Five Senses Friday V

Feeling:

Indulgent - eating Bernard Callebeaut chocolates and drinking Bailey's on the rocks by a real fire, with burning logs and everything.

Smelling:

Tortierre. My mum is making it for the first time and it smells delicious!

Hearing:

I wish I could say carols and the fireplace crackling, but alas, my deaf mother is watching Judge Judy. I'm singing PYT by MJ in my head at least...

Tasting:

creamy deliciousness

Old School Donkey Kong Christmas Tree. Lovely.

Seeing:
an evening of Donkey Kong in my future. My brother has hooked up our Super Nintendo, and we have been Donkey-and-Diddying it up all afternoon.

Merry Christmas Everyone

The 11th Day, so Let's Lie Low; a Movie Perhaps?

Ok - I had a really hard time shopping for my brother this year. I stressed and stressed over it. My parents literally bought him everything on his list (yes - my mother still asks for Christmas lists), and their budget is larger than mine.

After stressing over what to buy a 21-year-old boy who likes nothing more than a cold beer, it dawned on me - the perfect cop-out gift! No, not a gift certificate to the liquor store - though I did seriously consider it (and am kind of regretting not grabbing one as a stocking stuffer).

Who does not appreciate having their movie collection improved? 

And I have great taste in movies.

A couple of DVDs can cost you just over 20$, as much as a nice bottle of wine, but with much more longevity. I personally pride myself on my movie collection, so I appreciate almost all additions to my movie collection.

Almost all. Here are my guidelines for buying movies as gifts:
          Unless the gift receiver has indicated a deep personal love of such movies, avoid cartoons and claymation. These movies usually reflect a childhood memory which the person whom you're giving the movie to may not share. Don't give someone Bambi if you don't know if a) they've seen it and b) loved it enough to watch again. And let's be real, Bambi isn't one of those movies.
          The AFI Top 100 and Oscar Aware Nominees are safe bets. Not everyone shares the Academy's taste, certainly, but they are "important" movies, so no one will really begrudge owning Taxi or Schindler's List. What kind of person is going to say "oh...award winning films aren't really my thing..."? They may think it - but they wont say it.
          Avoid recent releases unless you're quite sure it is something the gift recipient will appreciate. This is all about judgement; for instance, while I loved The Kids are Alright, I opted not to get it for my younger brother.
          Don't give movies you haven't seen. The nice thing about receiving a movie as a gift is that you can assume the giver thought about you and your tastes and carefully chose a film they thought or knew you would enjoy. So if you give someone a movie you've never seen, it kind of indicates that you don't give a shit.
          I do not give chick flicks. This is just a personal thing. I like to give movies that I think are enduring, and chick flicks just really are not. Classics may be the exception -  Pretty Woman and Ghost, for instance (both of which happen to be Oscar nominated, with Whoopi winning Best Supporting Actress!).

I will grant that there are people who don't love movies. My parents, for instance. I gave my dad 12 Angry Men last Christmas, had to bully he and my mum into watching it, and found it had been put in my room for me to take back to school with me afterwards. This is why my dad will be receiving a bottle of wine.

On the 9th and 10th days of Christmas, may I recommend to you some fabulous baked goods?

Alright - I quite obviously did not budget my time well and have managed to run low on days of Christmas. I'll work on that in the New Year. This feels especially shameful in light of my morning, spent baking and watching Julie & Julia. Even it made fun of the narcissism of blogging.

However, I think that, as of late, I have been conflating narcissism and materialism. I am both, no doubt, but they should remain distinct. This is why I will share with you two of my favourite Christmas recipes, which my mum and I always distribute as gifts. Inexpensive and delicious!

Bacon Cheddar Cheese Muffins
Ok - I realize that many people will shudder at the idea of bacon in a muffin. Muffins are supposed to be sweet and delicious. Well that is just ridiculous. These savoury and fattening delicious muffins are truly irresistable. They are also rather labour intensive, which is why my mum only makes them once a year. But they are a Black family tradition and my mum has perfected this recipe over the years.

