November, 2015 | This is authentic

November 2015

Monday, Monday (on a rainy Tuesday)– or more links about unwanted visitors and Jodie Patterson’s house

This week marks the first lice outbreak of the year in my daughter’s class. Suddenly my head itches, even though we have escaped this round without incident, and I find myself googling all sorts of topics related to this creature. I won’t burden you all with that stuff though, so fear not. Photo courtesy of thedoctorstv.com

Sometimes I feel like my battle against clutter is like trying to sweep the beach clear of sand with a dust broom, yet I continue to wage war. Yesterday I worked on clearing some space on my hard drive with the help of howtogeek.com.

I just spent way too much time on One Kings Lane checking out beauty entrepreneur Jodie Patterson’s incredible Brooklyn brownstone and wondering how she manages to run 2 businesses, take care of 5 kids (plus a husband), and keeps her house looking so incredible. But then I remind myself that this was all just a photo shoot and right now I’m sure her boys have their shoes and toys all over the place, her desk is overrun with piles of magazines, and papers and the last 3 jackets her husband wore are strewn around the living room. Or maybe not, but it makes me feel better to believe that.

Homemade ramen noodles. Need I say more?

When you are at your baby shower, opening gifts and being all coy about name choices, I am willing to bet $1000 that head lice are the furthest thing from your mind. But they are a pesky part of the reality of parenting (just one of soooo many…) I just got the dreaded email from school informing us that 3 (yep THREE) kids in my daughter’s class have lice. So it’s time to take action. If this happens to you, this Parents Guide to Lice will start you off in the right direction.

And while we’re on the topic of skin care, what’s all this business about oils vs moisturizers for your face?

And last, but not least, just a guy… reading the Sunday paper.

Tower of Power

food

Our very own leaning tower of Pisa, but made out of pure chocolate fudge.

I am always drawn to a recipe that has the words “absurdly easy” in the title. Especially when those two words are describing how to make your own chocolate fudge, a delicacy that I had previously assumed was only created by Willy Wonka type wizards in their mysterious candy shops.

But oh how wrong I am.

Leave it to Julia Moskin of the NY Times to demystify and utterly simplify the making of this chocolate treat– it literally takes just 15 minutes to make, plus an overnight in the fridge to set. We skipped the nuts as we have nut allergies in the house, but followed the rest of the instructions to the letter and have been blessed with an almost sinful amount of the richest deep chocolaty fudge I have ever tasted. And because one can only eat a tiny bit at a time, we have our school lunch desert set for weeks.

And that alone is worth singing about.

Julia Moskin’s Absurdly Easy Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, plus extra for greasing the pan
1 pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
⅛ teaspoon salt (optional)
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preparation

Butter an 8-inch-square baking pan. Line with parchment or wax paper, letting edges of paper hang over sides of pan.

In top of a double boiler or a metal bowl set over (not resting in) simmering water, combine all ingredients except nuts. Mix just until melted and well combined. (Alternatively, use a microwave on low power to melt ingredients, stopping every 10 to 20 seconds to mix well.) The mixture should be heated as little as possible. Mix in nuts, if using.

Scrape mixture into prepared pan. Refrigerate until set, about 4 hours or overnight. Lift fudge on paper out of pan and use a large knife to cut into squares.

Go fly a kite

home - kids

Maybe 2015 is all about taking the kite situation up a notch…

Sure it’s still in the 70′s (global warming, anyone?) but the leaves have changed and fall is in the air, even if it is floating in on an unseasonably warm breeze. Autumn is my favorite season for kite flying, and these Fredericks & Mae flyers are just about the most lovely ones I’ve ever seen.

In my perfect, clutter-free, all-the-time-in-the-world life, we would walk along the coastline, flying one of these kites high above us us, and then perhaps return to a perfectly decorated table covered with bouquets of fall leaves and settle into a game of dominos, or perhaps darts in the back yard, whilst sipping hot apple cider.

Here are the darts and my domino set of choice for your viewing pleasure.

It’s nice to think about… and only a few purchases and a DIY bouquet away from being a reality.

(at least in the Instagram version of my family life in which we never argue, wear beautiful clothes and cook sumptuous meals sourced from local farmers who also happen to be our close friends…)

Are these my new kicks?

style

Shearling Evi booties by Zero Maria Cornejo.

I mean, sure they’re made of ponyskin, they’re mostly white, and they’re not even officially called sneakers (they are booties, for what it’s worth.) But the kicks I’ve been rocking for the past few years have seen better days, and I am beginning to search for the next pair.

And Maria Cornejo made them, which is justification enough.

Monday, Monday– or more links about Halloween aftermath, elections and cooking with kids…

links

This is my favorite photo of this year’s Halloween costume largely because you can’t see any of the cockamamie hand sewn seams.

Allah Akbar, Halloween is over. And in an effort to somehow counter all of the high fructose corn syrup that my daughter has ingested in the past 48 hours, I’m thinking of making Melissa Clark’s shiitake/tofu stir fry from the New York Times. It’s about as far away from Skittles as a person can get and still be potentially appetizing.

I would also like to declare that this will be the last year that I sew my daughter’s costume together by hand. Despite my new handy dandy needle threader, this year’s silver witch dress and cape almost sent me over the brink. I am currently considering sewing machines and am pining over the Bernina classic mechanical (ie totally analogue) models… Swiss precision at it’s best.

Speaking of Halloween costumes, please please take a minute to read Lena Dunham’s brilliant and hysterical piece about a lifetime of failed costumes. I laughed so hard I cried (and I was on the subway, reading on my phone, which is not an atmosphere conducive to such public displays…) After you read it you should subscribe to Lenny, which is a bi-weekly newsletter I actually look forward to receiving.

You may not be focused on it, but tomorrow is Election Day in NYC. There are a few important races out there for some districts… find out if you live in one of them (and who is running for what positions) by checking out the NYC Voter Guide and entering your address. Not that any of you guys have put this off till the last minute, of course, but just in case…

Probably the reason we have all but forgotten about tomorrow’s races centers around the fact that the entire country has been obsessed with the battle for the presidency, despite the fact that we don’t vote till next year. I have largely boycotted the whole thing until now (having to hear the words front runner applied to Donald Trump is almost more than I can bear), but am now beginning to pay attention. This 2016 US Presidential Race cheat sheet from the Atlantic has been a perfect place to start.

Oooooh… a chic (ie: black) french press coffee maker. Because black is the new black.

Or maybe, teaching your kids to cook is the new black… one can never be too sure. Check out what James Beard winning chef Hugh Acheson has to say on the subject and decide for yourself.

This is authentic - "

November 2015