Thursday, October 30, 2014

29. Read forty books that I should read in my lifetime

 
  1. A Civil Action
  2. A Room of One’s Own
  3. Alice in Wonderland
  4. Arabian Nights
  5. As I Lay Dying
  6. Bhagavad Gita
  7. Bleak House
  8. Brothers Karamazov
  9. Don Quixote
  10. Feminine Mystique
  11. Gideon’s Trumpet
  12. Guns, Germs and Steel
  13. Hamlet
  14. Lord of the Rings trilogy
  15. Making of the Atomic Bomb
  16. The Master and Margarita
  17. Moby Dick
  18. Neuromancer
  19. On Liberty
  20. On The road
  21. One Hundred Years of Solitude
  22. Orthodoxy
  23. Scarlet Letter
  24. Streetcar Named Desire
  25. The Color Purple
  26. The Crucible
  27. The Iliad / The Odyssey
  28. The Prophet
  29. The Silent Spring
  30. The Stranger
  31. The Trial
  32. The World’s Religions
  33. Things Fall Apart
  34. Ulysses
  35. Uncle Tom’s Cabin
  36. Undaunted Courage
  37. Utopia
  38. Walden
  39. Wealth of Nations
  40. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

38. Try new things

- mountain biking
- paddle boarding 
- surfing 
- downhill skiing

1. Bike RSVP

http://www.cascade.org/ride-major-rides/rsvp

15. Hike the West Coast Trail

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_Trail

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/pacificrim/activ/activ6a.aspx

32. See more live performances

 


For example:
- see a concert at a winery
- see a show at the Gorge
- see a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
- see a laser light show at a dam
- see an airshow
- see cirque de soleil

Saturday, October 25, 2014

13. Fill my McMenimans passport










6. Cook every recipe in the Modern Baker cookbook

I. Quick Breads
a. Fennel Fig & Almond Bread
b. Chocolate Spice Bread
c. Whole Wheat Current Bread
d. Date Walnut Bread
e. Whole Grain Apple Raisin Bread
f. Spicy JalapeƱo Cornbread
g. Pecorino & Pepper Biscuits
h. Real Welsh Scones
i. Ginger Scones with Almond Topping
j. Butterscotch Scones
k. Triple Chocolate Scones
l. Blueberry Crumb Muffins
m. Irish Soda Bread Muffins
n. Cocoa Banana Muffins
o. Sweet Rusks for Dunking

II. Breads 
a. Armenian "Barbary" Bread
b. Turkish Flatbread
c. Pita Bread 
d. Fougasse: Pierced French Flatbread
e. Crisp Cornmeal Flatbread
f. Instant Sandwich Bread
g. French Bread for Baguettes & Other Loaves
h. Pain de Campagne
i. Semolina Sesame Bread
j. Pain de Seigle: French Rye Bread
k. Seven Grain & Seed Bread
l. Prosciutto Bread
m. Elegant Dinner Rolls
n. Rosemary Olive Knots
o. Cornetti: Olive-Oil Rolls from Bologna

III. Yeast-Risen Specialties
a. Quick Brioche Braid
b. Marbled Chocolate Brioche Loaf
c. Cinnamon Raisin Breakfast Ring
d. Chocolate Babka Loaf
e. Kouing Amman: Breton Butter & Sugar Pastry 
f. Ginger-Scented Panettone
g. Bakery Crumb Buns
h. Pecan Stickiest Buns
i. One-Step Croissants
j. Grissini: Classic Italian Breadsticks
k. Cornmeal Buttermilk Waffles
l. Dough to Thick-Crusted Pizza & for Focaccia
m. Sfincione: Palermo Focaccia
n. Focaccia alla Baresa: Apulian Onion, Anchovy, & Olive Focaccia
o. Nonna's Pizza
p. Filled Ham & Cheese Focaccia

IV. Savory Tarts & Pies
a. Rich Pie Dough for Savory Pies & Tarts
b. Olive-Oil Dough for Savory Pies & Tarts
c. No-Roll Flaky Dough
d. Corn Pudding Tart
e. Ham & Egg Tart
f. Roasted Pepper & Goat Cheese Tart
g. Swiss Onion Tart
h. Gruyere, Scallion, & Walnut Tart
i. Tomato & Cantal Tart
j. Shrimp & Toasted Pumpkinseed Tart
k. Curried Fish Pie
l. Ligurian Savoy Cabbage Pie
m. Zucchini & Ricotta Pie
n. Pizza Chiena: Neapolitan Meat & Cheese Pie
o. Chicken Pie with Biscuit Topping