Ingredients

2 cups of flour

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 tablespoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of shredded orange cheddar

1 cup of shredded white cheddar

1 cup of cubed orange cheddar

1/2 cup of cubed white cheddar

18 thick slices of bacon

1 egg

1 cup of milk

1/4 cup of bacon drippings/oil

Directions

1. Dice your bacon while raw, cutting into approximately .5 centimetre pieces and cook carefully. You want the bacon to be cooked through, but remain soft since it is going to go into the oven to bake. Cook for approximately 10 minutes over medium heat. You may want to separate this into a couple rounds of frying to make sure each piece gets properly cooked. 

2. When you're done cooking your bacon, save the drippings! It is a great and flavourful substitute for oil!

3. Grate and cube your cheeses. This could take a while. My mum and I like to do these steps the night before.

4. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

5. Mix together your dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, in case you forgot. Then add your cheese and bacon. Stir in well. Then add your oil, milk and beaten egg. My mum adds the beaten egg to the milk beforehand, and keeps both at room temperature - the oil needs to be liquid but not so hot as to cook the egg! A careful balance.

6. Distribute into muffin tins, filling so that they are just level (theoretically - the dough is quite thick, so there should be chunks and peaks and such - character!) 

7. Cook for 20-25 minutes.

8. Devour.

Sydney's Own Neiman Marcus Cookies

So you have probably heard the urban legend about the $250.00 Nieman Marcus cookie recipe. If not, the gist is that a woman asked to purchase the cookie recipe from the Nieman Marcus cafe, and the waitress told her she was authorized to sell the recipe for "two fifty," and the woman signed her bill without realizing the cost was two hundred and fifty dollars, rather than two dollars and fifty cents. So, motivated by a vindictive sense of justice, she shares the recipe around the world. A whole lot of bullshit, but a good story and a great cookie. I have tweaked the traditional recipe (which, honestly, comes in a wide variety, my favourite not being the one actually provided on the Nieman Marcus website) and here is the one I throw together.

Ingredients

1 cup of butter

1 cup of white sugar

1 cup of brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 1/4 cup of blended oatmeal

1 1/4 of quick cooking oatmeal

1 teaspoon of salt

4 oz of shaved dark chocolate

1 cup of chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups of chopped nuts (I recommend pecans and brazil nuts - I adore brazil nuts)

1/2 cup of espresso or mint flavoured chocolate (I usually split my batch in half and add both

Directions

1. Shave chocolate. It takes forever. Blend oatmeal. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to wet mixture. You know - the shit you do when you make any cookies.I am not pulling any punched here - the shaved chocolate and the blended oatmeal are what make these cookies special. That and my flavoured chocolate chunks. So add those about now.

3. Put spoonfuls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Watch them though, because if they over cook, they're not great.

See - perfect gift. I win.

 

 

Skip the Maids a Milking - On the 8th Day give Yoga Gear

I have decided that yoga gear is an appropriate gift for anyone who may like to escape the life of fastening pants. Seriously. What a drag.

I know there are many articles from Lululemon that I have on my wish list. I actually do yoga though, so that isn't surprising. Sports bras and short shorts and crop pants, oh my! But I think the value of yoga wear extends beyond yogis. It is good general athletic wear, and even better lounge wear. And it was with this logic that motivated me to pick up yoga pants for papa Black.

Papa Black is going to love 'em!

For the 7th Day of Christmas, try a fun Moleskine journal

I have recently joined the cult of Moleskine. And how could I not - they were the journals of Oscar Wilde, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Henri Matisse! And I would totally hope to be as brilliant as at least one of those dudes.

But, giving someone a blank notebook? Boring.

So Moleskine created what they call their Passions line of journals. They are specialized journals for a variety of interests: Music, Film, Books, Wine, Recipes and Wellness. I would personally love the film, recipe and wellness journals. I always find that I watch so many movies that I forget about!


I bought the Wine journal for my dad and the Recipe journal for my mum.

