"I'm a batman kind of gal. That is to say I believe in self improvement and taking things into your own hands, rather than waiting for a radioactive spider to bite you."
The Winter Olympics had me reminiscing about my days in Whistler, so I pulled out my old pictures from last summer. It was then that I stumbled upon this heavenly steak tartare that I once had the pleasure of tasting. Embarrassing part: I can’t remember the restaurant’s name. Horrible of me, I know. But ______’s version of steak tartare is in the Top 5 of the Best Things I’ve Ever Eaten list. They served the dish with these hot, crispy edged starchy cakes made out of deep fried rice, and the contrasting textures and flavors still makes me weep inside a little bit. I’d go as far as to say that’s one of the main reasons I miss Whistler in the first place.
If I’m forced to move aside from the subject of flavor, though, I really liked the plating. In general, I’m very interested in dining, decor, and food styling. We can approach things at random, strictly out of utility, or we can approach things with thoughtful care and passion. I believe that food is so much more than just a necessity. My mother taught me this. Most of my interest, and what I’ve learned, in terms of food was due to her influence. My mom never took any courses on design or cooking. She manages the statistical team at a major pharmaceutical company, so she’s not obviously artistically inclined. But despite her technical and analytical background, she raised me with the belief that everyone can bring a little art into their life. Here are a few of her food styling basics I’d like to share.
I first heard about snickerdoodles a few years ago from the TV show “Veronica Mars”. Veronica always made Wallace snickerdoodles, and I had no idea what they tasted like. Let’s get this out of the way: snickerdoodles have nothing to do with Snickers bars. They’re basically cinnamon sugar cookies, but then again, I feel criminal underselling them like that. They’re so much better.
The cookies themselves are soft and chewy; something that your teeth can sink wonderfully into. They have a comforting mildness and lack that sophisticated intensity, the kind you might get with a flourless dark chocolate cake. It’s all fine and well to have a decadent treat like that on occasion, decorated with a gooseberry and drizzled with some organic raspberry puree, but sometimes you want something nostalgic and uncomplicated for those rainy days.
I originally stole used “Things I Bought That I Love” as a reference to Mindy Kaling’s blog where she wrote about clothes and lovely things. But now that her blog is no longer up, any pretense of a reference is now gone and I’m left with this mingling feeling of plagiarism and vulnerability (plagiarism because of the obvious, but vulnerability because I am now the only person backing this title). How things change.
So here we are, at Things I Bought That I love 003. I love how I set up this series allowing room for TIBTIL to grow into the triple digits. Honestly, does anyone expect me to get to “Things I Bought That I Love 467?”
I’m not sure I want to hear the answer to that.
There’s a medley of products on the left, but I’m going to start with the Urban Decay Book of Shadows II. For those that don’t know, it’s a makeup box set that comes with the eyeshadow palette you see, two eyeliners, and a sample size of their beloved Eyeshadow Primer Potion. Everyone’s blogged or vlogged about it already, but I’ve had a few questions about my eye makeup, and wanted to share.
It’s a good range of colors. Plenty of neutral brown tones, with a few pops of color for when you want to experiment. The eyeshadow palette slides out of the box, and at first I hated that design (I suppose I still do…) but now I just leave it open, just as you see it. I’m actually at a loss as to how I’ll organize my makeup once I’m through with it, as I now use the original portion of the box as a platform for my other products– and I quite like it like this, aesthetically and practically. I’m inclined to experiment when all these colors are open at my disposal, and it’s a relief not to have a mountain of tiny little eyeshadow pots rolling around.
Super Bowl tonight. It’s a shame, I still never got around to getting into football, although I feel closer to it than ever! I feel that the day will soon come when I will watch it and understand what’s going on.
Speaking of football and athletics though, I’m always impressed by all of that training that they do. It inspires me to stay active. I know some people pick celebrities that they admire to motivate them into working out.
I can see why this would work for some people. She looks freaking amazing. But Britney Spears circa 2001 doesn’t do anything except for make me miss Britney Spears circa 2001.
Although I’m as narcissistic as the next person, the main reason I exercise is to work on my lung capacity, cardiovascular system etc., so the things that motivate me tend to fall on the less glamorous side. In short, I need to be able to visualize the athleticism I’m trying to attain–which brings me to my #1 source of inspiration right now: the game sequences from “Friday Night Lights”. My friend PH loves razzing me by finding parallels between Tim Riggins and myself, but when I told him that I use Riggins as a workout inspiration, he was a little concerned.
Here are a few of her food styling basics I’d like to share.
