five things, august 10 edition

1. I think it's very rare for me to make a meal verbatum based on a cookbook or blog post, but Helene had me at Chilled Cucumber Avocado soup, and how could I not add the prosciutto and cauliflower flatbread? I tweaked a little, simply because I didn't have all of the ingredients she used, but all in all we were pretty happy.

2. I think Erin's two posts on her not-so-chance encounter with Gary Oldman are some of the funniest things I've seen on the internet in a long while. Go and read them here and here and see if you ever think about Sirius Black in the same way.

3. I think so far I'm liking my Clarisonic. I can't shake the fact that I feel like a guy with an electric razor when I use it on my chin, but still, I like it.

4. I think I'm so glad I ordered Dinner, a Love Story. I'm going to pretty much love it. I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't yet have a Jamie Oliver cookbook, but there are so many! Any suggestions as to where I should start?

5. I think I need a break. Not completely, but summer is winding down (sob) and I really want to soak up these last few weeks at home with my boy. I want to help him get ready for Middle School (yipes!) and gear up for his birthday which is early next month. Also, I'm contemplating some changes to SPL. Nothing major, but I need to refocus my efforts here. Mark doesn't like it that I don't post first thing in the mornings, and I've been thinking about tweaking the Morning Photo, Afternoon Post model. I hate to leave it behind, but if it's not doing anything, then why bother? I'm playing around with a design change (as you may have heard), so maybe it's really time to shift things up. All this to say, Monday, Wednesday, Friday for me for the next few weeks. I'll be back for reals (or not) after Labor Day.

harvest {life}

Our little vegetable garden has struggled this year. It's mostly a lack of light. Turns out we have a pretty dark backyard. The tomatoes flowered but not much else, the beets bought it, and something ate the collards. The cukes are okay so far, and we can always count on potatoes. Neel gathered these few handsful last weekend, and they've been sitting on our counter ever since. Waiting for something suitably impressive to make them into. In other words, these divine little beauties aren't your average hash brown. I can still remember our first taste of home grown potatoes last year, and I'm looking forward to the experience again. Any suggestions as to what they should be?