Long Overdue: Stuff I Like!

I haven't done one of these for a while!

Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More. I know I'm late to the party (as usual) on this but OH MY GOD. I'm completely obsessed. They are similar to the Frames, but better...more...something. With Shakespeare references and a bit of banjo thrown in.

Time and Again by Jack Finney. Have you read it? It's an oldie but damn, it's still really good. If you've never read it please do immediately. It's all pleasure, no angst; Just a good story with a bit of time travel, New York history and really good descriptive passages. I re-read it ever few years just for fun.

I wondered why it hadn't been made into a movie yet and found this NY Times article from 1994. Fascinating! I kind of hope it never gets made into a movie because I love it too much. (Note to Robert Redford: Dude. Even in 1994 you were too old to play Si. I mean, really.)

Speaking of beloved books-to-movies, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo comes out TOMORROW. I am there. So, so excited.

Handmade Ryan Gosling. I know there have been a ton of Ryan Gosling "Hey girl" blogs but I think the handmade one is my absolute favorite. Here's an entry Marianne submitted:

Happy holidays, nerds. 

Friday Stuff I Like

Hi! I haven't done this in a while so here I am, doing this. Here's what I like:

BeneTint. I know! How very 90's of me! I had a big container of it (it lasts forever) and ran out last year. I finally bought another one and damn, I forgot how much I love this stuff. I only use it on my cheeks but it gives a lovely natural rosy flush unlike anything else and it lasts all day. It's a bitch to apply until you get the hang of it, but I adore it anyway. BeneTint 4ever.

The Brightest Star in the Sky. Marian Keyes is just beyond lovely and I look forward to her books with an impatience that's embarrassing. Her latest, The Brightest Star in the Sky was worth waiting for - it's engrossing and fun to read, hilarious and tragic and personal. I love her characters like they are my personal friends. She also writes an online newsletter that I love, but she hasn't done one in a while. Come back, Marian! I miss you.

White Whine. A friend of mine introduced me to this Tumblr page and it's just something you have to see for yourself. Careful, this site will cause snort-laughing.

Pretzel M&M's. YES. Okay, so I haven't actually tried these yet (only because I can't find them) but I know I will love them a lot. The salty/sweet/crunchy/chocolate thing is just so perfect.

Edit: I found them at Target! They are intense but a little dry. I kind of wish they had more chocolate- the ratio is off. But they are crunchy and salty-sweet and I'll happily eat the whole bag.

Alright, that's all I've got for you today. Go and have a good weekend and think good thoughts for me tomorrow around 4pm when I'll be suffering through my first mountain bike race of the season.

Stuff I Like: Thursday edition

I'm doing this a day early because I have tomorrow off which makes today my Friday! Woo. Before you throw things at me in jealously please know I have a really busy day tomorrow - no relaxing for me. So! Here is some stuff I like:

Mint M&Ms. These are seasonal and not exact new, but they're new to me. I bought them on a whim last Saturday (while lamenting the demise of the mint cookie Hersey bar) and WOW THEY ARE CRAZY GOOD GET AWAY FROM MY DAMN CANDY. Kenny and I snorfled the whole bag over the weekend and I was still thinking about them on Tuesday so I picked up another bag only to discover Kenny had done the exact same thing so now we have LOTS. Get your own because I'm not sharing.

Daniel Craig Tea Towel. My friend Marianne told me about this and I need it SO MUCH. Unfortunately shipping would be something like $40 and for that much money I would expect Daniel Craig to hand deliver it. In a Speedo.

Handmade Holiday craft show! YOU SHOULD COME. I will be there selling jewelry I made with my very own hands and there will also be more than 40 other local crafters selling really cool stuff. I've been blogging about it on the Handmade Holiday here, here and here. There are also great crafter interviews on the blog, so read those too. And come to the show or I will never, ever speak to you again. Awesome!

I Like Mike. And stuff.

I enjoyed making Friday be all about stuff I like when I was doing NaBloPoMo, so I've decided to keep going with it, at least for now. Here we go:

My friend Michael's spinning class. I look forward to it every week because he is hilarious and fun and says crazy shit to make us laugh. Plus, he's totally cute:

I'm cute!

Topics covered in his most recent class include:

- Days of Thunder with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman
- Desserts Eaten Last Week

- The weirdo brilliance of Lady Gaga.
- ADD and the lack of drugs to control it.
- Smokey after-hours dance clubs
- Gee, I Really Hope Someone Blogs About This (hard look at me)
- A dramatic reenactment of the "Catch My Breath" move originally performed by another instructor.

How could you not want to take Mikey's class? It's the best.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman. This is the only book that could follow The Thirteenth Tale, really. It's similar in some ways (weird, slightly Gothic, easy to fall into) but different enough to not confuse me or crowd the bits of TTT that are still in my head. It's like a grown-up, grittier Harry Potter with added angst. I like it a lot so far. Favorite bit:

"Are you kidding? That guy was a mystery wrapped in an enigma and crudely stapled to a ticking fucking time bomb. He was either going to hit somebody or start a blog. To tell you the truth I'm kind of glad he hit you."

Fancy no-stir polenta aka CHEESE GRITS. Whatever you want to call it. I made this recipe a few weeks ago as the base of a chicken sausage/greens dish and we liked it so much I made it again last week with a shrimp. Shrimp 'n Grits! The recipe (second one down) is completely full proof and crazy delicious. I used Bob's Red Mill polenta/grits because you can't do better than that.

