Follow Up

Back in November, I did a brief post on podcasts. Serial was all the rage, and I took the opportunity to point out another podcast I've been fond of for a while, WTF with Marc Maron. Specifically, along with the Robin Williams episode, I shouted out the Louis CK episode. Well, as it turns out, I'm either a way more influential blogger than I thought, or I have my finger right on the pulse of what's good and what's really good. This past week, Slate voted the Louis CK episode of WTF the #1 best podcast ever. 

When I first posted about it November, the episode had aged out of the free-to-listen category, and into the you're-gonna-have-to-pay-for-premium category. However, with the recent accolade, Maron re-released the originally double episode as a single episode now streaming on his site. If you're interested, listen now, as I have no idea how long it will be available. 

Tidbits

This post may be a bit nerdy, you've been warned. I feel like it's all the little tidbits that we find in things that interest me the most; a reference in a movie, an homage in a book, and in this case, a song at the end of TV show. Stephen Colbert ended the run of his Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report, this week. I didn't watch it live, I caught the rerun the next day, excited at getting to see the massive celebrity-politico ensemble singing the host off the air. But, after that, at the very end, I was pleasantly surprised by one of those little tidbits I enjoy so much; someone chose to run the credits of the show--the part no one really pays attention to--accompanying the song Holland, 1945 by Neutral Milk Hotel:

This song is among my top 10 list, and the band was one of those bands that made it onto every iPod playlist I made while in college. At first listen, it sounds like just your average, slightly weird, garage rock song...nothing too special. But after a while it sticks with you, the lyrics are haunting, the delivery is intense and spiraling.

The song is about dreams that the singer songwriter had about Anne Frank after visiting the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam (hence the title). My thoughts around Colbert's use of the songs went as follows:

"Oh, he has some hipster on his staff who chose the song."

"Or maybe, as the song is largely about death and life thereafter, he's communicating some message about the end of his show?"

"Or, maybe he's making some commentary about violence and politics in the hectic world we live in?"

While all of these might have some truth to them, I found this article on this event on UPROXX.

Cats of Christmas Cards Past

As a follow-up to this post, here's a look back at all the Ziggy cards we've sent out over the years:

2010

2011

2012

2013

 Bonus: early brainstorm idea for the 2014 card:

What could have been...

Mindfulness

 

Those that know me well know that I have a deep affection for 60 Minutes and never miss an episode. For a journalism major I really don't read as much hard news as I should, preferring to get most of my celebrity smut daily updates from E News and people.com. My one exception has been 60 Minutes, which is actually a very engaging and informative program. Every episode has three stories, ranging from wars around the world updates to here's a cute animal that we got really close to. Amazing!

This past Sunday, they featured a story about Mindfulness, which means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment. Essentially just being present in the moment and not thinking about other things or spending time on your iPad. While I don't know if I'm into the whole meditating side of it, I would really like to be more present in my every day life. This could be as simple as just enjoying a beautiful sunset and not instagramming it. Try it with me this holiday break!

Happy Holidays

It's everyone's favorite time of the year: parties, presents, food, fun, holiday cheer, and of course holiday cards from all of your family members and friends. A few years ago, after receiving a few happy couple and baby centered holiday cards, Grey and I decided to join the club with our favorite family member: Ziggy the cat. So we wrapped the cat up in wrapping paper and sent around the picture to all of our family members and friends, wishing them a lovely holiday season. It started out as a semi-joke, but has since turned into a family tradition that we look forward to every year. The hard part has been coming up with a new concept every year and getting Ziggy to actively take part in them. Props to all of the professional cat actors out there, our cat really struggles to do what he's told. Above is this year's card and below is a few outtakes of what we had to get through to get this point. Enjoy!

Get It

Today is Friday, and the weekly Wooster Square Farmers Market is tomorrow at 9:00am. It is one of the best such markets in the city, and I'm not only saying that because I live right next door.

The setup.

Aside from the typical 9 stands of someone selling leafy greens, the market usually has some stands selling instant enjoyables like smoothies, coffee, crepes, hand pies, and myriad sweets like pastries, or, the real reason I'm talking about this right now: fresh-made doughnuts.

