Miss Manners

I have a semi-secret obsession with advice columns. I eagerly anticipate Dear Prudence over at Slate each Thursday. Etiquette columns, in particular, have a special place in my heart.The Social Q's column is in the New York Times Style section most Fridays (but not this Friday, unfortunately), and it's a fun one with some plucky attitude.

Today I think I found a new favorite, dedicated to dining and entertaining, with the majority of the questions focused on proper manners. I read several months' worth of columns this morning. (Is it weird that I find this so exciting?)


The columnist, Florence Fabricant (who goes by FloFab!), gives tasteful but not stuffy advice and is both charming and sharp witted. I particularly enjoyed her advice to a young lady who lamented that her boyfriend shoveled food into his mouth at lightning speed, finishing full courses in under 3 minutes. "How, oh how, do I get the boy to savor the flavor and wait a few seconds between bites?"  FloFab's response: "Try asking questions, or being a wittier conversationalist."


Have a polite weekend! And wish Brian and me luck as we move into our new place!


(Photo of a great poster by Roll and Tumble via Pinterest)

MIA...and Sausages

So I've been missing in action recently, going a little crazy with work, moving and lots of fun activities with friends.

One of the fun times we've had was a fantastic night celebrating Brian's sister's birthday at DBGB, or as I've been referring to it, "The Sausage Place."

We were lucky enough to sit at the kitchen table, a private little room tucked behind the kitchen, just big enough for our group of twenty.

The beverage selection was off the hook. They had a great selection of micro brews, and our waitress was knowledgeable and full of good suggestions. Their cocktail menu was also great - I fell in love with the DB Tea, a sweet tea drink spiked with an infused vodka. I thought it was the perfect refreshing compliment to what would be a rather heavy meal.

There was a prix fixe menu. Brian and I shared our starters - he had the beef carpaccio and I had the grilled squid. Both were great, but I have to say, the carpaccio was probably the best I've had. Our main dishes were more surf and turf fare - he had a pork loin and I had salmon in mustard sauce. Again, YUM! Then, the piece de resistance, a sausage tasting course!!!  There were so many delicious options, sweet, spicy, mild and savory.

The delicious meal was topped off with a chocolate caramel sundae. Little chunks of brownie, tiny homemade marshmallows, crunchy bits of toffee all smothered in caramel and rich whipped cream. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it!

I will definitely be back, though probably not for such a gluttonous smorgasbord. Maybe just for some cocktails and sausages :)

(Photos via Romancing the Scone)

Is it Snow-pacalypse 2?

Have a wonderful weekend! I'll be hunkering down in my apartment for another mini-blizzard in NYC.

(Photo via Pinterest)

Maybe this calls for some cold weather comfort food... Chili would be a great way to break in my new Le Ceuset!

NYE Party Post Mortem

Last week Brian and I threw our first New Year's Eve party and our last get together before we make the move to Brooklyn later this month.

I spent a lot of time preparing! While visiting my family in upstate New York over Christmas, I passed several quiet evenings watching BBC with my Grandma and crafting this polka-dot garland:

After I got home from upstate, I did some additional decorating, finally hanging some white lights and putting up some holiday-type sparkly trinkets.

Our menu consisted of light fare, keeping in mind that even though it would be late, people would need something to counteract the cocktails we would be drinking. I made and bought a few sweet and a few savory dishes:

• Baked brie with blackberry jam in puff pastry (here is a variation on the recipe)
• Sweet and spicy mini popcorn balls (inspired by these)
• Shrimp cocktail
• Salted nuts and olives
• Trader Joe's pastry with feta and caramelized onions 

Beverages included vodka based mixed drinks with pear nectar and seltzer, Stella Artois and, of course, Champagne!

I found a great New Year's Eve themed party pack at Party City near Union Square in Manhattan. The kit included party horns, cute napkins, and an assortment of fun appetizer skewers and picks - I used some of the frilliest picks in the mini popcorn balls.

Our party was an intimate affair, with five guests plus Brian and me. Before midnight, we listened to Brian's fantastic playlist that he uploaded to our new PS3. And after the ball dropped, we sang karaoke and finished off our great many bottles of Champagne.

I found my party dress on clearance at Ann Taylor for only $29!! My short pearl necklace was a Christmas gift, the long beaded necklace is from H&M, and the bracelets are from Banana Republic. My friend's sequin covered tank is from Express.

I had a fantastic time at our party, and it gave me lots of confidence to throw more in the future (House Warming, anyone!?)  Thank you to our friends, old and new, who attended and made our evening so special!

Fancy meeting you here!

One of my favorite bloggers, Erin Jang, recently went to work for one of my favorite publications, Martha Stewart Living.

Over the holiday, I picked up the most recent issue to find some stories that she had gorgeously designed:

Yay!

(Photos by Eric Wolfinger via The Indigo Bunting)

This Little Piggy...

A few weeks ago, my friend Lauren and I signed up for a pork CSA through The Piggery, an Ithaca, NY based farm.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the acronym, "CSA" stands for Community Supported Agriculture. CSA's take many forms, but generally a CSA is an agreement between you and your local farmer. You might make a pledge to buy a certain amount, pay in advance, or even agree to get your hands grubby doing some work in the dirt. In return, the farmer will hook you up with some fruits, veggies, meat or dairy goods that they produce.

For this particular CSA, we paid $240 up front, and each week for 2 months we get to go to a local (Manhattan) bar and pick up a box full of fresh pork goodies!

Does a box of pork every week sound like a lot to you? It sure sounded like a lot to us! We both live with just our significant others, and a whole box seemed like pork-overload for a 2 person household. So we are splitting our share - we'll get a box every other week. Perfection!

(Photos from The Piggery)

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday! My weekend was full of good friends and good times. I'll share them with you over the week.

Do you have any goals or aspirations this year?

I have a few! One of the smaller ones is to finally (fiiiiiiinally) read the Harry Potter books. One of the bigger ones is international travel!

(Photo by Mike + Doug Starn)