Thanksgiving!

I was going to go on a day-after-Thanksgiving-hike, but turns out that my head is about to explode from all the mucus within (nice image, huh?). So instead I put up my Christmas tree and laid in bed all day. Sort of an ok way to spend a day off work. Would be better if I could breathe... I'm hoping to get rid of this thing by tomorrow, though, and take up the hiking then instead.

In the meantime, I will share my turkey day festivities with you. I hosted for a few friends, and everyone brought food to contribute to the day. I brined the turkey for the first time, using a brine recipe from Pioneer Woman. I also followed her roasting instructions, which made for way crispier skin that I usually end up with. I don't really like turkey, so I have no idea if this method was better than prior ones I've used, but my friends seemed to think the effort was worth it. I kind of think it's fun, so I'll probably do it this way again.

Anyway, here are some pics from the day:

Hair on Fire

Short post:

Friday night I went out with some friends to Bar Marmont. Adam Duritz was there. And a tall blonde woman whose hair caught on fire.

That is all.

Simplifying and Un-simplifying

Today I cancelled cable. I have never in my life not had cable. For the last 6 years, I've only had "broadcast cable" meaning that I get the basic broadcast channels plus things like CNN, ESPN, and Discovery, but it's still about $20/month for something that I turn on maybe 2 or 3 times per week. If that.

So today I bought an antenna and a converter box, and I cancelled the cable. A few weeks ago, I had switched my internet to something cheaper, too. So I used to pay $45/month for internet and cable, and now I pay $15/month for internet and $0 for TV.

Of course, as soon as I save money on one thing, I end up spending it on something else, but regardless, it feels sort of good. I got new dishes. Most of them were a Christmas present from my mother, but I bought a few place settings. I'm hosting Thanksgiving, and I'll have new dishes and silverware to use for the meal. The silver is old - a gift from my grandmother. The dishes are the Maison set from Crate and Barrel. I'll take pictures at Thanksgiving, mostly because my mom would be so upset if I didn't.

This is an incredibly boring post, but for some reason, these kinds of things just make me excited.