Did anyone else's mom make these heaven sent little doodie balls in the summer time ? This is the stuff of true genius, people. Chocolate, peanut butter and oatmeal all rolled up and made hard in the fridge. and the best part ? noone has to turn on that big stinkin' oven and heat the whole house up ! c'mon ya'll this a/c ain't cheap !!! for those err, challenged in the kitchen as well - they are REALLY REALLY easy. even for moi. bettye crocker i am not. be sure to sip something that reminds you of your childhood.. shirley temple, Old Fashioned, Manhattan, pbr.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal

Preparation:

In large saucepan, combine sugar, milk, cocoa, salt, and butter and mix well. Bring to a boil and cover saucepan for 30 seconds to allow steam to wash sugar crystals down sides of pan. Stir mixture and bring it to a boil that can't be stirred down for 1 minute. Then remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until smooth. Add oatmeal and mix well. Do not use regular or instant oatmeal; quick-cooking oatmeal is essential to the success of this recipe.

Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to let the oatmeal absorb some of the liquid.

Drop mixture by spoonfuls onto waxed paper . Let cool until you can touch the mixture; then reshape the cookies to make them more a ball shape. or just eat right now. before they've cooled. life's short , people.

how refreshing to see a real woman's body here (Christina Hendricks) - yes im MAD FOR MAD MEN. a little errrr, late but still a fan, just the same. One of the writers of the Soprano's - matt weiner brings us a brilliant and artfully directed show about an ad agency in the 60's (hello- costumes and props are outta sight !) The vocabulary and nuances of the time will make one guffaw - (don't even get me started on how they spoke to women-what?!!) its hard to believe this was only a short time ago... and if you go into a bananna republic now there is a contest for a 'walk-on' role in the next season... sign me up, Don !

soap on a rope

im big on scents. and after opening a lovely care package from Paris from dear grandma bettye ( thanks, grandmars!!) i am totally in love with 'Thymes' bath salts - or anything Thymes for that matter. available online and in many stores across the world - soap, room spray, candles -- even a line of baby toiletries, thymes is the way to go.

Oh la la, mon cherie.

In this economy, who has the moolah for a hotel stay ? craigslists' 'housing swap' is the way to go for a summer vacation. Think of it -- all you have to dish the cash out for is a plane ticket ( nyc - paris is now an incredibly low $780.00 for July- www.kayak.com) and some lovely parisian person stays in your place, watering your plants and feeding Elmo your goldfish. Voila ! everyone wins, even the fish !
search craigslists' 'housing swap', be sure to iron out ALL details with your 'swapper' before you confirm ( location location location! ), google map the actual address of your vacation spot to make sure its near transportation and locales you'd like to visit and Bon Chance !

well its still so darn cold. i'll have a snowball

did anyone else LOVE these as a child ? i mean its chocolate, cream-filled, hot-pink, covered in coconut - and its called a 'snowball'... genius genius genius.
and they're not bad to boot !
until this summer in nyc starts to feel like real summer temps. im stickin' to schnapps and snowballs. jeez will it just warm up already?? its JUNE.
all right.
got that out of my system.
had a lovely herb-cheese stuffed chicken, cous-cous and blueberry buckle at Hannah Banana's. did some [wishful thinking for warmer temps shopping] - scored 3 great new editions to the ol' wardrobe. (H & M just opened up down the street...) i buy with the guilt of knowing those 3 things just won't look the same come fall, but ahh c'est la vie its so cheap.
looking forward to an evening of African-Amercian dance class at the 92nd st Y tonight. The instructor brings her own 5 piece Jamaican drumming circle - and this class is only $12.00 people ! get there! such an amazing cardio workout you'll be moaning from your sore muscles for days after.
spent the weekend sunning in central park with a girlfriend + adorable dog 'Atilla the Hound' and munching on grilled spicy chicken in McCarren (thank you Chef Billy).
Not much more a girl can ask for - is there ?

