Keeping Me Pre-Occupied

This week, I caught a nasty cold. It always seems at this time year, I get a cold that keeps me sick for at least 2-3 weeks.

It's not fun.
Luckily, this book has helped me enjoy staying in bed. I haven't loved a book so much since "The History of Love" or "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." Thank you Ali for the fine recommendation.

A Little Craft

Last week, I got together with my girlfriend's for a Craft Night. I'm so glad we did. I have some very impressive crafter's as friends. Each were working on lovely pieces (of which, I hope they blog about- as all are definitely blog-worthy), and I decided to work on a Valentine's decoration.

I saw this and was totally inspired. (And, it seemed something I could actually create.) All you need: cupcake liners, thread, and a needle... voila! Valentine's Day garland.

Cup of Tea, Anyone?

I've already had two cups of Peppermint Tea today... this rainy weather is making me cold.

(This is one of my favorite tea-cups. Jeff gave it to me for Christmas; we also have a 'J' mug.)

A Morning of Covers

I love a good cover... don't you? Especially when it's by two of my favorite singers.

Listen to Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) cover Feist's "The Park" here. (Via)

And! Arcade Fire covers "Born in the USA" (Not the best audio... but, it's still pretty awesome.):



(Via)

To continue the circle, here's a cover of Arcade Fire's "My Body is a Cage" by Sara Lov. It's pretty.

Marching Band

I've really been digging this Swedish band. Listen here. Their sound makes me happy.

Jane Shoots + New Project

I've started a new project on Jane Shoots. Click here to take a look.

Playing With Polaroid

This tool is just too much fun.

"Tess of the D'Urbervilles"

I finally had some time last night to begin watching one of my favorite book adaptations. It aired here last week on PBS and is a two-part series. I watched the first part last night and absolutely love it. I've been thinking of Tess and Angel all day. (Seriously.)

Can't wait to finish the rest of the series this weekend... Check your PBS listings to see if you can DVR it. I highly recommend it. (Obviously.)

(Oh, I think the actress who played Tess was spot-on.)

Double Chocolate Tiramisu

So... for my recipe exchange this month, I signed-up for Dessert. Rather than bake cookies, which is a recipe that I always defer to, I wanted to do something different.

Jeff and I are obsessed with Tiramisu (by the way, Salt Lake's Stoneground's version is our favorite). So, I opted for a recipe without the alcohol or the coffee.

Thanks to Martha, I stumbled on this recipe.
Truth be told, the recipe looked easy enough, so I started making it, and began layering the ladyfingers when the recipe- the same one I had looked at about five times by now- totally confused me. I wasn't sure which elements she was referring to as the chocolate filling or the cocoa mixture. I was baffled.

But, by this point, I couldn't turn back, I was almost done layering. So, I wasn't sure that this recipe was going to turn out.

I stuck it in the refrigerator overnight, and give it a taste-test the next day- turns out, it wasn't so bad. I added the final element of cocoa powder to the top (Note: do not go crazy with this task. The result can end in inhaling too much of the powder and coughing will commence. Oops.) and cutting them up and placing them on a serving tray.

I was very nervous to take them to Recipe Club, but I did anyway... and, luckily, me fellow recipe-goers reassured me. I think they liked it. They seemed to like it. Thanks for the reassurance friends.

So, all in all, a confusing, yummy, messy recipe... but, still, pretty good. Find it here.

(Photo from Marthastewart.com. I also took pics, but they weren't half as pretty.)

Hilarious...

We thought this was oh-so-funny:



Gotta love Doogie!

Andrew Bird's Newest Release

You can stream Andrew Bird's newest album, "Noble Beast." I've been listening this afternoon and am really impressed with the album. I love the way he composes songs; he relies on the music so much more than the melody. And, the strings are GORGEOUS.

Listen via NPR here.

(Looks like Bird will be around for a chat tomorrow on NPR's Live Chat. Fun!)

Daytrotter and Thao

Thao Nguyen & The Get Down recorded a lovely session at Daytrotter.


I've listened to the recorded four songs again and again this afternoon. Good stuff!

Listen-in here.

More Saylor...

I finally finished looking through all of the photos I took of my new niece Saylor. These are some of my favorites... she's SO precious.

Loved It

We saw it:



And loved it.

(I particularly enjoy this trailer featuring Arcade Fire's "My Body is a Cage.")

Welcome 2009!

Hope you had a happy and safe New Year's...!

Here are some sights from the little shin-dig we threw:

Cheers to 2009!