Bedhead Breakfast

Morning deliciousness.

Both on my head and on my plate.



P.S. How does YouTube decide what screenshot gets to be on the play screen? Because... seriously.

Just a day in the life...

I don't have anything terribly witty or sugary to give you right now. What I do have is an early morning conversation with a friend. She'll forgive me. I hope.

Anyway... the other day I woke up angry. And with a very clear reason for that anger. Poor Bridget was online... so... the following conversation happened.

The "me" is... well... me.


And this is why we're friends.

Ugh. And if, by reading my lyrical representation of that godforsaken song, you've gotten it stuck in your head too... then I'll give you the trick Bridget gave me shortly after we settled this authorial bit.

Yellow Submarine

You're welcome.

The Decatur Dish

I spent this past weekend blissfully out of Smalltown, Georgia!

Have you heard LCD Soundsystem's "New York, I love you but you're bringing me down"? Well if you haven't, or you'd like to see Kermit the frog sing it, then just dance your little mouse this way. Anyway... that was kinda the point I had reached with Smalltown.

Only I don't love Smalltown. I'm just not quite a Smalltown girl. But for some reason I just keep moving from one Smalltown to another for... ya know... the almighty dollar. There-fore... I take singular joy in roadtrips. Love them.

It should surprise exactly none of you that when I vacation, I eat damn well.

So should you happen to be in Decatur, Georgia anytime soon... I have some recommendations. Because, yes, it was all good.

Manuel's Tavern

It was Fish & Chips night when I showed up on Friday, but I chose the Turkey Reuben with their signature steak fries instead. I washed it all down with a Leinenkugel Creamy Stout (and a half). It was all crazy delicious.

Warning: You won't get three pickle spears with your sandwich unless you eat with two pickle-hating friends who also order sandwiches.

Kilwin's Ice Cream & Chocolates

Mmmm... They have ice cream, sure, but we were more intrigued by the wide selection of things dipped in chocolate. We had marshmallows covered in chocolate. Sadly, they looked... awkward... in pictures. : ) But they tasted exactly how they should. There's something so comforting about a fresh marshmallow coated in chocolate.

Excuse me, I just drooled a little bit. Let's move on.

The Flying Biscuit Cafe

We met some friends at the Flying Biscuit one day for brunch and this might have been my favorite meal of the trip. I ordered the Clifton Omelette which is, according to their menu, "three large farm fresh eggs with goat cheese, mushrooms & fresh basil, topped with spicy tomato coulis." To the right there, you will see what my travel companion and I could not leave untested, the cinnamon roll pancake.

Not pictured: the "dreamy creamy grits" that finally did what Smalltown could not do by convincing me that grits could in fact be desirable. And actually, in this case, hella good.

Now just so you know, it wasn't just all fun and games dining out. We also made up a wicked good vegetarian stuffed bell pepper recipe that we ate on for two days. The pictures I took were lacking so you'll just have to wait until I make that recipe again. I have a feeling it will happen sooner rather than later.

Annnnd... Sunday before I left, we made cupcakes.


Blue velvet cake, Julia Child's Italian Meringue icing, and Andes Crunchy Peppermint bits (no, not bacon). They were Olympic themed but I think the lighting of this pic doesn't quite communicate that. Go U.S.A.!

Speaking of those Olympics... I'm going to watch a bit more of them tonight before I turn in. And when I do turn in... I wouldn't mind dreaming of a Decatur breakfast.

Chinese New Year Cupcakes!

or, "Valentine's Day is Nothing to Blog About"


This post is going to be a little bit out of keeping from my usual shtick. You see... the product I created this morning was not amazing. From the Cherry "Five Spice" Cake to the blue cinnamon cream cheese icing, nothing went quite right for me. Was it tasty? Not really. Is it something people will want to duplicate? Nah, gurl.

So why bore you with the play-by-play?

Exactly my conclusion.

