Chris surprised me by taking Friday off of work, giving us all a three day weekend together.  Today was gorgeous, but Friday and Saturday were hat-and-mittens cold.  We still made sure to get out and about quite a bit, including a couple of excursions to get Roman some new books.  We’ve given him two of them so far, and I’m pretty sure we’ve read them each about three dozen times.  That kid loves his books.

Today I thought I’d share a list of the things that I’ve been reading (other than Good Night Trains), cooking, and enjoying lately.  Enjoy and hope you all had a good weekend!

Former Meat and Dairy Farmers Who Became Vegan Activists
This is an incredible read, emotional and inspiring. So much is culturally ingrained in us about what we eat that it can be a challenge for ordinary people to open their eyes to it.  Yet these are the stories of people whose very livelihoods depend(ed) on the killing or use of animals, and even they reached a breaking point.  Their accounts are beautiful and full of insight and hope.

Smoky Butternut Pasta — Oh She Glows
I recently made this recipe for probably the sixth or seventh time.  My sister-in-law found and introduced me to it when she and her fiancé did a weeklong vegan challenge this past summer.  It is so, so good.  I usually make it using frozen squash, which makes it super fast, but had a butternut from our CSA on hand; it made the sauce thicker and sweeter and totally delish.

A new Starbucks opens in Williamsburg
This article about the new Starbucks that just opened in our neighborhood cracked me up.  You couldn’t parody both hipster and Starbucks culture any better if you tried–and yet this is a totally straight piece.  I’ll admit that we do buy locally-roasted coffee beans and grind them at home to brew via French press, but, beyond that one good cup each morning, I really don’t take my coffee too seriously.  We popped into the new Starbucks the other day and thought it was nice.  Plus, I noticed that they have high chairs on hand (something that the “real” coffee places nearby don’t).  Coffee dates with the toddler: coming soon to an afternoon near me.

‘Tis the Season Earth Balance Popps
If these are even half as deliciously addictive as EB’s peanut butter Popps, I’m in serious trouble.  We will definitely need a bag or three to go alongside our soy nog this year.

Sweetgreen
In other “new stuff opening in the ‘hood” news: it looks like Williamsburg will be getting a Sweetgreen soon as well!  They were at our greenmarket this weekend, handing out salad samples and swag.  I’ve yet to actually experience Sweetgreen, but, with the way Gena of Choosing Raw talks it up, I am mighty excited for our first visit.

Maintaining a Longterm Blog – 101 Cookbooks
I really loved this post from Heidi about her experience of writing a blog regularly for twelve years.  So many of the things she said resonated with me, especially in light of the challenge that I’ve taken on this month with NaBloPoMo.