Stephen Colbert and Halloween (he's always right)

Dr. Colbert correctly identified "trick-or-treating" as teaching children how to panhandle. But now the kids are getting picky! Here we were...giving free candy to strange looking children...when they started making requests!!! My sister was smart and engaged the first kid in conversation:

Kid (looking into the candy basket): "Can I have some Oreos?"
Sissy: "What are you going to give me back?"
Kid: "Anything you want..."

The last five kids that came by ALL asked for Oreos. I'm thinking that next year we should buy no candy and all cookies.

Stylish Baby - Courtesy of Gucci

Gucci realizes that sometimes some moms have awesome purses and they don't get to carry them when they are carrying a baby, so they've made a way to make it a little easier for both mom and baby to be stylin'...in the form of the Gucci Baby Carrier!


If you have friends that will be in need of something like this, plan ahead. You can only buy 3 within a 3 month period. :)

Warcraft the Movie

My first thought: Oh no. WoW the movie. Please-please-goodness-gracious-they-cannot-possibly-be-serious.

For all of you who jumped on the World of Warcraft bandwagon, denied your addiction (and still deny the addiction), (thankfully) got bored, and finally stopped playing, the WoW movie will bring you on a trip down Nostalgia Lane. For those of you still playing, this must've been awesome news.

Well......we'll see how this all develops. Who knows - I may be the first one in line to watch it. :)

Favorite Chefs

Someone asked me who my favorite chefs were, and for some reason, the answer didn't flow out as I thought it would. Anyway, I did some thinking, and this is the thoughtful answer...

For sure I love Ina Garten. I've been using her recipes since before Food Network was created. Why? Because I know that if I try a recipe, I know that it will come out like the picture/demonstration every time. It gives me hope that I will actually make something delicious, okay?! :)

Anthony Bourdain is awesome. I'll sit down and watch hours and hours of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. And now (as a part of the No Reservations series) he dines and talks with other chefs on At the Table with Anthony Bourdain. They trade stories, theories, ideas, etc. I'd be so intimidated to be a chef or even a server at that meal!

I have added links for these guys, and I'm sure I'll add more as I continue to mull over this question.

Sarah Palin on SNL - WEAK

If you haven't seen it yet, don't waste your time...at least not if you are watching it to see Sarah Palin do something funny. Or do anything at all. Let me sum it up for you...

Tina Fey comes on as Palin, then they cut to Palin talking to Lorne Michaels. Palin opens the show ("Live from New York - it's Saturday Night!). Later, on Weekend Update, she sits there pseudo-dancing while Amy Poehler does her work for her. Then Palin steals Tina Fey's line ("Goodnight, and have a pleasant tomorrow").

If you're going to watch it for anything, save yourself the disappointment of expecting anything from Palin and just watch it for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

In-n-Out Anniversary

You might have heard that the good people at In-n-Out are celebrating their 60th anniversary on October 22. You may also have heard that they're taking their prices down - waaaay down. Like burger for 25 cents. Sad to say, this is a rumor. :( At least that's what their website says.

I was all excited about it, so I checked their site to see if they sent out a press release. When I got to their site, there was a nice button labeled "October 22 Rumor." Rumor?! So sad. Here's the announcement for your viewing displeasure.

Ben & Jerry's - Free Ice Cream for Voters

That's right! Utilize your right to vote on November 4, 2008, and Ben & Jerry will reward you with a free scoop of ice cream! Don't believe me? Check it out!

Happy Voting!

Starbucks Splash Sticks

I went to Starbucks this weekend to order from their new Signature Hot Chocolate line. When I picked up my drink, I saw something new sitting next to the cup sleeves...Splash Sticks!

You know how people make money off of the simplest ideas - so simple that maybe you could have thought of it? Or you did think of it but failed to move on it? This is one of those. Simple idea. Simply genius.

LA Valley Mini Food Tour

I was in the mood for a food tour, so we headed to Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks - the Valley, as it's known in Los Angeles. Destinations? Nata's Portuguese Bakery and Fab's Italian Kitchen.

Nata's Portuguese Bakery

They introduced themselves as the only Portuguese bakery in Los Angeles. It's a cute little bakery with a dessert counter that is about as big as the cupcake shops (think Sprinkles in Beverly Hills or Dots in Pasadena), with a few tables out front for those customers who want to soak in that good ol' California sun...or that wonderful LA smog...

If you try their malasadas, remember that they're not Hawaiian malasadas (from Leonard's Bakery - made for you as you wait and served hot). Their baker makes them in the morning, and they serve them cooled until they run out.

The desserts are not too sweet, so you won't come away with a crazy sugar high.

Fab's Italian Kitchen

When I worked out in Brentwood, we would ALWAYS order from this place (and occasionally got ourselves down there to actually eat in the restaurant). We had the Italian chopped salad - delicious, as always. Tried their chicken piccata for the first time. Pretty good, but even so I think next time I'll stick to my old favorites - the parmagianas....

Brownie Butts - from Butter's Brownies

You may be asking, "What the heck are brownie butts?!"
Well, let me enlighten you. Brownie butts are the edges of brownies - which I LOVE!!!
And there is a bakery in Texas that actually sells these! Don't believe me? Check it here...

Oh, and for those of you who don't care for the edges, they sell regular (no-edge) brownies too...in 12 flavors.

The Dreaded Mayo Post

Ivan and I had a heart-to-heart discussion a couple weeks ago...about mayonnaise.

Let me start by saying that I do not order mayo on anything. Sandwiches and burgers - my order is always, "Mustard, no mayo, please." And if they forget, I'll take the time to scrape the mayo off as best as I can. The only time I'll use mayo is when it is mixed with something else to mask the flavor of the mayo (e.g. in making spinach artichoke dip).

Ivan told me about his affinity for mayo, and how he used to eat it on toast when he was younger (and maybe still does it?). He would just toast some bread and spread it with mayo instead of butter. I thought he was joking, but the look on his face showed me how much he seriously loved this snack. But his devotion to the condiment was nothing when compared to his friends+mayo. One of his friends used to scoop mayonnaise out into a bowl and eat it like ice cream.

I gagged so much that I almost threw up.

He laughed.

Eating Cactus

I ate cactus. Yep - that's right. I tried a cactus salad the other day, and it turned out to be really good! I knew that cactus was edible, and I had tried prickly pear before, but that's fruit from cactus, right? (I don't know...or is it considered cactus) Who knew that those prickly little/big desert ornaments were delicious?

Now I just have to remember what was in that salad so I can try to recreate it... If you have any ideas (good ideas! hahah) or recipes, let me know!