Disclaimer: This post was previously written, kept in a vault for months, and is now resurfacing for your reading pleasure. That said, my mom’s surgery was a couple of months ago, so don’t call her. She won’t know what you’re talking about. That said…
I’ve been driving back and forth between Chapel Hill and Charlotte for the last few weekends to help take care of my mother post back surgery. I’m happy to have handed her back over to my Dad, who was (because nothing in our family goes without complication) in Mexico for the 8 days after her surgery. Before getting back to the point at hand, let me just say that 1) go to your parents and loved ones when they are sick. At least let your presence be known by calls, flowers, or funny cards. Support makes all the difference. And 2) man oh man am I happy to have returned her into my Dad’s care. She is a good patient while she’s heavily medicated and under anesthesia, but after a few days she gets tired of people hovering and looking at her. That isn’t a personal assumption either- I’ve heard her say it many times.
So, I had a weekend to hang out at home here in Chapel Hill. Let me just say that I enjoyed it thoroughly.
My dream mixer
The fantastic boyfriend bought me the Magnolia Bakery cookbook a couple of weeks ago (dropping any hints?). I’ve been wanting it since returning from our trip to New York where we happened to rush into a Magnolia’s while seeking shelter and hot chocolate on a particularly cold night. Hopefully my recreations in North Carolina will be enough to hold me over until the next trip to Manhattan.
As a result, I spent much of yesterday traveling from store to store in search of ingredients to make lots and lots of cupcakes and other baked goods. I think that my lack of cooking skills was once an adorable little quirk to the boyfriend, but now that we live together (part of that “new house” change) I think he will encourage me however possible in my quest for mad kitchen skills (with guidance from a cookbook, that is).
My lovely sidekick Katy and I failed in our attempt to make dinners from afar once a week (Blame it on the Bisquick. It was one recipe’s ingredient and apparently she doesn’t like it. We’ve been best friends since 10th grade and now I learn that about her. She’s not picky, except when you bring Bisquick into the mix). It was fun to try, but it turns out that a lot more planning and coordinating would have to go into it, and neither of us have that kind of time (translation: persistence).
So I was all excited, correction - we were excited, but after leaving a fourth store without my last ingredient – self-rising flour, I was tired and cranky. Once I find a store that has it, I may get carried away and quickly become that person with an actual use for giant, stackable cupcake carriers. I saw one the other day at Home Goods (easily my new favorite store by the way). I pointed and laughed at the pastel-colored containers and then had a glimpse into my future and thought “crap.” That’s all there was to think. That will most certainly be me one day. The girl fumbling around with huge plastic cupcake carriers.
And then I’ll go home, put on a cozy pair of pjs and laugh shamelessly at reruns of The Golden Girls. Seriously, how do these women get arrested for prostitution on their way to a Frank Sinatra concert? That’s so like them! (Insert canned laughter here)
