If you’ve still got pumpkin kicking around, (and I’m betting you do - it’s a proving to be a pretty ubiquitous/trendy ingredient this fall) this is a great recipe to try out - especially if you’re not in the mood for something sweet. The pumpkin makes the soup super velvety, and combined with avocados it just drove me crazy with it’s deliciousness.
Umm, so Jamie Oliver put out a video game for the Nintendo DS. Weird, right? As much as cooking and video games are two of my greatest loves, I’m not sure they mix all that well, even if Jamie does put his rather awesome stamp on it. As a very good friend once put it (although I think he was talking about Nu Metal at the time) it’s like mixing soup with ice cream. I love both, but that doesn’t mean I want to eat them together.
Now this is an odd combination I can totally get behind: an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind themed pie, inspired by the movie Waitress. Yes, it’s tangerine flavoured. What’s not to love about that?
Just a new little blog that I stumbled on that combines adorable illustrations with a strong design sense and vegan comfort foods. Sounds pretty nice and cosy right? BTW The girl who writes it is from Portland. You know how I feel about Portland.
I love the home-spun graphic design of Cooks Country Magazine, and of course recipes don’t get any better than those of the editors, (also of America’s Test Kitchen, and Cook’s Illustrated). Even more than all that though, I looooooooove regional and traditional American food. It’s one of my little obsessions. So, fingers crossed that Santa sends me this one for Christmas.
My all time favourite picture of Obama, is the one of him hanging from a bar in a gymnasium, doing a pull-up (I think it’s pretty symbolic of not just strength, and resolve, but also a good sense of humour) but really there’s a lot of photogenic to go around with this guy.
A thorough examination of Obama’s breakthrough 2004 DNC speech. A must-read for anyone interested in not only, how this whole thing got started in the first place, but how Obama’s rhetorical skills were honed (am I the only speech-geek in the room? Yes? Oh. Well, I blame Aaron Sorkin).
His speech on race gave me chills and tears in equal measure, but I do love a good oratory. If you haven’t watched/read it yet, now’s probably the time to do so.
It’s been printed and pressed, and the band - a little outfit cleverly named Provincial Parks - is having a party to celebrate - so you should be there. I will be there, anyways. I would like a copy of my work - and the music inside it’s pretty awesome too (sort of a sparkly-shiny indie rock with some poppy undertones) so I’m excited about getting a copy of that as well.
I tend to swoon over adorable, high-end childrens magazines. This one is free and on the internet, so I don’t have to feel weird about paying money for a magazine about something I don’t have (yet).
And really, I would wear every last outfit in there if they made it adult sizes. There is some gorgeous, swoon-worthy stuff. Check it out.
It’s a pumpkiny season, and there is a bumper crop of squashes out there to be scooped up at discounted prices, so a New York Times collection of pumpkin based recipes is pretty timely. Plus, pumpkins are delicous.
Ombre is pretty. Crafts are fun. These pretty and fun ombre crafts live in that unique Martha Stewart universe where crafty projects end up looking high end, and elegant. You know, as opposed our own dimension where the words “Crafty” and “Elegant” are often mutually exclusive.
Karen over at Say It With Pie has long sung the praises of these hand made, artisinal undies. They went on sale, so I finally broke down and bought a set - a days of the weeks set, to be specific - because who doesn’t love an adorable days of the weeks set of underwear? And they’re typographic underwear, no less! Monday is Cooper Black!
Karen says, on top of being really cute, they last forever, and are super comfy. So far I’ve already found the latter to be inordinately true. These things are heaven. Plus, I am strongly behind any operation that simply does not believe in thongs. Sing it, sister.
Which is a method of getting really neat, old-fashioned, artfully flawed images using a digital camera - along with a old twin lens reflex cameras’ viewfinder. I’ve always loved the way these shots looked, I had no idea producing them was so easy. If this works with my little Canon point and shoot (which it should - it has a pretty awesome macro setting), I’m totally gonna start searching for an old twin lens camera when I thrift.
Just a new blog find filled with pretty-pretty things of all varieties. The kind of pretty that inspires rampant and uncontrollable urges to be materialist. But so do many of the pretty-pretty blogs I read. Sigh. It might be time take a break from reading those for a little while. Just until I stop hemorrhaging money.
A retro-revival nineteen-thirties-style carnival - complete with concessions, candy apples, carousel, ferris wheel, and circus show. I was very sad when I found out I missed this entirely this summer. There’s always next summer though.
We had some on the weekend. They were delicious - totally the best hot-dogs I’ve ever had (although, it should be said that they don’t really resemble traditional hot dogs all that closely, so consider yourself forewarned). They are little artisinal sausages (that taste a bit like teensy fresh salamis) accompanied by one of four (locally sourced) cheeses and a one of a dozen sauces (cooked up individually by the best chefs in the city using fresh, local ingredients). A lot of internet types seem to be upset that portions are small, and the concept pretentious. I would tell them that if they want street meat, it’s readily available. This is not street meat, it’s a culinary novelty (and a cheap one at that - certainly the cheapest way to have lunch made by Jamie Kennedy - via his 25 cent sauce offering). If you’re a foodie, you’ll love it. If you’re more of a steak and potatoes kinda person, feel free to steer clear. I, for one, found it delicious and delightful.
A great sounding mineral makeup company. Vegan, enviromentally friendly, super inexpensive, safe for sensitive skin, tons of colours, cute packaging… Need I say more? Oh, ok then, there are free samples to be had (free! I know!). Go. Run. Get some.
An amazing sounding diner cooking hardcore American comfort foods - but always with a twist. There are over 900 menu items! This place sounds like priority number one for when we finally make it to NYC. The cookbook sounds amazing too.
I’ve been looking for a cute bag for a long time, and I’ve finally narrowed it down to a Moop duffel in black. The bag is sturdy, has lots of pockets and is water resistant, the companies run by an awesome lady, and everything is environmentally friendly, handmade and designed from scratch. What can’t you find on Etsy?
Last week my friend Christine kept talking about banana bread on her blog, and if there’s one thing I can get on board with, it’s a delicious baked good. Luckily I had some bananas that were just about ready to rot sitting on my microwave, so I whipped up a batch.
I used this recipe (called Aunt Holly’s Banana Bread) because, who doesn’t love a baked good that invokes somebody’s beloved auntie? Also, it came from Cookie Magazine, also known as the number one reason I want to have children (to have a legitimate reason to get a subscription).
It turned out delicious. As you can see.
It was also really, really easy. I recommend it, highly.
I also recommend not skimping on the chocolate chips.
I’m pretty proud that I was one of the first people to discover it, way back in the spring of oh-seven when it premiered on AMC (before that if you count me salivating over the ads). To be fair, a show made by the classic movie channel set in an early sixties advertising firm surrounded by vintage office equipment, mid-century furniture, fabulous fashions, saturated colours, excellent writing, and some very good actors (including former cast members of pretty much all my favourite TV shows and movies, ever) combines ALL of my favourite things in the universe into one beautiful little package - wrapped up in ribbons and bows like a present just for me.
