A typical weekend in the life of the Russells

We've fallen into the most wonderful weekend routine.

On Friday nights, we stay home and cook dinner or order in.
Make that: Nathan cooks or I order in.



We watch movies.



On Saturdays, we have a photoshoot.

Or two.

On Sundays, we sleep in, followed by brunch with friends.



Then, a Sunday afternoon nap.



The only drawback to this fabulous weekend routine is Monday morning.



Which is how I feel today.
Sad.

To cheer up, I'd like to list my five favorite Sunday brunches:
1. East Side Cafe -- Blue Plate Special, a.k.a. a smoked salmon and shrimp cake/eggs benedict with a side of their homemade fries and fresh strawberries
2. Alamo Drafthouse -- Bacon Cheddar Scones and the Mimosa Duo
3. Blue Star Cafeteria -- Quiche Lorraine w/ a side of homefries or fruit
4. Santa Rita -- Spicy Jalapeno & Bacon Pancakes - I seriously would like to kiss the chef who created these.

and what we had yesterday:
5. El Chile -- Huevos Motuleños - Two eggs over black-bean purée on a corn tortilla, topped with
ranchero sauce, plus a side of tomatillo-roasted potatoes.

Mmmmm. Just thinking about all that weekend yumminess takes the edge off Monday a little bit.

Do you have a weekend routine? And more importantly, what's your favorite thing to do on the weekend?

"In summer,

the song sings itself."

William Carlos Williams



Just had to share my favorite shot from Nathan's latest photoshoot. It's so perfect. To me, it says summer and love and happiness-- all at the same time.

Have a lovely weekend, darlings!

Friday Favorites: summertime

1. mixtapes

Every single summer I make a mixtape (OK, it's really a mix CD) for myself and my friends. It's always an amalgamation of old and new stuff. Basically whatever is good for listening to on summer roadtrips or for driving under the stars, that kind of thing.



2. watermelon





3. sleeping in



Except when you wake up like this. Talk about disorienting, right?



4. Jackie O sunglasses





5. bare feet

Maybe because I wasn't ever supposed to go outside without shoes on, I still get a thrill from bare feet in summer.





What are your favorite things about summer?

So I asked some friends to help me pick the subject of my next short story.

"Confessions of a Teenage ______" (fill in the blank)

They said...
Kathryn - mutant ninja turtle, bounty hunter, psychic, insomniac
Kendi - mom
Andrew - zombie, librarian, zombie librarian
David - anything but vampires.

Some intriguing ideas... What do you think? This concept could really be the seed for some great stories.
Of course, I can't use "drama queen"



or "baboon." Unfortunately.



Also off the table: martyr,


deadhead



and ....


does that say Jesus Jerk? Huh.

Anyway, if you have any other suggestions for fictional teenage memoirs, please keep 'em coming!

"The world

is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Mother's Day

to all moms everywhere


and the biggest "I love you!" to my AMAZING mom!


(the very first photo of my mom and me-- taken on Galveston Beach)

Friday Favorites: Dream Home edition

Prepare to be overwhelmed by all things mid-century modern. With a little whimsy thrown in for good measure...

1. Big Chill Fridge (and they now have other appliances as well-- dishwashers and stoves!)





2. Eames Chairs

(I've written before about my obsession with Eames chairs. I'm talking about the molded plastic ones, not the souped-up leather armchair ones.)

Don't you love that Eiffel-inspired base?




And how cute is the rocking chair?



3. Wall art decals (by Popwall)




How perfect would this be in a boy's room?



4. Fancy tub

You can't go wrong with a classic clawfoot tub.



Or a soaking tub.



But here's a surprise!



No doubt inspired by Breakfast at Tiffany's....



5. an Airstream as a Guest House (or workspace)






What do you dream about having in your home one day?

"Love...

does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction."

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry



Katie ala The Neotraditionalist posted this little quote today on Twitter, and I've been musing on it all day.
It's not only a lovely sentiment, it's really, really true!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

To celebrate, we ate pizza and drank beer. OK, we would've had pizza and beer regardless of the day.
But don't worry-- it was good beer. Purple Haze, to be exact.

This is what it did to our hearts:



Salud!

Back in the saddle again.

I'm writing again, friends!
It's been a while, because to make a short story long, my novel and I had to take some time apart, but then we decided to be friends again, but it had been so long that things were really awkward. Everybody's been there, right? It got so bad that I would go to SCBWI meetings and worry that everyone could tell I didn't belong because I wasn't really writing.

So, thankfully, a writing friend told me about this little project that challenges you to write a short story every day in May. So I signed up and even convinced a couple other friends to join with me. We writers have to stick together!

So far, I've written three short stories: one YA, one MG and one picture book.
In case you noticed that today is the fourth not the third and you wondered, "What gives?" I decided to make weekends optional. Hey, I need to be realistic with my goals. Don't want to get saddle-sore, pardner.

Presenting the newest recipient of the Most-unusual, Most-delicious Chocolate Bar Award *

*according to Amy and Nathan's personal taste and opinion, multiple awards may be given annually, winners subject to change without notice

Just tried this spectacular chocolate yesterday, and all I can say is I'm in.



I typically gravitate to dark chocolate, not milk chocolate, but this bar is perfection. The salted peanuts really heighten the flavors of the creamy chocolate and the snappy jalapeno.

We're not ones to shy away from unusual chocolates, either. Mo's Bacon Bar by Vosgues Haute Chocolat may not be as delicious as Nathan's bacon ice cream, but it still finds its way into my grocery basket from time to time.



Also, the subtle lavender in New Tree's Tranquility bar is pure heaven.



Any unusual sweets or treats that you like to indulge in? Do tell.

Lazy Sunday

Yes, we've done a little bit of work today. But not much. Mostly, we were really lazy.
Just like Parnell and Samberg. Only instead of watching The Chronicles of Narnia, we're watching Arachnophobia on Scifi.



Now all we need are some cupcakes. Mmmmm. Cupcakes...