Thumbs up. Thumbs down.

Thumbs up: 500 Days of Summer

Cool cinematography, nonlinear storyline, KILLER wardrobe. Scarily accurate representation of certain aspects of my life. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thumbs down: Letters to Juliet

Wow, so terrible. So painful. Terrible script, worse acting. Good thing Italy is beautiful. That saved the movie. Vanessa Redgrave was the strongest actor; sort of gave one the impression that she was intimidated into doing the movie. Did someone have a gun to her back? Probably. The Taylor Swift song was the highlight of the movie. The highlight. People, that's just sad.

Thumbs up: Pretzel M&Ms and Lindt's A Touch of Sea Salt Dark Chocolate

Ok, I didn't like my first bite of pretzel M&Ms, but after a handful, I was hooked. So scrumptious! I mean, just a chocolate covered pretzel with a hard shell. And if you were to take the pretzel part away, you'd have Lindt's A Touch of Sea Salt Dark Chocolate. Oh. My. Gosh. It's amazing. I know, I was skeptical as well. But it's that addictive sweet and salty element... minus the carbs of a pretzel! Yay.

Thumbs down: Taco Time

Just gross. Enough said.

And to end on a positive note, thumbs up: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and Daddy-Long-Legs

Oh yeah, so I did have a birthday...

Here's my cute cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes:

If you try to count the candles, I may have to kill you.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip. With that inimitable cream-cheese-and-butter-divinity of a frosting. I love how they "fill" the hole in the Bundt with frosting. It's good to be decadent.

Can you tell I'm channeling Julie/Julia? I think it's one of my new favorite films. And now to scrounge up Mom's copy of Julia Child's book...

I also got some wonderful things for my birthday: a new cutting mat, fat quarters and squares of assorted blue, orange, and brown fabrics, some more pins and hand needles, and the books below.

Springy Yumminess

Because you're all so wonderful, here's a scrumptious picture, inspired by Rachel's scone picture that looked so indulgent.

I give you my masterpiece, Lemon Poppyseed Bread with a Lemon Glaze Drizzle:
This will be my contribution to the singles ward BBQ tonight. Now, unlike Rachel, I cannot claim domestic goddess-hood because... Betty Crocker made this bread for me. Two boxes of mix, some oil, flour, water, eggs, and there it is. So, I admit sneakery. But isn't it pretty? Mom's platter. I can't call it antique because I don't think it's even as old as she is... Hehe. But it's cool underneath. And some clippings from the yard. Spring has sprung!

La Gringa

"Gringa" is what I am, but it also happens to be the name of the most fabulous comestible I have ever... comested. Have you had a taco al pastor? If you have, you understand its bewitchment. If you haven't, well, I pity your poor soul. Let me tell you of its goodness.

First, you take a small corn tortilla. You drag it quickly through oil, brown it on both sides, and then lay it in another, sometimes unheated, corn tortilla. These tortillas should be the size of your hand. Next, you take pork, which has been marinated in a secret recipe that I have yet to figure out, and is presently roasting on a vertical spit. Regarding the secret recipe: one taco guy in Cabo San Lucas told me, "Um, it's paprika, I think. Mostly paprika powder. Uh huh." So it's secret. Anyway, shave off some of the spicy meat, directly into the tortillas. Then, take a couple little nicks off the pineapple, which is at the top of the spit. Catch the said pieces of pineapple in the tortilla from above your head, like so:


Then, pile on some cilantro and chopped onion. Oh my gosh. No sauce necessary, the meat is so juicy and flavorful, the cilantro so fresh and fragrant... I like to squeeze a lime wedge over it all, but that's it. MmmMMM!

Okay, so that's a taco al pastor. Are you ready to hear about "la gringa"? For those of you with heart conditions, this may be more than you can bear, so don't sue me if you go into cardiac arrest from my impending description.

Was that enough of a warning? Okay.

So, "la gringa" is all the components of a taco al pastor... BUT BETTER. I didn't think it was possible. Let me explain. Alright, instead of a pair of little corn tortillas, you take one larger flour tortilla. Now, this isn't your grocery store, precooked, smooshed bread sort of tortilla. This is pure lard and flour, baby. You can see through this puppy. It is rich and perfectly chewy-tender. On that base, melt some fresh Mexican cheese. Ahhhh I'm drooling... Next, throw on the meat and trimmings from the regular taco al pastor. Finally, eat. Change your life. My father and my trip to Baja California was all about the food. Wouldn't have it any other way. Scrumptious.