CityMinx

Because when I have three days of work to do in one, why wouldn't I post?

2008-01-04T22:09:00.001-05:00

Don't get yer hopes up. I'm not here to tell you about Napa, or Rhinebeck, or the holidays, or The Chef, or my new job that starts on Tuesday where I'm doing both hair AND make-up AND effects and no I don't have a trailer but it's January and there's a strike so there's no work so I'm grabbing this job with both fists and holding on tight and did I mention The Chef? And we'll see if a new whatever you want to call this (I hate to jinx things) can survive me working 16 hours a day, but that's life in showbiz, and yes I have been knitting but no I don't have time to show you because tomorrow I'm going to visit my bro and sis-in-law in Jersey for dimsum then go explore The Chef's neighborhood, or as I call it, Massachusetts, and I have a makeup test on Sunday and my kit's not put together yet and we start on Tuesday and I am so not prepared but kinda wired so I thought I'd add a button. There, down on the left (Ed. note: the right). The Knitting Daily one.

Like it?

Score!

2007-09-23T22:17:00.000-04:00

So, Katy and I were hanging out today. Went to The Point, went to Bed, Bath, and OhmygodIhavetobuyeverythinghere, and headed home so I could make some risotto and breaded eggplant. I had all intentions of making a healthy eggplant dish, in the toaster oven, but it wasn't browning, so into a pan of oil and butter it went. And lo, it was wonderful.

Anyway, I digress. So, we're heading back to my place, and on my street we see a guy digging thru some bags of recycling. And on the ground seem to be a lot of pots and pans. Nice ones. Professional ones. And, some Dansk ones. Apparently, someone in the building next to mine had passed, or I dunno, got engaged and decided to get all new pots and pans, and left a treasure trove on the streets.

I have a special fondness for Dansk cookware. My german grandmother, my Omi, had Dansk pots, and cooked the best soups and braised dishes in them. She had a yellow one and light blue one. My mom took the yellow one, and I took the blue one. One day, I was making mushroom soup, and I used my immersion blender, like you're supposed to. I don't know, something was out of whack, and my blender absolutely shredded my pot. The porcelain coating was gone. It was unusable. And yes, I did cry. But it was my own stupidity, and Dansk ain't cheap, and no way was Mom going to give me her pot, so I've be without Dansk for a few years now.

(Note: I just looked up some Dansk on Ebay, and okay, it's not that expensive. But still.)

So, there were pots on the street. And some of them looked like they had be used. But I had to rescue them! My Omi was sending them to me! That may be a bit much, but really now. These were good pots, and stew season is acoming.

So, check out what I got.

The upper left one isn't Dansk, and I've already cleaned it up and made the risotto in it. And yum. Nothing like a heavy duty heavy bottomed pan. The red one, I dunno if I can rescue that. It's pretty far gone. The others just need a little elbow grease. And Bon Ami and steel wool. The lids are in good shape, luckily.

So, no other reason for this post. I just had to share how happy I was I had found these. Thanks Katy for helping me carry them.

And, for your enjoyment, a few pix of the Empire State Building, taken from the Javits Center

This one is reflected in the Javits Center. Artsy, no?

New York, it can be so lovely at times....

Especially when you'be been awake for twenty hours.

Queens For A Day

2007-09-17T22:50:00.000-04:00

Well, I've abandoned the big ol list of what I've been up to - it's too long. Maybe I'll work on it on the side and do a sort of meme later on. So because I'm completely procrastinating putting my kit together for a job tomorrow and needing to go to bed before 2am I figured I'd finally update a bit. Just a little bit.

Oh, before I forget, and cause apparently you can't be a knit blogger without crowing this to all and sundry, I too have gotten my Ravelry invite. Y'all can find me there, under CityMinx, natch.

So, yesterday was lovely. Yay for the weather! Yay for fall! Yay for the fact that I live in the most amazing city on this here planet, a city where you can in a day, cross continents and centuries, and I did it all yesterday. And I wasn't even all that tired afterwards.

I spent the day with blogless (but still lovely) Johanna. We met up in front of her building in Astoria, Queens around 1pm. Yes, Queens is still part of New York City. I maybe a NYC snob, but I'm not that much of a snob. Shush, I can hear you sniggering. Right there, in front of her building, there was a Ukranian church fair. I should of taken pictures, but man o man I was too busy stuffing my face with Pierogies and Wurst and pastries. Yum yum. We visited the church, it's beautiful. If you ever have a chance to go to a Ukranian church here, or lucky duck, in the Ukraine, you'll be amazed at the art, the mosaics, the painting and architecture. Gorgeous. We listened to Ukrainian disco music - not to be missed, and Ukranian doo-wop. It defies description. We bought frozen pierogies to stash in the freezer, and then we head out.

If you take a longish walk, two subway trains, a half hour bus ride and another, but shorter walk, you come to Queen's only working farm. Swear to God. A working farm on the eastern end of the Borough. And this past weekend they had a County Fair!!!! No joke. Here's a link. This was so much fun, I finally dragged out the camera.

We saw sheep!

Or, as I called them, Yaaaaarn

And, apparently, they quite like Kettle Corn:

Hope I didn't make them too sick.

One of my favorite things (other than fried dough and cotton candy) about County Fairs are the blue ribbon competitions. Remember Charlotte's Web? And Little Boy on the Farm? I always remember how Almanzo thought he might have cheated, cause his prize winning pumpkin was milk-fed which is what made it so large. Or something. Kids had high morals in those days, apparently.

Anyways, Johanna showed off some Blue Ribbon winning pickles And Veggies

And me, being a baker, and a Jewish one at that, I was really really happy to see the Tribe represented by some Blue Ribbon Rugelach

Musta been since we were so close to Long Island.

We saw disaffected teenage girls in colonial costumes demonstrating colonial cooking techniques. I swear, these girls were so apathetic you could practically see "I'm doing this for school credit, and nothing else, and omigod I hope no one from school sees me like this, and like, I really miss my iPod". And Johanna and I knew more about the spinning wheel than the tour guide. Heh heh.

And the crafts were amazing. We saw a whole bunch of Medieval Recreationists show us how to use a Lucet, and damn, now I want one. They were very nice, if a bit enthusiastic and a mite bit scary. So we ran away quickly, despite that some of those brawny bearded men were quite...mmmm. But, since I really don't want to spend my weekends frolicking in the woods with my boobs squished to my chin in a corset, actually, that sounds kinda fun. And they have mead. No, I need indoor plumbing. Strike that.

After the we escaped the SCA folks, we went to the craft barns, where we met Lynn.

Lynn is awesome. Lynn is who I want to be when I'm her age, with a little Auntie Mame thrown in. Name the fiber craft, she does it. She works 6 days a week, she's in her mid 80's, by my estimate. She's funny, quick, and a pisser. A ballsy broad. And she makes bobbin lace.

Beautiful! She was throwing those bobbins around like she was playing Three Card Monte. Not that this is a new craft I want to learn, mind you. I can just appreciate this one. And I'm in awe.

Well, nothing could top that. So we hiked back to Astoria and visited the Biergarten, cause we hadn't had enough Eastern Europeaness in our day. Note: dumplings are not all the same. Sometimes, dumplings are squooshy white bread. Just so you know. And then I had Reese's Pieces.

It was a great day. And night. And weekend.

Next up, the three projects I've finished, the three I'm working on, and will I ever learn to walk in those stiletto's? And, honestly, do I really need to?

xoxo

-minx

PS: Almost forgot! We saw a chicken lay an egg. Don't recommend watching that again. Ugh.

TBA

2007-09-02T02:58:00.000-04:00

Hi!

I made it. I'm alive. I'm compiling a list of what I've done in the last month. Including an American Sign Language dictionary, restaurant reviews, Feng Shui techniques and stiletto heels.

I just wish I had taken more pictures

And I bet you do, too....

Somewhat Monkey

2007-08-06T23:36:00.000-04:00

I'm going to be in Low Budget Independant Film I Have No Trailer and No AC and I Have to Work In a Filthy Chinese Takeout Hovel In Williamsburg Hell for the next two weeks, so, to keep you entertained, here's a blurry picture of a monkey:

It's actually not a monkey, but I'm so damned tired and achey that I can't be asked to find out what the hell this cute critter is. Ask Sweetgirl. She and I went to the Newark Museum to see the art glass exhibit and they had a little mini zoo. With really cute monkeys.

Or whatever they are.

Scroll Down

2007-07-22T23:32:00.000-04:00

So, I took a few days to create a big ol' post, all about some FO's and updates on my current project, and since I've done a few little posts since I first started creating that other post, when I finally did post said post, it posted as if it were the date I first started writing the post.

Get it? Me neither. And just when I was starting to think that between Flickr and Blogger and Firefoxand iGoogle, that I was really getting a handle on all this crap.

Just scroll two posts down to see said masterpiece.

Thank you.

Ow

2007-07-20T22:58:00.000-04:00

Things you may not realize:

•The make-up room at Rent is 3 flights up. No elevator.
•The 'backstage' area of Rent is actually in the basement. One and a half flights downstairs from ground level.
•I am back a Rent for a few dates. Plus some training. Yesterday.
•During the run of a typical show, I go up and down all those stairs about four or five times. Not counting when I arrive, set up, or leave.
•Rebecca lives two flights up, which is actually about 4 flights up, no elevator. She has a lovely apartment, by the way.
•My make-up kit consists of a rolling bag that weighs, hang on...thirty one and a half pounds, my make-up box which weighs 16 pounds (think 3 bags of flour), and my "purse" which I'm afraid to weigh.
•I went up and down those flights twice today. Carrying my kit. Tho she helped on the way down.
•I am not a person who, how shall I say this, exercises.

•I am quite, quite sore. (tho I think by now you would've realized that)

(PS: I am afraid to take a bath since I have not scrubbed my shower in, oh, a few weeks. As I don't wear my contacts while I shower, I have no idea what it really looks like. While this is probably safer for my mental health, it really, really makes me not want to take a hot bubble bath right now. I may have to check into a hotel)

I may be a nerd, but I'm a Minxy nerd at that

2007-07-19T12:57:00.000-04:00

I am working on a post, right now, I swear. It's all about finished objects and stuff I'm knitting and a really good restaurant.

But since I saw this movie yesterday, and since I finished rereading Book VI this morning, I had to, just had to:

Find out your Harry Potter personality at LiquidGeneration!

I was kinda hoping I'd be her, too ;>

FO Sure

2007-07-18T18:28:00.001-04:00

You would think, with all the train time I had last month, and all the...ahem...non-working time I had this month, that I would have knit up a slew of projects, enought to fully clothe many people, enough to cause envy among my fellow knitters, enough to be proud of.

Instead, I've got two scarves and a bag. Thank god for H&M.

But still, these two projects were, for once, a perfect match of pattern and yarn. First, and maybe the lovliest, The Montego Bay Scarf, by Amy Singer.

Thanks to Bev for taking the photo. My only complaint, and this has nothing to do with the photographer, is that you can't see the lovely shimmeriness of the faintly glittery yarn. Thanks to Blogless Jill R for the yarn!

Ever buy a few skeins, with no idea what to do with it, but you just can't leave it behind, especially at Rhinebeck, cause when it's gone, baby it's gone, and damn, it's just too damn purty to leave. Hence some gorgeous unnamed silk from a forgotten booth, and the free pattern Hoopskirt Scarf, from Crackpicks.

All that scarf, only one lovely skein. Sometimes, the world works in your favor. Cherish those moments.

And last, yet not least in pattern, but maybe in my execution, is the luverly bag that Miss Heather had designed, for one of the Stitch and Bitch books. Now, I want to say, it's a great pattern. Fun to knit, quick to knit, you can use inexpensive wool, or like the insane-o that I am, you could use 3 skeins of Noro Biggie Kureon, which, I'm told, is to be pronounced like Crayon. Now you know.

Here it is, in all it's lumpy goodness:

On my (for once) clean kitchen floor. I want to like this, I really really do. But it grows like a pre-teen, and it's...lumpy. I dunno, any suggestions?

Anyway, on to happier topics.

Isn't it a great day for all when you go to a much hyped place, and it's actually worth the talk? Sweetgirl and I decided to hang out last Wednesday, take care of a few errands, go have lunch, perhaps a movie. I had planned to sleep in a bit, then meet up. Instead, I got woken up by a huge clap of thunder around 9am. Upset? Not I! I planned a gorgeous lazy morning of reclining on the comfiest couch in the east of the Mississip, a hot cuppa tea, and Harry Potter VI, in preparation for the arrival of a little known book.

So I settled in, all comfy and cozy with the rain beating down outside, and my bliss lasted about half an hour. And then the phone started ringing and would. not. stop. It was all valid stuff, friends and work stuff, and the two combined, so the morning just flew by.

We met up, and headed to the store that tests me, my wallet, and my conscience every time I walk out my door: Broadway Panhandler. The only thing that keeps me from crumpling in a heap in the middle of the store with my hand weakly clutching my AmEx card out to the cashier is A> my kitchen is the size of a suburban closet, only not as roomy, and B> most of the stuff can be had cheaper at a restaurant supply store. Or so I tell myself. Anyway, Jessamyn picked up the knife guards she needed and we set off for lunch. To Momofuku Ssäm.

Oh my god. The food is amazing. And so simple. You basically can order (for lunch at least) a burrito or a rice bowl, filled with yummy asian ingredients. I got a Jap Chae bowl - always one to be the Sally - which I ordered with bacon infused black beans, roasted onions, berkshire pork, shitake mushrooms, and whipped tofu. If any of these ingredients sound weird or unsavory, then, child, you just have got to try it for yourself. The beans were like eating the best bacon you've ever had, the onions dissolved into pure flavor, the mushrooms were just spicy enough, and the whipped tofu cooled everything off perfectly. And the pork. Oh, the pork. I don't tend to eat a large amount of meat, but this is worth having. And having some more of. And more of. And then some more. This just melted as soon as you bit into it. Makes me wonder. Is David Chang in some sort of relationship? And if so, could I take her on? I mean, for this kind of food, I'd throw the bitch down.

And then we went to go see Harry Potter. And there's been enough written about that.

Another luverly day. And now, Leafy Cardi Update:

Oh, this thing is trying. I've ripped out the sleeve twice, and for some odd reason I can't visualize how I want this to look. I'm making changes to work for me and my curvylicous body type, but with those changes I have to make design changes, and I just can't see them. I finally just made the damn sleeve longer, and now I have to figure out what to do with the bottom half. I was thinking a wide rib, that increases in the knits part, with eyelets in the purls part, kinda like what Rebecca did with Josie. So I steal ideas. Sue me. Well, don't, please.

Later: I finished both sleeves, as written in the pattern, except longer. I think I'm going to do the i-cord edging while I try to figure out the bottom. Here, with no comments cause, well, I spent all day today vacuuming, swiffering, mopping, laundrying and taking care of a friend's cats-ing, are a few pix.

