Monday, January 01, 2007

Queen of the Sloths

Happy New Year! I'm in Tacoma for the annual Slothfest with my college friends Katie and Al, which is lovely. We do this every year, basically--gather for a few days of hanging out in our jammies with pinochle and chocolate and the same few movies we always watch. Things are a little different these days--Teri opted to stay in Arizona, and I'm the only one without a husband in tow. It's just the same, though, too, in all the good ways. We went to Red Robin for endless steak fries, which is a necessity. So there's that.

We exchanged Christmas presents the other night; you can tell we're all becoming adults because we all gave each other cookbooks. I also got Book Lust (a book of book recommendations!), The Action Heroine's Handbook (Like I need a manual. I watched five seasons of Alias), the new Traveling Pants book, and a calendar full of photos of my friends and me. We're good at shopping for each other.

I have a theory about New Year's Eve. In my mind, there are two legitimate ways to ring in the new year: either go all out, get faaaaabulous, and go to a huge, formal party (note that I've never actually done this, but I'm open to the idea) or stay in with your very favorite people. This year, I chose the latter (minus Katie, who went up to Issaquah): I spent the evening with Al, Paul, Vicky, and Vicky's three-year-old nephew; we ate pizza and watched a Discovery Channel special about the ten most likely scenarios for the end of the world, then played Scene It? and rang in the new year with the Space Needle fireworks on TV. Nothing too exciting, but it wasn't exactly nothing special, either. It was just the way I like to celebrate the year: with food and friends.

Here's to 2007!

9 comments:

Teri said...

Happy New Year! By the way, you sent my Christmas card to the wrong address, so make sure you use the right one when you send my cookbook, or whatever my gift is. Otherwise it will take longer and the suspense might kill me. Next year, I'll be with you guys, I promise!

Anonymous said...

I got a lot of cookbooks too: 4! Two Turkish, one Indian, and one Barefoot Contessa. Erik's all over the Turkish ones, and insisting we make a dish tonight that translates as "Something nice for the husband". It has cheese, so he calls it "Husbands' delight". I'll let you know how it goes!

Anonymous said...

Oh, and Happy New Year too! I'm all about the 2007. We went for a quiet almost-midnight walk along the bay, which was another good way to bring in the new year.

Unknown said...

Holy crap there is a new Traveling Pants book?? I must investigate.
Happy new year! (Also, I won't mention that I have an alternate version of Slothfest with one of my friends, called Best Day Ever, because...it's just too weird.)

Liz said...

Teri, I'll need you to send me the newest address again, then--I looked through old emails to find the most current address and took a chance.

I wouldn't want you to die of suspense. Then our 2007 New Year's plans would be ruined, and we can't have that.

Liz said...

Heather,
Hee, "Something nice for the husband." I'm sure Erik's thrilled. I can't wait to hear about it--could this be a new Wednesday-night tradition? A precursor to kung pao tofu?

Also, I both love and am completely weirded out by the Barefoot Contessa. She's so totally pretentious and she's always so determined to prove that her poor husband (Geoffrey) is really her husband, but on the other hand, she makes delicious food and she has absurdly shiny hair. I think she's totally bizarre, but I love her show.

Liz said...

Sarah, the new Traveling Pants book comes out on January 9. It's called Forever in Blue.

Of course you have east-coast Slothfest. Don't tell me you're surprised by this.

Teri said...

Liz - look on the front of your calendar, goofball. That's why I put our addresses there.

Anonymous said...

We haven't made the husband's delight yet b/c he forgot the cheese. He's making it this Saturday, though, and I'll let you know.

I've never watched Barefoot Contessa, but she did seem a little Martha Stewarty in the book. As you say, even the recipes looked absurdly pretentious yet good. Maybe like what I've heard about Cafe Gratitude.