Move Over Vamps, Make Room for MBS

I know vampires are so en vogue right now, but allow me to distract your attention for just a moment with this: The Mysterious Benedict Society. This book has some real cult potential. It already meets the first criteria -- written for the 9-13 year old set! And it's a series (criteria #2).

Bonus: The Web site has puzzles that will either help you feel smart or stupid.

No sex-ay vampires, but it does have riddles! And Morse Code! (Image from B&N)

Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yes, they are made with olive oil. No, they do not taste like olive oil.

These cookies are fantastic for two reasons: 1) They are tasty. Really tasty. Really really. 2) Olive oil is good for your heart!

I made 16 cookies last night. There is now exactly one left.

Living on

My brother moved out of my place nearly two months ago, yet a part of him lives on in a small way.

What was once a spare bedroom is now a shrine to Brian. It remains untouched.

:-P

San Francisco

Extended weekend getaway destination = San Francisco! It went a little something like this:

Eating. Yummy food in Chinatown.

Sightseeing. These Painted Ladies are famous in their own right, but they will always mean Full House to me.

Sliding. It was bloggers that led me to these Secret/Seward St./Douglass Park slides.

Posing. That sea gull at Fisherman's Wharf was just dying to take its picture with me.

Chilling. I'm guessing it's common knowledge that sea lions hang out at Pier 39. We had no idea.

Riding. Cable-car style.

Hiking. Amongst the graceful redwoods in Muir Woods.

Welcomed back by a lean lady frog

As I pulled up to my house today, a bit bleary eyed from my extended weekend getaway, I was greeted by this silly site: a lean lady frog blowing in the wind. I LOLed. And then LOLed again.

While this frog is all kinds of redonkulous (and was suspended from my tree by no doing of my own), the laughter she caused was certainly a good welcome home gift.

The frog is courtesy of my brother, natch.

Woot for packing light

Packing light is liberating. Yes, liberating! I'm going on a trip soon and I am pumped about the prospect of fitting everything in just my carry-on.

I plan to stick with one clothing color scheme, wear my heaviest clothes (e.g., boots) on the plane and get by without some of my girly liquids. Woot!

$20 checked baggage fee? I'll pass. Woot!

Another monkey act?

I like my bananas a little on the green side, which means their period of edibility for me is a bit short (No banana ever goes to waste, though. The refuse becomes banana bread!).

I read on Iowa Girl Eats that if you don't store bananas as a bunch, they ripen more slowly. So, I've been scattering my bananas all around my kitchen in hopes of keeping them greener longer. I don't know for certain if this actually works, but I do know for certain that it makes my house look like some monkeys broke in to mess with me...just like last year.

How many bananas can you find in this picture? Yes, I admit I staged one of the bananas for the purposes of this picture, but I did it for you, reader. I did it for you.

Also, please note that I did not make a Gwen Stefani reference in this post. Thank you.