free day: the tote bag

November 15, 2011 Comments: 4

Very Hungry Caterpillar tote bag

There is something new hanging on my coat rack, and I couldn’t love it more. We learned about book marketing and publicity in my publishing class this week, and my great instructor Anita Silvey brought a handful of examples of the swag (you know, bookmarks, stickers, T-shirts) that is often given to booksellers, librarians, and readers at the launch of a new book. This darling tote bag — featuring the star of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar — was up for grabs and I somehow ended up with it. I guess it pays to go to class. And, as a bonus, I found three little caterpillar tattoos inside the bag — gifts for the nieces and nephews when I see them in December!

I’ve been thinking about why I’m so enamored with this bag, and I guess it’s because The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the first picture books that comes to mind when I think of classics. Let me share with you a few of the other greats on my list:

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott

Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina.jpg

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

Corduroy by Don Freeman

Corduroy by Don Freeman

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Miss Nelson is Missing by James Marshall

Miss Nelson is Missing by James Marshall

Rain by Peter Spier

Rain by Peter Spier

Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola

Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola

the sour jacks

November 14, 2011 No comments

Boston Ballet's Romeo + Juliet at the Boston Opera House

Just so you know, Sour Jacks from CVS are nothing like Sour Patch Kids. Even if they’re on sale for $0.88 (normally $1), don’t even bother. Tim and I went to the ballet over the weekend and I just needed a little something sweet to snack on during intermissions. We swung by CVS on our way to the Opera House and came out with Sour Jacks. Luckily, the performance was so wonderful I didn’t even mind that the candy was subpar. (But I did appreciate that the Sour Jacks are shaped like little people.) The Boston Ballet went far beyond my expectations — Romeo & Juliet was elegant and graceful and dramatic and passionate all at once.

Also, I think if I had to pick one building in all of Boston to be my favorite, it would be the Boston Opera House. I’ve seen three different performances there and I love it more and more each time. It was closed for about 10 years not long ago and was placed on the most endangered buildings list (did you know there was such a thing?), then came back to life in 2004. Next on my list is Les Misérables in March.

Boston Opera House

the rice

November 11, 2011 1 comment

Crab Rangoon from King Fung Garden in Chinatown

Tonight was one of the rare times I felt in the mood for Chinese food. It’s just not my favorite, but every now and then it sounds pretty good. We were already downtown, so we ventured into Chinatown and used my Yelp app as our guide. We ended up at King Fung Garden, which is Zagat rated and had pretty great reviews online. The crab rangoon was most excellent — perfectly fried little bundles of cream cheesy goodness. My fried rice plate was enormous and delicious. Tim’s General Tso’s chicken looked great at first glance  (oh, and the side of white rice was our $1 item of the day) but then we ran into a problem. A hair problem. As in, the hair of one of the cooks was embedded into one of the pieces of chicken. So, dinner was ruined, and I do not plan to return to King Fung and its unsanitary cuisine.

General Gau's CGeneral Tso's Chicken with white rice from King Fung Garden in Chinatownhicken with white rice from King Fung Garden in Chinatown

the chocolate bar

November 10, 2011 Comments: 4

toffee

Although I could never ever choose just one favorite dessert, toffee ranks right up there among my most-loved sweets. Last week, while Tim’s mother was in town, I learned the fine art of toffee making. Cindy is a toffee-making pro, and she even procured the ingredients for us — including the $1 chocolate bars from CVS (sure, we needed more than just a dollar’s worth, but it counts for a blog post anyway). Let me tell you just how accomplished Cindy is when it comes to toffee. She made pans and pans and pans of the rich, buttery goodness for our wedding favors last year, and they were a real hit.

wedding toffee

We stuffed dozens and dozens of bags with the toffee, then attached these cute favor tags that matched our wedding announcements. Pretty, right? I can’t think of a better wedding favor. I better go snack on some toffee right now in honor of that blessed day.

wedding toffee

Credit for the great wedding photos goes to the lovely Meredith, and Linsey is responsible for the incredible design of the favor tags (and announcements). I sure have talented friends and family.

