2013: The Good and the Bad

Well, it was no 2012, but I'm not sure how it could have been. 2012 took me and Dan to South Africa, Paris, and the Napa Valley. Dan's last semester of business school was a nonstop funfest . My brother got a great job, while my sister finished college and went off to save lives in Peru. 2012 was pretty much perfect.

2013 brought a lot of changes. Higher highs, lower lows. I'm ready for it to be over. Bring it on, 2014. Let's make it a good one.

Top Ten Bites of 2013

In no particular order.

1. Okay, I guess this is in some kind of order, because this sushi roll at Tojo's in Vancouver just might be the best thing I've ever eaten.

There are eight kinds of fish inside, all local to the Pacific Northwest, and it tasted like vacation in Vancouver. Tojo himself made it for us. I do not want to know what it cost.

2. "Bonne Bouche" cheese course at The Elm in Williamsburg.

I have mixed feelings about The Elm, as its courses are tiny and the service is bad. But the food is exceptional. I stole the above photo from Flickr of their cheese course, which I ordered in lieu of dessert. A wedge of "Bonne Bouche" cheese with various gels and powders to heighten its perfection even further. I was near tears over this cheese.

3. Fish Tacos at El Jakal in Sayulita, Mexico.

El Jakal is a little permanent cart in the town of Sayulita, and the cooks take Michelin-level care in crafting each component of their tacos. It pays off. They were crispy and fresh, with all the right notes of sweetness and spice. This platter cost $3. A close second would be their coconut shrimp, which were to what all coconut shrimp should aspire.

4. Tacos in a Bag, The Calgary Stampede.

I'm not saying this was a great meal, but for one bite, crunched-up Doritos with ground meat, taco seasoning, sour cream, salsa, and lettuce is hard to beat.

5. Vanilla Bean Souffle at Olives, Union Square.

Dennis and I went here after a screening of Catching Fire. I was tired and didn't want to go, but Dennis strongarmed me and I'm so glad he did. The gorgeous bartender, Merly, is his friend and headshot client, and she fed us free drinks, ordered us an incredible meal at a ridiculous discount, and introduced us to Todd English, the owner/chef. It was a really special night. But the highlight was the souffle.

I can't even get into it. It was eggy vanilla perfection, smothered in, essentially, melted vanilla ice cream. Can't. Even.

6. Little Skookum oyster, Grand Central Oyster Bar.

Dan and I went to the Grand Central Oyster Bar a couple of times this year. As a restaurant it's just okay - basic, overpriced seafood with bland vegetables - but as an oyster bar it's unbeatable. The selection is massive and the atmosphere is wholly unique. My favorite was the Little Skookum, a creamy West coast oyster that makes your shoulders drop three inches.

7. Uni thing, Neta, West Village, birthday dinner.

This here thing is grilled scallop, mushrooms, garlic soy butter, and UNI. I LOVE uni. Heaven in a shell.

8. Lobster Roll, Festival of the Sea, Point Pleasant, NJ.

I don't have a photo of this one, sorry. One of the stands at the Festival of the Sea in Point Pleasant featured steam pans of torn lobster, just hanging out in a three-inch deep pool of melted butter. When you ordered, they would scoop of the lobster, plop it into a hot dog bun, and then spoon some of the lobster-flavored melted butter on top. We got one, I took a bite, I started jumping up and down in excitement, and then we ordered another. I think it was $10.

9. The Hellboy, Paulie Gee's Pizza, Greenpoint.

Paulie Gee's is - wait is it? Yes, it is. Paulie Gee's is the best pizza place in New York. There. I said it. It is not a secret, and there is often a wait, but it's worth it. Dan and I are going there tonight!

Paulie Gee is Paulie Giannone, who, at 56, quit his decently-paying IT job to follow his dream of opening a world-class pizzeria. He and his wife are a constant presence in the dining room, glad-handing everyone and making sure you're having a nice time. It feels good to eat at Paulie Gee's, friendly and warm. It helps that the pizza is SO FREAKING GOOD. The Hellboy, a must-order, is thinly layered with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, Berkshire sopressata piccante, Parmigiano Reggiano, and - this is the key - a generous drizzle of spicy honey. Go. Do it. It's the best.

10. Pretty much everything at Mission Chinese Food, Lower East Side.

You could forgive my friends for being sick of Mission Chinese Food. I suggested it for every meal. When I was biking to and from work after Sandy, I would detour to get takeout on the way home, riding back over the Williamsburg Bridge with a plastic bag of thrice-cooked bacon with rice cakes and smashed garlic cucumbers swinging past my handlebars.

Well, I'm glad I overloaded while I could - some nearby construction issues caused a massive rodent infestation and they've had to close. Griz-oss.

Not griz-oss? That first bite of a chongquing chicken wing, tossed in almost enough Sichuan pepper to render it inedible. The ma po tofu with braised shitakes and face-melting chili paste. The Mongolian long beans, ordered in a vague nod to health. The aforementioned smashed cucumbers, which haunt my dreams and remain frustratingly opaque to recreate at home. Mission Chinese is (was?) not a traditional Sichuan restaurant, but I'm grateful to it for getting me interested in Sichuan food. So far that's been limited to dandan noodles, but it's a start.

So there you have it! My best bites of 2013. May 2014 bring in even more new gastronomic treasures and surprises.

FOMO

This lunchtime selfie gives a reasonable impression of someone in the Christmas spirit, right?

You can make anything seem real on social media.

Cookie Time

I'm heading home for the weekend to bake Christmas cookies with my mom. Alex, my brother's girlfriend, will also be joining the fun. The December Bon Appetit, with images of painted, modernist sugar cookies, got me extra pumped.

See, I'm bad at decorating cookies. For real. I suck at it. Panicky had a cookie decorating party two years ago and I didn't even take any of the cookies I'd decorated home with me; it was too embarrassing (I probably just stole a bunch of Panicky's professional-looking creations and then passed them off as my own). Here's a blob of frosting that I declared an "Edward Cullen cookie."

Profesh, right? But I think that PAINTING a cookie sounds much easier. So I went to NYC Cake over lunch and spent way too much money on "luster dust," called for in the BA recipe, and edible glitter. NYC Cake, BTW, is the answer for when you ask, "where do you even get that?" after watching a pastry challenge on Top Chef (or, frankly, after reading a recipe in Bon Appetit). Five pounds of green-tinted white chocolate, suitable for melting? They have that. Cardboard baking rounds for your DIY tiered wedding cake? Yup. Hot pink sanding sugar? A six-inch cake ring? Cookie cutters shaped like lightning bolts? "Disco dust"? Multiracial cake toppers? Pre-made sheets of fondant? Pastry bags with a #5 tip? NYC Cake has it all. The first time I went, a few years ago, I had to go back outside after a few minutes to clear my head; the assortment of exotic baking supplies had made me lightheaded.

Anyway, hopefully my cookies this year will be blogworthy. Wish me luck.

Best Deal Ever

I know you've been gnawing on your cuticles about those shoes I bought. To recap, I purchased a more or less perfect pair of expensive shoes at a hefty discount, perfect save for the fact that they were too small. I tried breaking them in. Didn't work. Did I therefore throw $30 into the sea? I did not! I ran into the ocean and skipped back out with sixty-five bucks! Or rather, my mother ran into the sea for me and sold the shoes on a Facebook "garage sale" website for $95.

She texted me a photo for proof.

Money is so great.

The Littlest, Furriest Pilgrim

Marty hopes you had a lovely Thanksgiving.

Thank You Newsies

It's important to keep your spirits up during crunch time at work, particularly if you're at the office until 10 on a Friday and are working a full day from home on Sunday. My personal suggestion is to take a break every hour and watch the Newsies cast perform "Seize the Day" on The View.

Some Fun Things I've Done Lately

• Saw Betrayal and therefore also saw Daniel Craig with a 70s haircut.

• Went on a double date.
• Had Dennis over and accidentally made squash meatball curry.
• Purchased a pair of high-waisted jeans.
• Rejoiced that high-waisted jeans are stylish now, a development I've been awaiting since 2005.

And I look just like this in them, too.

• Saw Catching Fire.
• Began watching The Returned, which is quietly spooky and heartbreaking and fantastic and French, which means I can feel smart with the TV on.
• Stopped by SNL rehearsal to take a peek on my way to lunch.
• Sang 9 to 5 at karaoke while dressed up as Mary Poppins.
• Went to How Was Your Week Live, at which Julie Klausner and friends performed the entire highlights album of Jesus Christ Superstar, with a surprise appearance from Triumph the Insult Comic Dog as King Herod.

Julie as Jesus. Photo by Mindy Tucker

• Fought a skinny, stylish horde at the Into the Gloss beauty sale and won, emerging with several $1 Dior eyeshadows and whatnot.
• Spent a weekend in Clearwater, Florida.
• Went to opening night of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, which was very Christmas-y even though it was November 13th. 
• Ate almost enough oysters.
• Came within twelve inches of Regis Philbin.

Pretty good month.

"The great thing about having a blog is being able to post the things that are way too obnoxious to post on Facebook."

I love Dennis.

This Time Last Year

Around this time last year, my office reopened (Sandy had left it without power for a week). Williamsburg didn't have subways yet, so I rode my bike to work. Yes: my main Sandy hardship was having to exercise. Oh, and we lost internet for about eight hours.

My parents' deck was not so lucky.

Pretty crazy. Although we were obviously very lucky that the massive tree took only the deck with it as it fell. My parents had ample time to contemplate this as they sat in their dark, cold living room for eleven days.

Happy anniversary, Sandy! You are the worst.

(The deck is fixed now).

Either I Got An Amazing Deal, Or I May As Well Have Thrown $30 Into The Sea

My mom called me back, concerned. "Is everything ok?" she asked. "What's wrong?" I had called her four times in a row. I explained the situation, and she grew agitated. "Get back there right now!" she exclaimed. "Hurry!"

You see, I had found a pair of unworn Tory Burch Reva flats (MSRP $195) for $29.95 at Beacon's Closet, but they were just a little too small. I had called to ask if they stretch, and then left the store without them, proud of myself for sticking to my new-ish "don't buy it if it isn't perfect" standard. Mom informed me that this was stupid. I'm now wearing the flats with ski socks around the house, which is a really great look.

Mom had good reason to yell. My biggest shopping blunder happened in 2007, when I found a probably-genuine Louis Vuitton Damier-print Speedy 25 handbag (MSRP $855) at Beacon's Closet for $25, and left it there because the handles were falling off. My mom held her head in her hands when I told her this and quietly asked, "what do you think cobblers are for??"

Having learned from this disastrous decision, I've since overridden my fears and purchased a slightly-too-short vintage Diane von Furstenburg silk shirt dress for $40 (gorgeous, but can only be worn at the tail end of a diet, or with seriously opaque tights), and now these shoes, which make me look like a rich lady with a slight limp.

I should learn how to sell things on eBay.

This Is A Pizza

Before Panicky moved to Ohio, she worked in food PR, which means I got a lot of free cookbooks. One, This is a Cookbook, has found its way into a permanent spot on the kitchen shelf, mostly because of pizza. Max and Eli Sussman, one of whom worked at the great Bushwick restaurant Roberta's, inspired me to finally, finally make pizza at home, and it turns out that it's really easy. Mindlessly easy. Pizza has become a fallback dinner, when we don't have enough of anything else in the house except flour (like, one time we used Polly-O string cheese as a topping). Last night's version, with an improved topping of fresh ricotta, was subpar - the crust never got crispy - yet, was still quite good. Try it, people, do not be like me and assume homemade pizza is hard!

Slick of tomato sauce + turkey sausage + ricotta + kale + spicy honey = too many toppings = vaguely cooked crust

(Alternatively, the pizza place down the street has never disappointed, except when briefly closed by the Department of Health).

Pizza Dough
Combine a cup of warm water, a teaspoon of sugar, and a packet of instant yeast in a mixing bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of flour and a tablespoon of salt. Attach the dough hook to your stand mixer and let it run on medium-low for ten minutes. No stand mixer? Order delivery, sorry. I mean, knead it by hand until it feels like dough, about ten minutes (I'd order delivery). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let sit out for two hours (it can rise in 30 minutes if your apartment is particularly warm, but two hours does the trick for me), or, if you thought ahead, for 8-24 hours in the fridge.

The Pizza Itself
Preheat the oven to 450. Oil a baking sheet and stretch about half the dough (I freeze the rest; it defrosts in 30 seconds in the microwave) over it. Get it nice and thin. Top with the dregs of a jar of sauce, cheese, bits of meat and veg, whatever you have lying around. Pop it in the oven for ten minutes - more if needed - and you're done. That's it! That's really it!

Things I Think About When I Think About Icebergs

"Ice. It's trippy, symphonies frozen, the unconscious come to life, and smacking of color: blue. [...]

There was something unspeakably noble about their age, their scale, their lack of consciousness, their right to exist. Every single iceberg filled me with feelings of sadness and wonder. Not thoughts of sadness and wonder, mind you, because thoughts require a thinker, and my head was a balloon, incapable of thoughts. I didn't think about Dad, I didn't think about you, and the big one, I didn't think about myself. The effect was like heroin (I think), and I wanted to stretch it out as long as possible."

- Where'd You Go, Bernadette

"Christopher lifted his chin and looked up at the Dright's face. The smooth brown features did not have any expression on them at all. But Christopher stared, trying to see the person behind the blankness. What feelings the Dright had were so different from his own, and so lofty, that for a moment he felt like an insect. Then he remembered that glacier, years ago in Series Seven, which Tacroy had said reminded him of two people. Christopher knew that one of the people was the Dright. Like the glacier, the Dright was cold and high and too crusted with ancient knowledge for ordinary people to understand."

-The Lives of Christopher Chant

"Sometimes it was so great I couldn't believe how lucky I was that I got to be me. We'd pass icebergs floating in the middle of the ocean. They were gigantic, with strange formations carved into them. They were so haunting and majestic you could feel your heart break, but really they're just chunks of ice and they mean nothing."

- Where'd You Go, Bernadette

"What Lies Beneath"

- This is the title of a mediocre Harrison Ford movie. It has nothing to do with ice.

Small Injustices

When Amanda Hesser was editing the food section of the NYTimes magazine, she unearthed recipes from the 1930s and reworked them to modern standards. She interviewed cool people and pried out their secrets for the best scampi. I actually learned something from it.

Now, Mark Bittman shares that you can prepare shrimp in a pan OR the oven. Because I guess that section is now for people who have never before prepared food.

Sunset Park

For whatever reason, as Dan and I sat in Sunset Park, waiting for our friends to arrive so we could start our taco crawl, I felt like doing a handstand.

Most underrated spot in the city, Sunset Park. Look at that view!

A Post That Was Going To Be About Ginger Tea But Instead Turned Into A Weird Navel-Gazing Ramble About My Cookbooks

I tend to dive into cookbooks, proclaim their life-changing values to anyone who'll listen, and then move on, leaving a trail of specially purchased pantry items in my wake. See: Harumi's Japanese Cooking (packets of kombu seaweed and dried bonito flakes), Super Natural Every Day (garbanzo flour), that dan dan mein phase (a one-pound bag of Sichuan peppercorns that I should have returned as they have no flavor), Momofuku Milk (milk powder, gelatin packets, citric acid, pistachio paste, Ovaltine, strips of clear acetate, a six-inch cake ring... thank God I didn't buy the bucket of recommend glucose syrup). When I fall for a cookbook, I fall hard, and then, just as suddenly, I'm be done. I'm one of those caddish serial monogamists that cookbooks' mothers warn them to stay away from.

I don't regret any of this, though, because even if I only take away one "yup, I'll make this forever" recipe from a book, that recipe will make mine and Dan's lives better until we die. I.e. the only thing I currently use Harumi's book for is the miso soup with sesame paste, but that soup is so rich and satisfying that it's worth the purchase. I made the pistachio cake from Milk for Mom and Scott's 25th anniversary, and it was outstanding - but it would have been way too intimidating to make on a whim if I hadn't made like 12 other recipes from that insanely complicated cookbook last year (and I wouldn't have known that it's ok to cut out about 1/3 of the steps).

Anyway, I started the phase-out process with It's All Good last month, moving it from the counter - where only one book lives at a time - to the kitchen rack, which houses 5 or 6. It displaced Sydney Food*, which moved to the living room, joining fellow exiles The Perfect Scoop, How to Cook Everything, I Like You**, The Essential New York Times Cookbook, and like 15 other books I haven't cracked in a year. But then I got sick, so I consulted dear Gwyneth's book again, and now it's back on the counter because of her ginger tea.

It's nothing revolutionary: grated ginger plus honey and lemon, steeped in water. But it's been one of the few things to help with my nice end-of-summer grossness. I brew it in a French-press-your-coffee-on-the-go traveler and keep it in the fridge. Sometimes it's the little things that keep you current.

-------------------------------

*I love, love, love Sydney Food, by Bill Granger. It's one of the first cookbooks I ever bought, back in 2003, because I loved the food at Bills restaurant in Sydney so much. The coconut bread and ricotta hotcakes are happiness in a mixing bowl.

Li'l Smoky via

**Conversely, I wasn't crazy about Amy Sedaris's I Like You. It has a granny aesthetic that makes its pages smell of phantom mustiness. However, I made its Li'l Smoky Cheese Ball for our Christmas party, and it was a MASSIVE, GARGANTUAN hit. Live it, learn it, and never make another hors d'oeuvres for your party again.

2 cups shredded smoked Gouda cheese, room temperature
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons steak sauce
1 cup toasted chopped walnuts or pecans
Ritz crackers, for serving

Place Gouda, cream cheese, butter, milk and steak sauce in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until well combined. Transfer mixture to refrigerator and let chill overnight. Roll cheese mixture into a ball. Place nuts in a shallow dish. Roll cheese in nuts to fully coat. Serve with Ritz crackers (NO SUBSTITUTIONS).

Photoshop Hall of Horrors

LOOK AT SIMON'S FACE.

A Report of Orphan Black: Surrender to the Neolution

In the spirit of Orphan Black’s overall theme of genetic experiments, I’m going to pitch you this gem of a show in the form of a high school science report. Remember those? Kudos if you do; I had to look it up.

Introduction
I first learned of Orphan Black from its subway posters, which were right up my alley. A girl's face repeating itself like a Rorschach blot/magic eye poster? Clones?! Yes, please. But you know how it goes: life happens, and there are Housewives to keep up with, so I didn't start watching until the first season wrapped up, having heard a rumor that Tatiana Maslany's performance, playing seven (!) roles, was not to be missed.

I wrote this thing on Orphan Black, an AWESOME and little-watched show on BBC America. You can read the rest here, if you like. I really did have to look up how to write a science report; how quickly we forget.

Blurred Lines

I pay almost no attention to the music world. My professional life mandates being consumed by television, which is a-ok with me, and what with paying at least a little attention to theater, my caring capacity is full. So when a debate broke out last week about this year's "Song of the Summer," I played along and deduced that "Blurred Lines" is the main contender. Wanting to fit in, I looked up the video, which I had heard was naughty.

Eh, whatever, a bunch of models stalking around in teeny outfits, I thought. This is not new. 

OH WAIT, I then realized. There's also an unrated version, in which they have taken off the rest of their clothes. So it's just three dudes in suits and a bunch of apparently nudist models dancing in hideous shoes.

I can't handle it anymore, y'all. I can't. There was this huge article in the Times where Robin Thicke, who, it should be mentioned, is the offspring of the dad from Growing Pains, because that's R&B cred if I ever saw it, defended the whole thing. Because he's married, duh.

Mr. Thicke said he found it odd that he had gained notoriety for the video when so many of his songs have been inspired by his marriage and respect for his wife. She advised him to make the video and offered suggestions, he said.

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHP(#WA*e4r3fnawjdhrkdshfkdshf43wfaer9

For me, that makes it worse. "I respect my wife," he's saying. "So therefore I can use the boobies of other, less important women as set decoration and to be a stickier trending topic."

The video's director - who is female, which makes it all okay, right? - says it best: "I want to make videos that sell records. This is my main focus right now... to make videos that move units."

So the machine behind this super-objectifying, and in my opinion offensive short film can say that it's empowering to women all they want (which they do: apparently the women are "subtly ridiculing the men," which I guess involves removing one's top? RIDICULE AWAY, say men everywhere), and continue pretending to be baffled that feminist groups don't like it, but I would rather they just be honest. They made it to make money, and to inspire people like me to write lengthy blog posts about it. The last shot of the video sums it up best.

Guys in the front! Girls in the back! MAN IS IT GREAT TO BE A DUDE.

Win Some...

Sometimes you make perfect pickles on the first try...

...and sometimes you ignore the fact that you need to set a timer for apricot jam.

Life Certainties

Death
Taxes
That I would eventually ferment my own pickles

Dan and I Went to Banff and All I Got Was This Fake-Looking Photo

It's not a big secret that Dan and I travel a lot, and that we're lucky enough to visit some far-flung places. But for this summer's trip, we stuck closer to home (well... as close as 3000 miles can be) and visited our neighbor to the North for a Canadian Rockies road trip.

