Archive for 2009

The Last Purchase of 2009

I’ve done a lot of shopping at Ann Taylor Loft this year – sweaters, jewelry, shoes, dresses – but I’m fairly sure that this is it for the year. Appropriately, it’s a party dress that would be great for ringing in 2010 except for the facts that a) it’s not arriving until January 12th and [...]

2009 in Review

It’s 5:59pm on New Year’s Eve, I’m spending the night the way I usually do – at home with the cat – and since I did this last year (I think) I’ll do it again.
2009 was a fucking weird year.
Work: In October of 2008 my boss was laid off, leaving me as the one and [...]

Masculinization of the Kitchen

Hanna Rosin’s got an interesting article in Slate’s XX about the rise of the kitchen bitch, and frankly, after reading it I’m not sure that I’d want to marry a man who likes cooking as much as I do. And it’s entirely because of what Rosin describes: I have a feeling I’d end up with [...]

Guidelines for Functioning as Intelligent Life on Rainy Days

Dear New Yorkers and New Jerseians traversing the streets of Manhattan,
It’s pouring down rain today. As it is late fall/early winter in New York City, this isn’t exactly a rare occasion. It rains in New York for three-quarters of the year, and the months of November and December tend to be more water-logged than most. [...]

Kids Today

Lindsay at Jezebel posted a video yesterday of one of the Gap’s holiday ads in a post entitled: New Gap Commercial With Little Girls Is, Yeah, A Little Gross. I’m…not seeing it, honestly.  Neither are most of the commenters.
The sticking point is apparently at :08, where one of the girls does a hip-pop. Now, I [...]

Homemade Tomato Soup in 15 Minutes

Before I get too deeply into Rachael Ray and my issues with, plus ridiculously easy tomato soup, I feel like I should point out one thing: I have a baking blog now. It’s called Live Every Week Like It’s Cake Week. That is all, carry on.
I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m really not all [...]

Sort-of Shortbread

Last night, when I was role-playing with Annie, Adrian Veidt served up a plate of lemon-lavender shortbread to the the character I was playing (of course Adrian bakes! What are you saying!), and it sounded so good that I immediately wanted some.  Coincidentally, shortbread is also the only cookie I had the ingredients for.
It ended [...]

Happy National Bundt Day!

I would be happy to celebrate but, well, I’m cleaning the kitchen today, and A&P isn’t bringing me my groceries until tomorrow. So celebration will have to wait until later this week, when I have bittersweet chocolate and espresso powder and a nice bottle of Jack Daniels for chocolate bourbon bundt cake.
But rest assured, this [...]

The Short and Relatively Boring Saga of the Blue Shoes

When I love a pair of shoes, I love a pair of shoes. I wear them constantly. I make them work with any outfit. I wear them until they can’t take anymore, and then I mourn.
My favorite pair of shoes for the past two years have been a pair of magenta patent AK Anne Klein [...]

Chicken Pot Pie

I have been thinking about making chicken pot pie for years now.
It began when my brother bought me the Marshall Field’s Cookbook shortly after (may it rest in peace) its untimely demise at the hands of Macy’s, something that Chicago will collectively never forgive Macy’s for. The cover recipe of the book is, of course, [...]