Recipe Journal |  $25.00 CAD

Wine Journal | $25.00 CAD

I Missed the Fifth Day of Christmas! Wash My Mouth Out!

Ok - I know washing one's mouth out is the sadistically poetic punishment for cursing, not forgetting things. Believe me - I have endured this punishment. But it is my awkward segue (or Segway, perhaps?) into my 5th/6th/missing Christmas list item.

Dr Bronner's Peppermint Soap. I discovered this soap at my Moksha yoga studio in Halifax. It is the soap they provide in their showers, and it is magic. The peppermint smell is invigorating, and it leaves you feelings tingly clean. I know these sound like the cliches of innumerable body wash ad campaigns. Fuck them - they are liars. I have sampled a variety of soap and body wash products in my 23 (ok, realistically only 17 years...) of washing myself, and I have never used a soap that literally made my skin feel like it was tingling, like I was a Junior Mint. And I love Junior Mints.

So, Moksha yoga studios across the country offer Dr Bronner's Magic Soaps. If you do visit the Dr Bronner website, you will be greeted by, presumably Dr Emanuel Bronner, who resembles every mad scientist and no environmentally conscious soapmaker (unless you're my dad, for whom much environmental science resembles witchcraft), let alone a soapmaker whose growing appeal the website attributes to his "urgent message to realize our transcendent unity across religious and ethnic divides." Right. He actually looks like he would have been buds with Josef Mendele, with his creepy blackout sunglasses which you can only assume is masking a creepy leer and his high collared white lab coat. This is a resemblance that struck me before I read that the family is actually of German-Jewish descent, Emanuel Bronner being a Zionist, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1929. The website does not mention if the move was motivated by the rise of the Third Reich in Germany or not; perhaps that would be just a little bit to heavy an introduction for a soap company, though if you look at the company's timeline, it does reveal that Dr Bronner's parents did in fact meet their demise in the extermination camps.

My bad.

That said - further investigation revealed to me that, while perhaps Dr Bronner's soap, and most certainly the company's story, is new to me, I am certainly not the first to find Dr Bronner a curious entity. There's a documentary about him! The implication, as you will see, is that this man was bat shit crazy.

Anyhow, my horrific nack for sticking my imaginative and hyperbolic foot in my mouth aside, the soap is incredible and comes from a family with generations in the soap making industry. It is USDA certified organic as well as certified Fair Trade. The peppermint variety is the company's most popular variety, perhaps because of the stimulating affects of the peppermint oil (the amazing tingling I mentioned).

Available in a variety of sizes, from the 2oz bottle for $2.49 - a great stocking stuff perhaps? - to a $52.49 1 gallon jug. I am planning on getting some for my mother, to whom I've raved about the soap, however Moksha Yoga Calgary only had a 1 gallon jug left in stock, which they did kindly offered to sell me. I thought, however, that a gallon jug of soap is a somewhat presumptuous and perhaps insulting gift - especially given that I have already purchased her the Keihls avocado eye cream I already recommended. The implication being that after 52 40 something years, my mother is unable to groom herself. Still, I am hoping it goes over well.

On the 6th Day of XMAS my stalkers should leave on my doorstep Trippen boots

A hiatus from my shopping picks for the holiday season was necessitated by my actual Christmas shopping. The gifts I managed to pick up will likely make their way onto this list - which will be kept better up to date, I promise. My Christmas gift to you.

So what am I particularly jonesing for on this midway point of my Christmas countdown? Trippen boots. I just very recently became acquainted with Trippen, a shoe company out of Germany, while I hunted with my mother for the perfect pair of over-the-knee boots that was a belated-birthday-early-Christmas present, never to be wrapped, and to be worn and assimilated as my own the moment we get home, as has become the status quo with my holiday gifts. The company was first established in Berlin in 2005, and has gone on to open stores in Great Britain, Israel, Taiwan and Japan, and has been nominated for and won a number of international awards for design. Not only are their shoes visually interesting, they focus on using quality materials (a year after launching their first store location they were nominated for the Baden-Württemberg International Design Award, which apparently held Longevity as its theme). Furthermore, Trippen operates under the philosophy that "modern design [should] combine... environmental friendliness, sustainability and social responsibility." So a pretty cool company all in all. The line is available with four shoe retailers in Canada: Asphalt in Kelowna, Kaliyana, Dorfer Shoes in Toronto and, my personal favourite shoestore, Gravitypope.

