The last time I said 'hi' there was a snowstorm outside my window. Today my window saw a lovely spring rainstorm and everything is in bloom. Couldn't be happier to finally report the change of seasons is in full effect. There's lots going on, there's little going on, just regular life stuff and it's glorious.

My parents visited Minneapolis last weekend and that was delightful. I think my dad was mostly relieved to finally meet the boyfriend and confirm he doesn't look like he lives under a bridge. We went to Como, we saw a show at the Ordway, and we dined at some of my favorite places like Brasa and 112. Basically they got spoiled rotten with the full Minneapolis treatment.

Also this week? I saw Gatsby and Star Trek. Both get a big thumbs up, but mostly I was surprised to find out I still carry a torch for Leo.

(Call me!)

The most recent going-on is that I'm looking at new apartments and am hopeful about one in particular because it's that amazing. Fingers crossed!

Stuff happened this week blah de blah, but you know what? I'm not feeling super chatty this morning. Here is your recap in 2 tweets or less:

I made chicken soup, spoke at the University of Minnesota for this lovely lady, watched the weather yo-yo from the 20s to the 70s, worked on my spring mixtape (coming soon!), and got to spend some quality time with my man.

It's approaching 70 degrees outside so I'm going to go do that now. Have a great weekend!

Today's post is being brought to you by Junip's new album. I've been a big Jose Gonzalez fan for years and wasn't super hot on Junip's last release, but this one does it for me. Perfect for a Saturday morning and some coffee!

I'd like you to meet Franklin. Isn't he adorable? My colleague Joe brings his puppy into the office each Friday and those eyes and those ears and the sound of his little collar jangling...le sigh. He really is the sweetest thing. When he picked a fight with my glove yesterday I didn't have the heart to interrupt, he was just. that. cute. Total daymaker.

I did a better job of keeping track of things I wanted to tell you about this week so let's dive right in.

• I read "The Devil In The White City" and it lived up to all the hype in spades. A fantastic read, and a quick one at that. If you're looking for a vacation distraction this is perfect.
• I'm all in on Game of Thrones and Mad Men. The highlight of my week is watching my boyfriend's response to each GoT episode, because I find it hilarious he read all the books and yet somehow remembers absolutely nothing about this season's storyline. Precious.
• Thing that surprised me this week: how delicious the strawberry lavendar latte from Victory 44 was. I kind of hate anything that tastes even a little "floral" but they got this one just right. Love everything about that place, still.
• I'm busy cooking & taking lots of food photos this weekend for Le Secret Project, which I'll tell you more about soon enough, but I was recently reminded of this recipe for herbed ricotta bruschetta and is something you should make immediately. If you make it with yogurt instead of ricotta it works well as a sauce for fish, veggies, or anything else your heart desires. This is my spring gift to you.

Hey, so you know how I missed my photo last week? It was for the best reason: my man and I had a rare free weekend together, and I was too busy going to brunch (Ward 6) and taking baths in his big tub and sipping pomegranate martinis and watching Quentin Tarantino movie marathons and napping and getting to soak up all that extra special time with him like we never get to do. And it was glorious and I am not sorry ;).

I'm pretty proud of myself for making (the world's greatest) chili a few days ago before this winter storm hit, because now I get to eat chili from under a cozy blanket while I watch it snow outside. Right? Yeah. I went to college!

A few other things that went down these past two weeks...

This week at work we wrapped up the May issue, which is a fantastic thing. Batman! But I secretly love the spread on Steve Wozniak the most. He's such a nerd and I adore that about him.

Had dinner and drinks at Borough, and you know? I didn't love it. It's getting some pretty rave reviews but I will likely not be back. Bleh.

I will, however, be back at World Street Kitchen tomorrow and forever because HOMG, amazing.

I finished Bioshock Infinite and it was worth every second.

Spring cleaning is on the schedule this long weekend, but if the cold weather doesn't lift I'll get to stay under blankets eating chili and playing video games for a few more weeks!

fingerscrossed!

Thing #1: This little fuzzball and I are on our way. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't watching him like a hawk making sure he's okay without his sister, but I totally am and he's a goddamned champ. In fact I haven't yelled at him in almost 2 weeks, him with all of his...his...good behavior! He's being such a good boy and this only child gig suits him just swell (so far).

