Sunday Stuff

My go-to pizza dough might have been replaced.

Like knowing where your food comes from? You'd probably appreciate radical transparency in your wardrobe too.  

Banksy's latest work takes on the meat industry -- with puppets.

More lip-syncing! An oil ship crew performs "Africa" by Toto. Bet you bob your head.

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey and lots of gifs -- a trifecta of awesomeness.

I need to go to New York next year just to ride around in a driverless taxi and hum the theme song to the Jetsons.

Childbirth made me love my wife's body more. This is sweet. via Design Mom

Warped Childhood, Restoration Hardware-Style. I LOL-ed. via Shutterbean

Pep talk from Ira Glass.

Even though I don't like watching videos, when someone shares an Upworthy video, you know it's going to be good. via Two if By Sea Studios

I love this car.

30 happy facts. via the strawberry haiku

50 commonly mispronounced food words. via Our Adventures in Japan

Coveting

Yup, I'm completely biased. But there truly are so many lovely things to discover at Food52 (and not just at Provisions).

In this case I stumbled across a cardamom chai recipe from Amanda, and fell head over heads in love with this mortar and pestle and tea strainer. Neither one of them will be gracing my kitchen anytime soon, but oh are they nice to admire.

(Photo via Food52. Obviously.)

Link Love

Sooo many links. I know. At least read the first two:

All Sorts of Random Stuff
This man is awesome.

Peace Day Installation. Striking.

This isn't true. Right? Right?! No? Well...

Wrestle your inner pedant to the ground.

Pictures: This. And this. 

And if you've been living under a rock, and haven't seen Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon take on hashtags, you need to.

This obit for cronuts made me giggle. via Top with Cinnamon

Halloween/Parties
I want to do this for Halloween. Who's with me?

I like Halloween. And pranks. A lot.

But Halloween costumes should never ever ever look like this. via Dooce

Oh, and I really want to have a lip sync battle party.


Kids
I need more Louis C.K. in my life. via Shutterbean

I love teachers that pull stunts like this. via Shutterbean

"I believe it's not my job to teach princess abstinence; rather it's my job to teach my daughter how to use princesses wisely. To help her be the best possible version of who she wants to be, even if that version isn't what I dreamed or intended."

Caitlin Moran's posthoumus advice for her daughter. via Chocolate & Zucchini

Ingredients: Fresh Coriander Seeds

When our cilantro went to seed in the garden this year, I left it alone, hoping it would re-seed itself. But then I saw the bright green fresh seeds, and I decided that I needed to cook something with them instead. I made leek fritters, and while the coriander seeds added a great flavor, the texture contrast was too much - I think I'd crush them first next time. Somehow I missed two recipes on 101 Cookbooks using the seeds, so those are on my list to try next summer.

Terrific Tuesday

Eat and Drink.

• Chipotle rocks. I don't even mind having Willy Wonka stuck in my head.
• Flavored salts are one of my new favorite things to make. Next up, saffron salt.
• The Kale Project. Getting Paris to fall in love with kale.
• The art of daytime drinking.
• The history of happy hour.

Other Stuff.

• Why you should travel young. Love this.
• Secret book edge paintings.
• The Official "Fun vs Effort" Graph of Pets. via Dooce
• Write a secret message outside. via notmartha
• What your favorite Sesame Street character says about you. Mine isn't even on the list (the Yip Yips). What does that say about me?
• I cringed when I read the post the from the mother of teenage boys dictating rules for their female friends' photos online. I get it. There is a lot of content (photos and otherwise) online today that makes me squirm, and when it comes down to it, she's just concerned about her boys -- every parent is. But I took issue with her approach. Apparently I wasn't the only one. I'll admit that I giggled at the satirical piece on HuffPo, but it was a 14-year-old's articulate response that left me most impressed.
• I know, I know. I said more non-linky stuff.... 

Saturday Stuff

Hey there. It's been awhile. I've been....here. Just as busy as everybody else, yet somehow not able to keep up with my tiny corner of the web -- and I miss it. Lately all I've been doing is sharing fun links, which although fun, isn't much of a blog, so I'm determined to get back. Soon. But in the meantime, more interesting links:

Wife Attempts to Put Baseball Viewing in Perspective.

Signs My Wife Made. I tried to read this out loud to Mike, but I was laughing so hard I had to just hand him my computer.

