Update

How do you appease your wife when your business trip takes three times longer than it was supposed to?

Importing her positively sinful food is a really good start!

I wish that blogger came with smell-o-vision (thank you for that idea, Futurama) so that you could appreciate the decadent fragrances wafting out of my cabinet compliments of the luxurious imported chocolate and coffee Eric brought home for me. I should have taken a picture of the coffee before I opened it - the pressure differential in the plane sucked every last smidgen of air out of it so it was hyper compressed in a funny shape. I know; I'm easily entertained. Speaking of food, expect more recipes now that Eric's back! I don't cook much for myself when he's not here, but I intend to make good use of his time home to make our favorite fall foods and try some new ones. I'll make a point of sharing anything good!

Luckily, Eric was happy with all the changes I made to the apartment while he was gone. I really should remember to write him emails so he knows and isn't just surprised when he walks in. Note to self. Anyway, I tried to take a picture of the beautiful new lamps we picked up for our living room, but it absolutely refuses to rotate properly and load onto this post. So I will have to try again later. Suffice it to say, our living room is slowly becoming a space I'm very happy with. That may not sound like much, but it's actually quite a big deal as we've never put a lot of time, energy or money into a living room before so this is new.

Since I couldn't get that picture up, I am going to share a different one instead. Check out the two glorious prints I located to round out the fabric for my new quilt project! (They are even lovelier in person, I promise.) The quilt store here is amazing; the people are very sweet, always interested in what you're making and excellent at helping you find patterns and colors that work together if you're not sure what you're looking for. I'm also excited because I just heard that friends of ours are having a baby - which means I'll have a reason to make the adorable baby quilts in the latest quilting magazine! (What can I say? Some people are happy to hear about babies because it means they get to go shopping for adorable baby clothes. I'm happy because I get to shop for adorable baby quilting fabrics. Lol.)

Considering that we didn't know if Eric would be home, I didn't plan anything for Halloween. But I did find some incredible (and easy) tutorials online for makeup looks that anyone could do (with whatever colors they have on hand) with or without a costume. Good Fairy, Dita Von Tese, and Spider Web Eyes are my favorites. Next year I think I'll have a Halloween Mary Kay party and feature ideas like this! For something a little more discreet, check out a simple tutorial for spider web nails!

On of the best things I've read on the web all week comes from Patrice Lewis (not surprisingly). Check out the debate raging on her site over homeschooling vs. public schooling children. I know people hold their opinions on this subject fiercely but, if you can, take a couple minutes to read the post and comments. It's a very intelligent discussion, which is something to appreciate and take note of.

Today's recipe is super simple: Sourdough Pizza Dough. It was an experiment I tried last night based on a couple different online options, and it turned out well! For one small pizza (perfect for two people, about the size of a pie plate), take 1 cup of sourdough starter and one cup of flour. Mix together with a splash of olive oil and a handful of your favorite spices (I use basil, oregano, parsley and garlic salt). Knead briefly until smooth and silky, let rise one to two hours. Roll out to desired size, turning up the edges slightly (to help keep all the good stuff in!) and weight with a pie plate or cake pan to prevent the middle from bubbling (or dock if you have a pastry docker). Bake 8 min at 400*, preferably on a baking stone. Remove from the oven, brush with olive oil, top as desired and bake another 8 - 10 min. Healthy, delicious and simple - love it!

Okay, that's it out of me. I'll try to convince Eric to post some of the fabulous pictures he took in NZ soon. For now, it's back to the kitchen - there's carrot cake to be made! :0)