Read

One month mark.

When I used to work at a library I loved to shelve the biographies. Interestingly, I think it is the genre of book that is least checked out because there were never many to shelve. I loved sliding the books of the shelf and looking at the pictures inside. Little frozen moments in the lives of the famous and infamous.

One in particular I will always remember. It was Isabella Rossellini's Some of Me. Rossellini is the daughter of actress Ingrid Bergman and famous Italian director, Roberto Rossellini. The book was put together more like a magazine spread including pictures on every page. In the forward she said that her first book would be titled Some of Me, and if she wrote another it would be called More of Me, and the last, All of Me.

This is my Some of Me.

Buy

I was watching an Oprah back when Oprah was a little more OPRAH! and she was having a fashion show of some sort. I don’t remember who the designer was or whether it was a Fall or Spring line, but they gave one piece of fashion advice I resoundingly agree with: the one wardrobe item most women do not have, but should is an evening coat.

I am not talking a cute pea coat, or a really nice tailored wool jacket- I mean a real and true evening coat.

About five years ago I saw one that I fell in love with. It was from a store called Arden B. that I really should not have even walked into because of the prices. It was cream brocade cut in a military style, the material, elegant and the pattern floral and feminine, yet the cut gave it edge and kept it interesting. I had to have it.

I cannot even remember how much it was, but it was enough that come Christmas it was the ONLY present I got from my husband that year. This single gift coming from a man who bought me a cell phone, Tiffany’s bracelet, a load of clothes, and a $100 gift card to Anthropologie for our first Christmas together. We had only been dating three months, he got a sweater.

Even given the price I have never once regretted its purchase. In fact, it really and truly is a wardrobe staple of mine. It 100% enhances my outfit when I put it on. You know when clothes can make you feel a certain way? Well this coat makes me feel and it does so every time I put it on, it makes me feel like I have my act together.

Shortly after that Christmas we went to The City to see The Producers with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. While we were standing in line outside my coat was complemented and for some reason that random act of kindness meant the world to me. Possibly because it was such an extravagant purchase at the time- so wherever you are young, hip, female NYC theater worker, thank you for your shared impeccable fashion sense.

Do

When I was very young my father gutted our upstairs bathroom in order to create a grand master bath. However, as it is with my dad for some reason or another projects were never, really, well… 100% finished. It is not that he is not a handy guy. He single handedly built a deck off our house. The problem is the deck around the pool has posts, but no rails. Then there is the deck off the garage he built that is just a shell (the idea was to create a slide into the pool). Or the fact that most of the house is painted, but the too high parts (in effect creating a four color motif). My personal favorite is the very becoming ‘French Country’ faux brick in the kitchen- all aside from the fact that he ran out of bricks and therefore the last two bricks were never placed.

As a result of the bathroom redesign three fourths of my life were spent deprived of a bathtub. It was not until my 27th year in this world that I bought a house with a tub- a crisp, white brand new tub.

There is something about soaking in the bath. When the almost too hot water encases you. That moment is gold. I love taking baths. But there are problems:

1) The environmentally conscious part of me always feels guilty for wasting the worlds water supply
2) You can never really wash your hair. It just does not look the same when washed in the tub. If I later stood up and washed it in the shower I would be using even more water
3) What do you actually do once you are in the water?

Maybe it was because I was deprived as a child, but after the initial- and totally worth it- submersion what are you supposed to do in a bath? Inevitably it becomes a fight to keep as much of your body under water as possible or your knees start getting cold and then you rotate yourself like a rotisserie. You start to fight physics and the laws of buoyancy. I’ve never heard of physics ever loosing.

My cousin and I once had a conversation about bathing and she, like me showers every other day, but she then informed me that she takes a bath the in-between days. Her rational: she does not feel right unless she washes her derrière at least once a day. I was shocked and torn between being appalled (I had just found out that she may be responsible for the lack of drinkable water in third world countries) and embarrassed (how can you fight that kind of logic? I don’t mind a dirty butt?).

