Do-goody Two Shoes

Is it just me, or are these really cute?

TOMS Cordones, $69

Better Than a Toy Inside

Cereal box masks. Do you remember getting the cereal, and hoping for a mask that you didn't already have, then carefully cutting it out? Or maybe punching it out. Something like that. I vaguely remember a monkey as my favorite. This Halloween, instead of stressing out about a costume, I may just wear one of these. If only I could find that monkey...

Saturday's Child

Along with every other foodie in America, I am currently obsessing about Julia Child. Digging out my old copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, reading My Life in France, even perusing Julie Powell's blog. The juxtaposition of those last two leaves me liking JP less and less and JC more and more.

Granted, MAFC is not exactly vegetarian-centric. You've got fifteen varieties of roast chicken, you've got your veal stock, your recipes that involve digging out bone marrow -- you get the picture. However, you can't argue with a good beurre blanc. And there's a reason the cookbook is a classic; the way it takes you step by step through the techniques, the love of food that's inherent in the whole project, the butter... Then, there's Julia herself. She didn't even start cooking until she was in her mid-thirties, and then she jumped right into a professional cooking course at one of the world's most prestigious culinary schools, ten hour days of practice, and then co-writing a cookbook that two other people had been working on for years. Impressive, n'est-ce pas?

That's why August 15th, on Julia's birthday, I'll be doing what every other foodie in America is doing: gathering friends and coercing them into cooking elaborate, butter-laden, impractical dishes, stuffing ourselves with said dishes, then going to see a movie that isn't Harry Potter.

Marquise My Words

Alas, I fear this chair will never be mine. Those dreaded words, "price upon request," have sealed my fate. But isn't it scrumptious? All one needs is a cashmere/alpaca throw, a cup of Raspberry Earl Grey, a good book, silk pajamas, and a rainy day. Even as I was mentally redecorating my living room around it, I realized -- hey, it already fits in! But if I had all the money in the world...or enough to ignore the PUR tagline...my furniture would consist of a few these and a chaise longue or two (hot pink).

www.decofinder.com, Price Upon Request (grr)

Bag Kismet

I'll admit I've been a bit uninspired about blogging lately, but that was until I saw THIS. This fabulous-in-every-way, fair trade, recycled, super-cute handbag, which will be mine someday, as God is my witness. I found it while checking out the "competition" on eBay's World of Good site, a great place to buy gifts, but not as good as, oh let's say...Ten Thousand Villages.

worldofgood.ebay.com, $25

Brought to You by the Letter A

Advocaat
Annie
The A Team
Avocados
Africa
and...that's
about it (for now).

Important Notice

Strawberries are the new cupcake.

The cute strawberry above is from crackersandhoney.com, BTW.

For The Rest of Us

In browsing my old posts, I came across some fabulous, water-lily-esque salad servers, which were, of course, more expensive than anything I would buy on my do-gooding, non-profit-type salary.* These, however, are beautiful and affordable. And fair trade!! Ha. You thought I was going to get through a month without a fair trade reference, didn't you?

Never!

www.serrv.org, $20

*That sentence involved an excessive amount of dashing. Sorry. It's Friday, and I have had way too many homemade fair trade** chocolate truffles.

**I did it again.

Raindrops on Roses

I have to post this for two reasons. One, seeing the words "Pink Buttercream Frosting Lip Gloss Ring" made me exclaim in astonished but delighted profanities. Two, seeing the blank blog page was too, too depressing.

So, Pink Buttercream Frosting Lip Gloss...in a RING!!!! No, I would never wear this. Yes, I would buy it anyway and be very, very happy to have it.

www.jacquabeauty.com, $8

Pavlova-Mania

Okay, I haven't actually gotten as far as making one, but I've been thinking about it for a long time. Specifically, since I started making ice cream and needed something to do with the egg whites. Other than throw them away, which is what I've *been* doing. But only after assiduously putting them in an airtight container in the fridge with the intention of making Pavlova out of them, and then leaving them there for weeks (or months, if we're being honest).

I think you're missing the point. Maybe I've never made one. Or eaten one (again, with the honesty!) But pavlovas are awesome. They're going to be big. And crusty. With a marshmallowey center.

The Long Da Svidaniya

I've never been all that fascinated with Russia. The literature's depressing, it's cold, and the cuisine seems to be fairly meat-centric. But lately Russia seems to be popping up everywhere. Russian poetry to be exact. I don't know what that means, but thought I'd say it now so that later I can say "я сказал вас так." And, hey, it turns out that Russian poetry, unlike Russian novels (shudder), is pretty darn good.

Oh, and you should definitely get a copy of Regina Spektor's Begin to Hope immediately. Unless you hate innovative, catchy, good music by a talented singer-songwriter. In which case... you shouldn't.

www.amazon.com, $13.99

Now that I can do the I-told-you-so dance (which involves a lot of hip shaking and some jumping about from foot to foot) about the whole lemon thing (exhibit a: July's House Beautiful, exhibit b: the new Bigelow lip gloss at Bath and Body Works) the question is...what next? In a word, lychee. I had never eaten fresh lychees until my recent trip to Thailand, but I did my best to make up for lost time. And now I've discovered a source IN GREENSBORO. That's right, it's the fabulous, fantastic Super Mart. Yay!

Lychees, however, will not be featured at the family Thanksgiving. I don't think my family is ready for that.