god of carnage

'James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden and Hope Davis star in a sharp-edged new play by Yasmina Reza.' One look at that cast and you know this new off broadway play HAS to be phenomenol. "Never underestimate the pleasure of watching really good actors behave terribly." - The New York Times. i can't really say it better. running roughly two hours with no intermission, there wasn't a restless body in the house-everyone hanging on each word and action. Hope Davis plays an uptight and later goofy over protective ocd type mother. her antics were nothing short of pure comedy. my good pal Cary and i made this tuesday night showing, only 'standing room' tickets were available. this was one well heeled crowd - 'mr.big' from sex and the city was there. go now before it becomes the next big thing !! god of carnage site.

get vampy

wow. i am so in love with vampire weekend's new song ' White Sky.' i've literally had it on repeat , love at first listen! I did some research on these cute boys--apparently they all met at Columbia University, held steady full time jobs, and managed to write and produce their first album--all on their own. talk about motivation !!! go to www.hypem.com for a looksee.

spring!

The spring solstice is arriving. in only moments. i for one am. so. pumped. next year? see ya later NY winter. if i have to hock coconuts out of the back of pick up trucks i will GET OUT of ny next winter ! mark my words.
so GI joe is coming to visit moi this weekend. yee haw. i think we'll have some friends over to my (dont gasp) 800 sq foot apartment and we'll be serving up this delicious and EASY (really) appie. - -- courtesty of my pal stef. here it is - i'll call them 'hunnybrie bread'
take one french roll. as fresh as possible.
slice into small bite sized pieces. toast.
while they're warm, smother with brie ( or goat cheese)
drizzle with honey. ( or agave)
add finely sliced almonds or walnuts to taste.
serve with any white wine. sauvignon blanc might be a good bet...
you will have to fight your guests for the last piece. yes for cheese !!

booties

Recently, my favorite gal pal (a public school kindergarten teacher, she is truly a vision of Patience) and I made a secret trek WAY UP there in harlem to get to one of the city's secrets... a Target. yeah, the red and white bull's eye kind... who knew just a quick train ride uptown gets you into the every girls' cool and thrifty shopping palace?!!!
while studying abroad in London i came across this lovely cosmetics brand, 'Boots No 7' in their local drugstores. the quality was top notch but what really sealed the deal was the super cool and sometimes retro packaging. when you purchased Boots, you didnt have that 'ugh i just had to down grade to the store brand' feeling.... and now, voila it is available in the U.S.--at every Target.

go go goji

Well i must be on the soapiest soap box but i'm all about health/diet and exercise this month. Call it spring fever. call it wanting to fit into those NYC spring fashion week runway looks ( or more likely - desiring that feeling when you're skinny jeans glide over your hips again...)
I've been reading 'The Flat Belly Diet,' (see below) and 'Eat right 4 Your Type', which explains which foods to eat/avoid according to your blood type. Not surprisingly, almost all the foods for my type are the ones i love, and the foods i am to 'avoid,' are indeed the kinds that mysteriously end up on my love handles...in addition to these two books, i've checked out 'Why Mars and Venus Collide,' which explains how stress, yes just stress, can be the #1 culprit for tension and collision of the sexes. In this book, Dr. John Gray, Ph.D., recommends a morning shake for your brain-all the ingredients are abfab and delicious. He sells it as a powder mix from his site and you add the following ingredients-- goji berries, a few sliced apples (which raise the 'feel good' chemical oxytocin in womens' brains), pure cacao, ground flax seed, coconut, molasses, and almonds, (also a 'brain food'), a little water and ice. Have this shake replace your morning ritual of cereal and coffee...for one week...and watch the results--more energy, fewer hunger pains before lunch, alertness, and higher 'oxytocin' levels. watch the video on his website for tips on the differences in the shake for male and female version. yum! yeah brain food !

shake recipe
Directions/ Ingredients to add to your Shake:
Blend 2 Scoops of Shake mix with the following
Ice (about 1 cup)
6-8 oz. Purified Water
Small handful of Nuts (walnuts, almonds, brazil, or pine nuts/ raw and unsalted)
1TBLS. Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil
1TBLS. Pure Cacao (organic chocolate nibs)
1 tsp. Black Strap Molasses
1-2 tsp. Maca Root
1/2 tsp. psyllium seed husk powder
Mix all ingredients together in a blender. ENJOY!