Enjoy!

Happy 6th!

2007-07-05T23:58:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I know. A bit late. But who cares? Look at the pretty pictures!

You all know me as such the shrinking violet, so it probably comes as no surprise that once I found out that Bev's boyfriend, lives in a high-rise with a great view, I just rang her up and invited myself along to view some fireworks.

This is the view from the window, of the Brooklyn

And Manhattan bridges

I think I'm in love. Hey, can I move in? I like your parents. Your Dad's a great cook. I'm sure we'll all get along great! They'll love me!

Anyway, I love fireworks. Nothing else is much important, as long as I can see the pretty lights. I can be in a field, or by a lake, or in a high rise apartment building. I can be eating burnt hotdogs, fois gras, or egg custard pastries picked up in C town. I just love me the lights. Of course that fact that I started dating a high school boyfriend at a 4th of July celebration has nothing to do with it. Nothing at all....

But check out the prettiness!

And they had some cool shapes this year

And, of course, the ever popular Smiley Faces

See how close we are? They also had apples, and roses, and some other stuff. But I got all open mouthed agape and forgot I had a camera in my hands.

Thanks guys, you made my holiday.

Now you have teach me Cooking Mama, on the Wii thing. And we'll be all set.

All Set

2007-06-30T00:45:00.000-04:00

My Crackpicks order hath arrived.

And just in time for my trip to Ancram, too.

Boo-yah!

Oh, and for your voyeuristic enjoyment, a random picture I took on set the other day

Can you spot and name the famous designer??

Addendum

2007-06-21T22:57:00.001-04:00

Quick question:

How come, when you happen to find out that your toilet is broken and your lazy putz of a super refuses to come out of his apartment cause it's (gasp!) 10:30pm, do you suddendly develop an incredible thirst, and the inability to think about anything other than the fact that there is an urge to use said facilities?

Just wondering...

Anyway, I realize that I had left a bunch of photos out - mainly cause I hadn't taken them yet, and to distract myself from the sound of water, water all around me (seriously, it's raining cats and dogs out there), I figured I'd do a shorty post. And I just accidentally wrote pisst. Sigh.

Remember I talked about double decker trains? I was kinda bummed that I hadn't taken any photos of the train. And then, on my way home from Rhode Island, I saw across the platform, this:

Thanks, serendipity!

And speaking of Rhode Island, the scene I was working on was a Jewish / Indian wedding. The makeup artist called me a few days beforehand to tell me what to bring, what to expect, etc. She mentioned the scene, and I laughed "Oh, I have lots of experience with both of those!" See, the town I grew up in has a huge Indian population. Seriously, most of my girlfriends at home are named, Shilpa, Latha, Priya. I'd give a shout out, but I don't think they read this. So anyway, she asked if I would try and find Mehndi stencils. I said I thought it'd be faster to freehand them. And lo and behold -

It's actually supposed to be much more delicat and fine - I had what was basically a felt tip marker to draw this. Still, I'm pretty damn proud of it. Brought me back to my friend's weddings. By far the most fun weddings I've ever attended. All the dancing, the music, the food, getting to wear saris.

Today's Waste Not, Want Not Tip O' The Day...

Do you have any beauty products that come in a metal tube? Do you hate how much waste there is, since it's nigh impossible to roll up the used portion of said tube neatly? Why, me too! I have just the solution for you.....The Hair Color Tube Crimper!!!!

And just look what it does!

I must be cracked. I'm blogging about crimping toothpaste tubes. Fuck it, here's a knitting project for you.

This lumpy mess of purple will eventually be this bit of lovelinesss

It's Cropped Cardigan with Leaf Ties, which is probably Knitty's least elegantly named pattern. Instead of the yarn called for, I'm usings Elsabeth Lavold's Silky Wool, and I just now found out she's Swedish. A bonus, in my mind. Anyway, I'm making it longer in the waist and arms, and I'm sneaking in a fleur de lis image in the back. And probably a flare at the edges. Or something.

So there. Some random thoughts, some knitting, some crossed legs.

And go see La Vie En Rose. Great flick. Harrowing as hell, but so worth your eleven bucks.

Things That Make Me Giggle

2007-06-14T23:18:00.000-04:00

You know, I've been way too mopey lately. Sure, work has been trying, but hey! At least I'm able to make a living slinging powder and mucking about with glue and yak hair. The weather hasn't been too bad, I've been able to travel, both locally and internationally, I have fantastic friends and a pretty cool family, of whom I don't get to see enough even though they live a mere half an hour away because if I have to spend one more god forsaken minute dealing with mass transit because lately I have become more familiar with train stations than with former significant others and.....

Stop. Breathe. Count blessings.

Right, ok.

Yes. I've been livin' on the railroad, all the livelong day. But in that time I have finished several projects (of which I forgot to take pix, sorry), I've caught up on podcasts. New faves, Stash and Burn, Knitting Psychos, I do really like KnitPick's new podcast and It's a Purl, Man. You go, Guido, represent the straight male knitter! And I've been able to download old episodes of podcasts I've been listening to. Was thinking about downloading Chub Creek's old backlog, but that's like 40 podcasts. Don't know how much of Gary's burping I can take. But, I have about 8 hours worth of train time I'm looking at this weekend, and that's what Steve Jobs created the scroll wheel for.

But anyway, back to the whole 'I shall not mope' thing. I've been appreciating the little things, the things that I see around town that just make me stop and smile. And you know what kicked it off?

I was walking down 6th Avenue, around Prince Street, and I noticed this hamburger stand

I mean, being so bright and yellow and blue, how could I not? Cute, I thought. And walked on by. Ran my errand, and headed back the way I came. Where I saw how deep this Bloo place was

I mean, seriously, how funny is that! Wide as a block, deep as a debutante's morals. (I was going to write, My Morals, but I have to give myself some credit sometime)

Yesterday I went out to Long Island to visit my friend Jule. She does makeup and hair, and promised to color my hair as a birthday present. So of course I took the two hour train ride out there. Am I the only person secretly in love with double decker trains? Weird, I know. Anyway, her boyfriend has a dog. A big bulldog named Archie who loves to beg for food at the dinner table. So I was eating this pesto Jule had made and felt....a nudge in a sorta private area. And looked down.

Hey, pal, you usually need to buy me dinner before you can do that.

And check out the color!

Is that not just so cool and vibrant?! This is the first time I've colored my hair in months. God, that felt good to play around with color again. Next up, blond. Or maybe this:

Tee hee. This is a stunt wig from that Connecticut movie that I got to try on.

And one last one. I'm not the first one to post this, but it's so damn cute, and we were having such a good time.

That's Rebecca, me, and Bev at The Point.

Bev took that on her laptop, using PhotoBooth. I'm really conflicted about this computer. A) I want it. Period. B) It's nearly $1500, including tax and support. C) I only have to pay half, since the other half has been promised as a present. D) That's a lot of money to get as a present. E) New operating system comes out in October. F) I don't want to wait until October.

Dave and I took a cute photo on a computer at the Apple store in Toronto. Should've emailed it to myself. Ah well. Hey, Dave, if you're reading this, could you email me the pictures you took that weekend? Oh, and please take a picture of Milk in a Bag. Jessamyn can't wrap her head around that concept.

Okay, I have to wake up in five hours. And this was a long one.

Project pix after the weekend.

And go find something to giggle at.

Minx is a Dink

2007-06-05T13:34:00.000-04:00

So, having decided to journey far up North, I packed up my mukluks and fur-lined hood, and flew on up to Canada.

Where it was about 7 degrees warmer than here in the city.

I had a wonderful time. Flew up in an airplane that had the diameter of a cigar tube, waited an hour in customs (what is the purpose of your visit? Just meeting a friend. Have you met this person before? Well, we've known each other about a year, but, uh....How did you meet this person? (me in a very very small voice) um, online? And I wonder why they sent me aside for additional questioning. When, o when will I learn to lie???

Anyway, finally got through and Dave picked me up at the airport and we went and had a great dinner and walked by a beautiful lake and toured downtown Toronto and hung out and talked and cooked and just generally had a wonderful time.

And, I got to be on his podcast!! Here, go check it out! You have many ways to do this:

•Hit the Chub Creek Podcast button to your right
•Hit the "I Heart Chub Creek big red button to your lower right
•Go to iTunes and seach under podcasts for Chub Creek. I'm on episode 92, The Minx Leaves Manhattan

Or, y'all can be lazy gits and just click here

And for everyone who came over here from listening to the podcast, Hi! Sorry I couldn't give out the real dish, but you know, I like that whole...working thing.

Sorry to make this such a short post, I just wanted to get it up there so people would have something to look at other than pictures of my frying pans. Knitting and cooking updates to come soon.

Toodles!

Hi, eh?

2007-05-30T19:44:00.000-04:00

So, hi!

How you been?

Me, oh, good, thanks!

Went to a few premieres, a few parties, you can check out Flickr for the randy details. Just go there and search for CityMinx. Cooked a bit, knit a lot, welcomed spring in all sorts of proper fashions.

Had a bad work week (actually a few months of bad work experiences and why the bejeezums do I put myself through this kind of crap) and went through an existential crisis where I comtemplated leaving the film biz, opening an eyebrow shaping - lash extending shop, or cashing in my annuity and going on a cruise 'round the world.

Recovered, thank goodness, and I'm booked all this week on a movie where I get to work with a Friend. Not a Quaker, think unlikely Manhattan apartments owned by characters who have no discernable means of income. Hey! No wonder I loved that show...Hmmmmm

Anyway, I'm capping off my existential crisis by jetting up to Toronto for the weekend.

As a good friend of mine says, Whoo-Hoo!!!!

See you soon!

xoxox

-Minx

What To Do With Leftover Rice, Part XXVII

2007-03-30T22:49:00.000-04:00

Now, I may not exactly be a reticent person (stop laughing, you know exactly who you are), but I am not really a fan of Kareoke. Oh, I used to sing, and quite well actually, back in high school that is. While I never played the romantic lead in our school shows, I was often the witty best friend, or mother, or Yenta (sigh, so like real life!) and had to belt out a tune or seven. But then came college, and smokes, bourbon, and certain other illicit materials. Not necessarily in that order. Which had a horrible effect on my vocal cords and other singing apparatus, so that soon all I could manage was a pretty damn good Edie Brickell impersonation.

So, usually, I have to be pretty toasted to be convinced to sing. But once full inebriateion occurs, look out Shania! I's a kareoke singing FOOL. Especially during West 32nd
Street, the Korean gangster film I worked on last fall. Go to that website now, yes now! and check out the trailer. I'll wait.

Okay, cool, isn't it? It'll be at Tribeca Film Festival next month. Okay, sorry, got sidetracked. I kareoked a lot during that film, kareoke is huge amongst the fabulous Korean folk. And with them, I will sing. I hazily remember grabbing the mike out of one of the actors hands during his rendition of Paradise City snarling "Korean boys can't sing GnR, only Jersey girls can sing GnR!!" Sigh...

Anyway, one of the other things that got me out to Kareoke (ok, is it me, or can you imagine Ross from Friends saying Ka-rat-AY every time you read that word?) was a place called 2nd and 2nd, a singing joint that used to have japanese cuisine but moved on to Thai, which is when I stopped going. But when it was japanese, they had One Of My Favorite Dishes In The World, and they called it Japanese Pizza.

Instead of telling you what it was, I'ma gonna show ya. Beause I had some leftover rice, and I live two blocks from a Japanese supermarket, where you can get a nice big piece of sashimi-grade salmon for $3.50. Which, brings the grand total cost of this dish to ... $3.50 (ok, taking for granted you have some leftover rice, mayo and scallions in the pantry. Or fridge)
So, first:

•Slice salmon thinly and put aside.
•Slice scallions, and put a small handful aside
•Mix up some mayo with wasabi powder (if you want) and thin it out with some lemon juice or oil

•Put the rice and chopped scallions and some mirin or water and salt in a microwave proof covered bowl and nuke that sucker for one minute

•Heat canola oil in a small pan. Take the heated rice and pour it into pan, flattening it to make a pancake

•Brown fully on one side, then flip or slide out onto a plate and invert back into the pan to brown

(okay, so my flipping skills ain't all that, sue me)

•Slide back onto a plate, and blot with paper towels, if necessary.

•Let cool a bit.
•Brush a little of the mayo mixture on top, then arrange salmon slices, decoratively, of course, then sprinkle the remaining scallions and some sesame seeds on top.

•••And get your kareoke freak on•••

Anyway, that was way yummy, and cheap and really not that difficult. From beginning to end takes about 10 minutes.

In other news, not too much to report. Sorrel is sewn together, and I just need to pick up 56,000 stitches around the neck for the cowl. Or 288, same diff. And why did no one tell me how absolutley horrible and horrendously Rowan patterns are written? Limey bastards. Sorry Heather, no offense to you personally.

Because I've been hit with a brick in the head, I've decided to once again do Passover at Chez Minx. But I'm not cooking everything this time. I'm letting my NINE guests help out with wine, side dishes, and dessert. Except for one dessert - ok, maybe two, and a side that looked so easy. But I just made Pumpkin Seed Brittle since I had raw pumpkin seeds, and sugar and water and fleur de sel to sprinkle on top. Found the recipe on the Diary of a Foodie website. Which was going to be the original title of my blog, until I realize I also wanted to talk about getting drunk and knitting, sometimes at the same time.

This candy making thing is fun. It's a lot of 'hang on, hang on, hang on, OH SHIT IT'S READY NOW' stuff, where you think you're doing it wrong, until all of a sudden it's right. Kinda like life.

I'll make it again, and take pictures next time. Another super easy recipe. Try it, maybe with another nut or seed, like sesame, if you don't have pepitas.

All righty then, gotta run and clean hardened melted sugar off of my countertop. I do believe I would kill for a butcher block counter top with a marble inset. Kill, I tell you, well, maybe not kill, but definitly shoot withering glances at and speak snide comments about, in full view of that person. Cause I want it that much.

Have a great weekend

Jenn show Minx how to post pics in different locations on her blog

2007-03-16T20:36:00.000-04:00

Note: The other night Jenn came over to kindly show me how to install buttons (check em out!) and post pictures within the post, instead of just at the top, and wrote the following as sort of a tutorial. Much cheese and hot cocoa were consumed, and much silliness was written. She then dared me to post the following. Silly Jenn, do you know that I am feisty, and can rarely refuse a dare? Especially a double dog dare?

Besides, you wrote this stuff, not me =D

wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm paragraph text. everyone just loves me because i tell what's going on. Minx's trying to clean her house out for the holiday of wheat based products. i hope my hot chocolate isn't wheat based. that'd be nasty. let's see some photos:

this image is aligned left.

