This and That

1. I didn't wear real clothes at all today.  Didn't change out of pajamas until almost 6:00 p.m., changed into ellipting clothes, and then back into pajamas.  My god, I love summertime.

2.  Matt and I watched like 15 episodes of Parks & Recreation today.  My god, I love that show.  I also had a really amazing idea to get an lcd projector and project images onto the ceiling so that I can lie in bed and watch tv and movies.  Are you jealous that wasn't your idea?

3.  The other day I was driving down our street and had to slam on the brakes because I almost hit a rooster.  And this isn't like when I was in high school and would look out of the windows and see cows and stuff.  Like, we live in the city.  Why was there a rooster on my street?  And why hasn't he been waking us up in the morning?

4.  Totally made corn ice cream this weekend to make this thing I saw in the July Martha Stewart Living that was all homemade biscuit, blueberry compote (totally just accidentally typed compost--compote and compost are very different) and sweet corn ice cream.  The recipe intrigued me, and I finally made it today.  The bad news: the dessert was a little weird. (Not bad, but weird.  Who knows, though?  Maybe Matt will go bananas for it?)  The good news: I know how to make biscuits now.  Oh, also corn ice cream is a little freaky (as you likely already thought to yourself).  I now finally understand just how some people feel about buttered popcorn flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans.  For the record, though, I love buttered popcorn flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans.  I also really like saying "buttered popcorn flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans."

Mitch also loves biscuits.

5.  Hit up the farmer's market at Forsyth Park this weekend, finally.  It's only on Saturdays, and I used to work Saturdays, so I'd never been.  It was just delightful, and I walked away with blueberries, a 5-lb. bag of peaches, and some bread and handmade cheese that I bought from this guy who was dressed like a Roman (like an old-timey Roman, not a modern-day Roman--but really what do I know?  I've never been to Rome).  So anyway, over the course of the afternoon and evening, I ate the entire loaf of bread, the entire ball of cheese (OMG WHY WAS IT SO GOOD??), and the entire five pounds of peaches.  I thought I was going to die, or at least throw up.  But then I was all, "Oh, shoot, if I throw up does that mean that I have an eating disorder" and then I remembered that I'd just eaten  more food than a family of six would eat in a weekend, which is probably an eating disorder in itself.  No, I didn't barf, but I did lie on the couch whining to Shecky about what a gross glutton I'd been, wishing that I had an lcd projector that was projecting movies  (or perhaps old episodes of 90210) onto the ceiling.

I want to eat you, ball of cheese.

Well, I actually have real grown-up tasks to complete tomorrow, not the least of which will be putting on actual clothes and going out in public.  But, before that happens, I totally need to figure out how to watch all of season 3 of Parks & Recreation on the internet.  On my ceiling.  I've got big dreams, people.

This and That

1.  There are only 11 more school days (with kids) remaining this year.  That's not very many days.  Also, I am amazing at the math.

2.  This summer I will not be working, and because I won't have as much disposable income, I'm working to find fun, free (or very inexpensive) things to do.  Any suggestions?

3.  Trying to turn us into cloth napkin people.  It's easier to do because Kim (of fancy silver fame) also gave me a big bag of Matt's grandmother's linens.  We used them last night, and I felt so sophisticated.  Basically, if you come to our house we'll do things like have string quartets and jewels baked into cakes.

4.  Make these Brussels sprouts, even if you don't like Brussels sprouts.  Every time we make them, they are the star of the meal.  I want to take a day this summer where I do nothing but make and eat these.  Not really free, but could be fun, right?

5.  If you haven't seen Bridesmaids, please do.  I need to talk to someone about how much I love it.  Go see it and then call me so we can laugh about it.

6.  This little ol' blog turned two a couple of weeks ago, and I totally missed it.  Shoooot.  My very first post was done kind of on a whim when a snake jumped out of some bushes and tried to kill me.  Just a few days ago, our sweet little old mailman met Matt and me in the driveway to deliver our mail, telling us that there's been a snake hanging out on our front step.  Later I noticed the note he'd written at the top of our insurance bill.

I love cute mailmen.  I do not love snakes.  That damn snake has now tried to kill me and our mailman!  Snakes will still kill you.  That's what we've learned in two years.

What will the next years bring?  Hopefully more baked goods and less danger.

