Friday, January 4, 2013

Food & Art

B and I got all gussied up last weekend and went to my girlfriend's art show. Delicious vegan horsd'oeuvre were passed out along with some bubbly here and there.


Spanokopita bites, Tempeh Croquettes and Crudites
Vegan mini cupcakes! 









My favorite piece on the wall


My pumps for the night!


The Star of the night, along with some gal pals.




Great art, great chats, great nibbles, and my hunky husband all dressed up!



Dessert Crepe

nutella crepe by Petunia21
nutella crepe, a photo by Petunia21 on Flickr.
Oh finally, I get to eat a dessert crepe that fits with my eating habits.

As always, I can count on my cute little Organic Corner Cafe to fill my needs.

They make their own "nutella" and use buckwheat flour. They are actually going 100% Organic (right now, they are 99%) and 100% GMO free. Anything that's on the menu that does not fit into this is being taken off!

This crepe looks a bit soggy looking (and is) because i got it to go while it was still warm. It steamed a bit. Still taste fantastic!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Do YOU have a Dyson?


If I didn't already have access to a Dyson Vacuum, god I'd have to run out and buy one after this hysterical commercial!

just saying...

A Week in Winter

My heart broke over the summer when one of my favorite authors, who I deem my most favorite storyteller, Maeve Binchy, died at the early age of seventy-two.

I was so sad to think that I would never again experience a new book of hers, and I would have to just be content with what she had left behind.

I got my routine Barnes &Nobles newsletter this morning and low and behold... 1 final Maeve Binchy novel, something she finished writing right before her passing!!!!

Thanks Maeve, I knew I could count on you!

A Week in Winter will be released February 12, 2013.


Overview - from BN.Com

Stoneybridge is a small town on the west coast of Ireland where all the families know one another. When Chicky Starr decides to take an old, decaying mansion set high on the cliffs overlooking the windswept Atlantic Ocean and turn it into a restful place for a holiday by the sea, everyone thinks she is crazy. Helped by Rigger (a bad boy turned good who is handy around the house) and Orla, her niece (a whiz at business), Chicky is finally ready to welcome the first guests to Stone House’s big warm kitchen, log fires, and understated elegant bedrooms. John, the American movie star, thinks he has arrived incognito; Winnie and Lillian are forced into taking a holiday together; Nicola and Henry, husband and wife, have been shaken by seeing too much death practicing medicine; Anders hates his father’s business, but has a real talent for music; Miss Nell Howe, a retired schoolteacher, criticizes everything and leaves a day early, much to everyone’s relief; the Walls are disappointed to have won this second-prize holiday in a contest where first prize was Paris; and Freda, the librarian, is afraid of her own psychic visions.

Sinks Stink!

Nothing says "Happy New Year!" like a clogged and backed up sink (which also backs up to the dishwasher).

It wouldn't be so terrible if a) I haven't been dealing with this issue for over 3 years now and b) the landlord wasn't such an incompetent ahole (and I'm being as nice as I can!)

  clogged sink

Each time this happens, it takes a few days to get the right people here, and a few times to work out the kinks, only for a few months later to have the same thing happen again. Sigh.....

The universe is already testing me and just under 36 hours of the new year :)

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year's 2013

This photo is from Christmas, but it is the feeling that was conveyed the last 24 hours.

We feasted. We shouted and cheered and blew horns and popped poppers, and after the dust all settled, we all chilled out and hung out on the couch this new year.

I love doing almost absolutely nothing on January 1. Which FEELS wrong when my whole life seems to be about moving onward and upward!  But just for today, I eat and hug and eat and watch til its time to call it a night, and the 2013 work life officially begins tomorrow.

First experience of the new year... I cooked bacon in the oven! Just like Ina Garten does on her Barefoot Contessa show.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/maple-roasted-bacon-recipe/index.html

I did NOT add the maple syrup, but the bacon was crispy and all the fat dropped to the bottom of the cookie sheet.

I will probably never make bacon in a pan again!