The way to his heart is through his upper digestive tract

9:53pm Mike
hey
9:53pm Amanda
hey bootskoodle!
9:53pm Mike
I'm hungry
What should I eat?
9:54pm Amanda
I made lovely butter cookies
I should send you some
9:54pm Mike
I'm lost without you

The luckiest little gal of them all

I've several things to be joyful about this season, in fact, i've actually had to start a little list. Really, guys. Bear with me.

1. I started working out three times a week again. Like, woah. Energy.

2. I have been spending so much time hand-making christmas cards this season. A lot more than in 2007, when I really didn't send out as many as I hoped to, and ran out of time. But this year i've immersed myself in it. I do love it, because I feel like sending something tactile to my dear friends means a lot more than an email or even a phone call. Phone calls are nice, don't get me wrong, but i'm a sucker for snail mail. And I just got new ink for my calligraphy pen, and I found some old 1970s textbooks at a garage sale that i've been cutting up for collage-making. They are so cool, guys.

3. Speaking of keeping my hands busy, i've been sewing! I don't get to sew as often as i'd like since I got into college, but I get a chance to embroider a pillow or hem a dress every now and then. I'm making my own christmas stocking out of velvet, and handmade sequined appliques. I'll have to upload some more photos soon, because it's really coming along well. It's a tradition in my stepmother's family, and she always wanted a daughter to teach the technique the women in her family have used for four generations, so she's taught me, making me the fifth generation. It's a really cool process, and i'm sewing on a little handmade camera, and holly berries, and a violin, a bike, etc. etc. You'll see.

4. I uploaded a bunch of old pictures that my opa, my mother's father, gave me of her. Most of them are from their trip to Europe in 1971, when my mom was 18, but there's so many of those left to scan. However, he did include some of her with me, as a baby.

Seriously, mom. You're a babe.

Oh my gosh. Am I eating a stuffed animal? I'm so glad I dropped that habit.

5. I get to cook so much when i'm at home. I made a batch of delicate fall-apart-in-your-mouth butter cookies that my family and friends have been eating non-stop for the past four days. They're already 2/3 done, and I made four dozen cookies, which means... I get to make another batch soon! I made pears poached with a whole orange, honey, cinnamon sticks, and ground nutmeg atop of frozen yogurt last night. It was, needless to say, amazing.

How can you not dig poached pears? What is wrong with you people?

But despite all this, Houston has not impressed me yet. Probably because I haven't spent a full day wandering around the museum district, or gone down 19th street for vintage shopping, or perused Montrose with my cameras. Also, I am a colossal sap: I miss Mike. Although, at least i've got a replacement snuggler. My dear furry pup, Gus. He is lying next to my bed right now, in the guest room, yawning and poking his head up at me occasionally, wondering what i'm up to typing away at this hour.

I think it's time for the both of us to get some sleep.

Currently listening to: "Bag of Hammers" by Thao & the Get Down, Stay Down.
(She is such a great songwriter)

Love,
Amanda

Back home in Houston

Hello all!

I've been busy this past week finishing up finals and worrying about packing in time to leave for Houston yesterday, but I got it done, and did really well this semester again, and quite frankly, i'm proud of myself. I think I deserve to be. Or is that too haughty? Moving on.

I will miss all the lovely people back in Dallas, but I applied for a position as a front desk bitch and tour guide at the MFAH, but, I mean, I would get to wander around an art museum after hours, so how bad could it be? Anyway. I got home and spruced up the guest room to feel like i'm more at home, because for some reason, I love unpacking and putting away things when I visit someplace. I only brought one medium suitcase for my four weeks home, but I did bring a lot of my vintage dresses, too. My winter hats are hanging from hooks on the wall, and the dresser drawer is full of scarves, sweaters, and art supplies, too. For a finishing touch, I got my mother's old ceramic christmas tree out of the attic. I just love it.

Yeah? Yeah, it's cool.

Another thing I can't stay away from when i'm at home is cooking. I can deal with not being able to cook when i'm up at school, and I can only make a nice fancy meal for me & Mike once a week if that, because grilled cheese is easier to eat while studying than chicken piccata topped with goat cheese:

I forgot how good that dinner was.

Anyway, I made dutch babies for breakfast this morning. They were so good, with powder sugar, lemon, and blueberries; I stuffed myself. So, here's a good stand-by recipe for dutch babies, should you guys be interested in trying it out:

For the 'babes:
4 Tbs unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour (I used wheat flour)
1⁄2 cup half-and-half

For the topping:
4 oz clarified butter (or, simple melted butter will do)
Juice of 1 lemon
Powdered sugar

OK. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Divide the 4 Tbs butter between two 6-inch cast-iron skillets (I used oven pans, skillets are better), and melt it over low heat.

In a blender/stand mixer, whir together the eggs, flour, and half-and-half. Then pour the batter into the skillets over the melted butter. Don't mix them! Slide the skillets into the oven, and bake for 25 minutes, or until they've puffed and turned golden brown.

Remove the puffed pancakes from the oven, transfer them to a plate or shallow bowl, and pour on clarified butter, sprinkle on lemon juice, and dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

ENJOY!

Currently listening to: "My" by Okay

Love,
Amanda

Winter is a time for bundling up and getting your bum outside to take photos.

Winter also mean curling up with the millions of pillows on my couch and studying, and then later on going to bed with knees socks on because it gets really cold in my place at night, and the other person who is occasionally in my bed hates cold feet. A couple days ago I brought my Polaroid camera along to classes with me, simply because i've been amazed at all of the beautiful colors the trees have been turning on the street I bike down to get to school. Dallas may be a little off when it comes to having actual seasons, but nevertheless I won't complain. When I move up north soon, i'll remember fondly seventy-degree days.

This is right outside my apartment door.

And this is from the stairs- check out those sugar maples! The polaroid doesn't do their bright red leaves justice, trust me. I'm lucky to live in such cute apartment complex. There are more important things in life, but I love the 60s feel of them. Those of you who have seen the inside of my apartment know what I speak of.

Here's a shot with my Nikon D80 to show the color of the leaves outside my apartment.

My trusty bike parked in the leaves outside the library. SMU is really a very pretty campus.

This is looking up while I was biking back home.

What is everyone doing for winter break? It looks like I will be stuck in Houston working again. It won't be too bad though- I plan on catching up on my photography, and i'll be working on my photomontages for most of December while waitressing. I plan on making some huge, 14x17 ones with leftover matteboard I have from my critique, and selling them off come spring. I wanted to go to L.A. for New Years to see my good friend Jon and his lovely sweet girlfriend, Meredith, but sadly it's just not in my budget. However, there's always next summer. Right now, i'm all about finishing up the semester: I just had two photography critiques today, and I got As in both of those classes, and I think i've pretty much got As in my photo history and women studies' classes. As for history of anthropology, I just hope I get a B. I could totally live with that.

Currently listening to: "Whats mine is yours" by Sleater-Kinney.

Love you kids and stay warm,
Amanda