This is where the hungry come to feed. For mine is a generation that circles the globe and searches for something we haven't tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it.

Dec 19, 2006

all your consoles are belong to us.


this past weekend we had our Christmas Soiree which was part wine&cheese party, game night, and gift exchange. and with 3 xbox360s, a wii, and a ps3, game night seemed to change into gamer night, but it was still a grand 'ol time. there was tons of hor'derves, cheese, desserts and ofcourse wine! not much to say, but it was fun.. and lasted from Saturday evening until about 2pm on Sunday.

i even made the most adorable magnets as christmas gifts for my buddies.



Dec 18, 2006

if i bake, they will come.

after a successful halloween celebration at work, i decided to plan an IT festivus celebration... as usual, i bribed coworkers into participating by enticing them with treats. this time, cherry & apple turnovers that I had made the night before... the main event was a white elephant gift exchange.. one with actual useful presents! i count that as success.

earlier into the week, dru had mentioned his christmas wish for chocolate bread (after seeing a mix for such things at william sonoma) so i figured why not try to save christmas for him.. by whipping up some chocolate bread for one of my bests. he now believes in santa claus, the easter bunny, and mr. peanut again.

i also made a grandiose tiramisu for our christmas
(wine & cheese/gamenight) party.. ofcourse there were several other desserts that night.. leaving us with tons to finish before they all expire.

more about the game night later.


Dec 15, 2006

happy holidays!

now that the christmas cards have all been sent out, i guess i can appropriately display all of the chosen photos from our christmas photo shoot with my favorite photog dru. i had decided well into summer that this year we were going to take christmas card photos. and i had the bright idea to stray from the norm, of posing with matching sweaters, etc. i wanted them candid magazine quality, with a vintage 1950s feel. my inspiration being the brad & angelina W shoot... i told dru months in advance that he would have to take our christmas photos, and to think of some poses too. ofcourse i would attempt to assist in the art direction of the shoot as well as wardrobe. we actually only did a few poses.. and i really wanted to do this pose on the right... maybe next year! anyways the result of the shoot was quite positive. after some manipulation of the photos for better contrast and color, the photos turned out nicely. below are the finished products (sans pictures from previous entries).. click to enlarge.




Dec 12, 2006

i scoff at your challenge.

because two in one day has already been done. but fine, because of your duel update (get it? duel.. touche!) i shall update too.


so this past friday was our neighborhood christmas party aka "progressive dinner"... pretty much a few people (3-4) volunteer to open up their houses (to show off) and to be the main host for a course of the meal. "appetizer house", "entree house" and "dessert house". we went last year so we were veterans... last year we went to it unknowing of how it would be meeting all the neighbors for the first time.. after the night ended we had bonded with most of the neighbors in attendance, and with a wine distributer in the neighborhood supplying us with never-ending bottles of wine, followed by two ice chests filled with beer and drinks which were pulled along, as we walked from house to house, glass in hand.. we learned that "christmas party" should be aka "drunken debacle"... ok well not that harsh.. but it was definitely so much fun, that i couldn't wait for the next gathering. so i was way excited for this years christmas party..
it started out pretty much the same, a little slow and quiet, greeting old neighbors and meeting newcomers to the event. (only about 12 couples come each year, and usually the same ones) after everyone had arrived, and the wine started pouring, you could see everyone in little groups chattering about this and that and nothing in particular. eventually someone would motion that it was time to go to the next house.. where everyone would continue chatting in the streets as we walked over to the next location.. the entree house was decorated to the max, the cornish hens were delicious, and the company was delightful. by the entree house you could tell which neighbor's had already drank multiple glasses, as voices got louder and neighbors that generally just wave hello got friendlier. finally the dessert house, which was at one of the newer neighbor's houses, lots of cakes and hot cocoa... and peppermint schnapps. we decided that there definitely needs to be more gatherings. there were 2 others this past year.. but even that didn't seem to suffice. we decided that we finally need to have the neighbors over.. as we had already been to a few other's homes. might as well open up our doors.


Dec 9, 2006

it's beginning to look a lot like...

i am sure you were wondering about the wreath.. so here it is! it's quite simple.. but with a quick stop at michael's the other day and four dollars later i had the minimal supplies needed to make a simplistic outdoor wreath. after i got home it took me approximately 10 minutes to put it together. 8 of those minutes making the bow and putting it on the wreath. voile!


Dec 7, 2006

amalgamation of me part II

so last night i was looking at myspace and realizing that i don't really have anything in the 'about me' section. it got me to thinking what makes me.. me. what do i put here.. how do you describe me.. who would've thought myspace could result in such a sleepless night of intrigue.
which made me recall that post a few months back where i describe how i am a little bit of this and a little bit of that. which is very true. that and i just like too damn much. my interests far surpass that of things that i am actually good at. i mean it's like i have ADD with interests/hobbies and what not. if i focused on one thing perhaps than i could be really good at something as opposed to mediocre in multiple things. i mean i have played 3 different instruments. i listen to a variety of genres, i dabbled in drawing, writing, crafting, and photoshopping.. then there's the liking of all sorts of foods from foie gras to pork rinds. and the yearning to travel to far off places, and to doing the everyday with friends and family. then to style.. from wanting to be classic to trendy to urbn to retro. it is just too much, i'm sure i will burst one day. the world of myspace with it's about me doesn't need to know such things.

last night i went to michael's and target.. there were a bunch of teens hanging outside of target.. and i thought to myself, "i should've went to the new target on eldridge.. probably less riff-raff there" then i LOL'd in my head too. because my internal self said riff-raff. i am so 1940s. oh and i made a wreath when i got home.


Dec 6, 2006

glassemo.

i am wearing my glasses... at work. usually i only sport these when i drive at night and feel the need to be a responsible driver. or when my eyes feel strained (this generally occurs when it is overcast yet i can still feel the uv rays hitting my eyes). and once in awhile, like today, i sport these brown/plastic framed candies underused glasses at work, because my eyes are tired. why are they tired? perhaps it's the neverending glow from my two viewsonic monitors, or the slight yellowish tinge of light shining from my smallish ikea table light, or because plainly i work with the lights off (but really those harsh florescent ceiling lights would be so much worse). whatever combination it may be.. (most likely it's staring at the same test matrix for hours on end). i think that subconsciously, the glasses come out when the outfit arises. and once they are on super-magically transform me into some emoific stature that was not noticed prior to their arrival. it's like clark kent and superman. glasses make him more socially inept, emotional, wears ties, and with less styled hair. without them he is mr. popular, full of confidence, wears primary colors, and has hair full of gel. yes i think glasses do this to many. my striped sweater vest swears to this.


Dec 5, 2006

food cravings.


i'm not sure if it was the recent fine dining experience at chez nous, or reading restaurant reviews for houston's notable new restaurants. but i am having massive food cravings that will require being satisfied sometime soon. these taste buds are yearning for something deliciously roasted, seared, dry-aged, or immersed in a garlicky-butter sauce. perhaps some antipasto will do the trick.. there's nothing better than some cured meats and stinky cheeses to settle down these cravings until the next venture out. if only i had these cravings yesterday.. before i went to the grocery store. i'll have to see what salty delights i have left in our fridge.

i am sure to at least be able to scrounge up some pears to roast.


Dec 1, 2006

good.bad

let's play.

good.
finding the toilet seat up at work. (meaning you are the first one to use it since it's been cleaned)
bad.
finding the toliet seat up at home.

good.
the public restroom doorknob is wet because previous person washed their hands
bad.
the public restroom doorknob is wet because the previous person didn't wash their hands

... your turn.