baking weather

the weather has been cold, wet and nasty this week. we had a spontaneous hail storm the other day:



so it seemed like as good a time as any to stay indoors and bake. i found a recipe for lemon cupcakes with lemon cream and used the tulip baking molds for the first time.



i put too much batter in each mold so the bottoms (or tops, as it were) became too round to lay them flat. s kindly held one up so you can see the tulip shape on the front (which then became the back.)



the recipe was nice and lemony, and the overall effect was like eating super-sized madeleines. i would make them again, but maybe try a cream cheese frosting on top (although the lemon cream on the inside was nice.)

***

meanwhile, you might notice that i am taking more pictures with my camera phone. my beloved canon powershot G2 appears to have died right after we got back from york. i am going to see if it can be fixed. sob!

weekend in york

as a joint valentine's and birthday present, s took me to york for the weekend. we spent saturday walking around the town.

we walked along the city walls...
















we also saw york minster from almost every angle (except inside).










and walked through the town. here are some of the things we saw along the way:







for those of you who are wondering, the name "shambles" comes from the saxon word meaning "street for butchers." read more about it here.

apparently, yorkshire folks still enjoy their meat.





whip-ma-whop-ma-gate, the shortest street in york with the longest name. read about it here

i liked the street names in york... this one made me think of lewis carroll, although i'm sure there's no connection.




the river ouse






the ruins of st. mary's in the museum gardens




sunday was "meet the parents" day. s grew up in yorkshire, so we arranged to meet his family for a pub lunch. unfortunately, i do not have any embarrassing stories to share with you. no "meet the fockers" moments. no awkward silences or nervous laughs. they were perfectly nice and we had a lovely afternoon with them. and i'm not just saying that because they brought me chocolate for my birthday :)

however, i don't feel that i know them well enough quite yet to post their pic on the www, so you'll just have to imagine what they look like. here's another b&s picture for your viewing pleasure instead.

brick lane bagels

i wandered over to brick lane last week. apparently, it is known to locals as "bangla town" and is famous for its curry restaurants. as much as i love curry, however, i go to brick lane for the bagels.

have you ever seen the seinfeld episode with the soup nazi? they find a hole-in-the-wall soup shop with amazing soup, but the man who runs it is prone to say, "no soup for you!" and refuse to serve them.

the brick lane bagel shop is a bit like that. the menu is virtually indecipherable (partly because they alternately spell it, "beigel" and "beighel") and the service is quick and efficient. which is to say that if you don't know exactly what you want, and if you don't order it without wasting words, they move onto the person behind you.

how NOT to order:

"hi, what's the special of the day?"

"ummm... i think i'll have..."

"what kind of bagels do you have?"

how to order:

"i'dlikesixplainbagelsplease.hereismy90p.thankyou.bye."

yes, you read that right. SIX BAGELS FOR 90 PENCE. that is only one of the reasons i love this place. it is also open 24 hours (!) and the bagels are oh...sooo...goooooood.

so i'm savoring each and every one of them, but the good news is that when i run out, i can go back any hour of the day or night and get my fix.



(not bad for a photo from my mobile phone, huh?)

great british design quest

found this link on the BBC website:

great british design quest top 10

go vote for your favo(u)rite. what will it be?

the red phone box?

the concorde?

the underground map?

lara croft tomb raider?

in other design news, IDEO was at the davos world economic forum, talking about "building a culture of innovation."

click here for article

birthday in a box

i had a wonderful birthday, and realized (again) just how lucky i am to have a loving family and caring friends. my sister sent me a "birthday in a box," complete with balloons, glittery candles, mini uno party favors, and a spongebob squarepants happy birthday banner. true to family tradition, she used the sunday comics as filler for the box. would you guess that i just turned 33...?





she also splurged on the live aid and live 8 DVD sets. woo hoo!



and threw in a set of tulip-shaped silicone baking molds. how cool are they?! i can't wait to use them.




i used the candles on the (ahem... half-eaten) carrot cake that j brought over the night before my birthday. they're all there. i think it might be a fire hazard to light them all, though.

















(any resemblance to the millennium dome is purely coincidental.)

pictures of our weekend in york are coming...

happy birthday to me!

"Birthdays are good for you.

Statistics prove that the people who have the most live the longest."

-Larry Lorenzoni

Quote on card from S this morning.

***

Horoscope for the day:
Today is low-key. However, there's a happy emphasis on getting together with friends and travel. You'll be glad to help someone out with a problem. You have terrific ideas that need to be promoted to others patiently.

Or maybe my horoscope is this:
Let your daydreams have free rein, and you might actually see the ones closest to your heart come true. The stars emphasize wide-open horizons and limitless possibilities right now, so go for it.

