I've never had an Oscar themed party. Maybe if I had, I'd be more privy to Oscar themed "apps and cocktails". I was so amused when I came across some this year.
On second thought....Who am I kidding? There are probably recipes based on the Best Pictures noms every year, I'm just WAY behind on the trend.
A trend of mine is being way behind on trends. For example, the word "tranny". I kid you not- the week I realized that I dropped it occasionally in casual conversations, I saw a status update from a gay guy friend on Facebook saying how saying "tranny" was so out. I extracted it from my vocab immediately. How did I miss the official window that I had to use tranny?? Damn it.
Remember the guy that made "tranny" cool?
Christian Siriano - Project Runway winner Season 4. his catchphrase was actually "hot tranny mess".
ANYWAY, I ran across these recipes during the past several weeks and found it sort of funny that Black Swan of all movies, was inspiring cute recipes. It's not exactly a warm, fuzzy, feel-good film.
I wonder if any of the other Best Picture noms are feeling left out? No True Grit dip, no King's Speech mini sandwiches to be be seen. haha.
I'm not together enough to do something cute and themed like make Oscar appetizers. We just had Girl Scout cookies, I'll re-phrase, I just had Girl Scout cookies. God bless those scouts and their cookies. But, I thought I'd share the Black Swan recipes just in case someone hasn't seen it yet and they want to be cute and themed when they rent it and watch it at home.
I'm not just saying this because I'm in love with him, but Bob really does have an eye for recipes. I can be on foodnetwork.com all day trying desperately find something acceptable/yummy/different to make and somehow he searches for 10 minutes and finds the perfect recipe. I'm telling you, it's a gift. So, when he insisted on picking the menu for Valentine's day, I didn't object. We decided to cook together at home instead our normal routine of dropping Benjamen$ at The Mansion. HA. I'm funny.
Little did Bob know when he chose these recipes that two of them would make my "Go-to" List. You know, the "Go-to" chocolate cake to make, the "Go-to" spaghetti sauce to whip up - the "Go-to" List. The list of the basic things that, as a woman, you should just know how to make, which I never seem to know and have to frantically run to Whole Foods and pick up.
First up to land a spot on the Go-to List is the salad he made. (It's a huge gesture of Valentines love that he made a salad in the first place, because Bob does not do salads.) He made Mixed Greens with Raspberry Vinaigrette. I can almost guarantee, if you come over for dinner and the meal calls for a salad, I will make this. It was simple and fantastic. A+, Bob.
Also making it to the Go-to List was Rachel Ray's Garlic Bread Recipe. It was by far the best garlic bread we've made. I've tried several others, even a frozen one, but none of them lived up to my expectations. This was the clear winner. And again- simple! (I refuse to say "Yum-O!" because Rachel Ray makes me want to poke my eye out, but I have to admit, she can come up with a good recipe every now and then. I still don't think she needs her own magazine or be on dog food commercials.)
here's a horrible pic via my blackberry of our V-day dinner. look at us being romantic! candles!! there's Bob's hand looking creepy on the right!
pretty pretty pink roses from Bob. we said no gifts and he also got me these after noticing i only had one pair of earrings and they were turning green. just love them. he's the best/sweetest. BUT, he did not follow the "no gifts" rule and he will pay for this :)
February is almost gone. Where did it go? March, St. Paddy's, spring, Easter...it's all around the corner. Looking forward to some warmth!
Don't forget to watch the Oscars on Sunday. We've still got several Best Picture Nom's to watch, hope we get to it before Sunday. If we don't, I think, somehow the show will go on :)
The bars especially look like something I'll have to try one of these days.
But I really think this S'mores related recipes are fueling my fire for Girl Scout cookies.
S'mores >>> Camping >>>> Girl Scouts. You see the relation...
Yesterday out of nowhere, I started craving Thin Mints. Nevermind it wasn't out of nowhere, it was because I read an article about how a lady in Florida attacked another lady because she thought she'd eaten her box of Thin Mints. Do not touch a sister's Thin Mints - lesson learned.