Every other week, or so, (if you're lucky) you'll approach the market and instantly detect the heavenly aroma of sugary and fried wafting through that late-fall air. About halfway down the line up, you'll find your hopes and dreams have come true (again, if you're lucky) when you spot the obnoxiously pink tent belonging to Sweet Madeline's, a doughnut maker from Glastonbury, CT. As you get closer, the smell becomes intoxicating and, drunk on it, you'll see the source. A magical machine pumping out fresh-fried rings of orgasm in two varieties; classic sugared, and apple cider cake.

Deus Ex Machina: literally, God comes from this machine.

For $5 you can two of each, and share them with a loved one, or at least someone who is sure to love you once they bite into what you've just handed them.

Yeah, sugar that. Pardon my thumb, I was excited.

As I've hinted, the Sweet Madeline's stand has proven pretty elusive at the Wooster Square Market. I've told friends about it, only to have them show up to a doughnut-less event. My best estimation is that they show up every other week. Coming all the way down from Glastonbury, I guess that's understandable...I guess. Either way, come on by the market tomorrow to enjoy the crisp air in a fun neighborhood. It's getting late in the year, and the market won't be around much longer!

These existed just long enough to take this one photo.

Work It Out

Winter is hard, for all of the obvious reasons (insert snow, ice, and arctic chill here), but it's also extremely difficult to stay motivated and work out as much as you do in the warmer seasons. Working out outside is nearly impossible due to the cold and it gets dark before most of us are even out of work, which is a total mood killer. Plus, there's always a ton of holiday-esque parties and excuses to eat/drink way more then you should. For all of these reasons I have been trying to come up with ways to motivate myself to work out more and stay fit. Here are a few of my ideas and tips:

1. Buy cute work-out wear: I don't know about you, but when I have a new, cute outfit to wear, it totally motivates me to head to the gym to show it off. With all of the holiday sales going on, now is the time to stock up and show everyone how good you look.

2. Competition: The will to win and show up a friend or co-worker is a great motivator to work out harder and with greater frequency. My husband and I are currently competing in push-ups every day, but I'm also semi-addicted to the continuous step competition I have with all my fitbit friends.(Sidenote: Do you have a fitbit? Add me!)

3. Grab a Friend: When not trying to take down a friend competitively, it's always helpful to have someone hold you accountable and force you to go to the gym, even when you'd rather stay home and binge watch Kardashians. A few of my friends have even formed a WON (work out night) where we go to a different work out class every month together. Last month we did ballet-barre pilates and this month we are doing spinning!

4. Go for a walk: It's definitely too cold to go for a long run, but going for a brisk 10-15 minute walk after lunch at work or after dinner is a great way to get in some extra steps, while digesting your meal. Besides, it will keep you from drying out too much in the heat all day!

What do you do to stay fit in the colder months?

Normcore and Other Ridiculous Words

For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past year, or just those of you who have lives and don't troll the internet, Oxford has just announced a list of words that they are adding to the English Dictionary. While I love that the word of the year is vape (what a silly word, especially when used as an adjective--aka a "Vape Space" for those cruising Chapel Street), I'm a little surprised that normcore didn't take the top spot!

Normcore is a fashion movement that has swept 2014, and is defined as: ordinary, unfashionable clothing worn as a deliberate statement. I'm not sure how just wearing normal, plain clothes became fashionable, but those who could care less about being on trend should rejoice.

Now that I am officially thirty, it seems like the perfect time to embrace this trend. I have cast aside my normal footwear of choice the Converse Chuck Taylors and am now sporting the Nike Internationalist. Comfortable, functional, and stylishly unstylish.

Is Anyone Else Addicted to Serial?

You may have heard of Serial, the podcast by Sarah Koenig, created by the people from This American Life. It re-examines, one weekly episode at a time, a seemingly open and shut murder case from 1999. I'd seen a blurb about it on one of the many websites I waste my life on, but didn't really give it a listen until the production was about six episodes in. From there, I was hooked. It's buzzing around right now, as many have found themselves hooked. I would say, "if you're into podcasts, check it out," but I think it'd be better to say, "if you're not into podcasts, check it out," because that's pretty much me.

