A Lovely Tuesday!

What a grand Tuesday I have had! I took a little trip into the city to do some very girl shopping - a bit of an indulgence, but good for the soul nonetheless.


Here's a sampling of the soft and clean and wonderful smelling things I picked up today. Half of those little bottles are free samples too! I love tiny little samples of things, just for their itty bitty packaging. Those tiny round C.O.Bigelow containers are no bigger than buttons! Tiny lotion buttons.

Speaking of good for the soul, other than shopping, it is Holy Week, and I'm so happy I've been regularly attending mass during this Lenten season. It was indeed the perfect time to really delve into a spiritual relationship with the Lord. And I really enjoyed the reading today from my little black book:

Why is it so hard to open myself to God's grace? It's because it is a humbling thing to do - humbling in the sense that I have to admit that I want to be someone I can't be on my own.

Also, Vega really enjoyed the palm from Palm Sunday and is still chasing it all over the apartment... look at that incredulous stare... she's mad at me for disrupting her fun with the flash...
But the best part of my day was the surprise waiting for me when I got home! A few weeks ago I was day dreaming about beautiful aprons on here. Beautiful aprons of my dreams... And when I came home today, I had a gift in my mailbox from a very sweet Lula fan...

The red anthropologie apron!!! Isn't it beautiful!? What a kind gift! I was just floored! I feel so blessed and lucky, and flattered! Thank you so much!!!

I got so excited I put on my red heels to match and made dinner!

(although I was too tall in my kitchen with heels on and it was throwing off my food prep, so mostly I just took pretty pictures, danced around to some Feist and A Fine Frenzy in my pretty red outfit, then kicked off the heels and got to work in my new pretty apron!)

Here it is again.... just because I can't help myself....

Dinner was awesome...
roasted lots of veggies and pureed a portion for a cream-based sauce over pasta.

Here they are ready to be roasted:
Then I tossed the rest of the veggies in with the mix.

Sarah called it grown up mac and cheese when we made a similar dish last week, because its such a pretty shade of orange when you blend up the roasted peppers and garlic. mmmmm......

Hooray for a truly lovely Tuesday!

Productive!

Today has been productive and casual. Since I haven't left my apartment in three days due to icky weather in Chicago, the only things to do seemed to be the productive ones I tend to perpetually save for later. I finally did ALL of my laundry... all of it. So now I've got three full closets, which is, quite frankly, totally absurd.

Also, I've applied for a couple of teaching jobs through the YMCA and a charter school, so thats a big step for a gal who, as of March, is relying on her mother to get her rent paid for the first time ever...

On another note, the kitty is having an afternoon kitty freakout... a common occurrence involving a lot of bouncing off of things and chirping and gigantic eyes...

Oh yes, and reading. Lots of reading. Right now I'm reading A Life of Jesus by Shusaku Endo. This link is to a very accurate and concise review through Amazon (I love Amazon...sometimes it recommends the loveliest books, although I have Sarah's dad to thank for A Life of Jesus.)
Its really lovely, and fascinating, and actually gives me a bit of anxiety. For anyone who is familiar with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the tragic irony leading up to the passion feels like, to use an appropriately Japanese methaphor, like looking up and seeing the crest of the wave that is about to crash over you and being completely helpless to stop its force.


Up next on the reading list, Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis