Green Tea from Harney & Sons. In a fit of rebellion against the prices at Teavana, I went in search of some other delicious, more fairly priced loose teas. I’m sort of snobby about green tea (spoiled by Japanese grandmother) but this is pretty good stuff. The smell is delicious and it’s very smooth. Plus the packaging is great. I also picked up the Blue Lavender tea and the Yerba Mate (Argentinean caffeinated herbal drink), which I’ve started using to replace a morning coffee.

***

Google Reader

I’m big on blogs these days. I can read them on my phone now (and through the gorgeous Flipboard Ap, it’s easy) and I feel much more updated on what’s going on in the world. Plus I can make it topic specific and it keeps me up on art, music, politics. There are a lot of great apps from Google but I think the Reader is my favorite. Recently found NPR’s food blog, The Salt through a friend’s Google + feed. Added!

***

Gossip Girl

I’m coming out– I watch Gossip Girl. Usually with Caitlin. But Spencer has also become a fan, so I don’t feel so bad. It draws you in, man. I’m particularly fond of Leighton Meester, lately. I used to think she was pretty terrible but as I watch the show, I realize she’s probably the best young actor on the show (I’m a huge fan of Kelly Rutherford, so she takes overall). This season has been insane. I’m really over this whole Monaco thing. Can they all have a terrible accident or get blackmailed so we can get back to Chuck-Blair happily ever after? And all you Dair fans out there: Stop trying to make Dair happen. Much like “fetch”,  it’s not gonna happen!

***

Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Soap

Spence and I are huge fans of this. The Peppermint is brisk and refreshing and after a shower I feel tingly and happy. Plus the label is ridiculous and fun to read while you’re waiting for your conditioner to sink in. I got it from Trader Joe’s for $10 in maybe the beginning of  November and we’re only about half way through the bottle with both of us using it almost every day. It’s got a long life and a little goes a long way. Going to try the lavender infused kind next.

***

Brussel Sprouts

Hugely obsessed with brussel sprouts lately. They’re great for you and there’s a million ways to cook them! My favorite lately is pan roasted in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, seasoned with a teaspoon of paprika and cumin and a shake of cayenne pepper. Maple syrup and cardamum works really well too. And onions with salt and pepper. Tiny green brains of deliciousness.

***

La Sera

I found her new track “Please Be My Third Eye” on Sterogum last week and really liked it. I gave this album a listen briefly this morning. Katy Goodman usually plays for the Vivian Girls, who I kind of like, actually, and her floaty retro music works really well for me on cold days, even though I’m sure it’s better beach music. Anyway, if you get a chance, give it a listen. Spotify also has a track of hers now on here, a cover of the Mama’s and the Papa’s “Dedicated to the One I Love”. I like her voice but I usually dig that 1960′s girl group thing.

**

And that’s that. Kind of a busy week. Finally getting a hair trim tomorrow, from my lovely friend Rochelle. Save yr Soul dance party at the Lithuanian Town Hall Assn on Friday so I am very psyched for that. If you’re about, come out!

h

]]> http://hannahey.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/no-153-the-good-stuff-2/feed/ 0 hannahey genmaicha reader gg bronner sprouts sera http://hannahey.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/no-152-blog-finds-2/ http://hannahey.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/no-152-blog-finds-2/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:01:36 +0000 HannaH B http://hannahey.wordpress.com/?p=870 ]]> I don’t spend a massive amount of time on Flickr but I do troll ~80 blogs, so I’ve decided to do images from them instead.
Each will be sourced. Enjoy the eye candy.

Jamie from Julia's Poppies - Wardrobe Wednesdays

From This is Colossal - Rainbow of Food

Street art by Pavel Puhov

Birth in Futureverse- David Benjamin Sherry

Fireworks by Ktinka

the bag. a Christmas gift from the wonderful Jenny Morgan. it’s got amazing pockets, a great lining and straps that I can’t possibly bust. it’s the perfect size to fit all the crap i carry without being uber-mondo.

kindle. always carrying it around now. great for waiting rooms and reference.
what is a healthy church member. i talked about this a couple posts ago. it’s great. also, very light.
moleskine journal. i love the red ones. in this i keep lists, dates, thoughts, story notes.

i don’t go anywhere w/out these things.
sunglasses. i love my raybans, a birthday gift from my dad. and since i hate smudgy glasses, always a cleaning cloth.
orbit. i’ve always been a big gum chewer. i love the orbit taste and duration. plus the packaging design is cute.
wallet. vintage from Yesterday’s Rose in FFX. not even going to bother you with all the crap that’s in it.
headphones. urbanears, Plattan, in Mocha. Clare Rich & I highly recommend these & they come with an in-line mic & audio control.
ipod. i have way too much music to keep on my phone so i tote this everywhere. gotta have my full discog of the Mamas & the Papas!

