Alyssa Goodnight's Blog, page 17
August 17, 2011
Ta-Ta Confusion
I think I started this post over a year ago and then realized I never finished or published it.
This post chronicles an embarrassing, but hilarious, moment for me.
My husband and I were going on a trip to Portland, OR–no kids–and I was dropping the kids off at my mother-in-law's house before heading to the airport. We decided to go to lunch first, and as she'd recently been to a place she liked, she suggested it. I can't remember the name of it…something or other House maybe…but I was game.
I don't know if this is relevant or not, but I will tell you that the restaurant appeared to be owned and operated by African Americans. It was charmingly located in an old house in an old neighborhood, and was quite classy and quiet until I dragged my boys in there. We found something on the menu for them and then I looked it over myself. Finally I decided on the barbeque beef stuffed baked potato, which was referred to on the menu as a 'Ta-Ta Platter.' Pronouncing this in my mind as 'ta-ta/goodbye' (short a), I thought this a rather hoity-toity thing to call a baked potato.
You can probably see where this is going.
My mother-in-law and I both orderd the Ta-Ta Platter, each of us pronouncing it the same to the no-doubt baffled waitress. We ate, it was delicious, we left. It wasn't until I was regaling Butters of this story at the airport that I saw the utter ridiculousness of the situation. It was a potato platter–pa-ta-ta (short a/long a/long a)! And like some society matron in a mink stole and pearls, I was ordering it as an uppity ta-ta/goodbye platter.
After that I dissolved into a fit of giggles. And resolved to see if I was only dufus in the family. Believe it or not, I drew up a mini-menu and asked my father-in-law and sister-in-law to 'order off the menu.' My menu offerings were specifically selected to insure that they both chose the baked potato. (Genius, right). Well both of them ordered exactly the way I ordered–the dufus way! But I felt only slightly better. We're probably a hilarious memory for that waitress… Good times.
August 14, 2011
August 10, 2011
The Séance: Creepy or Thrilling?
Just finished The Dark Enquiry by Deanna Raybourn (set in the late nineteenth century) and am reading Ammie Come Home by Barbara Michaels (set in the 1960′s). Séances feature in both, no naturally, I now have séances on the brain. Why doesn't anyone hold séances any more? It seems like this idea would be embraced as a unique party entertainment. Did people used to be more open-minded than they are now? Or do they just prefer to get their spooks from scary movies? Does anyone even use a Ouija board anymore??
My sister and I had a Ouija board and used it every now and then, generally to ask it who we were going to marry. I swear she was pushing. She swore I was. We both insisted we were barely touching it. And I was barely touching it–I can't vouch for her.
Anyway…with all these thoughts of séances, I wondered who I'd want to attempt to summon if I was ever asked to participate in a séance. Eliminating family to even things out a bit, I decided it would have to be Jane Austen. You probably saw that coming, right? I wouldn't be able to resist the opportunity. This train of thought naturally led to the consideration of which Austen character I would try to summon (suspending belief here…I know none of them are actually real, so don't worry about me!)
Many of you would probably say Mr. Darcy. But I have to admit…he's not even my favorite Austen hero. Knightley is my favorite. But I wouldn't summon him. Maybe Elizabeth, just for the fun of it. Possibly Mr. Bennett, because I think he's hilarious. Darcy is even a possibility, if I could get him pre-Elizabeth. That could prove to be very entertaining.
What about you? Would you accept an invitation to a séance? Who would you wish to summon (not counting family members)? Which Austen character would you summon, given that fantastical opportunity?
August 9, 2011
Reading is so Cool!
Only 12 days till the first day of school here and the official beginning of my tenure as PTA Literacy Chair. I posted a few weeks back on theme for the library, Reading Ninjas: No Book is Safe, and at the time, I imagined ordering or creating some sort of giveaway incentive sporting ninjas in a variety of attack positions. I have since rethought that plan. But I like the new plan even better!
