POW: America's Test Kitchen

I heart my America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

Best. Cookbook. Ever. If you have the chance to peruse its pages at a book store near you, I highly recommend it. I got the giant extreme mega hard cover binder version. (CON: It's huge; and you have to put the binder tabs in the right section yourself. PRO: Carrying it around your kitchen doubles as your cardio.)

If you're like me, you'll get sucked in and suddenly realize you're reading it like a novel and admit to yourself that you're going to have to purchase the dang thing. Something about the fact that all the recipes contained in it were tested for optimal deliciousness just sets my mind at ease. And sprinkled throughout are the little product recommendations (a plastic spatula, or a rubber one? which is better? they'll tell you!) and friendly tips for people who might not have gone to culinary school (blanch oven fries first for optimum crispy outsides and creamy insides-- it removes the starch.) Who knew?! America's Test Kitchen, that's who.

POW: Double Rainbow, Double Delicious

This week's Product of the Week recommendation also hails from Trader Joe's, apparently the source of all of my new favorite things.
Double Rainbow brand ice cream is nothing fancy on the outside, but the 250-calories per (minuscule) serving are a clue about the fanciness on the inside. And let me just tell you-- the rich creaminess of Double Rainbow is simply double sin. We were introduced to the deliciousness via the blueberry flavor. "Blueberry?!" you scoff. Yes, it's true. I was skeptical, too. But it was a blueberry dream... Fresh, creamy, and not synthetic or syrupy-sweet at all. But perhaps you are a purist. So, the french vanilla? Hands-down the best I've tried. It totally shames the somewhat chemical taste of normal store brands and there's nary an alcoholic aftertaste like one experiences with the spendier brands like Haagen Dazs. It's just the perfect, creamy vanilla.
Tonight we tried the Double Rainbow Perfectly Pumpkin (since it's seasonal and one must not be left yearning for pumpkin in March when it's all gone, of course. We've got to get our fill now, people. Act fast!) Anyway, the Perfectly Pumpkin was surprisingly bold and spicy in comparison with the more subtle flavors we've tried thus far, but it was really tasty all the same. Ian mixed his with the vanilla and some milk to make a little shake it was creamy, delicately pumpkin, silky perfection. I tried my pumpkin ice cream straight up and it too was delicioso, but I could only eat about two bites because this stuff is wickedly rich. So, back in the freezer it went after just two spoonfuls, practically a serving, it seems. (Yes, I generally eat my ice cream straight out of the carton. Some people call it uncouth. I call it eco-friendly. And I don't have time for the whole scoop-into-bowl middleman mumbo jumbo. I'm a busy lady.)
So, once again, I admonish you to your nearest TJ's for the taste of some Double Rainbow delights. I have not tried the chocolate or coffee flavors, but I'd be interested in your take on them (or any other flavors you may come across.)
PPS- Speaking of cold things... It's currently 56 degrees inside my apartment. Awesome. A family room that doubles as a meat locker-- tre chic. A major benni to living in CA is that it's not that much colder outside my apartment at the moment. It's the middle of January and outside temps are still in the 50s. That's pretty sweet; however, it seems this means buildings here can exist with exactly zero insulation and single pane windows thinner than picture frame glass. So, here we sit, cranking the heat in every room, trying to get the INside warmer than the OUTside... because west coast or no, I'm pretty sure that's how it's supposed to work. Otherwise it's just... well, camping with better furniture. Anyway, so in about two hours, if we're lucky, it will crack 70 in here. The heat just slips right out... so sad... Good thing I save all that energy on not using ice cream bowls.

POW: Joe Joe's

There are many things to love about Trader Joe's, not the least among them is this week's Product of the Week selection: Candy Cane Joe-Joe's.
I'm not a huge peppermint fan, nor am I a huge Oreo(R) fan, so my hopes were not high the night Ian chose this little box of cookies from amongst the shelves at our local TJ. But, oh, what joy did mine taste buds behold when these little puppies were opened. They're perfect. Slightly fluffier cream than a traditional Oreo(R), with peppermint mixed into their creamy centers... Just the tiniest shavings of candy cane to give these crisp chocolate cookies their festive punch. And, of course, as I do with all delectable delights of the dessert family, I immediately thought: How can I incorporate these into a cupcake? Why, in the frosting, of course! So Joe-Joe's begat the Alpine Cupcake: peppermint cookie butter cream in rocky peaks atop a dark chocolate cake. They were a huge hit at home (read: with Ian) and abroad (read: at work.)
And now, as only delectable delights of the dessert family can muse, an ode to the Joe-Joe:
Seasonal treats aplenty, but I must recommend
Get to a TJ before season's end
Amidst the buying of cozy gifties and socks
Go to the store and pick up a box
For forlorn will you be, everyone knows
Should you not make haste to taste
Some Candy Cane Joe-Joe's

POW: Sittin Pretty

Target has their leather chairs on sale this week. I've giving them my Product of the Week selection. I've been stalking chairs all over the tri-city area and on the interweb for months now trying to find a nice pair for our little reading nook area (read: the weird top of the L-shaped living room that is too small for a couch.) And, ps, can I just say that I was shocked at how expensive chairs are?
Perhaps by virtue of living in a tiny apartment in Japan and then an only slightly larger tiny apartment in NY, we've never found ourselves in need of chairs beyond the normal dining and office types. But now we've graduated to sunny CA living where space is not as tight and closets are a-plenty*, thus leaving corners that would normally need to contain some kind of fancy streamlined storage unit (read: a portable heater with stacks of papers/clothes/boxes precariously balanced on it when not in use) bare and available for a comfy chair and perhaps a nice plant. And so began the hunt. It's been a long hunt because it turns out it's hard to find a chair that isn't your grandparents' La-Z-Boy or part of the college dorm greatest hits parade for less than several hundred bucks.
This brings me to the chair pictured above. We purchased it yesterday from the close-by Seaside Target* and now it sits in a very sunny* area of our L-shaped (L as in the letter, not as in Laurel. It's not a Laurel-shaped room. A room that was me-shaped would be tall and monkey-armed... difficult to decorate, indeed. But it would be full of cupcakes, so that's good. But I digress) room. Totally comfy, total bargain.
We also bought some shelves so the reading nook can now also contain not only a place to sit but also books. (I find those are important in reading nooks; without them how do you know what kind of nook you are in?)
I'd really like a cool patterned fabric chair for that area too, to break up what now may be coined as the sea of leather that is our living room. I read in a decor mag once that all rooms should have some piece or element that doesn't look anything like the rest of the room-- just to make it interesting and not matchy-matchy. If anyone knows of a good place for nicely-priced chairs, do tell. (And please no advice about Craigslist. I have a rule about used things and it is that if it is used and can, or at any point could, absorb liquid or house a nest of any kind, I don't want it.)
When the nook is more complete I will take a picture and you can say to yourself, "My, what a wonderful sunny nook that is. And look! Books! Books in the nook."
Then you'll probably laugh at yourself for sounding like Dr. Seuss.
But we'd all still be happy that I found my chairs and shelves and other accoutrement that make a nook a nook in one L-shaped room, for one Laurel-shaped me.

*Reason why you should move to Monterey.

POW: Shoe Shine

I'm bandwagoning on the ever-so-popular shoe posts of late. Seems like everyone (read: two people) is finding fab footwear and blogging about it. Not to be left in the dust (or barefoot), this week's POW goes to my shiny new kicks. I just bought these Nine West heels: I've been on the hunt for cute black patent leather heels since I got my black pl flats a month ago and wear them every chance I get. There's just something about that shine I love. I wanted to expand the pl family by adding some big-girl shoes (aka heels.) But I needed to steer clear of the crazy pointy toe because those tricksters, trendy as they may be, create the illusion that my feet are about 7 miles long... (And at 5'11" tall and having what a relative once referred to as "monkey arms" I already have enough fashion challenges as it is. I don't need to add "water ski feet" to the list.)
Anyway, I found these and I heart them. I'm awarding them my coveted (read: arbitrary and not coveted at all) Product of the Week spot. They're surprisingly comfy and the toe isn't an uber-round-Minnie-Mouse-toe or a wicked-witch-pointy-toe, so yay. Plus, there's just something about a shiny new pair of shoes in the fall; something that makes me think of fresh starts and brings the twitter of anticipation for things to come.

POW: The Weepies

This Product of the Week entry is dedicated to The Weepies, a band I've recently decided should just follow me around all day to be my life soundtrack. Yes, I know this can't actually happen (where would they sleep? would they expect to sit with me at Katy's place? would they wince when I make them play the Jaws theme around my office? how many Madonna covers would they play in a day-- because you know I'd need quite a few) and I know that a band isn't technically a product, but their album/itunes downloads are! Thus, they get the POW spot this week.

The Weepies are mellow, folky, and I really love the lead singer Deb Talan's harmonies with band mate Steve. (I also subscribe the philosophy all bands should have a Steve.) I recommend their album "Say I Am You." You might recognize their song "The World Spins Madly On" from the motion picture Because I Said So. (Am I 85 now? Why do people still use the term "motion picture?" It seems so incredibly old fashioned... like "talkies" and "sarsaparilla.") Anyway, because I'm a word nerd the lyrics totally draw me in (especially when Deb sings about footwear...) but their sound doesn't deviate much between songs, so it's good background music for work or just chillin', bloggin'.

Check them out on their website, myspace page or on itunes if you're lookin' to bask in their supersweet folk groove. I've been basking all blog surf session and lovin' every minute. And, even if it's not your flavor today, they're collaborating with Mandy Moore on her next album, so don't count them out just yet-- they might turn pop and take over the world... But then they really won't want to follow me around.

POW: Opi

It's time for a new kind of post: the POW. Product of the Week. This week, it's Opi nail polish.

Let's rewind to a month ago when my mom was down here visiting from Oregon. We went to get pedicures and she brought her own polish... A revelation for me, because up until that moment I had always used the salon polish. She said she preferred to bring her own so that she could later do touch-ups. GREAT idea! How many times have I tried to touch-up my salon red with non-salon red, then had to repaint all my nails just so they don't look like a psychotic, blotchy mess-- but then because I repaint them myself they DO look like a psychotic mess because I am not a professional and am, in fact, a total spaz?!

Plus, I realized how slightly gross it was that I, in NYC, had used the same salon bottles as who knows how many people. (Although Amie pointed out that paint is a relatively toxic substance that probably doesn't allow for much tootsie pollution.)

ANYWAY, I thought I should maybe stock up on my favorite colors so that I can start bringing them to the salon myself. Blessed be the sale at Trade Secret. I went in to schedule a hair appointment and what did mine eyes behold? A 5 for $14.95 sale on all Opi polishes. HELLO! These are normally $8 a bottle. I stocked up. And I even had room in my repertoire for "Bubble Bath," a sheer pink fingernail favorite that has replaced my "Sheer Innocence" of Revlon lore. And all for $15! And I love the colors. They stay so glossy and rich, even with just a coat. I also bought: "Suzi Loves Sydney," "Quarter of a Cent-Cherry," "Kangarooby," and "I'm Not Really a Waitress."

I'm stoked. No more communal paint pot for me! And, because I've done serious scientific tests, (read: neither scientific nor serious) I have to say Opi out performs the other salon brands I've tried, as well as drugstore brands. I've had "Bubble Gum" on my digits since yesterday and two loads of dishes and lots of typing later, nary a chip. Opi, I award you my POW spot. Now, send me some free stuff. Or at least let me help you come up with kitschy names for your colors. (Why do I think that would be the best job ever?)