Oof. The culture of the eight-hour workday is big business’ most powerful tool for keeping people in this same dissatisfied state where the answer to every problem is to buy something. via Sassy Radish

Bust a move with Stephen Colbert.

Random (amusing) act of kindness.

Good reminder.
"We give ourselves give ourselves the space to be cranky, grumpy, sleepy, ornery, or irritable.  We excuse our poor behavior and our short tempers as hunger or fatigue.  We justify our over-reactions in because we can see our circumstances clearly.  That’s because we know what it’s like to be in our skin!  Our expectations are in line with our emotional reality. 
And that’s the way it should be!  I should be gentle with myself when I’m cranky because of hunger.  I should designate a window for snoozing if that is what I need to wake up in the morning.
But let’s extend this gift of self-awareness and affirmation to our children!  Let’s give our children the same gift that we give to ourselves.  Let’s give them space to be human beings with a complex emotional landscape"

Another good reminder. Sometimes people forget to be decent human beings, so it's nice when others step it up to make up for it.

Why Take Self-Portraits of Your Feet? (I don't, but this makes me want to.) via Shutterbean

Sunday Stuff

I'm honestly bummed that the royal baby is named George. You too? Play with this royal name generator and feel a deep sense of relief at the much much better name you end up with. I'm Her Highness Isabel the Lioness. via Go Fug Yourself

I want to press the button!  via Shutterbean

We used to listen to podcasts all the time in Japan. I miss This American Life. via Dooce

Attempted cake pan reuse. (Mildly NSFW.) via Dooce

A visual love letter to the fog of the San Francisco Bay Area. via Dooce

Frank Rich on the controversial Rolling Stone cover. via Sassy Radish

These two articles on geography and social mobility. via Sassy Radish

So so good:
"So to my daughter who sees my every move, I want to say;
Ivy, my love, may I live a life that’s worth copying and be the sort of woman that’s worthy of being mirrored. May I humbling admit to you my errors so you can see that real strength shows itself in vulnerability. I hope you see me growing, changing and evolving too. Learn from my mistakes and learn from yours too. Accept them and be, dare I say happy with them because without mistakes there aren’t the lessons learned that are really worth learning."

Get some headspace. via Shutterbean

Sunday Stuff

The issue with "leaning in."

I like the idea of balance, but I also like cranky, shouty posts about the impossibility of balance. via Shutterbean

Success after 30.  Yes. via Shutterbean

"...what are you going to do with it?
And I’m confused by what that question means.
I’m not going to DO anything with it.
It exists.  Therefore it is mine." via 101 Cookbooks

From a dear fabulous friend. I love this! I'm still trying to figure out what my song is. What's yours?


In honor of my MIL -  a gorgeous short film about giraffes  via Dooce

I love a brand with a sense of humor. via Dooce

Allegedly, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston have had a friend break-up. Say it ain't so! via Go Fug Yourself

I'm not into Mad Men. But re-envisioned as The OC? That I can get behind. via Go Fug Yourself

Sunday Stuff

Stephen Colbert's touching tribute to his mom. I teared up.

I love the long exposure firefly shots, and these from Nagoya(!) are no exception.

Baby liligers. Cuz they're cute, they make me think of my brother, and liliger is fun to say. via Go Fug Yourself

"...if we want the rewards of being loved we have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known." via Sassy Radish

14 Simple Things Perfectionists Love. Yes! Except for the snow. I hate snow. via Sassy Radish  

So this is why I bake when I'm down.

Is it rational to give up so much privacy to fight terror? A thought-provoking piece by the Atlantic. via Sassy Radish

A 40 hanger closet? Inspiring. I need to go purge. via Shutterbean

Happy making.

These places! via Shutterbean

A request to people with input on magazine covers. So good.

Two articles that bummed me out this week.

Sunday Stuff.

I want to tackle all of life's challenges with this much grace.

Jason Good makes my belly hurt with laughter, and Food is Gross is no exception.

Jamie Oliver. No.

Excel?! Really?!

Oh Colbert, well done.

