my favorites of 2015

Quotes 

I'm sure this quote is not from 2015, but 2015 is when I saw it on the Word Porn Facebook feed, which I also love...



And for my new personal mantra... expanded this year as I've become of lover of more teas than just chai (shocker, I know, but "Mauritius is delicious" ;)

Memories of loved ones lost, in my happy place (aka my garden)

Lucky's painted rose

Granny's Cactus' Flowering

Entertainment: 

Music...

Truth. It's the thing this introvert goes to when I need something no one else can give... time with my thoughts.

... or when I need an amazing communal experience. I saw a lot of concerts this year. But these three by my two fave bands were the most amazing.

U2 i+e Tour live @ The Forum 

Foo Fighters #brokenlegtour + Love Ride 32

Adele "25" 
The new album I (and the world) had been waiting four years for made me feel happy, sad and sassy. It's amazing and has been on repeat in my car and office iTunes for weeks. And her promo appearances on SNL, her NBC special and this Tonight Show Classroom Instruments performance with Jimmy Fallon and The Roots made me love her and the album that much more.

Movies...

Brooklyn
I new very little about this film when I put the screener in the DVD player. It made me laugh, cry, swoon and cheer. Great performances. Great screenplay by Nick Hornby. A great emotional movie experience. 

The Martian
I didn't see this in the theater, but rather on my TV via screener on a sick day, months after everyone I know had already told me how great it was. I wish I had seen it on the big screen. It's big, bold, exciting and magnificent. Great performances. Great special effects. And a great STORY. I haven't seen everything yet, but right now I think this is my pick for Best Picture.

Most 

Most Pleasant Surprise ... (in that this was really good, but most definitely not pleasant)

The Revenant
I had no desire to see this movie. Every time the trailer came on in a theater I counted the minutes till it was over and a "better one" came on. But about week ago, I started to read the reviews. Then one night I decided to put the screener in to see if they were true. Wow. It's brutal, beautiful, sweeping, sad, enraging and excellent. Leonardo DiCaprio could finally win his Oscar for this amazing, heartbreaking performance (as long as the Academy refuses to give Eddie Redmayne two Best Actor Oscars in a row... he's Leo's only competition in my mind right now.)

TV...

This is the year I became a true binge-watching aficionado. I started the year finishing Breaking Bad, started summer with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and have spent the fall and winter with Mad Men -- I have four disks left with Don Draper. As f'ed up as he is, that makes me sad.

This is the year I also decided to no longer waste time watching shows I don't love... so I added exactly one half hour of new television this Fall, and deleted "How to Get Away with Murder," "Sleepy Hollow," Once Upon a Time" and "New Girl" from my Tivo season passes. My "Should I add a new show?" rule this TV season was: "Will I enjoy this as much as or more than another episode of Mad Men?" If not, then I didn't bother.

In the New Year (after Don and I say farewell), I will be focused on reading the pile of unread books I've accumulated in the last two years. (Anyone want to start a Book Club so I'm forced to do this? ;)

happy birthday granny

Today would have been my Granny's 86th birthday. It's been six months since she passed away, and I miss her so much. But I'm also constantly reminded of her by some of the most random things, which always make me smile. I like to think those reminders are her way of telling me "hi" :)

Watering My Cactuses
My cactus farm started with one tiny cactus Granny gave me when I was 12, and we were leaving El Paso to move to Connecticut. That one tiny cactus survived in Connecticut (inside the house, obviously), and then came to California, where -- especially since I've moved into my house and have a ton of outdoor space -- it has multiplied and multiplied and multiplied into more than 30 cactuses living in planters and pots and now permanently in the ground in my front and back gardens. I call the original cactus (below) "Mama Cactus," even though some of her "babies" are now bigger than she is. If you even need some plants that don't need a lot of water, let me know. The "baby" cacti are multiplying now too :)

I also love that the bigger members of the cactus family bloom in the summer ... as a pretty pink-purple flower. Purple was Granny's favorite color. The blooms only last for one day, which I think makes them even more special. Here's a bloom from the cactus in my front window-box from late July:

Mixing Ketchup and Mustard

When I'm running errands in Northridge, I am sometimes tempted to stop at Wienerschnitzel across the street from my alma mater CSUN for a corn dog (and the best french fries on the planet!) When I was a little kid, Granny taught me to mix my mustard with my ketchup. It's a little sweet, and a little spicy. In other words, the best condiment ever! And the one time I've been to Wienerschnitzel since February, I had the mustard ketchup mix on my corn dog, and thought of her.

Looking at the States on the Back of Quarters

Granny was not a coin collector. But I do think she was trying to find all 50 states on the quarters at some point in the late 90s-early 2000s. And while I don't think I ever gave her any of my quarters, I do subconsciously always flip them over to see what state they have etched on them before I spend them.

Her Purple Tea Set

I've only had tea from her purple-flowered china tea set once (because I'm a klutz and don't trust myself) but I see it when I open that cabinet and always think of her. The dress I picked to wear to my cousin Josh's wedding in June had purple flowers on it that reminded me of this tea set, and therefore Granny :)

Hummingbirds

Granny loved hummingbirds. When she moved from her apartment into assisted living, she dispersed her huge mug collection amongst all the family members (filled with candy) that Christmas. I got her "New Mexico" hummingbird mug... mostly (I think) because it was purple. But I have that sitting out on my counter, still filled with candy. And whenever I catch an actual live hummingbird out at my feeder, it makes me think of her.

Happy Birthday Granny! I love you!   

products i love: marks and spencer scottish shortbread petticoat tails

My friend Daryl works for the British government here in LA and had to travel to London back in September for work. He was taking requests for souvenirs so I told him to try and find me something from the London Summer Olympics. 

When he returned, he brought me two cute collectible pins featuring the Games' mascots Wenlock and Mandeville. That would have been enough. But then he handed me a shopping bag containing what has turned into two months of streched-out, carefully-rationed edible heaven.

This is the totally adorable Marks and Spencer London Olympics souvenir biscuit tin that was inside the bag...

And these are the amazingly wonderful Scottish shortbread petticoat tails that were stacked inside of it...

I'd never had "petticoat tails" before, but upon one taste, they became my favorite cookie in the world. 

They remind me of a thinner (and therefore better for you, right? ;) version of the old Girl Scout Shortbread cookies they had back when I was a Brownie. (These weren't just a plain "Trefoil" shortbread cookie like they sell now. These were the amazing, now-discontinued "Scot-Teas" that had sprinkled sugar on top, which I used to lick off before devouring the remaining cookie. ;)

These petticoat tails also have a light sprinkling of sugar on top. And taste oh-so-delicious with hot tea. The tin had about 10 of the cookie sheets (pictured above) inside of it, which can be broken up into six individual wafers, which I've been seriously rationing since October because when they are all gone, I'm going to be very, very sad. 

Of course, thanks to the internet I could order more (although the cute collectible tin is now only available on eBay). But that just wouldn't seem as special. 

So from now on, if anyone is going to London, you now know what you can get me as a special treat. My sweet tooth and I will love you forever :)