As Yet Untitled

Good news, everyone!  I have taken a step toward being a real, independent grown up. I have decided to commit a whole ten dollars per year to own the domain name of my blog. This website is officially mine now. I feel so powerful! What this means for you, my readers, is that the website name for your bookmarks or Google reader will change. I am sorry for this, but it is well worth it to own my website outright. For those of you out there who hate change, rest easy. The content will stay the same. The shiny, new web domain for The Pen and Whisk is now, appropriately, http://thepenandwhisk.com. Enjoy!

I recently discovered that I am with child. Naturally the first things I was desperately craving were steamed crab legs. You see, crab legs and I go way back. Or at least, seafood and I go way back. Apparently when I was quite a young baby, long before I should have been eating shellfish, my family went to Steak and Ale (a restaurant chain that has been replaced, sadly, with Texas Roadhouse all across America), where my mother ordered surf and turf. She offered me a bite of her lobster tail, and I proceeded to eat the entire thing. Since then, I have been able to consume a record amount of crab legs in one sitting, something that has made my Cajun-descended husband very proud. Which brings me to my point. In the throes of an early pregnancy craving, I demanded that Norris take me immediately to the nearest pound of steamed Alaskan crab, and he delivered by taking me to a restaurant that was both atmospheric and full of genuine, hearty seafood fare. I was initially apprehensive ...

A while ago I wrote a graduate research paper on the female role models presented to young women in fairy tales. I was (and am) very proud of this paper, because it explicates a point that I am adamant on: that despite what some feminists would have you believe, storybook princesses can actually provide solid female figures for young girls to look up to during one of the most turbulent times of their lives. So, here is my paper, in all its glory, for you to enjoy. If you don't make it to the end it won't hurt my feelings--it's a long paper. But I hope you will at least skim through it, and let me know what you think! The genre of fantasy fiction has been a staple of young adult literature for centuries, dating back as far as the 1600s. The (for all intents and purposes) contemporary paradigm of the modern fairytale got its start in the mid-1700s, with Perrault’s collections of moralistic fairytales, which eventually evolved into the Blue Fairy Book. As c...

By: Amanda Bumgarner of Breathing in the Wind Hello, readers of The Pen and Whisk! I’m excited to be talking to you today about one of my favorite things…cupcakes! I could eat cupcakes all day long if I could. I blog over at Breathing in the Wind, and Katie asked me to post about my experience baking cupcakes from scratch. I’m hopeful that you can learn from my mistakes and start baking delicious desserts in no time! I believe there are three types of people: 1. Those who bake. 2. Those who cook. 3. Those who wish they could bake and cook and sit around eating the food of the bakers and cookers. I learned from my mother how to bake mouth-watering chocolate chip cookies. They are my specialty and often requested from Jordan. That small exception aside, however, I am much more of a cook than a baker. I love making potpies and stews and casseroles, but I often wish I could master the delicate intricacies of baking. Part of the problem is that baking is so precise, ...

ob·se·qui·ous adj \əb-ˈsē-kwē-əs, äb-\ Definition of OBSEQUIOUS : marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness — ob·se·qui·ous·ly adverb — ob·se·qui·ous·ness noun Origin of OBSEQUIOUS Middle English, compliant, from Latin obsequiosus, from obsequium compliance, from obsequi to comply, from ob- toward + sequi to follow — more at ob-, sue First Known Use: 15th century I have no real anecdote to accompany this word, I just find it to be one of those great words that you can bandy about in a very disdainful tone, making everyone around you think that you are extremely intelligent. I was going to say, "more intelligent than you really are" but I don't think that is necessarily true. For some of you, using obsequious in everyday conversation might be an accurate testament to exactly how smart you are. For those of you who want to up your perceived intelligence quotient... Use it in a sentence!   I found the obsequiousness of my secretary to be so grating th...

I have recently become quite interested in the idea of modern fairy tales. That is, modern retellings of classic fairy tales, meant to be marketed to tween/teenage readers. It is fascinating to me that the crux of these tales stands the test of time and needs only to be updated for a modern audience. I believe that these adaptations are paving the way for a new breed of feminist, and that contrary to what some people may think, the heroines of these classic stories are actually excellent role models for strong young women. More on that to come. To that end, I recently finish reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer, the first in a quartet called The Lunar Chronicles .  It is, in a word, stellar. And it fits the mold of what I described above perfectly. Clearly this is a retelling of Cinderella , and in fact Meyer places quotes from the original story at strategic breaks throughout the book. But in this case, we are not in 18th century Europe, but Asia of the future. The book is set in a ...

The state of Oklahoma has been home to many celebrities over the years. From Brad Pitt to Garth Brooks, Okies undeniably have the mettle to grow up and become famous. Joining the ranks of these notable Oklahoma natives is one Ree Drummond, better known as Pioneer Woman . Her blog is a sensation, encompassing everything from cooking, to homeschooling, to movies, to photography. It is a veritable Valhalla of domestic pursuits, providing wonderful advice and a real sense of community. This has, in turn, spawned  two cookbooks (the second of which is being released in March), a cooking show on Food Network , and a memoir about how PW met and fell in love with her husband, who she calls Marlboro Man. It is the latter that concerns me today. Pioneer Woman's memoir, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels tells the story of her ambitions--toward what is never specifically delved into. I can only presume this is because it didn't matter what career she was going to pursue--she ended up beco...