Movies: 2 Days in Paris, Fanny and Alexander

I haven't really been sleeping normally. I think it's at least partially because at the end of most days I feel like I haven't really accomplished anything, and there's a little niggling feeling that if I stay up one more hour something exciting will happen. Or else it is just unwillingness to go to sleep without having done or seen or read something. So I've been reading a lot (more on that later) and watching movies late at night.

This is a very funny, touching movie that I watched last night with some friends. It's called 2 Days in Paris.

It starts like this:


The beautiful, beautiful final scene, if you want to ruin the movie for yourself.


And then a few nights ago I watched Fanny and Alexander, which is very long and very creepy but very good. It's set in Sweden at the turn of the century, and it's about two well-to-do children (predictably, Fanny and Alexander) whose parents are involved in theater. After their father dies suddenly, their mother remarries a bishop, who demands that after the wedding the family give up all of their worldly possessions and live with him in an austere, allegedly haunted cottage. The film alternates between being dark and depressing, then silly and heartwarming, but it does so in a way that is more truthful than bipolar. And if that sounds interesting to you, it's all on YouTube! (search fanny och alexander theatrical version 01. warning: it is 22 parts)

So yeah. Those are my cinema picks, and if you have a couple hours to waste I think you should check them out.

Culinary Abomination: Kiwi Bread (cake?)

This is why I don't let the kitchen bitch cook.

My mom went to Costco last week and, in an attempt to keep healthier food in the house, bought a bunch of produce in bulk. This has become problematic, as the fruit all ripened at the same time, and no one in the house has yet expressed the desire to consume, say, twenty apples in the span of a week. Still, the apples are tasty enough and I don't have much of a problem snacking on a few a day. The real problem is the twenty or so kiwis that have been sitting in the fridge for a week.

You can't do anything with kiwi, and eating kiwi for weeks now has started to make it unappetizing. You can't bake with it, cook with it, its uses are extremely limited. The only appetizing recipe I found with kiwi was Martha Stewart's kiwi salsa, which I didn't think anyone in my family would eat. But this morning, Alex and I were both bored out of our minds, and decided to give kiwi bread a go.

Let me just say that I was against this idea from the start and had no part in its creation. I was just glad something was being done with the kiwis instead of just letting them rot. I had no idea that the result would be inedible.


(It looks so innocent when it's asleep)

To try and recify this frankensteinian monster, chef genius over here decided to add frosting. FROSTING. TO THE KIWI BREAD.



Just because you made it, you don't have to pretend to like it.


At first, I think he described it as "strange, but not bad."


After the second slice he wised up and proclaimed it "gross."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Baking: White Chocolate Macademia Nut Blondies

So I haven't really been updating this thing, mostly because I've been working and so I don't really have much to report. Hopefully, now that I have the next four days off, that will change. For now though, here is an old update that I wasn't able to post until now, because I didn't want to spoil the surprise. :)

I always feel kinda weird when I go out of my way to do something nice for other people, which might sound heartless but really I'm just afraid of crossing that fine line between doing something sweet and being a creep. But Kayla and Adena were going on a road trip to visit some friends we went to camp with (I wasn't able to go because I had to work) and I really missed these people and wanted to send something along to them. Which meant only one thing...


It was blondie time.


Hokay. So the first step is to roast the macadademia nuts.


While they're in the oven, cream the light brown sugar and the butter.


Add the wet ingredients to the mixture (or, get your kitchen bitch...um, that is, little brother, to do it for you)


Then the dry ones.

Finally, add the toasted macademia nuts, the white chocolate chips, and voila!



Wrapped up and ready to go.

Recipe is, yet again, from crepesofwrath. (I promise I look at other food blogs, the fact that I've done three crepesofwrath posts is purely coincidence)

I actually just took this picture because I liked the way all the colorful food looked on the grill

This was my dinner. :)

Thursgay

So sadly, my plans to go to a Man Man concert didn't work out, but I did have the chance to go to a piercing parlor with Noam to get his eyebrow pierced!





And then later in the night I babysat at the pool club, which basically amounted to watching WALL-E for what is probably the eighth time and making sure the kids didn't have any soda. I love babysitting jobs where I basically get paid for existing. :)

Wordless Wednesday: Adena's Party

Midnight showing of Harry Potter 6!

On Tuesday Kayla, Adena and I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter 6. We grew up with Harry Potter - the first book came out when I was 11, and I was obsessed up until book 7 - so even though I wasn't expecting the movie to be fantastic it was kind of tradition to go see it.

And of course, we dressed up.


Kayla went as Harry, I was Luna Lovegood, and Adena (whose favorite character is Ron) went as Lavender Brown (who was a complete psychopath in the movie).









Close-up of The Quibbler:


At the theater, we ran into Avery, who ate two boxes of Mike & Ikes and a box of Junior Mints over the course of the movie.


Personally, I hated it. I also thought it chock full of uncomfortable unintended homoeroticism, but that could have just been me (Seriously though. Harry was totally boning everyone in the castle except Ginny. Am I right?) I was going to do a scene-by-scene summary, so that those who haven't seen it yet wouldn't have to waste their money, but that movie is so freaking long! Maybe another time...

Pie and park

This morning I woke up at 8:00 AM, an extremely rare occurrence, to go for a run (something else I almost never do). There are no pictures of this and I can guarantee there never will be. Anyway, there are some really nice trails in the woods near my house, so I was kind of enjoying myself despite tripping over my feet and stopping for breath every five minutes. Emboldened by the beauty of the morning and surprised at my own motivation, I decided to take the "New Trail" instead of sticking to the parts of the woods I knew. The run continued to be pleasant until I turned around to go back and realized that the trail had looped around without my noticing, and I had no way of telling where I was or what direction I needed to go in.

I wandered in the wilderness for an hour (in addition to the hour I'd already run). It was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life and when I finally returned home I had sunstroke and what still feels like 10 million bug bites.

Moral of the story: Don't get up early.

Afterward I went over to Adena's house. She had a bunch of blueberries in her fridge that were going bad, and her mom wanted her to make a pie with them.


On the way to pick up other ingredients, we passed a truck with a sheepdog in it. Which is pretty cool on its own, because sheepdogs are furry and odd. But then we realized it wasn't just a truck with a sheepdog, it was actually a sheepdogmobile, and that kind of blew my mind.


We used this awesome old pie cookbook that contained recipes such as Hoosier Gooseberry Pie, Shoofly Pie, and Impossible Pie. But the basic blueberry turned out pretty well.


While we were waiting for the pie to bake, Adena read tarot cards for me. Discovered that the end of the world will result from indecision. Hmmm...


The finished product


Kayla and I were going to go to Rye Playland, but I'm trying to watch what I spend, so instead we visited Kayla's friend, Jan, in Mamaroneck and went to a park near her house.






We spent the evening catching fireflies

(yes, that black shadow is a firefly in action)





Doing "circus tricks" (or at least, trying to)




Giving each other piggy-back rides around the park (or at least, trying to)


And learning how to cartwheel (or...at least, trying to)








Success!


And the rest of the night? Will be spent with snuggling up with this:


Peace out!

(don't ask)