This is for my tall (and crazy handsome) husband. via Dooce

A Month Without a Fork. via Dooce

The Pace of Productivity and How to Master Your Creative Routine via Dooce  

"I want my kids to be surrounded by natural materials and beautiful things that encourage them to dream. Even with three kids we keep a pretty small number of toys, and most of them are handmade or have special meaning to us. Because kids accumulate toys like magicians – where does all of that stuff come from?! – I go through their stuff every couple of weeks to cull the things that we don’t want to keep. They have much more imaginative play when their shelves aren’t crowded and their toys and tools are organized." Yes.

Sunday Stuff

Non-Food

GeoGuessr, at Kottke. You’re given five random locations from Google Street View and you have two guesses. via Not Martha

I need this. Or like 10 in a row of them.

23 Ways Your Day Could Be Way, Way Worse. via dooce

33 Teachers Who Got the Last Laugh. I think #12 is my favorite. via Shutterbean

Yup, totally yawned while watching this. via dooce

27 Delightful Obsolete Words It's High Time We Revived.  via Sassy Radish I'm also fond of
"Beef-witted" from a similar list my dad found, meaning "Having an inactive brain, thought to be from eating too much beef."

Balancing Act.

Food

Too bad it's not true.

Flour tortillas. Yes. Always. via The Wednesday Chef

The Week (er...Month) in Photos

 We might actually get apples this year (!?).

 Beans from the market.

 My kind of "selfie."

The second phase of our random backyard flower field.

Everything I know about gardening I learned on Pinterest.
(And no, the painted rocks did not work. We apparently planted strawberries to feed the animals.)

Upside to crazy flowers is a houseful of free bouquets!

Sunday Stuff

Non-Food 

30 Shocking & Unexpected Google Street Views via Shutterbean

Would You Rather! via Shutterbean

I hope to be this awesome too. via The Vanilla Bean Blog

Best Parenting Tweets

Parents, Don't Trust Your Instincts

Convos With My 2-Year Old Daughter 

A workout that combines all the effects of a long run and a visit to the weight room into one 7-minute [seriously?!] workout! Now I just need to be able to do all of the exercises. via e is for emily

Food

9-Year-Old Girl Told McDonald's CEO to Stop Tricking Kids

3D Latte Art via Juniper Moon Farm

Why Your Dinner Doesn't Taste as Good as it Looked Online

I WANT RAMPS

Sunday Stuff

Non-Food

This makes me so happy.

This tree rocks.

Lip sync battle! So fun! Now I want to have a lip sync party. via Shutterbean

DUCKFACE is way better with spaghetti via Shutterbean

Ugh. What the Internet is doing to our brains. via Shutterbean

This has been all over the place this week, so you've probably seen it. But if you haven't, take nine minutes and watch it. (and I never recommend nine minute videos.)

This makes me weepy. I love you Mom.

Food

Crucial information. How to dip without breaking the chip.

NYC school adopts all-vegetarian menu.

Never eat anything for breakfast you wouldn't eat for dinner.

Nifty. via Sassy Radish

Pay People to Cook at Home. via Sassy Radish

Sunday Stuff

A sleeping hummingbird snoring. I mean, come on. via Juniper Moon Farm

15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy. via Juniper Moon Farm

I wish I had a number of extra hours everyday. I'd dedicate one of them to TED.  via Eating From the Ground Up

The Wrong Rock. Hilarious. 

Read Meat's Heart Risk Goes Beyond the Fat.

Cooking for Hugo: A French Food Education. Guilty as charged for continuing to offer different items until something "sticks." This is good inspiration to make some changes.

These posts on Mother's Day crack me up.

The Week in Photos

 Moments prior to beheading by toddler.

My iPod didn't last quite as long as expected.

Our random backyard field of tulips in full swing.

Mint - fighting to break free of its container.

Strawberries and dog feet.

A summary of my week.

Sunday Stuff

I had no idea that I'd been eating apples all wrong.

Retirement at 33.

High-fructose corn syrup tied to colony collapse disorder in bees. via Sassy Radish

The rise of genetically modified crops in 2 charts. via Sassy Radish

60 thoughts about turning 60 via Dooce

The History of Typography – Animated Short via Dooce

The Week in Photos

Josephine leaves piles of stones everywhere she goes.

 More fun in the garden.

See-through slug.

Forstuckia.

Best ten dollars spent of the week.