iphone. i love this stupid thing. and it’s massively useful for research and communication. also, gorgeous.
notepad. featuring British propaganda. gift from husby. grocery lists, notes, bright ideas, phone numbers.
novel. lately i’ve been carrying around chapters from my novel so i can edit when i get free time. know what’s harder than writing a novel?
second drafting a novel.

tide pen. Kendall P and I have strong feelings about our Tide Pens. I have one in my car, one in my purse and one in Spencer’s nightstand.
pens. the Pentel needle tip .5mm ballpoint liquid gel. one in black, one in blue. i like options.
hand food. hand lotion by Soap& Glory from Sephora. i’m not wild on the fragrance but that’s b/c i’m not wild on fragrances. but my hands get dry and cracky in the winter time and this stuff makes them all better and it has a fabulous finish on your skin.
lip gloss. Lustreglass lip gloss from MAC, in  Morning Glory. I like it. It’s shiny without being obnoxious and while initially a bit sticky, it blends really well.
lipstick. Bare Minerals lip color in Ripe Fig. I’m a big fan of Bare Minerals makeup and this is a yummy purple that I get a lot of compliments on.
lipbalm 1. Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm in Honeysuckle. I got this in place of the MAC Gaga lipstick b/c I wanted a nice nude. I like it when I have on noticeably eye make up and minimal lip color. it feels very yummy and low oil.
lip balm 2. Smith’s Lip Balm in Minted Rose from Rosebud Perfume C. This stuff is my new jam. It’s tint free, tingly and delicious. Super healing and gives you just a hint of shine.  picked mine up at Anthropologie but it’s also available in both pot and tube forms at Sephora and Urban Outfitters.

So that’s that. It snowed last night in Baltimore. Husby and I are in our jams for the day, videogames and reading.
Enjoy your weekend!

h

The Canton Safeway has Little Pepe’s Pizelles. A friend I was house sitting for last summer introduced me to these delicious waffle cookies and they’ve since been my favorite. I prefer the chocolate but I’ve heard the anise is also pretty tasty, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Heavy Seas has produced some really wonderful brews. Small Craft Warning is a crazy pils. My good friend Caitlin recommends this. And me I’m the lager girl, and think this one goes really well with pork and most red meats.

Dinner with friends. Caitlin, Cymber and I made dinner the other night at the Purple House. The sausage was supposed to go in the stuffed pepper but Cymber forgot. Didn’t matter, still delicious. The pork chop was grilled in salt and pepper and a little oil. I dipped mine in the Brianna’s Poppyseed dressing (a classic favorite of Clark House dinners). Caitlin made delicious brussel sprouts and we had a simple salad. Caught up on the Office, talked. Good stuff.

Kindle. Spence got it for me for Christmas (but gave it to me December 1st) and I’ve already read three or four books on it. It’s SO handy to take around. I have on here my Bible, a commentary, the Complete Works of Shakespeare, a bunch of novels, a dictionary, some devotionals… it’s great. I can also keep pdfs on here, so it’s good for reviewing stories and articles I’m working on. It’s crazy light, surprisingly durable and with almost daily use, I’ve only had to charge it once since I started using it. I highly recommend it.

Knitting. I’ve been knitting a lot lately. Made myself a circle scarf and a cowl for dad. Currently working on another scarf for Spencer. I’m still on pretty basic patterns right now but I find it’s therapeutic and I have a lot of fun. Plus it’s cheaper than buying a whole scarf. I’ve been thinking about going to knitting nights at Carma’s and expanding my knitting horizons. In other news, I’ve turned into an 80 year old woman, knitting at home with her cats, listening to books on tape…

What is a Healthy Church Member by Thabiti M. Anyabwile. The members of our church are reading this collectively. I’m only a couple of chapters into it but it’s incredibly thought-provoking and illuminating. I’m being challenged to interact more deliberately both with scripture and with my church as a whole.  It was harder to do that with McLean, although I think a big church like MBC could definitely benefit from a reading of this book. It’s hard to foster community and accountability ever, even in a small church like The Garden but it’s still very possible with loads of people.

Genius Loves Company by Ray Charles. This is a really fun collection with a lot of great collaborations. My favorites being “Sinner’s Prayer” with B.B. King, “Sweet Potato Pie” with James Taylor and “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?” with Bonnie Rait.

Ghostbird by Zee Avi. They’ve been playing “Book of Morris Johnson” on WTMD a lot and  ”Concrete Walls” was on last week’s Gossip Girl, so I expect she’ll be blowing up soon but she’s really quite talented and her backstory is really interesting. The album is a mix of inventive and standard pop songs, really light and floaty.

