Monday, August 30, 2010

Book Club 08/28/10...

I've been in a pretty awesome book club for a couple of years now, and I think it's time I start blogging about it. We meet once a month, alternate houses, eat, drink and ACTUALLY discuss the book. I love book club because I get to read a lot of books I wouldn't have chosen for myself so that broadens my literary horizons. I also love talking about the books and find that the discussion can actually change how I originally felt about the story or characters after I'd finished reading. It's a great bunch of amazing women and we have all become friends over books.

This meeting's book was "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay. The book is historical fiction and takes place in 1942, Paris. The historical focus is the round up, arrest and deportation of thousands of Jewish families who were first held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver and then transported to Auschwitz. The story is told from 2 perspectives, the first a little girl effected by the round ups and the second a modern American woman living and working in Paris as a journalist for more than 20 years. I did not like this book. It kept my attention, so it wasn't all bad, but overall it just didn't do it for me. I like really well developed characters or a well thought out and creative story. Give me both and I'll have a new favorite. This book had neither. It also lacked a hero. Both lead female characters in the book were weak. I'm not going to get into lengthy book reviews here but if you have a question or an opinion, please share it with me here.

This meeting's snack was Basil Palmiers. I made these and they were delicious!We read a book that mostly took place in France so I chose a French appetizer. They were full of fresh basil, garlic and parmesan cheese. I had the chance to use my new Magic Bullet for the first time to pulse the ingredients together and it was awesome. I highly recommend the Magic Bullet. From margaritas to pesto with just the twist of the wrist!

Friday, August 27, 2010

I made it!

My first day without any Twitter or Facebook* was great! I am going to miss funny tweets from my favorite twitter peeps, but I had been avoiding Facebook for quite awhile now, and I don't think I'll miss that at all. Time will tell. Whatever happens, both sites made it very clear that I am welcome to come back any time simply by logging in with my old user name and password... but I thought I deleted my account?

*Original post stated "social networking" where it now says "Twitter and Facebook". Thanks to my anonymous reader for pointing out the faux pas. See comments for more details.

PS- I definitely mean this to be funny.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

I Did It!

I just quit Facebook and Twitter. It felt good. Time to focus on real life. Wish me luck!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

As Seen On TV...


It's Darren Brass! Tattoo artist, reality television star, father and friend. He just loves that Pulse Watson machine. We're glad you like it Darren!

Miami Ink may be off the air, but you can still find Darren tattooing in the shop even though the cameras have stopped rolling.
http://www.lovehatetattoos.com/darren-brass.html
Get down there!

Friday, August 20, 2010

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words...

Photo by Todd Westphal. http://ishootamerica.com/

Our photog friend Todd just happened to be at Brass City Tattoo the last time I stopped by, and he just happened to have his camera, and just happened to catch this beautiful candid. When Todd sent the picture to us, the file name was "truelove" and it got me all emo. I love this picture and wanted to share it for no other reason. Thanks Todd! XO.

Please check out this video of images Todd shot on a recent trip to Haiti.


Wednesday, August 18, 2010

In a Tiny Kitchen in NYC...

On a recent trip to NYC I had the opportunity to play sous-chef for the amazing and very real chef Ms. Sarah Bean Bolla. I chopped and peeled and halved and sliced. Luckily no one was hurt.

Sarah is a real pro and it was fun shopping with her in NYC's Whole Foods and watching her select ingredients from a recipe in her head. We got caught in some spontaneous pouring rain on the way back to the apartment and trying to hail a cab was an adventure in itself. As soon as we got back to the apartment we started making dinner for our men.

Have a look at the delicious meal I helped prepare...
Bruschetta to start.

Meat.


The savory vegetable saute/broth stuff (I'm just the sous!).

Combine the two.
Add some potatoes.

And dinner is served.
Of course I don't have a photo of the plated meal. Lame. You'll have to take my word for it, it was beautiful and delicious.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Cold Cave X Verizon...


Did you see this new Verizon commercial for back to school and think "Wow, I really like that song... I wonder what it is?" Wonder no longer! The song is called Life Magazine and the band is Cold Cave.

And you can buy it here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/life-magazine/id335935314?i=335935382&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Why do I know so much about this 30 second spot? Because one snowy night in Philadelphia "Life Magazine" was written by a pair of handsome and talented men you may know as Wes Eisold and yes, F.Sean Martin.

Friday, August 13, 2010

We Got a Cat...

By accident.

We weren't in the market for a pet, and Sean is a dog person. But, desperate times call for desperate measures, and this guy was pretty desperate for a home. He's cute, he's got a great personality, and he does his business outside. I love him, and when I left the house this morning, he was sleeping next to my husband, so that means Sean loves him too. Anyone who knows Sean will tell you, it's impossible to sleep next to him otherwise!

His name is Ron.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

I Can See Clearly Now...


Is it possible to see a rainbow and not get all giddy like a little kid, and be all "Look! A freaking rainbow!"? I was in the parking lot at Marshalls and couldn't resist joining in with all the other regressed grown-ups taking pictures with our fancy phones. I got to see both sides of this sucker, but couldn't quite capture it all.