Starbucks - "The Gary" Drink

If you're a fan of Brad Goreski and his husband Gary Janetti like I am, you probably have seen a million photos of an iced Starbucks drink on social media linked to the two of them, haha.  Brad recently posted a montage of Gary ordering the same drink at Starbucks at a bunch of locations while on vacation, and some versions of the drink seemed to fare better than others based on Gary's reaction.  Of course I wasn't the only one that went out and tried "The Gary" shortly after seeing these posts!

Based on the videos, "The Gary" is:
- Starbucks Grande Iced Mocha
- 2 pumps of Mocha
- Almond Milk
- No whipped cream

I got the Tall version of "The Gary" and I loved it!  I like almond milk to begin with and I think it adds a little extra flavor to the drink as well.  I love that this fun and silly social media post got so many people to try Gary's Starbucks drink of choice :o)  I also posted on Instagram that I wondered if my pre-order of Gary's book (Do You Mind if I Cancel?) would come with "The Gary", and he replied that it sadly does not, haha!

Mari Andrew at Sixth & I - March 29th, 2018

Sixth & I synagogue always has a great lineup of events throughout the year, and I particularly enjoy when people stop here on a book tour.  I was happy to see Mari Andrew on the upcoming events list because I enjoy following her on Instagram for her mix of funny and thoughtful posts.  If you take a look at the comments on her posts, you'll find a lot of people relating to what she drew, from the types of crushes we've all had to navigating life's big decisions.    

Mari's talk at the event last night focused a lot on what she considers sources of power, which she had also posted about recently here.  I think the reason why her posts are so popular is because she's able to describe things in a fairly simple format, but in a way that's easily relate it back to your own life and actions.  I really enjoyed seeing her speak in person and she seemed very down to earth and so appreciative of people coming to see her which was very sweet! 

Her book Am I There Yet?: The Loop-de-loop, Zigzagging Journey to Adulthood includes lots of stories and new illustrations about the journey to adulthood and navigating different types of issues.  I think her stories are good for anyone regardless of age, since we've all had moments of doubt in ourselves, our careers, and our relationships. Be sure to take a look at her book and Instagram page if you're interested!

Recent Book Purchases

Read any good books lately?  I already have a stack of books that I've been meaning to get to, but I couldn't resist using a gift card on these books to read as well.  So far I have finished Call Me By Your Name, and just started China Rich Girlfriend a few days ago.

Call Me By Your Name was a great movie, and I liked how the original story was compared to the movie version.  It was a quick read for me, and I loved how well the author describes the long and lazy days of summer in Italy.  If anyone has read Crazy Rich Asians, the next book in the series is China Rich Girlfriend, and it's again filled with LOTS of characters, delicious-sounding food, and extravagant name-dropping throughout, haha.  Finally, I haven't read too much about The Actor's Life by Jenna Fischer previously, but I always enjoy reading "behind the scenes"-type books about Hollywood and actors.  I think it'd be unfair to automatically compare it to one of Mindy Kaling's books, but I hope there's some The Office tidbits in this one as well!

Mindy Kaling - DC Book Tour

Back in September, Mindy Kaling made a stop in DC on her book tour, and I was one of the lucky fans that was able to buy a ticket!  And I say really lucky because the tickets sold out online REALLY quickly, that I have no idea how I was able to snag one.

The event took place at Sixth & I, where I have also seen some of my other favorite celebs like Andy Cohen and Bethenny Frankel, and waited in a looooooooooooong line outside with a million other Mindy fans before we all flooded in to the building in a flurry of brightly colored accessories, haha.  

While Mindy was not doing a signing at the event, the ticket included an autographed copy of the book.  So far, the book is super funny and all Mindy fans will love it :o) 

This is obviously a horribly blurry photo, but I just wanted to show how CLOSE I was to Mindy as she walked in to the event - haha. I loved her dress! 

The discussion between the moderator and Mindy was awesome - lots of questions and a mix of funny and thoughtful responses from Mindy, for both professional and personal topics.  You could tell that everyone in the room really was a big fan of Mindy, and it was such a fun night! 

Lastly, I just wanted to share the first page of the book - I love that Mindy included a page basically made for her autograph, haha!  Be sure to pick up a copy of her new book if you're interested, and check her out at a book signing tour stop if she's coming to a place near you! 

Andy Cohen - DC Book Signing

I recently had my second opportunity to see the fabulous Andy Cohen - he made a stop at Sixth & I in DC during his book tour for "The Andy Cohen Diaries"!  I'm very happy to have been able to see him at signing events for both of his books - this one included a fun interview session by Wolf Blitzer, how very DC!

Although the book signing portion was very strict (and with good reason, there were hundreds of people waiting to get their book signed, haha), I definitely wanted to bring a little something for Wacha, Andy's dog.  I saw this super cute bagel with cream cheese, and I thought it was the perfect gift for Wacha that Andy would also appreciate, haha.

