Self-Portrait with Craving

This morning they mentioned Shredded Wheat on NPR. I guess it was probably an advertisement ("sponsorship"). I just remember hearing that it has no added sugar or salt.

So, naturally, I immediately began craving Frosted Mini-Wheats (Bite Size) cereal, and all that lovely added sugar. And then I just had to stop on my way to work so that I could pick up a box. I'm about to have them for breakfast in three...two...one.

p.s. I overexposed/blurred this photo on purpose for those of you alarmed by photos with visible toes. You're welcome. I can't promise I'll always do you that courtesy when I wear open-toed shoes, but it's still pretty early in the morning.

[Skirt by JCrew, Tee and tank from I can't see the tags while I'm wearing them (Forever 21?). Shoes by Blowfish Malibu from DSW.]  

-------

To Have and to Hold

Ben & Jerry's Clusterfluff is peanut butter ice cream with caramel crunchies, plus peanut butter and marshmallow creme swirls.  Speaking as a true peanut butter fiend, it's kind of the living end.  I mean, if I were Prince or Jimmy Fallon, this is the ice cream I'd want named after me. 

Now I want to take it with me wherever I go.  It might not last long in blazing heat, but I carried it 6 or 7 blocks to a cat-sitting gig without incident...then ate the entire pint.




p.s. These shoes (Payless) only look decent from the top.  They're so ugly from the side! Good thing they were cheap.

-------

Not just for kids

[Seatbelt Carriage Satchel by Harveys; Uniqlo Boyfriend Jeans; We Who See Pleated Canvas Booties from Urban Outfitters.]

We toured a local pediatricians' office last week and made sure to take home a couple of the Yummy Earth organic lollipops from the reception desk.  The doctor who spoke to us said that they used to give out sugar-free suckers, but that they'd decided that organic ones with real sugar were a better, healthier idea.

Tastier, too, I'm sure.  Mine ("Strawberry Smash") was tart and sweet at the same time.  Delicious!

-------

Stuck on almonds

Dan's preparing for an installation at the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, NJ.  I went down to Flavor Paper, his main wallpaper distributor, yesterday to help with the "weeding" (removing the negative space from hundreds (thousands) of sometimes-tiny vinyl stickers.



These salted almonds (sent to us at Christmas by Dan's parents) saved the day.  Between them, a clementine, and some red raspberry leaf tea (good for uterine toning, I'm told!), I was able to get through multiple hours of picking away at sheets of vinyl with tweezers and my fingers.

When we were done, we grabbed some Tex-Mex at Lobo.  They start out by bringing the table a basket of what I judged to be above-average chips and salsa, in case you were wondering.  And I was hungry-but-not-ravenous, so my dinner of chicken enchiladas with verde sauce suited me well.


p.s. How's this for a bathroom?!

[Tiny Fashion Spread: Jeans and cardigan by Uniqlo, Tee from Forever 21, Onitsuka Tigers on the feet] 

-------

The Gas Stations Are Alive With the Taste of Reese's

Dress by Velvet -- Anthropologie; Tights by We Love Colors; Leg Warmers by MMAN, according to the tag (source forgotten -- Sock Dreams?); Alpaca Scarf (a gift), made in Argentina

Okay, so the title of this post isn't very melodic, but I just returned from a whirlwind trip to the midwest (Kansas, as it were), for my Grandfather's funeral.  We often watched The Sound Of Music while visiting him and Grandma for the holidays, so I've had some Julie Andrews tunes from that movie running through my head and it's clearly gotten into my blog titles.

Anyway, we spent some time riding around in cars, which meant several stops to get gas and use rest stop facilities, and I couldn't help but notice all the Reese's Peanut Butter products in the gas station candy displays.  Dan picked out two contenders (shown above) for us to sample.

I think I've had a "Whipp" once before.  They're like peanut butter Three Musketeers bars, but I like them better than the current permutation of Three Musketeers, which I believe I've mentioned taste less chocolatey to me than they used to.