Neutrogena Moisture Shine Lip Sheers. I recently ran out of my favorite fancy lip gloss (Lorac Gloss Stick) and was horrified to discover that it's been discontinued. Why do they do that to me? It was perfect. I couldn't find anything I liked nearly as much and I didn't want to spend a ton of money on a sub-par replacement. So, against my better judgment I bought a drugstore lip color. It's not that I'm a snob, I just hate that there are no testers and drugstore brands tend to go completely fuchsia on me (which is so attractive.) Anyway, I picked Blackberry Ice and was pleasantly surprised: it's sheer but not too sheer, slightly minty, and not fuchsia at all. And! The packaging looks and feels way more expensive than it is. YAY.

That's it, kids. Oh, except please leave me a comment and tell me about your latest favorite thing.

It's Friday! I like stuff!

Blanchard's Coffee. This is a local roaster who's product is my life blood. They sent me a little email recently about some holiday offerings and one of them was this: the Project: ORIGIN gift basket. Part of the proceeds go to help the coffee farmers who work so hard to provide the beans of joy. The basket includes Blanchards coffee beans, a Project: ORIGINS t-shirt, and the best part, a TINYSAUR. My friend Kelly makes the Tinysaur kits so you're also supporting her as an artist when you buy this awesomeness.

(Sisters of mine: do not buy for Dad. Way ahead of you.)

Beautycrunch.com. I am a fan of expensive makeup, especially expensive makeup at a steep discount. I have bought a bunch of great Stila products dirt cheap! It makes me happy. Here's a tip: if you create an account you get to see a more stuff that's hidden from the random browser.

(Younger sisters of mine: if you see something you want for christmas, now is the time to let me know.)


Yee-Haw. This etsy shop is KILLING ME DEAD. In a good way. There are no words, just clicketyclick.

SERIOUSLY OH MY GOD:



I am foaming at the mouth, you guys. FOAMING.

(People of mine: if you see something you want for Christmas, now is the time to let me know. This would also be a great place to find ME a gift. Just saying.)

Because who doesn't like (goth) stuff?

Wow, I'm not even a week in and I'm already backing away from my promise to tell you "little stories" and shit. But, today is Friday and I like Friday for all it's possibilities. A whole weekend awaits! To help your wait move on a little faster, I'm gonna make Friday the day I tell you about Stuff I Like. Here goes:

Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner. This is the shit. Now, I know, I know, Urban Decay is that gothy brand that's all about the glitter and whatnot, but I am already a complete slave to the Primer Potion and now I love the 24/7 liner just as much. Sure, they have crazy glam-rock colors, but they also have subtle shimmery taupe and plum and brown. I recently got the taupe-y color called Underground:

And man, I love this stuff. You put it on, smudge it a bit and then it sets and stays for the entire freaking day. And it makes my brown eyes look real pretty. That's all I ask, really.

Russell Brand. Oh my God, where has he been all my life? I remember being simultaneously confused-by and amused-with him while watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall but recently we rented Russell Brand in New York City and...wow. No words. Just rent it, put the kids to bed (and close the door. And lock it.) and watch it. Give him a few minutes because at first you're like, "Uh. Um, dude. What?" and the next thing you know you're crying with laughter and simultaneously trying to figure out how to email him. I even watched the DVD Special Features and I never do that.

Her Fearful Symmetry. I finished reading this a week or two ago and it's still hanging with me. Just a really lovely and dark modern ghost story - it starts out kind of normal and just spirals down in to weird in a really terrific way. Read it immediately.

Somehow this has become the goth edition of Stuff I Like. In that case, can I talk about my new boots? I found them on eBay for a ridiculously tiny amount of money because the seller had no idea they retail for $600 new. They are made of the softest glove leather and fit me like they were custom made:


That's right, nerds! Those are perfect boots. PERFECT. I apologize to eBay for all the besmirching I did yesterday because these boots are now in my life. (However, the stupid auction questions continue. Oh my baby Jesus do people ask stupid questions.)

That's all. Come back tomorrow for more fun and excitement.

Stuff I Like.

It's getting on towards the holidays and, while I'm not huge on traditions, I do love the food. The absolute best part about Christmas, for example, is that I get to have people over which means I get to buy party food. I get to buy really fancy cheeses and make dips and stuffed mushrooms and mulled wine and cookies. Lots and lots and lots of cookies. And cheese. Did I mention the cheese? There's always a ton left over and there's nothing better than a lunch of nothing but cheese and crackers with a little wine on the side and then cookies for dessert. Oh, and cheese wafers! Shit, I love those so much.

For Thanksgiving my mother insists on doing the whole turkey thing and I think her head would explode if we tried to take it away from her. It's not even worth it. My sister and I both provide sides and often confound our mother by insisting on mashed potatoes even though her people always had rice. (I mean, seriously. Who wouldn't rather have mashed potatoes? Screw the ancestors, I say.)

A few years ago a friend of mine who lives in Pennsylvania sent me a few boxed of John Cope's Corn:


It's dried sweet corn from which you make the most incredible and delicious corn pudding. It will make you delirious with corny joy. I've not had it for a few years now because you have to mail order it and that just annoys the crap out of me. Surely some local store can humor me and order a box or two? Sheesh, we can get bananas from Chile but nobody can order dried corn from Pennsylvania? Anyway, I order it this year if it comes to that because I NEED IT.