reefinfection’s Neighborhood

Via MSN, Esquire magazine is running an article on the lazy man's guide to last-minute shopping for a girlfriend. It's a guide to finding the right gift in the stores a guy is already in.  I always sigh when men's magazines give away bad ideas.  (Btw, Men's Health seems to be the most accurate when it comes to women tips).  So I am going to do my part for the men in my Vox neighborhood and improve upon Esquire's suggestions. :-)  I am a Taurus... to a 't'... which means I can be rather picky about gifts.

Esquire tip: At the Grocery Store: Option No. 1
Get a gift bag and some tissue paper (look near the tops of the aisles) and fill it with miniature candies, gossip magazines, and a best-selling book that wasn't written by Dan Brown.

Hapa tip:
Don't even think about "wrapping" your girlfriend's present in a gift bag. The message a gift bag sends is "LAZY". It's ok if the gift is a really weird shape, but try to avoid it. If you must, go get it wrapped at a store or something. A gift, when presented beautifully, makes the recipient feel special.

Now, the grocery store isn't the best place to find a gift. But if you're stuck with that, let's hope it's a Whole Foods or a Bristol Farms. Then you can purchase some gourmet treats, such as truffle oil, imported cheeses, olives, etc. Or, if they have sushi-grade fish, you could purchase all the stuff necessary to make sushi, and maybe a non-scented candle, and have a romantic sushi dinner for two at home.

Not all women love gossip mags, so if she doesn't, then it kind of sends a message of, "I think you're superficial, and what else do chicks like, anyway?". And if you're gonna get candles, get them at a fancy store. Those grocery store candles do not smell or look like a gift.

Esquire: At the Grocery Store: Option No. 2
Cake mix, with which you then bake her a cake.

Hapa tip:
See number 1. If you want to buy her a cake, go to a European bakery. One that uses really good ingredients. For example, one of those boutique-y cupcake places, St. Tropez bakery... something more expensive than Duncan Hines. However, if you want to make the cake (nice touch!), find a recipe on Cook's Illustrated, or some good cooking magazine, and do that. Doesn't have to be a cake, but try to do it from scratch and pick a recipe that doesn't look overly complicated if you haven't cooked much before.

Esquire: At the Drugstore: Option No. 1
Most drugstores sell products from the high-end cosmetics company La Roche-Posay. Get her the moisturizer, body balm, and face wash.

Hapa:
Take a look at what she already uses -- cosmetics are highly personal. Or, if she's got any beauty/fashion mags lying around, flip through them to see if any pages are dog-eared for stuff she wants to buy. I do buy plenty of my cosmetics stuff from drugstores,  but I would tend to buy Burts' Bees or various specific brands.

Esquire: At the Drugstore: Option No. 2
A gift bag filled with candy. Nothing fancy, the stuff she actually likes: candy.

Hapa:
Nah. Cupcakes. Or fancy chocolate (which cannot be purchased at a drug store). Another drug store option (if you must) would be a bunch of toiletries in travel size, in a travel bag -- if she travels. It's nice not to have a separate travel size of all your toiletries so you don't have to pack it each time. If she's into baths or relaxation, lavendar bath salts would be a pretty nice little gift, I think. Pack it up in a basket with a bottle of wine, an eye mask and some relaxing music.

Esquire: At the Hardware Store: Option No. 1
A flower (orchids are always nice) and a nice pot to transfer it to before you get home.

Hapa:
This is actually a good tip. It would be even better accompanied with a bottle of champagne!  Btw, Home Depot will transfer the plant to the pot in the store for you (for free).

At the Hardware Store: Option No. 2
If you don't already live together, consider the symbolism of having a key made for her. No gift packaging required.

Hapa:
Not too bad, but this only works when you're asking her to move in to your house. Not really a Christmas thing. If you need another hardware store idea, maybe a wreath or a fruit tree (planted). And if she digs power tools (there are a lot of crafty women around), that would be an awesome gift.

Esquire: At Kmart: Option No. 1
A picture frame, into which you insert a picture of the two of you.

