hello hello!  as promised here's an update:
i've dedicated my November reading to american history.  i've already read Moral Minority - which was really great.  and now i'm on to "don't know much about history"


it's a quick read - but there's a lot to read, so hopefully i can make a good dent on this long holiday weekend. 
december is going to be for trying to finish all the books i started over the year but didn't quite get around to the last page.  here's my list so far:




i hope to get it all done by the end of the year, because starting january 1, i am re-reading atlas shrugged - i recommend it to everyone whether you agree with the ideas or not


so other than reading a whole bunch i've been working a lot.  about to come up on my one-year anniversary with my current company, and am looking forward to many years more.
and below are some links to my current favorite sites, including an awesome steampunk project that i would love to do to my laptop:
http://deepinvogue.blogspot.com/
http://amanda-thomas.blogspot.com/
http://parisapartment.wordpress.com/
http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/the-kowal-portable-typewriter-and-adding-machine/

happy thanksgiving to all, and i've got two dinners to go to today!
love much, cas

it's bastille day!!!!  and this francophile is celebrating by bringing you some nifty frenchie things....
to learn a little more about bastille day click here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastille_Day
already let's get this moving, first of all, the food!

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when the diet is almost entirely dependent on seasonality, you really cannot go wrong...i've just discovered a fabulous website that can help with that, it's called http:Edit HTML//www.epicurious.com and it's so great because you can pick the fancy looking recipes in the magazines and print the shopping lists (i'm quite crap at writing shopping lists so this is a BIG help for me)
but there's also the naughty tasty stuff in french cuisine, and here's one of my favorites:



ahhhh, pain au chocolat (please don't kill me on spelling)...it's my truest of loves (aside from creme brulee) and i honestly wish i could have one every day for breakfast....
so to celebrate bastille day i'm watching 'paris when it sizzles' with audrey hepburn and william holden



it's hilarious and audrey really shows her acting chops (not just the cinderella story that a lot of her movies have) and everyone should give it a go...(i'm speaking british to draw in a new audience and because i'm watching 'it's on with alexa chung')
anyhoo...last night i started my bastille celebration with the biography of marie antoinette



not that movie by sofia coppola (although the soundtrack kicks ass) but the a&e biography...
so to close this up a little, here's some awesome french videos for you, i hope you enjoy it, and vive la france!


and one of my favorite french songs...