ravings

(We are long overdue for a post in this category, as much as I am overdue to write a post at all - so here I will attempt the two birds, one stone trick. Hey, Presto!)

A few months ago, possibly inspired by the American Women's Book Club Brandie joined after we moved to Brooklyn, our friend Steve suggested we start a book club with some local friends. We'd meet monthly at each other's houses on a weeknight after the kids had gone to bed, have a drink, nosh on something and talk about books. Great idea, right?

It was! However due to circumstances beyond his control, poor Steve has never been able to attend a meeting (although I'm pretty sure he's read all the books on our list.) The rest of us have had a ball however, and for our fourth gathering decided to meet at The Library, a bar in downtown Wellington themed around.. well, a library.

In fact we had been there several times before without realizing it, as it's attached to a great restaurant called Chow. We'd sat at the bar while waiting for our tables, never realizing we were in a separate establishment. This time though, we entered through the front door, set in an otherwise blank white stairwell in a wall papered to look like a bookcase. Simple as it was, it felt like we were walking through a secret door in a bookcase, something out of an Eco or Zafon novel. I loved it instantly.

Just inside the door the real bookshelves started, floor to ceiling, and eventually ran out to frame each intimate table. The place was perfectly lit and loaded with books, I just wanted to wander and browse. We went to our table (Brandie had thought to make reservations) and ordered drinks and the cheese plate (I had spent the week prior drooling over the menu so it didn't take long for me to pick something out.) Other members trickled in and we started talking about the books we had read, then eventually ordered the tasting plate from the Sweets menu. It was all delicious, and hands-down the funnest place I can imagine to have a book club meeting.

http://www.thelibrary.co.nz/

Jake and I decided to have a night out to celebrate the reality of actually living here for 3 months.  No more talking about it or planning for it or packing or traveling or setting up.  We're settled.  We've got a car, library cards, a babysitter.  It's not like we're just here for an extended vacation.

Thanks to the intranet at Jake's office, we get loads of reviews and recommendations for places to eat and Eateria de Manon was being raved about last week so we decided to have a date night.  We got polished up, I actually wore a dress, Jake wore a tie and we set off for a romantic night out.

We left the house at 6:30 and after parking and getting cash at the ATM we still had 15 minutes before our 7:00 reservation.  And this restaurant isn't even in our town!  This is what I love about Wellington.  Everything is so close!  Even parking isn't that difficult.  The scenery reminded me of heading out to a 008 concert in San Francisco only it took us once around the block to find a spot rather than an hour of driving around.

A little walk down the alley off of Rue de Riddiford and we stepped in to a cozy, hip place.  7 is apparently early for a reservation as we were seemingly the only people there.  We were seated at a nice little table for two next to the fire place.  Shortly after we sat down, a gentleman in a velvet jacket came over and started roasting himself a marshmallow.  The mantle held a fishbowl full of marshmallows and a beer stein full of skewers for anyone to enjoy.

Looking over the menu I suddenly got the urge to start eating the pages.  I was starving and everything looked so good.  Our meal for the evening went something like this:

We each ordered a "Sultry" which, if I can recall correctly was, plum juice, port and cinnamon.  For food we started with Oven Baked Escargots w/garlic, parsley, butter and parmesan after which complimentary melon (I think canteloupe) sorbet was served.  For our mains Jake chose the Oven Baked Beef Fillet w/goat curd & thyme raviolo & buerre rouge while I enjoyed the Grilled Crispy Half Duck w/lemon braised chicory & Drambuie ginger sauce.  Jake's beef wasn't served with a steak knife but it turns out it was so tender, he didn't need one.  The duck was delicious although not as crispy as I would have hoped.  We split our sides of courgettes, broccoli and gratin potatoes.

After the dessert menu was presented the waitress informed us that the kitchen was a bit backed up and it would be a small wait before she could take our order.  We spent that time debating if we should share one dessert or each have our own. Jake went to the restroom and I got to watch the two chefs in the very small kitchen work through their crunch.  It was intoxicating just listening to music, watching the chefs dance around each other in the little kitchen.  The waitress came around and I ordered a dessert for each of us.  Jake had the Chocolate Decadence Cake w/cream, blueberry ice cream & rum-espresso sauce and I had White Wine Poached Pears w/pecan butterscotch sauce, cream quenelle & brioche ice cream.

