As the world turns: my visit to The Soap Opera.

A fact about myself that I have probably never shared on this blog: I. love. baths. I went to summer camp in New Hampshire for nine years, and as much as I adored the experience, it was always a tough transition to go from a daily bath to a daily shower (in a shower house full of screaming girls, nonetheless!). On the last day of camp, as sad as I was to leave, it was always comforting to know I was heading to my cousin Lisa's house for a nice hot bath.

I still opt for bath over shower, and along with this comes a love of bath salts and soaps. How it took me over a year and a half in Madison to wind up at The Soap Opera on State Street, I will never know.

My friend Kim was in town this weekend so I decided to take her shopping on State Street. Right near the Wisconsin State Capitol, State Street is full of eclectic local shops and restaurants (like Anthology and Himal Chuli), then peppered with a few chains like Gap, American Apparel, and Potbelly. The whole neighborhood is a bit of a potpourri. At first it struck me as oxymoronic for Bop to be next door to Quaker Steak & Lube, but what can I say? State Street just works, and The Soap Opera seems to fit right in, especially with products like this:

Cat and yarn glycerin soap. Too cute, right?

The Soap Opera sells a mix of local and non-local bath products and accessories. From soap and salts to eye masks and rubber duckies, they've got everything covered.

A stack of glycerin soaps in a variety of motifs (highlights include Star of David, Breast Cancer Awareness, Democrat Donkey, and Republican Elephant).

A wall of soaps and lotions. So many choices!

As much as I love soaps, my weak sense of smell makes it difficult to enjoy most of them. Susanne helped me find the perfect locally made soap that I could actually smell: 100% vegetable-based glycerin soap made from gently exfoliating almond meal. I'm very excited to try out my purchase!

Thanks for the free samples, Susanne!

For more information on The Soap Opera, check them out at 319 State Street or visit their site here.

Snow day: adulthood style.

It's my second winter in Madison, and all the locals say that it's my first real winter. Though last year seemed quite snowy and chilly, it was apparently a light one. But this year, I'm in for a true Wisconsin winter, and Middleton (on the west side of Madison) has already been hit with almost 20 inches of snow.

It started last night, right as I was heading out of Stitch 'n Bitch at Take 5 (our new meeting place). I parked my car safely in my heated garage, where I plan to leave it until Saturday.

This morning, I bundled up, laced up my snow boots, and trudged the 0.8 mile walk to work (it seems much longer in the snow, trust me). Many folks didn't make it into the office, but those of us who live close by braved the storm. After a few hours, we were sent home because the snow was expected to get worse. I bundled up again and made it home, noting that the bike path is a good place to walk because the surrounding trees catch a lot of the snow before it hits the ground. Both of my outdoor trips today were livened up by my neighbor's puppy, Milo, who absolutely loves playing in the snow.

An afternoon view from my balcony, before round 2 of the snow really hit.

I took some writing and editing work home, and I must say it was refreshing to work in a different environment. It's tough to be creative at a desk every day. Also, the cats thoroughly enjoyed having me home early.

Jupiter was hard at work editing, but found that mechanical pencils require opposable thumbs.

Phoebe is too pretty to work, so she opted to lounge instead.

Once I got my work done, I discovered what adult snow days are all about:

Watching way too much Nip/Tuck,

painting my nails (OPI's Can You Tapas This?), and

taking a nice hot bath with some amazing vegan soap (Lush's Sea Vegetable).

A pretty amazing afternoon. Perhaps winter isn't so devilish, after all.

Unusual things I've seen in Madison, part 3: Ella's Deli.

I'll continue my series of unusual things with a truly one-of-a-kind dining experience.

Sighting #5: Ella's Deli

I've lived in Madison for a year and a half, and I can't believe it took me this long to blog about Ella's Deli. Opening on E. Washington Avenue in 1976, it is, to say the least, quite the spectacle. Decorated in a lively mix of vintage toys and interactive displays, the atmosphere is whimsical and full of life: definitely more than just a place to grab a bite. Classic cartoons soar across the ceilings, lighted wall displays blink in bright colors, and the tables are equipped with nostalgic activities (magnetic mustache drawing or pushing a button to activate a train, for example). The carousel outside is the icing on the cake, making the magical world of Ella's Deli a place where kids (and kids at heart) keep coming back.

Since the majority of the displays are constantly in motion, lighting up, or both, it's a tad difficult to photograph, but I did my best to document this rare kitschy gem:

Flying Mighty Mouse.

Polar bears surrounding the ice cream menu.

Magnetic drawing table.

Flying Popeye.

Flying Superman.

A lil' band playing a tune.

And just to prove that Ella's Deli in fact serves food,
here are the fried pickles (recommended by my coworker, Libby).

Click here for unusual things, part 1.
Click here for unusual things, part 2.

Alpaca Farm Trip: Fun. Fluffy. Fabulous.