Thing #2: Bioshock Infinite. Everything god and everybody is saying about this game is true. My weekend is all booked up for this.

Thing #3: Discovered my cable provider was taking advantage & giving me crap speeds and sorted that out. Superfast internet has returned to Chez Sopheava! I shall celebrate this evening by spending zero time on the internet or my Xbox or my iPad or with my phone's wifi or with streaming movies because I'll be playing a video game off a cd just like we did in 1994. *rollseyes*

Thing #4: I've been waiting months for it to warm up enough to make guacamole and this week it became that time. And my-oh-my was it deeeeeeelicious. Probably the best batch I've ever had the pleasure of, which of course means I didn't measure anything and made it with whatever I found in my fridge per normal. C'est la vie. You shall be missed 1st Guacamole of 2013 and My Heart!

Thing #5: I wanted to post 8 photos of Indigo tonight but chose 3. No cat in the universe ever had so much patience or posed so well. Maybe this means you'll get bonus photos this week?

Been missing my regular posts here but I'm not missing all the work that goes into them. This is the thing on my brain. I think I've come up with a solution, can we give it a try?

I've been doing weekly posts over on Game Informer which are crazy fun (between you and me each Friday I'm ecstatic to get into work and put those together) and I wondered if I could channel that energy here too? That's why I'm going to do once-a-week photoblog posts [here] [too]!

We'll do updates on life and the universe, video games and what I ate for dinner (it was lasagna, see isn't this fun?), and whatever else crosses my brain. Yeah I know, what a treat? Let's get going.

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It's been a week since Bruno died and Indigo & I have been doing loads of adjusting. He's gone from 9 hobbit meals a day down to 2, and my sister swears he looks skinnier in the photos I've sent over. Dunno if it's possible he's dropped weight but lord knows his spring figure could use a boost.

I am ashamed to admit I haven't cooked in ages. With Bruno being sick I didn't have the time or energy to make late meals so it was 10 days of pizza, coffee, and whatever random thing I found in my fridge. Or popcorn! By Sunday it was time to make a real meal and I made: lasagna. Which I now realize is basically just another form of pizza but whatever. I chopped vegetables and I cooked and it was glorious.

Last night I finally hit Acme Comedy Co. for the first time. Our favorite comic of the evening was Kjell Bjorgen who wasn't the headliner but stole the show. I definitely look forward to hitting up one of his shows again!

Items on this weekend's agenda: hit up Borough for drinks, go for a bike ride of the weather warms up even a little, get a massage, and re-watch The Hobbit. The boyfriend and I are also re-watching season 2 of Game of Thrones on Bluray, so we better hustle to finish that before season 3 starts! It's almost time! You know what else it's almost time for? Bioshock Infinite.

Last Thursday I took my sweetest girl to the vet and knew she wouldn't be coming home.

It was very sad, I am still very sad, but the whole family was there for her. Even Indigo (who had already been scheduled for his check-up) and my boyfriend (who the doctor thought for a short time was a homeless man peeping through the window). There are lots of happy memories of the day and those are the ones I'm trying to focus on. She wasn't in pain. She was cozy in her bed, her bed. She purred in my arms the entire time. We took selfies together. And she purred and purred and purred for mama.

Indigo refused to leave my arms to get weighed until the doc put catnip all over the scale. Smart doctor! He growled and hissed as he lapped up the nip. We all laughed. Bruno squinted her eyes and purred as if to say, "Ohmygod my brother is such a kitten!" She was always a lady.

I will miss her sassy little meow, how she herded me into the bedroom if I stayed up past midnight playing video games, how I chased her around the apartment every morning before work (and then let her chase me), how I caught her playing with Indigo's toys when she thought nobody was looking, how she liked to crawl under the sheets to spoon, how she would headbutt me for a snuggle if I was sad or crying, and about 10 zillion other things that made her the best fucking cat in the universe.

I love & miss you Bruno.

Last fall I took these pix of my friends for their Christmas card. How could I forget to post them? Love the both of them, love these photos, gonna miss their pants off...but now I have a place to stay in Vermont when I visit. So yay!