Honey, I'm Too Old For You

Oh man. I just read some hilaaaaarious secret melodrama writing that I did around the time of my last post. Haaaahaha. SO.VERY.FRAUGHT.

Dummy. Get over it.

I should start posting that shit in public. Maybe that way I'll eventually be too embarrassed to have secret sulky teenage feelings all over the internet. Maybe I'll be shamed into writing something good/less self absorbed for a change. HAA! FAT CHANCE. 

Annnnyway, so now it is fall. Everyone has paler faces and rosier cheeks and I just want to eat roasted squash and sit beside a fireplace.

I don't have a fireplace, unfortunately, so if anyone wants to invite me over to sit by theirs, I will bring squash and probably some bourbon. (Hot toddy, anyone?)

I like this time of year. Everyone's trained to have back-to-school-this-time-I'm-going-to-do-it-right feelings still, no matter how long it's been since we've been students and everyone gets so organized and determined about their project plans. I like that every person I talk to is losing their shit with busyness, is starting a new crop of projects, is travelling somewhere great, is changing creative disciplines just for the hell of it, ...is finding some spicy cab driver fella to spoon them through the distant dusty nights (pow! Atta girl!)... Also fall fashion is the best and everyone looks hotter these days. I am going scarf and boot shopping later today. I love scarf and boot shopping.

(Edit: speaking of fall fashion being great, please check out lovely Jessica Kennedy's (aka Chaos and the Dark) etsy page with lots of really super adorable fall vintage. I just died several times over that plaid cape.  And the grey wool jacket! Oh my! Look at it here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChaosandtheDark. While you are at it, have a look at her website here: http://chaosandthedark.com/. She makes perfect accessories (my 'Oui' necklace remains my favorite even after months and months), she has a very cute dog and puts on vintage pop up events every couple of months, and all of those things are on her website.

Also she is completely charming and her writing is nice to read.)

Yeah. Fall. Totally into it. So much better than the boozy melancholy of summer. (Hmm. Do I mean that? I can't decide.)

Also, now I am a wife! That may also be part of why I am so pleased that it is fall... That wedding was totally the best and most fun, but jesus, I thought I would die from the stress of making it go. Now it is DONE. Mister Dream Captain and I better make it, because there is no way in hell I am ever doing that again.  My personal goal was to make a wedding that I would have had fun attending, and I think that if I had been a guest at that wedding I would have thought it was pretty good.

Mother nature really screwed me with the hurricane winds and rain early in the day, but she sure made it up to me with the incredible northern lights show at night. FINE, mother nature. You're off the hook for now, but I'm watching you this winter (smacking fist into palm, menacingly).

I don't want to be crass here, but we got totally spoiled with wedding presents. One thing that we got that has basically made Mr. Dream Captain into the happiest man of all time is this: A carbonator!

Suck it, Perrier, you dinks! You haven't been as good since Nestle bought you and now you get no money from me! I'll bubble my own water thank you very much. I highly recommend that everyone get one of these. The non-stop hilarious belching alone is worth it.

The Lad Mags lady squad (sorry Joe) is heading to Vancouver in a couple of weeks to play a show at Antisocial Skateshop with Slow Learners.

Sooooo excited. We are also going to record a couple of songs while we are there and I can't wait to start putting out HIT REKKIDS. Haha. Seriously though, there is some cute stuff on the way. Can't wait. If you are in the vicinity on Saturday September 29th, please join us. If you are not in the vicinity but are up for a road trip, also please join us.

I was determined to write something new yesterday and had a full nervous breakdown after smashing headlong into the most stubborn case of writer's block of all time. The worst. I was pretty close to fucking Pete Townshending my guitar to little bits. Some pals gave some nice advice when I moaned on Facebook about it, but I think I am going to make it a mission to assemble a collection of tips and tricks so that when it happens again, instead of flying into a Donald Duck rage and not accomplishing anything, I'll MAGICALLY be able to coax works of GENIUS out of my brains and fingers. If you would care to share your hot tips, please do. Let's collect them all and then give them to everyone.

Highlights of Facebook advice:
-Walk away from the guitar, eat a banana, do a shot of tequila
-Bang some groupies, get the clap, have some illegitimate babies
-Dick around with other tunings (that is actually solid grown-up advice. Nice.)
-"Fucking Writer's Block Get Off My Dick" is almost a haiku, roll with it. (I AM A GENIUS.)

Also Dorgz sent me this interview with Greg Saunier (from Deerhoof), which is helpful insofar as it's nice that someone like this needs tricks and doesn't pretend to have magic powers or something, but is less helpful in that this person also has unlimited time to be present to the creative process, whereas I have a couple of hours between work and whatever I have to do in the evening. I guess it is about priorities. Anyway, here is the interview, from Thinkjar Collective:  http://www.thinkjarcollective.com/2012/09/think-jar-collective-interview-with-greg-saunier-of-deerhoof/

Anyway, ideas. Share them with me.

Here is the theme song of the rest of my life:
Jack Oblivion - Honey, I'm Too Old For You.

Ok, loooove yooooou. Recipe time!

Faaaalllllll Soooouuuuup! The best thing! My mom brought over a batch of this the other day and it was so perfect and now I want to make everyone eat it. So here is the recipe (I ripped this from the Food52 site). Make it and eat it.

Roasted Fennel and Celery Soup - please note that I had this soup without the cream added and it was really great, so vegans, sub in some veggie stock for chicken broth and have some snuggly comfort food along with the rest of us meat eating savages.

• 8 large celery stalks cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/2 bulb fresh fennel cut into 2 inch chunks
• 2 large whole garlic cloves
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 medium redskin potatoes, peeled and cut into a 1 1/2 inch dice
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup light cream or half and half
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• Salt and pepper for re seasoning if needed
• Celery leaves and fennel fronds for a little garnish

1. Place the cut celery, fennel and cloves of garlic in a 9x13 inch roasting pan. Add the salt, pepper and olive oil and toss to thoroughly coat everything. Roast in a 350F oven for 40 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the edges of the vegetables just begin to brown.
2. While the vegetables are cooking, cook the potatoes in the chicken broth until tender..about 10 to 12 minutes. Set the pan aside to cool a bit.
3. When the vegetables have finished roasting add them to the potatoes and broth. Let everything cool a bit.
4. In a blender puree the soup in batches. If you have a "liquify" setting on your blender use that. If you like you can strain the soup through a mesh strainer. Once pureed. return the soup to the pot and bring up to the boil. Stir in the cream/half and half and the lemon juice. Re season if needed and garnish each bowl with celery leaves and fennel fronds if you like.
5. NOTE: For a little more pronounced celery flavor add a pinch or two of celery seed or salt when re seasoning.