sunday is of

Sunday is of:

~ hot chai tea

~ rain tapping pat pat pat on the roof

~ wrapped up in the warmest sweater of all and the jeans that have seen this life

~ a good book and a good pen to scribble in the margins

~ bright red fire wet leaves slapped against my window

~ boxes of old photographs that smell of memory

~ and I hide from the day, from the cold, from the icy rain with a gold locket and key around my neck around my heart

listening to this over and over and over and over

homecoming weekend

What the imagination seizes as beauty must be truth, whether it existed before or not.

~John Keats

I was seized with the imagination of the day and ran eagerly out of my house, dragging one of my sisters by the arm. She wasn't thrilled at first, but we were both soon caught up by the beauty of early autumn and homecoming weekend in my town. Hopefully we win!!! Football is kind of a big thing here- and when I say big, I mean the greatest thing since sliced bread to a lot of people...

But we were able to find some peace and solitude in the ancient overgrown graveyard hidden away in the woods by my house. That's my little sister with the camera around her neck. Isn't she pretty?

hold that thought reality

Every now and again in life (and especially in fall and especially when one is stressed) you need to just let go of reality for the tiniest moment. In class or at home or in transit just for a second, if I let my mind wander to the places it wants to instead of keeping it on a very short leash, I find the rest of the day becomes lighter and oh so much more fun to experience.

Try it! I promise it does wonders

"There is no use trying," said Alice; "One can't believe impossible things." "I daresay you haven't had much practice" said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast"

~ Lewis Carroll

(pictures)

*autumn* not fall

(the ancient amusement park my town- down by the sea)

Whoever invented the college application process must have had a deep, dark and dastardly vendetta against all young scholars. Perhaps he himself was rejected and decided to make it as tedious as possible for others to get in... or maybe (as I am inclined to believe at this point) colleges are just evil and like watching their prospective students writhe in agonizing anticipation... oh dear.

however, it was an absolutely beautiful day today, with those autumn clouds just the perfect shade of puffy and nearly silver in sound. As soon as class ended and I was able to reclaim my car keys from a mischevious friend I took my dog to the park and spent nearly an hour bathed in that thick yellow sort of light that one may only find on October afternoons.

Made this simple french pastry rather late last night, but it turns out to be the perfect thing to nibble on an autumn afternoon- especially with a good cup of hot coffee!

Instructions: must be eaten outside (weather permitting)

must NOT be consumed in a rush

enjoy!

(recipe from Darjeeling Dreams- thanks!)

Raspberry financier

5 tbsp of butter, cut into cubes

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c finely ground almonds

1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 cup of sugar (caster or confectioner's if you have it, I used caster)

1/4 tsp salt

3 egg whites

1/2 tbsp honey

12 tsp (1/4 c) raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees f, and grease a madeleine/muffin pan.

Melt butter in a saucepan, until nut-brown.

As soon as it turned brown, transfer into a bowl. Add vanilla extract.

In a separate, larger bowl, combine ground almonds, flour, sugar, and salt.

Whisk eggs, then honey into flour mixture. Whisk until well incorporated.

Whisk the melted butter-vanilla mixture into the egg-flour mixture.

Pour two tablespoons of batter into each madeleine/muffin mold.

Spoon a teaspoon of raspberry jam on top of each financier.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until just golden-brown on the edges.

Makes 12 financiers.

wild adventures

ADVENTURE OF THE WEEK

This morning I woke up at 2am because it started raining. Now normally I'd love that- laying in bed listening to the drops rush down my windows and roof- but instead, i threw myself out of bed and raced outside in the pitch black to close the sunroof of my car. Dumb move leaving it open- yes.

But it didn't get too too wet and it was somewhat/mostly dry by morning... life has ways of making itself interesting whenever things get too normal...

On a totally unrelated note, I am BEYOND excited for Where the Wild Things Are to come out!!!! It was one of my favorite books as a kid and just hearing the lines brongs back memories- can't wait for Spike Jonze's interpretation!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYp-uW6r9eM&feature=related

I must have it on the mind because i found myself doodling in a notepad during class and what came out was the picture at the top of the page (i used whiteout to make the clouds and sail) It made me think of Max and how I wish I could go exploring just like him.

Oh well... I guess I'll just have to create my own adventures!