Moving Day

oh boy...what have I gotten myself into. Welcome to my new kitchen. Welcome Pang and Jr :)



oh herro CJ



Stay tuned... apparently there is a party in Pang's room tonight and Im invited.

Swooning music: Midlake, Young Bride

This song, when you first hear it, may not strike you, but listen to it a few times and the next day you will find yourself craving it. That violin that plays though it seems hypnotic and my heart immediately feels at ease when I do finally hear it. And plus! The furniture...that gorgeous bed in the video and all those books...swoon swoon, thank you Jeremy for showing me this.

The Fight Test

My existence right now lives in music and writing and reading old writing. Sorry Im not being more entertaining. I always loved this song from the first time I heard it 4 years ago. My favorite line is "Im a man, not a boy and there are things you can't avoid you have to face them, when you're not prepared to face them." That line struck me the first time I heard it for some reason. Plus, his voice is just so cool and the whole cd has a funky sound to it. I just love it.

The Week You Missed

I didn't take many pictures over the break- just didn't feel like it I guess. Most nights were spent at the bars, so what I do have looks a lot like this. This is from Brewer's Art in Baltimore, a swanky dungeon vampire bar that we went to for Rex's birthday, I would recommend it. Jon and Erik spent a lot of time in Frederick and we had a "sing-along" last night until the wee hours of the morning which is what I have been waiting for all week. We played all the old songs we love, Bright Eyes (You Will You Will You Will) some Socco Amaretto Lime, Get Up Kids, Weezer (Jamie, Say it Aint So), all the old ones I used to sing. It had been a really different kind of break this year,everyone comes home and everyone has problems to one extent or another, and now we all go back. Dinner with Trey, bar hopping with Brittney, movies with Bug, being dragged home by Jon, it has been a long week

You Will, You Will, You Will, You Will

Jon and Rex played this song to death when we were in high school and I found myself disenchanted with it because of that. This has been playing in my head for I don't know how long now. You know how a song will come on you spontaneously and you just can't shake it? This is the only song in the soundtrack in my head right now.

Duchess and self indulgence

Yesterday was perhaps one of the loneliest days I have had in quite some time. Dad came in the morning to help move some furniture home to make room for the new roomies, but he was here all of half and hour. The rest of the day I spent lazing around the house. I decided to go see The Duchess at the Opera House. Is this the first time I saw a movie in a theatre by myself? It just might be. What a movie to pick to go alone. This movie was not at all what I expected (do most people know her story already and Im just an idiot?). Girls, prepare for some empathy heartbreak when you see this movie. Her husband is the only man in London who doesn't love her, despite her beauty and influence, she is constantly put in her place as a woman, constantly slighted and basically is forced to live a life of repressed depression. Oh my. There was a woman in front of me, and you know the type, who talked to herself throughout the entire film, ohing and ahing and tsking the husband and at the end she burst into tears and I felt bad that she too was there alone. Maybe she needed a good cry? Well done movie, very beautifully filmed, but sheesh is it a downer.

So afterwards as you can imagine I was feeling glum so I decided to raise my spirits with some carefree spending. There is a little Indian jewlery shop in town here so I bought myself some Lapis earrings



Then I went over to the coffee and candlery and got some polenta and these sweet little bake dishes that I plan to make sweet little cupcakes with.

Happy Home Day to Boober!

I don't know when your birthday is little Hibou, I'm sorry, but this is around the time I took you in as a little stunted ketten so we can celebrate this day instead.



You were such a wee little crack baby :) Im sorry I let you get fat. Happy Hibou Day

All Mixed Up

Miss Pang hosted an art show that was sponsored by Mountaineer Beer at the Mens Club friday night. The show was a super success and Pang is now a highly sought after curator! For those of you pretty people who couldn't go here is what I put in the show.



Strawberry Field, Hyeres France, 2008



Centre Ville, Hyeres, France, 2008



Through the Window, Hyeres, France, 2008

AND PLUS! In other news...I am not leaving Shepherdstown as soon as I had planned. Instead Pang and Jr and moving into my place....and I am staying! Roomies! You will see much more fun Pang and Lacey adventures soon! Now we are bff for reals

Book Club Update: Interview with the Vampire : November

May I present the November book: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. Of course most people are familiar with this book but I have yet to read it, and since I am still quite taken with Vampire stories (is anyone else watching True Blood?!) I thought I would give this one a try. So far it is written in an antique literature style so of course, I'm all for it. The book club is open to all. Happy reading.

This is...my favorite recipe

This is a recipe I found in my Crock Pot book a while back and it had been a hit ever since. I can't wait to make it in a few weeks for Thanksgiving. Enjoy


picture from book

modified from Crock Pot book
Deluxe Potato Casserole

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted (I use cream of potato when vegetarians are present)
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp melted butter, divided
1 tsp salt
2 pounds red potatoes, chopped
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups corn bread stuffing

1.In a small bowl combine soup, sour cream, onion, 1/4 cup butter, and salt
2. In a large bowl combine potatoes and cheese. Pour soup mix over potatoes and mix well. Put in Crock Pot.
3. Sprinkle stuffing mix over potato mixture, drizzle with remaining 3 tbsp butter
4. Cover, cook low 8 to 10 hours or high 5 to 6 or until potatoes are tender

Pasta, Sweet Potato and Leek Dish

I had this recipe from a while back that I had been wanting to try so one night I just said, that's it! Im buying some leeks and trying this baby out. I will be honest, the taste of the leeks is very powerful in this dish and at first Jon and I were like...yeah this dish is good, but perhaps not a favorite. I swear though, this dish, every time I ate it got better, and Jon agreed. It grew on us quite quickly and now I am happy to pass it on to you all.



Leek and Sweet Potato Pasta

12 ounces multigrain penne
4 tsp olive oil
3 leeks (white and light green parts) cut into half moons
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 small sweet potatoes (1 lb about) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)

1. Cook pasta acourding to package, reserve 1/2 cup cooking water
2. Heat oil in large skillet to medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring until soft, 4 min
3. Stir in garlic cook 2 min. Add sweet potatoes, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, cook covered, stirring twice, until tender, 6- 8 min
4. Stir in 1/2 cup Parm and cooking water, simmer, stirring until potatoes are fully tender, 2-4 min.
5. Add pasta and nutmeg and toss.
6. Serve with Parm on top

PS that super sweet little bowl is a purchase from Philly :)

Book Club Update: The Big Over Easy, October

Pangs pick for October turned out to be a very nice read. While I will say it was a little slow to start, once it got into the investigation the book went in directions I had not even imagined. There were some stories and characters that I had a little trouble with as far as placing them.

One of these was Georgia Porgia, the ruthless gang mobster who splits the tongues of his victims. I found the little rhyme that goes with it. Something I was not familiar with and perhaps Pang wasn't either.

Tell tale tit
Your tongue shall be slit
And every little dog in the town
Shall have a little bit.

Both of us were a bit miffed by the Jellyman. As far as I can find, Fforde made up the Jellyman. There is no actual story to go behind this character. Should anyone be able to prove me wrong please do so.

Also, the Sacred Gonga seems to also be made up. I dont know if this was supposed to be funny? A weed joke? If so kinda out of place.

But look what I found! the nursery crime website!.

What did you think of the book Pang?