***

thanks, everyone, for all the nice wishes! will post more soon...with pictures!

off to enjoy my day now!

xo, b

in the news

i have been enjoying the news this week.

i am all in favor of the full ban on smoking in the u.k. i am somewhat bemused by people who claim that banning smoking infringes on civil liberties. i choose not to smoke. my decision does not affect the breathing air, lingering-smoke-odor-on-clothes, or health of anyone around me. if someone chooses to smoke in public, their decision impacts me as well. how is their freedom to smoke greater than mine not to? i don't see it. bring on the ban...

i have also been following the story of dick cheney's hunting accident partly because i think it's funny, but mostly because i want to know what happens next. as far as i am concerned, this is just one more reason for gun control.

i am also watching the olympics in torino, albeit bittersweetly, and only when i can catch a bit on s's TV. i really wanted to work there... sob!

the one story that i don't understand at all is the cartoon fury. so i won't comment on it here.

as always, however, my favorite news comes from the daily show. true reporting genius.

a little "pick me up"

s made tiramisu for valentine's day. feast your eyes!

it was our first v-day as a couple. neither of us wanted to go overboard on the flowers and candles, but it seemed right to mark it as a special day. s made an italian steak dish for dinner, which we ate while watching the mighty boosh. i made him a framed photo collage. he made me a personalized card in iphoto. mellow. our style. not overly romantic, just enjoying being together and laughing at the surreal nuttiness that is the boosh.

fortunately, there is still some dessert left over. yum!

windsor

monday blues

i am more of a green person than a blue one. my blog is green.* my eyes are hazel green. green features heavily in my wardrobe. my politics lean toward the green side. and in the "what muppet are you?" quiz, i predictably come out as kermit the frog. it's not easy being green.

however, in a moment of jane-inspired color/colour appreciation, i noticed that today's palette is blue.



i made myself a large cup of green & black's organic fairtrade cocoa to accompany david vogel's the market for virtue: the potential and limits of corporate social responsibility.

but as interesting as the book is, i'd really rather be knitting.



my mother reluctantly gave me this yarn after she decided that it would be too itchy for her to wear. it is fiesta la boheme in caribbean (the la boheme collection comes in two strands, rayon boucle and brushed kid mohair, that are knitted together.) i am making a scarf in a simple lace ladder pattern and i am very pleased with it so far. i am planning to sew on a beaded fringe to help give it some weight and extra sparkle.

not pictured, but carrying on the blue theme, is the blue sweater i am wearing today, one of those beloved articles of clothing that has traveled far and wide with me for over ten years. chances are, it will still be with me ten years from now.

in other news, thanks to acechick for her comments on the entry below. euro, not euros. mingus, not menzies. see? i'm learning...!

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*my blog was green. i just changed the template. what do you think?

visa hopes

yesterday, i sent off my application for "highly skilled migrant" status in the u.k. it is different from a work permit in that, if i get it, i will be able to live and work here on my own terms. i won't be tied to any particular company - in fact, i could even start my own business if i were so inclined. the HSMP visa is valid for one year initially, renewable for up to four (five?) years, and eventually allows holders to apply for naturalization (or naturalisation; i guess if i want to consider permanent residency in britain, i should learn how to spell things with extra u's and s's instead of z's - by the way, that's pronounced "zed's." but i digress.)

here is the bad news: it is very difficult to obtain an HSMP visa. you have to obtain a minimum 65 points in several different categories. depending on how they judge my application, i could get 60 pts, 75 pts (2 different ways), or 90 pts. i figure that the odds are in my favor, since i am above the requirement in three out of four scenarios.

it's funny - my views on immigration are changing as i realize (realise) more and more that my future lies outside the u.s. all i want is to be a productive member of the society i choose to live in. one of my friends even suggested claiming political asylum from george w's team america (f*ck yeah!), but i wasn't sure if i would have to swear allegiance to tony blair instead. i would rather be able to choose where i live based on factors other than politics, and have the opportunity to stay here without being forced into a marriage of convenience. why should that be so hard?

anyhow, i have my eyes on the prize: i am visualizing the happy day in a few weeks when my application is accepted and i am welcomed to stay here as a highly skilled migrant. it just HAS to work out.

by the way, for all you uri geller fans, i just noticed that i started this blog entry at 11:11 AM, a fortuitous sign indeed. although the current time is 11:29 AM and i usually change the time to reflect when i finish a post, i am going to keep this one as is. i need all the luck and wishes i can get.

oh, and on that note, today's lottery is up to 85 million euros!

winchester

s and i decided to spend the day outside of london for our "between birthdays" day (his is dec 14 and mine is feb 16, so jan 15 is between our birthdays...any excuse, huh?) we went to winchester to see one of his friends and check out the sights.

winchester is steeped in history, and i wish i had done more reading about it before we went. the cathedral dates back to the 7th century.





jane austen, author of pride and prejudice, sense and sensibility, and several other of my favorite books, is buried there.



ah, mr. darcy...!

winchester cathedral is also the subject of a song by crosby, stills and nash. i couldn't remember the lyrics or tune while we were there, which is probably just as well or the well-practised atheist in me might not have been so calm and peaceful while walking around inside:

"open up the gates of the church and let me out of here!"

the cathedral is quite beautiful, however, and we spent some time looking around, taking pictures, and listening to the pipe organ.



next, we walked around the town center - sorry, centre! - and saw the guildhall.







then we took a stroll along the river.





a helpful gentleman pointed out that ten young swans were born there earlier this year.



this one knew how to pose better, no doubt a skill that comes with age...



and we rounded off the day by having a few drinks with s's friend.



all in all, a very happy between birthdays day!