Lean & Loaf

Books for Halloween Chills

2012-10-08T11:18:00.001-04:00

I love books that are slightly creepy, those that send the lightest of chills up my spine. Especially this time of year! But mostly, I am wimp who is still scarred by that time I saw The Ring in the theater. These books are full of Gothic imagery, unexplained mysteries, and close encounters with the supernatural, but they're mild enough to read before bed.

(Disclosure: These links are via Amazon Affiliates, meaning that clicking on/purchasing from them may yield a small commission for Lean & Loaf. See my Blog Policy for more info about them)

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. Post-war England, a crumbling mansion, a mysterious family...a ghost?

The Uninvited Guests: A Novel by Sadie Jones. Totally a "dark and stormy night" novel: on the night of a birthday party, a nearby train accident interrupts the festivities and family fighting.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. The coolest thing about this novel is that it is filled with strange photographs that the author actually collected from thrift and antique stores before weaving them into his strange story. I hear there is going to be a sequel.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. I've read this dozens of time. A nonfiction account that reads like a novel, Berendt travels to Savannah, GA for a story and ends up staying, embroiled in an unsolved murder and totally engrossed in Savannah's odd cast of characters.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Ghost story and psychological thriller in novella form from one of the greats (remember the creepy short story "The Lottery"?).

Have you read any mildly-creepy books lately? Leave your recs in the comments!

Do You Podcast?

2012-09-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

I am a fool for podcasts. I listen all the time. Mainly: when I'm driving (great for long and/or trafficy commutes), when I'm cooking, when I'm putting laundry away, and when I run. I may be one of the odd few who prefer podcasts to music during runs. I like to get lost in a story and I've been doing it for so long that it's become habit.

These are my weekly favorites, and yes, there's an NPR bias going on. They produce and/or distribute such varied and interesting material that I highly recommend them as a starting point in your search for podcasts.

This American Life

TAL is usually the top of everyone's list. Each week focuses on an everyday theme, with 1-4 stories about said theme. Stories range from fiction essays to interviews to investigative reporting. My favorite episodes: Notes on Camp, Act V, Back to School, And the Call Was Coming from the Basement.

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A roundtable of opinionated and often hilarious pop culture geeks. (I also wrote about PCHH here.)

RadioLab

RadioLab describes themselves as "a show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience."

Other faves (for those extra long commutes or marathon cooking sessions):

Freakanomics

You may be familiar with the books, but it's also a podcast! Stephen Dubner and Steve Levitt take a look at the "hidden side of everything." It's surprisingly interesting.

New Yorker Fiction

The fiction editor of The New Yorker invites writers on to read their favorite short story. Brilliance.

Spilled Milk

"Food and comedy in a bowl" and co-hosted by food writer and blogger Molly Wizenberg (author of Orangette).

iTunes University lectures

This app gives you access to lectures from a wide range of disciplines. I've listened to a bunch on literary theory during my commute, which turns wasted time into a refresher on, say, post-structuralism or Russian formalism. Why not??

This only scratches the surface of all the terrific podcasts out there. What do you listen to?

What I Didn't Buy

2012-09-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

I went into Target yesterday with the sole purpose of buying trash bags. I went in with blinders on, intending to head straight to the housewares section. Ten minutes later I was in the dressing room with these guys. And it was one of those odd days when everything you try on fits and flatters.

I had a lengthy inner monologue with myself, justified and bargained, but ultimately, Reasonable Liz won out. She can be a real jerk. I left these goodies behind for another day.

I should note that this is the second time in a row I've walked into Target and purchased only the one (boring) item on my list. This means I've either cured my $60-of-random-crap-per-trip habit or that I'm due for one massive Target binge fest. Scary.

One Million Apples: Recipe Roundup

2012-09-24T12:05:00.000-04:00

We went apple picking last weekend and came home with an overflowing bushel or a peck or a peck and a half—either way, it's one huge bag of apples. I love apple cakes, pies, and donuts, but I especially like pairing them with savory ingredients, like curry and mustard and sharp cheddar cheese.

My grandmother eats her apple pie with a slice of sharp cheddar. Is that a New England thing?

