Monday, March 4, 2013

March. Grrr.

March is not my favorite month for which I mostly blame the weather. When I really stop and think about it I would say March is perhaps my least favorite month of the year, although I don't actually hate it. Hey, the days are getting longer even if it was 27 degrees when my feet hit the floor this morning. And this year March will have Easter sneaking in on her coattails, which feels wrong but makes me happy anyway. Easter should be sleeveless pastel dresses and maybe a new spring cardi. I think we all know that is an unlikely scenario for Northern NJ in the month of March.

We were not out of town this past weekend.

It seems I need to say that. When snowflakes stay on your nose and eyelashes it's hard not to wish you were still in a beach chair on Florida's Gulf Coast.  March. Grrrr.

My gourmet group met on Friday and we had a Panera Pick Two theme. Did you know there are recipes on the Panera website that aren't served in their stores?  Me neither. I made a roasted red pepper soup which was tasty, but next time I'll add a cheesy crouton or a handful of popcorn as a topper.


Hubs bought me a Cuisinart hand blender for Christmas and I am in love with this little kitchen tool.  It makes pureeing a soup so easy, and it also has a chopper attachment that is super easy to clean so I use it all the time.

Another member of the group made a chicken peanut soup and I will definitely be making that one again.  It's got a slightly different flavor than the Virginia peanut soup, but I loved it.  She gave me a container to take home, and hubs loved it too. We ate soup and salad for dinner and watched Taken2 courtesy of Red Box.  It wasn't as good as Taken, but it confirmed that if I run into trouble while traveling I want Liam Neeson nearby.

The sky spit snowflakes off and on all day Saturday so we did a few household chores and then went to the movies. We saw Quartet and we both loved it.  Maggie Smith is so fabulous in everything, but in our minds the star of the show was the magnificent English countryside. The movie takes place in a home for retired musicians, and the house used in the film is in Taplow, a little village not far from where we lived. We get ridiculously sentimental when we watch British programming.

Or hear British accents.

Or think about England.

Sigh.

On another note... what's up with movie theatre concessions these days?  I tell the girl I would like a small diet coke and a medium popcorn and she immediately does some sort of magic math and asks if I would like a medium coke and a large popcorn for the same price?  Why don't they just give you that instead of trying to trick you into thinking you're getting more than you pay for?  I am not a fan of the medium drinks because you need two hands to carry one, and we always share a medium popcorn, but I still found myself saying yes because it felt like I was in some sort of shell game.  It makes no sense.

Saturday night we went out to dinner with friends, and came out of the restuarant afterwards to actual snow falling and sticking. We woke up Sunday morning to snow on our driveway and hillside, although it melted before it could cause any inconvenience.  March. Grrrr.


I added a splash of Spring to the apothecary jars on my kitchen island because it felt therapeutic to do so.  I liked the finished product and asked hubs what he thought.  He said,  "Why do you have peas in a jar?" I told him I liked their spring green color, but they're actually chocolate.  Shhh....don't tell.

Last night hubs and I finally watched the season finale of Downton Abbey. It's been sitting on the DVR for weeks, but I knew we needed to be in the right frame of mind to actually sit through it.  I knew what was coming (thanks Social Media!), but still it was so so sad.  I'm glad there is a break before Season 4 begins because between the drama, and that castle in Scotland, and the green, green rolling hills and gray blue magnificent English sky we're gonna need the full six months to recover from this season.

Reading back over the weekend it seems like all we did was eat and watch movies. There was more, but that was the gist of it.

March.  Grrrr.

21 comments:

  1. We were warmer than y'all this morning. By two whole degrees- 29. LOL I long for the snow that you have. I know I would love it if I had it all the time, but I so want to see some this year. My fingers are still crossed. It sounds nice that you and the husband had a nice, quiet weekend. Feel free to push some of that snow my way. :)

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  2. I'm with you on March! Grr, indeed!

    Also, you're the second person to mention Quartet to me today. And I've never even heard of it before! I may just have to go see it!