Hapa:
Well you'd better not give her the gift receipt, because then she'll  know you shopped for her at Kmart. Actually, I'm cool with Kmart, but a picture of the two of you is a little on the cheesy side. We could improve this gift by doing a digital photo frame (also sold for cheap at Fry's Electronics), with some photos of the two of you, as well as photos of her and her friends and family. Then you score points for putting all the people she cares about (not just you) into the frame.

Esquire: Kmart: Option No. 2
A Wii.

Hapa:
That would actually be a pretty rad gift. I'd be stoked. You can get them for cheaper at Costco, though.

Esquire: At Kmart: Option No. 3
Several of the practical — and surprisingly attractive — Oxo Pop containers. Fill them — really fill them — with something she'll enjoy. Like candy. Or a note letting her know that her real gift is on the way.

Hapa:
I'd love this gift. However, if she's not into cooking, I wouldn't recommend it. But I really love those containers. Sometimes you can find these and other nice kitchen stuff for super cheap at T.J. Maxx, Marshall's and Ross.

Happy shopping!

Have a spare minute, want to procrastinate?

Click here to vote for Bucky in his holiday photo contest.

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This was the holiday...

Table

I made these cute little placecards that look like wheat sheaths, which ended up taking a lot longer than I thought, but I can use them again eventually.

Here's the day's menu. I did end up dropping one dish mainly due to time constraints (the green beans). I took Wednesday off to prepare, but it still ended up taking a little longer than I thought.

Menu

My turkey process was very simple - easiest part of the meal. I brined the turkey in saltwater for six hours, patted it dry, then let it air dry in the fridge, uncovered, for 24 hours -- that gets the skin super crispy. It took about 2.5 hours to cook, starting breast-side down for 45 minutes, then each wing side for 15 minutes, then the breast up for 30 minutes, basting with melted butter on each turn.

Turkey

Turkey2

I just got through all the turkey leftovers, upon making a turkey tetrazzini the other night. And the bones made a bunch of rich turkey stock.

Here's some cranberry grappa jelly that I made. I wanted a homemade version of the canned jellied cranberry sauce. Everyone else seemed to prefer the whole berry cranberry sauce, but there's still a place in my heart for the jellied. The dish wasn't hard to make, but a little time-consuming because you have to strain it, and let it set in the fridge for several hours.

Cranberrygrappajelly

Brusselssprouts

This Thanksgiving, the honey learned how to carve a turkey from my mom:

Lucarving

Here's the family grabbing some food -

Buffet

then sitting down at the table...

Fam

And the honey and I when it was all done... whew...

Us

Here's a review for your North County residents. Leucadia Sushi is located on North Coast Highway, north of restaurants such as Jamroc and Cap'n Keno. Basically, where Leucadia really gets funky - not in a bad way, but in a decidedly low-brow, relaxed way. On a side note, I've been wanting to visit Cap'n Keno, for the hell of it. Spaghetti dinners are $2.95. I'm not expecting much, but it's intriguing.

I had a $25 gift certificate from Restaurant.com for Leucadia Sushi so we decided to try it last night when I was sick of turkey leftovers. It was empty except for a group of 4-5 diners, but I think it may be a new restaurant. Here's what it looks like; it's one of those sushi boat places.

LeucadiaSushi_outside

LeucadiaSushi_inside

The sushi was pretty cheap (around $4 for two pieces of nigiri), and a fairly decent quality considering the price. It definitely can't compare to nicer places like Sushi Ota, Station Sushi, Tomiko or Tajima... but if you're looking for someplace cheap, this is better than your typical cheap joint in, say, P.B.

Overall, I'd say it could be an ok happy hour spot if it attracts some more business. There's a coupon on their website, and of course, you can get a gift certificate off Restaurant.com.  The honey and I ended up paying about $28 after the coupon,  including tip, two teas, 4 orders of nigiri, and 3 rolls.

The restaurant doesn't offer enough to make me want to come back, because I'd prefer to hit the Tomiko happy hour, which is in Encinitas, which would end up being slightly more expensive, but much better sushi and a much better ambience.