A (Martha-heavy) round-up of apple dishes to last you till Thanksgiving:

Savories:

Gooey grilled cheese with apples and spicy mustard (choose your favorite cheese and mustard and make it even better with a panini press)

Quinoa and apple salad from Martha Stewart

Curried apple soup from Martha Stewart

Apple and cheddar frittata from Martha Stewart

Curried lentil, squash, and apple stew from NYTimes

Pear-Apple butter with cardamom from NYTimes

Roasted apple cheddar salad from Eating Well

And sweets:

Apple crisp from AllRecipes (I made this last night and added vanilla and nutmeg, used gf flour, doubled the oats, and cut back on the sugar. Amazing.)

Apple pie cookies from Smitten Kitchen

Baked apple cider donuts from the kitchn

Our group converges upon the orchard

Grad School and Rolling Priorities

2012-09-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

Everyone loves to give the new grad student advice, like "Stay organized" or "Work twice as hard as your professors do" or "Don't get a Ph.D. in English." But there's one piece of advice I struggled with for quite a while, and I hadn't pinpointed how or why until very recently.

This advice, spoken so often by supportive department chairs and advisors and written in many a graduate school survival manual, is boiled down to one seemingly simple (but actually crazy complicated) verb: Prioritize.

We were told, early and often, to prioritize and to maintain focus on our own graduate work. My interpretation of the pecking order went something like this:

On one hand, this advice is both useful and practical: a non-teaching day, for instance, might be broken up into neat parts: first a few hours on dissertation work, followed by grading, then sending some emails for that conference you're organizing, and finally, researching an interesting fellowship to apply to. Include the activities that allow for personal health and wellness: a yoga class or a run, perhaps, and by 10 p.m. you can be on the couch with a glass of wine, painting your nails and watching Swamp Wars with your husband.

But it never seems to work that way in practice. For me, prioritizing works when the only deadlines that matter are my research deadlines. As soon as my research deadlines begin to rub up against "lower-priority" deadlines or meetings, all those pink arrows in my above chart seem to crash into each other and then fall to the ground. I spend far too long figuring out what I should do first, and how to divide my time, and what can I skip and how can I jump from one task to the other, and before I know it it's 8 p.m., I have two out of 30 papers graded and one sentence written, and a whole lot of stress.

An example: In the dissertation stage we're told writing should come first, one should write something every day, and one should fiercely protect one's writing time, etc. But what happens when, on my designated writing day, I have 30 student essays to read and grade? Do I turn the papers back late? Forgo writing for the day? Jump back and forth between tasks?

Another example. I highly prioritize exercise. It keeps me sane. But some nights I find I'm on a real roll writing or researching fellowships and can't bear to leave my desk. Better to take a break or slog through? Either way I feel guilty.

So I'd like to suggest a new concept (at least, one that is new for me): rolling priorities.

When we were first told to prioritize in grad school, I didn't realize how often my priorities would shift, and I certainly didn't realize that they need to shift. Needing to shift my priorities is not a sign that I am doing it wrong. Viewing my priorities as a series of shifting, rolling tasks allows me to refocus and re-adjust daily and weekly without guilt that I "should" be doing something else.

So I still prioritize, only now I see my priorities not as linear and fixed, but as fluid and adaptable.

Need to spend a day grading instead of writing? Okay, roll with it. Need to write instead of work out? Roll with it. Need to exercise instead of working on a fellowship app? Roll with it. Just roll!

Writing Spaces with: Katie and Kay

2012-09-18T07:30:00.000-04:00

This week we are going international! Katie is a graphic designer who lives in Zürich with her husband: read about their adventures at katieandkay. I love the cozy-minimal aesthetic she's got going on in her writing space. Get ready to see a super-chic, efficient, romantic, and inspiring Swiss attic flat.

Describe your workspace in five words. Cozy, functional, compact, Swiss, Ikea

What do you love about your space? I love how my husband and I fit our desks into the corner nook of our Swiss attic flat. It's the perfect space in a small flat to have desks with lots of ground storage space behind. We have no problem sitting at our desks under the attic ceiling so we can utilize the space better, although my husband does bump his head on the beam over his desk more often than he'd like. I also love that we easily fit an eating area, TV area and office area into one room.

What's your favorite object or tool in this space? Definitely my Wacom cintiq! I splurged on it during university with some leftover grant money and I have loved it ever since. I am never without a Wacom tablet when I design and correct photos, and drawing directly on the screen with the cintiq just spoils me. I use the cintiq as my main screen and play movies and TV on the laptop screen a lot of the time while I blog.