I will say that the fortune cookie recipe (and procedure) is one you should definitely try. If you have... a lot of time... an excess of patience... and an obsessive compulsive desire to do the same thing many times in a row until you create five serviceable cookies that are maybe tasty. If that sounds like you, then hop over to Cheeky Kitchen's fortune cookie post. Heck... you'll probably want to check it out anyway... she makes it look easy.

If you're still with me, then I'm going to answer the age old question: How do I eat a cupcake with fortune cookie on top?

Come on, don't pretend like you haven't tossed and turned over this question. So many things to consider...

Anyway... I'm going to do the heavy lifting for you, because... well, I care about you. Here's what you should do:


1. Undress that sucker. Treat her like a lady, but like a lady you'd like better naked.


2. Careful not to disturb the cookie, take a bite of the cupcake. (If it's my cupcake, then take a moment to be disappointed in the lack of cherry-ness to the cake. Note the sad blah-ness of the icing, while you're at it.)


3. Gingerly (yeah... ginger was one of my five spices... It was actually a play on Chinese Five-Spice and not actually the spice called "Five-Spice." The fails just keep coming, don't they?) pluck the fortune cookie from it's icing bed.


4. Break open the cookie and behold thy fortune!

"Conditions are perfect"???

Hopefully I have at least one reader who caught the Flight of the Concords reference. But if you didn't catch it this time, you will next time. Enjoy...

(possibly NSFW if you work with children or stuffy people)


Wait a minute... I've objectified a baked good. I've failed to live up to expectations. I've mentioned feelings. I've quoted a love song (kinda?).

Dammit. This is totally a Valentine's Day post.

Ooopsy Daisies

Forgive me, readers, for I have sinned. It has been 30 days since my last blogpost.

There are many reasons for this, but let's just be real with each other... you don't care why I failed. You just want to know that I know, and that I'm going to try to do better.

Revision: I will do better. (In the words of the wise green one, "Do or do not. There is no try.")

So....

Ugh. Breaking the silence is so hard and uncomfortable. I'm gonna go ahead and let YouTube do the work for me.

My winter break in videos:

1. Single Ladies Gone Wrong



No introduction, no explanation. It's just that good. Enjoy it over and over.

2. "Dying Day", Brandi Carlile



I love this girl. So much. And she kept me company alllll semester through Pandora. It should be a surprise to no one that this song got stuck in my head as soon as I got on the first plane on December 10th.

3. "Sisters", White Christmas

Ladies and gentlemen, the Hanes sisters!


A friend of my sister's introduced her to this movie and I watched a bit of it with her over Christmas Eve and Day. I have not seen the whole movie through, but I have seen this one "Sisters" act about five times. It's appropriate both for the holiday and the sheer amount of time I've spent with my sister (and other family members) over the past few weeks.

4. "Sisters on the Lawrence Welk Show", SNL

I had no idea this skit sprung from the "Sisters" act on White Christmas. But having seen one, I can't leave you without sharing the other.



Lolve it. If you so much as say "with my by myself" around my dad, he'll lose it. I say this from experience.



Now... if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get to doing... something. Really anything that will get me away from this living room where my dad is enjoying who-knows-what on the Military channel.

But to you who read this post and decided to forgive me my absence... Thank you for being a friend.

Hmm... maybe I should embed some Golden Girls?

Nah, you know how I do.

Stuff Amanda Likes: Folk Music

So, I'm sure you've all seen this book

and if you haven't, you should. Christian Lander started compiling Stuff White People like on his blog, and then put it all into one hilarious book. It's definitely worth a read.

Anyway... sometimes I think that you all just might like to know a bit about Stuff Amanda Likes. And... if you don't... then feel free to ignore this post and move on to higher blog ground.

Today's theme is... Folk Music

1. Girlyman, "Somewhere Different Now"


Since my true favorites are indy folk, it's hard to find good videos. Many of them end up coming from concerts, radio spots, or the like; you'll see that in the clips I've posted here. But... Girlyman is good however you can find them. Doris, Ty, and Nate combine harmonies with guitars, mandolins, congas, tamborines, and whatever they can find (seriously... I've seen Ty play a colander) to produce music that makes me weak in the knees.