Sunday Stuff

I don't believe in work/life balance, I believe in managing energy. via Shutterbean

30 abandoned places I want to visit. Except the ones in Antarctica. via Shutterbean

“From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” is one of my all-time favorite books, so I was saddened to learn that the author E. L. Konigsburg passed away this week. If you haven't read it, pick it up, but in the meantime, here are 10 life lessons from the book. via Go Fug Yourself

Over four years ago (?!) now, I wrote about my frustration with getting called by my husband's name. It still irks me to no end when I receive mail with my husband's name and a Mrs. slapped in front of it. I took his last name, not his first, and dang it, I want equal billing on envelopes. Given the lively discussion in the comments of Design Mom's post on surnames, I'm not the only one with names on the brain.

Watch the Video that Coca-Cola and McDonald's Hope You Never See

Somewhere between 30% and 50% of all the food grown in the world never makes it to the plate. 
via Shutterbean

Sunday Stuff

Food

Your banana may not be vegan. Really?! 

Is organic better? Ask a fruit fly.

We all know that eating less meat is beneficial for the environment. Here's another reason to cut back. (Or to start a grassroots movement.) via Food52

And if you need a little guidance in the realm of vegetarian cooking, check out this roundup of recent plant-based cookbooks. A number of these are going on my wishlist - for research purposes of course! via Food52

Non-Food

I love this post. This is how it feels to be a mom. via Shutterbean 

40 Inspiring Work Spaces of the Famously Creative. It make me wiggle with glee that one of my bosses is included! via Shutterbean

Portuguese Man o’ War as you've never seen them before. via Dooce

Sunday Stuff

Non-Food
I am absolutely matching my wardrobe to my book cover for my book tour. (After I write a book.) 

Why I'd Rather Stand Up Straight Than Lean In

Yes. Just yes. via Shutterbean

A Short History of the GIF 

20-yr-old Brian Oldham’s flickr stream via Dooce

Mesmerizing: rhythmic ability in a California sea lion via Dooce

a “Back-to-the-Camera Shot” supercut via Dooce

Yikes. Weight of the World  via Dooce

What kind of music the French kids are listening to.

Comfort in; dump out. via Corinna

"The reflection you see is never more and never less than a perfectly present moment."

Food
Vegetables You Can Grow From Food Scraps

Reason to play with your food

How Animals Eat Their Food

Complementary Flavours

44 Food-Themed SNL Skits

A Project to Rescue Pantry Puzzlers Before They Hit the Trash

Please Don't Ask Your Vegetarian Friends Any Of These Questions

Sunday Stuff

Food

The Washington Post's food editor comes out as a vegetarian. via Chocolate & Zucchini

Prepping food for the week. This is extremely impressive.

I think I've been cooking quinoa wrong. Giving it another shot to win me over this week.

Gorgeous food collages. via The Wednesday Chef

I love her "Dating My Husband" series (Once a week she and her husband cook together and have a date at home). The cookbook is going to be lovely.

Ashitaba: Tomorrow's Leaf, Today


Non-Food

Save the Arts! 

Dr. Seuss had a secret hat closet. via Go Fug Yourself

Money Panic. I love #3. 

Jimmy Fallon’s 10 Best Late Night Moments. via Shutterbean

This is a really cool idea (to do yourself!) via Shutterbean

The Week in Photos

 

I don't know when to give up on my orchid. Probably soon. 

Two very ripe avocados that went on my hair instead of toast. I'm not sure it was worth it.

Green Zebra tomatoes, shallots and butter. About to go on rice.

Clothing swaps are fun. Especially when you swap more than just clothing.

Banana cake.

Tired stuffed animals after a legendary living room dance party.

Sunday Stuff

 
Food
I'm obsessed with pickled celery. It's all due to Smitten Kitchen's recipe for fingerlings vinaigrette with sieved eggs and pickled celery in her new cookbook. It is what potato salad aspires to be. But pickled celery is also great in egg salad, on sandwiches, or straight out of the jar. I absolutely cannot recommend that like me, you eat the entire jar in one day, and then reuse the vinegar pickling goodness for quick-pickling thin cucumber slices. It probably breaks a thousand food safety rules. But if you were to ignore me and do it anyway, your cucumber slices would pick up the celery essence and taste like a party in your mouth.

Happy Easter! Here's more proof that UK Cadbury Eggs taste better than the US version.  via Not Martha Better yet, have you made your own yet? Please share one (or 10) with me.
 

The Written Word
Why Blog Writing Should Be Celebrated.

