Friday Thoughts & Little Women

On our drive to work Joey asked me, “are you going to watch the inauguration?”  And you know what?  No, I don’t think I am.  Struggling real hard with watching and reading everything so that I can be an informed critic and not reacting with anger and disgust.  Let me know if you have the answers on that one, because I sure don’t.

In other news: new John Mayer out today!  Friday!  Fun weekend plans!  Lots of people posting Thank Yous to the Obamas ♥  But what I really wanna talk about right now is Little Women, in both it’s book and film versions.

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I finished the book last week and on Tuesday, I forced asked Joey to watch the 1994 version of the movie with me.  He kept saying stuff like “the 1949 version is on Netflix and the 1933 version is on Amazon” and my response was “WINONA OR BUST!”

I could probably go on and on and on and on about how much I loved the book.  How Louisa May Alcott’s writing was playful and entertaining but also chock full of wisdom and life lessons that I think stand the test of time.  I mean, it’s a classic for a reason.  The way she created those four sisters with their own paths and personalities was so incredible to me.

Not gonna lie, I was heartbroken when Beth died and inconsolable when Jo and Laurie didn’t end up together.  I know books don’t always end nice and neat the way you want them to, but I really really wanted this one to.  I would not have been mad at that predictability at all.

As for the movie, I definitely liked it, but I just liked the book so much more.  Christian Bale just rubs me (and Meg and Jo and Amy…) the wrong way.  But I will say I adored Winona as Jo and Susan Sarandon as Marmee.

In conclusion, here’s to the O.G. feminist, Jo March and to Louisa May Alcott for creating her.  It was 1868 and she was writing about a woman who was more interested in becoming a writer than getting married.  And at the same time, about a character that wanted to be a devoted wife and mother, because there’s nothing wrong with that life either.  Hell yeah to that!

Weekend Things

I got some questions for ya.

When did Lafayette get so hip?

Why didn’t anyone tell me how incredible Manchester by the Sea was?

How do you cheer up a broken-hearted Cowboys fan?

Why didn’t I sign up for that dang Women’s March?

Why does the weekend always end too soon?

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After exchanging Christmas gifts and watching that very informative video — child Josh had the moves! — the four of us set out for dinner at Community in Lafayette and oh my gosh, it was so good.  From the decor, to the service, to the food, it was all a knockout.  It reminded us all of Work & Class, what with all those small share plates of meat and sides that were so hard to choose from.

Remember when Brussels sprouts were just that gross mini-cabbage your mom always made on Thanksgiving and now they are the It Girl at every restaurant?  And remember when Lafayette was just a little town where your best friend lived and now it’s got trendy restaurant and packed breweries?  After dinner, we hit up Odd13 and though my Cultural Chameleon — a South African-hopped IPA — was interesting, I’m still all about that Codename: Superfan.

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On the Saturday side of things, PEPPERMINT MOCHAS & PANCAKES!  But actually it was peppermint mochas in thee cutest mugs from Hannah and Josh and Greek yogurt pancakes with thee fluffiest results from this recipe.  I was pretty delighted by all of it.  And by having the entire morning to lounge and watch The Kitchen on Food Network until 11:30 when I headed out for yoga at an urban winery?!

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Okay, so Jenn, Samantha and I — plus a million other people — went to a yoga class at Infinite Monkey Theorem and it was so fun (but also cold!) and afterwards we hit the wine bar then walked ourselves over to the Denver Central Market for lunch.  And this is the part where I tell you I spent four hours with the girls and took ONE PICTURE… OF MY LUNCH SALAD.  What is even wrong with me?  Fail.  But from a non-photography standpoint, the day was a huge success.  Ain’t nothing like yoga, wine and high school reunion talk with your girlfriends.

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Later that night, Joey and I made pizza then took ourselves to see a movie.  The theater we went to has complimentary popcorn and soft drinks and when I told Joey that, his eyes almost bulged out of his head.  He was just a tad excited.  All popcorn excitement aside, what I really want to tell you is GO SEE MANCHESTER BY THE SEA!  We thought it was incredible.  I heard it was “good, but really depressing” when actually, it was “depressing, but really good.”  I really liked La La Land but you know what?  I liked Manchester by the Sea even more.  Don’t hate me!  Go see it, then report back 🙂

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We started Sunday with breakfast at Jelly.  Specifically, we started with a small order of donuts and then I realized I am powerless to chilaquiles and will order it anytime it’s on a menu.  Mostly, I think this place is overrated, but we had to try it out one more time before we made that call.  The service exceeded the food, but I guess that’s not a bad complaint to have.

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After breakfast, we went home and Joey worked on his current house project — fixing all the cracks in our house, which mostly involves a lot of drywall dust EVERYWHERE — while I tackled salads for lunch this week, roasting red peppers for dinner and making dessert.  Then we headed to Joey’s dad’s to watch the Cowboys game, which did not go as planned.  1) Because they lost 😦 and 2) Because I thought if there was another Cowboys fan in the house, Joey would leave me alone when they scored… wrong.

So what I thought was going to be celebratory soup and dessert ended up being consolatory soup and dessert, but I still thought both were fantastic.  We hadn’t made that Chicken Sausage, Roasted Pepper and Whole Wheat Orzo Soup in far too long and though it was my first time making those Salted Peanut Butter and Jelly Blondies, I think they’re a keeper!  I tried to convince Joey to give up football by telling him I’d NEVER felt sad on a Sunday because of a sports team but he didn’t listen and went to bed at 8:30 instead.

Just realized it was a real good eating weekend — can’t be mad about that!