Super Super Mart

For some people, grocery shopping is a chore, but I love it. I love the brightly colored stacks of produce, the obscure condiments, the olive bar, and most of all, the inherent potential in all those choices. Yesterday, I found my Mecca -- a grocery store specializing in Asian and Latin ingredients, and not just a cramped little corner store, but a huge store full of stuff I had never even seen. Even better, full of stuff I *had* seen and hadn't been able to find in the U.S. The next time you're in little old Greensboro, NC, check out the Super Mart at Fanta City on West Market Street. Some of the treasures I found included: Kirin Afternoon Tea (Japan, something for which I've been searching for a decade), guarana (Brazil), S & B Golden Curry Sauce (Japan), fresh lychees (Southeast Asia), and G7 3 in 1 coffee (Vietnam, pictured left).

Favorite Products

Between the economy and the election, I think we could all use a little dose of frivolity. And make-up. Hence, the list of all time favorites -- the few things I have found myself purchasing more than once being the fickle cosmetics junkie that I am, always on the look out for the next great thing.

Speaking of the economy, the first item on the list is an absolute bargain. Wet N Wild lipliner #666 (I know!) at your local drugstore for 99 cents. That's right, less than a dollar and it looks good on virtually everyone. You can wear it with a variety of lipstick colors if you not only line but fill in your lips with it because the color is close to that of a natural lip tone, and filling in with a lip liner will make your lipstick last longer.

You Won't Find National Treasure 3 Here

I don't *technically* own a DVD player, so maybe I shouldn't be writing this, but several months ago I found a very cool site, GreenCine, Netflix for those who are too cool for Netflix. Sure, Netflix used to be cool -- before everyone had tried it. Now, there's an online movie rental company for those who have tired of Netflix and/or given up on mainstream cinema. Perks include obscure movies not available on Netflix, member lists and interesting articles if you're looking for a rental inspiration, and a wittily written FAQ page. Witness:

" Green Halo
Some members have green boxes around their icon in the message boards. The green "halo" denotes a GreenCine staff member, who has stepped out of lurking mode to respond to a message. Note: In real life, GreenCine employees don't actually have a green box around them. This would be very cumbersome and make getting around rather difficult. They do, however, faintly resemble their icon pictures."

www.greencine.com

Crema de la Crema

I know it's getting a little cold for this (okay, I started writing this post five months ago), but since the beginning of the summer, homemade ice cream has been my latest obsession (second only to the Blackberry, and now, Facebook). I've made two flavors -- caramelized banana-cardamom and orange dulce de leche. I've read a lot of recipes, articles about ice cream makers, and have fantasized about the various obscure concoctions I could create. Of course, I won't be making vanilla. The more unusual the flavor, the better. Avocado, check. Muhallabia, courtesy of the Moosewood Cookbook, check. The White Mountain electric ice cream maker I picked up at a yard sale two years ago has churned up amazingly creamy stuff. It's ridiculously loud and somewhat messy, but for five bucks, it was a pretty good deal. The dulce de leche, which I made last weekend, had my dad and brother planning a new career in artisanal ice cream for me.

If you, too, would like to join in the ice cream obsession, here's an interesting article to get you started: http://www.slate.com/id/2121378/

The Quest

I'm currently having a nail polish crisis. That is, if such a thing exists. Perhaps, considering the AIDS epidemic in Africa, flooding in Bangladesh, and the current state of the U.S. economy, it's a minor detail. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it.

As usual, I have concocted the ideal in my mind, and now find that it doesn't seem to exist. A deep but true red, with a red and gold metallic shimmer to it. Not cranberry, not burgundy, but somewhere in between. Super shiny. Sort of like the finish on a car.

That's what I want. What have I found? Black and eggplant. OPI's Midnight in Moscow and Royal Raja Ruby, respectively. Okay, on that last one, I might have been unduly influenced by the name. But in my defense, the description is "jeweled burgundy."

Next up, Bastille My Heart.
www.ulta.com, $

Leave a Kiss but in the Cup

It looks like I'm on a food and wine kick, probably because I'm dog sitting, and the house where I'm staying has yielded my latest reading material -- back issues of Food and Wine.

There's something to be said for the random selection of a bottle at the grocery store. Although I don't recommend picking it because you like the bottle (it took the incident of the infamous fish bottle wine to bring that chapter of my life to a close) but on occasion, you luck out. And that's how I found this wine. At least, that's how I remember it. The truth is, it's been a long time since I discovered it, and I've been holding out on you so that I have an unusual and delicious option to bring to parties and impress everyone with my wine savvy. But now the secret's out. It's good enough to make a wine drinker out of you if you aren't one now.

Here's a link to an article about the wine:

www.boxwines.org
$6, at your local wine shop

An Apple by Any Other Name

After years of eating nothing but Granny Smiths because every other kind of apple seemed to have a mealy texture by the time it got to the grocery store, I've discovered a new favorite -- the Honeycrisp. If you haven't had one of these, try it the next time you find them at the store. They're sweet but very crisp. Hmmm...maybe that's why they're called Honeycrisp. According to the research I've done, they have a long shelf life as well, but as delicious as they are, they won't hang around in my fruitbowl long enough to find out.

The Flavor That You Savor

I don't know about the peach gnocchi currently featured on www.101cookbooks.com , but I do know that for the past several months, the idea of mixing up savory/sweet foods has been very appealing. Most recently, I made a curried apple couscous, which was quite good, and a basil infused lemonade, which was even better. In fact, I have an idea those curried apples will reappear sometime in the form of a tart. More on that later.

Basil Lemonade picture courtesy of shewhoeats.blogspot.com