ah, the Super Bowl: men in tights, balls, (speaking of balls) commercials about men not wearing pants, old men singing on stage, betty white, more commercials with men in panties, (speaking of panties) simon “the mentalist pantywaist” baker, blah blah blah, tackles, boring, balls, ed begley jr., blah blah blah, touchdowns…

oh, something about it all makes me want to go shoe shopping.

it’s only february, so i should temper my excitement for spring – and spring fashion, but it’s going to be tough, what with all the strappy sandals sneaking their way past winter and back into my magazines.

i mean, look at these little cork-soled beauties from Born! i’m a sucker for mustard-anything, but plunk cute flowers on it, and wrap it up in straps and i’m pudding.*

*the strap is key, cuz if it ain’t got a strap, my robo-feet can’t walk in them!

i snapped these pix from the passenger window as we crept down my parent’s ambling driveway en route to dinner early this evening.

my parents live on a gorgeous piece of land tucked away against Deer Grove Forest Preserve in the Chicago suburbs. the forest preserve is aptly named – deer have quite a comfy home there.

we moved to this neighborhood when i was in 5th grade, but i never get tired of seeing deer dotted against the snow. they are such graceful animals – even when doing the most mundane things, like staring at you or being scared or walking or doing other deer-y things.

deer are the models of the Ruminant world. aside from eating every now & then, all they have to do is stand around and look pretty. i mean, just look at this adorable little yearling (top) stepping across a frozen pond! such poise!

Happy Belated National Soup Week!*

as you know, i love soup. it is the ultimate comfort food. it warms the belly, cures the common cold, stops world wars, pairs well with Gilmore Girls and a hangover, heals heartache, ends world hunger, grows unicorn horns, and is generally amazing in every way.

did you know (and this part is cribbed from my site) that the word, restaurant, was first used to describe a soup? yep, in 16th century France, street vendors called restaurers sold a highly concentrated, inexpensive soup that was billed as an antidote to physical exhaustion. in 1765, a Parisian entrepreneur opened a shop specializing in restaurers, and thus the modern word restaurant was born. so, restaurants and restaurateurs and eaters everywhere – you owe everything to soup. respect!

in honor of National Soup Week coming to a close, here is a list of my top five** most memorable soups (in no particular order):

1. bouillabaisse
devotay, 117 north linn street, iowa city, ia
yeah… this was pretty much the best soup i’ve ever had. HUGE bowl of seafood bouillabaisse for only 5 bucks. i love devotay’s food, but their soup is cosmically good.

2. hot & sour
china star, 201 south clinton street, iowa city, ia
hands down, my favorite hot & sour soup. i don’t care if you take me to the best chinatown in the world – iowa city’s china star does NOT dilly dally around when it comes to sticking crazy amounts of hot and crazy amounts of sour into the hot & sour. you’ve not have hot & sour until you’ve had china star’s hot & sour.

3. tamarack
grandma & grandpa’s house, 3002 s kinnickinnic ave, milwaukee, wi
my grandma beckwith made this soup. she was so super sweet, and would try to make this every time i visited. it’s a simple, brothy soup with frozen veggies and ground beef – which doesn’t actually sound good on paper, but i always went back for 5th’s. because it tasted awesome. and because my grandma infused everything with love.

4. Campbell’s vegetarian “ABC” vegetable
childhood home, 6 russet way, palatine, il
i used to walk home from elementary school for lunch, and my mom always had soup on the stove when i got home. i asked for a Campbell’s Classic: simple, salty, with fun alphabet shapes, what could be better than “ABC soup?” especially in winter?

5. beet
hot chocolate, 1747 north damen avenue, chicago, il
sometimes i like Hot Chocolate’s atmosphere even more than the food, but they always make a great soup. a beautiful fuchsia, a hint of sweet and a vinegar-y sizzle, their beet soup was no exception – and a perfect anecdote to the winter blues.

*i feel guilty for being completely oblivious that this week was National Soup Week until wednesday (thanks for the heads up, Ka). you should have been reading this post on monday…

** i might turn this into a top ten list, but for now, you’ve gotta deal with only five.