First of all, I'm calling this The Year of the Book (in keeping with the Asian theme…I don't actually know where ninjas originated, so I'm glomming on to a whole continent). And the incentives will be colored wristbands based (loosely) on the karate belt hierarchy (totally mixing themes…and maybe cultures here.) So the first belt a child can earn will read "Reading Ninjas * White Belt"…and the last will read "Reading Ninjas * Black Belt." In between, they can earn yellow, green, blue, and red belts. I had to cut a few colors out due to budgetary limitations. Sounds pretty cool, right? [image via]
I was trying to figure out how to create a ninja star logo, its points made out of books, but I may prefer something like this [via] (redesigned, of course): 
I'm envisioning ninja cookies and brownies…it's gonna be awesome!
August 7, 2011
Imagining a launch party
At this point, I'm not even sure if they'll be one. A launch party for Austentatious that is.
I have the sort of personality in which I will daydream about this for months, hoarding all the what-ifs to myself, wondering if I could put everything together and make a spectacular success of it. Well, maybe this is me taking the first step. I'm posting a few pictures…a few possibilities…just in case.
I LOVE the silhouettes and the READ block letters, and the cozy tea party theme! The books are a very nice touch too! [via]
A photo booth would be a blast, particular with this sort of picture frame backdrop, or maybe a manor house (Pemberley anyone…?) with bonnets, mustaches, and mutton chops available for try-on. [via]
Fairy lights and fabric flowers…or paper flowers…or streamers… There should be something hanging from the ceiling to help with that magical, fairytale feeling. [via]
Cupcakes play a little part in the book (but I can't find the photo credit)…and cinnamon doughnuts just sound lovely! [via] With the release date being January 31st, I figure hot chocolate will be the perfect accompaniment! [via]
August 5, 2011
Chopped!
I've been waffling for a while now, but tomorrow I'm going to do it. The appointment is made and everything. By eleven a.m. tomorrow morning, I will have short-short hair. I'm taking this picture to the stylist and hoping for the best. We'll see.
In other news, I loved Ginnifer Goodwin in Ramona & Beezus, which I dragged my boys to this summer…it was only a dollar. They likely wouldn't admit it, but I think they enjoyed it. It was just a fun movie. One of those feel-good movies where everything slides right into place for a happily-ever-after. Just how I like 'em.
August 2, 2011
Book Review Club ~ August 2011
Summer is quickly drawing to a close…school supply shopping has begun with a vengeance, new school clothes are being scoped out (GFB will now be doing school uniforms), and the boredom is starting to overwhelm some people…
Not me, I've got plenty to do! But I'm still managing to squeeze in time for summer movies, trips to the pool, and other fun stuff. Not so much time for reading though…still, I did manage to finish this month's Book Review Club pick, Let's Bring Back: An Encyclopedia of Forgotten-Yet-Delightful, Chic, Useful, Curious, and Otherwise Commendable Things from Times Gone By by Lesley M.M. Blume. And it's just as wonderful as its title implies!
This pretty little book caught my eye in Anthropologie quite a while ago and I thought it might be fun to read, so I looked it up at my local library. After weeks and weeks and weeks with a status of 'On Order,' it finally came in, and it has been quite a charming and informative read! Plus, it's positively lovely, with old-fashioned graphics, lovely lettering, and charming illustrations.
As you can imagine, the entire premise of this book is that in the progress and technology-driven world we live in, where quantity is often preferred to quality, we've lost sight of some of the truly wonderful things the world once had to offer. This slim little volume is alphabetized and includes mini bio sketches on some of the glamorous, eccentric, genuine people who lived and died long ago. It mentions fun words that have gone out of style and architectural beauties that have long been demolished. In short, it's a fun little history book filled with good memories and suggestions as to how inject a bit more glamour, naughtiness, and genuine fun into our lives. I would recommend it whole-heartedly, and I think I just might have to have a copy of my very own.
A few favorite (brief) entries from the book:
Garter belts: "The looked sexy and felt sexy. Getting into a pair of modern pantyhose, on the other hand, always feels akin to mashing toothpaste back into the tube."
One-piece Swimsuits: "Bikinis are grand, but it's hard to live up to their expectations."
