Happy Halloween!!

Hope it's spook-tacular!


Halloween, Norwalk, Connecticut -- 1987. Guess which one is me.

Untitled, originally uploaded by La Pauline.

Fats Waller On A Snowy Saturday

When Spotify first came to the States a few months ago, everyone was saying that it would put Pandora out of business. I say nay. Spotify is great when you want to find that one song that you love -- or just want to listen to your fave Christmas tunes.

Pandora is internet radio, perfect for when you have a mundane chore to do, like cleaning out a closet. You put it on and it picks the hits for you, as well as a few surprises.

Today's surprise on Pandora was this Fats Waller song, Shame Shame. This recording is from 1938

Who Sent This Book To Me?

It just showed up at my door and the Amazon gift receipt says it's a gift from Pauline Millard. I didn't send it to myself, so....who's my secret admirer?

If, however, anyone would like to send me more anonymous gifts, I should mention that I collect Baccarat necklaces.

Radioactive Wolves

If, like me, you're not into Sunday night football, I highly recommend nerding it up and checking out PBS.

This past Sunday they ran their documentary Radioactive Wolves, which looks at how, among other animals, wolves are thriving in the post-Chernobyl blast zone.

You can watch the full episode here. Even more intriguing is the footage of the abandoned towns around the reactor. They are frozen in a Soviet time capsule. This clip was my favorite:

Watch Unintentional Green City on PBS. See more from Nature.

Apps For Autism

There have been a lot of segments post-Steve Jobs about the good that his products have done. I'm no hard core Apple nerd (I'm a PC gal all the way) but this piece about Apps For Autism is amazing. You must watch it.

App For Autism
Via 60 Minutes

How Was Your Saturday Morning?

By 8:30 a.m. I cleared a 10K race in Prospect Park in under an hour. Gorgeous day, and a fantastic -- albeit hilly -- course.

Tomorrow morning, you should get the lead out, too. :-)

New York Junior League Fall Fete -- November 18th

Even though I'm not on the committee for the fall auction anymore, I still think it's one of the best events of the year. This year it's on Friday, November 18th at The Hudson Terrace. Be there or be square.

You can purchase tickets online here.

Two Of A Kind

Two of a kind, originally uploaded by La Pauline.

This was just sent my way. It's not new, but it's funny.

Andre At The Central Park Zoo

Andre at the Central Park Zoo, originally uploaded by thomasr9.

I'm off in Philly for a few days of training for work. Seems like Tom and Andre are entertaining themselves.

Hatchetation

Last week PBS showed one of its best Ken Burns' documentary, Prohibition. There are lots of great parts to it, and below is one of my favorites about Carrie Nation, a woman who -- quite literally -- took the idea of enforcing prohibition into her own hands. With a hatchet.

Watch the full episode. See more Ken Burns.

Saturday Steals & Deals!

Not only was the weather perfect today, but the bargain gods smiled upon me.

Anyone who knows me knows I love a good deal. I was never big on renting apartments in the West Village because I think everything over there is overpriced. (Not hating, just sayin'...) I belong to a $20 a month gym. (A treadmill's a treadmill, kid.) One of these days I will find the nail joint that is both inexpensive and has an ample selection of OPI colors.

Clothes are a big area where I'm always looking for a steal. Filene's in Union Square is my go to place for anything. Cocktail dresses, new bras, even sunglasses. I go there first and they almost never let me down.

DSW, the Designer Shoe Warehouse, is in the same building and I almost always make a pit stop in there as well. It's easy to blow a lot of money at DSW, so I have a policy: I buy one fun pair of shoes and one sensible pair and that's it. I also only buy from their sale rack because there's always a great selection and it's all at least 30% off, if not more.

Today I scored two fall dresses for work. Each of these were $30 and they fit fantastic.


If you are not already familiar with the Cosmetic Market on 37th Street and Madison Avenue, then you need to get there, pronto. It's a giant store of discounted, brand name cosmetics and bath products that aren't a hundred years old. They also have accessories and home goods. The place is a girl's dream.

Today, among other things, I got this jewelry box for $13. It's about seven inches tall and just as wide. Great find. (And now I can find all my little earrings and necklaces that I leave all over the house.)


On the way home I stopped into Walgreen's and found these little guys: Nice Brand sodas, full size, four for 99 cents! Great for mixers.


Finally, the best deal of the day. While walking down Third Avenue this evening en route to getting a latte, I stopped in the thrift store on East 29th Street. This number was literally on the last spot on the last rack in the back of the store: a mink trimmed, lined jacket. It's very 1962 Mad Men era and I love it. $20!!

There was a woman at the register who asked where I found it. When I told her in the back she sucked her teeth and said, "I always miss the good stuff."

"That's real mink!" I said, and pointed to the fur trim. She gave me the skunk eye.



When I got home, my Birchbox was waiting for me. Best. Day. Ever.

My Meatloaf Brings All The Boys To The Yard

I was back in the kitchen today, experimenting with what happens when you put meat in a muffin tin and bake it. The result was a success: meatloaf muffins. Perfect, bite sized servings of meat. I've been calling them meat bombs.

I made mine with ground turkey and topped with low fat sour cream. I garnished with real bacon bits. (Yes, meat as condiment. It can be done.) I filled it with red peppers, onions and skim, shredded mozarella cheese. Turkey dries out, so don't bake it for more than 45 minutes. I used this recipe as a vague guide. The beauty of meatloaf is that there is no hard and fast recipe for it, you just can't let it dry out. You can really put anything into it. I've added salsa in the past for a little extra kick and moisture.