Minx should have done all the coding by hand when i showed her. instead, she didn't, and now i'm telling her what an img src is. i'm a dork. she's not. we're trying to make her more dorky. That way i can be writing my own blog on a friday night and not hers. :)

now she wants to know how to do align the image in the center...

that's almost as easy as doing it left, but much easier than making things right. Making things right is a pain in the ass, but i guess sometimes it would be worth it.

let's pretend she wanted to do two photos on the same line....

I wonder what would happen if she wanted a space between them...

that looks odd though and it would certainly turn her into a dork. a much bigger dork than the person who taught it to her because she should look at that staggering image. it looks stupid.

Vodka and Soda Do A Strange Blog Entry Make

2007-03-04T22:25:00.000-05:00

Um. Hi there.

Hoo boy.

I just want to... I mean, I know I have a problem. I've told myself, I've told you even, I know this, we've gone over and over it.

When I drink, I don't blog. Don't drink and blog. It's simple. It's easy. It's.....I just can't stop.

I do apologize for that last entry down there. It seems, once you dress me up, slap some lipgloss on and put me in a room full of drag queens giving out drink tickets that I just become Miss Preciouspants. I mean, really, blue type? Maybe because I was cold? Puh-leeze.

But I did have a good time! Here's my compadre in crime-o, my own lovely Gigi:

Doesn't he look lovely and festive and fringe-y? Cinched up tight as Scarlett O'Hara.

Here are some of the characters that were there that night.

I know the girl on the left is named Jun, not sure of the chick in the fishnets and butt floss and se-Heer-ious eye make-up, but hey, she's having a good time, giant wedgie notwithstanding.

This is Andre.

He was feeling it. Wasn't feeling the Mach 5 razor, but was feeling the spirit. He gave the best and most spirited performance, singing a gospel song about joy. We were dancing and singing and jumping up and down. Or maybe that was just me trying to warm up. No, it was Andre. He was fabulous.
Actually, I ran into Andre a few days later, at Pat's Field's shop on Bowery, swathed in gold glitter dust. Of course.

And, how could it be a night without Miss Amanda Lepore?

When I was a baby make-up artist I used to buy my make-up from her at Pat's 8th Street Store. Who'd thunk a few years later I'd be living down the street from there.

So, again, I am sorry. I will never try to imbibe and blog again.

(oh, of course I will! what's the fun in holding back???)

So, on another note, who wants to see a FO?

I finished this baby blanket aaaaaages ago, but I don't have pix yet of other stuff, and the Rowan sweater still needs a front. Well, I guess I could sew it together as is, all frontless. I can think of a few guys who would appreciate that, but honestly, I think I'd just be chilly.

Anyway, here it is, the Pinwheel Blanket. Specs are 3 strangs of LB Cotton-Ease held together on size 13 circs, with Glace used as a crocheted picot trim. (I sound so formal and tech-y. Love that)

More to follow!

brrr

2007-02-28T03:59:00.000-05:00

it's 3:47 am. i just came home from Pat Field's birthday party at Cielo. I decided not to wear a coat, and Gino's name wasn't on the list, so i stood outside freezing for half an hour wearing what amounted to a silk nightie.

it's weird. there were people from my past that i had expected to see there. and it's disconcerting to realize that most of them are dead or married, or just different now. the ones i do know, from back in the day, are so surgically altered it seems like I'm meeting brand new people.

it's 3:50am. I'm not drunk, I ate at Florent before coming home. I can't reach behind myself high enough to unzip my dress, I'm wearing tights I've owned since the late 80's, but it's my first time wearing them. They're cute, they look like a crossword puzzle, and in the boxes it says Absolut Vodka. Back when Absolut was the good vodka to drink. I'm wearing more makeup than a drag queen, so much that it's still all on, still looking pretty good. My apartment looks like Sephora after a sorority has been through, Jez is batting at my belt and i'm thirsty as hell. I'm sleepy, yet really awake.

It's 3:53am, and it's cold in here. The month is almost over, and for that I'm glad. I love winter, but man, I'm really ready for some warmth.

Minx Meme

2007-02-24T21:37:00.000-05:00

Well, today I was finally fill all of you in on what's been going on. I was going to tell you about Vegas, about the jobs I've been working on, about the run in I had with the idiot who works at a waaayyy overpriced (and honey, not really all that good) chocolatier in a waaaayyyyy overpriced furniture store. I was going to tell you about my friends, my dreams, my hopes. I was going to read the stars and divulge fantasies. I was going to make the most of this silly little medium we call blogs and blast it right open, straight down to the shiny white core!

Instead, I got tagged by Sweetgirl, so instead you get Six Weird Things You Didn't Know About Minx.

(tho, honestly, I do feel like kinda an open book, or, more to the point, a chick that blabs on incessantly about herself, so you probably know most of this already)

1. I abhor waste. Especially of food. I will make leftovers of leftovers of leftovers. Two days ago I took home some shrimp, ham, and fresh mozzerella leftover from lunch on a job in some financial firm, and from it I made a shrimp and ham hash with poached eggs and fresh mozzerella cubes for dinner. Delicious and cheap!

2. There are two websites I must visit each day, preferably before I leave for work. It's my version of morning coffee. They are Jigzone and Yahoo Crosswords.

3. I've lived in Manhattan for 8 years. Before that, between the time I was fifteen and the time I moved here, I never stayed in one place for more than a year and a half at a time. Minx was a rollin' stone. Now, I just feel kinda mossy.

4. If you know me personally, you will notice I always wear a steadily lessening collection of thin black rubber bracelets. These were known as Madonna bracelets when I was in sixth grade, and I've had them since then (hence, the lessening collection. They tend to break after 20 years. 20 years! Oy.) Anyway, I have a compulsion to wear them. Even if I'm at a formal event, and I absolutely can't wear them, I stick one in my purse. Interestingly, I do not sleep or shower in them. Also, I only started wearing them after I moved here. Hmmmm.

5. Small, repetitive noises irritate the crap out of me. Radar detectors, elevator beeps, people clicking gum or their teeth. Like nails on chalkboards. Weird, tho, if you play a game on Jigzone, the pieces click with a noise you would think I would hate. Nuh-uh, I always have the volume turned up high.

6. I lived in Sweden for a year. As an exchange student in high school. Best and most influential experience of my life. Ever.

6.5. Since you all already knew about the Sweden thing (since I never shut up about it), I got my first kiss at age 12, after my Bat Mitzvah, standing on a jungle gym at the park at the other end of my street. I believe my exact words to my adolescent paramour afterwards were, "uh, talk about fumbling and awkward". And my love life has been perfect ever since.

And did any of you see the pillow fight in Union Square today? No joke, I was headed up to the Greenmarket, and I saw all these kids (kids. Damn, now I feel old. They were college students) walking around with pillows. I thought, hey, maybe it's that weekend where all the high school kids check out their college choices and stay over and they just like to have their own pillows. Then I saw the feathers flying. Literally.

A pillow fight! How cool is that?! I luv New York.

Oh, and the Rowan sweater is going well. Back is done, and I'm almost done with the second sleeve. Remind me never to do an oversized sweater on size six needles again, please. Thank you.

Feeling Yucky

2007-01-23T14:16:00.001-05:00

sorrel
Originally uploaded by CityMinx.

So, I just loaded up on junk food, a quart of homemade chicken soup is defrosting, and my yarn stash is spread out all over my bed.

What does this mean? Why yes, it means I'm sick. Or have caught a cold, or whatever.

Yay.

I mean, not like I have nothing to do. Sure, I'm not working - sniff - whine - gripe. but this is a busy week for me. My mom is turning 60 (!) and will be in town, we're going to take advantage of Restaurant Week, I still need a birthday present for my sister-in-law, and I'd really like to go to Jersey and do some errands there on Friday. Plus, it's Ancram weekend!

Enough of all that. Back to feeling crummy. Seriously, I just got back from Duane Reade, and let me tell you what healthy vittles I purchased: Nutter Butters, Chocolate Twizzlers, Almond French Twists, White Cheddar Cheez-Its, and I spent a good ten minutes trying to find Spaghettios with Meatballs. Spaghettios! With It May Be Some Kind Of Meat Balls! For some people, comfort food is Mac and Cheese. For me, it's, well, it's damn near anything I can find that has more salt than salt itself. Oh, and peanut butter. Or anything peanut butter flavored.

So, as I sit here, all headachy and discombobulated and stuffing myself, I realize that hey! I haven't talked about yarn for a while!

I am working on my first sweater. I've done two cardigans, one from Suss and one that I will never wear cause it makes me look like a Muppet. But this one - knock on wood - is one I will actually wear. It's from the latest Rowan, and it's called Sorrel, by Sarah Hatton.

But of course I'm not using the yarn recommended, hey, why on earth would I do that? I'm using some gorgeously soft black Alpaca I bought from A Touch of Twist at Rhinebeck with Guru Katy. The best news of all is that since the hanks are huge, about 600-700 yds each, I'll only need two for this project. And I think they skeins were about 10 bucks each. Lovely lovely!

So, the back is done, and I'm almost done with the first arm, and my goal is to finish it while it's still cold enough to wear it a few times. Uh-huh. Sure. I started right around the holidays, so that means another month or so? Here's hoping. In the meantime, I still have to do a baby blanket and I really want to make the hat that Ravi wore to the Point the other night.

Hell, I must really be sick. I've gone delusional.

PS Okay, I've kinda figured out flickr, but I can't figure out how to do multiple pictures, or how to place them actually where I want to. Baked goodies or dinner once I'm healthy for anyone who wants to come over and give me a tutorial.

xoxo
Minx

So, Are Ya Toned And Safe Yet?

2007-01-10T00:07:00.000-05:00

Sheesh, I would hope so. It's been ages.

I know, I know. I could on and on and cut and paste the same excuses from all the other bloggers who don't have the fortitude or whatever to update everytime they eat a cheese sandwich. And believe me, no one loves cheese sandwiches like I do, and I am one of those people who constantly refreshes beloved blogs to see if perhaps they've switched to Gruyere, or something. But I digress, and as I read this over, I make no sense.

Sigh.

So, no good valid reasons for not posting. But so many of my nearest and dearest have created new blogs! First of all, check out The Boy or V or whatever I've been calling him lately. He's got a great new blog that talks a lot about books, movies, working in the biz and some general musings on life. Miss Claudine has a blog as well. And Ravi has one too!

This place is getting lousy with blogs. And I mean that in a good way.

So, what's new? I'm not going to make a whole list of the things I've done over the past month, mostly because the really fun I don't remember clearly. Ah, good times. Let's just say I had a great Hanukah, with friends and family over, and I survived, and Christmas was lovely. Ah do adore New York City during the holidays. New Year's I set alcohol on fire, and managed to not burn my apartment down. All in all, quite a sucessful season.

And I have the Dink Dolls! This is them at the Guggenheim. Gettin' a bit of Cultchah.

For those of you unfamiliar with Chub Creek, hit the link over there to your right, the one that says Chub Creek Podcast, and get yerself acquainted with Dave and Gary and the general kookiness that pervades. I've been showing them around town, and as soon as I get some pictures of them on the subway I'll probably send them along. If I can keep them from wandering over the St. Marks place. They seem unusually interested in some of the tattoo shops over there....

And, cause I don't want to do a completely photo-less entry, we at SnB decided to test a theory of ours. Y'see, our friend Jewell tends to look good in anything we put her in. Anything. It could be a plastic bag, and we'd say, "oh, how cute!" And today there was a particularly...uh...unique garment on display. So we had to test our theory.
Whaddya think?

Damn, she makes that - uh, busy - piece of wool work almost look good. I guess some of us are just blessed.

Anyway, as soon as I figure out Flickr I'll be back for more. Uploading pix the blogger way just takes too damn long. Really, in the time it took me to upload those 3 measley photos I went and did my dishes and looked through Tivo. Ah, beloved Tivo.

But, that's another post for another time.

Really, I promise.

Toned And Safe!

2006-11-03T15:46:00.000-05:00

Halloween and other events photos to come, but I just had to share this tidbit of bizarreness.

I have got to get to Japan. Soon.

Uh, 12 Step, Part II

2006-10-31T03:21:00.000-05:00

Hi.

My name is Minx, and I'm a horrible blogger.

...Hi Minx...

It's not that I mean to not post, I don't mean to let the legions of faithful readers check for updates daily, nay, hourly, eyes brimming with fresh hope as they type in just the first few letters of this blog (cit....) and their browser dutifully, some might say eagerly, rushes in to complete the URL, just to have those afore mentioned hopes dashed as a wave against a craggy rock, and that brimming hope turn to tears of disappointment, as they realize, once again, that instead of letting you, g. reader, know what I've been knitting, cooking, working on, reading, and partying with, I had decided to watch another rerun of Gilmore Girls.

Is it me, or is Alexis Bleidel starting to really suck as an actress?

I confess, it's been a busy time. I've worked a lot (yay), cooked a little (nothing stupendous), knitted....not so much (sue me). But generally, the mood hasn't struck. The muse hasn't whispered. But now, after some gentle reminders (hey, when the hell are you going to update? Hellooooo, are you there?), plus the fact it's almost 3am and sleep deprivation is always a fine seasoning to my ramblings, I present, a few pictures.

Sorry guys, it's all I can come up with for now.

So, Rhinebeck!

Yes, I went to the Sheep and Wool festival, or as The Boy called it, the Yarn Orgy. As you can see, we ladies had a grand old time:

I have to say, the first day was disappointing. I went mostly off by myself, driven by the psychotic need to see all the yarn that was there so I wouldn't miss anything . So, in my frenzy, nothing appealed. Nope. Not a skein. I'm not saying that beautiful yarn wasn't there, it's just that nothing was speaking to me. Or was hella expensive. So I was sad, so sad, when all my friends were showing off their purchases, and I was showing off my jar of maple syrup-covered peanuts.

That night, to console myself, I mixed together about 8 different kinds of sugary cereal and made "8 different kinds of sugary cereal" Treats. Fab.

After that sugar high, and the necessary Klonopin to come back down so that I may sleep, I realized that my tactic was off. I needed a guru. Katy was my chosen victim, uh, I mean compadre. The day started off with, I must say, an awesome omen. I spotted the Harlot.

Yes, it was none other that blogging, knitting, writing, all-around cool being Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. So of course I had to go up and introduce myself to a perfect stranger and say that I, too, was a blogger, and sorry to bother her, and blah blah blah, which I think I actually uttered. She was gracious enough to a crazy woman who was preventing her from getting a cup of coffee (that would be me). I drifted away, charged, and ready to charge.

And I did. Woo boy, lots and lots. And of course I would show, but I've already lost most of the receipts, so I have no idea where most of the yarn came from. Tell you what, as I use it, I'll post pix. Ah ha ha ha, hee hee, tee, haw haw, ah, sigh. Scuse me while I wipe away a tear. Like I'll ever get around to using the yarn. Sigh.

