luckily, my advisor came by and we went over the figures for my paper, which actually cheered me up a bit. I was sure I'd never have the strength for a time-consuming (although really quite easy) dish like risotto.

Yay, I was wrong.

I used Martha Stewart's squash and squash blossom risotto recipe from March 2002 (maybe 2001) as a template.

I cooked 1/4lb of bacon (cut into bite-sized pieces) in a pan, after trimming all the large chunks of fat off. I might suggest using more bacon than this, especially if you get Bacon of Awesomeness like Clint did, you'll want to snack on it while the risotto's cooking.

After it was cooked, I transfered the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, and sauteed 3/4 of a large white onion in the bacon grease- which actually was very little bacon grease, from trimming the fat.

Season with salt and pepper, then once the onion's soft, add 1 and 1/2cup of risotto rice (i.e. arborio)- over medium heat. Stir constantly until it's kind of opaque (or 2 min), then add in 1/4cup of white wine(and add a 1/4 cup of wine to a wine glass for yourself- this'll take a while), stir constantly for 2 min, until it's absorbed, and then add in about 1/2 cup of a mixture of 2.5 cups each of water and chicken broth that you set to heat when you started the bacon (um, make sure you turn on the burner you set the pot of broth on, and not a different burner like I did, because then the broth isn't warm and you burn your wooden spatula you were using for the bacon).

Stir frequently until the liquid's absorbed, then add anohter 1/2 cup, stir, add more, etc etc, until you've added nearly all the liquid, or all- I added 4.25 cups of liquid, and you'll know it's done when the rice grains are of a uniform color, are soft but not mushy- al dente, I suppose. It takes about 20-30 min.

Then add in some corn (I think I did 2 ears' worth), the bacon that's been set aside, and some chopped fresh sage (2T should be good). Stir that together, then add a handful (i.e. 1/3cup) of grated/shredded cheese- I used my handy-dandy fondue blend of ermentaler and gruyere, which I always keep on hand).

I didn't add all the bacon, and sprinkled some pieces on top of each serving of risotto. Clint also pan-fried some cajun catfish, which made for a tasty dinner. I neglected to take a picture, which is too bad, because I'll take a picture when I heat up some of the leftovers (I think this'll be 4 more meals for me, at least), but I don't have any more bacon to garnish.

Try risotto, it's good. I like the recipes from Williams-Sonoma, but I bet Giada also has some good ones, and plenty of others would, too.

This morning we went to the farmer's market. Clint bought some elk, because that's what Clint does at the farmer's market, and I got baked goods for breakfast (spinach and cheese croissant, which is good, but the ham and cheese one is better- which is why it's been sold out for the past 2 months when I get to the market) and 2 lbs of heirloom tomatoes. I got the purple-ish green ones, which I believe I will use for this tomato bean salad. I'll also make some fig-balsamic reduction and have a tomato, basil, mozzerella salad.

Speaking of beans, I noticed the other day that I have like 6 cans of canneloni beans in my pantry. It's kind of odd, I like them, but only ever eat them on salads. So I'm going to try this recipe so I can clean out the pantry (but I have no zucchini, so I'll substitute in whatever veggies are in my freezer, perhaps peas, and I'll use the fondue blend instead of parm).

Brief knitting update: working diligently on my slippery socks for the Tunbridge Fair (although unfortunately, I also need to work diligently on my thesis) and I found a nearly-finished baby sweater that I started last summer, ran out of yarn, so never did the sleeves. The sleeves are all it needs! And I found more of that yarn! So I'm going to finish that for the Tunbridge Fair. Also considering entering my clapotis, but that'd be 6 knit items to enter, that might be excessive. For the baked goods department, I'm entering: jam squares, coconut macaroons (instead of duck sauce cookies), chocolate cherry cupcakes, possibly gingered banana bread (if my bananas go spotty by Tuesday)- and perhaps just a half loaf, and no pie. The two cookies are easy to make at least, and I could make the banana bread in my sleep. The cupcakes are the only thing to really put effort into. The cupcakes and the socks. This is all due Wednesday afternoon! Wish me luck (I may be working from home Tuesday so I can bake....)

Twilight Knitting and other nonsense

Briefly:

1. I was all excited this morning, because I handed the draft of my paper to my advisor and what a relief that was, but it went downhill from there. I've spent all of my day (well, 5 hours) working on some internal tagging nonsense, and I really can't stand DNA work, and my original plan was to plan/write a detailed outline of The Thesis. Sigh. This additional tagging saddens me, I'd hoped to never do another ligation at Dartmouth.