Here are the pairs which are particularly catching my eye, and which may, in a number of hours, become mine.

Trippen Best bootie | $470.00CAD at Gravitypope

Trippen Bubble boot | $615.00$ CAD at Gravitypope

Trippen Rider boot | $575.00CAD at Gravitypope

Trippen Urban boot | $545.00 CAD at Gravitypope

This last pair, the Urbans, are on hold at Gravitypope's Calgary store for me right now. My grandma's birthday/Christmas cheque will buy me one boot - I am gifting myself the other.

Here are the pair which my mum and I settled on as my "Merry Birthday" gift:

Frye Taylor Over-the-Knee Boot | $548.00 CAD at Gravitypope (though, available much more inexpensively online, apparently...)

Also, I just discovered that in Edmonton and Vancouver, Gravitypope has clothing, or tailored goods, as they say. This is exciting as well as heartbreaking, given the mysterious absence of such an outlet in Calgary. At least I can follow their fashion blog. And, of course, their original shoe blog. Check it out.

If you do not think that the Trippen Urban boots and I should be united in blissful fashion matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.

Merry Christmas to me.

Day Quatro? Get me an accessory based on my adorable nickname, Baby

Ok, These Christmas present suggestions have been both things I want, but mostly things I would suggest for other people - things EVERYONE SHOULD WANT.

And everyone may covet these octopus inspired accessories as much as I do, they are pretty adorable, but virtually days within being born I earned the nickname Syd the Squid. Similar monikers include Squid, Squidney, Squidzilla, and Squidders. I am not fond of that last one. And therefore, if you want to buy me specifically something special and thoughtful (that I told the entire cyber world I would adore...that kind of thoughtful), you would peruse OctopusME Jewlery, available on Etsy.

You don't know anyone with a cephalopod inspired nickname? Well the avid diver, perhaps? Someone with a good sense or irony and a love of calamari? I think they are generally pretty cool looking (though those suckers probably do not appeal to everyone) and I have even included a non-octopus inspired ring. So there. I specifcally love these, for me. Buy me one. I will suggest things for other people tomorrow. Don't pretend you buy thoughtful, heartwarming gifts for 12 people anyways - if you buy 12 gifts for people, I know and you know that at least 4 of them came from the housewares department of Winners. 

This little number was so popular that in the couple days between saving and coveting this Tentacle Pendant, and posting it online, this specific one was sold. HOT ITEMS. However, this similar pendant was valued at $85.00USD

Orange Sapphire Sea Fan Ring | $250.00USD

Nothing says Merry Christmas like sealife you can wear.

For Day 3, my loves should send me: fabulous Christmas cards.

For my birthday, Claire gave me Amy Sedaris' book I Like You: hospitality under the influence. I love it, and it has started me thinking about being a slightly more gracious and hospitable person. So, on that note, I have been perusing the world of stationery for the perfect Christmas cards.

My lovely friend Aly featured the company Positively Green on her blog, and their cards are amazing. Beautiful images with inspired quotations, the company endeavours to leave as small an ecological footprint as possible and donates 10% of their profits to "organizations that protect our environment and fight global warming" (a touch vague). They are understated and fabulous. I almost had mine all chosen out and ready to order when I realized that, by the time I received the cards, I would barely have enough time to get them to their final destinations.

So, since my friends can be assured that, sadly, they will not be receiving a Positively Green Christmas card from me this season, here are some of my favourites - if you do have a stationery store near you which carries the brand, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't be touched to receive one of these.

Outside reads: "Friendship? Yes Please" - Charles Dickens

Inside reads: Happy holidays, dear friend. 

