Cafe Rio Abuse Problem

3 days in utah, 3 nights at cafe rio.


i crave the salad.
(which i can eat entirely on my own in one sitting)
i like the soup too.

after three days of eating the same thing at the same establishment i could probably stand for some variety, but cafe rio is too cheap and too good and still completely novel, so maybe i should just get something besides my usual.

what do you recommend?

Martha's Vineyard

ferry rides, lunch with friends, long walks, a lemonade stand just when we needed it, cooling off in the ocean, rides on a lazy river, ice cream, good conversation, lots of sunscreen.

it was a good weekend.

Crush on Cambridge

i've spent large portions of my life being HATING the place i lived. when i'd complain about it, people would say well intentioned things like "mercedes bloom where you are planted."

stuff like that makes me want to chew glass. now i get that a person should try to make the best of their situation, but any gardener knows some seeds just do better in some kinds of ground. i just happen to be one of those fussy kinds of seeds...

luckily, at present, i like the ground i am in. and before we leave cambridge*, i think it is high time for me to publicly admit** that i have a big fat crush on my hood.

here are just a few reasons:

(and pardon my lame amateur photography...i didn't start playing with cameras until about two weeks ago).

1. picket fences

2. fresh pond (our answer to central park's reservoir)
i can't decide if the best part is that it is a stone's throw from our house or if it is the amazing doggie swimming hole. is watching strangers dogs play in a park as creepy watching strangers kids play in the park? if so we both ought to be classified as dog predators.

3. amazing flower gardens

4. Formagio Italian Market:

the beloved cheese and oil section. chez mc^2 we love our fats.

5. Mari Mekko:i like to go in this store and oggle this textile designer's amazing fabric prints. at $50 a yard i have yet to buy any because you know i prefer to do things like eat this week.

6. and i walk everywhere.

What is your favorite part about your 'hood?

*on friday we leave cambridge for utah. i haven't cried about it this week. this is progress.
**the first time i came to boston i thought it was the most miserable, dreary place with the rudest people.during my nyc years i'd often proclaim that i'd rather live in "deadmonton" than boston. luckily first impressions aren't always the lasting impressions.

Good Morning Nectarine

the fruit season has been good to me

Feeling Crusty

we've all read those "cute" letters to things like feet and waistlines on the shi shi blogs. i am not knocking them. i actually love them and the bloggers who write them, people like her and her....

i thought about writing some letters too.....except every time i sit down to write a letter i come out sounding more like hunter s. thompson in the fear and loathing letters than the nice, sweet, thoughtful blogger i aspire to be...

but the truth is that lately i've been feeling a little crusty. if catharsis works will getting my grievances off my chest make me feel better? here goes nothing.

dear michael: i have no idea what you put in that hamburger meat but now our house smells like a third world country. this is to put you on notice: you no longer have unsupervised seasoning privileges. also i am really glad right now that you insisted we buy febreeze in bulk.

dear utah: it isn't you, it's me. i can't handle your dry climate, or your funky culture, or how your people name their children things like Alivyiah, Tridger or Kaegrin. i'm sure you have some redeeming qualities, i'd just prefer not to be the one who has to look for them. (it is you).

dear jason chaffetz: i know you are trying to make a name for yourself in washington, but taking a page out of hilter's political play book isn't the way to win friends and influence people.

dear humidity: enough is enough. 4/4 mornings this week i've woken up soaking wet. i feel gross (and trust me it is your fault. it has nothing to do with the inordinate amount of fried food i've eaten this week...nothing at all).

dear really bad waiter at cambridge common: we have eaten at cambridge common twice in the last 7 days. both times you screwed orders up. you seem like a nice kid, but if you seriously don't know the difference between chicken fingers and chicken wings it might be time to consider a new line of work.

xo mercedes

i need to know i'm not the only one out there who feels crusty sometimes. leave your grievences in my comments....and i sort of feel better. thanks for asking.

A desk of your own

virgina woolf wrote that if women are going to write they need money and a room of their own. this quote is one of the reasons i like vw; she is about as practical as they come. working on our projects is so much easier when we have a room dedicated to work. a room that is wholly our own. a room where we can work on realizing our goals. (and seriously hunching over the coffee table is starting to do damage to my back....)

but since rooms these little east coast apartments don't come cheap, i think i'd settle for "space" to do my work which is why i'd really love to win this lovely desk my friend whitney is giving away: if you or a lady in your life need some work space enter her contest here before Aug 8!

Northanger Abbey

now i know why masterpiece theatre isn't falling all over itself to show their film adaptation of jane austen's northanger abbey: catherine morland is an idiot!

ok maybe that is harsh....

after all this is not supposed to be the story of a mature woman but a naive teenager. i should have known to adjust my expectations when austen describes her character as being "as ignorant and uninformed as the female mind at seventeen usually is." (p.12).

i shouldn't hold the fact that she isn't anne elliot against her. i mean after all, she can hardly help the fact that she is young, not particularly well educated, and inexperienced in the ways of the world.

here is the thing though. if i was going to sit down and spend some time with a friend, i probably wouldn't choose a naive polyanna type 17 year old. spending two days with catherine morland just reaffirmed my predjucides against these kinds of women.

being annoyed with people who don't take the world with a grain of salt probably says a lot more about me than it does about catherine morland or women who think like her. i'm serious. i am cynical. hmmm this isn't sounding terribly flattering.....

anyway needless to say, not my favorite austen, but it is probably better than a lot of the other drivel out there so if you haven't read it yet, it is kind of annoying but not a complete waste of your time.