Life on the Roadshow

Alternative Title: Paul Flato is My Co-pilot.

It has become a bit of a Monday night ritual for me to settle in at 8PM with a glass of wine to watch Antique Roadshow on PBS.

I have been watching this show for years. Partly because I just love antiques and seeing what people have been able to hold onto for generations. Partly for the education and history lessons it provides with each piece. And mostly because it fuels in me that glimmer of hope that someday I could be the person on that show, with a trinket I picked up at a yard sale for $4 that turns out to be worth $40,000. Not only CAN it happen, but it seemingly happens all the time. And this is what keeps me trolling the thrift stores!

This is what makes me believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will find an Hermes cigarette tray at the local Goodwill.

In any case, the other day I was watching and this woman had brought in a collection of art deco style watches an Aunt had given to her. They were all by a designer named Paul Flato and they were all BREATH-TAKING.

Paul Flat0 was a jewler to the stars in the 1930s (you should also know that my biggest regret in life is that I was not born early enough to have been a young adult in the 30s/40s. Sigh!) and his work has adorned many film stars including Rita Hayworth in ''Blood and Sand'' and Greta Garbo in ''Two-Faced Woman.''



Check out Greta's jewels (and sweet dance moves) in this clip. This was also her last movie!

Flato's pieces, though they contained SERIOUS amounts of gems, also had a humurous quality that absolutely tickles me. For instance he designed a diamond corset bracelet, complete with ruby garters, based on Mae West's famous undergarment. Another piece, designed for Katharine Hepburn, was a goldpickax with black enamel sign langage clips - this piece was called "The Golddigger". Ha!

In any case for anyone who was anyone, Flato was the man to see for jewels and for good cause. His pieces were equisite. The fact that this woman on The Roadshow had several of his watches (let alone just ONE) was nothing short of amazing.


an ad in Vogue, 1939 photo from here

A quick search of Christies.com yields the following


Offered as a brooch or bracelet - talk about versatile!


Some whimsical cherubs for your ear lobes.


Would be darling on a wool cape.

Also found this fabulous art deco style Flato ring from fineperiodjewels.com



And from the Doris Duke Collection of Important Jewlery we have this glittering feather brooch (by Verudra for Paul Flato)



Simply gorgeous. It's easy to see why Flato was so celebrated.

Sure, in later years sure he went to jail for fraud and later fled to Mexico to escape a grand larceny charge but the fact remains, his pieces were and still are beautiful!

To read more about him - the Times had a great obit when he passed in 1999.

I also want to mention that the same woman who had all the Flato watches, also was wearing a breathaking diamond cushion cut ring that she wasn't even trying to get appraised (bequeathed to her by the same aunt who gave her the watches) but the appraiser insisted and though when she had it appraised years ago it was appx $35K it's value had balooned to over $200K. Sacre bleu!!

I definitely screamed and scared the dog. But such is the drama of The Roadshow!

When I'm Wrong, I'm REALLY Wrong

I am my cell phone, scheduling an appointment for my windshield to be replaced (it has a small crack that came out of nowhere)

Customer Service Rep: And how long is the crack
Me: Oh it's really small. Maybe 4-5 inches?
CSR: So, under 6 inches?
Me: Yes
CSR:A re you sure?
Me: Yeah it's a tiny crack.
CSR: Ok then you are a candidate for repair instead of replacement
Me: Sqee! (because I don't want to deal with replacing the velcro thing that holds my Fast Lane transponder on my windshield)
CSR: Ok so you're all set we're coming out tomorrow
Me: Wait a sec...so if the crack is larger than 6 inches you can't repair it and it will have to be replaced.
CSR: Exactly
Me: Do you have to know now? Can they make the call when they get out here?"
CSR: No they like to know in advance if it's a replacement or repair
Me: Maybe I better go measure it....
Grabs ruler from front desk, rushes out into pouring rain, leaping over puddles to get to the car. Deftly measures the crack"
Me: Uh yeah I was way off
CSR: So, not under 6 inches.
Me: No it's actually like a foot and a half. Yikes
CSR: Well I'm glad you checked!
Me: Me too.

Join me next time, when I incorrectly guess the weight of a coworker!

At Last....My Love Has Come Along

Hello lover.


This weekend (Friday, actually) launched the long awaited arrival of Nordstorm to my local mall, the South Shore Plaza.


