It was a dreary weather day today. It actually started with a smattering of snow and then turned into a misty rain for pretty much the whole day. Very blah.

The bright part, though was that I spent time with my friend Cindy. We saw her briefly last week, but that was just for a few minutes. Today was much more satisfying. For one thing, we went shoe-shopping, which is never a bad thing. Especially when you have a coupon for $20 off and you find a fabulous pair of Franco Sarto ankle boots in the clearance section. (The Mary Janes are by Naturalizer.) And the funny part? While back in the clearance section, I found the exact shoes I was wearing. The same ones I bought at Nordstroms two and a half years ago. Same model, same color, same size . . . but I, um, purposely did not look too carefully at the price.

Oh. And it’s possible I had a coupon at the bookstore, too.

After we were done shopping, we came back to the house to entertain Chappy. Well, that, and I had baking to do. We’re doing the family celebration of Mom’s birthday tomorrow, and of course, there has to be dessert! I made the same mini ice-cream cakes as I did for the last two years. Crumbled chocolate cake–which, of course, I had to bake first, raspberry syrup, and vanilla ice cream. But then, while I was mixing that up, we kind of agreed that brownies sounded good, and since the oven was on anyway . . . I made some brownies, too. Of course, I had planned on sending some home with Cindy, but I forgot. So those are actually in the freezer. Dad’s sulking a little bit because the baking was all chocolate and he doesn’t like chocolate, but, well, it’s Mom’s birthday, right?

Anyway, Chappy was glad I was home, and thrilled to have a guest to entertain. (You know how he is.) Mom and I watched the old movie, Working Girl–the only movie I actually like Melanie Griffith in–and all in all, it’s been a good day. Except, you know, for the now-pouring rain.

Two links for you:

One, the Barilla Celebrity Italian Cookbook. Not only is the download free, but for every copy downloaded between now and February 29th, they’re donating $1 to the Second Harvest food drive.

Two, the first Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm lamb of the season has arrived, and she’s just adorable. Click here to see pictures.

• Tags: Baking, Family, General • Permalink:Soggy //