The final word
(1-5 rating:  1=BAD, 2=mediocre at best, 3=ok, 4=wow, pretty good!, 5=one of my all-time favorites)

Food (Taste, Quality): 2.7
Value: 3.4
Service: 4
Ambience: 2
Memorable Experience: 2
Price: around $4 for nigiri, and $7-14 for rolls.
Menu recommendations: I liked the salmon nigiri and the albacore. The tuna wasn't very good. Their dynamite dishes had too much creamy mayo-like sauce.
Notes:
Would I make a point to go again, paying full price?:  Probably not, given the other better sushi places that are closer. 

Hey guys,
Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend!

I've probably mentioned before that I really like Restaurant.com. They sell $25 restaurant gift certificates for $10, and they often have 80% off sales, so I usually buy the $25 cert for $2. Deal!

They're having this nice little promotion now.  I can enter up to 30 friends' email addresses and they'll send you a free $10 gift certificate.  (Of course, expect to be getting emails from them.... that's why I use my spam email address).  But they're not that frequent.

So, if you'd like the free gift certificate, let me know. If I don't already have your email address, private message me with it.

Much love,
HapaLove

      As a craft-procrastinator (why I procrastinate on something I love doing? no idea.) Thanksgiving signifies that x-mas is but a month away and if you haven't started making your gifts yet, you need to ASAP.  Since this year I am very, very, very, seriously, poor and unemployed all x-mas presents will come to fruition through my super stash of yarn and fabric and my own two hands.  I've come to the realization that I can pretty much make and do anything I want depending on my level of interest and my access to materials and tools.  I know how to do a ton of amazing stuff and I'm learning more everyday.  Yesterday I learned how to nest my seams to make my quilt blocks lay flat, and today I taught myself to make doll clothes patterns with just the measurements I found online.  More importantly than realizing that I can do and make and thing I want is that I SHOULD make and do what ever I want.  That I should be contributing to the craft community and stop wasting my talent and super awesome studio space by being a "lurker".

This craft-epiphany was due to a culmination of influential women in my life:

• Mama Hughes for being an amazing mentor and for always believing in me, encouraging me and giving me endless opportunities to learn from her and really making me feel like all things are possible.
• Ayla from the Jean M. Auel book The Clan of the Cave Bear for showing me that sharing your talents with the your community enriches the lives of those around you unless you are a complete troglodyte like Broud.
• My very talented friend Katy, (she designed my website and business cards) who was jealous of my craft room and made me realize that I was wasting my precious gift of space and tools and being unappreciative of what I have.

Sewingroom

And this is what I've been up to:

      I'm making a denim quilt for my parents.  We have an "heirloom" denim quilt that has been passed down from my dad's parents no one remembers who made it, or how old it it is, it's just always existed.  While being shoddily pieced together and not very attractive, it is highly utilitarian.  We used it for going to the drive-in theater when we were kids, countless picnics, music festivals in the park, trips to the beach, camping, you name it we've used that thing everywhere for everything.  Now it's gotten pretty beat up over the years and some of the patches are beyond repair.  I've also noticed that we use it a lot less now that it's all tattered.  My parents also just got a new RV so what better present than to make a new quilt that we can use the hell out of and make memories with.  The picture above and left shows the plaid I want to use as the backing (it's from France and I got it at a designer leftover sale) and the above and right photo is a sample of the block pattern I'm using.  Cool side note about the denim I'm using, it's all from jeans that I've worn dating back to middle school.  I harvested all the denim over the years knowing that someday I wanted to take on this project of creating and "heirloom" quilt.

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I've taught myself to make doll clothes.  My cousin who is 9yrs old, loves the American Girl dolls, and Michael Jackson.  What better than to make her doll one of the most iconic MJ outfits!  I will be making the red sequined military jacket and cropped tuxedo pants that the king of pop made legendary on his Victory tour.  Now if i'm super cool, i'm going to attempt the sparkly glove and socks, but we'll see about that.  here is the jacket I'm going to attempt to emulate.
 