I remember hearing about this in 2008 and seeing the 2010 launch date and being miffed that it was so far off. WTF. Sure the website is easily navigable but there is something about shopping in person! I also know there is one at the Natick Collection but I have never felt any desire to go there. Let the people west of 128 have their Nordstrom, I will wait patiently for mine.



And now the wait is over!


My mom and I went over to check it out on Saturday and right when we walked in it was like "ahhhhh". So nice. So clean. So crisp. So modern. We entered on the bottom floor (menswear) and took the escalator up to the first floor which housed cosmetics, shoes and accesories.


Right away I was drawn into the sprawling shoe department which is just chock a block with any kind of shoe you would want (and a vast price range as well). From there we headed over to handbags (where I lusted quietly over the candy colored Dooney & Bourke duffles) and then it was off to the headband and scarf department.


Let me say this about the collection of headbands at Nordstrom: it is as epic as it is fabulous. Which is KEY for a gal who might be still recovering from an unfortunate self-bang-cutting experience? We spent a long time trying them on before settling one one sparkly floral number.




Their stock of scarves is also extensive, almost overwhelmingly so. I saw so many I loved that ultimately I could not choose. I am ruminating on it though and will be back.

Then it was upstairs to the women's clothing departments. I find their selection and price range to be similar to Bloomingdales, i.e. if Macy's and Saks had a baby this would be it. People on a budget can shop and still find cute fashionable items for a good price but if you wanted to splurge you could certainly do so. I left with a leopard print Michael Kors top


We took our leave of the store shortly after....however later that night I returned with Adam after a leisurely dinner at Joe's to peruse in depth the shoe department where I found the long searched for perfect red patent leather flat. Yay! And then down to the men's department where I tried to browbeat Adam into purchasing a pair of Sperry's. I was not successful but there is always next time.


The only downside to my shopping experience at Nordstrom was the agressive sales people. Now, I admit this may have just been because it was opening weekend. And I also know the perils of commision based sales and that sista gotta get paid. But there were at least two occasions where I repeatedly told a sales associate I did not need help but would come find her if I did, and she still followed very closely to me and still continued to bring items to be without me wanting/asking her too. I could see this being useful if you were in a rush and looking for something specific and thus needed a super attentive salesperson.... but when you are just browsing, being closely followed and presented with items every minute or so can get kind of tiring.

And in the shoe department they are big fans of the upsell, meaning when you ask for a size of the shoe you want, they bring out several similar but different shoes for you to try on as well. In my case when I asked for my size in the red flat I was presented with that shoe as well as a leopard flat and a neon yellow gladiator sandal (?). Again I understand the tactic (I worked in commision shoe sales too at one point) but you want to be mentally prepared when you walk in!


In any case despite that, I had a lovely time at Nordtrom and look foward to draining my savings there in the very near future!

Too Cool

Today's kind of usless but still (I think is) awesome thing is......Hand coolers!

Succinctly (and according to Neiman Marcus)

Usually a figurine of marble, glass, crystal, or stone the size and shape of a small egg; hand coolers were used by ladies during the 18th and 19th centuries to cool hands during the summer or after dancing to prevent sweaty palms.

I mean, it IS almost summer. These are things a young lady has to start thinking about!

I am particularly enamored with the Steuben collection.

I am sorry but that pig is darling.

Can't you just see being at a work soiree, on a summer evening. A colleauge approaches you with someone you should meet, and as they approach, you say "hold on a sec, please!" and pull a little crystal pig out of your bag, clutch it for ten seconds and then put it back. Then say "Ok, I'm ready to shake now" and extend your now cooled palm.

I can totally see it. It will be the next must have business accesory of the year (next to Blackberries and a Linked In account)

Sigh!

What a Card!

I have a few perennial new years resolutions - somewhere nestled in between "Drink more water" and "Gossip less" is "Be better about written correspondence". I am among the first to complain about the degeneration of hand-written notes and among the last to actually do anything about it. I want to be the kind of person who always sends a birthday card, a thank you note, a letter of congratulations....but I struggle with this endeavor.

I blame this on two things: 1) Iam too lazy to go out and buy a card and 2) I never have stamps.

Well today at least I have one less reason NOT to be sending out written correspondence on a more regular basis. Not because of Crane. Not because of Kate Spade.

But because of COSTCO!

