Dean & Deluca Snack

On the first floor of The New York Times building (8th ave and 41rs st), and a mere 2 blocks from where I work in Manhattan, Dean & Deluca lure me with all their delicious, fresh (and overpriced) goodies. I can never resist a good scone; the one above is cranberry, but the oat scones they get from Balthazar's are memorably tasty. Another treat is a Siggis yogurt - they are made with a grass-fed cows' milk, very little sugar (actually, agave syrup), no additives, and no starch, pectin or other junk despite ending up pudding thick. Here is how it works: Skyr is the traditional yogurt of Iceland. It is made by incubating skim milk with live active cultures. The whey, the water naturally found in milk, is then strained away to make for a much thicker, creamier, concentrated yogurt. So to make just one cup of skyr, with all that water going out, you need 3 - 4 times the amount of milk required to make a regular cup of yogurt. As a result of this process skyr comes out with 2-3 times the protein count of standard yogurt.
As for the ginger ale pictured, it is a simple blend of fizzy water and actual grated ginger, with some cane sugar syrup.
I love sitting there with a book - such as Mind's Eye, by Hakan Nesser, a super smart and chilling crime novel set in Sweden.

Writer's Almanac: Federico Garcia Lorca, supreme musician amongst poets, was killed this day, in 1936. See Susan's great post about him. I wrote about him here.
Verde que te quiero verde.
Verde viento. Verdes ramas.
El barco sobre la mar
Y el caballo en la montaña.

Holiday Season Cards

As the holiday season dawns, one of the things I enjoy doing is selecting the 30+ cards that I will send across the world - remember the ones I sent last year, illustrated by Yoshimoto Nara and dear Fifi Flowers?
This year, I chose these graphic, fun, green cards from Kate Paperie in New York. I also chose some plain ivory-color cards that I will decorate with stamps I bought in Amsterdam - I especially love the paw stamp, which allows Benjy to co-sign my cards without having to dip his precious pads in messy ink.
Finally, on the back of these beautiful, delicate and creamy envelopes, I will apply the spectacular stamp designed for me by Etsy's Asspocket Productions - mention AUREA if you purchase from her store and you'll get 15% off!

Writer's Almanac - my dear, worshiped, adored Oscar Wilde died on this day, Nov. 30, back in 1900; his "Canterville Ghost" is my favorite short story of all times (download it for free here).

Volunteering With Food Forward

Some time ago, I posted about how, in bounty-laden California, people have been getting together on private properties to pick fruit that would otherwise just rot away. This is done, of course, with the kind authorization of property owners, and the fruit is then donated to food pantries.

I just joined Food Forward here in Los Angeles - "a grassroots effort by Angelenos to help fight urban hunger." And on Sunday, I participated in my first orange pick. With a group of volunteers, we descended upon a garden in Northridge, reaching for oranges packed with sunshine and sugar; we then loaded the fruit-filled crates into an old blue hatch back car. All the oranges we picked will be distributed to struggling people around the LA area.
Writer's Almanac: The great Irish playwright Bernard Shaw, who gave us My Fair Lady via his witty, sharp and just plain wonderful play Pygmalion, died today (Nov. 2) 59 years ago.

My Bathroom

You've seen my bed-side table. You've seen my decal chandelier, my red chair reading corner, and my closet door, you've seen my pillowcases and towels. You've even peeked inside my fridge!
Is there anything you haven't seen from my home? Why, my bathroom of course.
It has some lovely details, such as the glass door knobs, and salmon-pink tiles with green details - to make the bathroom more green and less pink, I chose a fish-pattern shower curtain, in hues ranging from teal to aqua.
Behind the door, hanging over the hot pink hot water bottle I use to relieve tense muscles, one of my heavy linen nightgowns waits for me to step out of the shower - I have a few of these granny nightgowns, with delicate embroideries and trimmings, bought in French flea markets .

On the sink and in the slim cabinet behind the mirror, I keep: all kinds of natural products (such as the deliciously scented Weleda almond facial moisturizer, my Olive Oil and Aloe Kiss My Face body lotion, Dr Brommer's energizing peppermint liquid soap)... a year's worth of contact lenses... eucalyptus and tea tree essential oils to sprinkle around the house and in the washing machine for invigorating, clean scents... my favorite perfumes (Blenheim Bouquet by Penhaligon and Comptoir Sud Pacifique's Vanille Extrême), a little bit of make-up and Frederic Fekkai's magical Glossing Sheer Shine Mist...

I also store a couple of products brought from France: months worth of Anthélios SPF 50 fluid sunscreen, and some Friction de Foucaud - this post-workout liquid lotion packed with citrus, thyme, lavender and rosemary essential oils activates blood circulation so I always rub my legs with it after a long distance flight to make my legs feel lighter and happier.

Writers' Almanac: today October 27 is Sylvia Plath's birthday. She would be 77 today. Oh, Sylvia.