Letterpress from Linda and Harriett

Let's restate some things we all know from reading this blog: I love pretty things; I love a deal.  So when Paloma alerted me to an outlet sale on letterpress cards from paper goddesses Linda and Harriett I was all over it.  

Individual cards were on sale for $1.50 (regularly $6) and packs of six note cards were on sale for $5 (regularly $14.50).  I had to edit my extremely large shopping cart, but I ended with some pretty awesome stuff.  

And one of the greatest things was the customer service.  You wouldn't think that an online retailer would be so fabulous, but when I accidentally selected express shipping I emailed them and they said they would change it and refund me the difference.  Pretty and polite!  

Police Clear Occupy Movements in Philly, L.A., Could Harvard be Next?

If only.  I support the Occupy Wall Street Movement.  I support the idea that we need to work to increase equality in America.  I believe we need to reinvigorate the American dream.  I believe that American workers have been left behind in favor of moneyed interests.  I want a more progressive taxation system.  I want a focus on social welfare programs and smart job creation (e.g. not the kind that relies on millionaires to create them with their tax breaks).

But Occupy Harvard is just annoying.  Harvard has locked down the entire yard for a line of about six matching tents that someone's daddy probably bought them at REI.  Everyone without a valid Harvard ID has to walk all the way around the yard and it has made my already inconvenient commute to work even worse.

  Photo Credit: Boston.com

The movement is so small and since it's clearly not public it's not getting very much attention outside the ire of local residents.  It's also hard for me to take seriously a couple freshman protesting the 1% from inside their ivory tower.  Let's just say that never since college have I more looked forward to winter break.

Pentatonix Wins the Sing Off

Thankfully for all the remaining groups the votes had all been cast by the time the live finale aired because I don't know if it was excitement or nerves, but everyone was pretty pitchy.

Each of the groups got to sing with one of the judges and I was so excited to see Ben Folds perform.  He's just so nerdy and AWESOME.

Although, like most results shows, it was mostly filler it was still a pretty entertaining episode and in the end my guys won!  The futuristic a capella fivesome will now be recording an album.  Here's one of my favorite performances of the season:

Oh and as a little side note, lead singer Scott of Pentatonix totally reminds me of my days crushing on Ashley Angel of O-Town.  Oh the 90's.

Sunday - Looking forward to Christmas

Stores have us thinking about Christmas as soon as Halloween is over, and after this year's freak snowstorm it almost seemed reasonable.  But the winter holiday season really starts in earnest after Thanksgiving.  I'm so excited to buy my Christmas tree and deck the halls of my new apartment.  On our last day of Thanksgiving break my mom was doing the same thing - hanging garland everywhere the eye could see.  It will be our first Christmas by the shore and the house looks so joyful!

Saturday - Leftovers, Thanksgiving II, and Small Business Saturday

Every year my mom makes a second Thanksgiving dinner, creatively dubbed "Thanksgiving Two."  It's because my mom knows the importance of the thanksgiving leftover.  Whether it's the classic turkey sandwich with stuffing and cranberry sauce, or the inventive "stuffpuppy," Thanksgiving leftovers are as American as, well, Thanksgiving - it's all part of the tradition.

Kristen sent me this idea for the "stuffpuppy," which anyone with an at-home fryer should most definitely try.  It's basically a fried ball of mashed potatoes and stuffing.  I didn't get a chance to put this into action, but it seemed like a worthy enough idea to blog about anyhow.

Saturday was also the answer to Black Friday - small business Saturday.  I obliged by going to the Stonington Farmer's Market to buy blueberry scones and the local coffee shop, The Yellow House, to get a double espresso to sneak into the library for Jake.  The local realtor had a sign in their window that said "Shop Local - Buy a House," but after the coffee and pastries I just didn't have enough pocket change left over.

Friday - Black Friday Deals In the Dark

Midnight openings made it so Black Friday really started on Thursday.  At 11 o'clock, Jake and I lined up outside of Target in a line that wrapped around three sides of the store.  At midnight I was wondering aloud why the line hadn't started to move and the girls in front of me told me that because of some silly Blue Laws, stores in Rhode Island and Massachusetts weren't opening until 1:00am.  I was devastated.  But it felt good to watch the line continue to grow behind us, giving me at least some sense of superiority in exchange for an additional hour spent outside in the cold.

