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What I’m Into (October 2013 edition)

Avocado egg cups

Linking up with the lovely Leigh Kramer to share What I’m Into.

family photos

family photos with Jenna Maddux

I love this time of year,but October was a strange month. We knew our September would be crazy, but we thought October would be calmer–and it was anything but. It started with houseguests (yay!) but after that it was one thing after another. Some good, some bad, all crazy.

It was a good month, but I’m praying for a (much) calmer November.

what I’m reading

What I'm Reading October 2013

My currently reading pile–including books I’m actually in the middle of or intend to be really soon–is ridiculous.

I actually love this picture of my current stack because I can pinpoint exactly where I found out about every book in it. Want to see? This’ll be fun:

The Princess Bride: numerous reader recommendations on this post. (And this one!)

The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective: I’ve had this on my reading list for ages, but I’m reading it now because of Leigh Kramer.

Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child: The Heart of Parenting: therapist’s recommendation.

Hothouse: The Art of Survival and the Survival of Art at America’s Most Celebrated Publishing House, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux: spotted it on a table at a favorite indie bookstore.

Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them: recommended by Shauna Niequist at the Influence Conference.

The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism: recommended by several of you in the comments on this post.

Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection: recommended by Katie in the comments on this post.

worth watching

Sometimes when things are nuts, I’m tempted to chill out with screen time. Not this month; there’s no time for that! I’m still working my way through The Office, and not that often.

We did finally see The Great Gatsby. (I loved 80% of it. The remaining 20% was comprised of odd plot devices, questionable interpretation, or plot deviations I could have done without.) And I’m keeping up with Downton Abbey season 4. It’s up and down, but I’m very curious where they’re heading with the key characters after last week’s episode.

in my (paleo) kitchen

Avocado egg cups

My husband spotted a picture of this somewhere and wanted to try it at home … so we did. I have no idea what the actual recipe was, but I put some salt and pepper (and a few squirts of sriracha) into the hollow of a pitted avocado half and baked for about 12 minutes at 400 degrees. Paleo perfection. If you’re in a hurry, finish them under the broiler.

(When I made it again the next day because it was that good, I enlarged the hollow by scooping out a tablespoon or so of avocado from each half, so the egg wouldn’t spill over. I recommend this method.)

I’m on Day 22 of my Whole 30, and it’s going just fine. I’ve made three batches of this standby, tried a few new recipes from Well Fed 2 (including this yummy chicken patties recipe that’s available free online), and last night I made vegetables that every child asked for seconds of–and it was cabbage! MIRACLE.

pinning

3 books a week

my thoughts exactly (above)

I’m swooning over this IKEA hack

Because when it comes to drawing, I need all the help I can get. (Plus, Paris.)

The goal is to marry Mr. Darcy. Obviously.

I’m with Andy Warhol: I like boring things.

Good for a laugh.

Best of the web

Do you like identifying your favorite? I don’t.

Princess Bride star Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya) reveals his favorite line in the film. It’s not what you think.

What’s holding you back from your creative potential? You don’t work nearly hard enough.

This is the only version of Pride and Prejudice you need to read. (Also: I want those dolls.)

Whatever, Martha.

I resonated with these thoughts about taking the day off, and also consider my reading to be “work,” in the best sense.

Did you know we’re more creative when we’re tired? I didn’t.

Pulp the classics: these retro/classic book editions look fun.

At least twenty people have sent me this link. That means I’m doing something right as a blogger/mother/citizen of the world.  (And those photos reminds me of this.)

(I shared many of these links over on the MMD facebook page already. You can follow along by liking the page here.)

What about you? What are you into this month?

Check out the companion post 11 Things I Learned in October here.

This post contains my affiliate links. Thanks for supporting MMD!

 

25 comments

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  1. There are so many fun things in this post! I just read Princess Bride for the first time this summer and really enjoyed it. So sweet.

    Congratulations on Whole30-ing! Looks like you’re doing great with it — and almost finished! Right on. Thank you for the shoutout to my recipes and cookbooks. Hope they’ve made your Whole30 a little tastier and easier.

  2. Jeannie says:

    So interesting … so many links …!