the donut

November 9, 2011 1 comment

double chocolate cake donut from Dunkin' Donuts

While our car was getting its oil changed, Tim opted to spend his wait time at the Dunkin’ Donuts across the street from Car Zone. He brought me back this chocolatey $1 souvenir — complete with 25 grams of fat and 380 calories.

the baguette

November 8, 2011 1 comment

Iggy's baguette with carrot, potato, cabbage soup

I know I’ve blogged $1 baguettes before, but this one has been the best by far — it is a product of Iggy’s, after all (purchased from the day-old shelf at Shaw’s). Perfectly chewy with a not-too-hard crust — just the way I like it. A few slices were the perfect complement to my carrot, potato, and cabbage soup. I realize the soup looks semi pukey, but I can assure you the taste is divine. I had a big hunk of cabbage I needed to use, and it just so happened I had all the ingredients on hand to make this recipe. I wasn’t expecting anything amazing to come out of the basic ingredients, but the flavors really blew me away. Try it.

the bananas

November 7, 2011 No comments

Del Monte bananas from Costco

I was pretty sure I had exhausted the Costco dollar options when I blogged about the much-loved churro. But Costco’s bananas come pretty close to the $1 mark. I’ve never seen another store beat Costco’s banana prices, and the only problem is consuming them all before they turn brown and mushy. I’m not a banana lover, but I usually eat two or three out of the bunch of eight or so — I only like them when they still have a hint of green on the peel. Tim eats a few once they get fragrant and the color turns spotty (at which point the scent makes me want to gag). The rest go into a Ziploc bag in the freezer, ready to morph into banana bread or my favorite frozen fruit treat.

the aluminum foil

November 4, 2011 No comments

Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil from Dollar Tree

I’ve been out of aluminum foil for a few weeks, and it’s driving me nuts. Plastic wrap just isn’t cutting it. I had an enormous box of foil in my cart at Costco last week, but I couldn’t bring myself to spend the $20+. I’m sure it was a good deal per square foot, but it seemed a little extravagant at the time. So, still foil-less, I ventured to the dollar store to see what aluminum options they might have for me. The Dollar Tree had loads of Reynolds Wrap foil, so I grabbed a 20-square-foot box and went on my way. (They also had boxes with 18 square feet of foil — same brand, same foil, same price. I don’t get it.) I think next time I should just take the plunge and go with the Costco purchase. With only 20 square feet of foil in my house, it won’t be long before it’s on my grocery list again.

substitute spender: the candy body parts

November 3, 2011 No comments

Frankford Halloween candy body parts

My mom called today and was very proud of her latest dollar purchase — a bag of gruesome body parts candy from Harris Teeter. I mean, who wouldn’t want to eat gummy candy shaped like brains and severed limbs? Thank goodness for discounted post-Halloween treats.

free day: the aquarium

November 2, 2011 1 comment

New England Aquarium in Boston

Although I am pretty much the opposite of an animal lover — I am 100% anti pets — I somehow adore ocean animals. I have always been a little bit crazy about dolphins, and for many years I was convinced I’d grow up to be a marine biologist. But then one day I realized biology = science, which is not exactly my thing, and that dream went right out the window. But I still love oceans and aquariums and all things sea related. And today I made my first visit to the New England Aquarium — for free. The local libraries have access to free and discounted passes for a number of museums and other attractions, so we reserved our tickets through the Boston Public Library and spent an afternoon along the waterfront. Please excuse any blurry photos — I was a fool for thinking my phone would give the same results as my camera.

New England Aquarium edge of the sea touch tank

The aquarium has two separate touch-pool areas — one with rays and little sharks, and one with sea stars, urchins, hermit crabs, and more. I loved touching those slimy rays.

New England Aquarium green sea turtle

This green sea turtle is absolutely enormous. Her name is Myrtle and she weighs more than 500 pounds.

New England Aquarium penguins

The penguins are pretty cute. There are 80 of them there!

New England Aquarium fur seals

The fur seals are in a semi-outdoor tank, which looks out over the beautiful waterfront. All in all, it’s a pretty good aquarium. The only thing missing is the dolphins!

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