And that’s it for the first edition of “The Good Stuff”. Time to make dinner.

h

beyonce is fantastic. “countdown” is so danceable and gorgeous.
and the Sondre Lerche cover ain’t bad… 

I hope you enjoy.

By Kimber

by Cody Griffith

By Aziz

By Jared Tyler

by maks39

Saw some of my friends move across the country or the world, get engaged, get married. Finished two novels. Got married myself, to my best friend. Moved back to Baltimore. Discovered the absolutely joy I have in cooking. Found a new church and a new church family. Got two kittens who are growing into awesome and cuddly cats. And today, just to close out the year with something interesting, getting a “new” car. Will keep you posted on that.

It was a pretty medium year for music. I did discover some things pretty late but still.
As for books. I was kind of busy but I did manage to read some really really great fiction this year. Below is a list of my top 24 (two per month) songs of the year (not that they were actually created in 2011), and my top 5 reads of the year.

I hope you had a Merry Christmas! I kept my goal about a 7 and only by the grace of God was it that good.

Spencer and I will be going to a fancy party at the Waterfront Kitchen in Fell’s with my dad for a six course meal with champagne ending in fireworks. I had never heard of this place but it looked phenomenal so we said yes. Dad called last night to tell me he went to check it out and it’s the place Spence and I got married they converted the back part of the Douglass Myers museum into a restaurant. So a year after we got engaged we’ll be celebrating in the place we got married. Isn’t life cool sometimes?

The sun is spilling up Chase street and it is shaping up to be a glorious day.

MRS. PALINDROME’S TOP 24 SONGS OF 2011:

January: Engaged

• Creature Fear // Bon Iver
• How He Loves Us // David Crowder

February: Lots of gym training and navel gazing

• Sleeping Lessons // The Shins
• All Flowers in Time Bend Towards the Sun // Jeff Buckley & Elizabeth Fraser

March: Took Kendall to Baltimore for the first time, started cooking a lot.

• When I Fall / Liz Wright
• Me No // Clem Snide

April: I quit LUSH, it starts to feel like Summer, my first going to a Celtics game.

• Did You See the Words // Animal Collective
• Vireo’s Eye // Future Islands

May:  My first Hopkins lacrosse game (“Better luck next time, LOYOLA!”), Sweet Green Festival

• Oh No // Girl Talk
• High School Lover // Oregon Bike Trails

 Soul Christmas : you should be listening to this. Especially Otis Redding’s “Merry Christmas, Baby”. Do it. Do it now.

A Very Special Christmas. This album is so fun. Madonna sings “Santa Baby”, that Christmas classic “Christmas in Hollis” by Run DMC, Mellencamp sees Mommy kissing Santa Claus… it’s magical.

Harry Connick, Jr. What a Night! I know, right? HCJ? But yes. Get it. “O Come All Ye Faithful” is so beautiful. He’s got a great voice, he’s not Michael Buble, and hello, cute as a button.

Christmas with the Rat Pack. Dean, Sammy, Frank! All of them have great Christmas albums but this is the combo pack.

You can find my Spotify Christmas mix  here, featuring these and others. Elvis’ Chritmas, Ella Fitzgerald’s Christmas,  Christmas with Rosemary Clooney!

It’s gettin’ close. By now, Joseph has decided not to publicly humiliate Mary, they’re hitched and she’s waayyy preggo and they’re about to start hoofing it up to Bethlehem, which will be packed, so they’ll crash in a manger-cave. Even if you don’t believe that the Savior of the World and lover of our souls is about to be born, it’s still a great story.

<3 h

A lot of this has to do with the Muppet Christmas Carol, so thanks Clare.

Another large part had to do with being at my grandparent’s house for my cousin’s first birthday. The McFaddens are Christmas people, there is no denying. All over Christmas and a lot of love. Also Drew nomming a whole cupcake to the face in about 20 seconds, which was incredible.

Also, putting up Christmas decorations today felt good. I’m trying to do more DIY this year. Hopefully I’ll get Woody over here and we’ll make our paper chains and string ornaments. But even if I have to do it alone, it should be fun. A little mulled cider, a little Bing Crosby. And this year, I WILL watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. ‘Tis my favorite. Besides the Grinch.

Made Joy the Baker’s Kale and Sweet Potato Soup today. I’ve made it a couple of times but for some reason it turned out especially delicious tonight.  I highly recommend it for nasty chill wet days. Comforty!

Anyway. This weekend, Spencer and I are going up to New York to visit Johnny & Jovo with Killer. I hope to see Jay and Greggy also but these are tender hopes, easily dissolved by hard cold fact. At least I’ll see the city lights. Huzzah for New York.

Hope you all are well and getting into the Christmas Spirit!

oxoxo, H

I love napping with the kittens.
Furry, warm purr monsters.
It’s so delightful when they’re not being horrendous little orcs.

H