The picture of women relaxing in the bath is part myth. Who really reads a book in the bath tub? Do you always bring candles with you? Do you wear a facemask, cucumbers on your eyes and a towel in your hair? Who wears a towel when they are IN the water!? I have tried everything including the cucumbers and excluding the towel.

I will tell you this though: After a long day, when the house is very quiet, and I am aching- the simple pleasure of lowering myself into that almost too hot water is momentarily sublime.

Then I start the rotisserie.

Listen

Because, "You're a dumb ass, I'm just moody today" just would not have sounded as lyrical.

This is perfect for a Monday. If you forgot about this song, shame on you.

I remember first hearing this song and instantly connecting. It is an anthem. When Monica comes in the beginning A Capella and then the beat kicks in, it is an instant connect.

I think this song is genius.

Artist: Monica
Song: Don't Take it Personal
Album: Miss Thang
Year: 1995

Eat

I have no idea what Goulash really is, however this is my world famous Goulash dish. Wikipedia says it is Hungarian, however the pictures look nothing like my dish or anything I would ever eat. Even though the dish's origins are in dispute, what Hungary did give us for sure is the Rubik's Cube, from Hungarian sculpter Erno Rubik.

I have no way of proving that this is delicious, but generally any pasta dish toped with a load of baked mozzarella cheese is bound to be at the very least, satisfying.

1 lb box of Cellentani Pasta
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 LB Ground Beef
Diced Onions & Peppers (cut up 1/2 or more of each vegetable)
1 Tbs. Minced Garlic
Large Can Tomato Soup
1/2 Container Sour Cream
1 1/2 Tbs. Italian Herbs
Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bring the water to a boil, add salt and pasta, cook until it is al dente.

Cook the onions and peppers in a small amount of olive oil until soft in a large skillet. Add beef and cook until brown. Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.

Add Tomato Soup, sour cream and herbs. Simmer together for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. This way all of the flavors can blend. Add cooked pasta, stir until coated. Transfer to a casserole dish, top with mozzarella and bake until cheese is golden brown.

Invite people over for this dish because it gets RAVE reviews. Do not use too much olive oil with the vegetables because the meat creates its own oil. I usually use 90/10, but that is just me. If you use 80/20 you may have to drain the pan a bit. If you like spicy food you can put red pepper flakes in the sauce at the same time you add the herbs.

I actually stopped using a casserole dish. I dump the pasta into the skillet and then transfer the skillet to the oven. This saves on dish duty.

Buy

There are every few products on the market that have so dominated an area that even generic forms are called by its competitor’s name. When is the last time you used a facial tissue, indelible marker, or an adhesive bandage. Have you ever asked to borrow a Kleenex, used a Sharpie, or needed a Band-aid? Do you In-line skate or do you Rollerblade? When is the last time you have been given an affronted look at Burger King or Wendy’s when you asked for Chicken McNuggets?

This Buy is in homage to one of those products that has such brand power that its true name is a generic as well: ChapStick. It is a product I love, but for some reason rarely buy. Most likely because I have made a pact with myself to never again allow Danny Wegman to take half my paycheck. Therefore when I go to the grocery store I only pick up grocery items. I do not impulse buy- hence waiting two years before purchasing the Hunter boots. Instead I steal my husband’s ChapStick and then blame him for his irresponsible spending habits and the $1.95 budget deficit.

Unfortunately, he never buys Cherry.

Back to the point. ChapStick cannot be beat. Burt’s Bees feels absolutely disgusting your lips, gloss never lasts long and despite the range of brands I have tried it is always sticky. Soft Lips is a close second, but you always know it is on. ChapStick is like second skin, lasts forever, and does what it says it will.

Next time you are at the store give into perfection and the marketing ploy of the end cap impulse buy… but get the Cherry kind.