Anyhoo, fun was had, money was spent, lamb was eaten. And met!

Yep, a person in a sheep costume. You know, I really can't think of anything to add to that statement. But look at my bag of yarn!

Next.

So, tomorrow is Halloween. I'm sorry, today is Halloween, and I'm going to go as Marie Antoinette. Yes, I do love an original idea. I just spent 3 hours jacking up a wig, and if I wasn't so tired, I'd post a picture. Tomorrow. I'll have lots of pictures of me as a French princess, Gino as another version of the same, and The Boy in a face painting extravaganza that he's been telling me about for weeks now. I can't wait. So tomorrow, or whenever my hangover goes away, I'll write about the shenanigans and freaks and fun and fabulousness.

For now, here's a couple of cute pictures of Jez:

She loves my new skull belt.

Doesn't this look like it hurts?

Happy Halloween!

I need to join a 12 step group for posters

2006-10-31T02:48:00.000-05:00

I HAD A FRICKIN LONG FABULOUS FUNNY POST WITH LOTS OF PICTURES THAT TOOK ME AN HOUR TO WRITE AND BLOGGER JUST FRICKING ATE IT.

fuck.

i'm going to bed

Staying out of Trouble. Maybe.

2006-09-09T00:16:00.000-04:00

So, I've been working on a Korean gangster movie.

This was quite sudden. I went on one day to assist my friend Stephanie, and that day she told me that she had gotten a job on a sitcom and did I want to take over the film? Since it's hard for me to turn down, um, you know, employment, I said Sure, why not? I started the next day.

And it's been a dream. Not the waking up at 4:30 am part, not the no time to read or knit or cook or continue my love affair with Manhattan part - we've been in Flushing, Queens, which of course has it's charms, tarnished tho they may be, not my return to dependance on coffee - this morning saw me at the Astor Place Starbucks at 5:33am, shrieking to the employees that they were supposed to be open 3 minutes ago!, but a dream nonetheless. The actors are fabulous, and sweet, and good looking with great skin, and funny and like to give hugs. For those who like names, two of the leads are John Cho (from Harold and Kumar go to White Castle) and Grace Park, from Battlestar Galactica, which I'm told I have to start watching. And if you're a fan of Korean films, you'll recognize a slew of other folks too. Including apparently, the Tom Hanks of Korean film, or the Al Pacino, or something. We're not sure. But he's a very nice guy. And he has a posse.

And I'm learning some Korean as well. Gun-beh means cheers. Sheba means, uh, dang. And meen-eh (or meen-ah, can't remember) means a handsome man. Put those three together, and it's a party. I've had lots of Korean food, natch, and I'm learning the various intricacies of Korean style kareoke.

Oh, and it's called West 32nd Street. Which is where I'll be, tomorrow (Saturday) from 6pm til 7am. Yay.

Any astute readers notice something there? Hows about the fact that I mentioned that I usually am getting up before the proverbial crack of dawn, then that tomorrow I'll be at work at 6 in the fricking PM. Yes, days into nights. So tonight I'm on a mission to stay up until at least 3am. Those who know me well (and those that have just heard the rumors) know that's normally not a problem. Yet for the past week my bedtime has been around 9:30pm. As in, when I normally start to cook dinner. Sigh.

So tonight, I watched 3 Tivo'd shows. I've paid 3 bills. I've scrubbed the shower (which I haven't done in 3 months). It's midnight now, and I'm powering on through.

Help.

Thank You Dave. Damn You Dave.

2006-08-28T22:12:00.000-04:00

Hi kids, miss me?

It's been a month. A month and a day, to be exact. Well, almost two days. A hella long time either way. But now that Dave has linked to me in his show notes, and i've had at least many (honestly, I don't know how many since I myself haven't visited this fair pink page in a few weeks, but last time i looked it was just over a thousand hits and now holy crap it's 1623) visitors I might as well say a little something, do a little dance, make a little love, you know, generally just get down tonight.

It's been a month. And when I say that, I mean it's been a month. Life has taken a few turns, that's for damn sure. I feel like I have to check my calendar to see what the hell has been going on. Let's see: 4 different films / TV gigs, three family events, two friend's birthdays, one doctor's appointment, one union meeting, one trade show, one mention in AM New York newpaper, one cooking class (Exquisite Summer Soups, at ICE, I recommend it highly), one pair of socks, a walking tour of lower Manhattan playing tour guide, and oh, yes, a boy in my life.

It seems, and I think I've mentioned this before, that the more there is going on in my personal life, the less I feel like telling the world about it. Which is fine, but strange, since apparently I have no compunctions about telling y'all about most of the finite details of my life, but whatever, I'm claiming that I went European and took the month of August off. So there.

Plus, let's not forget, this is supposed to be a knitting blog. Not a 'let's talk about food and shopping and getting silly and drunk and hanging out with drag queens and the new jeans that I can't believe I scored for 14 bucks in the hellhole pit that is the Jersey Gardens Outlet Center' blog. Actually, screw it. It is, it is totally that kind of blog. So let's chat

I've been getting into the kind of cooking that uses no recipe. More like, hmm, in the mood for something, whatcha got in the cupboard? I know basic priciples of taste and texture, let's throw something together and try not to screw it up. Like today, I wanted something sweet. Something buttery and sugary. So I get out the one stick of butter I have, and the sugar, and the flour. Then I damn near fainted. Crawling all over the bottom of my flour canister were little sesame seed sized bugs that sure as hell weren't sesame seeds. Gack, ugh, that goes straight into the trash. So, no flour. Crap. But, I have oatmeal. No, I didn't pulverize it and make oatmeal flour. But, now that I think about it, not such a bad idea. Anyway, back in the day of Sweden, I made these chocolate oatmeal truffles. Mixed up the ingredients, and realized that I wanted something a bit sweeter. Had a little bit of almond butter, that went in, along with a pinch of salt to kick up the taste factor. And yum. For those that care, here's the recipe: (yes, I know I said I was cooking without a recipe, but the point is to be flexible and add new things. This is just what I did, and I thought you'd like to know. Sheesh)

Minxy's Chocolate Balls
1 Stick o' butter, room temp
2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
4 Tbsp Sugar
1 1/2 cups of Oatmeal - not the instant stuff
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1 Tbsp Water
Coupla Tbsps of Almond Butter, or Peanut Butter, or not, do what you want, I'm not here to run your life
Pinch of salt
Pearl Sugar, or chopped nuts, or sprinkles, or...you get the idea

Blend everything (except the last ingredient) in a big bowl with your hands till it's all smooth and brown and blended. Chill for a while, half an hour or more if it's a good episode of Project Runway. Wet your hands and form mixture into marble sized balls, and roll in pearl sugar (you can find this at gourmet stores or Ikea) or what have you. Chill 'em again and do your best Chef impersonation.

Here they are, or one anyway, presented oh so fancy-like:

Ok, I've just had three of the confections, and damn, am I flying now.

And here are my socks!
They are Pomatomus, and I have to say, I loved the pattern. And the yarn, Koigu KPPPM. The wonderful Johanna bought it for me, and does she know my colors or what? Tho, I must admit, I royally screwed up the tops. Lost an entire horizontal repeat. Like, I'm supposed to have 36 stitches across and somehow I wound up with 24. Whatever, still love 'em.

On to the next project, the next job, the next guy (kidding), the next post, arriving soon!

I left my cash in San Francisco

2006-07-27T00:34:00.000-04:00

Hi kids!

Wow, what a few weeks it has been. SF was fantastic, no other way to describe it. I have been told for years that I would love it, and man, what a great town. city. whatever.

But first.

I had an interesting conversation the other night. I was talking to someone (hi you, I know you're reading this), and I was saying how I really didn't like writing emails. Didn't like communicating that way. He said, but, you have a blog, that's writing.
You know, I think it's different. I think when I write here, it's not me. I mean, of course it's me, but it's almost a character. And in reading over the archives, apparently my character is an eight year old who's had too much sugar. What I'm saying is, when I write here I can be silly and make up stories and write selectively about whatever and whomever and whenever I want. Real writing (in communication, I mean) is so much more. More honest, more explaining, more thinking about how to present yourself best. I think I overthink it way too much. Which is why I have this little webpage of silliness right here. Think of it as my 5pm cocktail. Hell, it's always 5 o'clock somewhere.

So! Anyway! SF. Apparently that's what you call it. If you call it San Fran or Frisco they beat you with sticks. Actually, I'm way too tired to post about my week there. Luckily, the fabulous and wonderful and funny Dave has kindly made me a website with all my photos! Isn't he fantastic? Everyone go visit his website and podcast and give Dave some love.

So I came back from SF and hit the ground running. Arrived tuesday morning. Went to ball game with Dad tuesday night. Wednesday worked on a commercial. Thursday worked on Enchanted. Came home at 4am. Gave into the plague that had popped up in my immune system and crashed out for two days. Now I'm losing track.

So, it's been good. Been working. Been getting over the plague or flu or whatever I had. Had an amazing time out west, I promise I'll write more about it when I get back. Going upstate for a few days, to work. And enjoy the scenery.

So, ever notice I start all my paragraphs with so? Okay my loves, more exciting happenings and musings and teasings and stories upon my return.

I'm Leaving, On A Jet Plane....with snacks

2006-07-10T23:03:00.000-04:00

Fancy Food Show Fancy Food Show Fancy Food Show!!!! I ask you, are there more lovely words that start with those letters? Well, yes, there are. Tee hee. Wink. But we won't go in to all that now. This is so awesome. My uncle sells these portable studios that people use to photograph their product, so he often gets extra passes to cool trade shows. That is not an oxymoron. I've been to the gift show, the fancy food show, the luxury goods show, the home decorators show, and some medical shows. Hey, I like free pens. The only thing is sometimes I have to go in under someone else's name. Whatever, for all the free chocolate and foie gras lollipops (I kid you not, it's an experience best left unmentioned) I can be a Justin. Which is what my name will be tomorrow. So tomorrow, I get to roam Javits Center, filling several large tote bags and my pockets and my purse with tasty delectables from around the world. Which is perfect, cause I'm going to need a snack on the plane ride to SAN FRANCISCO!

Yep, I'm going to SF. Better be sure to wear some flowers in my hair. Hope I don't leave my heart. Turn on, tune in, drop out. Eat my way across the damn city. Anything but Rice-A-Roni. My wonderful and dear sainted friend Dana who works for JetBlue called me on Saturday to say that she had two one-way passes that needed to be used by the end of the month. And did I want them. (pause to make it seem like i actually have a life and have to check my schedule). Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

So I'm leaving Wednesday, and staying with my cousin Erin, who I only met for the first time last year, but I think we've talked nearly every week since. Any recommendations, leave 'em in the comments.

So, anyway, have to apologize. It seems to be that the more I have going on in my life, the less I want to write about it. And it's been a lot that's been going on. Some boy stuff. Some summer stuff. Some work stuff. Aaaannnnnddddddd.......some knitting stuff!

This is one of the baby hats I made for my friend Priya, whom I miss terribly and is expecting her second baby, a girl, down in Hotlanta. I'm such a bad friend, haven't even met her first kid yet. Sigh, I promise, I'll get down there soon. Here's a picture of the back:

So adorable, right? And damn easy. Very forgiving pattern. Took about two days to make each one.

And though I've ostensibly been on a yarn diet, for, oh, the past two years, last week one of the Carols plunked down in front of me a skein of Noro Bunny, or whatever it's called, it's what John used to make his vest. Four Dollars. I kid you not. Anyway, I had one of those really rare occurences where I looked at the yarn and immediately, knew, just knew what it had to be. It had to be this:

Love it. Took a day and a half to make, not to mention the day and a half to find the crocheted flower patterns.

What else? Oh! Mom is coming to town tomorrow! Aaaannnndddd......probably coming to SnB as well! Now, youse knows I's loves mes my Moms. But, in the interest of sanity (mine), not all the minxy happenings and information flows through the phone, if you get my drift. So, for my fellow New Yorkers, when you meet Mama Astmann (tho, really, don't call her that. We call my Dad's mom Mama, and she would not appreciate being called that moniker. Seriously) please, if you care for me, do not mention either this blog or the current boy situation. Or the fact that there might even be a situation. It's better this way.

Trust me.

Lies, all Lies.

2006-06-22T23:21:00.000-04:00

You Are 65% Normal

(Really Normal)

Otherwise known as the normal amount of normal

You're like most people most of the time

But you've got those quirks that make you endearing

You're unique, yes... but not frighteningly so!

How Normal Are You?

I hate the idea of being normal. 65%!!! That's ridiculously normal!! That's it, I'm going to do something crazy with my hair again.

Ok, let it go. And, speaking of going, I'm heading to Battery Park later today (friday) to go to the Swedish Midsummer Festival. It's from 5 til 8 or so, and it should be a cute time. And lot's of adorable swedish guys, and girls, if you're a guy (or into girls)

And for those of you that couldn't make it to dinner, it was a yummy success. And Jo brought an 8 inch square brownie. See what you missed? I'll invite you to the next one.

Liquid Gold and Tiaras

2006-06-22T00:12:00.000-04:00

So, what does a sane person do on a day when it's 89 degrees out, sunny and gorgeous?

She stays inside and makes chicken soup!!!!

I told you, I can be a bit touched sometimes.

Well, I did get out bright and early today (11:30am) and hit the Greenmarket. My goodness, that was just temptation in the Square. Mostly in the forms of herbs and berries. I bought: strawberries, blueberries, peaches, dill, a small turnip (for the soup) peas in the pod, a fair sized mango, potatoes, and shallots. Oh, and purple scallions. Yum.

Then my friend Stephanie, another makeup artist, called and asked if I wanted to grab some lunch. That's Steph over there. Well, she called as I was shoveling in leftover fried rice from yesterday's impromptu early dinner at a noodle shop with Miss Jessamyn. So, I said, go grab lunch, come on over and we'll get some iced coffee and go out and enjoy the day some more. Then I hung up and continued watching Gilmore Girls.
So, Stephalump (really, I mean this with all affection. You should hear what she calls me) came by, and we headed out. She had this idea that she wanted a turtle, since you can paint the shells and make it look fabulous. I came up with the name Tiara the Turtle. If the turtle's a boy, then she'd name it Tiara the Drag Queen Turtle. Cause, you see, we're hip modern metro gals like that.

Anyway, off to the Petco, where we realized that A) turtles need to live in water, and B) which would entail buying an aquarium roughly half the space of Steph's apartment. And tortoises (which live on dry land) are like eighty dollars. So, maybe a hermit crab?

Went upstairs, ooh and ahhed over kitties. She said she couldn't be the typical single Jewish girl in New York City with a cat. I stopped speaking to her for a good fifteen minutes after that.

So, then some shoe shopping, bought some undies, blah blah blah, we parted ways, I went home to mess up my kitchen.