Aside from this latest foray into podcast territory, I haven't done a ton of exploration into the medium. A few years ago, I got pretty dedicated to WTF hosted by Marc Maron; a podcast with two distinct descriptions, one short/intended, and one long/unintended. The short write up on this one is that an aged stand up comedian of minor celebrity (Maron) talks to fellow show-business folk in his garage each week for an impromtu interview. The long story/unintended consequence is that a recovering alcoholic who has burned just about every bridge he ever had in show business starts a low-budget podcast in his garage and goes from talking with friends/fellow stand up comedians about life, to talking with major celebrities each week, to reviving his name/career, to becoming a required stop on the promotional circuit (Rivers Cuomo, Anna Kendrick, Claire Daines, etc.). Presently, Maron continues his podcast alongside his other ventures, including a TV show on IFC. If you want to check this one out, you can probably fast forward the first 9 minutes, which is basically just the host ranting...unless you're into that sort of thing. After the passing of Robin Williams, he re-posted his episode featuring Williams...I highly recommend that, or the Louis CK episode, or his keynote address from the Montreal Comedy Festival a few years back.

Ode To: Office Tchotchkes

I've had a bunch of jobs, a bunch of desks, with a bunch of stuff on all of them. Most of it is work-related miscellany; files splayed, papers strewn, a calculator collecting dust, the odd ruler. But, if you dig a little deeper into the desk junk, you begin to see something more personal take shape. This image has been crafted carefully out of junk, mostly found, that I have collected over the years of jobs and desks and stuffs; it is like a museum of my work existence.

Currently where it all happens.

Everyone has your run-of-the-mill framed photo of a loved one, perhaps a college degree, or a service award pinned up right above that funny Dilbert comic you cut out six years ago. Here, I'm talking about the truly random; the things that someone walking into your office might spot and ask, "Why do you even have that?" I'm going to go out on a limb, here, and say that, while my collection might contain some more unique items, I'm not alone in possessing all this junk. Here's an overview of the exhibits:

Fire Safety Sign

This hung in a building I used to work in. The building dated back to the early 80s and, in case you couldn't tell by its zaniness in the face of imminent danger, so does the sign. The building has since been torn down. I built that nifty frame out of cut up cardboard, and the whole piece has followed me to three jobs now.

Oh safety, you so silly.

Star Wars Stuff

What guy's office is complete is out some reference to the Star Wars Universe? I have two. The first is the original Rancor action figure, purchased by my father following the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983 (before I was even born). If he'd kept it in the package, it'd probably be worth something today, but he didn't. He let his then-4 year old son open it up and play with it, followed by his second  son (me) once I was old enough to break objects. Then, it sat on display in our home office for 20 years, until I finally scooped it up and put it on my credenza so that I can snottily correct co-workers who come in and refer to it as "monster."  My second bit of Star Wars apparel is this Han Solo knick knack that a friend found and gave me. I don't even know what it is. It feels like a beer coozy, but is too small. It has an odd rubber thing on the back that may or may not be a suction cup that sticks to absolutely nothing. This thing sits on my window sill; Han pointing his blaster at me.

Of course, Han shot first.

Tiny Dog

I found this tiny dog on a stone wall one day when I was out for a walk. I liked it. I adopted it. For a while, I thought I'd start a photo project where I'd take it places and photograph it. That hasn't happened. I'm realizing now that I haven't given it a name, so, I shall name it: Dobbins.

Lil Dobbins: best dog I ever had.

Beer Can Pen Pail

An un-topped can that I stole from Union Craft Brewery in Baltimore, MD. Great beer, if you get a chance to hit up the brewery, I recommend spending several hours at the bar sucking these Duckpin Pale Ales down. I used it as a water cup for a while, until it started jagging my lip up on that metal edge. Now it holds two pens and a highlighter I've never used.

Various Photos of Strangers

I worked in a university library for a long, long time. Handling books every day, you tend to find some interesting stuff falling out from between the pages. I used to have much more of these photos, but I've shed some with each annual desk cleaning. I'm not sure why I've clung to these specific photos, they are each interesting to me in different ways.

1. College bro/nerd with football. You can see on the top that someone loved this lovable hunk enough to tape this up somewhere. Good for him.

college bro circa ???

2. 80s Wedding: I WILL NEVER THROW THIS AWAY THIS IS GOLD.

Sweet Madonna gloves.

3. Marathon Man: I couldn't get a decent close up of this photo. The look on the guy's face is hysterical. I've never been able to place the location, but it smacks of somewhere up on Prospect Hill. Judging by the cars and the guy's 'stache, it's late 70s/early 80s.

4. Sleepy Gal Pals. So many questions about these two. Who took this photo? Why did they keep this one? Was it a long night of partying, or a lengthy session of debating the merits of Foucault? Where are they now? Are they still friends? Dare I say, lovers?