What do you wish you had? I wish I had a Mac Pro with really fast processor... although I really like having the ability to take my laptop to the dining room table, sofa or out on the balcony to work. I'd also love a 30" apple display if apple still made them that large. More screen size is so helpful for designing different documents or even reading two websites at the same time. If you're blogging and trying to code or reference something, it can be so helpful to have more screen space.

I am really digging this space: so practical and organized but still exuding creativity and warmth. Plus all that gorgeous light! Thanks so much for sharing, Katie!

Previous installment of Writing Spaces:

Dead Flowers
Parker Haus Roles

Hot Tip: Use Magic Eraser to Restore Old Converse

2012-09-17T12:31:00.001-04:00

In Mindy Kaling's recent memoir she writes briefly of men she's dated and the dirty, dingy Converse sneakers they tend to proudly wear and never replace. She says something to the effect of, "Come on guys, they're a $40 purchase and you are an adult. Let's maybe consider replacing them."

Apologies for the messy paraphrase but my Kindle is out of batteries (score 1 for books, 0 for e-readers/me remembering to charge anything).

Anyways, I was definitely implicated in that line. I was probably wearing my dirtiest, dankest gray-on-gray Chucks at the moment I read it. Then I called my sister to talk about the book and she immediately said, "Did you read that part about the dirty Converse? Spot on!" I purchased a new pair—the navy ones above—shortly thereafter, and they immediately became as dirty as my old ones.

But we both recently learned a hot tip to lengthen the life of your beloved Chucks!

Tip: Use a Magic Eraser to clean your Converse. This weekend found my sis and I sitting on my floor, scrubbing our sneaks with a choose-a-size Magic Eraser I'd picked up to clean my computer keyboard.

Simply wet the Eraser, wring it out, and buff. It took neither time nor elbow grease. The result really is magical!

And a second tip: insoles, because, really, walking around in worn-out canvas sneakers has the comfort and support equivalent of strapping a cardboard box to your feet.

Trying New Things, or: I Hiked and Didn't Get Eaten by a Bear

2012-09-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

One of my "fall resolutions" (is that a thing?) is to take up hiking. My aversion to hiking is both long and well-documented. Too many bugs, too many things I'm allergic to, too many opportunities to get lost. Bears. Blair Witches, etc. And isn't it just walking, but in the woods?

Despite my preconceptions and completely justifiable fears, I'd never actually given it a fair chance...or tried it at all. I'm not sure what changed my mind but I thought it would be fun to try something new. Plus, after a week of new routines, long commutes, and long hours, I was itching to spend some time outside. So I met my bff and my sister for our midweek inaugural fall hike. And it was fun! Just like walking, but in the woods, in fact! It was lovely to do so, and to scramble up hills and surround myself with trees and green and a friend with a map.

We live near some great hiking trails, hiking trails I have never once used (until yesterday). The autumn is going to be beautiful and I'm excited to have hiking buddies. The one potential downside? These trails are so close to a highway that the dull roar of commuters never quite goes away. On the plus side, I reason that as long as I can hear the highway I know I'm not lost or Blair-Witched.

There's something so energizing about trying new things or taking on challenges that are completely unrelated to career or school or anything else. It's even more surprising to find I enjoyed doing something I long assumed I'd hate. And trying something new mid-week, when I tend to fall into the same old routines, was particularly rejuvenating. Have you tried anything new lately? Would you?

Mixing it up: two tone boots

2012-09-13T10:02:00.003-04:00

1. Frye // 2. DSW // 3. Hunter

I'm no stranger to mixing black and brown. I will mix neutrals any day of the week: the effect is a refreshing change from all-black or all-brown and, I find, looks quite intentional and classic rather than "got dressed in the dark." And that is key.

I've done no fall shopping yet, but two tone boots are high on the wish list. And if you haven't made the jump to mixing up your neutrals yet, a pair of rainy-day wellies is a good way to ease in. But beware: it's a slippery slope.

Lastly, the three boots listed here are far above my normal price points for shoes BUT maybe worth it? I splurged on an expensive-for-me pair of tall Steve Madden boots a couple years ago and found that the quality really has surpassed my other cheapy boots. But for now I'll probably pin and save for that magical day when I'm in a full-time position.

This App is Completely Necessary

2012-09-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

One year ago when I was happy as a clam on my non-smart-sliding-keypad phone, I would have given major side-eye to anyone who told me I'd soon have an app to track and tag my outfits. But there you have it. Technology cannot be stopped. I'm a modern woman on the go and I kinda love this app. It's called Cloth and it was free for a limited time (I think it still is) although it also has upgrades that will match your outfits to the weather, which is pretty awesome/ridiculous.