According to a very reliable source, I've learned that the girl scouts will be out and about selling cookies starting this weekend. I will be seeking them out and buying Thin Mints and Samoas. Last year, I saw the girl scouts selling their goods at Tom Thumb, but I think I wanted to put on the facade to Robert that I was kind of healthy. Well, that period is over and Girl Scout cookies will be purchased and consumed at casa de Scarff. Can't wait.
I wish the Girl Scout's sold their cookies Troop Beverly Hills style.....
I'm just going to go ahead and put it out there that I didn't know about Vincent van Gogh until a high school trip to France during my junior year. We went to several museums in Paris and I began to realize that I need to know more about this Dutch guy.
I ended up buying some Van Gogh coasters and a print at one of the gift shops. Van Gogh coasters or coasters of any kind are so random for a 16 year-old to purchase as a souvenir. I've always had this thing for coasters? Anyway, somehow, I've managed hold on to them and Robert and I currently use these 11 year old coasters. They are definitely not the best that the coaster world has to offer. They stick to the bottom of your glass if it has any condensation, they're flimsy and don't match anything. I think I can't let go of them because every time I look at them I marvel that they are still around. I've managed to loose expensive purses and jewelry, yet my Van Gogh coasters valued at maybe $10 are in tact?? pppffffftttttt.
they look like this. you can get them on Amazon. no need to travel to France.
My freshmen year of college I bought the poster of Starry Night by Van Gogh at Hobby Lobby to hang in my dorm room. I couldn't tell you why, I wasn't cultured enough to have a favorite painter and it didn't match our room at all (apparently I care very little about matching), but I just liked it. I mean, I'm not alone, a lot of Van Gogh posters probably hang in dorms and college dwellings everywhere owned by people who could care less about who the poster is originally painted by, but care more that the poster was on sale at the book store. It's just something to hang on a wall. For me, I was just drawn to Starry Night, I just liked what you felt looking it.
I've recently discovered that Van Gogh painted that while in a mental institution. He was most likely depressed when he painted it. I too have this tendency? Is there a link?? You decide.
Somewhere along the way, I found out Van Gogh was crazy and cut his own ear off. Ohhh, the tortured artist. Pain=beauty, beautiful poetry, lyrics out of hard painful lives....ect., ect. But, my real Van Gogh education came when Robert and I watched Lust for Life during one of my snow days at home. Robert is always recording movies that I've never heard of and this was one of them. Lust for Life is the 1965 biographical film about the life of Van Gogh. (By the way, I learned he didn't cut off his whole ear just the lower part of his left ear lobe, which he wrapped in newspaper and handed to a prostitute. True life. Still crazy, of course, but much less painful then slicing off your WHOLE ear off "song and dance" that I heard. Oh that rumor mill, where did I hear that it was the whole ear?)
Anyway, about Van Gogh -
My dear Lawd above, this poor man.
Remember the Michael W. Smith song, "Place in this World"? You remember the lyrics... "looking for a reason, roaming through the night to find my place in this world, my place in this world....."
This could have been Van Gogh's theme song. He just could not figure it out. His entire life was a "crisis" a quarter-life crisis, a mid-life crisis...depression, drinking, bad relationships. Keep in mind that this was LONG before the time of Oprah telling us to "do what we love" for a career, self-help books, anti-depressants, healthy living etc., etc. That mentality didn't exist at all in Van Gogh's day. He was a tortured soul, passionate, misunderstood.
I was surprised to learn that he studied theology, but failed at his studies. That's where the movie begins - we learn that he failed some sort of theology exam. He studied under his uncle and begged him to give him a chance as a pastor. He said, "he KNEW that's what he was meant to be." haha. Almost makes me chuckle. I love when we think weknow what we are meant to be, but God has completely other plans. I wonder if God was thinking, "Well, actually, Vince, you're going to be the father of modern art, but we'll get to that later."