There is a bit more, sure, but I don't want to keep you here all day poring over my junk. What kinds of crap do you have laying around your workspace?

Saugerties, NY

While I love living in New Haven, sometimes you just need to get away from it all. There's the obvious choices: NYC, Boston, Providence, but I lately I've even been feeling sick of these places. I wanted to see and experience something new and shake up my fall doldrums. Whenever I'm bored at work and looking to escape I like to look at Jetsetter to see all of the wonderful places in the world that I should be visiting. So it is thanks to Jetsetter for giving me the idea to head to upstate New York for a little weekend getaway to Saugerties, NY. Some times all you need is 24 hours of beautiful fall foliage, wine, good food, and beautiful landscapes to refresh you after a long work week.

Here is a glimpse into our weekend and the fun things that we did.
 
Wine Tasting at Benmarl Winery (one of the oldest wineries in the US):

 

We stayed at Diamond Mills Hotel in Saugerties, where every room has a balcony overlooking this beautiful waterfall:

 

Took a short hike to the Saugerties Lighthouse, which also doubles as a small Bed and Breakfast with only two rooms. How cool would it be to stay there?

Had an amazing dinner at Miss Lucy's in the evening and a tasty breakfast at Love Bites in the morning:

Overall it was a great trip and I only wish that we had a few more days to spend exploring the area!

Sweater Weather

I have a sweater obsession that after reviewing my winter clothes recently, I now realize has gotten out of control. I am obsessed with the Jcrew Tippi Sweater, which is basically a simple sweater with a crew neck. And I love it. There, I said it.

It started out innocently enough with just the basic colors (completely a necessity!), navy and sandstone and has since evolved into I own every color and wear one to work every day. I have tried to mix in other types of sweaters: turtlenecks, cardigans, your classic cable knit, and nothing else compares. Am I the only person who finds turtlenecks to be the worst piece of clothing ever created? They are so constraining!

I urge everyone to start stocking up on this crew neck classic now. Perfect for layering throughout the next few months and generally looking like a put together style maven (at least in my own head).

Halloween!

Having been together a long time, my wife and I have shared nearly a decade's worth of Halloweens...which means Halloween parties, of course...which means couples costumes. I know that the schmaltziness behind the idea of a couples costume is barf-inducing to some, but I like to think we've done a tasteful job. We certainly haven't been as offensive as these people:

HAPPY HALLOWEE...Nope.

While the venues over the years have changed--college parties to bar parties, bar parties to house parties, house parties back to bar parties--the idea still remains very much the same; get dressed up, commit to your costume, go out and get tanked together. Here's a look back:

Our first Halloween party together: Rednecks

I really committed to this character, and I wore that wolf shirt for like the next 2 years.

Year two: Bees

Not my favorite, but that's probably because I didn't really commit. You have to MEAN it!

Early post-college party: Rednecks...again.

New friends means a re-do is acceptable, right?

NHV Zombie bar crawl: 

This photo is from early in the night, somewhere there are photos from the end of the night and they are way more ridiculous

Look at the love in those dead eyes.

Prize winner: Margot and Richie Tenenbaum

Total hipster costume, you know, before it was cool.

80s Prom dates:

I think this one she really got into.

Last year:  LRRH & the BBW (Big Bad Wolf, not that OTHER "bbw"...dirty birds)

We threw the 1st Annual Squirrel/Liffey's Halloween Party and it was a blast. A ton of people, lots of great costumes, loads of drunken debauchery. If you're interested in a good time this Halloween, get tickets for the party this Friday!

Sadly, we were one of three couples who showed up with this idea...still good though.

Stay tuned to see what we come up with this year...

Autumn in NYC

To celebrate me and my best friend turning thirty we planned a girls only trip to NYC with our other best friend for this past weekend. Living so close to NYC I think I take for granted how amazing it is. Although we were only there for 24 hours, it's safe to say that we definitely lived it up. Here is everything that we did:

Window shopped as we walked down 5th avenue. Stopped at The Plaza to partake in their swanky Champagne Bar:

Walked around Central Park, taking in the beautiful views:

After dinner at Pierre Loti in Midtown, headed to The Kimberly to have drinks on their rooftop:

 

Randomly decided to head to a club in the Meatpacking District:

Laughed and laughed all night:

What are your favorite things to do in NYC?