Updates and a Special "Thank You"

I'll have to start with a special Thank you! Mrs. G. over at Mmm...Tastes Good responded to my last post about books I want to read. She had an extra copy of The Shack and sent it to me! I can't wait to receive it & begin reading it. If you haven't checked our her blog, it is all about yummy goodness - with links to places like Crate and Barrel and Bojangles!

Now on to disappointing news (for me at least). I LOVE food. I love to cook it, I love to bake it, I especially love to eat it. When Mr. Potts and I were on our honeymoon in Barbados, I contracted a bacterial infecting which has kept me from being able to eat - which is the kindest (for you) explanation of my issues.

It has now been a month & I still am eating bland, bland food. Did I already mention how much I LOVE to eat?

Please don't find me evil, but some good has come out of this. No, I haven't lost weight - I'm actually awfully bloated. The good news is that this year at Christmas I won't have to eat much of my mother-in-law's cooking. She is as sweet as she can be & I love her. She just is not a great cook. And she won't let me help in the kitchen. No homemade stuffing, no homemade cranberry sauce, no pumpkin cheesecake. But! I don't have to eat her pecan pie. If you read my blog about my recipe for pecan pie, you'll see that I don't use Karo syrup - she does.

Am I evil? I choose to think not. I will however, play up my stomach problems to keep me from eating foods I don't particularly care for. All while being as pleasant and charming as a good Southern girl is. :)

Random Musings

I'm so glad it is Friday! I made it safely home from Vermont yesterday, earlier than planned due to an incoming storm. I was strongly encouraged to get out while I could - I am so glad I heeded that advice!

While in Burlington I ate dinner with one of my favorite co-workers at a place called Leunig's Bistro. I have eaten there a few times, but Miss A has never been to Burlington. I knew that Leunig's would have to be our spot for dinner. It was wonderful!

I started with a pumpkin chowder with toasted pumpkin seeds on top. It was wonderful! I followed with the special of the day. It had a braised beef (shredded) with apples, carrots, potatoes and some other ingredients & was served on a bed of pumpkin mashed potatoes. It was also wonderful! Something about being in below freezing weather just makes me want to eat warm comfort foods. I have to be very conscious of what/how much I eat though, as it can definitely wreck havoc on a person's diet.

I started this blog to write mainly about food, because I love to cook & there is nothing better than a great meal with a good bottle of wine. So I hope that you'll bear with me as I drift along to other topics. Sometimes my mood just doesn't fall to food - however rare that is!

So, my thoughts lately have been around books. What I've read & what I want to read. I'll admit, in the summer there is nothing better than a light "chick lit" book - you know, Sophie Kinsella, Candace Bushnell, Emily Giffin. Around this time of year, however, I really try to read books that aren't that light, that make me think.

So I've compiled a list of books that are on my must read list. Some of the top ones on my list are:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

I also want to read The Shack by William P. Young.

What is on your must read list right now?