Look, one day recently I stood near my front door and said "I wonder what the weather will be today?" and then I checked my two weather apps instead of stepping the two feet outside, like I'm Zooey Deschanel without the bangs.

This app lets you snap a quick outfit pic and then categorize it (everyday/event/work) and add your own tags and notes. I like it because eventually I'll be able to gauge what I wear most often; I'll remember what I wore on specific occasions; and, on lazy, uninspired days I can find an already put-together outfit.

You can enable Cloth to be private, which is what I do so I can make silly poses and not worry about the surrounding mess. Plus I dig the general design, interface, and font—easy to use and aesthetically pleasing.

Edit to add: Apparently this is an iPhone only app. Sorry, Android users! Was not trying to alienate!

The Curiosity Shoppe at Target

2012-09-10T07:00:00.000-04:00

Last night I had a real moment during a Target run. En route to the cat litter aisle I stopped in front of an end cap of charming, colorful, vaguely mid-century/uber-Americana housewares. Turns out it was one of the famed, limited-time collections that everyone probably already knows about: San Francisco-based The Curiosity Shoppe, "a quirky mix of clever things." And so many quirky, clever things! I tried to convince myself for a half-second that I needed a milk jug, but of course, no, so I left without. But aren't they cute? My Target tends to have many of the special collection items longer than other stores, and on clearance too, so I'll be keeping an eye out for a road-map cake stand that I love/need like a hole in the head.

one. two. three. four. five. six. seven.

Writing Spaces with: Dead Flowers

2012-09-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

I am absolutely loving getting a peek into writers and bloggers' work spaces! This week the writer behind the awesomely titled Dead Flowers was kind enough to contribute. Holley blogs about everything from linguistics and English usage to street fashion to pregnancy and babies. Read on to see how this busy work-at-home WeddingBee editor stays organized, upcycles tea tins, and gets crafty with an awesome mousepad tutorial.

Here's my desk, which is in my home "office," which is really just a corner of our guest room. I've worked exclusively from home for a little over a year, and I'm finally getting the space just how I like it. The desk and chair are both hand me downs from my mom; the desk comes from Ikea and the chair is a vintage Craigslist find. Right now I'm using a pillow for my back that my mother-in-law made out of my husband's old sports jerseys. I need to get something of my own pretty soon, as he likes to use it to lounge on the floor.

I am pretty fanatical about organizing, so everything really does have its own little place most of the time; I even have a weekly system to keep my desk and marker board organized! This space has to be versatile because I do everything from editing to blogging to paying bills to crafting here. (Not to mention getting lost in those timesucks known as Pinterest and Tumblr.)

Oh, and not to worry. That number on the maker board is just my library card number. ;)

Describe your workspace in five words. Compartmentalized, bright, smells like coffee

What do you love about your space? I love making functional things feel fancy, like the way I put office supplies into ceramic bowls and pens/markers into Republic of Tea canisters.

What's your favorite object or tool in this space? My DIY mouse pad. (The tutorial is from How Joyful.) It's far from perfect, as are most of my DIYs, but I love that I made it.

What do you wish you had? A smaller printer! Hate that beast taking up a third of my surface space. Oh, and a desk-size Keurig.

Thanks so much, Holley! A desk-sized Keurig would be so dangerous in my house.

Previous installment of Writing Spaces:
Parker Haus Roles

Coffee & Tea Bar

2012-09-05T16:38:00.002-04:00

store: Airscape Coffee Canister via Crate & Barrel // sip: Cafe mug from Crate & Barrel // Homegrown Monogram Mug via Anthropologie // share: Pick Me Up Mug & Tray via Crate & Barrel // brew: Bodum French press via Target // steep: Cast Iron Tea Pot via Teavana // nibble: Mini Latte Bowls via Anthropologie // go: Copco Acadia Reusable To-Go Mug via Amazon - Note: This is an Affiliate Link

I saw an image on Pinterest of a lovely dedicated home coffee bar, all set up nicely and tucked away in a corner. Our kitchen is teeny-tiny and lacks space, but we do have room for one decent-sized shelf. I'd like to set up a mini coffee-and-tea station with all the necessities: plenty of mis-matching mugs, a French press, coffee and tea, a tea pot, colorful little bowls to hold snacks, and our to-go mugs. (P.S., my mom gifted me that Teavana tea pot, the very same one, but she bought it at the Ocean State Job Lot for under $30!)