Typically, I was missing a few key ingredients for chicken soup, like onions and celery. Whatever. I had bought a kosher chicken and some extra necks (for flavor. Once, I made a chicken stock from nothing but necks, backs, and wings. It was one of my best efforts). I have this theory that chicken soup tastes best when made from kosher chickens, which, other than Empire, is difficult to find in the city. So, la, when I had gone to Jersey for father's day, I bought chicken.

Instead of celery and onions, I used elephant garlic, a turnip, baby carrots, dill, and a few bay leaves. Liquid gold, I say. Mmmmmm.

And, I had to get all creative and render up some schmaltz and greblens. Which, is chicken fat and the fried chicken skins. Sorry, my vegetarian friends. So, that's done. And done, literally. Greblens are infamous for not lasting ten minutes beyond cooking time. They are just too damn tasty.

Then, I had all this leftover cooked chicken. Which I put thru a food mill. Apparently, food mills are for fruits and veggies. I did not know this, and damn near broke my wrist and took half an hour to grind up a single chicken's worth of meat. And that took up a quart container. So, now I have a quart of ground chicken. Two words: empanadas, and dumplings. That'll be tomorrow. Jessamyn, what's a good wonton wrapper? I know you know.

Dinner Invite! Miss Jo is coming over for dinner tomorrow, but I have enough for one more guest, if you'd like to join us. By tomorrow, I mean Thursday, the 22nd. Which, depending when I finish typing, will more likely be today. Anyway, on the menu is: Skate with brown butter sauce over black rice. And fresh peas with mushrooms. Jo is providing dessert. Leave a comment and I'll get back to you. This is nothing formal, just me, cooking up some fish. Using up some fancy expensive butter. Tra la la.

Party Crafts Redux

2006-06-20T13:52:00.000-04:00

So, what have I been up to the past month or so?

I mean, sure. Work, paying bills, cooking and eating, knitting and crocheting. Living life and having fun. But what have I really been up to?

This:

And these:

Here's a close-up:

I think this was my favorite:

And five each of these:

And I had the pleasure of dragging home (walking, no less) about 80 pounds of candy from Economy Candy to turn into this:

And goody bags for the golfers (have I ever said that 'swag' is one of my very favorite words?:

Which included this loot:

And, it all added up to this:

And you wonder why I've been a bit stressed.

So, basically, I've been a CraftyMinx. And to tell the truth, I'm not really an artsy type of person. I leave that to my sister-in-law. And I really couldn't go to a Michael's or AC Moore, so I basically ran around, multiple times, to Pearl Paint, fabric stores, NY Bakery Supply, every damn frickin toy and hobby store in the city, Party City, Gristede's, D'Agastino's, KMart, a really really scary subterranean train shop on 45th street, and the liquor store. A few of them, actually. Oh! and every time I went into a bar (hey, it was necessary) I'd ask if they had german beer coasters. Not to mention finding something to wear. I was a lot of fun the past month.

And I had to deal with my mother. Clandestine emails, phone calls (to make sure my dad wasn't around to see the fax or email I was sending), texts, and her arranging her route so that he wouldn't see her car driving down Route 17. Plus just listening to her have to blow off steam, and fret about who hasn't yet rsvp'd, and what she would wear, and all the errata that goes on with throwing a semi-formal event, not to mention a surprise party and secret roast. And a golf outing the next day. And my poor brother, who just started a new job, had to deal with helping co-ordinating all these details, plus providing the graphics I needed and dealing with a questionnaire he had devised.

We was busy.

But, it was all worth it. It was, as I had said, a fabulous party. Unfortunately, the pictures I took are generally horrible, so they're not worth posting. But we had those disposable cameras on each table, so if there's a good shot, I'll post that one.

Ok, shake it off. It's done. Yee-ha!

So, what else is new? I bought yarn! I was at The Point, and they had a sale table. Not a bin, a table. With this:Katia Sevilla.

In this colorway. I love this color. When make-up shopping, I'm a sucker for this kind of stone color. I own about 9 or 10 shades of stone. I think what I really want to do is cut the yarn into little pieces, and tape them to my eyelids.

But, what to do with it? A wrap, so I can stop shopping for one. If anyone has a great pattern for a shimmery ribbon yarn wrap, please please let me know. I'd even pay for the pattern (gasp!)

Ok kiddies, that's all for now. Back to normal life tomorrow. Yay!

C'est Fini

2006-06-16T01:20:00.000-04:00

The party is over. He was very surprised. The centerpieces and placecard holders were fabulous. The speeches were hilarious. The food was...ok, but the drinks more than made up for it. I looked, if I may say so myself, pretty damn good. Wore a shawl, but ditched it after about 5 minutes. We have an entire cake left over, and about ten pounds of candy. I will post pictures when I get back to the city in a few days.

If I haven't said this before, my dad is an awesome guy.

Happy 60th, Lloyd!

I got more done today before the time I'm usually awake...

2006-06-14T21:10:00.000-04:00

I love this!

Here's the pic:

And here's the link to the article about said photo. Tho, sometimes, it's better to make up the story one's self, dontcha think?

Ooof, I'm beat. I was up at 4am, to go to work today. And I decided to do it sans Ambien, as per my complete idiocy on the med. So......got about 4 hours of sleep. And I was determined not to nap, since I had mega multi things to get done today. And - miracle of miracles, a lot of it actually did get done! What did not get done: finding a shrug for the dress, the all important mani pedi, and the cleaning of the apartment. But that may happen in a little while. I did get laundry done, hit the pharmacy, shopped all of 9th street (I had no idea there were so many great and inexpensive vintage stores there! I mean, why would I? I've only lived on this street eight years). I put up the blind that's been sitting on the floor for two days. I got various crafty things done, y'all know what I'm talking about, and I found the frickin trains.

And, finally some knitting progress. May I present...Moishe the Hasidic Elephant

Yeah, well, he was supposed to be Indian looking, but, seriously, take a look. That tallis, that yamulke. Looks kinda Lubavitch, no?
And that's the fabulous Berhan making sweet sweet cuddly love...no, can't go there. That's Berhan, holding it. Up next, the Incredibly Long Swatch, or whatever it's called, from Knit and Tonic. Yee-ha! Then, I swear, a garment of some sort. It's about damn time.

I should keep a notebook with me throughout the day. I'm always coming up with little bon mots (not to be confused with amuse bouches) that I think, hey, I should put that in the blog. And then I sit down here, and forget all the witty and slyly humorous things I want to say.

Wow, the minx likes to whine a bit tonight, doesn't she? I should end my day, stop eating the mallomars, and go to bed. Leave the packing and the organizing and the repacking of the kit and the grooming and the trying on of high heels and what to wear on Friday and the paying of bills and the arranging to have Jez taken care of to tomorrow.

And that, dear reader, is just what I'm gonna do.

Hi!

2006-06-12T21:18:00.000-04:00

Hi lovelies!

Oh i've been busy. Been running back and forth to jersey, been working, been doing some crafty stuff (never thought I'd say it bud damn I miss the convenience of suburbia sometimes). I'd post more, but you never know who is reading this, and I'll post about my crafty stuff later, when it's safe.

And speaking of safe, anyone ever inhale fake smog for 8 hours? Well, hie thee over to Silvercup Studios to work on the reshoots for Anamorph, cuz you'll feel so right at home! Add in earplugs, since there will be gunshots - blanks, I think. I hope, and this was my week last week.

Actually, I can't complain. Or rather, I won't. The days were very light, I had a great time chatting with some hair and wardrobe people I hadn't seen in a while, Fling Boy was not there, thank Hosannah (there was some concern), I got some lovely major motion picture-type pay-rates, and learned so much more about the NRQ and E lines once they hit Queens! And, I learned the difference between Queens Plaza and Queensboro Plaza. Luckily, the difference is only about three blocks.

I'm trying to think about what's new, that I can talk about. Mostly, I've increased my bookmarks page by about 3 million. I am now addicted to food blogs. Which, actually, should come as no surprise to anyone. Haven't been cooking too much, since I've been out of the basics (like eggs, flour, honey, shallots, scallions, yogurt) for a few weeks now. I know, I know, get out there and shop. I've been shopping, it's just been at Pearl Paint. And I hate the produce there.

Anyway, cheese shop worth mentioning. Actually, entire food market worth mentioning. On Essex, between Delancy and Rivington there is the Essex Market, and oh boy. Wonderful produce, fish, meat, HUGE Latino market, and Vietnamese, and Saxelby Cheese. Oh yum. I mean, really, really yum. Talk to Ann when you get there, she's fantastic, and has tons of info, and gives lots and lots of samples. Check it out, let me know what you think.

Oh! Went on the yarn crawl with Katy. Well, that might be a bit of an exaggeration. It was Katy and I (me?), and we wound up going to only one shop, Stitch Therapy, which was lovely, but stuck to my yarn diet. But, I never said I was going on a gourmet food shop diet, and a good thing too, since we stumbled across Blue Apron Foods, 814 Union St. at Seventh Avenue, (718) 230-3180. Thirty five dollars later.....Well, some were food presents for the family. And I found Roast Chicken Flavored Potato Chips. Minx is curious.....
So, yarn looking, food shopping, dragging Katy into every toy store we passed, flea marketing, and finding a clean loo. Sounds like a perfect day.

Worked at CBS today. I really have to get over myself about that job. Really, it isn't so bad. So I have to wake up at the crack of dawn. It just makes taking a mid-day nap all that easier. So I don't do much, that's okay, I get lots of knitting and reading done. Whatever, there was a week there where I had absolutely no spare cash whatsoever, so until they offer me the key position on Law and Order or something, youse takes what youse can gets. And watch The Early Show on Wednesday, I'm doing the male models (heh heh).

Sooooo....Wanna see my stash? I've cleaned it up since, but by golly it's a mess...

Okaaaay, that's about enough for now. I do have tons more pix to post, but it will have to wait a few days. Full disclosure next week.

And a hola to Dave of Chub Creek, to prove I'm not crazy (yep, had another Ambien episode. I swear I'm going to have to switch to Lunesta) and to April, cause she taught me how to Frappr Chat, then we decided we liked iChat better anyway.

Haiku, or something.

2006-05-29T21:46:00.000-04:00

I wish New York had better craft and toy and party supply stores.

It was very very hot out today.

And I'm in the mood for chai.

Random, thoughts, by the cityminx. Seriously, it's almost poetry, no?

Anyway, today I celebrated the weather by.....running errands! Woo-hoo, do I know how to live it up or what? And tomorrow - more of the same! Then SnB. Do you know, I've been dragging on finishing an easy and enjoyable project just so I could finish it while at SnB? Then I came to my senses and finished the thang.

Jewell gave me this pattern, she had made it for Kara's exchange party, and Nicole picked it out. Immediately, I coveted. And I've had this mystery yarn from School Products for ages, and I tried to crochet this really cool hat called The Lizzy Cap, designed by Annie Modesitt, which I could not figure out for the life of me. If any of you are familiar with this pattern, it's in the crochet-a-day calendar, please let me know. I'd still like to try it. Anyway, I needed a quickie (so to speak), so I made the headband. Next up is the Blizzard, from Scarf Style, but in a lavender mohair from Suss.

I was going to toot my Julia horn again today, in the fact that I made a quiche from scratch without a recipe from whatever I had around, but I can only lay claim to the crust. Hint for making a delicious quiche: make sure the damn shredded expensive Emmanthaler cheese isn't leftover from two weeks ago, else you'll be chewing on rubber. 'Nuff said. Well, like I said, the crust was good. Even if it was made out of leftover passover flour. So I dumped out the filling and ate the crust for dinner. Yummy and healthy!

Here it is in all it's glory, before I tasted it. That's the truffle salt I put in the mix. Found it at SOS Chefs. Fabulous gourmet shop on B and 6th. They have a walk in with fresh mushrooms, asparagus, etc. And teas, chocolates, truffle products, herbs, and about 20 kinds of salt. And they are so nice there! Always giving you a taste of this, a sample of that. Big shout out to the lovelies at SOS.

And I have one more question for y'all - could somebody please direct me to a place that teaches you how to add buttons? I have like four of them on my desktop and I'd love to have them in the sidebar.

Gracias, and good night.

Ennui

2006-05-25T23:35:00.000-04:00

I have been plagued by ennui. Any of you cats out there watch Gilmore Girls? I happen to like that show, thankyouverymuch, and there was one episode where Michel was being his snotty self, proclaiming he couldn't bring himself to do any work, because he had ennui. Cut to the kitchen, and Sookie (yes, I know she could be a bit trying, but whatever) is slumped over a chopping board, face in hand, sighing like a Jewish mother from Long Island without grandchildren, proclaiming she couldn't do any cooking, because, yes, she had caught Michel's ennui. Merry dialogue ensued about how you just couldn't tell that Sookie about what illness you had, she would think she had it as well, and remember what a bitch of a time it was explaining to her that she couldn't possibly have an enlarged prostate?

Anyway, ennui.

I know there's a true definition out there, but if I spent the time looking it up, that would go against the whole ennui thang. Let's just say, in my case, that it's when you know there's stuff you have to do, like write thank you cards or blog or whatever, but you just can't. You sit there, staring at Jigzone or refreshing the Missed Connections page, to see if the bass player you met last Sunday has posted something cute about you, and do you really want to go back to Bar Marche on Sunday to watch him play, like he invited you to do? You think he looked a little too much like an ex, and that's a bit creepy, and he's probably a little younger than you'd like, but maybe you can convince Kara to go with you, since it's right near her place, and oh what to do what to do....

And I forgot what I was talking about.

Oh, ennui. See? It sneaks right up on you.

So, okay. What happened this week? Worked a ton last week, that was fun. Saturday was La Partay Du Geburtstag, as my many language mangling Dad would say. Oh, let's show some pix:

I would ordinarily do my damndest to make captions line up with the pix, but today, not so much. Suffice to say, isn't Tony adorable? I have a picture of us in a liplock, but he might lose his Boys Club card over that one. Heather and Jo look happy, if a bit blurry, and speaking of blurry, Berhan had a good ol' time, and shut the party down around 2am, then tried to talk me into going out for pizza. Ah, I must be getting old.

Speaking of old, just went to go pour myself a cocktail, and instead drew a healthy glass of water. WTF?

And speaking of having a grand time, check out Miss Jessamyn.

I love it when my friends are having a good time.

Sunday was Day Of Cleaning, it really wasn't too bad. That night a bunch of us went out for Gino's birthday, where he was served a cake with a large marzipan penis poking out of the top. So of course, everyone had to had a picture of themselves going down on the cake. Shame I left my camera at home. Then Bar Marche (see above) and APT. Not too much news there. Rest of the week was pretty mellow. I've come to the conclusion that I absolutely can not knit or crochet with yarn I don't like. So now I'm in a frigging knittin ennui too. Sigh.

