Don't Eat the Pictures - 1983

"Don't Eat the Pictures" is one of Sesame Street's full length feature films. It take place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and, I think, really captures what the golden age of Sesame Street was all about. The whole gang, including the original human cast, gets locked in the museum overnight. This movie was one of the first appearances of Mr. Snuffleupagus, when he was still considered Big Bird's imaginary friend! The plot also includes a lot of magic/mysticism as Big Bird and Snuffy have to help the ghost of an Egyptian prince break a demon's curse!

Naturally, there's also a ton of great music. Oscar sings an homage to broken Greek busts, and the title comes from a song Cookie Monster sings about wanting to eat mummies. The clip above has my favorite song in it, starting at 0:30. Even as a kid, I knew it would be a lullaby I sang my own child one day.

I really do recommend watching the whole thing, it's pretty sweet. Part 1 is here!

Shower Gift

Tomorrow I am driving up to Ossippee NH for my cousin Megan's wedding shower. It should be a really good time.

My cousin didn't register anywhere, but I still wanted to get her something special that she could associate with her wedding and and the awesomeness of being engaged.

I got her this sugar bowl from Czechoslovakia at J. Austen Antiques in Amherst. I thought it was really beautiful and unique, and it reminded me of her. I loved the colors! I hope she likes it. It was fun going in there too, I had never been before. The staff was super nice and helpful, and they had an absolutely gorgeous selection of vintage jewelery.

A chipmunk came over for breakfast today.

He also had a lunch date with Lily last week. Best Friends forever! or-until Lily eats him.

100 points for Gryffindor!

Paul and I are going to see the newest Harry Potter movie tonight. I'm pretty excited! It'll be interesting talking about the film afterwards with him, because I've read the books and he hasn't. I'll be sure to come back with a review of sorts.

In anticipation of the movie, I watched this ridiculously awesome, full - length Harry Potter Musical. It does a really great job of incorporating the major plot points from all 7 books into one story. The music is also pretty good. Plus, there's a Voldemort tap dance number near the end of the first act!

The Voldemort/Quirrell scenes pretty much steal the show.

My name is Jack and Fred

In addition to Disney tapes, the only other thing I was really allowed to watch as a kiddo was Sesame Street. I have a lot of fond memories of their classic segments and their full - length films. I was super sad to hear that they're now putting a parental warning label on the DVD's of the episodes from the 70's and 80's, claiming "they may not fit the needs of today's preschooler". All I can do is shake my head, cuz' it was good enough for me, and everybody else who grew up in that era. I don't think they're giving today's little kids enough credit.



This was one of my fave songs from the show. I can still remember a lot of the words. It has a really nice, positive message about respecting and caring about other people regardless of differences, as well as a pretty catchy tune.

This vid is also great for scoping out sweet late 70's children's fashion. Particularly, the mini "members only" jacket at 0:35 and any kid who is wearing glasses.

I wonder where all these cute little lip synchers are now? And how do they feel about being worthy of parental advisory?

Caturday VII

This week, Paul and I are sitting the Barba Family cat, Lily, while the family goes on a road trip through middle America. Isn't she a cutie?


It was pretty cool having a pet around. It makes me look forward to the day when we'll have our own kitty.




I like this video because it showcases one of Lily's favorite hobbies, eating string like it's delicious spaghetti. Seriously, we had to hide ribbons and my yarn stash because she was gnawing on them until they snapped in two. They should have named her scissor kitty.

Lily's other hobbies include sitting on the windowsill and acting like she's gonna jump through the screen to catch birds, making indignant noises when she wants attention, and sticking her paws/face in your glass of water. She also likes getting high on catnip and hiding under the bed.

I'm gonna miss her when she's gone!

Wednesday Dinner #10 - Deconstructed BLTs

I wanted to try something special this week. Yes, those salads are in little bowls made out of bacon! So much for vegetarian tendencies, but I saw this idea on notmartha.org and was itching to try it for myself. It was pretty easy, and made this meal fun and unique.

I think that in the future, I'll try to make the bowls bigger. These tiny ones were perfect for eating like finger food, but the bacon to salad ratio was like 50:50. Awesome for the bacon lover in your life, but not exactly healthful.

To make your own bacon bowls, use an oven safe dish that is slightly larger than your desired bowl. The bacon does shrink up a bit as you cook it. I used the back of my muffin tin to make these mini-sized ones.

Preheat the oven to 400. Cover whatever your form is with foil. I buttered my foil before I fit it around the cups. This was supposed to help start the bacon cooking, generating a little oil before the fat starts to render. I feel like it also may have made the bacon a little more tender and soft. If you want your bacon cups crispy, you may want to skip that step.

I used about 2 1/2 slices of bacon per cup. I didn't do the fancy weaving pattern that they did on not martha, but simply alternated vertical and horizontal pieces as I wrapped it. They still held together and held their shape really well. The structural integrity of bacon is awesome.

You should bake your cups for 25-35 minutes, checking on them intermittently. You should also be sure to place a pan underneath your bacon, to catch drippings and prevent your house from burning down.

Be very, very careful taking them out of the oven, as there will be hot grease all over your pan. Once they have cooled, carefully remove them from the foil and put them on a paper towel to drain.

The other cool thing about these is that you can make them in advance, and throw a salad (or maybe even scrambled eggs?) into them when you want to eat. These were positively bacon-tastic!