almost new

christmas was chez nous: grandma, aunt ruthie, uncle lenny, ben, james, aunt eva, uncle chris, and lukas. for hors d'oevres we had crudités (radishes, celery, scallions, baby carrots, cucumber) with hummus, olives with cloves of garlic, cheese (camembert, comté [my favorite!], etc) and crackers. mom cooked a ham infused with cloves, a turkey breast with accompanying cranberry sauce from trader joe's, and red peppers with sugar snap peas. eva brought a wild rice salad, and i made a huge green salad (mixed greens and escarole) with toasted pine nuts, dried cranberries and sherry/balsamic vinaigrette. we also had date bread and pumpkin bread. for dessert, chocolate ganache from tj's and pecan pie (my mom's secret recipe). oioi. yum.

saw the golden compass on the big screen with my dad this afternoon, after a leisurely morning practicing and avoiding the pouring rain. afterwards, a peppermint decaf mocha from starbucks with banana nut coffee cake. delightful. i was quite impressed by the special effects of the movie - seamless, as is everything in cinema these days. can't wait for the big ice bear fight at the end of the third movie in the trilogy. good character acting, nicole kidman makes a particularly delicious villaine.

gossip girl is my new indulgence. life on nbc as well. on the plate for literature: christopher hitchen's take on contemporary organized religion, god is not Great. i am tiring of sappy tales of romance.

happy birthday, nathan vogel!

almost 2008, how strange.