Oh, it's been too long, dear readers! Here are some updates on what I'm digging these days, Quick Takes style!
UNO
Books. I've declared 2014 to be the Year of the Book for me. I used to be the type of person who could easily read three books a week. For some stupid reason, I fell out of the habit. No more! I vowed to read at least a book a week. So far, it's going great; I've read about 12 books since January 1! I'm currently working on Eleanor Catton's "The Luminaries. " It won the Man Booker Prize (not that I have any idea what that means) and I never could resist the challenge of a humongous book. :)
DOS
Daily Mass. I've upped my daily Mass attendance so much since last year. (And now I'm thinking, dang, was I just extra lazy last year or what?!?) I especially love popping in to St. Joseph's downtown for Confession and a Holy Hour immediately before Mass. Catholic win!
TRES
Coffee. Specifically coffee made in a French press. I hate that I sound like such a snob, but it totally makes a difference. And I like using the little plunger thing. Yes, I'm five.
CUATRO
Colored pants. Way to be two years behind, Liz. I resisted for a long time because they reminded me of the horrible pastel colored capri pants my relatives would buy for me when I was little. You know what I'm talking about. But on a whim, I bought some hot pink pants a while back, and they sat in my closet FOREVER. I was afraid of those pants, y'all. Then, it happened: wash day rolled around and I could either wear the hot pink pants or my blue flannel pajama bottoms with snowflakes printed on them. I was seriously tempted by the pajama bottoms, but I scolded myself: "Self, you are only young once. You can wear these pants now, or save them for 65 years from now, when you are old and everything you wear looks cute. Because you're old. Aww. Old people. <3" I wore the hot pink pants, and haven't looked back!
CINCO
Cooking. I've been getting lots more practice in the kitchen, and I now only mildly freak out when I have to cook a meal. ;) The best thing I've made so far has been a knockoff version of the Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana. It was legendary, y'all.
SEIS
Homemade flavored drinking vinegar. This sounds gross, but is actually delicious! All you do is mix equal parts fruit (I've got a peach/blackberry/blueberry combo going right now) and white wine vinegar. I mean, you can use regular vinegar or red wine vinegar, whatever floats your boat. So for example, if you use 1 cup of fruit, add 1 cup of vinegar. Squish the fruit a bit before you add the vinegar! Put it in a covered container (a mason jar if you're feeling Pinterest-y) and let it hang out on your counter for 2-3 days. When you feel like it's ready, strain out the fruit. The first time I made this, I used the fruit in a savory sauce with chicken. This time, I was like YOLO and ate the fruit. No shame over here. Ahem. Add 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water to the infused vinegar and stir it until the sugar is dissolved. Voila! It's done! Just mix it with sparkling water and you have a delicious fizzy drink.
SIETE
Linking up with the lovely Jen!
