Friday, December 19, 2008

best hot chocolate ever

2 tbsp ghiradelli double chocolate powder
1/2 tbsp dagoba xocolatl hot chocolate mix
1 shot of kahlua (or more to taste)
12 oz milk
big ass mug

pour kahlua into bottom of mug. heat milk, mix in chocolate powder, stir. when warm enough, pour in glass. drink. melt. yum.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

not cool virus, not cool

i've had a cold since thursday of last week. it seems to, just today, have morphed into something nastier than i thought it was. i feel worse today, than i did the day before, if that's possible. could i have caught two strains of the cold virus at once?
with as many children as i'm exposed to, i wouldn't be surprised. children are nasty little germ carrying pods, with constantly runny noses and stinky bums (and i include my own in that group). there also seems to be a bit more stress this time of year than usual (what with christmas crowds, the dying economy, and random scam artists stealing millions upon millions of everyone's money...no, not the american auto industry, that other guy)...so, i'm sure we're all less 'immune' than we would normally be to all the ick that's out there.

add to my failing immune system, the fact that there's a lovely 'wintry' mix outside right now. to all of you not fortunatate enough to live in the northeast, a 'wintry' mix is not a cool mix cd made for you by an old boyfriend. it's an irritating mix of ice, snow, and rain combined with bitter cold and bad attitude. also add in my toddler who is in the wicked evil mood today, which i just realized last night, is due to some serious teething (always with the teething, man will i be happy when this kid gets all his goddamn teeth in). it's mostly the television that keeps him calm...it's the strangest thing. this morning alone, we've read books, eaten breakfast, and finger/water/brush painted some christmas cards. that all took about a half hour, and it was full of whining and tantrums and crankiness (and harlan wasn't too happy either..ba da bumbum). so, now he's plopped down in front of the television like i cute little zombie (don't worry, i'm not the worst mother, i only let him watch pbs).
i figure we'll go back and forth between television, tantrums, crafts and eating today. if i can last until nap time, we'll be stellar.

breathe in, breathe out.
in other news, here's my new favorite band:
fleet foxes

White Winter Hymnal from Grandchildren on Vimeo.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

maroon 5 gets hipster recognition

finally!!!
i have few vices in music. i consider myself fairly well versed in the world of popular music, and even since harlan has been born, i try desperately to keep on the up and up with 'what's goin' on'.
i wouldn't call myself a hipster, by no definition of the world, but i like good music, and i usually don't listen to radio play crap. i will give credit where credit is due, but you will never see me buy a beyonce album, britney, or the like. (although, there was one month a few years ago when ALL i would listen to was that gwen stefani album with holla back girl, i love her). that being said, i have always had a secret love of maroon 5. i love adam levine's whiny r&b voice, i love the pop hooks, i love the uber over the top fashionista videos...i could go on and on.
they were always one of those bands that i would never dare buy an album by, for fear i would realize that they were kind of mediocre. i would never talk about their music around my peers, for fear i would come across as a bore, or worse, someone with boring musical tastes. i would, however, always turn the radio up really loud whenever one of their songs came on as i flipped radio stations in my car...when i was alone.

and then, like a light from heaven, i open up my pitchfork, and i see this article about the new maroon 5 album:

"A new remix album, Call and Response, has re-workings of Maroon 5 tracks by Of Montreal, Cool Kids, Cut Copy, and Deerhoof, in addition to contributions from more prominent remixes like DJ Premier, Pharrell, and Mark Ronson. The record is out this week, and the whole thing is streaming now over at Maroon 5's MySpace."

oh. my. god.
the recognition i needed to openly listen to, and talk about, maroon 5 amongst my peers.
the of montreal track is awesome and the deerhoof track is great as well. and all of the other tracks just pick up on the fact that their songs are so damn catchy and his voice is super schmaltz.
LOVE IT.

must have it.

this track rocks it:
Little of Your Time (of Montreal) - Maroon 5

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Top 3 Vendors @ the Boston Bazaar Bizarre

here are my top three vendors at the boston bazaar bizarre, after a very quick run through all of the 148 vendors (phew!!), with my special, super duper early bird tickets that allowed me to look at everything leisurely without crowds of crazy hipsters elbowing me in my ribs. to pick a top three is super hard, the artisans were spot on and wonderful this year. kudos bazaar bizarre, you rocked!

#1...nervous system (jewelry)
from the site: "Nervous System creates experimental jewelry, combining nontraditional materials like silicone rubber and stainless steel with rapid prototyping methods. We find inspiration in complex patterns generated by computation and nature."
i am IN LOVE with this jewelry line. i want all of the pieces to have and wear. my verbal interaction with the guy that creates these pieces was funny though. he was trying so hard to put into laymen terms what the pieces actually represented so my (obviously) tiny brain would be able to understand. i almost wanted say to him, 'i love your jewelry, you don't have to humor me, i don't need to understand, it's ok'.
i'm sure he had this conversation many times before the day ended.

#2...bunny butt apothecary
i don't wear perfume. i just can't stand the way most perfumes smell, even expensive designer stuff. it all usually makes me nauseous. but, it is always wonderful to smell nice, and i never feel like i have enough yummy smelling lotions. this vendor had so many nice smelling things, i was in sensory overload. i ended up, very thriftily, only buying the masala chai hand cream. but, i could have dropped a ben on all of their tasty smelling goodies. think stocking stuffers people, i know you can't smell the stuff on line, but trust me, it's all good.

#3...tie between:
jenine handmade glass bobbles
all handmade glass jewelry. i'm usually not so into the glass stuff, although it is all beautiful to look at, some of it can come off hokey when worn. i think she does a good job at keeping it classy, but still fun. especially a fan of the pyrex chains she makes.

and
olaria studio
more wonderful jewelry. ceramic and interesting. uses found objects for the textures. go take a look.


ALL of the vendors were great, depending on what you were into. there was beautiful hand spun wool, lovely little knit things, the hippest handmade toys and dolls, countless hand printed or hand stamped art pieces, silk screen tshirts around every corner, so many wonderful things, so little money i had. goddamn you recession!!

of course, if you don't believe me, check out all of the amazing vendors here!!

if only i could be so motivated. back to my humble knitting.