America, November 4, 2008
For the last election — my first to vote in person — I made an aspirational Blue State Blue Velvet cake, inspired by the Obama-centric blog Yes We Cake (which later featured my creation). Georgia didn’t go blue — surprise — but the country did. I’m hoping for the same outcome this time around. Four more years!
Outside the World of Coca-Cola, Atlanta, Georgia, June 9, 2010
In 2010, Dairy Queen celebrated the 25th birthday of its most popular treat, the Blizzard, by introducing a mini version of the dessert and driving around the country in the Blizzardmobile, giving out free samples. Fortunately, my office was within walking distance of the Atlanta Blizzardmobile stop, so I braved the sweltering heat on my lunch break for a tasty freebie. (Or two… maybe three.) While I was there, I got a photo with the Blizzard itself. An instant classic!
Montreal, Quebec, May 29, 2010
Two years ago today was the last day of our French-Canadian honeymoon. There was late-night poutine (technically early morning on the 29th) with delicious local beer, a cat-chalet handoff, a river cruise and lots more. When we got home, we were tired.
Posted in booze, excellent munchables, nostalgia, Old-Timey Tuesday, travel
I’m a bit behind here (and in life in general), but last weekend was so delightful that I couldn’t go too long without sharing some photos. Here’s the rundown:
After work last Friday I packed up an overnight bag and headed to the mountains to celebrate with the high school gang the first of my best friends turning 30. There was a homemade photobooth, personalized cocktail napkins and delicious carrot cake the first night; day two entailed famous local barbecue, party games aplenty and another mini birthday fete. Sunday I was up with the sun to get back to town for church, and we closed out the weekend at another non-birthday shindig that afternoon — Otto tagged along for a playdate. Enjoy!
Posted in excellent munchables, friends, friends who blog, HUZZAH, nerdery, pets, things southern
Over the weekend one of my best friends and I, along with our mothers, hosted a baby shower for another of our best friends. We took the easy route and kept things traditional, which, in these parts, means a base menu of tea sandwiches, Henri’s petit fours and punch. Here was the spread in the front room:
petit four close-up! waaaaah!
Now, punch is a tricky thing. Growing up attending lots of church functions, I’ve had my share of tangy, sherbet-based punches in an array of alarming colors. Fortunately, my mom, ever the hostess, had a super tasty punch recipe filed away somewhere. It was so delicious that I want to share it with y’all. You can drink it straight or mix it with white wine or bubbly — it’s refreshing either way. Simply combine and serve over ice:
Done! Delightful! Not too sweet, not too tart. (I bet it would spike well, too, for a non-afternoon party.) Then just stick a mini rubber duckie in your centerpiece and you’ve got yourself a baby shower!
Posted in events, excellent munchables, libations, social graces, things southern
Over the weekend I did an inventory of my Waffle House collection, of which mention has been made here before. I’ve been meaning to catalog this stuff for some time, just to see how much (and what) I have. The oldest item here dates to the late ’90s, in terms of when I acquired it. At my parents’ house, I have:
The rest of my collection is at our place (much to Jon’s delight). This includes:
Goodness that’s embarrassing. The sad thing is, I’ve probably missed something. But I can’t stop myself! Just look at how awesome this stuff is…
Help me.
As time-consuming as blogging can be, keeping up with blogs is often even more so. (When I’ve had the chance to catch up on my Google reader since new years, I’ve been heartened to see that I’m not the only slackass on the blogs who’s still recovering from the holidays.) For that reason, some of my favorites are those single-image-post blogs (often tumblrs) — they’re easy to stay on top of, easy to catch up on. Here are a few of my favorites that you might enjoy:
First up, a tumblr by photographer Max Wanger called OHMYLEFTOVERS. As you might surmise from its title, the blog consists of leftover/otherwise unpublished photos. Sometimes there are kitties involved.
Speaking of cats, I’ve mentioned the delightful Dream Cats here before. If you don’t like pictures of cats, you can skip this one, ’cause that’s all it is. They pull from a group on Flickr that you can join and submit to.
Last (for now) but certainly not least is SCANDYBARS. This tumblr launched last June, posting scanned-in cross-sections of candy bars and bits — it’s basically the same idea as Scanwiches, just more delicious and happy-making. I particularly like this post about candy-scanning equipment and cleanup.
What other excellent quick-hit blogs are the cool kids reading these days?
Posted in excellent munchables, pets, photography, the internet
Atlanta, Georgia, December 1984/1989/2011
Each December my family decorates sugar cookies together before our annual holiday party. As you can see from the dates listed, this has been going on for some time. (As you can also see, we are still using the same cookie cutters: I’m working on stockings in all of these pictures.) This top photo cracks me up because these days I’m known as the hand-washing nazi of the family; my sense of sanitary cookie-decorating practices was clearly not always so keen.
The Christmas party is coming up this weekend already. At some point before Christmas itself, I’ll post a thorough photo retrospective of the tradition.
Posted in excellent munchables, family, holidays, nostalgia, Old-Timey Tuesday
Look what those clever Germans have come up with now:
Edible spray paint! Hamburg’s Deli Garage Food Cooperative will hook you up for € 24,80 per 100-ml can of gold, silver, red or blue. Here’s the product description from the English-language side of the Deli Garage website:
Fine silver cutlery, gold-plated cups – there are some things in life you just can’t see enough of. As of now, the same applies to a good steak. With Food Finish, the most stylish way to refine your culinary creations. Food Finish is as easy to use as the result is beautiful: off with the lid and on with the spray. Ready! Food Finish chrome-plates and gold-coats everything and anything in the kitchen that fits under its spray nozzle. It is completely harmless and tasteless to eat.
(photos from www.the-deli-garage.com)
The blog post that led me to this discovery (sent to me by Abby) shows more photos of everyday foods that have been Esslack-ed. Apples look pretty; a muffin looks terrifying; tomatoes look freaky; and a half-chromed pretzel just makes me sad. It also makes me wonder… does this stuff come off on your hands and lips when you eat it? What would the aftermath of an Esslack dinner party look like?
Posted in art, excellent munchables, style, Whaa?