I had just been reading David Lebovitz's entries about ice cream making and after eating these two ice creams my interest in ice cream making is peaked.  The blueberry was tart and sweet.  I imagined the brioche ice cream to just be flavored like brioche but it actually had little crumbs of brioche in it.  They had a nutty crunch but with a softer finish.  It was surprisingly good when you think about it being "bread ice cream".

The pace of the restaurant was purposely slow and not in a way that left you feeling in need of anything.  Just perfectly paced for a nice, romantic evening out.  We left feeling spoiled and happy.  It was a very wonderful evening out and I would highly recommend Eateria De Manon.

I knew that this would be part of my children's life. I mean, I did marry Jake and I did know that he sort of likes Star Wars in the way that I sort of like chocolate.  But for some reason, I never imagined how it would unfold.

They first watched the parade at the end of Episode One about a year ago.  (Just a warning: for any of you Star Wars lovers/friends of my husband (John), please don't find it necessary to correct me on any of the names/places/scenes/episodes that I get wrong here.  Ok?).  And in addition to that scene, they must have watched something with Darth Vader in it as Josie's been saying "Darth Vader not nice" for almost as long as she's been speaking.  But beyond that scene we've had a pretty hard lock down on any additional viewings mostly because Josie is pretty young and you know, (spoiler alert!) Star Wars has guns in it plus some pretty freaky aliens, monsters and that thing in the trash compactor.  All things that aren't going to help anyone in our house sleep through the night. 

However, (and if I could exaggerate that word any more I would) Star Wars has been a daily request lately.  Jake let Sophie watch some of Empire during some special "Daddy and Sophie" time and she's stated that she loves Star Wars.  So much so that she's developed a habit that I now call "the Star Wars Wake and Bake".  She'll come into our room around 5:30, crawl in to bed, snuggle with me for a bit then work her way over to Jake and ask, "Can I watch Star Wars".  Oh, she's good!  My darling daughter has stumbled upon her father's achilles' heel and she doesn't even know the power she holds.  There is just no way Jake could ever say no to that question.  I keep picturing her at 16 really wanting to borrow the car but being grounded for some reason (I was always grounded at that age) and casually asking her dad if he wants to watch some Empire.  Then after sitting through it, asking him for the car keys.  His chest filled with pride, he reaches in his pocket and not only pulls out the car keys but throws her $20 for being such a good girl.

Oh, was I trying to make a point?  I forget.  Anyhow, they've been watching more and more Empire and have watched the Degoba scenes.  I can hear Sophie explaining to Josie what a walker is.  They cheer when it gets tripped.  They love Yoda and get to watch the scene where Luke and R2 go to meet Yoda in the swamp.  I heard them chanting "De-go-ba, De-go-ba" today when they were waiting for Jake to put the movie on.  They absolutely love watching it with Jake and I think the feeling is mutual.  Sure we've skipped the majority of the movie and they have no idea of the plot. Well, actually, Josie has a pretty cute summary of her version of the plot.

"Darth Vader coming.  He going to fight.  He going to fight Han Solo."

So, a little artistic freedom has been taken but I think it's a good overall idea of the pending doom during all of the movies.  At the end of the day, I am a proud mom of two Star Wars fan girls in training.  I wonder how soon before we can start dressing them up like Yoda and Princess Leia?

I've sent this out to a few people already, but for my own memory's sake wanted to put it somewhere I won't forget:

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1438490562

I've had already nightmares inspired by this video, if you're at all acrophobic it's quite a thrill-ride. Enjoy the sweaty palms!

Last night Brandie & I had our first New Zealand "Date Night", got a sitter for the girls and went to see Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at The Embassy Theatre in Wellington with our friends Scott & Nadine.

The Embassy was built in 1924 and remodeled in 2003 for the Return of the King premiere. It is big, grand and gorgeous, and seats 1749 people. It reminded both Brandie & I of the Kodak Theater you see on the Academy Awards television broadcasts.

