1. Marina gave us home laid eggs from Marin and we've been making a lot of fresh pasta again, it's a total crowd pleaser. On Monday my lovely friend Melissa came over for dinner and we made vegetable lasagna with a spinach salad and blackberry pie for dessert, and on Wednesday our friend Tim and his girlfriend Jen came over and we did mushroom fettuccine alfredo, green salad with pink lady apples and walnuts, and strawberry sundaes. Tonight we're taking a break from pasta and making Thai chicken curry, and Devin and Micah are joining us. Three dinner parties in one week and my apartment has never been so clean.

2. Today I turned some leftover fresh pasta into cheesy garlic noodles and had it with a strawberry salad with balsamic vinaigrette. The secret to the best vinaigrette ever also comes from Marina: Mix a teaspoon of Dijon mustard with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and then whisk in the olive oil drop by drop. It forms a creamy emulsion that doesn't separate.

3. I recently finished reading Without a Map, by Meredith Hall. It takes place in the 1960s and is the heartbreaking story of how she got pregnant at age 16 and was completely shunned by her family and her community. It is so beautifully written and her perspective on life and family and love is inspiring. As soon as I finished it I needed to start another novel, so I picked up Ann Patchett's The Magician's Assistant. So far so good.

4. Is it obvious how much I love my kitty?