As it has already been said on this blog, I'm an animal lover. And what can I say? Barnyard animals are the best. I was born and raised in the suburbs, so spending time with animals other than cats and dogs is a novelty to me. I never miss an opportunity to pet a furry friend. After visiting the Great Midwest Alpaca Festival in April (blog coverage here), I fell in love with alpacas. There really isn't a more profound way for me to describe them: THEY'RE SO FLUFFY!

When my friend Andrea proposed a group trip to Galpaca Farms, I immediately said yes. Today, a group of 11 knitters from Stitch 'N Bitch Madison went on a trip to Mt. Horeb and visited Mindy Huitt and Linda Kosovac's gorgeous farm home. They have 25 alpacas at their farm, and each is named to honor a deceased relative (names include Harriet, Aileen, and Aunt Helen). They spin yarn from their alpacas and each skein has the name and photo of the source alpaca.

As an extroverted animal lover, it didn't take me long to make a few friends, and Andrea took a quick video of me bonding with my new gal pal:

Alpacas are incredibly photogenic, so I took quite a few photos. It was tough to narrow it down, but here are my favorites (as always, I recommend clicking the photos for larger views, as these animals are ridiculously cute):

Posing with my 3 new friends.

Mother and son. He's 1 day old!

Alpacas love sunbathing!

An alpaca says hi to a crowd of knitters.

Meet Betty, the Great Pyrenees. She's a skilled herder!

Anne pets a 1-day-old alpaca.

Snack time! Kristen feeds an alpaca a carrot.

Snacks!

More snacks!

Multi-tasking.

Group shot of the knitters at Galpaca Farms.
Top row: Caitlin, Larissa, Kat, Elysha, Polly, Cherie, Anne
Bottom row: Andrea, Yours Truly, Bronwen, Kristen

We certainly experienced a large dose of cuteness today. Thank you so much to Mindy and Linda for letting us visit the farm!

For more information about Galpaca Farms, please visit: www.galpacafarm.com or email Mindy and Linda at galpacafarm@tds.net

Wisconsin cities: hard to pronounce.

While I was lucky enough to end up in a city simply named Madison, the majority of Wisconsin city names are quite difficult to pronounce. For example, Potawatomi = paw-ta-wah-ta-me.

As a girl who was born in Boston, MA and raised in Charlotte, NC, I can certainly relate to this video of Texans trying to pronounce Wisconsin city names.

Beware the ides of March: Shakespeare on a field!

First, let's start this post with a deja vu: apologies for the major delay. Moving is exhausting, but I'm finally settled. And now, Shakespeare:

At the end of July, I attended the Madison Shakespeare Company's performance of Julius Caesar at Breese Stevens Field. Yup, that's right, a bring-your-own-chair Shakespeare production on a baseball field on a Thursday night. Only in Madison.

In addition to chairs, Amie, Erika, Jason, and I brought a smorgasbord of snacks to the event. What better way to enjoy Shakespeare than noshing outdoors?

I wasn't familiar with the play, so it took me a while to follow the story. Not only did I become acquainted with a classic, but I also learned a very important lesson: when Joni Mitchell said she was "as constant as a northern star," she was referencing Shakespeare. Go figure.

I forgot to bring my camera, so I did the best I could photography-wise using my iPhone and sitting behind an inconvenient gate. Note my favorite character below, whom I came to know as "man with hunchback and eyepatch." 

Kneeling before Caesar.

Killing Caesar.

"Man with hunchback and eyepatch."

The ghost of Caesar.

Sword fight!

Sword fight! 

Taking a bow.

Perfect weather, snacks, and Shakespeare: a lovely Thursday evening.

My second chicken coop tour. Who would'a thought?

First of all, please excuse the major delay of this post. I bought a condo in Schenk-Atwood and I've been busy busy busy. I currently have two homes, which I suppose is much better than no home. In a few weeks, I'll be totally settled in the new place.

Now, for the chickens:

On June 23rd, my friend Elysha and I went to the Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood Association's Tour Des Coops. After loving this event last year, I was excited to return for another go. Last year, I was impressed by an array of beautiful feathers. But this year, it was a deluxe coop that caught my eye:

Amy Alstad and Eric Udelhofen's "chicken mansion" is luxury bird living at its finest.

I made sure to take notice of the coops this year, and there were some great ones (including lovely signage).

This tongue-in-cheek chicken coop is a true coop d'etat.

Short and sweet.

After holding a chicken and a turkey during last year's tour, I was hoping to once again snuggle with a feathered friend. Thankfully, Peter and Andrea Robinson (owners of RP's Pasta) had a friendly chicken who was up for a photo op.

Meet Blue! She was quite chatty when I held her and clucked for everyone on the tour.
She got sassy for this photo and wasn't afraid to do a little legbombing.

But wait! There weren't just chickens this year. Elysha found a bunny:

No feathers, but still pretty cute.

Here are a few of my favorite chicken photos from the tour:

"We're too fabulous for a coop, so we chill in the backyard. Don't you dare touch our beach ball."

Elysha and I had a great time with the chickens, and some day she hopes to have a coop of her own.

Click here for my report from last year's Tour Des Coops.