Carolina in My Mind

If you're thinking that Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank looks like one of those typical women's fiction novels....well, you're right. It is. The main reason why I picked it up is because of its setting- Charleston, South Carolina and the surrounding coastal islands. After vacationing there a couple of times, it's become an area that I absolutely love. Unfortunately, the book- with an okay story and some questionable dialogue (the author makes a seven-year-old character sound like a thirty-year-old, and a teen from the nineties sound like a teen from the fifties)- wasn't quite enough to take me back there.

Instead of dwelling on any negative impressions, I would have shared some pictures from my past trips to Charleston. BUT...my hard drive crashed last week and I lost everything, save a handful of documents that I serendipitously backed up just days before.

The Apple store installed a new hard drive for me, although I think it's still time for me to start thinking about replacing my older MacBook in the next year or so. A MacBook Pro seems like it might be the right choice, although the tiny MacBook Air is also kind of tempting. If anyone has any opinions about either one- or has any preferred methods for backing up your files on a regular basis- I'd love to hear them!

Memorial Day

My BEA Day

Yesterday I was lucky enough to get to spend the day at Book Expo America, the publishing industry trade show going on in New York this week. I used my iphone to snap some of the highlights, like the nice displays in the Penguin, Chronicle, and Workman Press booths.




Of course, I was partial to the fact that Penguin had an entire wall decorated with their Classics editions. And as if they don't already have me wrapped around their finger, I learned that they'll be releasing a new series of Fitzgerald titles in the fall featuring art deco cover designs.


Something else to look forward to- a new Shabby Chic book.



At the Workman booth, I noticed that they were promoting the upcoming book based on the Missed Connections blog.


As I was looking through a sample of the book, the girl working the booth told me that they were giving away prints of one of the Missed Connections illustrations. And, oh by the way, the artist herself is right over there signing them. So I got to meet her and got a lovely signed picture to frame and hang near the bookshelves in my apartment (once I actually get some).



American Girl had a big booth showcasing their books. They were promoting their new historical dolls, two girls from New Orleans in the mid-nineteenth century. Am I too old to put these on my Christmas list?

I didn't pose with my head behind these life size figures. But yes, I kind of wanted to.

I can't lie, though. One of the biggest highlights was the free stuff I came away with. From the moment I stepped into the exhibit hall, I was overcome by the hunt for freebies, no matter what they were. YA book about how to rock braces with a tie-in compact mirror? Sure! Giant Tin Tin tote bag? Why not! Not to mention the galleys and catalogs I picked up. I already paid the penance for my greediness in the form of an aching shoulder after lugging my loot laden tote all the way home.

Making Up

This is the pattern I tend to fall into with makeup: I find a product, love it, start using it all the time and vow that I'll never be without it again. Then, a certain amount of time passes and I start to get antsy. I read about something new, can't resist the pull of Sephora, and suddenly the old favorite is relegated to the bottom of my makeup bag. To be honest, this cosmetic fickleness is half the fun of wearing makeup in the first place.

There are two products, though, that I've become extremely loyal to. I've kept going back to them over and over for the past year or so. I've just about used them completely up, which is a rare feat for me, and am pretty sure I'll be buying more once they're completely gone.

My first favorite is Medieval lip color by Lipstick Queen. They say it's a universally flattering shade, and I truly believe it. It gives a lightweight coating of color that bright enough to make it look like you're wearing red lipstick, but sheer enough so that you don't feel like you're Wearing Red Lipstick.

Next, is Philosophy's Divine Illumination Love At First Light Skin Luminizer. Kind of a mouthful to say, but a great product to use. Another universal color, it can be applied all over the face or just as a highlighter, and gives a fresh, dewy look. It's usually the last thing I swipe into my cheeks before I leave the house.

Do you have any longtime beauty favorites?

Adventures in Asparagus

Ever since spring began, I've been in the mood to cook something with asparagus. I decided to try a Jamie Oliver recipe for an asparagus and potato tart (classified, for reasons unknown, as a Royal Wedding celebration dish). Made up of a crisp filo dough crust spread with a layer of cheesy mashed potatoes and topped with asparagus spears, it was supposed to look a little something like this:

Instead, I ended up with a crust-less, improvised mashed potato casserole that looked more like this:

As the filo dough ("now in new, easy to use sheets"), crumbled into tiny, unusable pieces in my hands, I thought about tossing the entire dish. Luckily, I decided to try my hand at salvaging the meal by eliminating the crust and baking everything else in a deep casserole dish. All in all, I felt pretty good about my kitchen ingenuity.

Most importantly, I came away with a few lessons from this misadventure. I learned that TV chefs who rave about the ease of frozen filo dough are lying (Giada, Ina, I'm looking at you). I learned that I should probably invest in a potato masher so that I can stop looking silly using the attachments from my hand mixer as a substitute. I learned that using an elaborate arm flourish to sprinkle spice into a dish will likely result in an overabundance of nutmeg. And I learned that cheese infused potatoes are never a bad thing, no matter what form they take.