Product: ChapStick
Place: Just about anywhere
Price: $0.99 at Target, you'll have to put out more cash for the three pack

Do

Pilates

There are only three things I own that once belonged to the coveted 3:20 A.M. timeslot of infomercials: The Magic Bullet, Proactive, and Winsor Pilates.

Mari Winsor has been making appearances in my living room for over six years now. I have to say that although she cannot perform miracles (I have already admitted to eating pie for breakfast, a before dinner snack, and dessert), they allow me to maintain. Normally, I treat Pilates the way most Catholics treat mass. I throw the DVD in every now and then and it is only when I start to notice that I am in trouble that you will find me parked on the floor for about two weeks straight.

Pilates are great for two reasons:

First, with Pilates you really truly do not feel like you are working out (if you are a ‘feel the burn’ person, this is not for you). You are literally lying on the floor in a prone position for 95% of the workout.

Second, you start to notice results quickly. It may not be weight loss, but you notice more (and in some cases new) muscle definition within the first week.

Even though at this point Winsor Pilates are a maintenance strategy, they are also excellent for crisis management. If you plan ahead and really do them every other night or so for three weeks to a month you can drop a dress size. For me those times are weddings, reunions, major holidays, and bathing suit season.

Note: screw the band (tried it), the ‘Sculpting Circle’ (tried it), and the ball (just looked like too much work); just get the original Pilates and you’ll have enough. The 20 minute really does work, and the longer one is for the odd night that you are feeling ambitious. For real bang for your buck though NOTHING beats the Buns and Thighs Sculpting DVD, it is only 20 minutes and it is spot on.

Place: It is tough to find the original, try Amazon and Ebay
Product: Winsor Pilates Basic 3 DVD Workout Set
Price: $50+

Listen

Yes, this song is in my top ten. Yes, I have listened to the words. Yes, it does lack a certain amount of social conscious and it's a little bit dirty. But, what would a self respecting former catholic school girl be if not someone who loves a little bit of dirty.

Most of The Roots music is pure hip hop and not melodic enough for me, they put music out there to make a statement and provoke thought. Their Grammy proves they do this well. This song is more like their song "You Got Me", featuring Erika Badu or Jill Scott (the former being the original and Badu was picked up for the video).

The singer in this video who looks too cool for school is Cody Chestnut and is not part of the band. Chestnut is not widely know, but he is respected. I remember reading that he recorded an entire album on a 4-track recorder in his NYC basement apartment.



Artist: The Roots
Album: Phrenology
Song: The Seed 2.0 featuring Cody Chestnut

Do

Try a Dinner In (a post for the weekend)

Last weekend my husband was away for work and he was none too pleased to be spending his weekend working. So when I was doing the grocery shopping that morning I picked up a box of higher end frozen appetizers, fresh pasta instead of boxed, a $7 jar of sauce instead of Prego, and a frozen apple crumb pie.

When he got home about 6:30 pm I popped the apps in the oven and in that moment, it just felt right. It was complete satisfaction, however brief. Would it have sucked if the appetizers we had never tried before were found to taste as rancid as the brownies from a recent work party? In a word: yes, but unlike the unfortunate brownie incident- it was a risk well gambled my friends.

However, as nothing lasts forever, and because the crab and pesto bits of deliciousness wrapped in puff pastry filled us up, and because at 28 we can apparently not make it up past 9:30 pm on a Saturday night, the rest of the feast was put on hold.

That is the beauty of a dinner in though. We had the pasta for lunch with some left over still and I have been eating apple crumb pie for dessert, breakfast, and a before dinner snack for the past two days.

You cannot derive that amount of prolonged satisfaction from an hour or two at a restaurant.