It began last year - a coworker of mine always had the CUTEST cards. And she was so good about sending them out. Do something nice for her? Get an adorable card in your mailbox. Have a birthday? The perfect card would arrive just in time. I was flabbergasted at how on point she was so one day I had to ask her and it was then I learned of a magical thing called The All Occasion Greeting Card Box. She said it enabled to her to always have a card for any occasion at the ready. The only thing you needed in order to obtain one was a Costco membership, which I did not have. And which she did not have either but a friend had purchased it for her. Not having a friend with a Costco card, I relegated this box to a dream I shall conquer one day, just not now.

Then on Friday a thoughtful coworker told me SHE finally had a Costco card and was going to pick up a card box for herself this weekend. Did I want one too?

Hell yeah I did!



As you can see, it's a brightly decorated file box that contains 30 really cute cards organized by occasion.



It also contains a Greeting Card Planner - a month by month guide to holidays, what anniversary means what and special occasions. My greeting card loving heart soared.

And these aren't cheap, gross cards. They're actually cute!









And this is just a random sampling. There are 30 cards in the box and each comes with a cute matching envelope. And the whole box is $14.99. What a steal! And the box is so great for organizing cards, you can totally throw your own cards in there too to keep them all in one place.

So my advice to you is either get a Costco membership or complain so much about not having one that a friendly coworker offers to let you use theirs.

So now my only obstacle to becoming a card sending maven is the whole stamp thing. I am going to stock up at the Post Office today, though and just keep them in my card box though.

So congratulations to me on maybe finally succeeding in one of my resolutions!

(And don't forget to check out Brew England today for the announcement of the winner in our Cape Cod Beer contest!)

Meditation in Green

I though in honor of St. Patrick's Day it would be fun to post some "green" things I am digging lately.

Kohl's Apt 9. Striped Shift Dress


I love the print and boldness of this dress. The aquamarine/green swirled with the black is vibrant and reminds me of the ocean. A crazy ocean, but a fierce one nonetheless. I love this for spring with black high heeled sandals and a black bag.

Tibi Green Floral Dress

Pricier than the Kohl's dress but look at that print!! If I could pull off this style of dress I would be all over this but alas I cannot. So if you can, please buy it so I can live vicariously through you!

Ann Taylor Loft Statement Necklace


Oh hello lover! I want to wear you with a black maxi dress while strolling a tropical beach. Maybe in Tahiti? Or Hull. Either or.



Old Navy Women's Abstract Floral-Print Scarf



I love the purple/green color combination. It's not a duo I would think would pair well off the top of my head but seeing it on this scarf is just so fun and vibrant! And you can really never have to many scarves. I may only own 3 pairs of pants but I own about 20 scarves! Pants be damned.

Tory Burch Slip on Sneakers



I just love these. I know they are basically tricked out Keds but to me they evoke the image of casual spring. I see them being warn with dark denim clam-diggers and a white men's button down shirt. You can't really tell in the photo but the logo is patent leather! And I love the navy, kelly green combination. I can't wait for mine to arrive!!



Crate and Barrel Loire Plates

Love these plates - they make me more impatient than ever for nice weather! I feel that an outdoor dinner party is definitely in order as soon as weather permits! A table set up in the garden. Some Japanese lanterns. Gypsy kings playing on the radio. A pitcher of margaritas being passed around. Sigh!

Essie Nail Polish in Mint Candy Apple

This shade is perfect for the spring. Of course I may save it for after my first spray tan of the season since right now I think it would draw attention to my ghost like pallor, but soon enough!

So, that is it for now. I have corned beef cooking at home in the crock pot and Adam is picking up the fixings for Black & Tans on his way home. Hope everyone has a lovely St. Patrick's Day!

Escape to the Cape

Please check out and enter our contest over at Brew England. Especially if you love any of the folllwing:

Cape Cod
Beer
Any combination of those two

Cheers!

Une espèce d'idiot

So, as mentioned previously we were away this weekend, having a smashing time in Providence, RI (check out our review of the Trinity Brewhouse here) and Hyannis, MA where we finally got to check out Cape Cod Beer!)

It also afforded us a chance for Adam to drink beer out of a boot.




It was a great mini break and just what we needed!

The weather, as you may be aware if you live in New England but if not allow me to say, has been god awful. Gale force winds. Whipping, driving, sideways rain. Not cute all around. This did not affect our time away too much other than providing a mildly treacherous drive home yesterday, and even then it was only really treacherous for the last half hour of the drive.

In any case we arrived back at the apartment, unloaded the car and made our way up to our place. Adam entered the apartment first and quickly uttered a "What the hell...". Apparently someone left not only the kitchen window wide open but the screen as well. Who would do such a thing?