                                            

Turkey day was hella laid back with only minor family drama when my sister's dead-beat-baby-daddy (DBBD)decided he was mad at my boyfriend for not being welcome at our new apartment and threatening to

Black Friday, talk about epic let down!  Nothing I wanted (or wanted to buy for someone else) was on sale, or was on sale enough for me to want to buy it.   Even my 9 month old nephew protested by smashing his glass bottle on the floor at Wal-Mart.  Why my sister uses glass bottles is beyond me.  My sister and I gasped in horror, but he laughed and smiled, finding the whole event quite entertaining.  this picture is of him biting a defenseless kitten (only joking, no one was defenseless or injured, in case PETA or CPS is reading)

Hey all my wonderful neighbors,

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope that you are all enjoying the holiday, have much to be thankful for, and are close to family and friends... if not physically, at least in spirit.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday... I just love the togetherness of sitting around the table, and of course you all know my thing with food. :)  This year is extra special for me, because it's my first year hosting my family. I am really enjoying all the cooking, because I've always wanted to do all these recipes my way. And I'm thankful for getting a break from traveling this year. No traffic!

I'm thankful for all of you... I've been on Vox for a couple years now, and it's been a hoot. The interactions have been great and even resulted in a couple of "real life" friendships. And, I'm happy to say, my Vox has been pretty much Internet-weirdo-free. I enjoy hearing what's happening in all y'alls lives, and I hope you're having a terrific weekend.

My present to myself this Thanksgiving - taking today off. It takes all the stress out of the prep. Ah, what a fine day.

During the past couple of years, the honey and I have been trying to shift our priorities a little bit and focus on eating good food. I'm not boycotting any particular kind of food, or non-organic, or anything like that, but in general, we've put a little more of our budget towards buying locally grown vegetables and pastured meat and dairy products from pastured animals when we can.

Now, it's a lot easier to do this in southern California than in most areas. California, I think, is really the land of milk and honey. We have access to a broad diversity of food year-round. So, why not take advantage of this bounty, I figure.

The growing local food/slow food movement has been great, in terms of broadening our access to these foods. It's easier now than ever before to find a farmer's market, get a CSA subscription, find out what's in your food both at the grocery store and in restaurants. I hope that this translates into the passing of a better food safety bill. I also hope that market forces can shape the future of our food system. Already, we are starting to see a rapidly growing market for ranchers that produce pastured meat, and local farmers. I think that's great.

Over the last couple years in particular, I've learned that cooking is an art that one can never master. Even the world's best chefs haven't mastered every type of cuisine - it's just impossible. There's always something to learn in cooking. And yet, simple cooking is always pleasureful. Just taking a few really good ingredients and making a simple dinner is sometimes the most satisfying activity I can think of. In Italy more than anywhere else, they get that.

Cooking and sharing good food, to me, is also a vehicle for friendship and love. Sharing thoughts and experiences over a home cooked meal is a wonderful way to deepen a connection with someone. Cooking for someone is a very tangible, gratifying way to show my friends and family that I care.

I'm thankful for all the good ingredients we have in this state, and for all the people who've helped me learn how to cook, and for those who come over and enjoy my cooking. (or smile and pretend to!)  Good food, a simple pleasure.

So far, I am on schedule with my Thanksgiving game plan. Having hosted lots of dinners and get-togethers, I've learned from many failures the importance of advanced planning... so I can get out of the kitchen and actually spend time with the guests! So, with an ambitious menu this year, I figured planning was essential.

This weekend I got done what I could - set the table, made placecards, did the food shopping.

Last night, I made pie doughs and vanilla ice cream.  Cooks Illustrated's secret to perfect pie dough is to replace half of the cold water you normally use with cold vodka. I think it helps keep the gluten from breaking down or something like that. And I use half butter (for taste) and half shortening (for flakiness).

The vanilla ice cream secret is just to do the French style -- which requires a heaping 6 egg yolks (for about a quart of ice cream). But hey, it's Thanksgiving, and we're not eating diet food. I also went all out and purchased a vanilla bean to give it extra flavor and those little specks... damn thing was like $8. For one.

I've gotten my routine down pretty well now.  That tends to be hard for me. But now (knock on wood), I'm making time to go to the gym in the morning, walk the dog, and cook dinner when I get home. And still have some time to zone out for a little in front of the TV and read before bed. It's feeling great...