"You are so random," Dan's sister said of this plan.

No arguments there (our original idea was Japan), but Vancouver/Banff/Lake Louise/Jasper was the freaking bomb. There was absolutely no pressure to do anything except look at pretty scenery, and that turned out to be quite easy: just open your eyes. We saw glaciers, and glacier-fed lakes of an inhuman, unnatural blue. We saw bears eating raspberries by the side of the road, and a double rainbow over our lodge as we drank Albertan beers. We even ate relatively sensibly and did a lot of hiking, biking, rafting, and walking, so much so that my boss today commented that I look a tiny bit slimmer. It was an awesome trip. Even more awesome because I planned none of it - thanks, Danno!

This photo, in particular, looks like we're sitting in front of a mural at the visitors' center.

(G)oops

Wait, you thought I wasn't going to buy Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook?

As you know, I have a love/hate relationship with GP and her lifestyle blog/newsletter, in which she recommends wearing a $455 Isabel Marant blazer to the beach. Such is advice from a woman who hasn't paid for clothing since 1996. But after reading this hilarious review, I had to try the cookbook out. Would I, like the reviewer, discover an affinity for raw honey and almonds soaked in water? Would I start speaking to Gwyneth in the kitchen as I cooked?

Kind of.

Below is Sunday's dinner: local cod cooked en papillote with "Lee's Hoisin Sauce," fava beans, and "Carrots with Black Sesame and Ginger," or rather "Regular Sesame" because who the F keeps black sesame seeds around -

This dinner was amazing. When he was done, Dan literally picked up his plate and started licking it. "This is so good!" he said. "This is as good as anything as you could get in a restaurant."

The next day, I had leftover sesame carrots with "Perfectly Cooked Quinoa" that was tasty and filling but not quite perfectly cooked, to be honest, and I forgot that quinoa sticks to your teeth like CRAZY. For dinner, I made a kale salad with "Creamy Parsley Dressing," described by Dan as "such a perfect summer flavor!" Then there was chicken marinated in more of "Lee's Hoisin Sauce" mixed with glop from a can of chipotles that made Dan started crying and and then write a letter to the editor to The Economist about getting our kitchen protected as a heritage landmark through his joyful tears.

So, as long as you remember that Gwyneth is not a nutritionist or doctor and can handle the fact that the book features a lot of striped bass "because it swims in the waters close to Gwyneth's summer home, where we do a lot of cooking," this book could be for you. The recipes are really good! They better be, coming from someone who once wrote that "as a home cook, one of the best things I’ve ever done was to build a wood-burning oven in the back yard."

Funfetti Cheesecake

I thought I was SO clever with my Funfetti cheesecake idea. I volunteered to make some treats for Melanie's baby shower this weekend (Dan's sister is having a baby, FYI), and because she loves birthday cake so much, I thought that bite-sized Funfetti-flavored cheesecakes would be a hit.

"Oh, I'm such an innovator," my inner monologue beamed. "I'll make a batch of Momofuku Milk Bar Birthday Cake Crumbs and mix them into a basic cheesecake recipe!"

Then I Googled "Funfetti cheesecake," just for kicks.

I am not the first person to have this idea.

Like, does anyone make non-Funfetti-ed cheesecake? Or cheesecake that is not in miniature?

Whatever. I made 'em anyway. They were a hit.

Let's Make It Bigger

I cry at least once or twice every time I watch the Tonys, because the winners are SO excited and lack that movie-star polish in their speeches... they just let it fly. Like, let's look at Nikki M. James having a nervous breakdown as she accepted her Tony for The Book of Mormon:

The cutest!

This year, I also got teary at the end of the opening number, because eeeeeeeveryone came out and seeing all of those Broadway actors living their collective dream at once is overwhelming.

Stellababy

I got to meet Katie's baby last weekend. Now that Stella and I are besties I feel okay with putting her picture on the blog.

Right?! She is SO STINKING CUTE. I'd brought some DVD screeners I had to watch for work, so on Saturday night Stella just chilled out on my lap as we sat in the basement, evaluating new programming. At one point I glanced over at Stella, to get her thoughts, and she had a big, gurgling smile plastered all over her face.

I die.

Erinn also stopped by with new baby Maya, who recently discovered her feet. 

In conclusion, Kent Place babies are very unloved and ignored.