going public

Mr. Beeton wisely informed me that in linking to my sister-in-law's blog in my last post that my anonymity would no longer be in tact. You may have probably guessed from reading this blog that my name isn't Martha Beeton (in fact, that's a nom de plume I came up with from two of my idols - Martha Stewart and Mrs. Beeton of the book of household management), my husband's name isn't Mr., my dog's name isn't Ella (shortened from Nigella, another domestic goddess), and my new baby's name isn't Baby. I suppose when I started this blog I was afraid of getting dooced, but then I quickly realized that aside from my occasional complaint about having too many papers to read I haven't really written anything controversial enough to get me fired from my job at The First President University. And, now that Baby Beeton is here and we're taking pictures left and right, I want to be able to post them without linking to my Flickr account. Like this one here...


Isn't it cute?

It's from our 48-hour stay in Ocean City, New Jersey where we spent some time visiting with my mom, dad, Auntie M, her Lord Boyfriend, my brother, his wife, and their darling Little M. We also got to see my Uncle T though, sadly, we missed visiting with my cousins from Maine because one of the kids had a bit of the stomach flu (we didn't think Baby Beeton could handle those germs right now). Though we didn't get to the beach (except to snap this shot), we did get to walk the boardwalk and pick up some salt water taffy from Shrivers.

Another highlight of our visit was Little M's love of Baby Beeton. You see, Little M is expecting a brother in September - for now nicknamed Baby Puddin' - so she was pleased as punch to be able to have a temporary little brother all to herself. She helped Baby Beeton take a bath; she read him stories; and she sweetly asked, "May I pat Baby Beeton on the head?" and "May I tickle Baby Beeton?" She's going to be a great big sister, and she's going to love her little brother just like I loved her dad - my little brother - when he was born. I hope they have as much fun playing pretend as we did (cue the Monkees soundtrack here).

Keep sweeping, Martha

don't call it a comeback

The long awaited comeback meal post...

I have to admit. The first three months of this journey were not easy. I'm a little slow to warm up to change to begin with, and then when I began to lose my appetite and feel just generally "blah," I began to wonder what Mr. Beeton had gotten me into. Never before had I realized just how much I use food to celebrate, well, just about everything. (I blame my Nana Beeton for this who met both the good and bad in life with green jello salad, sugar on tomatoes, and lobster.) Students groveling over grades? At least beef stoganoff was waiting at home. It's the weekend? Time to celebrate with salmon and lime butter sauce. All of the sudden, though, the only thing I could stomach was tomato juice, banana strawberry smoothies from McDonald's (no other kind would do), and rice cakes... so many rice cakes.

And, then, Thanksgiving weekend, the baby said, "Well, I guess we're done with that," and my appetite kicked back in. Everything tasted good again (well, actually, everything except tomato juice... anyone want a case?). I could eat; I could cook; it was wonderful. I guess it's true that you never really know how much you love something until you don't have it anymore.

The second trimester arrived just in time for our monthly bookclub meeting, which I was hosting. It's a wonderful group of a half-a-dozen women from the D.M.V., and we meet about once a month to talk about whatever book we've selected (appropriately, December's selection was The Persian Pickle Club... pickles were also something I had no trouble eating from Day 1). I decided that I had enough energy to finally remove the wallpaper glue from the living room walls and paint as well as prepare a winter meal for the meeting. I convinced a reluctant Mr. Beeton to help. The morning of the bookclub we finally finished painting the ceiling, and we set up like we were on some kind of design show challenge. But everything looked beautiful. I'll post before and after pictures soon. With the progress we've been making on our house, I almost feel like it's a real home (or at least I will when the sticky tile is out of the kitchen for good).

And the meal. I made Amy's Vegetarian Chili, but I made it in the crock pot - easier and better, I think, because the flavors really have a chance to meld. I also made Nigella Lawson's Ultimate Greek Salad, which never, ever disappoints; it's a Beeton party staple. Mulled wine was also on the menu for those who weren't expecting. I've tried mulled wine in the past, but this recipe is the best I've come across. Our friend E brought an assortment of desserts from a cookie-making party that she had attended, which really saved the day in the dessert department.

And, this weekend, we have our housewarming party! Having all our friends (and some of our family) in to show off what we've done will be so fun... now only if I could have a cocktail.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Watched The Kids Are All Right, Dinner for Schmucks, Going the Distance, and Cyrus. Watching Big Love: Season 4.

Finished reading The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas and The Atlas of Love by Laurie Frankel (an old graduate school friend).

inauguration

This weekend is one of my favorite kinds of weekends. I've got a 72 hour reprieve from grading before a stack of research projects come in on Monday. That means, right now, all I have to do is read entertaining novels (In Hovering Flight by Joyce Hinnefeld) and clean the house.  Mr. Beeton and I may watch a movie later (The Happening), and we will surely walk Ella, even though it's bitter cold.

I have to admit. This is not my first attempt at blogging. I'm very good at starting blogs and never following through. But, I feel differently about this one. To start, I've created a very nice alias for myself, so that I don't have to worry about losing my job because I've complained about a demanding student. Two, I've got a focus. The stories of my life, while entertaining, are really all over the place. A friend once compared me to Bridget Jones because, while I don't really look for mischief and disaster, they find me nevertheless. In centering my blog around the domestic, though, I can avoid all those haphazard stories about people behind me on the bus throwing up; I can ignore the tales of our neighbor's dog, running wild through our house, breaking a vase. Instead, I can concentrate on what really matters to me these days - my home.

Okay, so home may be a bit of a misnomer.  Mr. Beeton and I live in a two bedroom, railroad apartment in Glover Park, Washington, DC.  I moved her four years ago, fresh out of graduate school to take on a job at a pretty fancy, urban institution in downtown DC.  Last year, Mr. Beeton, who was working on his own graduate degree in Austin, Texas, moved back as well, and in November of last year, we got married. Since then (well, really always... I drew houses and was obsessed with Country Living as a child), I've grown obsessed with my living space and with food... it's what makes me most happy.  I agree with Nigella Lawson, who, in How To Be a Domestic Goddess, states, "I do think that many of use have become alienated from the domestic sphere, and that it can actually make us feel better to claim back some of that space, make it comforting rather than frightening" (vii).  In fact, right now, my home is the only place where I do feel better.

So... in an effort to put some positivity back into my life, carve out a space where I can be creative and excited, rather than burnt out and bitter, I've created The Happy Homekeeper. Hopefully, I'll have many more weekends just like this... a round of blogging followed by a session with the dirty dishes.

Keep sweeping, Martha