He gets the chance to be pastor. His uncle and the church send him to a poor coal mining town. I mean, talk about the best missionary ever. No pastor could ever spiritually reach these people and he was determined to change that. He began to live like they did. He worked in the mines, he visited them in their homes. He wanted to share their burdens to see how they suffered. He gave all he had to them and lived in squalor. Vince did not do anything half-way. And he was accomplishing his mission, the people saw that he was different and that he loved and cared about them. Somewhere in there he took some art classes, he actually wanted to become in artist's in God's services at that time. I think that might have changed when the "church" saw how he was living they harshly rebuked him for not giving a dignified example of what a proper clergyman should be. This upset him because he knew he was truly showing Christ to these people. He flat out called the clergymen, "hypocrites" to their faces. Oppsy. Not accepted at that time. His parents even urged him to come home when they found out the way he was living and he did.
Van Gogh incredibly and completely ahead of his time- in religion and eventually art. It really fascinates me. I have to think that his yearning to understand God effected the way that he painted. He wanted the pain and beauty of whatever his subject was to be shown in his paintings. He didn't want to deprive the painting of the realness of the raw emotion he felt. In the same way he refused to deprive the mining community of the real spirit of God. He wouldn't adhere to the boundaries of the church, like he wouldn't adhere to the boundaries of how he painted; in turn, eventually influencing the whole world of art. He saw people toiling and suffering there in that mining town and I think he took that with him. He had seen darkness, so he could appreciate the light so much more- which shown in many of his paintings too.
one of his many self portraits
I won't give you a full run down of the life of Van Gogh. You can Wikipedia it or watch Lust of Life.
Though there are some worthy moments worth mention - including but not limited to -his cousin rejecting a marriage proposal from him (she said, "no, never never." ouch!), living with a prostitute who had illegitimate children , surviving on a diet of absinthe and cigs, being financially supported by his little brother, cutting off his ear AND a stint at a mental institution. All before age 37 and producing 2,000 artworks during it all.
Whew. Say what you will about the man, but he was pretty busy.
Of course, the whole tragedy here (besides his mental illness and young death) is that he wasn't recognized for his craft until long after his death. I can guarantee he would have thought anyone was crazy that told him that he would be considered one of history's greatest painters, that his paintings would be in museums and that they would sell for millions.
My point is, I guess, that everyone or most everyone (or maybe it's just me?) have periods of uncertainty about what we are doing with our time. Meaning work, career, j-o-b. It seems I want to fit some kind of mold of what it looks like to have a fulfilling career, when really that mold is different for everyone. As I watched Lust for Life and I watched Van Gogh struggle, I oddly related to him. (Probably the depression. I just love depression. jk. Why do I make awkward depression jokes?) Really though, I felt got his frustration in just trying to figure it all out.
What's the cure? What's the answer? To that I'm not sure. I will quote John Lennon and say, "life is what happens when you are busy making other plans." Life was happening for Van Gogh, even though he never thought he had it figured out, he still kept painting and look what he left. I believe we all leave a legacy, a little path wherever we are, so I'm encouraged to "keep painting" today. I don't even know exactly my what "painting" for me is. I want to find it and not be afraid to do it. That's the tricky part, but if I want to leave a trove of "art work" behind...I must figure this out. (corny art metaphor? yes. but it had to be done.)
Van Gogh's story inspires and bewilders and I'm thankful for his Lust for Life today.
I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people. -Vincent Van Gogh
Huey Lewis and The News...what don't they know about life? They know it's "hip to be square", to do "it all for my baby" and of course, "where the heart of rock and roll is".
Huey hit the nail on the head when it comes to LOVE. Love is a crazy powerful emotion, it has to affect the human life more than anything. The object of love is what could easily shape on the direction one's life. Love of family, love of money, love of another, love of power. So many things to love in this world. Like everything else, we have to figure out what is the most important to us and weed out any distractions to loving what we choose to the best of our ability. That's not easy, there's lots of distractions out there flying at us rapidly every day. Stress, worry, fear to purely love something or someone is more of an obstacle then it sounds like it would be.