Product & Price:
Wegmans Crab and Spinach & Pesto Puff Pastries: $14.99 (16 in a box)
Wegmans Fresh Tri-Colored Linguini: $3.18 (6 nests)
Patsy’s Fra Diavo Sauce: $7.49
Mrs. Smith’s Pie: $6.99

Drink

I'm one of the very few that never got into coffee and I really do not enjoy tea. No matter what, it always tastes like a watered down version of the flavor it is pretending to be. My drink is hot chocolate.

Once while traveling in Burlington, Vermont I found my first and only Hot Chocolate Bar where I tasted my first Mexican Hot Chocolate (also called Aztec).

Now, my husband had found another type of bar, several in fact. Vermont as it turns out is known for microbreweries and he was of the mind to try them all. By the time we got to my bar he was (as I was soon to find out) not in full command of his reflexes or depth perception. I discovered this fact when I asked him if he wanted anything from the menu. He pointed to that menu item in a grand sweeping arch of the arm and pointing of the finger, in process knocking over and spilling the entirety of my drink which had just been placed on the counter.

I was mostly concerned that I was going to have to pay for another hot chocolate or miss out on the experience of tasting my first mexican one. However, to my great relief while one girl started cleaning the counter, floor, cash register, and yes credit card machine, another started making me a new drink. My husband grabbed the paper towel roll they had gotten out and started to drunkenly rip off large bundle after bundle in an attempt to remedy the situation. I told him to go back to the bar next door.

After all that it was 100% worth it. If he had knocked over a mop bucket, tripped another customer and landed on the floor bleeding profusely, it would have been worth it.

The Mission restaurant, Downtown Syracuse serves them and they are small, but fabulous. Williams-Sonoma sells a mix I have yet to try, and you can find recipes on-line that I have yet to make.

or you can travel to Vermont:
Lake Champlain Chocolates
65 Church Street
Burlington, VT 05401

Buy

I lusted after these books for about two years. I finally bought a pair last year. I admit to having a bit of a romantic attachment to them because they are a British import and I've seen them in Vogue from time to time among the fashionable elite. Most of the time on their Hampton Estates or even worse on a 5' 9", 115lb model without cankles.

These boots come in a plethora of colors and a couple of different styles. I have the Original Tall boot in maroon. The great thing is that you can buy fleece inserts to wear inside them during the winter for warmth. NOW, they may not be as warm as some winter boots, but they do look better! Plus I have to walk three city blocks to and from my car everyday and have gone sledding in them for a couple of hours without having to amputate my toes from frostbite.

It is also nice to have boots almost no one else has. Last year I was the only one I saw with them and this year I've only seen two others. The problem is I didn't feel the same affinity for fellow Hunter wearers as those 'Jeep' people seem to do for each other. In true elitist style I felt more like attacking them on the streets.


Place: Online (Zappos, usa-hunter-boot.com, and J. Michaels Shoes in Syracuse)
Product: Hunter Boots
Price: Around $115 for the Original, but you can get them for less if you search or are not too particular on color.

Read

This is a book, but a short one. It is not very profound, but it is poignant. Mark Twain is know for his whit which is exhibited in this book, but it is also a deep love story (if you can get past the blatant sexism of the late Victorian era). Twain wrote Adam's Diary in the 1890's and Eve's 15 years later. A period of time in which he lived through the deaths of his wife and three of his four children. It is a both funny and touching story.

Note: Some copies intertwine both books, get one that has them separate, as they were written.

From the Diary of Eve upon her first encounters with Adam:

"I followed the other Experiment around, yesterday afternoon, at a distance, to see what it might be for, if I could. But I was not able to make out. I think it is a man. I had never seen a man, but it looked like one, and I feel sure that that is what it is. I realize that I feel more curiosity about it than about any of the other reptiles. If it is a reptile, and I suppose it is; for it has frowzy hair and blue eyes, and looks like a reptile. It has no hips; it tapers like a carrot; when it stands, it spreads itself apart like a derrick; so I think it is a reptile, though it may be architecture.