Made vegetable stock (or broth, apparently the second you add salt it goes from stock to broth. Whatever.) out of leftover crudites, then went to my fish class at ICE. I'll post about that later. Ennui had deadened m'typing fingers.

Mom is coming into town tomorrow to go shop.

I'm sure we'll have a good time anyway. I have restaurants picked out.

And also, I just wanted to thank all of you for your fabulous gifts and luck and well wished. Pomotomus socks, you were created with Johanna's yarn in mind. Heather, I've already won $11! Bev, I've never seen mohair so soft. Katy, luv luv luv the markers. Jill and Claudine, you knew exactly which books I wanted and were to cheap to buy. Thanks to all who fed my alcoholism, and the lucky cat is watching over me, Kara. To those I forgot to mention by name, I'm an idiot, and don't deserve such good friends as you.

Now let's go out and have a cocktail, and beat out this ennui crap. I have a life to lead.

um, knitting! Right! Almost forgot!

2006-05-11T23:14:00.000-04:00

So, it was recently pointed out to me that this was supposed to be a knitting blog. To which I say, apparently I have been doing more drinking than knitting. Or maybe my knitting looks like I've been spending all my time drinking.

Much against the rest of my nature, I'm a one project at a time gal. I know that's a rartity 'mongst my circle of knitterati, but the rest of my life is cluttered enough. I like to start a project (granted, I usually start it a few times), work on it, curse it, ask random strangers for advice on it, talk about it incessantly, finish it, smile, sigh, put it away, then once again cover all surfaces in my apartment with patterns looking for what to knit next.

It's a process.

Right now I'm working on Tote thing. My first intarsia pattern, interesting process. Don't know if I liked it or not, probably have to try it again to decide. Not anytime soon tho. The front and back are done, and Jez seems to be pretty appreciative.

Now I'm working on the sides, which I'm doing at the same time since I knew I was going to run out before I was done. I hate it when I'm right. So I've made a design decision and am using a thick/thin yarn in the same exact color to finish it. Except I'm not crazy about how it looks. So, you say, go get another skein. Well, so you say. I say that I picked this wool out of the sale bin at Purl two years ago, and it had no label. Yay me! So if anyone knows of an insanely soft worsted weight wool that happens to come in a gorgeous fuschia, would you let me know? I'll hit Downtown Yarns tomorrow.

Speaking of advice, I'm buying an ice cream machine. Let me know which ones you like, or which ones are a piece of crap. Much obliged.

And, look what I found today, in Bryant Park:

I feel like I have much more to write about, but can't really think of anything right now. I will, at about 3am when I'm trying to fall asleep.

Hmmm, cooked some great tofu last night. No, not an oxymoron. Cube extra firm tofu. Drizzle with fish sauce. Dredge with flour (or matzo flour, if you happen to have some leftover). Beat an egg, add some pepper and soy sauce. Dump tofu in egg mixture, then back into flour. Heat olive oil and some butter in a fabulous Calphalon pan (Yes! That is what I wanted to mention! Crate and Barrel have a special, two Calphalon non-stick frying pans, a small and a medium, for $40!!!! I'll be getting mine tomorrow) Dump in tofu cubes, and cook till crispy on outside. Kinda like extra fresh tasting popcorn shrimp.

And, oh my goodness, check out this site. MmmBento. Adorable! I can so see myself getting into this. Thank god I have no storage space.

Long post, to make up for long time no post

2006-05-02T16:42:00.000-04:00

Woo-ee it’s been a long time! And so much has occurred. Lemmee see, hmm, um….I worked. Hey, don’t knock it, it’s what pays for all the yarn and makeup. And mortgage and electricity and phone and food and stuff. Unless your parents come home after being away for almost six months in the Florida heat, which tends to addle my Mother’s brain to my advantage, cause then she feels like she has to spend money on me. And who am I to argue with that? So, off we go to Woodbury Commons!

I have not been up there in years, Years, I say. And now the place is huge! There are five sections, and we barely made it through two of them. And for a girl brought up in Malltown, USA, that is a crime and a shame. Or a crying shame. Whatever. However, loot was to be had. I think Chef Central has an outpost called Le Gourmet Chef, where for not a lot of money, I picked up this gigunda haul:

My god, you say. And I agree. Here’s a closeup of some items:

I also found a make-up store, where the discount was better than mine. Especially the Clinique stuff, since I don’t get a discount there.
Then when I got home I was a little bummed, since a Bobbi Brown lip palette somehow had entered some fifth dimension between my basket and the shopping bag, and I neither paid for it or received it. Weird. Apparently in one of the other sections there’s another store like this one, but with different brands. I shall return, oh yes, I shall return.

Also to be had were shoes, all on discount, and socks, and something called a Stock Sock (hee hee) which apparently you put
all the stuff you want to make stock with in, then when your done you simply lift it up out of the pot and toss it in the trash. No straining, no mess. My mom thought it was brilliant.

And I now own a piece of designer clothing.
This Carmen Marc Valvo (musta been Nicole’s influence) jacket was 75% off, and I had a 10% off coupon for the store, so I’ll only hyperventilate a little when I wear it. Covered in plastic and with a bodyguard to shield me from all spills. And now I have to buy pants, and a shell to wear underneath. Jeez, dressing nice takes so much effort!

Ok, that was shopping, and it was fun. Then, I went to work. All I had to do was put a beard on this guy:
La beard:

This was a cool little studio; there was a hallway with themed dressing rooms:

And a subway mocked up:

Neat, right? Well, later on in the day, I discovered that the rooms were not some whimsical Disney-esque cutsie thing, but rather, wait for it ........... themed rooms in which to shoot pornos.

I have such an interesting job.

Thank god the makeup room was normal. At least I hope it was.

Anyway, the whole day was pretty fun, all things considered. And some things that I would rather not. Here is a pic of what I was looking at most of the day:

Yup, guy in a fake beard, sitting on a fake log in front of a fake fire, being photographed by a guy in a bear costume with the head hanging off, while another dude lays behind some fake rocks with his hand up the bum of one puppet, while the other one lies next to him, spent.
In a porn studio.

I love my job.

hee-hee, Pockies!

2006-04-23T22:01:00.000-04:00

what flavor pocky are you?

[c] sugardew

And, to continue the theme, please follow this link, as I am not blog savvy enough to include video in my blogs.

Now I know Japanese commercials can be...odd, after all, I am a huge fan of Japander, but this goes beyond. Way beyond. And I love it.

I ♥ Rainy Days and Garlic

2006-04-23T00:02:00.000-04:00

Doesn't good home made food just make you feel so good and comfy?

First of all, thank you Susi, for such a relaxing fantastic day up (and, uh, I do mean up. I think I saw a Mountie) in the Inwood 'hood for a day of fabulous snacks, fun music, and knitting. If you ever need someone to ~~go through all your books~~ housesit for a week I'd be happy to help out. That's just the kind of helpful gal I am.

But really, with all the rain swishing round outside, and the feeling of being far removed from the city noise, the vinyl scratching round and round, and the sisterhood feeling that was just permeating, it was...cozy. Very very cozy.

Then I had to endure the subway and rain on the way home, and once I got in, all I wanted to be was cozy again, without having to squint at my intarsia chart. So, I had a couple of recipes I wanted to try, both from New York Times Magazine. I made egg drop garlic soup. How, do you ask? Well, allow me to illegally reprint the recipe right here for all you lovely readers.

This is a combo of two different recipes, Julia Child's Garlic Soup with Poached Egg, and Daniel Patterson's method for cooking poached scrambled eggs

Whatcha do:

In a large saucepan or soup pot, combine:
the peeled cloves of a whole head of garlic
2 tsp kosher or coarse salt
1/4 tsp each of dried sage and dried thyme
1 bay leaf
4 parsley sprigs (i used chopped frozen parsley, thanks Trader Joe's!)
2 Tblsp olive oil (it says 3, but that was a bit too much)
Pepper

Pour in 2 quarts (8 cups) of cold water. Bring to boil, then lower heat to simmer, cover pot halfway and simmer for half an hour.
Set a sieve over a heatproof bowl, and strain soup into bowl. Press on solids to get out as much flavor as possible (hold on to that garlic, tho, it's good mushed up with mashed potatoes, or butter, or just put back in the soup)

K, now for the eggs. For one serving, pour about a cup and a half of the soup into a smaller saucepan, cover and heat to boil. Meanwhile, crack one egg over a slotted spoon and let most of the thin part of the whites drain. Beat the egg in a bowl with a fork for 20 seconds. Stir the soup clockwise with the fork, to get a bit of a whirlpool going. Pour in the egg thru the tines of the fork, cover and cook for one minute. Careful, it may boil over a bit. Turn off the heat and let sit for one minute. Then, c'est fini. On a side note, this is the way, using plain water, that Patterson makes the lightest scrambled eggs you will ever have. They are yummy.

This is so good, and filling, and inexpensive, and doesn't require a trip to the store. It will most definitely become part of my repertoire. And you can change it up a bunch of ways. Next time I'll add sliced mushrooms, or horseradish or wasabi, or beans, or rice. Rice would be fantastic. And start to finish it took about 40 minutes, which really isn't bad. Takes longer to order in food.

It's midnight now, and I might make a second bowl. Hee hee, no vampires tonight!

Drama Be My Name

2006-04-21T23:41:00.000-04:00

So, apparently I had a 'moment' there.

I've gotten lotsa comments, mostly from Bret Easton Ellis, who wants his style back. Or Jay McInery. No, don't feel like spell checking that one. Can anyone really tell the difference between those two anyway?

Anyway, enough of all that. The next day was torture. I was all kinds of hungover, and could not feed myself, pick up needles, talk on the phone, or get off the couch. Tho realized the next day that I wasn't merely hungover, though I was, I truly was, but I was also sick. As in my usual changing o' the seasons cold. Loverly.

Next day still felt all stuffed up and yucky, but decided to buck up and go into midtown and pick up the magnetic board that the lovely Miss Claudine graciously lent me, so that I could move beyond row 8 of my intarsia tote bag.

And I'm so glad I did, cause I found a few really lovely things that day. Miss Claudine never told me that her school was next door to Bridge Kitchenware! Where, believe it or not, I had never ever ever been to. I know, you're shocked. Well, so was I when I saw the prices. On a side note, I'm looking at their web site now, and they're having a book signing with Susan Spungen, and does anyone else wonder if that's Nancy Spungen's sister? I read "And I Don't Want to Live This Life..." when I was 16 and living in Sweden and it was one of the books the library had in English and I have to say, it made a huge impact on me. I read a lot. A lot a lot a lot. Like as in being a librarian or working in a bookstore sounds like a very attractive second career option, and that book is one of the ones that stick out in my memory.

Anyhoo, back to my day. Bridge was hella pricey, and though they had covetous things, I ain't working this week, so no spending for me. Tho I was intrigued by the copper pots big enough to boil a shetland pony. My goodness. And at only $2500, a bargain. Think of all the chicken soup I could make.

After that, went to Claudine's, met some of her bosses, one of whom asked me to name the ugliest celeb I've ever worked with. I think I sidestepped that one quite nicely. Then I left, and wandered over towards Grand Central to go back homewards, and found that I could happily eat my way up and down 45th street. All my favorites, including this really cool little rice ball joint, called Oms/b which is so my type of place. Cheapo, and you can order small amounts of food without having tons of leftovers, I had a salmon roe rice ball and a wasabi/scallion one. Yummy!

And no, didn't work on the tote that night. C'est la vie.

Today I was feeling mildly less crappy, and my friend Ro was having some man troubles, which once she laid it all out for me sounded eerily like my man troubles of recent times, so I went to Williamsburg to comfort her over cappucino's and yummy italian pastries. I know, how I suffer for my friends. This wasn't the 'Burg of Bedford and unwashed hair. This is italian everybody knows you and all the kids you went to school with are still in the neighborhood and everybody knows alllllllll about you and your family and say hi to you from passing cars and you get charged less for your coffee than other people Williamsburg. It's nice. Homey.

After that, meandered over to the afore mentioned trendy end of the burg, and up and down Bedford, including a foray to The Yarn Tree where, miracle of miracles, I resisted buying anything . Yay me! I did, however sign up to volunteer on Sunday at the sheep shearing thing in Prospect Park. C'mon, who's with me? I'll bake something yummy and bring it along. Course, I know less than nothing about sheep shearing or spinning, so it should be interesting.

Then, over to the Bedford Cheese Shop, which damn it all, was out of my chocolate chevre. Bastards. And they had these two women working there who had no sense of salesmanship at all, instead of the yummy guy who just plied me with samples of whatever he thought I would enjoy. Well, almost..... ;>
Anyway, they gave me samples of what I asked for, and I bought some stuff, but it just wasn't the same. Sniff.

Came home, and wouldn't you know that the second I get out of the subway my buddy in Williamsburg calls? His sense of timing sucks. Apparently, mine does too, since he was working today. Oh well, nice that someone is working. Bitter, table for one, please.

Tonight I made the macerated strawberries for Susi's fete tomorrow, very much looking forward to that, and reheated some homemade from scratch potato soup over portobello mushrooms and chicken sweet sausage. And if you think that sounded good, you should experience how it tastes. Seriously, I have leftovers. C'mon by.

All in all, a loverly day, with fantastic weather and even some exercise. Yee ha! Now, throw a nice 8 or 10 week gig into the mix, and I'd be happy as the proverbial clam (sorry for the whining, but it's worked before)

Oh, OH! Before I forget! This is such immenent disaster. Apparently, Broadway Panhandler is moving INTO A SPACE UNDERNEATH MY BUILDING. You know, I really can't decide which is worse. Having a kitchen supply place within jumping out of my window distance, or a yarn store doing the same. Or Sephora. It's like a shopper's version of "would you rather...." Either way, that's where all my available cash will be going. I give fair warning.

night out

2006-04-19T05:31:00.000-04:00

you know when you go to a party for a job you haven't been involved with in a year, and air kiss everyone when you don't remember their name, and make chitchat so you don't seem like you really don't care what they've been up to, and pretend to remember who they are when you have no idea, and then it's 2am and you go to another party and start drinking water to sober up, and get photographed in a low cut shirt by someone you don't know, and go to a random stranger's apartment to continue the party with five other people, and your really really hot friend (who is not single, by the way) starts making amorous moves, but your conscience remembers that he has a girlfriend who is not there, but out of town, way way out of town, but still... and the slightly skeevy French guy starts making everyone play Truth or Dare, and you remember that you are 32 years old, and way way removed from middle school, which is the last time you played that insipid game, and you really have no desire to play 'Seven Minutes in Heaven', so you leave, only to wait on Broadway and 28th street at 5am for an uncomfortably long time for a cab, trying to avoid eye contact with everyone around you and praying that no one thinks you're a hooker, and finally getting home around 5:30 and thanking Yahweh and all involved that you don't have to work tomorrow (today) and then getting bummed out because you have no work tomorrow (today) and deciding to say screw it all, I'm going to post, then go to bed, and remember all the club kids and drag queens and the whole scene from way back when, and marvel that some of them are still around, and curiously some of them look even younger now, and remember all that you've done in your past and how far you've really, really come in life, and hell, it's not over yet, but still....you wonder...

yep, you know.

