Sweet Blog o' Mine

Even More Thoughts

- Yes, I do most of my shopping at the farmers market, try not to eat processed food, and all that, but sometimes every once in a blue moon, a woman needs some Cheetos, especially on a crappy, rainy day like yesterday.
- What do you do when you're so environmentally conscious that you always have your own bag, which leaves you to have no suitable garbage bags for your kitchen?
- How is it easier to pack for next week's trip than for tomorrow's trip?
- I go through more gym clothes in a week than should be humanly possible -- I likely own more sports bras than shoes at this point.
- A dinner composed of leftovers, a salad, a good friend, and a modestly priced bottle of wine can be just as good, if not better, then dinner out.

Have a great weekend, kids, I'm off to the beach.  Yes, I know the weather report.

Random Thoughts for Today

- I hope this weekend's weather report is wrong -- I really need a good beach weekend.  If not, I suppose I'll get a relaxing getaway weekend nonetheless.
- I like packing for trips, but am always afraid I'll forget something important.
- I'm enjoying Top Chef Masters, although the judges are much nicer to the contestants than on regular Top Chef.
- I still love doing interviews but hate transcribing them.
- I'm very bad at estimating how much pasta to cook, but that always means good leftovers.
- I already need a nap.
- I still wish I could work from bed, especially on a crappy raining day like today.  Easier for naps.

This Time, Next Week

I'll be in London for a few days, relaxing and visiting friends before heading for a week of cycling in Bordeaux and the Dordogne, followed by a night in Paris (looking for dinner suggestions, of course) and another half day in London.  Counting down the days.

Gin-o-Riffic

(Because @cocktailspirit took a better picture than I did.)  Many thanks to all who came out for last night's Clear Liquor Tweetup at Double Crown -- a very successful follow-up to our Brown Liquor Tweetup at Char No. 4 a few weeks back.  At our peak capacity, we probably had over a dozen people, many of whom hadn't met previously, and one attendee from as far as Canada.  All and all, a very impressive turnout.  It was a pleasure meeting/seeing all of you (let's see who I can remember):  @livethelushlife, @cocktailspirit, @halw, @lincolnwrites, @girluninterrupt, @ekeynyc, @jonathanmoxey, @shotsandcuts, @MarianaCardier, @arjunbasu, @devintrix, @jeneanchapman, @pasakorn.  A toast to the power of Twitter!!  And Gin, of course.  Thanks also to the team at Double Crown for their hospitality.

I Love Beautiful Pork

That's the translation of Rob's t-shirt, which he wore to the Big Apple BBQ Block Party yesterday.  And love beautiful pork we did indeed.  I think I am still in a meat coma.  Pictures are here.  On Saturday night, I went to the NYC Food Film Fest where I learned, among other things, that buttermilk is the new Viagra. 

Slow it Down

This article, The Ten Essential Rules for Slowing Down and Enjoying Life More, caught my eye today.  Good advice for everyone these days. [via @gourmeted]

Two Worlds Colliding

Here's what happens when my two favorite TV shows collide:  Top Chef Masters' LOST Challenge.  Can't wait.  [via Eat Me Daily]

Ah, Elvis

Elvis Costello's voice still makes me swoon every time.  Last night's show was fantastic.  His new album definitely has a country feel to it, but some of my favorite moments last night were when he modified old favorites with a touch of the country style.  Indoor Fireworks was a natural, as was Brilliant Mistake, but I never would have predicted Every Day I Write the Book, lush with brilliant harmonies throughout the chorus.  Sigh.  And I still can't believe I didn't bring my camera.  I literally thought not to bring it, thinking I couldn't bring it in to the Beacon, somehow forgetting all the pictures I took of PJ Harvey.  Argh.  This cell phone picture is god-awful.

Elvis!

Elvis!

Time After Time

For some reason I really enjoy looking back through the archives of my blog to see what I was doing a year ago in any given month, or even looking farther back.  What was different? What is still the same?  Take a look at June 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2003 and let me know if you see any patterns, other than the fact that I seem to talk about food a hell of a lot . . .