I’m heading off to Washington, D.C. for a few days — the land of my birth. How very spiritual. Actually, I’m going for the annual Pro Bono Institute Conference. Anyone who’s anyone in the pro bono world will be there (like me!). I’ll also get to catch up with a few friends and go to a reception at the Supreme Court. All in all, should be a pretty good time (for a business trip, that is). Enjoy the rest of your week!
v. 2.0
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Beyond Delicious: Could Chocolate Also Be Good for You?
Beyond Delicious: Could Chocolate Also Be Good for You? Yes. Yes it can. Now that’s what I’m talking about!
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Food, Fun, & Family
There are times when I feel extremely fortunate. As you may or may not know, I am a child of divorce. My parents divorced when I was three, and each parent has been remarried for around 25 years at this point. I’m sure you could go on and on with a pop psychology diagnosis of how screwed up I am because of this, but from my perspective, it just means that I have a huge family, which is tons of fun, particularly when it comes to celebrations. Now, on my dad’s side, there’s not much extended family, so most of our gatherings focus around holidays — Thanksgiving, Passover, etc. (the Jewish side of the family) My mom, however, married one of four siblings, each of whom (with the exception of my stepfather) have at least three kids. So — there are aunts, uncles, and cousins galore. What this means is that in addition to the holidays (Christmas, Easter, etc. — this is the Italian side of the family), there are many more “other” celebrations like birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, or just an excuse to get together because family is in town. Also — the Jewish/Italian combo means that every holiday, birthday, or get-together is really just an excuse to eat. And to eat well. We’re all very good at eating well — we don’t mess around with crummy food. This year, between Thanksgiving and mid-January, I had two separate Thanksgivings, a lobster dinner, dinner on Christmas Eve, brunch on Christmas day, dinner on the day after Christmas (my birthday), and a 60th Birthday party for my Mom — all family events. Whew. No wonder I’ve started with the personal training! So gang, when’s the next
excuse to eatfamily gathering?
Attention family — you can see pictures from Christmas and 12/26 here and from Mom’s birthday here. The rest of you can look too, if you’re interested!
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Valentine’s Day Wisdom
A handy Valentine’s Day tip for all you men out there —
courtesy of Gaping Void
Hugs and smooches,
L -
Karma Police*
First — thank you all for your get-well wishes. I have pretty much just been fighting off a nasty cold, although I think I finally lost the fight today. No puking, for those who asked, but I’m the biggest sick-whiner ever. I hate being sick. I’m convinced that your e-cards (thanks Erika), hugs, and soup helped fight it off an extra day, even though they were sent via the internet. Much lower risk of you guys catching anything that way, too. I still managed to make it through a day of work yesterday, and half the day today — had so much to do that there was no way I could stay home.
Other than the plague that I’ve caught, I’m convinced that I’m riding on a wave of extremely good karma lately. I’ve been putting out the love and it has all come back to me big time. For example, I wrote about the amazingly delicious chili at the Daisy May’s BBQ carts last week, and Adam Perry Lang, who owns Daisy May’s BBQ, saw my post and offered to treat me to dinner as a thank you for spreading the good word about his place. I stopped by on my way home last night and chatted with Adam for a bit. He is the nicest, most generous guy — a pleasure to talk to, and not only did he send me off with a gargantuan take out bag, but he gave me a few samples of Jacques Torres chocolate which he’ll be using to make the Mexican hot chocolate that will be part of his chili cart menu as of next week. Even through the sniffles and the tissues, I managed to stuff myself silly with a sampling of Daisy May’s finest when I got home. Folks — run, do not walk, to 11th Ave and 46th St. and check this place out. If you can’t make it that far, visit one of the chili carts — the Mexican hot chocolate arrives Monday. And say hi to Jeff if you visit the cart on 50th & 6th — I got to meet him last night as well.
Keep on spreading the good karma around. You never know when it might come right back at you!
* Yes, a nod to the Radiohead song. Yes, I’m a hipster.
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Sick as a Dog
I am doing my best to fight off a cold and am therefore feeling neither creative nor witty. Wish me luck and feel free to send chicken soup.