 

Outside reads: "Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love." -Hamilton Wright Mabie

Inside reads: Much love to you. Happy holidays.

Outside reads: "Here's to the season of goodwill, cold weather, and warm hearts!" -Holiday Toast

Inside reads: Here’s to you. Happy holidays.

Outside reads: "Wherever you are, it is your friends who make your world." -William James

Inside reads: You make the world better. Happy holidays.

Outside reads: And now let us welcome the new year--full of things that have never been. -Rainer Maria Rilke

Inside reads: Here’s to the endless possibilities. Happy New Year.

"Happy Birthday? Is that some weird way of saying Merry Christmas?"

So I have officially survived 23 years of life. Mostly intact, too. I have three ear piercings, and had my wisdom teeth removed, broke my two front teeth and two bones in my left foot, and I skinned my knees a couple dozen times, but I did it all in stride.

I have been wondering about the rules of internet birthday etiquette. There is doubtless a hierarchy when it comes to receiving birthday wishes. Because I and my friends have scattered ourselves across the continent, I do not consider my closest friends those who I spend my birthday with - if this were the case, my parents and grandmother as well as the sales associates at Holt Renfrew Calgary top the list. This may not be entirely inaccurate, but there are some others who I would include were it possible. But alas, I must depend on technology to bridge the gap between myself and those I love on my birthday. So which gestures warrant a message of thanks? Without a doubt phone calls - these were the minimum, and my lack of foresight meant I was unable to receive any of them (packing at 4 am did not include my phone charger...). My brother even made the effort to call me this morning, not without a slightly accusatory, "You know I tried calling you twice yesterday." Voicemails from Claire and Heather as well as one from my best friend from high school, Marlee. Congratulations - if you are one of these four people, you win.
I also received some text messages and an e-mail. A couple of facebook messages, some very thoughtful posts on my wall, and a couple lovingly photoshopped pictures featuring myself and rugby legend Sebastien Chabal. Which of these does one actually respond to? I find it contrived when someone responds to my own facebook birthday message that likely contained one sentence beyond "Happy Birthday _____!" - though I do lovingly craft that extra sentence, mostly to stand out amongst the rest of my attention competitors. Do you only respond to ones that you especially liked, or to the people you especially like? My limited knowledge of etiquette leads me to believe no. Should I just equally neglect everyone?

Probably. That is probably what I will do.

I do have about five posts that have been percolating in my mind the past couple of days, and they will be coming soon. If anyone noticed that I started doing a "On the __ day of Christmas my many admirers had best gift me..." theme that was swiftly abandoned, it has not been! I just realized that if I continued posting every day that there would be some really weird number of days of Christmas which correspond to no holiday lore, but would act instead as a gauge of how materialistic I am. Very. I know. I am properly ashamed.

In the meantime, adore my cozy birthday outfit acquired at Holt's yesterday with my parents.

Top: Theory | Jeans: Joe, cigarette cut | Sweater: ça va de soi | Bangles: Kate Spade

oh, yes, post script - the quote from the title? Grandma Dode. This was her response after we were bid farewell by our server who said "Happy Holidays and Happy Birthday." She's a funny lady.

Play the Grad Student Trail!

Yes. I am that smell.

I am, miraculously, sitting in the airport.

I woke up to K, calling me from outside my house. She only offered to give me a ride yesterday. Had she not, I would be asleep or cursing myself.

Yesterday I finished a marathon of marking - a seriously impressive feat, I may add, marking 146 exams in 2 days - and went to Ye Olde Orchard to have dinner and a beer with my fellow TAs, Claire and Kristin. I also invited the students from my conference, and three actually came.

Long story short, I was doing tequila shots at 2:00 am that were bought for my students and I (everyone else had left about an hour or so earlier), packing at 4:00, waking up an hour before I had to be at the airport.

My mother called me yesterday to assure that I would not "look sloppy" when I got off the plane - we are touring my dad's new business acquisition straight from the airport. I took much offence from this phone call.

And here I sit. Greasy. Hungry. A touch dehydrated.


