death of a macbook + birth of a new project

First let’s all bow our heads and acknowledge the bad news *sigh* My dear, dear Macbook. So many good times we’ve had. So expensive you were are. You can never be replaced (mostly because I just can’t afford you right now, or maybe ever again). Although all of the hundreds of pictures, music, and other data files are now lost, your last remaining bill payments continue to live on with me every month. But you lived a good life. 5.5 Mac years is like 92 in human years. I can only hope we can soon meet again on the other side (i.e. I hope some Apple store Genius can save my data!!)

R.I.P. Macbook (2008 – 2013)

That’s merely part of the reason why this update comes so late. Lately I’ve working on my mom’s old laptop that doesn’t like being moved, breathes hard, suffers from perpetual hot flashes, and has to permanently stay attached to the wall. If this one dies in my care, I just don’t know WHAT I will do. But I throw those complaints mostly in good fun. I’m more than thankful for the use of this machine!

Not backing up your data is a hard lesson, but I just gotta move on. Right before it died I had the idea to begin an email newsletter about my kinda hair – very kinky, coily, textured in nature. I always feel great writing thoughts sharing my ideas in post on here, but I also wanted to write about something that I was genuinely interested in learning more about – my own hair. And to anyone that has always managed their “natural” God-given hair type since birth, I just know that sounds rather silly. I’ve chemically straightened my hair for so long, all I know is how to deal with straight hair. But when you’ve now got something to deal with that is closer to a Brillo pad than a horse’s tail in texture, the learning curve is steep. I just know I’m not alone in that.

So lately I’ve been doing much research, collecting my thoughts, and making circle scarves for the official launch of www.kinkedandcoiled.com. If you are interested at all, definitely sign-up or at least check it out

Last order of business to mention is Thanksgiving! I was lucky enough to get the day off this time since I spent the holiday alone in Milwaukee last year. I told my mom that I would let her off the hook and cook the entire spread myself. She is very grateful. I, on the other hand, am very scared. What have I done?? The fam has already been warned that this will not be a grand affair. And since I actually work a flight to Charlotte, NC back today, my lack of prep time is scarier and scarier.

Alas, here’s the menu I’m planning:

• For the turkey, I’m using The Pioneer Woman’s recipe for roasted turkey legs, a.k.a. Caveman Pops. Just doing turkey legs and a couple cornish hens since my family tends to favor the darker meat anyway. Besides, being responsible for baking a whole turkey completely terrifies me. Legs little hens? No problem!
• The dressing will be from Food Network’s Anne Burrell Sausage Cornbread Stuffing recipe. I’ve never made stuffing either. I just know I needed boxes of Jiffy and some chicken broth. But this recipe looks legit. Even if it tastes not-so-great, I’m thinking the sausage will help win it over in the end. There’s a video included, and it was rated 5 out of 5 stars. Sold.
• One of the major sides will be Martha Stewart’s Mac Cheese via Smitten Kitchen….I’ve never paid this much for cheese in life that I can’t pronounce, but the pics look so amazingly good. Could. Not. Resist. Trying.
• Another major side will be an easy one in theory the healthiest one. I stole this one via Joanna Goddard’s best-of foodie series – Roasted Mushrooms. They look divine and are only supposed to take about 15 minutes in a cast iron skillet in the oven.
• For dessert, I found a Pecan Bars recipe on Food Network. Again, rated 5 out of 5 stars. It appealed to me since my family loves pecans, I really didn’t want to do a pie, and it has just a touch of rum in it. Mmmm.

Of course I got bread rolls, the cranberry sauce, and maybe I’ll bake off a few sweet potatoes for good measure. But that’s it! I’ll definitely share how it goes, but let me know your plans/how it turned out in the comments. I’d love to hear it.

Happy Thanksgiving you guys