V. Sweet Tarts & Pies
a. Sweet Tart Dough
b. Chocolate Nut Dough
c. Press-in Cookie Dough
d. Parisian Fruit Tarts
e. Bittersweet Chocolate Tart
f. Mango & Rice Tart
g. Banana Walnut Tart
h. Lemony-Cheese Tart with Sour-Cream Glaze
i. Pumpkin Pecan Buttermilk Tart with Cinnamon Whipped Cream
j. Bourbon-Scented Pecan Tart
k. Roman Almond & Pine Nut Tart
l. Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Tart
m. Breton Apple Pie
n. Maida's Big Apple Pie
o. Sour-Cream Apple Pie
p. Blueberry Crumble Pie
q. Neapolitan Easter Pie
r. Raspberry Almond Tartlets
s. Lemon Lime Tartlets
t. Chocolate Caramel Pecan Tartlets

VI. Puff Pastries
a. Instant Puff Pastry
b. Baked Puff Pastry Layer
c. Molded Choclate Filled Napoleons
d. Raspberry Mille-Feuille
e. Feuillettes with Berries & Cream
f. Deep-Dish Peach Pie with Woven Lattice Crust
g. Pineapple Tarte Tatin
h. Apricot & Almond Strudel
i. Swiss Walnut Crescents
j. Danish Cheese Pockets
k. Perfect Elephant Ears
l. Carmelized Onion Tart with Gorgonzola
m. Spinach & Feta Turnovers
n. Smoked Salmon Mille-Feuilles
o. Salt & Pepper Straws

VII. Cakes
a. Perfect Pound Cake
b. Lemon Ginger Pound Cake 
c. Rum-Scented Marble Cake

d. Viennese Raisin Coffee Cake
e. Sour Cream Coffee Cake
f. Blackberry Jam Cake
g. Orange-Scented Olive Oil Cake
h. Blueberry Crumb Cake
i. Real Strawberry Shortcake 
j. Classic Genoise
k. Yellow Cake Layers
l. Perfect Birthday Cake

m. Raspberry Cream Cake
n. Whipped Cream Layer Cake
o. Banana Rum Coconut Layer Cake
p. Triple Chocolate Cake
q. Devil's Food Cake with Fluffy White Icing
r. Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake
s. Heirloom Chocolate Cake
t. Cinnamon-Scented Baked Chocolate Mousse Cake
u. Molten Center Chocolate Cakes
v. Individual French Hazelnut Cakes
w. Golden Cupcakes
x. Incredibly Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
y. Individual New York Cheesecakes



7. Create things I am proud of


4. Complete all the hikes in the Day Hiking North Cascades book

















Thursday, October 23, 2014

22. Look, feel and be beautiful

10/23 : You'd think by my 30s, I would have this down. I should know how to fix my hair, apply my makeup and have some sense of my own personal style ... Instead I can pretty much make myself look presentable in most situations. So you know, that's something. But I think we can do better.

One thing I rarely do is wear jewelry, so I've been trying to expand my repertoire in that arena. Here are my first could attempts: 

Sparkly earrings:

A fancy necklace:


Friday, October 10, 2014

This Nordic Princess is Back and Ready for More Adventuring!

About six years ago, this blog went dormant.  Maybe it was because I was starting a new job, settling in to a new city, making new friends and generally trying to figure this whole 'life as an adult' thing out (which is harder than people make it seem, by the way).  Or maybe it was just because I'm really good at thinking up ideas and less good at follow-through.  Whatever the reason, there have been many undocumented adventures over the last six years.  Thankfully, there are even more adventures to come! 

Specifically, I am in the process of fine-tuning my 'Forty Before Forty' list.  I love lists.  I love planning new adventures.  I love pushing myself just a little bit beyond my comfort zone.  I love the satisfaction of checking things off.  (Unfortunately, I don't love it as much when it comes actual practical activities like household chores, but whatever.)

The list itself will be posted in the next couple days, as soon as I get it just right.

Welcome back!  Hope you're ready for more adventures!