Today, Valentines Day, which has become more of an annoyance than a fun holiday to most, I choose to believe it's a holiday driven on by the "power of love" (instead of the power of marketing...clearing my throat-Hallmark/Walgreens/Hersheys)- a day that you tell who you love that you love them, your romantic love, your friends that you love, your family that you love, hell, even yourself-must love yourself. Whatever you do today just try to do it out of love and maybe try to every other day too? I can't imagine that you'll regret doing something out of love :)
Happy Valentines, Day, everyone...spread the love, drink wine and eat chocolate....
some of my favorite beautiful words regarding love-
"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make....." - The Beatles
"Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls." - Mother Teresa
1st Corinthians 13 - gets me everytime
1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
to my Valentine...my heart bursts with love for you (even though you went to Texas)
some of my other Valentines...have another, Mary!! hehe
my mama and daddy who taught me all about what love is...my Valentines forever...
apology: One to many chocolates today, rather cheesey. can't help it on V-day!
I can't get anything holiday/card/mail related together. (Some of you will remember the Scarff Christmas Card Pic Debacle of 2010). That was fun. I still have that box of blurry cards? Why? Get those out of my life! Motivation to do some pre-spring cleaning right there.
Today, I meant to bring some Valentine's cards to work that I have left over from last year to send to my parents, Grandma and in-laws. Did I remember them? No. ppppppfffffffftttttt. They've made the journey out of my Tupperware bin with random cards, to my dining room table, to my car, back to my dining room table because I thought I'd write them during the snow day. Yeah, I didn't get to that. Can't. Get. It. Together. I'll most likely get them out tomorrow. Meaning they'll arrive at their destinations sometime AFTER V-day.
oh well, Happy Valentines to them anyway. i'm not going to "sweat the small stuff". it's a Friday. how hilarious are those vintage Valentine's btw...
Also, I meant to get a couple posts up today that have been in the works, but I have been a little occupied. Not working or doing anything real estate related, but dog sitting this morning, then forging a document for my boss's brother-in-law this afternoon. Sigh. I get a paycheck, right? Right.
Yesterday, there was a little snow and ice in Dallas, so I had another snow day at home.
Heaven on earth are snow days to me. Except, I can't get used to these short weeks. They are going to make 5 days weeks seem even lllooooooonnnnnnggggerrrrr and there is nothing okay about that.
I still didn't touch To The Lighthouse on my day off. I was busy with Toy Story 3 (i cried) and season 1 of the Sopranos (obssesed). I also have a feeling that The Lighthouse is going to be neglected even more because I received this from Amazon yesterday:
the book by The Pioneer Woman!
I can feel my husband cringing right now. Let's just say he doesn't think too much of The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. I, on the other hand, just love her. Yee-haw! I can't wait to read about how she met and feel in love with her husband (even though I've read most of it online). I have a feeling this book will be knocked out by Sunday, while The Lighthouse will continue to loom over me and haunt me in my dreams........
the best friend that is into music and won't let you be lame and drive around listening to "Now, That's what I call Music" cds.
I love that best friend of mine. She told me about this and, you know, i think needed to hear this today. I just like it. Why does it feel so good to hear a song that you just instantly like? Music=magic
ppppffffftttttt had a spa day/make-over today and came out looking like a brand new person.
I apologize for not including before and after shots...
speaking of....
Remember before Extreme Home Makeover, there was just Extreme Makeover?
Yeah, that wasn't weird at. all.
where are they now? i can guarantee- a psychiatrist's office.
Anyway, ppppffffftttttt's subtle new changes include
a new background
a photoshopped title that i did myself. (something i learned in college came in handy?? what?!)
a bit of rearranging of the gadgets to the right of the screen
a section towards the bottom right telling the story of why i have a blog in the first place
As I've said, I love reading blogs, they inspire and teach me things and I just wanted to coordinate some stuff that I've been digging from other's blogs into my own.