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  3. Would you believe that it was 27 degrees here, too, when I got up this morning? That's a rarity for the south! I've had enough of the cold already! I've often wondered about those Cuisinart hand blenders...glad to hear you're impressed and your soup sounds so good! Once your hubby finds out that those green peas are actually chocolate...it could be all over. ;)

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  4. I'm with you: I want Liam Neeson with me if there's ever trouble!
    The last season of DA was just sad. Too bad they didn't kill off Cora...Elizabeth McGovern just gets on my nerves the way she cocks her head and smirks...she's just so condescending and fake.
    Here's hoping we get some snow tomorrow night...this getting snow on the weekends isn't working for me! :)

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  5. Taken @ had me spellbound, but only because I didn't watch much of Taken. I wish it hadn't ended so predictably with some cheesy unbelievability, but yeah, Liam N is quite the hero.

    I am ready for warm weather, especially since our INSIDE temperature is hovering around 57 unless I crank up the expensive auxiliary heat. Which I did. Don't tell anyone.

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  6. I am always tired of winter by the time March rolls around. to be honest I'm tired of it right after New Year's...hubby too. About this time each year we ponder if whether Key West might be a better place to live!

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  7. Your apothecary jars are cute. Hubby tells me its supposed to be in the 50's here on Thursday. We'll see if it actually makes it, because it's supposed to snow between now and then.

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  8. On my daily trudge up the hill, I noticed the tiny purple crocus flowering under the conker tree beside the children's playground. The flowers poke their heads up at this time every year in my little English village of Elstree. Funny, I get nostalgic watching films about my home, Australia.

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  9. I'm in agreement regarding March. It's a fickle month here in the NW. Still too cold to go without layers (and layers) yet we have moments of brightness that says boots are not quite right. I gage most things on wardrobe options, don'tchaknow.

    Are those sixlets in the jar? I got some for Bunco last week! Love them and the color! And at least the Hubs won't 'taste' your decorations. Ha.

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  10. I like the promise of March, but not necessarily the reality. It is snowing hard right now. Ugh!
    I want to see "Quartet"...I'm glad to hear you liked it.

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  11. We've been making red pepper soup for almost 20 years now. It's one of our favorite recipes. So simply and delicious. Your post reminds me it's been a while since we've made it.

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  12. I so agree with the "grr" part of your post. But then you know that since you read my post today. :) I changed the wallpaper on my laptop and the cover photo on my Facebook page to tulips. Love all the color and the brightness and the hope of spring!
    Did you yell at the TV when you saw Matthew driving down the road? I sure did! Before that point, I didn't know what was going to happen, but as soon and I saw that and then the truck, I knew. :/

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  13. Your soup looks delicious. I can't wait to see Quartet, glad you liked it. We don't use the concessions stands very often but I know that's where they make their money. Sounds like a great weekend. I don't know what happens in Season 3 but I am expecting disk 2 this week.

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  14. We have the same stick blender and I use it all the time :) That soup sounds yummy, and since we are supposed to get a snow storm tomorrow, I might have to whip some up!

    I knew what was coming on Downton Abbey as well, but it didn't make it any easier to watch. They were so happy together and with the new baby, uhhhh the drama!...now who will be nice to Mary ;)

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  15. Gotta check out that hand blender, think it's something I probably need.

    Gourmet Club, that sounds like a lot of fun.

    Sounds like a nice weekend to me. I had a cooking weekend, cooking in bulk and froze some. Love to have a stash in the freezer.

    Happy week!

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  16. Given your usual pace, I think a relaxing weekend like that was probably just what you needed. And I am coveting that hand blender!

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  17. Well. I am with you on the hating March thing. It's like a tease because it's not spring yet, you know it's coming ... but it's still freezing cold and ah yes, snow on the way this week still. Ugh. I am so sick of the cold and want spring in the worst way! At least when April 1 hits, you know we will leave that month with some green grass, robins and some early blooming flowers!! :)

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  18. I am thinking I need to start watching his Downton Abbey.

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  19. We had snow today but will have 60-degree temperatures this weekend. March. Sigh.

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  20. I got hooked on Downton Abbey on Netflix. But they only showed season 1! Grrr! Now I have to find the rest of the seasons somewhere online and watch them there. But I love this show! I love the country side too. Totally get why you would get sentimental watching that. :)

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