This Is a Time for the FANCY SILVER!

I think the lesson we can take away from this story is the same one that would apply to eating decent ketchup: good things come to those who wait.  

I mentioned a while ago that while we were on spring break, Matt's mom's best friend Kim bestowed upon us quite a few amazing gifts, not the least of which was just a massive box of fancy silver.  You know, like silver silverware.

Like, stuff you'd use when serving the queen.

See, Kim is a champion shopper--for all things, including antiques.  She was even with Sue when they found my Amish Butterprint bowls.  Anyway, way back when, when Matt and I were engaged (and doing everything to avoid calling each other fiance because we were so freaked out by the sound of it and the way it's hard to say it without sounding like a pretentious a-hole), Kim presented me with three different silver patterns that she could find relatively easily, and asked me to pick the one I liked best.

I picked this pattern, Grosvenor, because of its general amazingness.  It was so different and cool, and I loved the detail and the shapes of the different utensils.  For my bridal shower, Kim gave me a box with about a dozen of the pieces, promising to get me the rest in the future.  And then, with all of the hubbub with the wedding and the honeymoon and wine drinking and ninth grader corralling and baking and getting fatter by the minute, I kind of forgot that I had more silver coming my way.

And then over spring break, we had breakfast with Kim and she casually mentioned that she had my silver in the car and that, oh yeah, it was basically enough to host a wedding reception.

She wasn't kidding.

So we got the box down to the lake, and I began to fondle my silver.  And Sue taught me all about silver: about how you're not supposed to use lemony detergent, about how you put it with felt to keep it from tarnishing too quickly, and how you can use this amazing stuff called silver polish to make it all shiny and beautiful. 

So we polished.

And we polished.

And we rinsed.

And we buffed.

And we polished some more.

And then Sue was all, "We should totes refinish the silver box" (except that she didn't say it like a fool like I just did) and so we did.  Because my mother-in-law is not only like the most knowledgeable person about fancy silver, but she's also got a tool collection that would put Tim Taylor to shame.  

So while Matt and his dad went hiking and then Matt retreated to the dock to bury his face in a book, Sue and I got all handy.  

Now I have fancy silver, and a fancy box to put it in.  But I'm not fancy.  Shoot.

BUT!  It still works great for occasions that are less fancy, like when you need to ladle more barbecue sauce onto your ribs. . .

. . .or you need to finish off that piece of cheesecake from TGIFridays.

. . .or when your favorite three-year old is having a party.

Works for me.

Do you have fancy silver?  And, if so, when do you use it?

I Forked Up.

Oh man, I'm sorry we haven't been blogging too much.  I'm sure that your life has felt empty and sad without your [almost] daily dose of M Cubed.  Sorry about that.

The good news is that I have lots of stuff to share with you in the coming weeks.  The bad news is that I don't feel like doing it right now.  But while Matt and his mom read their books and I watch some HGTV while breathing in fresh lake air (which is known to have healing properties), I need to share something with you right quick.

First you need to know that Matt's mom's best friend Kim (mother of Audrey) loaded me up with lots of exciting gifts a few days ago.  One of the things was a lot of fancypants silver.  You know, like the kind of silver where there is a separate fork for everything (a.k.a., silver that I love but don't really understand), the kind where you hold your pinky finger out while using each individual piece.*

And one of the pieces is this, the shrimp fork (or at least that's what I'm told).

And I love love LOVE this fork.

But there's a slight problem.  I hate hate HATE shrimp.

So I've been trying to think of ways to use my fork without having to eat shrimp or reveal to the rest of the world that I completely lack sophistication.

Head scratcher?  Kid stabber?  Gardening tool?  Hmmmmmmm.  Nah.

Oh, wait!  I've got it!

Hair holder-upper/self-defense device.

This way, I still don't have to eat any shrimp.  And, no, it's not going to trick people into believing that I am sophisticated, but I wasn't going to have much luck in that department anyhow.

But it doesn't matter.

Because I'll tell you one thing right now: should an attacker try to attack me, he (or she, I suppose) better get used to the feeling of a shrimp fork in the eye.


*Also the kind of silver that reminds Matt of royalty, which then gets him talking about the royal wedding.  He's all, "it's magical" this and "a real-life fairytale" that.