My feet grew quite chilly, but we exchanged Black Friday horror stories and judgments of the teenagers wearing nothing but leggings and sweatshirts with the mom behind us and played along with the Would You Rather game of the three girls in front of us (yes we agree we'd rather have huge ears than a huge nose, but no we don't think choosing electricity over running water is your best bet).

Once we got inside I made a beeline for my new netbook (on which I am currently blogging) at a cool $157 and some other gift items not to be named yet.  Overall, it was a great head start on my Christmas shopping which I am not ashamed to brag is now almost complete!

Despite a long wait in the cold, Black Friday ended beautifully with a perfect golden sunset over the ocean, reminding us all of the truly beautiful things in life (shopping and sunsets, if you were confused.)

Thursday - Thanksgiving Means Pie!

I love to bake and (aside from the stuffing) one of my favorite parts of the Thanksgiving meal is the dessert.  This year I made an apple blackberry pie as well as the classic pumpkin.  I decided to spice them up with with my Nordicware pie crust cutter.

I used the side with the leaves and the apple blackberry pie showcased the negative space and the pumpkin pie used the leftover leaves that were cut out.  

This recipe is courtesy of the Goddess herself, Martha although I admit I used a pre-made pie crust.  

This recipe for pumpkin pie is super easy, and also mostly comes from a box or a can!

Wednesday - Remembering Fall at Rowe

Now the leaves have mostly fallen to the ground, but a few weeks back that wasn't the case.  In October, I went to a conference for work.  I spent three days in the woods learning about fundraising and eating (mostly) no meat.  At first, I was scared (no meat?!?), but Rowe turned out to be this wonderful place full of hippies and happy people where I felt that little piece of me that actually does like nature re-awaken.  So now that we're transitioning from fall into winter, and moving full speed ahead into the holidays, I thought I'd just look back at the beautiful scenery and changing leaves; it seemed like the perfect way to welcome the Thanksgiving holiday!

Thanksgiving Week Review

I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving, is happily full of turkey and stuffing, got some great deals, and is grateful for all the good things in their life.  It was a nice long weekend, but it went by very quickly.  There wasn't time to blog about the holiday as I experienced it so now that it's Cyber Monday and we've all slept off the turkey coma I thought I'd do a review, looking back starting with Wednesday, a.k.a Thanksgiving Eve.  So stay tuned for an avalanche of turkey day posts including lots of cooking, shopping, and good cheer!

Republicans Threaten to Shut Down the Government...Again

The federal government is once again on the brink of a shutdown.  I think most reasonable people agree that anything anyone might ever call a "deal" will include both spending cuts and tax increases.  But Republicans disagree.  They are holding the budget hostage because they refuse to accept any tax increases, in any amount, on any demographic.

Democrats have already agreed to spending cuts.  Now they just want Republicans to agree to allow certain Bush tax cuts to expire.  But Republicans have argued that this will hurt the economy.  They have no evidence of course, since before these tax cuts existed, the economy was actually better than it was now, but that doesn't matter.

They also argue that rich people already pay all the taxes.  Rich people do in fact pay most of the taxes - because they make most of the money.  But as a percentage of income they actually pay less in taxes than the middle class.  Go figure.

Holiday Drinks at Starbucks, Buy One Get One FREE

I love the holidays.  I love a deal.  I don't usually love Starbucks.  But from now through Sunday they've combined two of my favorite things.  Right now, when you buy any holiday drink from 2-5pm, you get the second one for free! 

And really the cups are so cute.  You can get a Peppermint Mocha (or a Skinny Peppermint Mocha for just 2 WeightWatcher PointsPlus!), a Gingerbread Latte, a Caramel Brulee Latte, or an Eggnog Latte. 

So go ahead, DRINK and BE MERRY!

I Ate Pig Brains at The Citizen Public House

Let's just say this first - today's specials include fried pickles with bacon mayo.  They had me at hello fried pickles.  But last night I was not there for the pickles, but rather the pig.  I was at The Citizen Public House and Oyster Bar with the Harvard Law Epicurean Society (if you're tempted, as I was, to roll your eyes at how pretentious that sounds just remind yourself: bacon mayo) for their famous whole pig roast.

  

They served us a 35 pound suckling pig, which was brought out to us whole and then carved.  Admittedly, the night seemed more about the spectacle of the pig (and the flights of whiskey) than anything else (the meat was a bit dry and the skin not quite crispy) but it was a good time nonetheless.  The highlights for me were the one bite of pig jowl that I tasted and the salad with truffle vinaigrette. 