And as far as Ty (the lead singer on this song) is concerned, it is my life goal to "bust up her hideout."

Fun Fact: Girlyman is based in Atlanta, Georgia, but the only time I've seen them in the flesh was in Portland, Maine.

2. The Wailin' Jennys, "One Voice"


Pandora introduced me to The Wailin' Jennys this semester over a stack of student papers. We hit it off immediately, and it isn't just their name that won me over. These women have gorgeous voices that they wrap around spirituals, hymns, ballads, Irish folk songs, and many of their own original songs. They're hard not to love.

Fun Fact: The Wailin' Jennys are responsible for "Calling All Angels", the song that plays at the end of Pay It Forward and reduces all living, breathing beings to puddles of weepy mess.

3. Nada Surf, "Blizzard of 77"



Now, I can't speak for all of Nada Surf's work. I've been told they were a flash in the pan in 1996 with the enormously annoying song, "Popular." I don't know that song and I don't care to. But "Blizzard of 77" and others I've heard like it have that earnest harmony that demands attention. It probably doesn't help that one of my smalltown friends plays this particular song every time she's in charge of the tunes.

Fun Fact: The last post on Nada Surf's blog was just over one year ago. In it, Matthew Caws expresses his concern over the upcoming presidential election and encourages readers to vote. These dudes are nothing if not current.

----

That's all for now. Just a few of my current must plays. If you have a minute, do check out Brandi Carlile's "Dreams" (embedding disabled, lives ruined). I'm serenaded by that one each time my phone rings.

Name That Food!: The Big Reveal

Let me start by saying how much I love you guys. Some of my favorite guesses: Chick-fil-A nuggets (literally my first thought and I knew what it was), homemade pork rinds (that's possible?!), squid (you guys really overestimate my bravery), and breaded cauliflower (mmm... but no).


I think that the people who came closest were Kate ("It could also be some kind of dough") and Ash ("Perhaps something sweet?"). Close, ladies, but no cigar.

The bowl of mystery food is actually a mid-process shot of...

SUGAR/GINGER SNAP MASH-UP COOKIES


Right? Right? Look at this stack. Now look back at the bowl. See it?

For those of you who don't, follow me.

I originally named these "mash-ups" in the musical sense. As in taking two fab songs and mixing them together.



(Fun, isn't it? There are some pretty great mash ups out there. This one is only okay... but YouTube is tough.)

But... now that I am sitting down to blog the recipe, I can see that these cookies only really have one step.


And that step involves mashing up these two things.


I had a leftover half-log of sugar cookie dough that was begging for a bit of a spruce up. And since I first made Oreo Chocolate Chip cookies way back when, I've been dying to try a Ginger Snap infused something-else cookie.

*Light bulb.*

Literally just smash some ginger snaps in a plastic bag and dump them down over the sugar cookie dough. I probably used 1/2 cup of crumbs, I'd guess.

I broke up the cookie dough with a spoon and gave the dough a toss in the crumbs.


Voila! Mystery food. After taking several pictures of the mystery food, I mixed the dough and crumbs by hand. I then reformed the dough into two smaller logs and put it in the freezer for a few minutes for easy slicing.


Counter-clockwise from logs: Sugar/Ginger Snap Mash-Up Logs, 2-Layer Paula Dean Chocolate Sybil Turtle Cake (yes, friends), pizza crust, chicken breasts that will likely never be thawed and eaten, lemon sorbet, Tart with Honey frozen yogurt, Jack D.


After a quick slice and bake according to package directions, these cookies were done and fantastic.


He floats through the air with the greatest of ease...

(No? Just me? Okay...)

These cookies are tasty and really quite rewarding for the amount of work (not) involved. The ginger flavor is still strong even though it's dispersed throughout the sugar cookie dough. I like ginger snaps, so I'm not surprised that this sweeter version is okay by me too.