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Gettin’ Knitty With It
After my last knitting disaster and interactions with the nasty knitting store ladies, I was a tad discouraged about continuing my newfound hobby. I almost followed Steve’s suggestion of taking up butter sculpting as my new hobby. But one day, I was at a business meeting, and overheard two colleagues talking about getting a knitting circle together. A knitting circle, at least to us, really just meant an excuse for a bunch of women to gather together over snacks and some spiked hot cider to chat and knit. So we did — and it was such a success that we’re planning on doing it on a regular basis. None of us are particularly advanced knitters — but, we’re helping each other learn (I learned how to make a stripe on the new scarf I’m knitting), and ultimately we may invite some women who have a bit more knitting experience so we can branch out to something other than scarves. You can see pictures from the knitting circle here.
As for my first project, I haven’t sucessfully done much with it, although it makes a lovely schmatta. I did make a scarf that I actually wear:
(here’s a closeup of the yarn, which I think is really funky, so you can actually see the colors). My next scarf is made of a lime-green mohair yarn, which I purchased at Knit New York (where the folks were very nice to me and not condescending), along with Stitch ‘N Bitch, a great, basic, hip chick’s guide to knitting (because I’m so hip). My friend who taught me to make a stripe had this soft, textured, multicolored yarn that had the exact same shade of lime-green in it, so she donated it to the cause. It looks great so far, and I’m back on the knitting bandwagon again. -
Booze as Art
Just wanted to share a few pictures from Otto the other night. Feeling very artsy/NYC photoblogger that night.
I’m not a Grappa fan, but we were given a bit of the pear grappa (the one on the far left) to taste — and it was pretty damn good! -
Be Mine
Being that it is the dead of winter and I’ve been feeling incredibly sluggish, I have been trying all sorts of creative approaches to get my sloth-like self to the gym. The most successful so far has been making gym “dates” — plans to meet friends at the gym for a spin class or for an early morning workout. Along these lines, I decided to buy myself a treat the other day. I bought a 5 pack of sessions with a personal trainer (having since told my mom about the idea, she bought them for me — thanks, mom!). After doing this, I realized that it was kind of a Valentine’s Day gift to myself. Apparently the marketing team at NYSC has been thinking the same thing:
As I approach my fourth (or is it fifth?) Valentine’s day in a row without an “official” Valentine, I have come to rely on my friends, family, and, of course, myself for a little V-Day love. And I have a great time giving love in return. I have sent my siblings heart-shaped brownies, sent valentines to friends, and have gotten candy-filled care packages, e-flowers, and all kinds of little valentine treats. Even just a “Happy Valentine’s Day” greeting can go a long way when you’re not in a relationship on V-Day. So — as you’re making your plans, be sure to spread the love around — and don’t forget to send a little my way, while you’re at it! -
Chili to Warm the Soul
For the past two days I have been
trappedworking at the Legal Tech show at the Hilton here in NYC. On Monday, having failed in my attempts to have lunch with several friends in the area, I suddenly remembered the article in last week’s food section of the New York Times about the new Daisy May’s BBQ chili carts, one of which was conveniently located a few blocks away. In fact, it was parked right outside the building where I used to work (I even ran into a former colleague while in line for chili). They only have one type of chili on the menu — the “bowl o’ red,” which I got with a dollop of hot sauce and a side of cheddar cheese. Also offered were onions, sour cream, rice and beans, but I settled for just the warm, flour tortilla on the side. I rushed back to my booth and dug in — this stuff was amazing. Spicy, yet sweet, with a warm, smoky taste. It certainly perked up my mood for the rest of the day. And today, when my tentative lunch plans failed to materialize, I was secretly pleased, because I was able to go back for another bowl . . .I still haven’t made it to Daisy May’s proper yet, due to the out-of-my-way location, but may consider gathering a bunch of people together to get some takeout one night — there’s nothing sexier than gnawing on ribs with barbecue sauce dripping down your face, except perhaps eating lobster. What about eating both at the same time?