The theater has assigned seating, so after you buy a ticket you don't have to worry about getting back in line to secure a good seat. There's a cafe in the lobby that serves beer, wine and hot food along with sandwiches and pastries. We shared the spring rolls and samosas with sweet chili sauce, paired with an Emerson's Oatmeal Stout. Along with your popcorn and snacks you can take a glass of wine or beer into the theater to enjoy the film with. It's definitely the best movie-going experience I've ever had, and we weren't even sitting in the 'platinum' section.

Anyway, onto my impressions of the film (SPOILER ALERT! Don't read past the jump if you haven't seen the movie yet):

This was too funny not to post. Thanks to Lisa for sending it along, and kudos to the unknown author who has a good sense of humor (and no Mark, this does not qualify as a 'KFC Moment'!)

Thinking of having kids? Please complete this 11-step program first!
        
Lesson #1

1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to the grocery store's head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time. Ever.

Lesson #2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who are parents already and berate them about their:

1. methods of discipline.
2. lack of patience.
3. appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. allowing their children to run wild.
5. suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners and overall behavior.

Then enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

From stuff.co.nz:

Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro will spend four years in New Zealand making two films based on The Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit, it was confirmed today.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4496833a10.html

With Insecticide hitting shelves the same day that Blood of the Hog premiered at the Art Mission Theater (see previous post), I thought it would be fun to alert our local newspaper of the coincidence, maybe get a few extra attendees at the Conversations events and sell some additional copies of the game (shameless self-promotion to be sure, but it beats wearing a chicken costume and upstaging Spike TV's Game of the Year Awards ceremony).

I emailed my favorite reporter, Elizabeth Cohen, who spent a morning at our house and single-handedly produced a short video piece and a very flattering article about the game and our work which ran on the cover of our local paper's Life section.

Thanks for all your hard Elizabeth, we loved them both!

Work Meets Play (article)
When Work Is Play (video)

Yesterday was a day to celebrate here at Tiny E Ranch, as the DS version of Insecticide hit the store shelves AND the short film I volunteered on last summer had its premier at the Art Mission Theater downtown.

Usually we would have some sort of team party (snacks, drinks, some Quake matches) to celebrate a game's launch, but as we're a 'virtual studio' we had to be happy with a few muffled cheers and exchanged congratulations over our regular bi-weekly Skype conference call. Last week our publisher showed the game at a special event coinciding with the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, and from all reports the response was positive.

After our friendly neighborhood babysitter arrived we headed out to meet some friends at my favorite place to grab a beer, the inaptly-named Cyber Cafe West. It is a cafe, technically on the west side of town, and they probably have wireless internet but that's as "cyber" as it gets: otherwise it's a very comfortable, well-worn and college coffee-shop-feeling place with a huge lineup of excellent beers (including Lagunitas!!) on tap.

After sharing some nachos, beer and a lively debate about alternative medicine (thanks for being a sport Dave!!) we made the trek over to the theater to find it already packed. So much so that the theater had to be emptied and refilled twice for a total of three screenings just so everyone could see it. Hopefully that is a trend for future 'Conversations' events, since in the past we've been lucky to fill a row much less the entire theater!

Thankfully the snowstorm and bad roads we experienced Friday didn't keep the Foo Fighters away from their first concert here in the Southern Tier. According to the newspaper the Events Center sold out all of its 7,000 general admission tickets for the show, and from what we could tell (overhearing comments as we walked out across the parking lot) everyone had a good time.

Dave seemed a little under the weather and wasn't quite as energetic or funny as he was in November, nor did he scream as much (which if I remember correctly Brandie thought was getting a little trite by the end of the evening anyway.) Everything seemed a little more rushed, particularly the dueling guitar solos where they only traded licks twice and didn't wind the audience up as much. Somewhat ironically the crowd seemed much more lively here than at the previous show, with lots of crowd-surfing and moshing happening on the floor.

All in all a great show though, it was really a treat to see such a big act so close to home. Thanks to the Foo Fighters for coming to our little town, and to Patrick & Martha for going to dinner and the show with us!