I can't decide if it's hot or cold coffee weather yet, so I've been drinking both, and switching it up with Tea Guys maple sugar tea at nights. Fun fact: I can drink coffee up until I go to bed without it affecting my sleep, although I should probably stop doing that.

First Day

2012-09-04T16:26:00.000-04:00

I was feeling ready for fall and scarves and pumpkins and hot coffee and all that, but Labor Day weekend was so devastatingly beautiful that I woke up with a real crisis of seasonal consciousness. No! Not summer! Not over, not already!

I know it's "technically" summer until the end of September, but today also happens to be the first day back at school aka summer's death knell. Sorry, summer, you're out. Routines and seriousness and boot socks are in. Normally I'm okay with this. By the end of August I'm sick of my summer wardrobe and what the humidity does to my hair. But I have to be honest, this year I'm in a bit of a panic. Last night my husband took me out for a back-to-school dinner and I, ever the dutiful nerd, spelled out my personal, professional, and academic goals for the year. I felt eager, happy, ready.

But what started out as an early morning of first-day excitement and anticipation slowly devolved into a rainy mess of traffic and stress. The muffler fell off my husband's car and I had to skip the afternoon faculty reception to speed home to loan him my car. Checking email yielded several messages: 10 overdue library books that have reached their limit of renewals, a rejected journal article, a slightly alarming bank statement, an over-enrolled course that somehow grew overnight from a manageable 14 students to a maxed-out 22 and counting...

It is far too early in the semester to concede to stress. I write this down not to commemorate a frustrating start to the semester, but to remind myself that there are days like this and that's...okay, in a whatcanyoudo sort of way. In a letmeputonyogapantsandremembertobreathe sort of way. There are also days like this past weekend: family, friends, Portuguese malasadas, boat rides, ocean views, sunsets, patio mojitos.

There, all better.

What Writers Ate

2012-08-31T07:00:00.000-04:00

Have you seen the Awl's Writer Food from A to Z describing some of the well-loved snacks, meals, and dietary habits of authors?

B is for booze, of course (Frost, Keats, everyone in the world), but Fritos also make their way on the list (Neil Simon). I thought M might be for madeleines a la Proust, but it's for milk (Molière and Balzac tried milk-only diets). Proust gets J for Java (he is rumored to have drank 16 cups of espresso a day!).

L is for loaves (Woolf and Dickinson baked, while Percy Shelley stashed bread in his pockets). P is, delightfully, for Jane Austen's morning spread of plum cake, coffee, chocolate, and other pastries. N, surprisingly, is for Nothing (the ascetics include the Brontës: Emily favored a simple diet while Charlotte had an aversion to dining in public). And, hauntingly, Q is for appetite-quelling in reference to Hemingway's time in Europe, staring at pictures of food in museums while "belly-empty, hollow hungry." But let's end on a happy note: C for, what else, champagne (Oscar Wilde)!

Check out the rest at The Awl.

Sources:
Hu, Jane. "Writer Food From A-Z." The Awl. August 28, 2012. <http://www.theawl.com/2012/08/writer-food-from-a-to-z>

photo source: Man holding too many ice cream cones via Flickr

Writing Spaces with Parker Haus Roles

2012-08-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

To kick off this series, I'm thrilled to share a vibrant, inspiring workspace. Amy blogs about life, love, crafting, and creating at Parker Haus Roles and has generously offered to snap some photos of her writing space (which includes legos, a bright red locker, and a Princess Leia USB drive)!

Describe your workspace in five words. Sunny, eclectic, warm, happy, whimsical

What do you love about your space? I love nostalgia. Scattered around my work space you can find various lego mini-figs Matt has given me (the fishing gnome is my favorite), a Pretzel print and beehive (homage to my Weddingbee blogging days), my "friends" who grace the header of Parker Haus Roles (Good Luck Lions, Lucky Cat, & Moe from Wall-e), a princess leia usb drive, a manual sewing machine that belonged to my mom, and a milk-glass vase from our wedding reception. These things make me smile on a regular basis.

What's your favorite object or tool in this space? The Silhouette Cutting Machine. I purchased the original Silhouette while planning our wedding and slowly I became addicted to paper-crafting. I upgraded to the Cameo a few months ago and it has already paid for itself.