So what's the word? Are you disappointed with the reveal? Would you have rather seen me really jump out of the box and tackle squid? Or pork rinds?

Cupcake Drop

I promised some very special people some very special prizes for suffering through my Zebra Cake video post.

Well, feast your eyes on this.



While I was responding to student papers today, I burned some cupcake baking soundtracks and now Cassie, Kira, Evan, and The Empress all have reason to check their mailboxes this week.

(I showed you Evan's CD because (as always) I like to highlight my own failures. I made each of the CDs look different because life is too short to have mixes look the same-ish. I only made one special edition mirror-image CD because I learned a couple of weeks ago that some people just don't respond well to my mirror-image writing. I love it. But I can understand that not everyone does. So... I decided Evan would luck out since he already reads my mirror-image Canadian Lit notes rather well. When it came time to add all the personalized messages to the CDs, I completely forgot about my mirror-image goal and wrote Evan's message left to right. Of course. See the website though? I even drew the cupcake backwards. Ugh. Oh well.)

Religion? Say What?! (Updated)

I guess that title could be misleading, but just hear me out.

I'm very excited about the recent release of the documentary Religulous. I'm Netflixing it as we speak.

So yesterday morning I woke up with the notion of a blogpost of my "religion", "faith", what-have-you as told through music videos.

These songs may in fact be as close as I'll ever get to pinning it down anyway.

Sit back and enjoy these lovely songs. And with them, my understandings of the world. At the moment.

Careful there.

Okay, let's start at the very beginning. In high school it's not surprising that this first song was constantly stuck in my head.

Losing my Religion by R.E.M.
(Please enjoy the dancing that starts happening around 2:40.)

Well, at least it's not surprising from where I'm standing now.

Now that I've had a lot of time to think about things and talk to people I trust and some that I don't, I'm more along the lines of these songs.

Love Love Love by The Mountain Goats
(I'd like to apologize in advance for this girl's wack video of the rain from her window. The only other videos were of live concerts and very... pubby.)


The Origin of Love from the soundtrack of Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Also... where can I find lipstick like that?

The Minnow and the Trout by A Fine Frenzy

I saw Alison Sudol here, in Maine, for free. I would have paid quite a lot. She's magical. I tried to find a live clip that was not operated by a cameraperson with a crucial tremor, but I failed. Look them up yourself; I just can't post them in good conscience.

Let It Be by The Beatles

Paul's beard, though? Totally ill-advised. I'm embarrassed for him.

That should be enough to get you started.

I've now gotten myself completely distracted with music videos on YouTube, so you all will just have to entertain yourselves.

Update: I just can't let sleeping dogs lie, so here are some more songs that I would feel remiss leaving out.

Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum

Please forgive the jaundice-y tinge. This video is significantly older than I am. And... he's got a friend in Jesus.

Closer to Fine by The Indigo Girls

Artist Site

More Videos

I <3 torn jeans. Am I too old to wear them convincingly?

Alright, I'm walking away. Again.

iNeed iTunes iHelp

So, here's the problem: I've been listening to music all day while I wrapped up my YA lit projects. And... I thought that was a good thing.

It was fun while it was happening. And the songs were lovely and wonderful and sometimes even fun. But now that it's evening (Well...in Maine it's been dark for two and a half hours and 6:22pm) I'm finding myself rather bummy.

Nothing has happened. I had a pretty alright weekend (though there was minimal human contact, that might have something to do with it). I finished a fair amount of work. I even made 6 adorable cupcakes. So what gives?

I'll tell you. My iTunes.

Apparently the singer-songwriter thing I've had going for a while is just not good for Maine winter. That makes sense, right? Brandi Carlile is beautiful and perfect and honey, but her heaviness is probably not what I should be listening to when the days are so short.

So here are the most frequent artists on my iTunes these days:

Tegan & Sara
Brandi Carlile
Missy Higgins
PCD
P!nk
Josh Ritter
OneRepublic
Girlyman

Now...I know that P!nk and the PCD are a little random in there, but I like them. Sometimes. I <3 P!nk, but those Dolls are only okay sometimes.