There could even be more tweaks to come. It's crazy , I know, buttt, it's fashion week in NYC, almost spring and sometimes, my friends, change is good.
Extreme? Maybe. But ever since beginning to read GOOP,I just can't help it. I've even shared this with Bob. My crush on GP. Being the good husband that he is, he says, "she's got nothing on you."
pppppppppfffffffffffttttttttttttttttttt. he lies. but, i love him for it.
I mean, come on. She looks like this.
AND she sings, acts, speaks Spanish, usually has excellent fashion sense and gets to live my fantasy and be on GLEE (hear she's reprising her role and I cannot wait!)
i said usually about the fashion bit. i blame "Country Strong" for this choice. actually i dont' know who to blame? eww.
Anyway, a couple gems she's passed on me personally - okay, lying, that she's passed on through GOOP that I just can't keep in a second more....
Cocodot. I love paper. If you love papery things too, you will love perusing this site. I love it.
Cocodot is the Bergdorf Goodman of evites.– Robert Verdi |Lifestyle Expert +Celebrity Stylist
Need I say more?
As of today, she's introduced me to a new interior design blog - you are the rivier. I love the title. I am the freaking river!!!
I've only glanced at it, but will I start following it? Yes. How high, Gwynie, how high??
still haven't finished it, but I have made a little headway. A very little. We have to count the small triumphs in life sometimes. Even though it's technically a failure that I haven't finished my January book, so it is the opposite of a triumph. That freaking lighthouse....pppfffffffttttt -new years resolutions. Do they ever really pan out for anyone?
I probably could have finished the thing last week if I would have set my mind to it. As I regaled you with in a previous post, I enjoyed being a recluse with Robert and focused on doing nothing and loved every moment of it.
On that subject...
I'll never forget, a lady that I work with once told me that she thought she would be bored to death if she retired. I'm sure I didn't even respond because I was in a state of confusion.
I don't feel that way in the slightest. Completely ready for retirement. I like idleness a little too much sometimes.
This snow on Gary (our Camry) provided lots of great idle time for me.
Brrrrrr. Last week was cold.
Sarah and friend's new bambino
Also mentioned in a previous post, the new baby I went to see last Monday. What a precious peapod. I thought everyone would like their Monday brightened with a new baby AND Sarah holding new baby. Sarah didn't want to hold the baby because she had never held a baby that new, but the new mommy insisted on it and Sarah did just great! Maybe a newborn babysitting as a side-job, Sar? :)
this makes my mouth water
Also I must post a picture of the coconut cake I mentioned. Mostly, because I have a love affair with it. If you ever find yourself in Lubbock, Texas, promise me you will go to La Diosa Cellars. It's so magical, this cake is soooooooo GOOD, for you coconut lovers especially. The wine, the atmosphere and the food are also A+++. You will not be disappointed.
Okay - that's it for Monday random ramblings. Al signing out.
Last Saturday I traveled west to hang with my little sister. We were long overdue to spend some sister time together. I really love spending time with her. She's just a cool, fun person. I want the absolute best life has to offer for her- I mean, I'm her sister, that's what all sisters want for their sisters.
How many times can I say sister?
While back in the college city of Lubbock, Texas where I spent 3 years I kept having these conflicting feelings of either young or old.
For example:
Upon my arrival in the Hub City, we went to Spoonfuls, a trendy yogurt place, like all the other trendy yogurt places all over Dallas. Some genius put this one right across from the campus. It was packed with college kids. A lot of my sister's sorority sisters were there. One of them asked my sister if I was a freshmen. A FRESHMEN. Seriously. Should I have re-thought my outfit? I definitely was NOT wearing jeggings, a button down from J. Crew and tall tan boots in 2001, the year I was a college freshmen, I can promise you that. But that naive/blind girl's phrase made me feel very YOUNG. And that was kind of fun.