And She Ra has peed all over herself.

Sorry fellow airport patrons.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

It is finally really snowing in Montreal. And it is beautiful. Thank God I convinced myself to go to yoga rather than cuddle in for the afternoon - otherwise I would have avoided the beautiful snow storm outside indefinitely. And it really is lovely. Not too cold. Not too windy.

So, after getting back from yoga - which, coincidently is a great way to warm up when it is chilly out - I ran in, switched my cowboy boots for Sorrels and my H&M coat for the Canada Goose Montebello Parka my mum gave me for an early birthday present, and grabbed my little camera to experiment in the snow. I have been thirsting for a slightly more professional grade camera (more professional than a drop-proof handheld Sony - not that I do not adore the graduation present from my brother), but the little Sony did pretty well.

Here are some photos from my romp:

It's been snowing steadily since my breakfast with K

Also, I wanted to include my favourite Christmas carol. It is perfect; festive, fun, reminiscent of an age where Dean Martin's lyrics would have been considered charming, not date rape. Sigh - I love December.

Saturday in Montreal

I feel like today is the first day I have really lived like I live in Montreal.

The day started relatively early. Kind of. 8:30 am, and I was awake, but opted to stay in bed reading an excellent book which I inherited from the charming Melina, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. It was, of course, not long before She Ra had plopped right down in my arms, completely obstructing my view of the book, as anyone who has spent much time would know is a cat's favourite past time. But anyone who knows my cat knows that moments of affection are rare, so I embraced it, that is to say, her, and fell back asleep.
I woke up after receiving a text from Claire, with whom I had a lovely day planned. We went for brunch at Cora's to fulfil some Halifax nostalgia (yes, I am aware Cora's is originally from Montreal - this was made especially evident today as, on our way out, we were rushed past by CORA). After brunch, which was at 1:00 as opposed to 11:00 as Claire and I had originally set our hopes on, we went to the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal to see the Cabaret Rouge: The Terrifying and Beautiful World of Otto Dix exhibit. It was amazing. It had been so long since I had been to a gallery, or had done anything intellectually stimulating on my own motivation and for pure enjoyment really. I love Otto Dix and his talented perversity. I bought a wide array of postcards (did you know Dix painted landscapes? Me neither, but they're really very beautiful). And, because afterwards Claire and I did some shopping and I shelled out 70$ for a replacement battery charger (they only had a universal one! How do I ensnare myself in these things?) - I can show you their lovely arrangement in the apartment which you have not really gotten to see.

The Wall! Isn't it awkward to try to figure out where to put pictures on a totally blank wall? Well I tried my best.

Portrait of the Lawyer Hugo Simons (1925). I adore his hands.

Reclining Woman on Leopard Skin (Portrait of Vera Simailowa) (1927). Note the hyena in the background. Did you know that the hyena is a symbol of prostitution? It puts all that I know about the female spotted hyena into a strange perspective.

Randegg in the Snow with Ravens (1935)

Half-Nude (1926). I found this portrait, which I had never seen before, extremely powerful. It nearly brought me to tears. I had told my supervisor that, while I respect Otto Dix's talent, that I would not want his representations of women on my walls. But now I do. I find it truly harrowing.

Claire, ready to get her burger on...

Then Claire and I rounded out our day together with an indulgent burger from my brother's favourite burger place in Montreal, Buns (though it is a strong competitor with Picks apparently). It was delicious, and seeing as I had a giant fruit plate today as opposed to the eggs benedict I so badly wanted, justifiable. I am going to snuggle down now to make some study notes for my class for tomorrow (we are meeting at Ye Old Orchard to have a beer and prepare them for their exam on Wednesday). A solid couple of hours of work, listening to this fabulous song by Deerheart, the Breakdown, which, yes, I discovered on the Gossip Girl soundtrack (don't hate, the song is still fabulous), and then Claire and I are going to meet up again to go dancing!

 Maybe I do like Montreal...

And here is a glimpse of the apartment. She Ra and I are having a chat. Sadly, my favourite feature, the Kokanee Girl Calendar, set to September, just didn't turn out...