2. I had a severe shoe-alanche on Monday. I was cleaning, and part of cleaning is vacuuming (my parents gave me a new vacuum for my birthday, and this new vacuum actually picks things up off the floor! Imagine that. It's especially awesome with Pansy's fur, which the old vacuum could not touch), and I am not a gentle vacuumer. I whacked my large shoe rack a couple times, and it started to lean... so I pushed it back.... and it promptly collapsed. Sigh. Now, those of you who don't know me well might not know, but I'm somewhat of a shoe queen. I have somewhere around 85 pairs of shoes. This shoe rack probably holds 30-40 pairs of them. It's a sizeable shoe rack, as shown on the right there (but my shoes are much nicer than those pictured). It's only supposed to hold 20 pairs of shoes, but many of mine are sandals and therefore more squishable than other shoes.

So when this collapsed, it was a big deal. Poor Pansy couldn't get over giant shoe pile to go sit near the front door, as she is often wont to do.

Today I finally assessed the damage, and the vertical plastic poles snapped off at the base- there's a thing at the bottom of each vertical plastic pole that slips into grooves of the base and the top plastic pieces, and these things just snapped off two of the vertical poles. Sigh! Now I must invest in another one... but fiance hates Walmart, so I can't go there (where I got the original shoe rack), Kmart has a terrible selection of shoe racks (rather, they have several, but they're all $60+), and the one pictured is available at target, but of course, we have no target within an hour. Story of my life!

3. Twilight. heh. I read the Twilight books recently. I think I read all four in slightly over a week- I read the first one in about 18 hours. I find them incredibly engaging, but I admit they're not very well written. They're a bit like romance novels- totally trashy, but so so fun to read. (However, I would not say the Twilight books are trashy, merely fluffy- on par with Confessions of a Shopaholic, perhaps- I'm currently rereading that as my gym book, I always read fluffy books like that at the gym so that the time'll pass quicker). Well anyway, Twilight and knitting. I came across this Twilight parody (which is incredibly amusing, I'm so glad I'm not in the library reading this, because I'd get shushed from laughing) that I recommend reading for your amusement.... but it also has knitted items!! Er, item. Xlorp, the main character, is pictured here. I wonder if the pattern will be shared.....

Now I'll go try to hunt down my advisor and discuss options 1 and 2 for my internal HA-tagging strategery. (i.e. add restriction sites to the 3XHA tag, cut and ligate in, or use a single HA tag and insert with site directed mutagenesis? hmmmmm.... Option 1 is more normal, but option 2 would have a lesser chance of destabilized protein with a much smaller tag. >ponders<

Much excitement, of the academic variety

Today I had a goal. My goal was a few hours late, but I still met it before leaving!

My goal was to finish a draft of my paper, to give to my advisor (who left early, oops) before I left tonight. All I have left to do it print it, woohoo!

So to celebrate, I get to blog.

I found this, courtesy of Bird's wist, and can we say, wedding registry add? Ho boy, I can't wait to use this cake tin! They even suggest using it for ice cream cakes- bake a cake in the bottom part, and mold ice cream in the top! Clever, clever, Williams Sonoma.

Speaking of cake pans, I bought a tart pan this weekend! I've been wanting one for a while. I got a small one (8") at TJ Maxx when we went to replace my tea kettle (cannot live without a tea kettle). Actually we did well there, I got my mom a Spode deviled egg dish, and some turkey plates that she always drools over when she sees them, as well as some fun scrapbooking/card making type of doo-dads. I love TJ Maxx.

Today I came across a recipe for donuts, yum yum yum, that I'm dying to try- perhaps this weekend. They're donut holes, and baked (although brushed with butter, so only marginally healthier), and jelly-filled.

Tonight I aim to bake a third batch of scones. First batch was perfect, second batch was too wet, so ended up being dropped scones, but still delicious, and for the third batch, I think I'll use blueberries (frozen), so I'll probably end up freezing the batter. For this recipe, that's fine, you're supposed to freeze them before baking anyway.

Finally, an indulgence. On Wednesday, at my post-Disney grocery store trip, I splurged and bought devonshire cream. They serve this with tea at the Grand Floridian, and I love it. I used to have it fairly often, back when I had scones fairly often, but it'd been about a year since I had last had it, and far longer since I last bought any (it's gone up in price, now $6.99 for that bottle). Unfortunately, normal people cannot make true Devonshire (or clotted) cream, something about treatment of cream that's delivered to the grocery store ruins it for devonshire cream. If you can get cream straight from the cow, however, you're in luck! (I have no recipes, though).

.... I should try some of the mock Devonshire cream recipes out there, that might be almost as good.

In a pinch, you can just substitute cream cheese if you're having a tea and can't find any devonshire cream. It's totally not the same thing, but it'll do.