Gone Fishing

I've decided to take a vacation. Ok, I can't really take a vacation (and no, that's not really my laundry although I do wish I had some funky vintage aprons like those) but I am going to take a mental holiday. For the next few weeks I am not going to blog. I have books to read, exercise to do, projects to start and chocolate to eat (I never said I was logical). So for now, I'm going to leave the blog behind and will hopefully pick up again in August.

In the meantime, I thought I'd leave a few food, book, music, and website recommendations if anyone is out there. And if anyone is out there, please feel free to leave me some recommendations of your own in the comments. I'd love to hear.

I just finished reading a book of short stories called Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri http://www.randomhouse.com/kvpa/jhumpalahiri/which was really moving and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Vegetable-Miracle-Year-Food/dp/0060852550. If you're a food geek and have not already read A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenburg, definitely check it out. I also just read through a couple of really nice cook books: Local Flavors by Deborah Madison and The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. I've startedf reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and am looking forward to reading How to Win a Cosmic War by Reza Aslan once I'm feeling ambitious enough.

I can't afford it myself but if you can spring $60+ for a box set, I would definitely recommend Jane's Addiction box set. http://www.amazon.com/Cabinet-Curiosities-DVD-Janes-Addiction/dp/B001G7HT8M.

I'm also loving this White Stripes song - and only in part because my three year old can't stop singing it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT3w6-cCn10

Music for kids. It's usually bad. Dan Zanes is a pretty good exception to that rule. These are real musicians and they don't dumb it down, so parents don't go insane listening to the same songs over and over. He often features musicians like John Doe, Lou Reed, and Aimee Mann. So much better than the usual stuff. http://www.danzanes.com/pages/home_new2.html

Here's a cool online website ans toy store for kids. http://www.imaginechildhood.com/

Eating. Sweet tooth. Cookies. Butterscotch chocolate bars, etc... Amazing looking small family business in Brooklyn. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5797821

I really like this food blog: http://userealbutter.com/ and this life, food, photography, and ranch living blog http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions.

For photography geeks, this is a great editing website with a lot of nice effects and easy to use.
http://www.picnik.com/

Ok, I'm off to either go be productive or lazy - still not sure which way to go here. See you soon!