gp on the daily-- day 31

and so ends the year where i started the good half of it--on the beach at lake michigan. 

it changes so much with the shift in seasons. i don't think i'll ever be able to live far from it now.

can't wait to take more pictures of it when it's even colder in the new year.

gp on the daily-- day 30

not much to yesterday but chores and coughing. i am so good at coughing.

are you doing resolutions for 2017? i know, a lot of us are feeling pretty...dire. but in the new year, i'm gonna work through the movies in our collection that i haven't watched yet. one a week, i think. prob alphabetically.

it'll take me a hell of a lot longer than a year to finish at that rate but you have to start somewhere.

books wise for 2016, i only managed to read about 55 books. considering all that went down though, i'm kinda impressed that i managed to read at *all*. if time allows in the new  year, i think i'm gonna finish the books on my old kindle so i can recycle it. um, if i can see the screen through all the lines. XD XD

one more "on the daily", then it's back to a weekly posting schedule!

gp on the daily-- day 29

so i don't know about you but my new year's resolution is to stop being so goddamned sick all the time. 

srsly, if i ever get better, my immune system should, hypothetically, be able to stop a truck.

here are some almondy snowdrop cookies that i made. somehow the powdered sugar isn't gross on them. 

today i will be reading some more and hanging out with vapelife again.  leff has ordered me my own humidifier! two guesses as to what i will call vapelife's sibling! (secondlife. i am going to call it secondlife.)

gp on the daily-- day 28

last night the dec 2016 snakku box finally arrived. (this is not spon. i ordered + paid for it for myself.)

today i'm only going to be able to show you unboxing pics because my palate is just not in the right place for wagashi due to this hell beast of a cold. too subtle of flavors, you know? you know.

anyway, the snakku box comes wrapped in furoshiki cloth!

the packaging is just all around super attractive. love the hokusai wave and all the kamon! the card describing the snacks is also nice. i think those are minka? which would make sense as this is a BOX OF GIFU PREFECTURE GOODIES!! (well, part of it anyway.)

none of the edibles were broken.

and here they are all outside of the box!

not gonna lie, these are the two that i'm most looking forward to. on the left, natto flavored goodness! will i survive?? (prob, idk.) and right side, BUNNIES!!! APPLE BUNNIES!!!

i'll update with photos of food and reactions as soon as i'm better. (i know there's a group of you who are *into* those types of posts.)

gp on the daily-- day 27

so i was watching a kim dao vlog the other day and she mentioned that she's been eating a lot cheese ramen in korea. now i ask you, having learned of its existence, how could i possibly resist cheese ramen?? 

short answer, there's no way that i could so a google search later, and pow!, a cheese freakin ramen recipe. leff made us some.

guys, it is SO GOOD, guys! like mac and cheese but not. give it a try!

i don't play "pokemon go" anymore but the app is still on my phone so i got notification of the xmas pikachus. guess who was in my living room.

i didn't catch him because i've been out of pokeballs for months now. *shrug*

k, back to sleeping! it's the cold that won't quit! *weeping*

gp on the daily-- day 26

good news-- xmas is over for another fucking year. HOORAY HOORAY HOORAY

bad news-- this cold is so awful that i'm having to borrow leff's humidifier until i get my own. otherwise, no breathing for me. :/

bless you, vapelife. bless you hard.

gp on the daily-- day 25

i suppose this is technically day 24 but idgaf. 

i ordered a premade dinner for the holiday meal again. smart choice! probably should have done it earlier tho since i had to order one for 6-8 people instead of 4-6. D: 

i mean this ham was so big that we named it. (headphones for scale.)

here is crisis dinner.

it even came with pie.

tomorrow is a skip day

this cold has come on full force so i need to sleep. will post again when possible.

gp on the daily-- day 23

welcome back to my life, macdo eggnog shake.

the guy who made it was laughing with me because he wasn't sure how to make them. yes, i am the only person who drinks these. (and even then, i only drink them once every few years.)

leff and i checked out a few lights last night on the way to dinner.

 joy in many languages!!

we would've walked further into andersonville but, even though it was a balmy 25f (trust me, that is WARM right now!) it was still a little too chilly to walk around forever. maybe xmas eve. idk.

got to see these new (to me) murals tho! LOVE THEM!!

gp on the daily-- day 22

yesterday was low key A Day if that makes any sense. so you're just gonna get the high points! liiiiiiike....

a trip to the library for the new banana yoshimoto (the librarian was also a fan of her books!! (never had this happen in any other city in which i've lived!)) and ali eteraz's fiction debut.

and then, to cheer ourselves up, leff and i traded holiday presents. here's a picture of the rilakkuma cookies i got for him. they are *so good*. perfect for tea!