Jake ate pig foot, pig tail, pig eyeball and pig brains.  I thought the eyeball was the bravest part of all.  The waiter said it was like an olive, in that it has a soft outside and you have to spit out the inside 'pit,' i.e. the lens.  Jake said it was the same gelatinous texture of the fat in pork belly, but with a more intense pork flavor. 

I was reluctant, but I tried the pig brains too.  Served right out of the skull, I had a bit of brain smeared onto a crostini with lemon and smoked sea salt.  It tasted like...lemon and sea salt, but creamier.  When I was in Namibia I tried a lot of things just to say that I had done them and while some were thrilling, some I never want to do again.  And although pig brains are no caterpillars, I still don't think I'll be ordering it again anytime soon.

L.A. Burdick: Best Hot Chocolate in Cambridge, Possibly the World

The best hot chocolate in the world can be found in only three locations: Cambridge, MA; New York, NY (big surprise there), and Walpole, NH (big surprise there, this time sans sarcasm).  That's because these are the three places where you can find an L.A. Burdick shop.  Based in Swiss tradition, this choclate shop is famous (in my mind) for three things: 1. exquisite quality, 2. chocolate mice, and 3. hot chocolate. 

1. You will not go wrong with anything you buy at Burdick.  Their tagline is "Bon Goût Ne Peut Mentir," which I'm happy to report I was still able to translate without a dictionary: Good Taste Can't Lie.

2. The mice come from a Swiss tradition of refashioning bonbon leftovers into less expensive and more adorable treats for children.  Nowadays they're just as cute, but not quite as cheap. 

3. The hot chocolate.  Oh the hot chocolate.  Do not be swayed by the line; it is more than worth your time (and considerable cash at about $5 a cup).  They sell it in three sizes, including the diminutive "demi," that is surprisingly satisfying and filling.  It is truly the smoothest, richest, most wonderful hot chocolate you will ever try. 

Attacks on Elizabeth Warren, Intellectualism

It doesn't pay to be smart in politics.  We all saw what happened to Al Gore and John Kerry - don't vote for that guy in the ivory tower, vote for this guy in a cowboy hat who chops wood, he's way more like you.  Ultimately it's insulting to the voter; it says "these people are so smart, they're so different from you," and even more insulting in the assumption that you're too dumb even to realize you're being insulted. 

Here, they make sure to label her "Professor" Elizabeth Warren so you'll know she's a really hoity-toity know it all.  And we all know we need fewer people like that running the country.  I mean, come on, we don't need intellectual theories here, except the intellecutal theory of "trickle down economics" (which is fine because if it has never been proven or had any evidence to back it up then it doesn't count as intellectual).   

Instead we need solutions people.  Solutions!  But not solutions like using a .7% tax surcharge on million dollar incomes to put people to work on infrastructure projects.  No, that's a "radical redistribution of wealth" unlike the deregulation of markets and a shifting tax policy that has led to a 400% growth in the income of the top .1%.  If you want to talk about crime and the radical redistribution of wealth look at Wall Street, not those protesting it. 

Frankly, I'm surprised this ad didn't end with a photoshopped picture of Warren in a Subcomandante Marcos mask.  It just doesn't pay to be smart, and it definitely doesn't pay to be nuanced.  Most people forget that the average Tea Party member is better educated than the average American.  And you know how I know they're so smart?  Becuase they're smart enought to play dumb.

Jurassic Park 4

I usually wouldn't be that interested in anything that goes on at Comic-Con.  Except this year.  Except when it has to do with dinosaurs. When it comes to dinosaurs, I turn into the same nerdy puddle of excitement as the rest of the crowd when they hear something like "Star Trek" or "Battlestar Gallactica." 

This year, Steven Spielberg announced that he has a writer and a storyline for Jurassic Park 4.  Hallelujah!  Because we all know Terra Nova kind of sucks.  I wrote about it a couple weeks ago and then the New York Times confirmed my feelings when Mike Hale wrote "We've seen it and it's issues before.  It's also so predictable that you might want to fast forward through the domestic-drama scenes [...] stopping whenever you see something that looks like action or a dinosaur."  I do so love it when my opinions are validated by the New York Times. 