On Day 2 My True Love Best Bestow onto me: Keihl's Creamy Eye Treatment

I wouldn't even be mad at the insinuation that my face is starting to resemble a blood hound's!

This cream is that good.

$25.50 for a .5 fl. oz pot

I received a tester of it after I went and bought the ludicrously priced, sinfully indulgent Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter. The salesgirl asked if there was anything I would like to try, and, somewhat surprised, fetched me a sample of their avocado based eye cream. I do not think there is anything weird about being a (nearly!) 23-year-old woman who uses eye cream. That is the point - I don't care what Olay says, there's no reversing the signs of aging. I have to keep this skin in the immaculate condition it is in now.

What is particularly lovely about this eye cream is that it solves a problem you don't even realize is a problem until you try this. And no, it isn't anything to do with the quality your eyes - a sort of "I never realized how horrific my eyes really looked until I used Kiehl's!" No. If you have ever used eye creams before - I have used Olay's Regenerist Eye as well as their Regenerist Advaned Anti-Aging Roller, and have also tried out another of Kiehl's eye creams, the Abyssine Eye Cream (my kingdom for anyone who can tell me what Abyssine is, because all that comes rushing to my mind are cats) - then you may very well be familiar with the experience of having rich, innovative, anti-aging technology developed in the Swiss Alp/Paris/New York by top dermatologists seep into your eyes. They water. You cry some tears. You wash away most of the cream that is the culprit. This eye cream from Kiehl's, either serendipitously or purposely, I'm not sure, addressed this issue. It is such a viscous formula that is stays put on your eye where you dab it. I realize this may sound unpleasant, like globs of sickly green cream weighing down your lids, but this is not the case. You need to thoroughly dab the cream around your eyes, but it will go on clear, and you barely need any. A little sample envelope last me 2 weeks, morning and night application.

So buy some today for the friend you do not want looking like this:

also for Christmas, you could get me a Bloodhound puppy. So. Cute.

Oh, and before I forget, the use of avocado for skin treatment is as old as bad 90s talk television. If you don't think that it is worth the 25.50 - that is at least one dinner out with friends, or about 5 bags of peanut butter M&Ms - you can just follow the sage advice of Jenny Jones:

Existential Blogging Crisis

The more I peruse the beautiful blogs of my friends Aly and Kathy, the more I realize how inadequate my blog is.

I fail to tantalize you with beautiful pictures - I lost my camera's charger swiftly upon moving, and have never been able to recover it - my posts are essentially rants on a variety of topics, which I certainly do no research or preparation for, and I am embarking on no great adventures to retell.

I voiced this concern to my darling Heather, who, incidentally, had a very short-lived blogging career. She assured me that she likes the blog, mostly because it propagates her internet fame.

"The Narcissist in me loves the Narcissist in you." - Heather.

For my lack of direction and visual aids, I apologize. I can only hope that you will endeavour with following these posts until I reform my ways.


This said, I will be commencing my Christmas countdown with an ennumeration of the beautiful things I would like to be mine this holiday season - or, the less narcissistic way to look at it I suppose, my gift recommendations. My house currently smells like freshly baked gingerbread, and I can't resist plunging somewhat prematurely into the holiday spirit. I even listened to the Channukah Song yesterday.

Starting off this countdown, as I am currently quite chilly and find my sweater collection severely deficient (my mother would kill me for saying so - she doesn't think I need a single additional article of clothing - how wrong one woman could be) , I stumbled across this beautiful sweater. I want it on me. Right. Now.

Michael Kors, studded cotton blend V-neck, 175$

I have been lusting for more studs in my wardrobe (you can read: hot guys in my pants, and sure, but not what I meant in this instance), and this sweater would quench that desire. And without shoulder pads. I can't do this whole shoulder pad look that is out this season. I have lovely broad shoulders as is, and just as I will not work out my traps, I will not wear shoulder pads in my t-shirts and sweaters (for outerwear I will maintain an exception).