Currently.

I saw this on a couple of blogs I enjoy and thought I’d follow suit. Yes, I’m a bit late to the game.

Current Book(s): See sidebar (how i roll: i'm reading). I really am reading all seven of them. Not my norm to be reading so many at once, but it’s where I’m at just this moment I guess.

I’m not liking Catcher, but the rest are really interesting in entirely different ways. No Impact Man is not at all what I expected, so personal and funny and conversational… I highly recommend it.

Current Playlist: Mostly classical with traditional Celtic thrown in now and then. Okay, and Celtic drinking songs, too. They’re hilarious.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: I don’t really do shame or guilt. Not in relation to pleasure, at least.

Current Drink: Chai, nice and spicy with no milk. When I lived in Italy I would fantasize about it and refer to it as “the nectar of the Gods.” It’s just next to me now. But also I found an old favorite wine the other night, Marqués de Cáceres Grianza and while it’s not as fabulous as I remember (or at least this vintage isn’t as tasty), I have still been enjoying it wholeheartedly with my homemade suppers the last few nights.

Current Food: Hmm, well I sort of had a festival of food this weekend in that I thoroughly enjoyed cooking up all sorts of lovely dishes from scratch… unfortunately the steak I grilled to go with my potato and mushroom au gratin, which I purchased last minute from the local Safeway rather than the market with the proper meat section, seems to have been bad so I tried to sooth my stomach with some of my homemade Irish soda bread I was trying to save for tomorrow’s breakfast. Fingers crossed it helps!

Current Favorite Show: Well, it’s not officially airing it’s last episodes for another week or so, but Saving Grace, absolutely. I can’t begin to say how deeply this show effects me.

I’ve been thinking about this recently because I’ve been trying to decide when I move what shows I’d still want to try to catch. As cheesy as this sounds, Bones made that list. Castle didn’t, but came close. I still love House, but would be okay without it I find.

Mostly I watch tons British shows, so whichever one I’m into at the moment would likely make the list (the advantage of them is that they only last from 6 to 8 episodes a season so it’s not exactly a long-term commitment). At this moment, that is Kingdom and Blackpool.

Current Wishlist: A job in and a ticket to Scotland. Oh, and my financial woes thrust upon me on the sly by my ex-boyfriend to magically disappear.

Current Needs: Money for the ticket, and the job of course.

Current Triumphs: Honestly, that I’m somehow maintaining a positive, hopeful outlook after all I’ve gone through. That I believe I am about to move forward with my goals, regardless of what my current circumstances look like from that horrid face called “reality.” Also, that I’m good with who I am as I am this moment. That’s huge.

Current Bane(s) of my Existence: Bouts of self-doubt. The garage with all the crap that must be gone through, gotten rid of, and most of all sold. The current situation of finances, of lacking relationships, of faltering belief in myself to attain; to live again.

Current Celebrity Crush: I guess it’d be a girl crush on Nigella Lawson. She is a goddess, domestic and otherwise. She’s stunning, confident, and completely at home in her curvaceous body. She loves food, loves to cook, loves to bring people together with it… and has the resources and high-brow connections to do so and make a living at it. May I please be her?

Also, Stephen Fry. I want to marry him. Yes, I know he’s gay. And English.

But honestly, he seems kind and witty, brilliant and compassionate. He both recognizes and embraces his differences, yet conveys an everyman's commonality with humanity. he's humble yet clever. In so many ways, he is endearing to me.

Current Indulgence: British television shows.

Current Blessing(s): Parents that have put up with (and financially supported) me all this time as I have been slowly, slowly emerging from the fog of trauma. My online girlfriends who support and encourage me just exactly when and how I need it. Going to therapy, silly as that sounds.

Current Outfit: PJs, actually. It’s late. But I wore one of my jail house striped tops today with jeans tucked into my awesome black Merrell rain boots, even though it was sunny. A girl can dream.

Current Excitement: I WISH I could say hockey, but my team has been sucking badly of late. That a dear friend got engaged this weekend. That I’m believing and working toward moving to Scotland. That I’m continuing to purge the detritus of life. That I’m allowed to wear heels again.

Current Link: I guess I’d have to say the blog that I first saw this list on, though I’ve been following the blog they got it from for a while, yet somehow missed this post on that one!

Starting out fresh.

One of my all-time favorite breakfasts is crepes. To be more specific, lemon crepes – simple, light, fresh, delicious. Give me crepes and a cappuccino in the morning, and I’ll experience nirvana, especially if it’s served out-of-doors.

So today I made them myself! This was first time since the debacle while I was babysitting a family of eight kids for sixteen hours straight who decided to make crepes, and at fifteen years old I didn’t seem to have the power to stop them. Well, not ALL of them. But that’s another story.

I had intended to go to the Farmer’s Market and then treat myself to one at my favorite place along the market strip in town. However, I neglected to set my alarm and since I stayed up far too late reading (another “old lady” pleasure that I’ve done since I was tiny), I didn’t awaken in time. I could have gone to town just for the crepe, but I would have been so disappointed about the rest that I couldn’t have enjoyed it as well.

So I looked up a basic recipe online and went for it. I quickly learned the importance of a hot enough (but not too hot) pan coupled with a quick twist of the wrist. Let’s just say the first one was more like a not-quite-cooked corn tortilla. Less batter is better, my friends. However, with a squeeze from the fresh lemon plucked from our tree and a dash of sugar, the rest of them were perfection. I was so excited to not only make one of my favorite things, but to know instinctively what to do to make it turn out better next time (whip the eggs first).

I’ve always loved cooking. Finding just the right spices to make the dish blossom on the tongue, being sure all the different parts of the meal flow together, presenting it in an inviting and beautiful way all contributed to this passion. I enjoy it enough to have once had a catering and party planning business. I was too wimpy back then to handle the business side (yes, ‘tis true, an entirely different me), so I actually lost money, but every party I did was a huge success mostly because I created the recipes to fit the events.

However, when it comes to breakfasts, I owe my cooking indulgences to my ex-boyfriend. His favorite meal was breakfast, so my skills were honed. Before he came around I was a cappuccino-and-brioche-girl. Now I love it. In the last few weeks I’ve made waffles, whole grain pancakes, awesome omelets, some kick-arse challah bread french toast, and now crepes. It’s strange to realize just how easy all this stuff is to make… and how much better it is than from even the best restaurants.

So later today I decided to make an Irish soda bread. I haven’t had it in years, but love it. It’d be a fun thing to have available for the week, and it’s another easy thing to make (I know this because I used to make it in Junior High). Plus if my hockey team plays as badly this evening as they have been this last week or so, I’ll need the distraction.

It’s exciting to accomplish something new and find you’re pretty good at it. Even more so when the results bring a favorite thing to your lips. It makes me wonder what breakfast challenge I might conquer next… madelines? croissants? The latter seems the most daunting, and it might be best if I didn’t discover a proficiency for making them since they are something to which I believe I can become addicted – especially if they are of the almond or chocolate persuasion. Mmm. But taking a little time and thinking outside the usual breakfast box is exciting!

Hope your breakfasts bring you a bit of joy this week!