Bunny: Ellie at rest

She's starting to trust us just enough that when she is outside of her cage, she will stretch out and lie down. She won't normally do this because she is way too nervous; if she does it's not for very long. It takes great stealth on my part to crouch down beside her for the opportunity to pet her belly.  It takes even more willpower to just leave her alone, but we all know I'm no good at that!

Is it just me or are her front paws just silly adorable? They are especially cute because of how utterly ineffectual they look ...it's like she has mittens on. Mittens with sharp ouchie claws that find their way into the soft flesh of my feet, belly, arms, chest....okay, so not ineffectual. But adorable nonetheless.

Eat: Slow Cooker Baked Beans & Osso Buco

I bought my crock pot slow cooker about two years ago and apart from one Indian lamb & pea recipe, it has sat atop the pantry waiting to be put into our kitchen rotation. I have to admit, I've been intimidated by it. I know this isn't rational. I've been told numerous times how simple it is to use but there's this part of me (due to years of family influence) that is afraid to leave it unattended while I am out during the day. Despite this paranoia, I finally decided to man up and try it.

I picked two recipes from Ricardo's Mijoteuse recipe book, one for breakfast and another for dinner.
The first was baked beans, which I prepared on a Friday night so that we could have beans with our breakfast over the weekend. I have always wanted to try my hand at baked beans and I think it was a good recipe to start with because it required very little ingredient prep before assembling all ingredients in the slow cooker (as long as you pre-soak the beans). I did the fast soak method by boiling the beans for 2 minutes and then letting them sit in a covered pot for two hours. I've read that every slow cooker model can function quite differently from one another and I found this to be true. Even though I followed the directions, I still needed to reduce the liquid by continuing the cooking process on high, uncovered until it reached a better consistency. I was very pleased with the end result though, the flavour was delicious. This recipe is a keeper, with the following minor adaptions: bacon instead of salt lard and the addition of ketchup for tang.

I capitalized on the 'slow cooker' momentum and tried my hand at Osso Buco the next day. This recipe required a bit more prep (browning the shank, onions, etc.) but I wouldn't call it labour intensive. Again, the end results we delicious but I did find that the sauce could have been reduced more. I didn't want to change the recipe the first time I tried it, but I'm getting the sense that most recipes I make will need to be adjusted to use less liquid or cook longer. Or at least with Ricardo's recipes, anyway...

Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of the Osso Buco, but here are some pictures of the baked beans. Marc decided to dice up his omelette and drop it right into a bowl of beans and hot sauce. Me likely.

 

Oh Happy Day!!

I was so flabbergasted about my mug going MIA that I decided to print up a 'Missing Mug' poster yesterday evening. It was primarily in jest but I figured what the hell, maybe it would lead to it's safe return. If nothing else, it was an interesting conversation starter around the office this morning.

As a result of my 'Missing Mug' campaign, someone during lunch today made a joke about the possibility that my mug was the prize for today's Valentine's Day draw in the cafeteria. His joke reminded me that I should do my daily sweep of the cafeteria coffee station in case it was returned there. Lo and behold! My mug was on the tray of washed coffee mugs! I was so pleased I nearly skipped back to my table!

Shop: J. Crew Heartbreaker Sweater in Lavender Burgundy

In honour of Valentine's day I decided to dress for the occasion in one of my recent eBay acquisitions, the J. Crew Heartbreaker Sweater in Lavender Burgundy. This pattern, and colour pallet is definitely not something I would have gone for just a few years ago, but I find that I am far more adventurous with colour/pattern in my old age. Bold colours and mixed patterns are still pretty fashionable this season so for the most part, I don't feel like I stand out like a sore thumb even when  I'm brightly adorned. Today however, I really felt that a lot of people were smiling and looking at me in the office. At first it didn't dawn on me why that was; it was only after a few comments in meetings and in the hallway that made me realize how many people had taken notice of the sweater based on it's Valentine theme. Perhaps it is a little jejune, but I think it's cute and I liked how people smiled when they saw it. I guess the true test, from a cost per use perspective, will be to see how people react when I wear it in November or some other time of the year other than Valentine's day!


Courtesy of J. Crew



Courtesy of J. Crew

Happy Valentine's Day! Love, Evil Dictators (and me!)

In honour of Valentine's Day (a day which seems to polarize society into thinking they must take a stand and identify as either Pro-Valentine or Anti-Valentine), I share with you, the worlds most discomforting valentine messages. "Don't Embargo My Love" has to be my personal favourite...

From I Can has Cheezburger....I think...

J'accuse!!

I don't want to sound like a total conspiracy theorist but here it goes: Someone stole my coffee mug.

It's POSSIBLE that I misplaced it but no, I'm sure some mean jerk took it. I had it on my desk when I left the office last Friday and it was gone when I arrived on Monday morning. I checked around all the offices that I used on Friday, and even the coffee station and cafeteria but to no avail. I'm totally bummed. I know it's just a mug but it was a cool mug! I got it a few years back from the Crow Bookshop in Burlington, Vermont. I adore the bookshop, it has the ambiance and layout of the kind of quintessential bookshop that you just want to spend hours perusing. Not to mention the fact I love the graphic design of the namesake crow that adorns their store front. I was all too happy to pick up one of their branded mugs. I have a thing for quirky or interestingly designed coffee mugs.

So, in ode to my mug, I give you the image it was etched with:

The Crow Bookshop Logo

If anyone has any information on said mug, I would appreciate it. No reward, but you may be lucky enough to witness me giving hell to the person responsible. Woe to the person who gets caught drinking from my mug.....

Okay well, it makes me happier...

Sooooo, the forecast indicates that another snow storm is on it's way tonight. I'm guessing that's because tomorrow is Friday and I made plans to go out and actually do things in the world. I keep giving myself pep talks, like "it's normal that February is the coldest month of winter", and "March, in like a lion and out like a lamb!" but who am I kidding? My dry, ashy skin and static charged hair tell the truth about the weather conditions.

Sorry about that but I had to bitch just a teensy weensy bit; this winter is kicking my ass. I'm going to try and make up for it with this: