a weekend of good things

I've been uber-domestic all weekend, and really loving it. I put up new curtains, switched up the throw pillows and put in a new lamp in the living room, rotated all Addison's toys to spark new interest in playing with them (always works like a charm), did waaaay too much housework, and cooked, cooked, cooked.

The cooking was especially rewarding because I made a couple of really delicious meals from scratch, and without so much as glancing at a recipe.

Last night I made up some mushroom-rice soup with vegetables on the spot, which was a surprisingly flavorful and satisfying dinner. If only I'd had a loaf of crusty bread to go with it... But I'm trying really hard not to go grocery shopping unless we absolutely need to. We had grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato instead, and they were rich, crispy and golden brown.

Today, I was feeling particularly inspired, and sauteed a few strips of bacon, caramelized a whole onion in the drippings, added some mixed mushrooms and fresh sage, and served it on top of polenta with sharp cheddar. I made a side salad with arugula, chopped apples, pecans, golden raisins, and blue cheese dressing. It was so very, very yummy and I ate up every bite.


I started reading In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto yesterday, and its really interesting. The overall concept of eating natural, minimally packaged and altered foods is not new to me. I generally eat that way anyway, but it helps bring it to my consciousness again, and its eye-opening to read the social, political and legal history of how we as a society came to eat the way we do.

Other highlights from my weekend included a very small birthday party for a girlfriend, complete with tea and cheesecake, lovely, decadent naps (oh I could have used about 3 more, but they were nice), and a spontaneous trip to the library where our timing was rewarded with free apples and a very charming singer/storyteller.



I even managed to take a photography walk this morning, all by myself. It was so fun to window shop, watch all the people lining up outside their favorite breakfast spots and take my sweet time. I'm lookign forward to sharing some of my snapshots with you throughout the week, since I'm participating in Leya's Color Week.