The "Crispy Crunchy" was quite nice, too -- and sort of of an upscale Nutty Bar.  I only ate half of this one (I was trying to share with my car-mates), and I'd like a few more bites before I comment extensively.

I'd go for both of these again.

-------

Yes, they're good for my eyesight, but will they help my camera take better pictures after dark?

The li'l cookie and I are just sitting here eating carrots after a lightweight evening of holiday cookie party baking.  Oh, yeah, and the cat's got his nose in my business, too. 


Stripe Elastic Tunic by Topshop Maternity and pants from Uniqlo

Tonight, I ran out of butter, so I only made it through one batch of spritz cookies before we had to wrap.



One of the reasons I make a spritz cookie recipe each year (besides the butter in these babies, of which there is an outrageously delicious amount) is that my mom gave me an antique, aluminum cookie press a number of years ago.  It works better than any "newfangled" plastic cookie press I've ever tried, and cleans up easily.  I love my cookies and I love my cookie press.





It even came in a box with a mailing label that proclaims it was once mailed to a Mrs. Eddie Locker of Dayton Ohio, shipped as "aluminum articles" from the Weyerhaeuser Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.


Cookie Count: 491

-------

These days, I'm running on...

Chocolate Cheerios (also pictured: multi-vitamin, fish oil caplet, and calcium pill)!

[Duck Canvas Tote by Baggu; Canvas Pleated Booties by We Who See - both from Urban Outfitters]

I've been switching up my work breakfasts -- fruit, cheese grits, oatmeal (with brown sugar), smoothies, and cereal are all options -- and I try not to have the same thing two days in a row. So I don't have the cocoa beauties pictured above every day, but some days I come back to the office kitchen for a "second breakfast," and it's nearly always Chocolate Cheerios.

You might recall I first spotted these while stopping at an ATM in a bodega, during Steph's bachelorette party. I didn't buy a box because we were headed to a fancy restaurant, and I thought it might be gauche to walk in carrying my find. But I kept an eye out for them and found them recently at the Union Square Duane Reade.

Not only are they tasty and crunchy (if eaten swiftly), but the leftover milk is perfectly chocolate-y, without tasting phony. I've already gone through two boxes in 3 weeks.

-------

PopLab and Picnic

Monday evening, a small group of PopLab (see here) participants had a picnic and talk in Washington Square Park.  We found an accessible place to circle our wagons, then dropped a lot of food inside the circle.



Several people had made dishes using CSA bounty.  Prinny cooked up bok choy with garlic; Kelly made a salad.  I had nothing to share, but I still felt welcome.  Even our conversation was sometimes delicious, as I'd hoped.


Sandals from Payless. 


p.s. These were good.

Onigiri Girl

At Crest Fest on Saturday, Dan picked out a carob, banana, and peanut butter dessert onigiri to serve as part of our lunch.  An onigiri is a Japanese rice ball (often triangular), wrapped in seaweed.  They were being sold by Brooklyn Onigiri Company.


Skirt from ModCloth

I liked that it was wrapped in a banana leaf, but I don't agree with the Company founders when they say (on their website), "We try to re-package the traditional Japanese version usually not so attractive, and give it our own twist in terms of looks and flavor."  I think that traditional Japanese onigiri are often quite lovely.  For example, I enjoyed the aesthetics of the one I ate in Seattle.



This dessert onigiri was intriguing, but I would have loved even more filling. Wouldn't I always?

They're not all sweet.  Next time, I want to try the one with bok choy and peanuts.  Here's the menu:


 
Dan told me I shouldn't post this video unless I put music with it.  But I don't have time, so nyah!

Voodoo Baby

Shoes by American Eagle for Payless
Jeans by Uniqlo 

Dan brought home a bag of Zapp's limited edition "Voodoo Gumbo" potato chips.  I think I ate most of it.

According to the copy on the package, this flavor was created by accident when an employee spilled some flavor powder in some other flavor powder (I'm paraphrasing).  And then the resulting mess (I don't mean that as a denouncement) was named in a contest.  This must be why it doesn't taste like voodoo or gumbo.  But it is good, if you like sweet-and-spicy, tomato-based chips (as I do).  And it does taste kind of like their Tabasco chips, which I also like.  So, although there's no distinct flavor in there, I can get behind this kind of accident.  I look forward to more limited edition flavors from these guys.