(leff's original picture here)

AND LEFF GOT ME GHIBLI PLUSH FLDKSAJFD;LAKJFD;LAKJFDLAKJFDA;LKJFDA;LKJ NO FACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND A KODAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i am so happy now. WHAT GREAT SURPRISES!!! THANK YOU LEFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

gp on the daily-- day 21

i like the aragon theater. i really do. maybe i don't like looking at it for 20 min on an elevated platform in the cold tho. 

ANYWAY EARLY PRESENTS FROM LEFF THANK YOU LEFF!!! my skin is so dry right now because of the wind and cold so I NEED THESE MASKS

here's a loaf of guinness beer bread that i made to go with some veggie cassoulet.

and here is a cool dude impersonating a partial eclipse.

still feeling rough but i might try to head downtown today.

gp on the daily-- day 20

yesterday was too cold for doing much besides taking out the garbage,

snuggling with clouseau

and reading. have you ever read anything by pico iyer?  you should. he's pretty great.

also enjoyed claire-louise bennett's pond.

perhaps i'll have bit more time to read as leff has brought home another cold. i am not looking forward to having it but, christ, i can already feel it developing. WISH ME LUCK AVENGE ME REMEMBER ME ughhh

gp on the daily-- day 19

since it was too cold to even look out the window yesterday, i did some more holiday baking. these cookies are an ode to 2016. here's my template.

yes, garbage fires. (posted them on ig last night)

the cookies are chocolate sugar with colored sugar used for decoration. i cannot think of a more fitting tribute for the majority of last year.

now back to fighting off leff's new cold! XD XD

gp on the daily-- day 18

for the first time in about four days, the windows haven't been frozen shut. we had fresh air for about 10 min. (yes, i am one of those weirdos who opens windows whenever i can. it's a good thing to do if you have pets.)

have you had this delicious lemon drink before? i hadn't until yesterday and now i'm gonna go buy out the entire stock of it at golden pacific. it is "tasty" but also TASTY.

i am in love.

the air has been super dry lately. (the cats are shocking me with their noses, tails, ears.) bring on the holiday scented humidity!

fun things seen while running errands:  baby fountain's winter coat.

this weird ass cucumber. on a table. in the middle of the sidewalk. just...hanging out.

mail call from saturday included new washi tape and dhc from leff's mom! thanks for the washi tape and dhc, leff's mom!

i think at some point there will be a photo of the SKIN CARE LINEUP (new dhc included obvs) in my bathroom. it is ridiculous but, you know, people still think i'm in my early 30s or so soooooooo.........

...............

..............................

i mean, i know i'm vain. XD XD

gp on the daily-- day 17

earlier this year, angelica posted a photo on ig about hot dr. pepper and i will admit, i was intrigued by the idea as 1) i am southern so at least 68% of my blood is made from carbonated soda, 46% of that being dr. pepper 2) i am a fan of cough syrup since it's saved my ass (and lungs) on more than one occasion. 

since it's finally cold enough in chicago for hot beverages (oh, christ, is it ever cold enough), i thought, why not now.

why. not.

you can google hot dr pepper if you want (worth it for vintage ads), but i will save you the trouble and tell you that you put the amount you want in a sauce pan and heat that shit up until it boils. 

then you pour it over a very thin slice or two of lemon.

now, as a drink on its own, it's not bad. vaguely cough syrup tea tasting as expected. but! if you think of it as hot dr pepper, you, my friend, are gonna gag. i thought of it both ways! ha! such fun!

this is not going to be my new go to drink, is what i am saying. if you want to try it, keep your expectations low and have at it. just, uh...keep the portion small, k?