best gifts post

i'm all about gifts people will use as opposed to things that will take up space in a limited environment. the days of trinkets are gone, people. who has room for that anymore?

i like ice cream and have been known to eat a pint in one sitting even (although not for a few years now), but it's not something that tempts me at the grocery store. i'm more of a cake/pastries person than an ice cream person. can you hear the qualifier approaching?

BUT. Steve's Ice Cream is really good and has a flavor called Salty Caramel that is so good i can't stop eating it. my husband and i bought some for the holiday and oops, it didn't make it. so i went to our local organic place and got another. i'm not a huge fan of caramel or vanilla ice cream either but in this setting, the salty caramel and sweet vanilla melt together to create a symphony of contrasting yet harmonious flavors and....well, you get the picture. it makes no sense on paper that i would be obsessed with this ice cream but here we are. who am i to question the ice cream gods?

they also make flavors called Bourbon Pecan Pie & NOLA iced coffee & donuts. if that wordy endorsement wasn't enough of a reason to try it, then i don't know what to tell you.

this blanket from Eddie Bauer is on sale and the warmest, lightest, easiest to store thing. i bought one that was half price ($60) to replace some old throws and it would make a fantastic gift! if i could, i would buy one for pretty much my entire family. it gets over 700 5-star reviews. 'nuff said.

for the technologically advanced people in your life, you can get them Grid It, $12.79 on Amazon. i'd like to get this for my husband sometime soon. it's great for travel but also just organizing all the little parts that go together for our modern world.


for the little ones, you might get them a toy by Green Toys, a fantastic toy company that uses all recycled materials to make their products which are durable, lightweight and fun. we got the submarine for my 1+ year-old son for the bath and he loves it. it's very well made and i can tell he'll be using it for years to come. the submarine is light enough that he can play with it easily and the water pours out the front and side in a steady, pretty stream which makes him want to play with it and watch it. great for washing hair and just having fun all around.

for the 1+ crowd i'd also recommend the board book, The House in the Night. it's a rhythmic story about, you know, a house...in the night. it's very soothing and pretty and heartwarming without being too saccharin. there are good children's books and then there are special children's books. this one is both.

for the cook in your life, this Joseph Joseph spatula is great. i use it pretty much every time i cook for all the reasons stated on amazon.

if you live in NYC, and have an anglophile in your life, go to Myers of Keswick for some British meat pies and/or bangers. they are delicious and hard to find in the States.

we had some sweet friends send us an order from Zingerman's online deli that was really delectable. it blows Harry & David right out of the water as far as gift baskets are concerned.

more soon as i think of them!

key lime cake, chocolate chip cookies, quinoa salad & cheddar jalapeno muffins = birthday picnic

i made the cake!
photo below. i added a layer of lime curd instead of frosting and frosting in the other layer.
the lime curd was great. i had extra whipped cream and frosting and an extra cake layer so please note the extra, sloppy cake in the background.
it tasted great.

it was a smashing success. one person told me to become a professional baker, and many others ate this cake even when they were not looking to eat a bunch of sugary stuff.

i served them at a picnic with these chocolate chip cookies from Joy of Cooking. a recipe from the 40s. it is, in my humble opinion, the best chocolate chip cookie out there.

and this quinoa salad which was yuuuuummy. it also got gobbled up.

but the biggest hit overall were these muffins. do not go another week without making these muffins. they were a huge hit.

tada!

it's foggy here in new york which means i'm happy snappy. i love fog and miss it so much. every foggy day here is a good for me.

The Trip

Come, come, Mr Bond, you get as much pleasure from killing as I do.

This movie, and in particular this scene, is fucking hilarious. If you haven't seen it, you should.

Cruelty-Free Shampoo & Conditioner

I try to exclusively buy cruelty-free personal products because I am an animal lover and wish to avoid supporting companies that test on animals. But buying cruelty-free can be expensive sometimes.

I recently found myself wanting to buy new shampoo and conditioner but not wanting to shell out the $11+ for a bottle of Paul Mitchell (my favorite brand) products. I found THIS LINK to a site that suggests cruelty-free cheaper personal care products. And on it I was thrilled to discover that Tresemme does NOT test on animals and is reasonably priced! How great is that? I bought Tresemme Moisture Rich shampoo and conditioner and used it, love the smell, love the way my hair feels after I use it and can get it guilt-free!

Companies standards on animal testing changes constantly, so for an accurate list of which ones do and do not test on animals go to the PETA website here and do your own research.

Here's to great hair without making the furry ones suffer!

Chocolate & tea... together? Yes.

So my husband recently came home with a little tiny package of heaven. No... get your mind out of the gutter, I mean TEA, people.

Chocolate chai tea, to be specific. I didn't know such a thing existed. I am a big tea drinker and I have recently been drinking my own chai at home. I love the spice. Now chocolate chai is just what it sounds like - part chocolate powder, part chai tea. It isn't sweet - you have to add sugar to make it so, and a healthy dose of milk to lighten it up (at least the way I make it). It is sooo yummy and soothing.

I make it in a pot with loose tea and couldn't be happier. The brand we use is from a local place in NYC, but I'm sure there are many companies that make it.

Enjoy!

My favorite Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I just made my favorite grilled cheese sandwich and thought I'd share it with all of you.

Two slices, soft whole wheat bread
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, sliced
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 fry pan with lid

Put frying pan on med-high heat... put in 1 Tbs of the butter and let melt completely.
While that is heating put the sandwich together. After butter is melted, put sandwich in pan with lid and leave on med-high for 2 mins. Then turn down the heat to low-med & cook for about 2 mins or until that side is a nice, toasted brown. Flip sandwich, add 1 Tbs butter and cook on med-low heat (turn it up a notch) for 3 mins or until bread is toasted brown. Cheese should be oozing out the sides of the sandwich.

When the sandwich is cooked, put on a small plate and cut in half. Serve immediately.

It's simple. And it's pefect.

Cool Art I would like

Odd and wonderful.


Brooklyn Art!

"Meeting to feed the birds"... cute.


A squid attacks the BK Bridge on a tee shirt.

That's all.

Say hello to "Farewell"

It's time to call in sick to work and go to your nearest movie theatre that would be playing a foreign film to see "Farewell". It's a riveting spy thriller about a real life Russian KGB agent who decided to leak crucial information in 1981 to the French (and therefore got passed on to President Reagan).

I wasn't sure what to expect after reading a few reviews, and only as the movie ended did I begin to realize how great the movie is. The story is expertly told, the cinematography is great, acting, directing... all really good. It got compared to "The Lives of Others" which I can see... I loved that movie as well.

It's rare that I am deeply impressed by movies in the theatres. It's even more rare that that movie is American. This it is not... and you should definitely see it as soon as you can. It's probably the best movie I've seen since "Let the Right One In" (Swedish vampire movie) that Hollywood is now remaking (groan).


It renewed my faith in storytelling. According to some reviews, the screenplay is more romantic than the real life version, but I have no problem with that. I often prefer artistic versions of things anyway unless the truth is locked into the reality of a situation. I'm blathering.

GO SEE IT!