How Sweet

My weekend selection: "Holy Guacamole!", "Bacon Bliss", "Dark Chocolate Pomegranate", and the day's Baker's Choice, which I believe is a Cinnamon Roll cupcake.

My coworker discovered the perfect cupcake place and we've been taking turns trekking to it during the work week for treats.  Madison Sweets is my new favorite place in town - their cupcakes are delicious and if you're ever wandering down State Street try them out.  Pictured above is my weekend haul...I deserved treats for getting myself out of my apartment. :)

Eventually I hope to try all of the varieties, but so far my favorite is the "Lemon Drop" cupcake. Maybe once I've had all four of the ones pictured above I will change my mind.

May the sweets be ever in your favor!

Potter Convert

I started "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" on January 9th and finished the series January 27th.  Admittedly I now wish I hadn't waited to read them, but to all you Potter fans that waited so long between books - you're amazing.  After finishing "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" I wallowed in the ending for about half a day - then the next morning I snatched up "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" because I didn't want to wait.  I had to know.

This was my reward for waiting so long - the ability to consume all of the Harry Potter world in less than a month.  The drawback is that I missed out on an opportunity of community geekery where everyone is sharing mutual character love or hatred, excited for plot lines to come, discussing Patronus charms, together.  A friend told me that the day the last book came out he bought a copy and settled into read it at his coffee shop - he wasn't alone.  I love the mental picture of an entire coffee shop of people with their noses in books, all going on the same journey together.  The day that book came out I was working in a University lab - there were fewer people at work that day, and no one could find one of the Chemistry professors because he'd hidden himself (and a copy of the last Harry Potter book) in the bowels of the science buildings.  No one saw him until he'd finished it.

My life is, without a doubt, better for the Harry Potter books - I've already started rereading the first book throughout the day - and I'm glad to have finally let go of whatever had been holding me back.

Harry Potter - Always.

Let's Go, Harry Potter.

Okay, I'm going to do it.  I've put it off this long mostly out of sheer stubbornness.  Yes, that's right.  I'm going to read the Harry Potter books.

 I have a feeling I may lose the next few weeks...

Elementary

Dear CBS,

I really want a chance to get to know your show "Elementary", but you've removed the pilot episode.  I know, I'm late to the show (pun intended), but don't you want my viewership too?  You don't even work with Hulu to get viewers hooked...I mean, come on - more and more people are forgoing cable - how will you reach them and entice them to buy the tv series later down the road? Oh, but of course I could buy them on Amazon. :-P  I don't know your show well enough to warrant me shelling out money for it.
---

The few episodes I've seen of Elementary have gotten me interested in this take of Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson, but as indicated above I'm irritated that I can't fill in the episode gaps.  She's a surgeon that messed up, badly, on a patient and has essentially become a rehab-buddy.  Sherlock has gotten out of a rehab facility, used to work for Scotland Yard, and now works with the NYPD.  Dr. Watson was hired by Sherlock's father to be with him nearly 24/7 to prevent any relapses.  I saw 'Rat Race' over the holidays - interesting dynamic between Holmes and Watson...no romantic clutter (thank you).  This version of Holmes seems a little more human - he sends a bottle of the best wine to a man who had saved money to propose to his girlfriend in an upscale restaurant (granted he did it with someone else's money, but still).

If I can ever figure out a legal way to watch this show without emptying my pockets I'll do it.  For now I'll scrape together what little scraps CBS gives on their website, being peeved about it all the while. :)

Bûche de Noël

A small selection of baked goods.

As per my usual behavior during the holiday season I baked too much.  There are still gluten free goodies overflowing in my parents' house, but there was one dessert that didn't last long at all...a gluten free Bûche de Noël.  It was my first time trying such a cake (hence the flatness of the 'log'), but it is now a new staple in the Christmas baked goods. :)

A bit flat but just as tasty. :)

Hope everyone had a great holiday season and happy new year!

Book Binge

In the festive nature of Halloween's month I went on a reading binge of books filled with vampires, faerie, werewolves, witches, skinwalkers, satyrs, sidhe, selkies, kelpies, brownies, gnomes, trolls, and other supernatural beings packaged with murder, mayhem, and in some cases romance.  Oh yeah, and I had to read "How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you" because Oatmeal is awesome.  I recommend his book, the first Jane Yellowrock book, and the first two October Daye books (by Seanan McGuire) for some good fall reads.

Criminal Minds Binder

Of all the photos posted in the "Binder Full of Women" meme my favorite is this:

AJ Cook's facial expression seals the deal. :)