Just want to say thank you to all of you who re-blogged my Oreo Truffle post. I was pretty astounded by the response…so would you mind writing and telling me what, exactly, you liked so much about it? Was it the no-bake element? The DIY aspect? The fact that they can be used as inexpensive gifts? I would really love to know, so that I can give you more of the same!
A special thanks to:
On the way home from my incredibly successful (per usual) shopping spree at TJ Maxx (no gift cards this time, just plain old Visa, alas). I took the bus, which is unusual for me - I don’t think I’ve taken a bus since senior year of high school (I went to Dalton, on the UES, and lived on 46th & 10th, so the M11 and M86 buses were my best friends). It was so much more relaxing than taking the subway, and I was pretty much the only one on the thing, which was nice.
See how relatively attractive/clean this bus is? Back when I used to take them, they were rickety old things with cockroaches quite literally crawling around the seats towards the back (where the heating vents were, I guess). Seriously, props to the MTA (eek, I said “props”) for the facelift.
Think it’s time for a new pair of Uggs? Maybe?
They carry reduced-price Uggs at TJ Maxx, which is where I’m headed at the moment (yes, again…this time for Xmas present purposes), but the goal of the afternoon is shopping for other people, so a replacement pair will have to wait until January.
(And yeah, I’m aware that Uggs aren’t exactly of-the-moment - the pair pictured above is from my sophomore year of college - but I simply can’t let them go. They make dog walking on a frigid morning just a little less miserable.)
My mother-in-law owns Todd Wilbur’s A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes, and I spent Thanksgiving weekend poring over recipes for everything from Big Macs to Oreos.
This chess set, which I found at Collectors Decanters & Steins in Ohio, is too cool. The proprietor of the store, Lavon, explained to me that the set basically tells the story of Jack Daniel’s life (the iconic bottles, the sugar maple charcoal filters used to make Tennessee whiskey, etc), and said that “the most important” piece in the set is the safe. I asked why, and it turns out that a safe was what killed Mr. Daniel in 1911. He arrived at work early one morning and was unable to open the safe, having forgotten the combination (he had a notoriously poor memory for such things). He kicked it in frustration, injured his toe, contracted blood poisoning, and died soon afterwards. Some say that Jack Daniel left us not only Tennessee whiskey, but also a valuable lesson:
Don’t get to work early.
I recently discovered this company, Tapeswell, that makes decorative tape, and think it’s a great way to pretty up your holiday gifts. I’m not a huge fan of Christmas wrapping paper (way too expensive, and extremely wasteful), and in the past have wrapped gifts with pages torn from magazines or simple brown paper. How gorgeous would a package wrapped in plain paper and secured with this tape be?
You can use the tape in a billion different ways - try wrapping it around a headband, using it to decorate a lampshade, or creating a “frame” for a photo.
More graphic novel suggestions from Kendrick:
If he likes the movie: On The Waterfront/The Departed
Sin City or Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Written and illustrated by Frank Miller. The Sin City books have an old noir feel. They’re tough and timeless, and they’re better than the movie. Way better. The art is heavy and foreboding, and the characters go miles deeper than the frames. Or, if you’re skeptical, everyone loves Batman.
If your fella isn’t particularly into movies, try this one:
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the adorableness of the furcut given to Lucy on Thursday by Victor at Biscuits & Bath? Yes, those are two purple bows in her hair.
When I deposited Lucy in Victor’s hands, she was…a little worse-for-the-wear. Her belly was pretty much one big snarl - likely the result of way too much fun with Westley over Thanksgiving. I asked one of the helpful groomers at Biscuits & Bath how to handle a fur tangle in-between grooming sessions, and was advised to work gently up from very close (but not painfully close) to the skin with a small, fine-tooth comb. If the snarl is too knotted, you might have to trim a bit of hair off first.
Service generously provided free of charge.
I brought this Cadbury advent calendar back from London for Stephen and Dave (advent this year started on November 29…so I’m a little late with this post).
Some unusual advent calendars:
- Harry & David Advent Church filled with mint chocolates