Anyway, I'll stop making excuses. I'll just ask for help.

What should I be listening to? Please advise.

Oh, and please know that Hayden Panettiere's single Wake Up Call is some kind of magical. That is all.

Barack Obama, the most musical president in years

So, as I was disappointedly scanning through the miserable options on the Bangor radio today, I happened upon an amazingly fun reggae diddy about our 44th president. I thought, now isn't this great that we have songs written about the man who is going to be our next president? He hasn't taken the office yet, sure, but we like him. We like him enough to write songs about him. And I know there are songs because we have all seen or at least heard of the Will.i.am's Yes We Can and the Obama Girl's I Got a Crush on Obama. However...I knew there had to be more out there. When I got home for the night I did some quick YouTube research and I found out that there is most certainly something going on here.

So, here are a few videos that I feel to be the best of the best. In no particular order...

Susan Werner.

I love her for many reasons. First of all, she played with Girlyman at the Halloween concert in Portland. Since then I've been listening to her newest CD, The Gospel Truth, well...religiously. It's wonderfully song-writery and...gospel. Now, ordinarily gospel music would make me cringe in a way that not much else can, but she is so blissfully skeptical that the lyrics actually feel like something I would say. Or at least sing. Give it a listen. Anyway...the point...the Obama song.


Now for something really different, here is the reggae tune I stumbled upon in the car today. The singer is Cocoa Tea. The song is "Barack Obama." Surprise.

In searching out this song I found that there many many reggae songs out there about Obama, but I decided to be loyal to Cocoa Tea. I mean, he made it to Bangor radio, so he must be pretty hot.

And, finally, this one is my favorite. This song is "Change" by Manze Dayila & the Nago Nation. I give them major bonus points for naming the song something other than "Barack Obama." I also give them extra major bonus points for the amazing romper Manze is wearing. Can we still call it a romper? I basically just love the colors and the fit and the giant pant legs. I really just like this song and video quite a lot. Just wait for the "OH OH OH"s and I think you'll like it too.

I also really love the cut-off t-shirt that says "Obama or else" on it. Brilliant.

Anyway, I guess I don't yet have a conclusion about the number of jubilant praise songs out there for Obama, but I definitely think it is worth noting.

My roommate says that Barack Obama's name has a musicality to it that most other names do not. Perhaps that could be it. Or maybe it's the one-of-us feeling that he worked so hard to cultivate. Or maybe it's just because he's the antithesis to what we have now. Who knows.

What I do know is that Barack Obama needs a mixed CD. Right now.

Halloween Ups and Downs

I've been so very eagerly anticipating the glorious debauchery of Halloween weekend for a few months. I start planning my costume as late as the summer, as early as the spring semester. This particular costume has been in the works for quite some time.

I did my research. I shopped for wigs. I tried on many dresses. This is what I came up with for the perfect Marilyn Monroe costume:


Once I had the costume, I just needed the proper venue in which to show it off. There was, of course, an English grad student-led party going on. However, there was also going to be a Halloween night Girlyman concert in Portland.

Hmm...concert by one of my favorites in an actual city...or a party with my coworkers in Orono - a party that I would have to drive to and from, mind you. I think you'll understand why I chose to go to Portland.

But, true to form, things weren't as exciting as they promised to be. Don't get me wrong, the concert was great. Girlyman has such a cool friendship going on within the band that their performance was really relaxed and fun. They made fun of each other. They improvised songs while the others tuned instruments. They analyzed the word "pimp" and whether one "pimped" or "pimped up". Two of them even wore "ghoulyman" makeup (their cheesy joke, not mine). And...a true miracle, the opener was actually really good. Susan Warner played some of her twangy, song-writery, gospelly folk music before Girlyman came out and she is quite remarkable. I'll have more to say about her once I more carefully listen to her newest cd, The Gospel Truth.

