Decembrrrrr

Ohhh hello, Winter. December may just be one of my favorite months.

There's an electricity in the air, along with a frosty nip.
Parties galore, and cozy time with loved ones to look forward to.
Traditions, and twinkling lights, and pine needles littering the streets.
Hibernation is just around the bend.
New York is a pretty wonderful place to be this time of year.

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meet piet, jan.11

as i near my 11th year of apartment dwelling, i've come to the conclusion that working fireplaces are nothing more than a daydream, and i must settle for warming my hands with a mug of hot chocolate, and roasting marshmallows in a toaster oven.

thank goodness! for fredrik hyltén-cavallius and his little friend piet, a smoke-free, soot-free, chimney-free indoor stove that burns ethanol instead of wood. ha.lle.lujah.

coffee talk sept.10

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i'll give you 3 good reasons why my long-term love affair with coffee has just received a kick in the pants:

1. with the new season and cooler weather, my usual cup in the morning doesn't do the job - i need an afternoon delight.

2. just the thought of 11 days in italy (in less than 10 days!) makes me want a machiatto in the worst way.

3. hampton chutney co. cardamom coffee. i don't know how i lived so long without it.

nesting: sheepskin seats, nov.09

I recently noticed that I've used the "cozy" label on practically all of my posts in the last month...no sense in stoppin now!

sheepskin has a look and feel that is soooo luxurious, i especially love the idea of eating each meal surrounded by such coziness...

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rainy day dinner pt. 1, oct.09

the weather outside is frightful and the only thing distracting me from the downpour i'll soon have to endure is the thought of whipping up a deliciously cozy dinner for two...

deliciously cozy dinner idea #1: the rain in spain

tortilla espanola (a daily fave from my dias en sevilla)
pan con tomate
spanish olives
poquito de queso manchego
vasito de vino rioja

Went: winter date...so great

The boo finally caved and we went on our much-anticipated winter date last week (MLK day). It was more wonderful, whimsical and wintery than I ever could have hoped! We started with a train ride to my favorite new place: Prospect Park. Just as soon as our skates were laced they announced the ice would be off limits while being Zamboni-ed. No prob- we took advantage of the break by snacking on pommes frites and listening to Dr. King's inspiring speech, played over the loudspeaker. After hours of triple axels and figure eights it was time to move on to the next leg of our journey: winter cocktails. We found these at Royale on 5th in Park Slope...we also found Erotic Photo Hunt. After a few rounds (of cocktails and nudey games) we meandered further down 5th to delicious Blue Ribbon Brooklyn where our bellies were warmed with matzo ball soup, smoked fish salad and spicy catfish, mmmmmmmm. Don't be jealous.

Eazy, Breezy, New York Ceezy pt.12

There's nothing I love more than New York in December. Except maybe Brooklyn in December. As soon as my boo finishes finals on Thursday we will be going on a long-awaited Brooklyn winter date:

I.
First we'll take a scenic above-ground tour of Western Brooklyn on the B61 bus from Williamsburg, heading South to Jacques Torres Chocolate in Dumbo! Mmmm...hot chocolate and pastries

II.
Next we'll hop the B41L bus to Prospect Park and hit the ice at Wollman rink.

III.
After all those double axels, we're ready for some warmth and red wine. We'll get just that when we take the train to DOC Wine Bar in the Burg.


...sigh.

Thrifty gifties no.2

Ibarra Mexican Hot Chocolate