That'd be me.

On Friday Adam was loading up the car and yelled up to me that he forgot his keys, could I throw them down. So I opened the kitchen window, opened the screen and threw his keys down. Then promptly locked up the apartment and left, leaving the window wide the f open during a 3 day Nor'Easter.

Fabulous!

Luckily, other than a broken blind and a VERY cold apartment, there was NO damage at all to anything. The windowsill wasn't even that wet and the potted plant, owl vase and African sugar jug I have displayed on the windowsill weren't even knocked over.

It was a miracle if you ask me. And also allowed me to totally play down my old forgetfulness with a "So? Nothing happened!".

Then of course Adam had to go and say he hoped a bird or bat hadn't flown into the apartment in our absence. Which means I did not have a moment of peace until I had searched high and low for a potential bird or bat. And even my half hazard search (I was too afraid that there WAS a bird or bat in one one of the closets so instead of getting searched I just shut all of those doors. But then any time I heard any noise last night, I freaked out and assumed there was definitely a bat somewhere in the apartment waiting for me to fall asleep so it could bite my face.

So I guess I got my due punishment! Even if it is a result of my own paranoia/ fear of potential bats in my apartment. Then again who exactly is comfortable with potential bats in their apartment?

Change O' Plans

I am antsy.

I get like this every few months. Tired of the same old same old. Wanting a little break from the old ennui. In the summer it's nice because we have Adam's parents in New Hampshire who graciously let us use their house when they are spending their weekends in Maine. But in the the gray of winter what's a bored gal (and guy) to do?

So a plan was hatched.

First Adam had acquired tickets to a Providence Bruins game for this Friday night so we were going to go down to Providence for dinner, go to the game and come home. Then we figured, why not make a night of it and book a hotel. There are good deals to be had this time of year. So we made a reservation and decided to get out of work a little early and head down, check out some bars, do some shopping.

Then we figured, why not make a weekend of it and book another hotel in Newport, RI for the following night? Visit the Newport Storm Brewery, take a tour of the Breakers, check out a pub or two, get mobbed by hysterical drunks.

Say what?

Luckily, I mentioned our trip to a coworker who, unbeknownst to me, used to live in Newport and she informed me today that the St Patrick's Day parade is this Saturday. That the city would be mobbed. There would be no place to park. That every bar would have a cover and would be mobbed from 8AM on.

It would basically be like taking a leisurely day trip to Southie this Sunday. Yikes!

Now, I love me a drunk as much as the next person but if I wanted to hang out with a bunch of them I could stay right here in Boston.

So after conferring with Adam and doing a little research, I was able to to cancel our Newport reservation for Saturday and booked us instead into a lovely Hyannis. MA hotel! So after our rowdy Providence night we will head to the Cape for a day/night of outlet shopping, brewery visiting and dining out!

I love off season traveling. It's so inexpensive and there's less of a crowd. Big ups to hotels.com and tripadvisor.com for always making it a cinch to find a hotel last minute!

And don't worry Newport, we're coming for you in April instead!

My Sense of Humor Ain't The Only Thing That's Dry

My skin is a size too small.

Seriously that is what it feels like lately. I moisturize constantly, I use a moisturizing body wash, I don't take scalding hot showers. Yet still my skin is DRY!

I feel like I post about this every year around this time. It's a shock and a shame really. I feel like I will find something that works great.....for like a week or two and then it stops working entirely. Doesn't a lotion exist that is somewhat heavy duty, but not greasy at all. And also smells pleasantly but won't interfere with my perfume. And also comes in a pump. And can be purchased at a drug store.

Please save me from the embarrassment of working in the construction industry and having rougher looking hands than a lot of the guys I work with.

Anyone have a recommendations? Maybe you can cure my mummy-hands and help me be able to greet people like this -


(img from here)

- rather than this!

A Wretched Cold, A Recipe, and a Ring!

Well, that was weird.

Yesterday I woke up a 2AM with a scorching sore throat, headache, chills and a fever. I spent the remainder of the night tossing and turning, alternatively freezing cold and unbearably hot, wide awake and hating life. At 6AM I unceremoniously rolled over, fell out of bed and padded over to the computer to email my boss that I would not be coming in. With that I downed a large glass of water and 4 ibuprofen and went back to bed...not to emerge again until this morning, except for bathroom trips and the occasional jaunt to the kitchen for more water or iced tea.