-------

The best part of the snack mix

Vintage wrap-around sundress (eBay) and Predictions sandals (Payless).

I kind of think sesame sticks are the best part of snack mixes that include sesame sticks.  They're also excellent in salads.  These, of the "Happy Herbert's" brand variety, do make me pretty happy.

Paul says sesame butter is also excellent.  I'd like to try some, please.

-------

Inside this food blog is a fashion blog just dying to get out...

Today, I found myself matching my beverage to my outfit.

Unfortunately, Mello Yello is not as good as I remembered.  For example, it's no Squirt.  So, let's just pretend this post was about my outfit.


Nail Polish on fingers - "Black Pearl" by Savina (Nordstrom Rack)
Bag - Poppie (DSW)
Shirt - BDG (Urban Outfitters)
Skirt - Floreat (Anthropologie)
Sandals - J. Crew (bought several years ago and absolutely trashed)
Nail Polish on toes - "Shock Me" by Savina (Nordstrom Rack)

-------

Photo Essay: Me and my Hostess Cupcake look-alike viewing some dioramas

At the well-catered (giant sandwich, anyone?!) opening of the Theme Magazine and Scion exhibition, "Small is Beautiful."







Theme Magazine article on Dan's piece in process




Not enough cream inside, btw. 






p.s. Nail polish = the surprisingly matte "Dream" by Savina, purchased at Nordstrom Rack.

-------

I all around win!

 

What did I win? 

I won the "Table 7 goes to the buffet" race (I realize it wasn't really a race) by virtue of being the first person back at the table with my plate of food.

I won the ability to refold my napkin in a fancy way by virtue of working for two summers on the KState catering crew.




I won mini cupcakes and cookies and brownies simply by virtue of attending Josh and Sarah's lovely wedding.  Congratulations, Sarah and Josh!  You win, too!

I won a cup of jasmine and green tea by virtue of reading all of the tea bags one by one, thereby discovering there was one jasmine tea bag left.

It was a winning sort of evening.


p.s. Take a gander at the shoes below.  Now imagine them in black.  I won these by virtue of my husband being an amazing artist who sometimes (ok, only one time) gets offered shoes for his wife.

shoes courtesy Sigerson Morrison.

-------

Perfunctory reviews

Homemade Rice Crispy Treats? Yes. Sure.

Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats? No. Too sweet. Blick. Big mistake.

Passport Blue nail polish by American Apparel? Hard to apply neatly. So blue it's almost black.

Dreaming of better days...

It's been seasonably chilly (it is March, after all) in NYC this week, and today is sunny but cold. I'm focusing on the gorgeous weather we had last weekend, and all the delicious food I had at Steve's classy BBQ party. My favorite items on the buffet were a moist shrimp with rice dish and an incredible peanut butter cookie.

(Shoes from Target)

I wasn't just there for the cupcakes. I swear.

Over the past months, Snackreligious cast regular Dan Funderburgh created MAP/Pursuit of Pursuit of Happiness, an amazing installation for Sigerson Morrison's boutique space on the Upper East Side.

Funderburgh combined wall stickers (designed by him and made by wallpaper company Flavor Paper, who sell a number of wallpaper designs by Dan) with framed work for this show. I made it up there Thursday night for the opening party. The art looked fierce, the shoes were even cooler up close than in photos, the tiny cupcakes had cream cheese frosting, and the samosas were a nice touch.






I loved seeing the three small beasts Dan had painted (made by his sister, ceramicist Eva Funderburgh, with whom he collaborated last year) on display with the jewelry at the store.




I choked on an almond, but recovered well with a few sips of white wine. Ah, the rich life.




Dan also designed the patterns imprinted on the straps of these Sigerson Morrison shoes.

If you are in NYC and would like to stop by, Dan's art and prints will be displayed in the shop for viewing and sale throughout the month of March.


Sigerson Morrison
19 E 71st St
New York, NY