One of my favorite scenes from the earlier movies

So now I just have to sit patiently and wait two or three years while they make this new masterpiece, hoping and praying they get Jeff Goldblum on board (it's rumored he already is).  Saldy, YouTube offers no solace as I wait eagerly for any new scrap of information.  You can certainly search "Jurassic Park 4 Trailer" and get a bunch of hits, but be prepared for disappointment.  They are not real!  Who would tease a poor, (highly gullible) dinosaur-loving girl like that? 

I guess it just goes to show there are other fans out there so excited for a piece (or a bite) of the action, they are willing to make it up themselves.  There are also a bunch of fan-created movie posters out there too.  I'll see you in line in two years dinosaur nerds!

Honk! Festival of Activist Street Bands

Honk! is a festival that takes place every year in Davis Square, full of music, activism and general happy weirdness.  Bands from all over the country come to play one hours sets in locations around Davis and then do a march from Davis Square to Harvard Square.  We got a preview when Jake and I stumbled upon one of the bands on a Friday night out (see: A Little Night Music), and we just had to come back for more.  

The people at this festival - families, hippies, musicians, music lovers, old couples, activists, and weirdos of all sorts - had one thing in common: they really knew what was important in life.  There was music and dancing and just a generally joyful atmosphere.  It was a great reminder to live in the moment, have passion for life, and just smile.

Congressional Republicans Hate Jobs, Love Millionaires

Republicans have been shouting "class warfare" for some time now and to be honest, I was mostly wishing it would be true.  I wish we would rise up and say, THIS JUST ISN'T FAIR.  Inequality in the United States has gotten out of control and the decisions we make about taxes, banks, and debt are not just finanical decisions, but also moral ones. 

A worker with a college education is less likely to have employer health insurance today than a worker with a high school education was in 1979.  Between 1979 and 2005 the top .1% of Americans saw their incomes grow 400%.

And even though we now have Occupy Wall Street, the truth is that class warfare isn't coming from below - it's coming from above.  It's coming from millionaires and billionaires and their Republican allies in Congress who are fighting tooth and nail to hold on to their bags and bags of money.  And don't for a second believe they're going to back down anytime soon. 

Every single Republican candidate for President said they would have rejected a debt deal that included $10 in spending cuts for every $1 in tax increases.  Not a single Republican was willing to break a filibuster on an infrastructure spending bill that would be paid in full by a .7% tax surcharge on incomes over $1,000,000. 

The result?  A reduced credit rating.  No new roads.  No new jobs.  Gobs and gobs of money for the top 1%. 

You want to talk about partisanship in government?  Democrats are tripping over themselves to compromise away all the things their base cares about, while Republicans will die fighting a one cent tax increase.  I want to pull my hair out just thinking about it. 

And the worst part is that after killing every job creation idea that comes across the table, Republicans will cry about how Obama hasn't fixed the economy come election time.  I am here to tell you do not believe the lies.

Return of the Coupons!

I've blogged about couponing before.  I was inspired by the TLC show "Extreme Couponing" and since then I've tried to gather my own collection of coupons, organized into my coupon accordion file.  My categories are not that scientific, things like: food I always buy (Yoplait yogurt), food I rarely buy but might want at some point (Pillsbury biscuits), and non-food products (Crest toothpaste).  

I've been lucky to boost my stock because Jake's aunt sent us a manilla envelope filled with newspaper coupon inserts.  Jake had a great time watching me clip the coupons, laughing every time I got excited over a really good Cheerios or Pantene coupon.  What can I say, I love to save!

These are the kinds of receipts that I love to see.  36% savings is one of my best showings.  Granted, it was a small shopping trip, which mostly consisted of SmartOnes entrees that were buy three get three free, but still.  Since I've gotten my coupon stock up to snuff, I've saved $25.85 in my last four trips to the grocery store.  Success! 

Sandrine's Bistro Groupon - Get 'Em While They're Hot

Hey Boston buddies, those in surrounding areas and anyone thinking they might visit and have a bite to eat - you should check out today's Groupon for $40 worth of food at Sandrine's for only $20.

I blogged about them before in "Sandrines: A Gem in Harvard Square and a Throwback to French Class" and I was very impressed with their tasty Alsacian food and wonderful service.  If you're looking for the perfect date, place to take your parents when you know they'll pay, or swanky girls' night out I highly recommend picking up this Groupon because as you all know, if there's two things I love (and can therefore be counted on to give a great recommendation for) it's good food and a good deal.