    I can’t wait for your enneagram post. I may have already mentioned that to you… I’m also very interested in your reference toThe Spark; a friend (my son’s former educational assistant) mentioned that book to me last week. I’d never heard of it, but I’ve put a library hold on it so am looking forward to reading it.

  3. Ginger says:

    Your family picture is fab! You have a lovely family. 🙂 I’m super interested in the Enneagram book, and just added it to my GoodReads list this morning. I’m finding that topic pretty fascinating! Also added Reading Like a Writer – it sounds like good stuff!

    I’ve done the Whole 30 twice, and I love it! I had surgery recently, and have been eating non-Paleo foods, so I’m thinking about doing another one to detox a little. I love the extra energy that comes with W30!

    I’m also watching Downton – I don’t know where they are going with all of these new plot twists, but I can’t wait to find out! As always, I loved your What I’m Into post. I hope you have a great month!

  4. Kelty says:

    What a lovely family you have! (I’m such a sucker for a family photo. I’m so excited that Christmas Card season is almost upon us!)

    Just finished and thoroughly enjoyed “When You Reach Me”. Please keep the great reviews and recommendations coming! (also loved Mr Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore!)

  5. Leigh Kramer says:

    Love the family picture! Makes me miss y’all so much. Tell your kids not to forget about me. 🙂 Also love hearing about how and where you heard about each book- thanks for linking to my Enneagram post, too! I’m definitely trying that avocado egg thing soon!

    P.S. The Gretchen Rubin link doesn’t work but I’m going to try to track down the post on her site. Because I am someone who has lots of favorites.

  6. How are you watching season four of Downton Abbey already?? We rented the first three seasons from our nearby video store, and the end of season three about killed me. I keep catching myself wondering about the cast, how they’re doing, what’s happening now… I would love to start season four!

    On a semi-related note, I watched a bit of “North and South” yesterday (hadn’t watched any in ages; like you, I don’t have a lot of time for TV shows). And it hit me: the same actor who plays Mr. Bates is in “North and South”!! I got really excited; Mr. Bates is probably my very favorite character from DA. 🙂

  7. Kristen says:

    Hi,
    I’ve been reading randomly over the last few months. I love to get recommendations for new books to read and can always find great thoughts here. Some of your posts have also hit home, like the post on feeling as if our family doesn’t fit into church right now. My son has some things we’re dealing with so that was close to my heart. We’re actually just going Paleo right now, largely to see if diet changes help my son. Good for you on day 22 of the Whole 30! I’m just trying to get the pantry cleaned out and adjusting to actually using the stove for breakfast instead of raiding the pantry. 🙂

  8. Liz says:

    Those avocados look delicious! But I’m curious: what was the texture of the warm avocado insides like? That’s the only thing that would make me hesitant about trying it….

  9. Bonnie-Jean says:

    Thanks for these. My husband is always asking me what my favourite movie, song, food, ice cream flavour etc etc is and I’ve always hated the pressure of having to narrow it down to one. I genuinely don’t have favourites or if I do it’s usually only a temporary ‘favourite’ and I like to be able to change my mind. My husband seems to love stating his favourites and gets disappointed when I obviously don’t want to join in the game. My compromise, on occasions, has been to give a Top 5 list but I still cringe at even this!

    Also, reading that it’s impossible for our brains to multitask (in the article on how we’re more creative when tired) was a huge relief to me. As a female, I’d always felt like I was letting all females everywhere down by the fact that I can’t multitask. It’s so liberating to know that multitasking is impossible and I don’t have to pretend that I can do it!

  10. Stephanie says:

    Absolutely adorable family pictures! You are the definition of style.

    Thanks for sharing what you’re into. I just finished reading “Pocket Neighborhoods” (excellent!) and am making my way through “Free-Range Kids” now.

  11. Kristina says:

    Stopping over from Leigh’s, but I tend to be a frequent reader around here anyways. Honestly, most of the books I’m presently reading came at either your (or Leigh’s recommendation)! Thanks!

  12. Em Miller says:

    I read the Princess Bride as a little kid. My mom let me, even though it had swear words in it, because I loved the movie so much. 🙂 I really want to check out Reading Like A Writer now.

    Oh, and I’ve totally made the baked eggs-in-avocados before because if there are two things that I love, they are runny eggs and avocados. Yum!

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