CityMinx / CountryMinx

2006-04-17T00:11:00.000-04:00

Hee Hee! First to post about upstate! Will wonders never ever cease….

So, bottom line, had such a good, nourishing, gal pal, bonding, relaxing, loving the country and the lake but not the spiny thing I stepped on, fulfilling, Harry Potter Movie-a-thon all around GLORIOUS time – Jill, you’re a star. No doubt in my mind at all.

I only have a few pictures, but oh, the memories they bring back.

Here’s Jewel thinking she sewed the baby sweater up completely backwards.
Takes a strong girl to laugh in the face of disaster. Seems that the stress of that scare had just worn the poor girl out. Or no, that was just Jewel. At about 9pm each night.

And the Michigan gals trippin’ down the lane. And the other lovely ladies as well. I love this picture, has a sort of coffee table lovely pic in the country feel.

And we did beauty treatments…..

And we cooked. And baked. And enjoyed the weather. And Stew Leonard’s! And knit. Well, most of us knit. I got bested by the damn lace pattern in the latest Interweave Knits. If any of you out there has attempted the Damned Trellis Scarf (adjective my own addition, it’s really call the Damned Scarf) would you please let me know. Much obliged.

So, I’ll post more tomorrow with more stories, and tales of the wondrous Passover Seder, which was fabulous and lovely and enjoyed by all and if I ever decide to do it all by myself again I’m hoping my friends and family will shoot me dead.

It would be much more merciful.

I'm covered in schmaltz, and I love it

2006-04-10T00:52:00.000-04:00

i know, it's been a while. So long, in fact, that my browser didn't recognize my own damn URL when I typed it in to write this.I do apologize. I blame several things:

The Early Show: Not only is this the Early Morning Gig From Hell, but it ruins the rest of my day. I wake up at 3am, get to work. Work, thinking, oh, this isn't so bad, I don't have to deal with the anchors, the guests can be really interesting, I'm getting a free breakfast and lots of knitting done, and some free books too. And to make me feel guiltier, or more guilty, or something, last time I worked there I found in the Free Book Stash the Morehouse Merino Book AND the Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Knitting Rules!
So shame on me for badmouthing the Early Show. But. Then I get home and actually accomplish things for a few hours, like finding out that there are no lines at all at Trader Joe's at 10:30 in the morning. This is valuable information, people. However, around noon I am a cross-eyed drooling mess. So I pass out on the couch, for about 3 or 5 hours. Then guess what? A triple does of my beloved Ambien can't get me to sleep. I hate the Early Show.
The Julie/Julia Blog: Let's not mention that this blog is 3 years old. Let's not mention that I've already read the book that the blog gave birth to. Let's not even mention that I would probably not ever cook more than five recipes from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Let's just say that I feel like if I don't read a few weeks' worth of this blog every day, well, let's just say I read a few weeks' worth every day. And all the user comments.
Crocheting the projects for Debbie: Finally finally finally done. And I don't even care that the bear looks like a wombat. Or one of the pod people from The Dark Crystal. Awesome movie, I should rent that.
Passover: Tho, damn, I did make some fine Jewish Penicillin today. Tomorrow is Charoses, Carrot Souffle, and Gelfilte Fish Loaf. If any of you want to come over and be my sous chef, I'd love it. Seriously. C'mon, Jess, you're not working Monday, are you?

So, I should be more on track soon. And I am so looking forward to this weekend, and the sojourn upstate. I think it will be relaxing, if I can unclench just a tad. Mmm, if I'm done early Wednesday, it'll be massage-city for me.

bad bad bad bad bad blogger

2006-04-02T23:47:00.000-04:00

ok, it's been a week. and i'm sorry. just haven't had the energy, or thought of something witty to write. i'll post tomorrow, i promise.

with pictures.

by the way, can you believe that was chris o'donnell on gray's tonight? i always knew that facial hair was an improvement for most men. yum.

The YarnMonster Has A Special Day

2006-03-24T13:08:00.000-05:00

It's Jessica's birthday!

If you see her, wish her a Happy Birthday

I'm Soooo Popular

2006-03-24T00:59:00.000-05:00

To borrow a line from Miss Jessamyn. I've found a counter! Perhaps one day I'll find one where the sponsor link isn't so glaringly obvious, but for now it's just find and dandy. If you have a counter you love (I know, one's love for html code can only go so far) let me know about it. Meantime, visit, and visit often.

So, went to the bank today to cash in the two $20 traveler's checks. And lo and behold, they were two £20 traveller's cheques. More money, woo-hoo! Tho now I have to find an American Express Travel Office to turn them in. I think there may be one downtown. Google was no help.

Also went to Debbie's book tour thang at Housing Works. And you would not believe how much yarn there was for one or two dollars a ball. Well, lemme show you:

And that wasn't all of it.

This is what I came home with. Don't know what's up with all the blue and orange. The bag is full of ten skeins of Patons Grace, and for one dollar for the whole shebang I just could not turn it down. Might turn into a charity giveaway. The multi colored ball looks a lot like Artyarns Ultramerino 4. I love love love the soft blue wool, if I could find more it would become Blizzard, but I think it wants to be a lacy scarf or cozy hat. The blue ribbon is shiny, and y'all know how I react to shiny, or glittery. Freaking catnip it is.

Anyway, came home, made mashed jerusalem artichokes for dinner, and parsley soup for later. I made it up with no recipe, since apparently no one has thought to make soup out of parsley and put the recipe on the internet, but I think it turned out lovely, albeit a touch salty. I neglected to make it with vegetable broth, and threw in two bullion cubes. One would've been enough. Oh well, can always thin it out a bit. Would be nice with tortellini for dinner tomorrow, if I can resist the lure of the new Thai restaurant on 8th street. Mmmmm, Thai food. Cheap Thai/Vietnamese food with a sake bar.

Hell, I can always freeze the soup.

I'm Po. And Crazy.

2006-03-23T14:12:00.000-05:00

After taking an Ambien, I should be put to bed alone and locked in without any form of communication to the outside world. Because, apparently, I say and do really stupid things about half an hour after taking the friendly little pill. Like, text messaging people that I barely know to inform them (ok, him) that I was now going to bed. Or developing a sudden fondness for eating breadcrumbs with a spoon. Or writing extremely embarrassing emails, to wit:

“hey babe, sorry to hear about the situation, What kind if supplies are needed, adn who shoyud they be sent to? Between all the teachers here i know, the news producers i wrok with, and the crafty people always looking for a place to send materials or finished projects to....hey, youo never know.
sorry for all the misstypings, i'm ambiened up and ready for bed. call my cell wehn you get a chance, i'm working at cbs alllllllllll day
we, the artists and friends and collaborators can do only so much. let;s go after the big guns!!!!! you'd be surprised how lovely and generous they really really are.
talk tp u soon
a drugged up jill
(buy hey! fun to talkto)"

This is me on Ambien. I didn’t even remember I had written this; I found it on my MySpace page when checking out some other stuff. Needless to say, I haven’t received a reply. He’s probably calling the mental hospitals.
And I won’t even go into what I say to people.

So, worked yesterday. It was 11 hours of crocheting. Crocheting into the back loop produces very very tight stitches that are almost impossible to fit the hook into. I’m taking a break and working on another project for Debbie, this one is the bag with the orange on it. But one of the guests we had on the news was a gent named Joseph Jaffe, a media consultant who I think will really change the way we see advertising and media. He has a blog that is fascinating and offered to link up to my humble little ramblings here. I haven’t emailed him yet, I don’t quite know if I’m ready for thousands upon thousands of people to see this. Maybe after I get a counter.

For those of you South Park fans that don’t have cable (are you a fan, Claudine?), definitely check out his blog. The entire episode of the controversial first episode that’s supposed to air tonight is on it. Episode twice in one sentence. Well, good thing I was no English major.

On another note, anyone going to the HousingWorks yarn sale thing? I was planning to, and I still might, but I just looked in my wallet and saw only four dollars. Scrounged around and I’m going to try and cash forty bucks worth of traveler’s checks from when I lived in London eleven years ago. Do those things expire?

And on an up note: Melting equal parts gorgonzola cheese and butter and drizzling said mixture over popcorn is absolutely devinely delish. Will serve at next movie night. Whenever that may be.

Done!

2006-03-21T16:45:00.000-05:00

I am just so extraordinarily proud of myself today, I just may bust a gut.
Laundry, done.
Floor vacuuming, swiffering, and mopping, done.
Caught up with a few friends, done.
Dinner for sick neighbor – in the works, will soon be done
All day gig at CBS for tomorrow – booked.

Oh crap. Just went and tasted the couscous. I halved the recipe, but forgot to halve the amount of salt. Crap, crap, crap. Okay, rinsed the couscous, added a bit more water. We’ll see what happens. Can always redo it, couscous is cheap. See, that’s what happens with pride. Damn.

Remade the couscous, with the smaller grain stuff. Seemed a bit bland this time (figures) so I added in dried cranberries.

Insurance crap, done.
RSVP to bat mitzvah, done.

Enough for a bit, Headed out to SnB.

Updates to follow.

In search of local watering hole.....

2006-03-20T23:23:00.000-05:00

Today, I had inertia. So I only cleaned the dining room and hallway. I prefer to think of the glass as half full. And I broke my mop. That’s some damn serious cleaning there.

So after cleaning for an hour I realized I deserved a well-earned break and went to go meet Jenn at the Point. On my way over I decided to catch up on my podcasts and listed to Episode 15 of Cast On. Dave of Chub Creek was guest hosting and oh my he was hysterical. Seriously, I was walking through Washington Square Park and I had to hold my cell phone to my ear so it wouldn’t seem as if I was sputtering and laughing hysterically at thin air. Tho, this being Crack Square Park, it probably wasn’t too out of place…Seriously, listen to the Ed and Ethel sketch and let me know what you think. I’ve now subscribed to his cast so I can hear more. Anyway, back to the Point. Jenn was having a spacey kinda day and left after an hour or so, so I headed home and Jo called, and we decided to meet up and have a ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ drink. Went to a new place in the ‘hood called Jack. The fondue was good, if small, but there is almost nothing bad about melted cheese, and décor was lovely. But chock full of older gay men from Vermont, and honestly, not my type o’ crowd. Anymore.

So, from there we checked out Cedar, didn’t even sit down. Went to Reservoir, had watered down grain alcohol with maraschino juice, which bore no resemblance to the vodka with a splash of cranberry that I had ordered. Decided that we absolutely had to find a local place for us that wasn’t a restaurant bar. The search continues.

List for tomorrow: cleaning, taxes, make casserole for neighbor that had surgery, SnB, then post knitting cocktail at Swift. Oh, and buying a new mop.

The Copy-Right Infringement Party

2006-03-20T00:43:00.000-05:00

Don’t you love having dessert before dinner? That’s how I feel about writing about the party. I’m full. I’m a bit sleepy. The dishwasher is churning and the countertops are clean. The leftovers are packed away and Katy has already blogged about the party so I figured I’d better get on the stick and write something.

And I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough food…. Didn’t even get to make the couscous. Or serve the almond pound cake. I have a big bowl of whipped cream in the fridge. Anyone know if I can freeze that stuff? Thanks to all for bringing stuff. Debbie for the pastries, Lynette for the cookies, Michelle for the veggies and green apple martintis (had one of those after everyone. Thanks to all who brought drinks, and candy and goodies. Forgive me for not mentioning all by name, I’ll show pictures instead. Lori and Debbie

Jenn, looking surprised (or maybe just tired, hmmmmmm????) and Jewel and Jessica

Katy, and lotsa lotsa lotsa books

I only took a few, since I spent most of the time sprawled on the floor looking thru books, and apologizing for Jezebel. Can’t believe out of those thousands of books I only found two patterns, and I can’t find the copies. Oh well, fate. And speaking of copies, thanks to Claudine for manning the tempermental copier. I think I’ll give it a few days of rest.

And I might have finally found something to do with the hot pink thin/thick yarn Iris gave me. What do you think of this? If anyone knows of any good patterns for seriously thick / seriously thin yarn that looks like this:
Let me know. The Tic Tacs box is there for scale. And since it’s also pink.

This is what happens when I have guests. All the make-up crap that normally lounges in the dining room ,taking up space and multiplying gets shoved in a corner of the bedroom. I really, really, really need a contractor.

Ok, ok, I know the photos are not aligned prettily. Sue me, I'm beat. I'll maybe re-publish tomorrow.

ooooh, ahhhhh, yummmmmmmmmm

2006-03-18T22:11:00.000-05:00

Oh my God I’m in heaven. Ice cream heaven. Which I haven’t visited in about 3 years or so. The problem with trying to call one’s self a foodie is when one has so many damn food restrictions. Dairy being one of them. But today whilst shopping at the Food Emporium (which Julie Powell rightly calls the grocery the devil visits when he can’t get to Dean & Deluca’s) I found Soy Delicious Purely Decadent Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert. Oh my yum. Oh my goodness. I’ve really, really missed ice cream. And now I’m totally screwed because I know the existence of this luscious pint o’ calories.

On another note, I am going to bitch about my lack of employment quite regularly on this blog. Because not two hours after I posted the last one, I had gotten two calls for gigs. Union, decently paying gigs. Huzzah!

And referring to my “sweet, sweet, Ambien” remark of yore, check this out. Science sucks.

So, just about ready for tomorrow’s middle eastern feast. Just have to pick out the serving pieces, figure out what to make for dessert, and find pizza dough in the morning.

I’ll write more interesting things later.

PS: Julie Powell, by the way, is the girl who decided to cook all of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year. I’ve read her book, and now I’m doing things ass-backwards and reading her blog. Fun stuff. Highly addictive. Thank god I can’t have that much cream.

ZZZZ

2006-03-15T16:23:00.001-05:00

I'm ti-red (that's pronounced tie-red. Why? Who knows, just how I say these things). Now that sounds like a lot of whining, which is something I promised myself I wouldn't do on this blog. But hell with it, it's my damn blog and I'll whine if I want to. I'm still dealing with the whole insomnia thing, didn't fall asleep till after five am today, woke up around 11:30. Don't want to start depending on the Ambien (sweet, sweet Ambien) and somehow I'm able to rationalize it with stuff like, Hey, there's a wrap party tonight and I'll want to stay up late anyway. I think a gig will help in this whole sleep regulation thang. Fingers crossed.