Then, we go to Chrome, where my sister works. Chrome is a the mecca in Lubbock for trendy and high end fashion. There's a couple other cute boutiques there, but its really fun and I feel like it stands out among the rest. There was a time when I physically couldn't leave Chrome without a new shirt and though I saw some cute items, I was okay that I couldnt buy anything. That made me feel OLD. I'm not impulsive and careless about wasting money? Way too sensible and mature...who am I?
I felt OLD again when I could order drinks at dinner and little sister couldn't.
But felt YOUNG when I was sneaking her some of those said drinks.
And OLD again when I made her let me drive due to the drinks consumed at dinner.
Then YOUNG again when I walked into the wine bar that I worked at in college and it looked and felt the exact same.
Back to OLD when I was more excited about having the coconut cake than the wine.
Then YOUNG coming back to my sisters apartment and giggling as we got ready for bed.
OLD one more time as we crawled into bed so tired and realized it was just 12:30.
The conflicted feelings ended there. We arose, had the best fried cheese in all the land and I voyaged back to Dallas.
On the way home, I started to wish more than anything that my little sister would just enjoy and relish being the age of 19. That she wouldn't try to grow up too soon or rush any part of life because the part that she's in is so great. And ya know, I think I'll take my own advice, and enjoy my young/old age of 27. Mostly because I'm the youngest of all my friends and they're turning 28...hehehe sorry, girls. But really enjoy it all. A common theme I bring up, but its a good reminder when your missing the past or waiting for the future...just enjoy it all.
Dedicated to little sister, without her, I wouldn't be me.
Defined: Someone in isolation who hides away from the attention of the public, a person who lives in solitude, i.e. seclusion from intercourse with the world.
Bob, my hub, works from home. Sometimes when I come home from work, I walk in the house, the lights are dim and he's sitting on the couch in lounge wear with only the glow of his lap top showing any life in our home. This is when I get a real kick out of myself by saying, "my gosh, Howard Hughes, open a window!" I think I'm really funny. He thinks I'm over exaggerating, which I am, of course. The day I come home and there's gallons of urine next to his lap top and his nails are at all longer than mine-it's time for an intervention. Until then, I'll just keep stifling my jealousy that he gets to work from home by venting it on my blog. Ha-kidding. It's actually no secret, especially to Bob. I pout about having to go to the office much to often.
This very Monday I was feeling the wear of the 9-5 routine and I became angry that this is the way we have to spend our lives. Short weekends and long work weeks. Always drained, never refreshed. Abbreviated vacations and extended overtime. I was also just incredibly uninspired and disappointed in where I am professionally. I felt too defeated to think about or care what direction I should go to change my current state.
Then....I went and saw a good friends new baby boy, not even a week old, and I felt hope. My best friend and I drove over to see him and we laughed on the way there and I felt the warmth of good friendship.
Then....came the SNOW. And God gave me 4 days off work. Four days. Four days of time with my husband, to watch a movie, to read, to cook, to think, to do nothing.
I think if there's a recluse in our marriage, its probably me. Every morning this week when I got word that I didn't have to go to work I was thrilled. I was beyond okay with being at home and the possibilities in what I could get done here. Not the slightest hint of cabin fever has come over me. I think I could read, watch movies, cook and hang with Robert for weeks and be okay.
I also took a mental break in trying to figure out what my next path will be and how I will get there. A career can't define me or make me whole and I'm not a loser because I don't have it figured out yet.
God will reveal where he wants me. My husband believes in me and supports me, which touches my heart every day and I know my friends and family believe in me too. What more can you really ask for in life?
Not much else. :) So thankful for the break and pray I can feel refreshed and renewed to tackle what comes my way.
Hope you all enjoyed the crazy weather in some way...snowball fight, baileys and hot chocolate, horrid daytime tv, catching up on sleep, work..whatever your heart desired!
Ppppffffftttttt loves snow days and turning into Howard Hughes.