I am now on the other side of that bout of disgustingness with only a runny nose and a tranny voice to show for it. I sometimes wonder if it's that I have an awesome immune system, that when I get sick its usually only for a day or two or if I have a truly shitty one and I just pick up any bug that pops by.

In any case this gorgeous weather has certainly improved my mood! I know we are all loving the sun and the warmth. The other day I was headed home from work, down Quincy Shore Drive which is my favorite part of my commute. With houses on one side of me and the ocean on the other, it tickled me to notice that not only myself but basically every other car on the road had their windows down. Sure it was only in the 50s but that's balmy enough for us!

In any case I facebooked the other night about making curry chicken stuffed peppers; a kitchen experiment that for once went remarkably well. I posted the recipe over at the Pink Shoe Cookbook so if you're interested please check it out!

In other news my mood ring arrived from Sweet Nirvana's Etsy Shop. I have already gotten loads of compliments on it and it amuses me that now when people tell me one of my rings looks like a mood rings (as they often do since I have a proclivity towards rings with large smooth stones on them), I can reply "It actually IS a mood ring". It's the little things in life, people.

I Love Ewe

Please check out Brew England today for my recap of Lamb Jam 2010!

On The Docket

This week was incredibly l-o-o-ng. I was trying to figure out WHY it was so long when I realized that it is the first five day work week I have had in ages - due to holidays, and having to use up vacation days I rolled over from last year (what a tough row to hoe!). Yikes.

But at least it's FRIDAY! And it's supposed to be a GORGEOUS weekend.

That passes for positively balmy these days!

This weekend looks to be a busy one. Tonight will be relatively low key though. I have some errands to run after work. I have undertaken a spring "refreshing" of our living room. Since we have a neutral palette in there I like to switch out the pillows/curtains/accessories every so often and it really makes the room look like it was totally redecorated!

This year's re-do was inspired in part by my birthday gift from Andy - the Pink Gurgling Cod. I have wanted one for ages so it was a wonderful surprise! Thanks boo!



In any case I will be making a trip to Crate and Barrel, TJ Maxx and Pier One at some point in the near future, possibly at least one of them tonight. Though my BIG plan for tonight is to order pizza and watch Inglorious Basterds with Adam. While wearing sweatpants. Sweatpants are KEY.



Anyway, Saturday we are going to Whiskey-Extravaganza at Luke's Liquors. For $5 you get a tasting glass and access to the 90 single malt scotches and other whiskeys they will be sampling that day. It's a great eay to learn more about scotch and find out what you like. I would reccomend taking the tiniest of sips though, unless you want to be tanked by the 10th or so tasting. Not that that happened to me last year or anything.



Following that we are spendning the night volunteering at the Cure Me I'm Irish party at the Tirrell Room in Quincy. It's a St. Patrick's themed party with Irish music, dancing, food, drink, raffles and a silent auction. All proceeds benefit the NB Alliance, to support innovative neuroblastoma research and clinical trials. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased here. If you're in the area and looking to party on Saturday night and help a great cause - definitely check it out!!



That brings us to Sunday and with that, LAMB JAM!



I like to troll the Boston Chefs calendar to find fun things to do and when I saw The Charles Hotel was hosting this, the ultimate lamb taste-off, where we will also learn about the perfect beer pairings from 6 award winning local breweries and wine pairings from Middleton Family Wines, I knew I had to go. So I wrangled my fellow lamb lovers (i.e. Adam, Peter and Andy) and we got our tickets just before it sold out.



And then Sunday night we have The Oscars. I purchased some delicious cheese at Russo's yesterday which, with baguette and wine, we will enjoy while watching the festivities. Adam doesn't know this yet but I plan on making him watch as well. (With enough wine anything is possible)

And now if you will excuse me I am off in search of a Shamrock Shake

What I Was Reading in 1989

The other day on Facebook, my friend Kristen mentioned the book "A Ring of Endless Light" by Madeline L'Engle and I was instantly thrown back to fourth grade and my obsession with Madelin L'Engle. I loved that book as well as The Arm of the Starfish, The Wind in the Door, A Wrinkle In Time, A Swiftly Tilting Planet. You would not know this about me know but as a chile, I was a pretty quiet and kind of anxious kid. And I wanted to BE Meg Murray (right around when she hooks up with Calvin). I'm also pretty sure, if I recall correctly, that my friend L and I acted out a scene from A Wrinkle in Time for our 4th grade class for extra credit (nerds).