Poison: "Poisoning a person is a much more elegant way to murder him than shoving him down the stairs or shooting him. There used to be a real art to poisoning; a veritable industry of blackhearted apothecaries and witch doctors languished when it went out of fashion."
It's probably not surprising that since reading this book, I've become a little nostalgic for a few things myself…
1. Ice cream counters in drug stores. Not the kind from the 50′s…just a simple ice cream freezer with ten flavors of ice cream and a little spot behind the counter for cups and cones. There was a Sav-on Drugs with one of these counters in Houston when I was in kid, and I cannot tell you how much pleasure I derived from stopping by the drugstore with my family on a Friday night for an ice cream cone.
2. Bookstores…so very many are disappearing.
3. Toy stores…the sort with the really cool toys that you can't find anywhere else. 
4. A dark evening spent with a Ouija board. (Even if my sister was always pushing it!)
5. From Butters (hubby): Coca-cola made with sugar instead of corn syrup. The Coca-cola Company still uses sugar in Mexico, so we can still get the real deal, but it's the principle…why can't we have sugar?
6. Also from Butters: School House Rock. Those Saturday morning tunes were classic! And the tunes were catchy and educational.
7. Common sense. These days, it seems to be lacking.
What do you wish you could bring back?
Looking for other excellent book recommendations? Be sure to visit Barrie Summie's blog!
Click icon for more
book review blogs
@Barrie Summy
July 31, 2011
Island Paradise…
Don't forget…you still have a bit of time to enter my Amazon gift card giveaway. Just scroll down, take a look at my hot-off-the-press cover art, and tell me what you like about it. Easy as that, I'll enter your name in the drawing later today.
As promised…a quick travelogue of my trip to Oahu…
I snorkeled for the first time and swam with the sea turtles!
I swam to the base of a waterfall (in pretty frigid water)!
I hung out with Duke Kahanamoku, whose story I'd recently learned via the Texas Bluebonnet Book Surfer of the Century!
I visited the Dole Plantation, took the train ride, and got lost in the (2008) World's Largest Maze!
I luau'd and watched native Polynesian dancers (& the thrilling fire dancers!)
I visited Wakiki beach and sipped a Le Mint on the patio of The House Without a Key, with Diamond Head away in the distance. I also ate shrimp from a famous cart on the North Shore (featured in this month's Sunset magazine) and had shave ice at a spot made popular by Triple D!
July 28, 2011
Pages and pages to go…
My reading has seemed to drop off dramatically in the last couple of weeks, which is really rather surprising, given that I had a to-and-from airplane trip to Hawaii (with no kids!) available to me and eight long days of vacation. In all that time, I only managed to work my way through two-thirds of The Dark Enquiry by Deanna Raybourn (which I'm loving!)
But before I left, a library hold came in for me…and after I came back, another library hold came in for me. And I received a book for review. And Jenny Crusie's Gothic Book Club decided on the next book in the rotation…and I bought the fabulously priced e-book release of a friend…
So now I'm currently reading:
The Dark Enquiry
Hourglass by Myra McEntire
Aimee Come Home by Barbara Michaels
Let's Bring Back by Lesley M. M. Blume (which I'm ga-ga over and will be reviewing here on the blog next Wed)
The Paradise Prophecy by Robert Browne and…
Adventures of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles by Edward A. Grainger
Whew! I need to carve out a bigger chunk of time for this eclectic mix that includes romantic suspense, YA paranormal, gothic romance, non-fiction, thriller, and western noir!
image via, nostalgia via Let's Bring Back.
July 25, 2011
The Cover Reveal!
It's been a long time in coming, but I finally have the cover art for AUSTENTATIOUS! !
And to celebrate, I'm hosting a little giveaway. To enter, let me know in the comments, here on the blog, on Facebook, or on Twitter what you like best about the cover. I will draw a winner at random out of all the entries on August 1st, and the winner will receive a $15 gift card to Amazon.com.
So get crackin'!
I'll start…I like how the cover looks simultaniously modern and vintage, which goes very well with the theme of the book. Okay, now your turn…
