Houston, we have a problem.

You may have noticed posting has become a little erratic…. This is due in part to busy-ness, yes, but also to the fact that both of our laptops have decided to bite the dust at the same time.  We each have a white Macbook, c. 2007, and both of these computers have been slowly degrading over the last couple of years.  My battery went first- it’s since been replaced- but now that our operating system is outdated, Apple doesn’t have the updates available for programs like Firefox and Chrome.  Ecto, the blogging software I use, hasn’t worked since winter 2012.  I’ve been using B’s computer to blog for the past year, but now his screen is not working and the computer itself won’t stay on.

Long story short: we need a new computer.  We’ve both been “Mac people” for so long, and I love how easy that Mac computers are to operate.  What I don’t love, however, is the high sticker price- 2x more expensive than PCs- and Apple’s whole customer service system in general.  Their goal is to get consumers to keep buying, buying, buying, and don’t offer a lot of support for those of us who already own their products.  (End of rant.)

We’ll probably get a new laptop in the next few months, and it will probably be a PC.  Until then, unfortunately, I’ll have to post from WordPress.com, which means that pictures will be smaller and there will be less of them (WordPress only allows you to use a certain amount of memory per post).  I apologize in advance for the inconvenience this causes… I try to take the best, most aesthetically pleasing photos I can (using my iPhone!), and I hate to see the quality suffer.  But, c’est la vie.  I do want to continue blogging, so I’ll have to compromise until we have a more permanent solution.

Anyway, on to the fun stuff!  Here’s what I’ve been loving lately:

This Etsy shop.  I have really sensitive ears, and have a hard time wearing most earrings.  I finally took it upon myself to Google “earrings for sensitive ears” and discovered that titanium is a great hypoallergenic metal.  I also discovered that beautiful, dainty earrings tend to be cheaper when the backs are made out of titanium, which has enabled my obsession… I now own four pairs of these.

This documentary series.  A friend told me about The Up Series years ago, and the concept is fascinating.  In 1964, a filmmaker filmed a variety of 7-year olds in England from different socioeconomic backgrounds.  Every seven years, there’s a new installment; last year “56 Up” came out.  We just finished watching “28 Up,” and it’s so interesting to see how the subjects do- and don’t- turn out the way we predicted when they were just seven.  (Bonus: Nick looks exactly like B at 28!)

This was a beautiful book.  It captures so perfectly what it is to transition from child to adolescent, with a twist: think Judy-Blume-meets-Twilight-Zone.

This was a great film adaptation of my generation’s Catcher In The Rye.  I read the book when I was 15, and watching the movie took me back to that very specific, often painful, time.

We’re painting the bedroom!  We’ve got the paint and the rollers, and are all set to go.

Our meals at home have been mighty fine, lately, if I do say so myself.  Last night, we dined on individual polenta pizzas with Zinfandel and Moulin Rouge (B had never seen it!).  To make the pizzas, I cooked the polenta on the stove, poured them into bake-safe dishes, and let each dish cool in the freezer for about 10 minutes.  Then I topped them with tomato sauce, tomato basil, spinach, olives, and mozzarella.

This article is life-changing.  Expand your potato repertoire!  We made the pommes annette, and added a little cheese.  (And salt is key!)  Served with salmon and green beans for dinner one night; with an egg and sautéed chard the next day for breakfast.  It’s all about versatility.

We also make this recipe every. single. week.  So easy, so healthy, so comforting.  I love making new traditions.

Well, it’s Saturday, and Saturday chez LVP means studyday.  So, I’m off to get to it!  Thank you for all your patience as I work the kinks out of this little blog.  Thanks for sticking around .