Now I feel like I want to re read all those books again.

It also makes me think of other books I loved in elementary school.

I distinctly remember reading and re-reading (and later making a kickass diorama of) Island of the Blue Dolphins



I would have loved to have lived with Karana on Ghalas-at. So what about the no human contact for years on end?

Then there was also the heart-breaking Bridge To Terabithia which I think was the first book I ever cried at!



Now here's where we get REAL nerdy. My parents took us on a trip to Amish country one year and while my brother was less than enthused...I LOVED IT. Seriously. I wanted to be Amish and use a horse and buggy every day and quilt and raise chickens and I didn't care if it meant a life without zippers and straws. Since absconding for the Amish life was out of the question, I intend took some books ABOUT being Amish. Namesly these two.


The story of Ellie, a traditional Amish girl living life, riding the buggies, eventually marying a nice Amish man.


Reecca, Elli's daughter, who falls in love with a MENNONITE MAN and leaves the Amish church. Look at him in his suit tempting her away! Scandal!

And last but not least



The Giver. This is a pretty f'd up book for a kid to read, if you ask me. It instilled this subtle sense of paranoia in me that I still have today. Truth be told I think it would be kind of f'd up even for an adult to read. So feel free to read it now if you haven't already and then share it with your child. It's about a utopian society in the future and how insane and terrible it really is underneath. Not a new story by any means but an f'd up one to be sure.

And while these are standouts I was also heavily into Bevery Cleary, The Baby Sitters Cluba and probably a million others I can't remember. What about you? What are your favorite/memorable books from back in the day?

Oh and don't forget SUPERFUDGE!

Proof That I Am An Easy Sell...

Alternative Title: "Proof That The Selling Tactic "Tastes Just Like Bailey's" Works On Me"

Or"Proof That I Believe The Tatse of Dutch Chocolate and Fine Red Wine Belong in a Bottle Together'

Or maybe just simply "Proof that I will Drink Anything*"

*So will Adam

Brew England's Back!

www.BrewEngland.com

Please add it to your list and check back frequently as Adam and I sip and sample our way through New England Beer, Breweries and Brewpubs.

Cheers!

No. I. Didn't.

Just because something CAN be done, doesn't always mean it should be done. Am I right? I mean look at stirrup pants. Or home perms. Or cloning! One must have the sensibility to decide that just because one posses es the means to do something, doesn't mean one should endeavor to do it.

So, picture it. I am on CookingLight.com, trolling for an easy and quick recipe for tonight. Maybe something that didn't require a grocery trip. Or defrosting meat. Or standing over the stove for an hour.

Enter Creamy Butternut Squash Risotto.

"But wait!" you are thinking. "Didn't you just say you wanted something QUICK? Something you didn't have to stand over the stove for?". Exactly, however this particular recipe piqued my interest with a key sentence "The secret to this quick-cooking risotto? The microwave! (If you don't tell, no one will guess.) "

Say what?

I am nothing if not daring (especially when the daring attempt actually encourages my inherent laziness) so I figured, what the hey let's give it a go. I love risotto. And if I could find a way to cut it's preparation time in half, the good times all around. Though to be honest I was expecting bad results, since microwaving risotto just seems....wrong.

The recipe itself is basically like any risotto recipe. Arborio rice. Chicken broth. Olive Oil. Some kind of vegetable (in this case, frozen cooked squash), Parmesan. First you pour your rice into a microwave proof bowl, measure out your olive oil, and mix thoroughly.



Then put it in the microwave on high for three minutes.I was surprised how good it was already looking. Nice and toasty. See the little brown flecks.



But wait? Why am I using a new bowl? Why is is the photo cropped?

Could it be because....



Oh yeah, my original bowl melted in the microwave. That's right. My 1970s Harvest Yellow Tupperware bowl melted, after being in the microwave on high for three minutes. And I thought those things were indestructible. When the world ended I thought there would be Cockroaches living in Tupperware homes and off of Twinkies. Not so.

To be honest that bowl is so old I am not even sure that microwaves were bring used when it was made. In any case, I scrapped the first batch and started anew with my trusty ol' Pyrex. Sure it's prone to explosions but it's easier to pick broken Pyrex out of your rice than melted plastic, oui?

Anyway, after the first three minutes of cooking, you remove the rice from the microwave and add all of your liquid and then put back in the microwave for another 9 minutes. When I took out the risotto after this step, it was looking a little rice pilaf-y to me. But I tasted some and it was definitely getting soft and tasted good.