I will be sad if USPS stops delivering on Saturdays (although I'm fully in support of the idea), because I too really like checking the mailbox.

Courting Your Long-Lost Writing  via Sassy Radish

Life & Love
Life Lessons We All Need to Learn.  via Shutterbean

Your Phone vs. Your Heart via Sassy Radish

One of the very few downfalls of becoming a parent is that everything rips at your heartstrings. You're always thinking about situations through a new lens. Every time you turn on the nightly news, listen to a human interest story on the radio, hear a touching song....or read a story about elephants. Slaughter of the African elephants.  via Sassy Radish

Sleep of the Beloved. via Design Mom

Why the rich don't give to charity. via Sassy Radish

Just Cuz
Bill Cosby is having a Cosby Sweater-Off to determine the best Cosby sweater. Rules. via Go Fug Yourself

This. via Sassy Radish



 

Sunday Stuff

I have a whole new appreciation for Sesame Street. This week's highlights were True Mud and Birdwalk Empire. PBS + HBO = parenting nirvana.

Best. Obit. Ever.

Work-Life Balance. It's worth watching.

Not everything can be improved with technology.

A collection of photography from the National Geographic archives on tumblr via Dooce

I still Speedos should be outlawed. But this guy rules. via Shutterbean

The Sleazy Story of Cereal's Success.

Oh I really want this limited edition. So pretty.

Hitting a little too close to home.

With all of the random stories I've read about Japan lately, I can't help but wonder what stories are being published in Japan about the US.

Sunday Stuff

(photo via Food52)

Writing about fennel makes me want to plant it in our garden. I need to try fennel pollen.

I'm over macarons and the Harlem Shake.

You know how sometimes stuff shows up right when you need it. This was one of those things.

Local news. via Shutterbean

Noooooo. via Sassy Radish

and a timely reminder: “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”  - Douglas Adams

 

Sunday Stuff

1. Highlight of the week. My new column front and center on Food52 just above a link to Real Time Farms! Woot!

2. I bought an item (sunflower shoots) that I love (really really love, whenever I buy them I look forward to eating them all week) at the farmers market last Saturday morning. I put them in our daughter's stroller, and.....completely forgot about them. Until Thursday night.  Luckily they were in the garage, and we effectively live in a freezer from October through March, so they were fine, but oh do I miss the days when my brain functioned like it was supposed to.

3. Falling as an adult is unsettling. My knee had just healed from a graceful hands and knees fall running for a cab in NYC (that also destroyed a pair of brand new pants). And I did it again yesterday. This time it was a full fall, I was running, hit a patch of ice, and completely sprawled out. My cheek was on the ice, and my first thought was disappointment in humanity, I'm not sure what that says about me.... It was right at an intersection, multiple cars saw me, and not one even rolled down the window to check if I was okay. I was, but still. I'm sore, and have bruises from my thigh down to my foot, but between my memory loss and the falls I'm mainly wondering if I've somehow aged a few decades.

4. Passive aggressive neighbors. I love this. via Dooce

5.  Nine Houses Built For Spite. Yup, no surprise I love this too. via Go Fug Yourself 

6. And this one. via shutterbean 

7. Jennifer Lawrence deftly handling silly questions after her Oscar win.

8. Fair warning, I found this mildly disturbing. But I couldn't look away.

9. DIY Pantone Easter Eggs and homemade Cadbury Creme Eggs. 

10.  Locally-grown food is now having a national impact. via Sassy Radish

11. Marissa Mayer, Yahoo!’s CEO has recently instituted a policy that mandates all employees come in to work and not telecommute. Check out the Atlantic's rebuttal. via Sassy Radish

12. We found our son in the subway. via Sassy Radish

13. Don’t Take Anything Personally. via shutterbean

14. I cannot add another blog to my blogroll. But I might anyway. via shutterbean

Sunday Stuff

WTF, Evolution? 

Very Specific Rules from Real Libraries.  via Go Fug Yourself

 Pictures of Hipsters Taking Pictures of Food

a winter green galette

Canal House's homemade Nutella

vegetable mapping!

fairy tales for twenty-somethings

30 Things to Start Doing for Yourself

80's Glam Sharpies?! Um. Yes please. via How Sweet It Is

Not Your Average Grandparents

Cross-sections of Trees. I need to get to Chicago before April 14th.