On a whole 'nother note, it's new neighbor day! Yes, Miss Jo today has moved into the 'hood, about 3 blocks away, and I predict that all sorts of mayhem will ensue. And I can't wait. Saw her apartment today, it's small and sweet and gets tons of light and has floors suitable for ice skating on. Still a wee bit slippery from the refinishing. And there's a roof deck, scene to be of many cook outs and drinking binges while enjoying the sunset over Jersey and knitting.

Speaking of knitting, most of you who read this know about the shindig Sunday. Tomorrow is my day to plow through the recipe file and make a shopping list. Yay! Get me your book lists and I'll get you a list of what books you can leave home and what I may ask you to bring. I'm thinking that I'm not going to want to deal with getting soda and stuff, so I'll probably job that out. And Lorie has already emailed me back saying she'll join us. And I just got an email from Katy with a gigunda list of books she has available. I'll let you know which one you can leave home Katy, don't want you pulling a hernia or anything.

So, that's about it for now. Just waiting for Jule to get here from Jersey and then we have some running around to do before the par-tay tonight. Think I'll crash out on le sofa and watch the Sorpanos premiere. Meanwhile, if you're looking for a cute distraction, found this website with silly little games. Knock yerself out: Orisinal

I'll let y'all know if anything interesting happens.

ZZZZ

2006-03-15T16:23:00.000-05:00

Bad Girl

2006-03-13T16:59:00.000-05:00

I am such a tool.

I told everyone about this charity baby hat knitting thing I wanted to do, I emailed people about it, I frigging baked for the damn thing, and I slept right though the entire event.

However, it was for a good cause, or really, a fun cause. The designer that Gino styles for, Andrew Buckler, dressed the DJ that played at Pasha last night. Now, I didn’t even get there until 1am or so (was supposed to get there at midnight, but who knew it would be so fricking difficult to get a cab at 12:30 on a Saturday? Plus traffic, horrendous traffic). So I get there at 1, tell the doorman I’m with the DJ (love that!), get in without waiting in line or paying (love that even more!) and walk into what seemed to be the biggest Sweet 16 party I’ve ever seen. Seriously, I felt old. And there was more hair gel in the room than at a Cure concert. But I found my way to the party, and the night commenced.

Here is Tony looking cute in a cab. And exhausted, we ran blocks and blocks to find one!

As soon as I got in, this chick from a website called World DJ took my photo. I’ve been all over that website trying to find it, but I guess their photo editor has little taste.
This is an approximation of that photo (ok, ok, I just thought I looked cute Saturday night. Holy bronzer, Batman!)

New to the whole party group is a couple Gino zeroed in on at a dinner a month or so ago. This couple is so damn cute, you want them to star in their own TV show. Mark and Melissa. He’s a trader, she is an amazing photographer and is studying Spanish. They live in a fabulous apartment around the corner from me. And did I mention they’re English? Here is Melissa, Melanie and me, being friendly. PS: Melanie is an amazing handbag designer. I covet, and you will too.

Sometimes Gino just needs a good kick in the ass. Or three. (I would’ve shown a picture of Gigi, but he was having a bad hair night. And friends need to respect that)

So, after the hours of dancing, where I seemed to attract mostly retarded asian midgets (some of you might find that offensive, but you were not there, and the drinking of table service vodka, and the arrival of a group from Long Island wearing t-shirts with pictures of the DJ printed on them, we decided that the shark had been jumped and headed out. To Mark and Melissa’s! Where more alcohol was consumed and we all tried to see if we could put our legs behind our ears. Gino won. I won’t show the pictures.

Finally stumbled home around 5am, thank hosannah they live literally two blocks away. Ate a bag of Japanese rice snacks, blocked out the sunlight, and passed out.

There will be no charity kntting today.
Biscotti, anyone?

I'm Back, and Karma's a Bitch

2006-03-11T20:54:00.000-05:00

Hello darlings…

I’m so so sorry that I’ve been a away for a week, there’s been drama. Boy drama, of course. Let’s just leave it at I had a fun few days while on location, but that was then and this is now and I am so much better off this way. And I am actually starting believe that. Heh, heh. Heh.

Anyway, other than that kind of fun, the Vanities decided to get silly, take advantage of the blizzard and make snow angels! I tried to post the pix of our snowangels, but alas, there's not enought contrast, and it just looks like lumpy snowscapes, BUT here is Linda and me being oh so snowbunny cute.

So, let’s see, worked for 3 days in an unheated mansion, found a great Brazilian restaurant in Stamford, had some minxy fun, earned a few bucks (No! Not that way!! For make-up!). All in all, I think everything evened out. Until Monday.

Monday, I was hit by a bit of stress. And instead of drinking myself into oblivion, eating a half pound of feta, or taking various prescription medications, I decided to crochet a scarf. It’s from the Happy Hooker book, but I think I’ll just call it the 3 Hour Stress Scarf. It would’ve been the 3 and a Half Hour Stress Scarf, but I ran out of yarn and could do scallops only on one side. Oh well, I still like how it looks. I brought to Job #2 to steam and block it out. And the adorable Johnson (yes, that’s his name, and he also said I could list his email address in case you want to tell him just how cute he looks in my scarf. And how he looks great with eyeliner on) modeled it for me, without complaint or embarrassment, but with true rock star attitude. But, I think I imbued it with so much negative energy that I just can’t hold on to it. It’ll go either as a gift, or to be donated to Rent when they do their Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS auction. Yeah, charity. That’ll turn the Karma around.

I strongly believe in Karma, I think that it meshes well with the Golden Rule. Those two things, and if only people would be more polite, and have common sense, it would make things just so damn much easier. And, as long as I’m dreaming, I’d like a new laptop computer. And a car.

dinner? nah

2006-03-11T19:43:00.000-05:00

I've discovered that one doens't need to fix one's self a dinner if one is making biscotti.

Hopefully there will be enough left for tomorrow.

A quiz that got it right

2006-03-04T00:33:00.000-05:00

I'm back! More details later.

You Are New York

Cosmopolitan and sophisticated, you enjoy the newest in food, art, and culture.
You also appreciate a good amount of grit - and very little shocks you.
You're competitive, driven, and very likely to succeed.

Famous people from New York: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Tupac Shakur, Woody Allen

What American City Are You?

The Sloppy Seconds Gourmand

2006-02-27T15:37:00.000-05:00

Did you know that I am royalty? Not too many people realize this, but I am the Queen of Leftovers. This probably stems from growing up in a household where the kitchen was used, primarily, as a room in which to sort the mail.
Now, to be fair, my parents were working about 10 - 12 hours a day, seven days a week, building their business. And when Mom did cook, she did an amazing job of it. And luckily she has time to cook a bit more these days. But back in the day, we went out to diners and the like most of the time, and at the end of the week, we had an impressive and confusing array of leftovers in the fridge, and something had to be done with them, because of course it's a shanda and a crime to throw out good food, especially if you paid for it. Sigh. Might explain a few things, eh?
Anyway, what with my natural scrimping tendencies and the fact I'm doing the 'only eat half of what's on your plate' thang, I often have leftovers. And for some bizarre reason, last night I made enough couscous to feed all of Northern Africa. And as I mentioned earlier, I'm taking off tonight for a few days, and my houseguest / catsitter doesn't eat wheat, and OH MY GOD I'D BETTER FIND SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE COUSCOUS OR ELSE IT'LL GO TO WASTE.

I have issues.

So, this turned out quite yummy, thus I'll share.

Take the leftover couscous (or rice, or quinoa, or whatever), mix in one beaten egg, some matzo meal (you goyishes can use unflavored bread crumbs, the gourmands can use panko), some chopped almonds and dried currants - or whatever else you have lying around, cheese, veggies etc. In my case it was couscous, bit of feta, almonds and currants. Melt yer choice of fat in a pan, just enough to provide some slip. I have some leftover (natch) marrow from Blue Ribbon that I keep in the freezer, but you can use oil, butter, Pam, whatever. Form couscous mixture into patties, and brown on both sides. Fabulous.

And here's a picture!

Now, of course, just to piss me off, I have leftovers of my leftovers. So I formed patties, layered 'em between saran wrap, and froze the suckers. I'll have it this weekend.

And, I thought I'd also show you a picture from the christening this weekend. Here is My friend Christine, whom I've know since we were 12 years old, her beautiful baby NIcholas, her husband Eric, and a dude in a robe. Isn't Nicky gorgeous? Doesn't he make you want to go and have babies right now? Well, okay, maybe not. But he is such a good baby. He withstood a trip to Target, a sushi place, a house full of loud people and a vacuum cleaner nearby, all without fussing or crying. Which is more than I could say for my cat.

By the way, can any of you show me how to put a counter on this thing? I'm feeling a touch narcissistic and I'd like to know how popular I am. Tell your friends!

I missed you, did you miss me?

2006-02-27T15:22:00.000-05:00

Hello darlings!

Sorry it's been a few days. I was in Jersey for a christening (is that supposed to be capitalized?) over the weekend, and the parent's computer is just beyond my patience, so, instead of spending time on the computer, I took a hot bath in the gigunda jacuzzi tub. mmmmmmmm. Much more beneficial.
I did, of course, shop a bit. How could I go to Jersey and not? Treasure Island is going out business, and everything was at least 60% off (!). I was hoping to find a swift and winder, but no luck there. Instead, I found this:

All this loot for only $7.94. Yep, less than 8 bucks. I've been thinking about playing around with some smaller guage crochet projects, so voila! The thing in the blue package is what's called a water pen. don't know what it's original intended use is, but it's great for filling with solvent and using it to take off fake facial hair and wigs. Which leads me to my next point o' business.

I won't be able to post again for a while, since tonight I'm heading up to Stamford, Connecticut for a few days to work on a film that's shooting up there. It takes place in 1887, so I'll be mostly putting on sideburns, mucking happily about with glue and freezing my minxy behind off. Yay for fleece. And projects on big needles. Speaking of, stopped by Suss today, and they still have a few baskets of sale stuff around.

So, anyone know of any yarn shops in Stamford? Or any really good restaurants or bars I should hit? I'll try to get some internet access, and I'll let y'all know if anything really exciting happens.

Otherwise, I'll be back thursday or friday.

Week O' Yum

2006-02-24T00:04:00.000-05:00

I have to say, this has been a week of yummy. Monday, Claudine and I had a day of Barnes and Noble. For those who live outside the urban area, this consists of going to Barnes and Noble, going up to the cafe, and stalking the tables. Every one of the tables is always taken, and there are usually about ten people, clutching lattes and magazines, roaming thru the tables glaring meaningly at those who just an hour earlier have been glaring at other people at the overcrowded tables, and sprinting towards anyone who might look like they're thinking about putting their coat on to leave. So, after about 20 minutes of purposeful glaring and stalking, we found a table! Then one person sits and guards the table blithely ignoring the otehr poor saps' glares while the other goes and gets coffee and magazines and books, then switches out. This is what Claudine and I did. And we knitted. But back to the yummy. White chocolate mochas are yummy. So are the chocolate chip cookies from the greenmarket. Being lazy and looking thru lots of books and magazines that you don't have to pay for is definitely yummy. That was Monday.
Tuesday laundry got done, then Miss Jessamyn called saying she was nearby and would I want to hang out. Would I?! We went to Pearl River Mart, I saw her lovely kitchen gadget and yarn filled apartment, we went for sushi, then the evil little enabler dragged me kicking and screaming to Jacques Torres Chocolate Haven where I was also forced to drop about $30 on some damn yummy chocolate. Did you know they make chocolate covered Cheerios these days? Brilliant!
Wednesday I did all the cleaning I had meant to do Tuesday, then that evening my neighbor Serena and I finally made it out to Sura, this amazing Korean restaurant in my 'hood that I've been meaning to go to for, oh, I don't know, a few years now. It's always empty, but absolutely gorgeous inside and the food is fantastic. Go. Go now. This place cannot close down, it needs our patronage. And, I'll happily go with you.
Which brings us to today, a yummy to top the yums. Today was a day of Sahadi's. That deserves a whole blog of it's own, for another time. Suffice to say, i shopped for middle eastern groceries with aplomb, and bought my weight in pistachios. Then I had to go next door to Damascus and buy scads of meat and spinach pies and baklava-type desserts. Then the awesome and amazing Jenn came over and taught me how to bling my blog. Seriously, all these links would not be except for her. Thanks Jenn, you rock!
Which brings me to the yummiest of all. Who of you saw Grey's Anatomy this past week? And who the hell is Eric Dane (McSteamy, the guy Mark who broke up Addison and Derek...no, I don't watch too much TV) and why have I not worked with him yet? I have to say, just... yum.
Pix on the next entry, I promise.

Hotel du MInx

2006-02-22T14:10:00.000-05:00

I'm taking a break. Right now, I'm in between gigs, and what i should be doing is: going to the gym, doing my taxes, making phone calls and annoying other makeup artists to prove what a winsome and valuable and talented addition i would be to their trailers, and other prodtuctive activities.
So, what am i doing in actuality? Sleeping til 11. Thinking about how i have no food in the house, and should place a freshdirect order, but when would it come, and i won't use the food because it'll go bad since i'm going away this weekend, but i'm tired of eating just breadcrumbs (literally) when i get munchy-ish, blather blather, and abusing the computer. which isn't quite as dirty as it sounds, it basically involves visiting jigzone.com many times a day, doing crosswords, reading other blogs, and obsessively refreshing my myspace page. and i waste ENTIRE DAYS like this. I need help.
But, today i actually started cleaning. Hotel du CityMinx is once again open for business, and my friend and fellow MU artist (except whe also does hair, and is an esthetician, and if i didnt' like her so much i would completely hate her out of jealousy) got a ten day gig here and is crashing on the oh so comfy Minx couch. So i've dusted the entire living room and dining room, cleaned the bedroom, cleaned reams of paperwork off the desk (tax stuff is in a bag - doesn't count) and the only reason i haven't started the vacuum cleaner is that i'm listening to the CastOn podcast. Of course, I could hit pause, but that would so not work into my rhythm here. So I update!

Speaking of, I am oh so new at this blogging thang. If any of you can tell me how to add cool things, make links, add pictures, etc, I would welcome and grovel for all of that crap. And not just sending me code, tho that is appreciated, but tell me how to implement it.

Back to cleaning, I'll post again later.

Heh heh. Heh.

2006-02-21T23:59:00.000-05:00

This had been a long time coming. Mostly for my dear friends around me, who have listened to me ramble on about what to call this blog, for the past few months or so. Other choices have been FlirtyGirl, the Enabler, PurlyGirl, Girl With A Purl Earring (uh, sense a theme?), Smink, Goodface, and many many other embarassing names that even I was embarassed to say out loud. And that's saying a lot. A whole lot.

So, this is my blog. A bit about knitting, a bit about food, a bit about make-up and work, and family and Manhattan. A lot about my days and thoughts and ramblings. Oh, that was another name-to-be: CoherentRamblings. I like CityMinx, hope you do too. And be warned - I will talk about you. So be nice. And send presents.

Love,

CityMinx