What do you wish you had? I wish I had a separate space in the house devoted to being an office instead of the office taking over our 2nd bedroom. The space is more crammed than we would like it and we would love to have space to have guests come stay with us.

Thanks for letting us peep into your workspace, Amy! I love the mixture of nostalgic pieces with utilitarian work items (especially because I also own Mickey ears with tassels).

Famous Authors' Workspaces (and a new series!)

2012-08-29T10:51:00.001-04:00

Today I'm doing work in a historic athenaneum with a friend. The writing room is small but surrounded by books, dark cozy colors, busts of famous authors, and an actual card catalog. It looks like it should be the movie set of a grand old university library (versus what grand old libraries tend to look like in real life). And it pretty much demands I get Serious Work done, although I tend to sneak around the edges and check in on Facebook more than a Serious Writer should admit.

I've always been intrigued to see where writerly magic happens, whether it's a wood-paneled study or a TV tray. So I'm launching a new series that shows the fabulous work spaces of other bloggers. Come back tomorrow to see the first!

And to whet your appetite, here's a small round-up of the desks of famous authors. Click on the link below each for a short description and history of the space.

Roald Dahl:

Photograph: Eamonn McCabe via The Guardian

Jane Austen (so austere! I could learn a lot from this)

Photograph: Eamonn McCabe via The Guardian

Charlotte Bronte:

Photograph: Eammon McCabe via The Guardian

Virginia Woolf:

Photograph: Eamonn McCabe via The Guardian

What's Making Me Happy: blogging edition

2012-08-28T11:58:00.000-04:00

This week, blogging is making me happy! Before starting Lean & Loaf, I chronicled my mundane non-adventures at Sass & Pancakes and wrote about the wedding planning process over at the wonderful WeddingBee as Ms. Potato Chips (where I also met amazing blogger friends).

And then I took a fairly lengthy and necessary blog break—both from reading and from writing. Now that my head is cleared and the itch to write is back, I am back in full-blogging-take-pics-of-meals-annoy-real-life-friends mode. This new blog is sort of an experiment: I wanted to try my hand at "lifestyle" blogging (ideas about food, style, design and inspirational bits and pieces) from the point of view of a broke-joke grad student.

This return to blogging is really making me happy. I love finding inspiration in the ordinary, thinking through my writing, finding new fonts or layout ideas, learning (slowly) about how to turn my terrible iPhone photos into something pretty, meeting new and old blog friends and readers. It's pretty addicting.

In honor of "WMMH: blogging edition" here's a round-up of blogging resources that have helped this newb:

An A-Z list of blog tools & resources

How to create a collage using Polyvore

Blogging large photos

Creating a blog header

Basic blog design and layout

Blogging 101

Some Thoughts on Blog Design

Blog e-course for Beginners

Making your own graphics

Free fonts

Pic Monkey photo editing

Pixlr photo editing

GIMP photo editing

How to add decorative tape strips to a photo

Free web design tools and artwork

How to remove image shadows in Blogger

If you read, be sure to comment and leave your blog address!

Snack Attack

2012-08-27T16:59:00.000-04:00

I recently revamped my snack-strategy after nearly a semester of mid-afternoon slumps that made me completely unproductive. A nutritionist friend suggested I rethink the way I ate throughout the day.

I had thought my snacks were fine: a banana, a yogurt, etc., but she pointed out that I needed to balance the short-term burst of energy of a carb with the long-lasting energy of a protein in order to keep my blood sugar levels steady and even. It was such a simple, "duh" change—adding some almond butter to a banana or a corn tortilla with a piece of cheese. And I felt the effects almost immediately!

Based on her suggestions I jotted down a list of pairings that I keep on my fridge. The following suggestions are so, so simple but when I'm hungry, I need all the guidance I can get. These suggestions are based on my dietary needs/preferences: i.e., vegetarian and gluten free (I love Mary's Gone Crackers).

Choose something from column A and something from column B, keep the portions small, and you should be able to fuel your day without doing that awful head-nod-head-nod-head-nod-jerk-awake drowsy thing you just did at your desk.

Disclaimer: This is the advice of a laywoman. I am not a nutritionist, an RD, an RN, an MD, or in the health field in any way. When I get my Ph.D., I anticipate a lifetime of saying "I'm not that kind of doctor." Consult your doctor or a certified nutritionist to figure out what works for you, etc. etc.

