Some favorite things of 2011

Books:

I got a Kindle for my birthday this year.  Although I think it is great for travel and for a nice thing to keep in my purse for dr office visits, train rides, etc. ,  I still have a fondness for a good ol' book.  A lot of the books I read on my Kindle this year were either free or cheap ones, no new releases. 

Here are some of the books I liked this year:
-Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
- The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
- Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
-Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls
-The Bonesetters Daughter by Amy Tan
-Dave Barry's Travel Guide
-The Bourne Identity - Rober Ludlum
-Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Herself


Food:

One of my favorites has to be the Banana/Macadamia Nut Pancakes with Coconut syrup we ate at Gazebo in Maui. We immediately tried to figure out how to make it when we got home.  Dave got it down pretty good.  The whipping cream with butterscotch topping gives this dish it's extra special touch. 

I'm still a sucker for a good deep dish Chicago style pizza.  There is a place in East Lansing, near Steph's house, where they make one almost as good as Giordano's in Chicago.  It was so good!

I still say Ruby's makes the best Oreo milkshake.  We had them in Maui and in Oceanside, CA this year. 

We had loads of good food on our Alaskan cruise, too.  I loved all the seafood.  And they had the best hot chocolate chip cookies and tiramisu.  Alas, no photos as they are all at the bottom of the ocean with our camera there.