After stirring I put it back in for six minutes or so. Then added my (heated up) frozen pureed squash, a handful of shredded Parmesan, a few pinches of fresh thyme, and some salt and pepper.




The result? Delicious. It was just slightly overdone for my taste....but I think that would have been prevented by maybe only cooking it 4-5 minutes the last time in the microwave, instead of 6. In any case it was really tasty, and it was nice to know a different, quicker and less time consuming time to make one of my favorite dishes.

And this was a case of something that I thought shouldn't be done, but it turns out I was wrong!

Just maybe don't use 40 year old plastic to cook it in!

Get the full recipe here.

Cat Piss Du-wop: Episode 3

For those unfamiliar with episodes 1 and 2, allow me to get you up to date!

Last summer, a noxious and omni-prescent smell in the hallway of our building plus some sleuthing by yours truly revealed that the woman living in one of the basement units had an illegal cat.



Now I tend to try very hard to refrain from "snitchin'" but as it were, the entire building constantly smelled like cat piss and it offended not only my nose but my sense of justice, as our building is vehemently pet free (it's all over our lease). Anyway I blogged my problem and the resounding answer was yes you should tell your landlord because at the very least, if it smells bad in your building she is not taking care of that cat.

Read the entire blog entry HERE (and the passionate comments)

Anywhosie, I cannot remember if I related Episode 2 to you but in case I did not. Adam and I were still reticent to tell our landlord. I like our building, everyone gets along, and I was afraid our landlord would tell the basement unit dweller that t'was I who narced. And furthermore I believe that tenant to be kind of unstable anyway. So I held my tongue for the time being. Also, (and Adam said this is my e-ego talking but whatever). Right after I blogged about this problem, air fresheners appeared in every landing /hallway in the building. Coincidence? Or someone in my building reading my blog? Probably the former rather than the latter but still, curiouser and curiouser.

Anyway, one cold November I was returning home from a friend's baby shower when I was greeted by a YOWLING as I entered my building. It was clearly a cat, clearly screeching it's head off. And to make matters worse I hadn't seen that tenant's car in DAYS (it was Thanksgiving break). To me this meant enough was enough. Adam called the landlord and explained to them what was going on and they promised to look into it. Later that night, while Adam was out, our landlord stopped by to say they had actually known about the cat for months and had asked her repeatedly to get rid of it and she said she had. So now that they knew she had not, they were going to evict her. I wish I could say I felt bad but I didn't at all. If you can go away for six days and leave your pet unattended you deserve what you get.

So since then, we have seen nor smelled nor heard any evidence of a cat. Until about a month ago I was walking out to my car and I see this black cat just like hanging out in the parking lot. And he looks just like the cat from the basement unit. But I thought, no she wouldn't just like set him free instead of finding him a good home. So I put it out of my head. But I saw him a few more times and I had never seen a cat hanging around our place before. Then finally the other night we were coming home late and there that cat was, hanging out in the parking lot, and when we walked towards the back door he followed us and tried to enter the building. I had no doubt now that she had, in fact, just thrown him out.

WTF!

As I was exclaiming about it, one of the basement windows opened (not the cat lady) and the woman inside was like "Were you just attacked by that cat?" and I said no not attacked but he was dead set on coming in the building. So she told us that several times when she had come home late at night, that cat had tried to sneak in the building with her. How sad! And truth be told it makes my blood boil! What kind of person does that!? I told Adam I was going to go upstairs and get a can of tuna for the poor thing and then maybe we could bring it to the Animal Shelter in the morning so at least it's not living on the mean streets of Quincy.

At that moment, the cat lady came home and just sat idling in her car, as Adam, the other basement unit tenant and I were chatting. It was odd that she didn't get out of her car while we were there. Eventually we went upstairs and I went to find the tuna when Adam peered out the window and remarked that she had picked the cat up and brought it inside.

I have to say this brought me some relief to know it wasn't homeless but it also brought me anger. WTF!!!

At this point I suppose I have to wash my hands of the whole thing. We are out of there this summer and she can stay with her illegal cat that she puts outside sometimes even though its clearly not an outdoor cat and we live on a super busy street and that's that. The landlord knows and can't (apparently) do anything about it and the woman herself has no conscience.

At the very least I can tell you that she has a passive aggressive note coming under her door on or around August 31st of this year.