Read: Books about School

2012-08-24T13:16:00.000-04:00

Books set in the university or high school hold a special place in my heart. To celebrate one of the Most Wonderful Times of the Year, here's a round-up of some of my favorite novels that chronicle students, teachers, professors, or other academics.

(Disclosure: These links are via Amazon Affiliates, meaning that clicking on/purchasing from them may yield a small commission for Lean & Loaf. See my new Blog Policy for more info about them)

One. Prep: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfield. Prep is set in a prestigious New England boarding school and chronicles the experiences of Lee Fiora, boarding school newbie and scholarship outsider. This is a fast, fun read with spot-on descriptions of the boarding-school elite (or at least how I imagine them). Plus, the characters have awesomely old-money East Coast names, like Cross Sugarman.

Two. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. This book is kinda bizarrely awesome. Also set in an elite boarding school (such a rich novelistic setting, boarding schools. A public school gal myself, I didn't even know they still existed outside of Switzerland until freshmen year of college when I discovered that something like 80% of my class had boarded), also has awesomely named characters (Blue van Meer), but this one contains a drawn out mystery and a mysterious clique. It got mixed reviewers for its obscure references and wordy prose, but I thought it was really clever and creative, a fresh take on the boarding-school trope.

Three. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. A classic! Written in 1987 but set in the Depression and post-Depression years, Stegner follows the long friendship of two couples, one rich, one poor, both entrenched in the surprisingly-still-relevant publish-or-perish world of academia.

Four. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. Not technically about schools or university perse, but Murakami is my favorite so I had to include him. This novel (now a film too, which I need to see!) is a coming-of-age story of university student Toru and his long-lasting love for two women, set against campus political upheavals.

Five. Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis. Another classic! First published in 1954, brilliantly funny and featuring another set of professors: Jim is a history professor navigating the bizarre, stuffy, quirky world of the ivory tower.

I also wanted to include the new novel Penelope by Rebecca Harrington, set in Harvard, but I haven't read it yet. Have you? What else would you add to this list?

Working from Home: Top 10 Tactics

2012-08-23T17:11:00.001-04:00

I've come to the sad realization that working from home is Not For Me. I was so excited for the uninterrupted freedom of July and August—no classes to teach, just wide open space and TIME to read and write and dissertate. Now that I'm coming to the tail end of it, I am so ready to jump back into a busy scheduling of commuting, teaching, meetings, non-cat people to talk to, a reason to put real clothes on, etc.

I suppose I wouldn't mind working from home if I didn't actually have to stay at home. I do love the "working alone but together"ness of a coffee shop or a bookstore. But the no-teaching-in-July-and-August thing means no paycheck in July-and-August, and yes, even a $2 cup of coffee would strain my current budget (the $4 latte is so beyond my current imagination that I can't even). Besides, the $2 cup of coffee inevitably leads to a $2 guilt-induced refill, and maybe a $2 cookie for dunking, and multiply that a few times a week and do you know how many books that could buy? Books that I've renewed from the school library for months at a stretch? Books covered in post-it notes because I can't write in them? Books that I'd have to lug to and from said coffee shop? I can't. I'd love to but I can't. At least not now, when there is no paycheck until September. In September I'll buy a latte which might get me 2 hours in a coffee shop before I start getting the side-eye.

What was I talking about? Oh, home. Home. In July I made a schedule and I made sure to set my alarm and eat proper meals at proper mealtimes. I showered in the a.m. and put on real clothes.

Now, August 23, a week and a half away from the fall semester, and I've devolved into staying up way too late reading novels, ignoring my alarm, staying in my pajamas because why not (or trading my pajamas for equally shapeless and comfortable clothing in a slight nod to Respectable Adult Living), smearing tortilla chips with blueberry-vanilla goat cheese and calling it lunch. I take an exercise break every day but that doesn't seem like enough.

And I'm surrounded by quiet. Just me and the window fans. I wish I could work to music and I've tried every Pandora station I can think of, but I can't.

So I present you to my personal Working from Home Top 10 Tactics, including the ones I've tried and the ones I've tried and have since obviously ignored.

1. Set daily goals so the work has a tangible start and end point.

2. Find and use various productivity apps, like charting your daily work into iDoneThis. Then you can look back and see how long a task took or what the heck you spend July doing in the first place.

3. Allow time to relax when your goals are met (i.e., STOP working and go read a novel, cook something, or catch up on summer TV).

