"He loved possessions, not masses of them, but a select few that he did not part with. They gave a man
self-respect. Not ostentation but quality, and the love that cherished the quality. Possessions reminded him that he existed, and made him enjoy his existence. It was as simple as that. And wasn’t that worth something? He existed."
- Patricia Highsmith, "The Talented Mr. Ripley"
Quoted, Vol. 16
"Yet even in this time of sky-high unemployment that now seemed baked into the system, Americans took to the streets and social media in impressive numbers, refusing to let go of the ideals of a country founded in revolt against the elites. 'We are the 99 percent,' they said, convinced that it was the people, not the banks or corporations, that were truly too big to fail."
- Marc Fisher, "25 Moments That Shaped Washington," The Washington Post Magazine
Quoted, Vol. 15
"A piece of advice that I do give women recklessly, though I think
there’s an underpinning of truth to it, is go home and sort your clothes
into your “work clothes” and your “special party clothes” and then get
rid of all the work clothes. It’s the equivalent of putting plastic on
your couch and your lampshades. You should wear clothes everyday that
make you feel fabulous." - Simon Doonan, Washingtonian interview
I love this quote, and I want to try to take it to heart this year, even though that's heresy in Washington, D.C. I hate "work clothes" with the fire of a thousand suns.
I love this quote, and I want to try to take it to heart this year, even though that's heresy in Washington, D.C. I hate "work clothes" with the fire of a thousand suns.
Quoted, Vol.14
"After that, work and hope. But never hope more than you work."
- Beryl Markham, West With the Night
Thankgiving 2011: Spatchcock Edition
First things first: someone bought my rug on eBay! It's headed to Brooklyn, which is good. People in Brooklyn will understand the cookie monster rug.
Now that that's out of the way, how was your Thanksgiving?
My chef extraordinaire brother Dan spatchcocked our turkey. That involves removing the spine so the turkey lays flat and cooks more evenly. Norman Rockwell, it ain't. But it turned out perfectly.
All week, my mom talked about cooking for 8 people, since my French nana, my boyfriend Joe and my roommate Christine were all nice enough to join us for dinner. Eight people, sure. Mom set the table and we all sat down and Dad said the prayer. Then Nana looked across the table and said, "Who is that chair for?" Sure enough, we miscounted and there was an empty tablesetting for no one, right in the middle of the table. I'll pretend it's for the memory of dear, departed Hunter.
Everything was beyond delicious. But good gravy, why did I eat so much? It's a horrible feeling after you've cleaned your plate and polished off the last piece of turkey. I always forget that feeling. You can barely move, and yet a pie and a cheesecake await. Of course you will eat them. As an American, it's your civic duty.
There's everyday, normal "full, couldn't eat another thing," then there is "Thanksgiving full." It's off the charts. At least this only happens once a year.
I didn't shop on Friday. Not my scene. When shoppers are pepper-spraying one another to get an advantage on buying Xboxes, something is severely out of whack. What did I do? Took advantage of a freak 60 degree day and played tennis outside with Joe, which is free.
Check out the photos from our trip to Annapolis with Tiffany and Jon on Saturday. Even the boats are decked out for the holidays.
But wait, what's that?
There's a cat as first mate!
As You Are Gearing Up For Thanksgiving...
"Pie is the American synonym of prosperity, and its varying contents the calendar of the changing seasons. Pie is the food of the heroic. No pie-eating people can ever be permanently vanquished."
- 1902 New York Times editorial, via Parade Magazine
I read that and never felt more patriotic. Maybe pie can unite us once again. Happy baking everyone.
