Say What?

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It's full-on fall, my friends! And as is customary at this time of the year, I have donned my Ukrainian winter goat socks and retreated to the warmth of my kitchen where I have been cooking and baking much more than necessary. Acorn squash, pumpkin cookies, and now my newest marvel which I am here to share with you today:

Black Bean Brownies

What??? I know...craazzzy. I thought so when I first heard about it.

We did a test run a couple days ago and then I took it a bit further

in my boredom today, so try it out! You will die of shock/deliciousness:

1 box brownie mix (today's was Duncan Hines Ultimate Fudge)

1 TBS Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Cinnamon *Or add coffee! Both do wonders to enhance the chocolatiness*

1 can pureed black beans

1/4 cup mini marshmallows

Mix it all together, toss it in the oven and bake it until you can't wait any longer!

The best part is giving it to people and then waiting until they've devoured it to tell them your secret ingredient! I had a field day with it.

Enjoy!

i took a trip on a train and i thought about you

happy autumn! i've spent the past 2 weekends (going on 3) out of town and have had hardly enough time to catch my breath much less contribute to this little blog of mine; however, before i head off to austin tomorrow (ACL here i come!!) i thought i'd leave a minor update.

here's a quick trip through the scattered mind of this ginger and the things that have been catching my eye:

..great little closet transformed into built-ins..

..our house is in a madmen rut and we find ourselves constantly
discussing how adorable betty draper is..

..vintage globes..

..i've been scheming up ways to refurbish a $1 headboard i bought at goodwill and

i love what this blogger did with just a pallet and old door..

[one, two, three, four, five]

When the moon hits your eye...

Whenever I think of spaghetti my mind immediately goes to an image of an infamous couple of dogs eating the same romantic little noodle...I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. With my new favorite vegetable, the horror music that your brain automatically plays at the thought of pasta can be put on mute. Now we can have our spaghetti and eat it too!

Let me introduce you to my newest obsession:

Spaghetti Squash!

I picked this mysterious vegetable at the farmer's market last weekend and finally brought myself to make something out of it tonight. I roasted it for 45 minutes and was ecstatic when it turned into exactly what everyone said it would - strands of squash that look just like pasta! The great thing about it is that it has a pretty neutral flavor, so that makes it a good palate for all kinds of delish pasta sauce. I had a bounty of basil and onions I needed to use up, so I simmered a homemade spicy (cue the jalapeno) marinara sauce for a couple hours and put it on top of my "noodles". SO GOOD! Any and everyone who reads this must try it. I can't wait to make it again.

I feel it...

It's coming!! Can you feel it?

Fall is almost here, people. Although the weather has been wavering between glorious and nasty for the past few days, i have tasted the first of the fall weather and it has gotten me all excited inside!

I'm ready for knit caps, leaves changing color, and being able to drink tea and coffee without breaking into a sweat ;]

I want to ride my [imaginary] bike through the adorable neighborhoods of Nashville, eat dinner on the patio without the accompaniment of bugs and just marvel in the beauty that is autumn.

Now who's with me?

My Dear Octopus

Dodie Smith, author of the novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians (yes, it is a novel) once referred to family as "that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape, nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to."

Today has been a day of bittersweet appreciation of my dear octopus.
I feel fortunate to be able to say that I genuinely like my family. To love one's family is generally expected and required, but to like them...that's something special. After years of simply putting up with the various tentacles that make up my family, things have shifted. They are my friends. Wierd? Lame? I won't accept the assignment of such adjectives to this emotion. I am too busy being thankful that I have been blessed with a family who I am [almost] always sad to part from.
Speaking of parting, the reason I'm writing this is because my amazing younger brother moved to Los Angeles today to pursue his dreams. Good for him! I would never want anything less for him than the whole-hearted pursuit of his passions. However, selfish as it may be, I want that tentacle back! First the sister moves to Atlanta, then the brother moves to LA (taking the parents with him for the time being) and all of a sudden I am left alone. You cannot be an octopus if you are one lone tentacle! Has anyone ever seen such an octopus?! Never! So come back all of you...okay, but don't. Keep roaming and searching and living life to its fullest because I have and will be doing the same, and you wouldn't bring me back either, no matter how much we wish we could all be together.

Like your families. Cherish them. They're God-given and in your life for some reason, regardless of how crazy they are or how crazy they drive you at times.

I leave you guys with a memory from our childhood. One that surely none of you will understand, but this memory has been worth so much to me lately. Big Elephants. A game that we made up that consisted of starting out on opposite sides of the room and stomping toward one another until we collided, landing in a big noisy heap on the ground. Does it get any better than Big Elephants? As we say in our family, "No way, Jose."

I love you, my dear octopus!!

Ooh la la!

Hello there!

This ginger has had many adventures lately-from just down the street to a little bit farther. I'm almost completely moved into the new house! It's a cute house, but not yet a home...I keep having fitful nights of sleep imagining that either bugs are swarming it or (my personal favorite) homeless men are living underneath the house. It'll take time, but I'm enjoying it so far.

My brother and I recently took a road trip down to Atlanta to visit my sister and her husband. More pictures and details of that adventure later.

As a reward for my diligence in running lately, my lovely achilles tendonitis has flared back up (oh I missed it so!). It first showed up while I was dancing en pointe in high school and went away after a bit of time. I feel lazy since I can't run...I really hope it disappears soon. If anybody has any cures for my ailment, share the good news! I would love it.

Finally one of my favorite bloggers Elise, (the adorable author of the pennyweight blog) has launched a vintage store online that you absolutely MUST check out! It's called Troubadour Vintage and she has been diligently seeking out the most charming vintage clothing and accessories out there so that she can provide them for us at amazing prices!

Here are some of my favorites:

Don't even get me started on these boxer-style shorts.

They're adorable! Where else will you find such charming shorts? Seeing as how I'm drawn to everything yellow lately, these yellow

wedges are right up my alley.

Despite the fact that I'm not a big fan of pink, I cannot help myself with this

precious pink and white plaid dress.

This green high-waisted skirt is chic yet daring. Love it!

Okay, so those are my favorites...for now. On that note, GO. BUY. ENJOY!

20 days of summer

10 things inspiring my happiness during my remaining days of summer...

1. the new anthropologie and free people catalogs which arrived in my mailbox just radiating their loveliness
2. wandering aimlessly - by foot, in my car, with friends, alone, in silence, with musical accompaniment
3. my mom admitting to secretly disliking the song "jesus loves me" - she claims it's too repetitive! :)
4. getting mail...in the mailbox...yes, that kind of mail.
5. npr - little known fact: i love listening to npr!
6. planning trips to visit my sister in atlanta - most importantly, the fact that we planned to go running; first thing we've planned that doesn't have to do with eating or shopping! this is a big step for us.
7. early mornings
8. the lovely sounds of French musicians Camille and Carla Bruni
9. julie & julia - quite cute, but mostly it just made me want to go home and cook.
10. planning & preparing for the oakland house - except moving couches in the gross humidity of august! not a fun time.

hope you all are enjoying what is left of summer!

the ginger