4. Go for a short walk when your mind absolutely won't focus.

5. Use a makeshift "standing" desk to read or send emails from (I still can't write standing up—too distracting).

6. Set a timer. I use mytomatoes to work for 25 minutes on/5 minutes off.

7. Make your bed. It helps, I don't know why.

8. Ughhhh fine, get dressed (do as I say, not as I do...).

9. And yes, one should probably go to bed and wake up at consistent times.

10. Vary your workspace. Today, for instance, I'm in my living room instead of my office. In here I get a nice breeze and lots of natural light. If you're ambitious, take your computer outside (Although I don't know how people do that what with the glare, I have a colleague who has gotten lots of writing done at a public park.) There you go, a mini-field trip.

I am ready for the new-ness of fall and a workaday schedule. Does anyone have any good tips for working from home? I have a few more days to go. Does "doing laundry" count as a sustainable break? Is there anyone else out there??

House Beautiful via The Aestate Tumblr

(This is what my brain feels like)

Make it: Hot Sauce

2012-08-22T06:30:00.000-04:00

Good news! Making your own hot sauce is super easy and takes no time at all.

First, the peppers on our pepper plant turned from sweet to HOT, seemingly overnight. I'm not positive what type of pepper we have, maybe a California Anaheim that hasn't turned red? Either way, my non-spicy-tolerant husband hilariously threw a couple of them into his morning omelet and had steam coming out of his ears.

Second, our plant has gone crazy—it's been producing loads of fruit all summer. After the requisite salsa and salads, I had to get creative: homemade hot sauce! I loosely followed Mark Bittman's recipe for DIY hot sauce and cannot believe how simple it is.

The result is incredible: smoky, hot, sweet, fresh. I've been putting it on everything, from scrambled eggs to pasta to quinoa & veggie bowls.

Wouldn't this make a great Christmas present for the hot sauce fiend in your life?

Put a Beret on It

2012-08-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

This fall sweater is killing me. I mean, the bird is wearing a beret. Oh, I'm sorry, "French hen" is what we're calling it, apparently, but I saw it on a mannequin in a JCrew window and kinda want to skip buying groceries this month in order to get this ridiculous sweater on my body, I love it so.

In my head it's fall and I'm wearing it with wide-legged jeans, navy Converse, pink lipstick, and a silky patterned headscarf. Or with a cobalt pencil skirt, collared shirt underneath, brown tights, and multicolored pumps.

French hen sweater from JCrew

Color Crushing

2012-08-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

I can't stop looking through the archives of Design Seeds. Am I totally behind on this? Was this website written up and pinned and blogged months ago? Probably! But I do not care a whit because the concept is as brilliant as it is useful. Plus you can search by color or by theme (ocean, vintage...). Some people are so clever. I've been pinning palettes like a fiend, not only for future design ideas but also for outfit inspiration. I love color, I don't even own a black shirt (or shoes or pants, which, as I think of it, is kinda weird). I love experimenting with color blocking, unusual pairings, and coordinating shades rather than outright "matching."

One time my office-mate said something like, "I woke up this morning, put on clothes that didn't match, and thought of you!" So there you go.

And who doesn't need some color on a Monday morning?? Let's have a look.

All images via Design Seeds

Make it: Corn Tortillas

2012-08-17T07:00:00.000-04:00

Have you ever made your own tortillas? I didn't realize until a few months ago how absurdly easy they are—the result is ten thoooooousand times tastier than store-bought packs. I buy the grocery store ones all the time, and they'll do the job for a quick dinner or emergency baked nachos. And they'll suffice as delivery vehicles for cheese and/or guacamole. But eating one plain is like eating a napkin. So the homemade version is so far beyond, is what my central thesis here is.

All you need is masa harina (corn flour; found in any grocery store), a pinch of salt, and water. You can follow the directions on the back of the masa harina bag, but I tend to cook by the seat of my pants and add water to a cup of the masa until it turns into a malleable dough. Dig your hands in there and massage the water into the flour—it's deeply satisfying. I don't use a spoon or mixer for this. Come on. In terms of flattening, I don't own a tortilla press and have experimented with rolling pins, weights, sheets of parchment, etc. After a lot of sticky dough and trial-and-error I've found that the best method is to simply use my palms to shape them and press down with the back of a spatula once they're on a hot griddle. I mean, they're rustic, so it's fine.

Top with everything or nothing. Or eggs and kale. Or all the cheese and guaca in the world!!