Goof Balls

HMcleaning
Originally uploaded by EmmaC2010

All Together Now!

Awwww.....

Items Both Sundry and Diverse

Hi! It's been dreary and wintry around here so I bought some flowers!I'm also reading Jane Austen for the first time (my understanding thus far is that the art of flirtation and the drama of heartbreak is about the same now as it was 200 years ago). But ignore that picture. I meant to place it after the flowers, but Blogger isn't letting me move pictures. (What's up with that, Blogger? Just because we don't post anything for a few months, you're giving us the cold shoulder? Not cool.)

Back to flowers! The first one is a cylcomen, and the picture really doesn't do it justice. Those magenta flowers are so glowy and lovely, it's enough to make a gal forget the slush outside. And then I got these African violets:
Wait a speck! What's that mysterious substance on the leaves? Let's take a closer look.
Yes, that's hot sauce all right! Mmmm! My hope is that it will deter certain trickster felines from chewing on the leaves. I will report back on my success/failure.

In other news, my parents were here for a few days to enjoy the lovely grey weather we've been having in Columbus. And also to see the Chihuly exhibit at the Franklin Park Conservatory. And meet our cats. And buy us dinner. Aaaand also theoretically to spend some time with me and Scott, though you can see how far down on the list that was.

This is Mom! Looking pensive, as well as slightly yellow due to the brilliance of her raincoat.
And my dad!
As requested, we took them to see the Chihuly pieces at the conservatory.
Chihuly is this crazy-awesome glass artist famous for doing really large, brightly colored pieces of glass art - many of which are designed after something in nature. Hence, a greenhouse conservatory is a really great venue to see his pieces.
Here, I believe Scott and my mom were looking at this:
Which, if you can imagine, was even more spectacular in person. There were also these:




And a little J.Crew modeling on the side:
Plus, my dad hiding from the paparazzi:

Wily paparazzi! You caught him!

Also, this was pretty:
At home, Dad showed me how to shape baguette loaves.
And also how to let them rise inside garbage bags. You learn something new every day.
And I'll leave you with this shot of a panade we made for dinner last night. Leftover baguette + cheese + veggies + chicken broth baked until creamy and gooey = crazy delicious. Is your mouth watering yet? It should be.

Honey and Müney

Hello! We got a little side-tracked there. See, we've had these new house guests...

This is Honey. She likes climbing into your lap for five seconds before bounding away, being brushed ALL THE TIME! ALWAYS! RIGHT NOW!, and staring at you indignantly as you walk away. Love me!

This is Müney. He likes hiding beneath our laundry drying rack, being 15 pounds, and complaining loudly about nothing in particular.

We adopted them from two co-workers of Scott's who have a two-year-old. Apparently the cats and the two-year-old weren't so much getting along. We found them when we got back to Columbus right after our wedding, hence Honey and Müney. (Honey...Moon...get it? Also, umlauts just rock.)

They're kind of the best cats ever.

Beer Maturity

So as we were getting ready to brew our second batch of beer (New Low #2, for those of you keeping score at home), Emma and I were having a discussion about different beers and flavors. We stumbled across a memory from what I think is winter 2004 (possibly early 2005). Emma and I were in our Bynner Street apartment and our friend Sara Tunstall came from Portland, OR to visit. Sara, please confirm any of this story if you can. As part of our celebration we were like "Yeah, lets go get some beer!" So off we go to the store, and we look for a beer with a cool, funky, colorful design on the 6-pack box. Yes, I know that this is exactly how you are supposed to pick beers, just like how you pick a book based on its cover design (or at the very least, reading the back ). We ended up picking out Victory Golden Monkey. We had no idea about beer, and when we got home and cracked it open...well I'll make a long story short: I hated it. If you read the review you'll get a sense of the types of flavors to expect from this beer. I was not ready for anything like that.

I think I only drank about 1/2 the bottle and then I was ready to pour the rest of the 6-pack down the sink. I have since assumed that all Victory beers were going to be terrible, and had never drank another one since that fateful day.

UNTIL!

We were at our local beer store, saw another Victory beer, and I wondered, since I've been doing more beer tasting, if I would like it any better than I did before. They didn't have the Golden Monkey, but they did have the Victory Hop Devil IPA. I thought it would be good to try and dissect this beer while brewing our own.

And I am happy to report that this Victory beer experience was much better than the first! Granted, this was an IPA and the Golden Monkey was a Belgian Tripel, so it's not apples to apples (it might be more like grapefruit to potatos). But the IPA definitely gets a thumbs up from me, and Emma liked it too.

This IPA had a pretty good amber color and a strong hops aroma. The taste of the hops was balanced out by a round of malt flavors. I was very surprised at how the beer finished; I was expecting a bitter kick at the end, but instead it was smooth and not overpowering. This beer had about a "medium" carbonation to me, which I thought was a good amount for the overall feel of the beer.

I've had a few IPA's now (I mean in my life, not as I'm writing this) and this was a good one. I would have it again. Our local brewpub, the Columbus Brewing Company, brews their own American IPA, but they also brew a seasonal double IPA that I will have to try.

Now that I'm over my irrational fear of Victory Brewing, I'll have to give the Golden Monkey another try. It's only fair. For all I know it's an incredible beer and my ignorance just wasn't prepared for such a spiritual experience that the Monkey was offering me. With a little more age and wisdom under my belt, I might be ready.

New Low Brewing Company: The First New Low

We now pause in our regularly scheduled wedding coverage to bring you a summary of the first homebrewing attempt by the New Low Brewing Company, co-founded by Scott Heines and Emma Christensen:

Adventures in Homebrewing (click each link for the full scoop on the Kitchn website):

• Basic Homebrewing Equipment

• The Wort and Primary Fermentation

• Siphoning and Secondary Fermentation

• Bottling the Homebrew

• Tasting the Homebrew

NO PAPARAZZI!

(Many thanks to Faith Durand for taking most of these pictures while Scott's and my hands were busy!)

Let's Get Married! Museum of Science Entourage

I think Scott and I both forgot that there would actually be...you know...people? In the museum? When we were all getting there? We made a scene.

Still. Arriving at the museum was kind of awesome:

(As before, click on the pictures to see them bigger!)

A tender moment with my momma, taking in the view over the Charles River as we walked into the room.

Work was already well under way getting everything set up!

A quick consultation with my mom making sure the felt flower arrangements were just right.

Hello, Sister Marilyn! She's a friend of my parents from when they were all teachers together at a catholic school in Portland, Oregon. She and another sister, Sister Rosie, did all the lovely napkin rings.

And look! My two awesomest buddies from college, Ruthie and Camilla! They hung out with me all day - cracking jokes, force-feeding me delicious pastries, and handing me tissues as needed.

Wait, who's that on the phone?

This guy! I like this guy!

Yeah, this guy for reals! I'm totally going to marry this guy (his name is Scott) in about two hours!

Awww...

More awww....!!!!

Wait, this doesn't bode well....