I was afraid of it at first, and started to run every time it turned around, for I thought it was going to chase me; but by and by I found it was only trying to get away, so after that I was not timid any more, but tracked it along, several hours, about twenty yards behind, which made it nervous and unhappy. At last it was a good deal worried, and climbed a tree. I waited a good while, then gave it up and went home.

Today the same thing over. I've got it up the tree again."

Book: The Diaries of Adam and Eve
Author: Mark Twain
Price: Free- go to the library!

Watch

For moms and anthropologists alike.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/babies/

Listen

I think the true genius of this song is that it always has the power to make me buy into the theory that I might one day have that life. One slightly redeeming quality to the video is that at one point you can see his breath so you know that even though they look like they're having fun in the water, they're actually probably freezing (of course not by our standards so have no real pity).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUFSB2plwzM

(Seeing the girls in this video did however force me stop gobbling the bag of Mini Reese's next to me.)

Read

A major influencing factor in shaping who I am today was my parents decision to send me to parochial school, yet reside on the south side of Syracuse. The various success in my life I owe to my education, but the person that I am was undoubtedly shaped by where I grew up.

Recently, Gerald Grant a Syracuse University professor advocated for a county-wide educational system in Onondaga County. While I believe his idea has merit, I have to admit that I have not read his book "Hope and Dispair in the American City", nor did I catch the Post-Standard article which featured his idea. What I really wanted to highlight was the following Letter to the Editor received by the Post-Standard by 19 year old Joseph Stray.

To the Editor:

Professor Grant’s idea is ingenious. As a student attending Onondaga Community College and as a Golden Gloves boxer, I would do anything in my power to help make this happen. I train around kids from the city every day at Ray Rinaldi’s Golden Gloves gym on Geddes Street.
I’m also an amateur boxer who is 19 years old but has matured through both heartbreaking and joyful experiences.
The nicest and sometimes sweetest kids come into the gym from bad areas with potential that is smothered by Onondaga County. Fowler High School is right across the street, and I have established relationships and some friendships with many kids of different ethnicities. I’ve learned enough to realize Fowler does not offer the same opportunity as Westhill, where I was a graduate in 2008.
Some behaviors of city kids make it apparent that they have grown up in environments different from your average suburban home. The fear comes from the lack of knowledge that those kids with “saggy jeans” are normal young men with interests and motivation, too. This academy could be prosperous and give the city of Syracuse a new birth in education and city life.
The dreams of city kids could become real and life-changing with opportunity. This would have a positive effect in Syracuse and broaden possibilities for young men and women. I am in 100 percent agreement with Professor Grant, and I can say this with experience with city youth from all aspects.

— Joseph Stray, Syracuse

Buy

This is the one that started it all. My original idea for this blog was purely in the spirit of mercantilism. I was going to single handedly jump start the economy by throwing my personal recommendations on items to purchase out into the vast world of the internet. I told Mr. Greenspan that I wasn't quite sure on this latest theory of his, but he was adamant.

Quite seriously however, this is the best candle you'll ever buy for overall value. It has a number of qualities to recommend it: First, it is long lasting; second, the smell will permeate your whole house (but not overpower) and cover up almost any other smell you are trying to hide (and fast too); and lastly it is unisex. It must be the mixture of the woodsy sandalwood with the sweeter vanilla, but this really does appeal to both men and women.

Place: Bath and Body Works
Product: Slatkin & Co Sandalwood Vanilla Candle
Price: $19.50 (Three Wick)
Often times you can get it on sale for half price (like right now!!) or 2 for $20

Welcome!

This is a blog devoted to all of the 'minor essentials' in my life. Minor essentials are those things that we see, hear, experience, and sometimes buy that have an impact on us, that in some way help to shape and define our lives. They are minor, but essential to who we are. In fact, sometimes we can feel so strongly about something that we feel it is actually a part of who we are.

The really key factor here is that most of the time we feel the urge to share these things that touch us. So this is my blog of minor essentials.

-Jenny B.