The interesting thing about the Halloween concert is that it was more of the second than the first. There was not a terrible amount of Halloween happening at all. The concert was advertised as a costume event, but I would guess that there were only about a dozen people in costume. And four of those people were me and my friends. So...when Girlyman finished their set and said all their "thank you"s, they pointed right at me and my friends and said, "And thanks for coming in costume, you guys. We really appreciate it."

I guess we should be happy with the recognition, but it just a bit awkward attending a concert as Marilyn Monroe. At first I marveled at my luck, attracting the eye of a couple of gorgeous people...but, alas, I think it was Marilyn that caught their eye. Not me. And they didn't even buy Marilyn a drink!

Anyway, after the concert, my roommate and I had to walk back to the hotel to let our friends into the hotel to get their stuff. At that point we decided to call it a night. Since two of my colleagues were presenting papers at an academic conference being hosted at our Portland hotel, I traipsed down to the third floor for a hot minute. The boys appreciated my costume for two obvious reasons, and I frightened a middle aged man who innocently turned the corner too quickly. All in all, the third floor was... interesting.

And...not that alcohol is all-important, but... I had a beer with dinner. And that's it.

Sober as a priest or someone who is actually sober, I went to bed around 12:30am. Lame.

Also, we didn't take the first picture of ourselves in costume. So, this picture I present you just because it would be rude to give you nothing. However, I took this before the costume and makeup came off, so it's not terribly flattering or well-composed.


But like I said to my roommate earlier today, this was a really great weekend. It was relaxing and fun and we saw a great concert. However, as a Halloween, it kinda sucked.

Oh well, there is always next year. And don't think that I won't trot out the Marilyn costume again next year. It's too good to put away after a sad half-use.

eagle-like

Help me out, said the eagle to the dove.
I've fallen from my nest so high above.
Oh, help me fly, I am too afraid to try.
Now saddled with a fear of heights,
I'm praying you can set me right.

Taste of Maine

That is probably a misleading title, now that I think about it.

But my weekend can only be explained through the umbrella of Maine. It all began on Thursday when I attended the A Fine Frenzy concert slightly off campus.

If you don't know A Fine Frenzy, then you should get on that. Here's one of my favorite songs, Rangers.

And another, because it's live and just so very good. You Picked Me.


Our concert featured just the girl and the keyboard guy. Apparently this is how they used to do all their playing, but now they have a full band. Anyway...this is not the point.

The point is that Maine managed to pull together about 50 or 60 people for this concert. It was embarrassing. I blame this on poor advertisement. I didn't notice the flyer until the day of, and even then the flyer was unclear. I can only assume that this means the event was not advertised off-campus at all. The concert was paired with the obama campaign and the on-campus early vote day. Still...our showing was poor. More interesting yet, this was a free concert. A FREE concert! In Orono, Maine!

Despite all these factors, there were so few people there that we didn't even fill the upstairs of our small-pub-like off-campus bar. To me... this is indicative of my experience in Maine. I had a great time. I loved seeing A Fine Frenzy and the intimacy of the concert was really great, but underlying it all was my own uneasiness regarding the circumstances.

Oh well.

Then, Friday, after Beth and I saw High School Musical with a bunch of little girls and their mothers, we decided to go to the first home Hockey game of the season. Now there was a strong showing. We should in line outside for about an hour or so, and then we sat down in our seats in the FFF section. (That stands for far, far, far, I'm guessing.) The inflatable black bear's head came out and then a few minutes later, so did the players. We cheered, we listened to two national anthems, and then things went downhill. Northeastern scored three times in the first ten minutes. It was sad. We left early. We ended up losing 5-0.

And I know that Northeastern has a really strong team this time, so it's not all the Black Bears' fault. However, this pattern is also slightly Maine. Excitement, anticipation, disappointment.

For this and other reasons, I ended up at Target today. In the Halloween section. Buying too many cupcake-cessories.

And now...I have something to get excited about.