The employees working the event were in charge of taking photos with our phones/cameras, and luckily the guy took some photos as I was giving Andy my gift for Wacha.  As you can see I also wore my Target doughnut sweater to "coordinate" with the bagel, haha.  

It was so fun seeing Andy again, and I love his new book so far! Everyone should go buy it, or ask for it as a holiday gift! 

Lunchtime Links for August 11th, 2014

• Handle the Heat: Steak burrito bowls. 
• Table for Two: Grilled corn fritters. 
• Averie Cooks: Pumpkin cookbook.
• Two Peas and Their Pod: No-bake chocolate peanut butter pretzel cookies. 
• Love & Olive Oil: Five cheese skillet mac and cheese. 

The Drybar Scavenger Hunt

This past Sunday, I was one of the lucky winners of a Drybar blowout gift card and umbrella!  Their Twitter/Instagram account posted clues to a few different spots in downtown Bethesda throughout the day, and I was able to find the one inside Barnes & Noble. The umbrella is a fun, bright yellow and says "rain blows" on it, haha. I am excited to try out Drybar with my gift card soon!

Perks of Being a Wallflower DVD

If you haven't read/seen The Perks of Being a Wallflower, go do it NOW, NOW, NOW! 

Seriously though, I loved the book when I first read it years ago, and I was really happy with the movie adaptation as well.  The movie really captured the fragile and emotional moments of such an endearing story.  There's almost always the feeling that a movie won't be as good as the original book, but I think they did a great job with this one. I look forward to re-watching this as much as I've re-read my worn out copy of the book :o) 

Cooking Light - Cookbook Prize

This post goes to show that you really have to play to win!  A few months ago when I was flipping through Cooking Light magazine, I noticed a little quiz/contest by the table of contents and figured it wouldn't hurt to send an email to enter.

Well, as luck would have it, I was one of the winners of the contest, and received all four of these Cooking Light cookbooks!!!

- The New Way to Cook Light
- Cooking Light Complete Meals in Minutes
- Cooking Light Big Book of Salad
- Cooking Light Real Family Food


I have already started reading through all of these cookbooks and I am very excited to use them all! I've been a big fan of Cooking Light magazine and their recipes for a while now, and it's great to have so many new ideas for meals at home. Thank you Cooking Light for an awesome prize!!

Georgetown Cupcake - Sweet Celebrations Book Signing, 10.14.2012

Last winter, the owners of Georgetown Cupcake came out with their first cookbook/memoir, The Cupcake Diaries, which is filled with lots of their popular cupcake recipes and stories about how Georgetown Cupcake built up to such a great success.  With their second book, Sweet Celebrations, there are lots of special occasion recipes, as well as more stories about the sisters' celebrations growing up.  The book has different recipes for events like birthdays, weddings, holidays, dinner parties, and much more, including behind-the-scenes stories from their DC Cupcakes show.

Luckily, I was in town for the book signing stop in Bethesda, so of course I had to go!  S and I met up and saw Katherine and Sophie do a Q&A with the audience (lots of little kids asked questions, as expected in this area, haha), followed by a book signing segment.

The best part of the book signing was finding out that the sisters knew who I was!  Well, to clarify, they knew who I was once I told them about this blog and how I tweet about their cupcakes all the time, haha.  It was still really fun to know that they have seen my blog posts about their cupcakes before!  So, Georgetown Cupcake, if you are reading this now, please keep coming up with new flavors for me to review :o)

Free Georgetown Cupcake - All Day Today

Some happy news for today, courtesy of Georgetown Cupcake's Facebook page:

 

Today's Secret Flavor is YOUR CHOICE! 1 FREE cupcake per person - any flavor - ALL DAY today! We're celebrating the release of Georgetown Cupcake's NEW cookbook 'Sweet Celebrations' & an ALL NEW episode of DC CUPCAKES tonight @ 8PM ET on TLC! Don't miss it!!

 

Photo courtesy of Georgetown Cupcake's Facebook page.

Grace's Sweet Life Cookbook - Winner

Thank you to everyone that entered my cookbook giveaway last week!

Random.org chose #6 as my winner:

suburban prep September 10, 2012 9:27 PM

I just had it tonight as it is my birthday--tiramisu

Congratulations suburban prep, and happy belated birthday to you!

Love, Love, Love: Andy Cohen

Of course I couldn't mention Andy Cohen's book signing without talking about it after it happened!!

First - of course some element of couponing had to take place, haha.  The site said books be available to buy at the signing, but I decided to save some $$ (surprise surprise).  I received a 20% off coupon via email from Barnes & Noble the day before the signing, so I figured that was a good time to pick up the book.  With the 20% new hardcover discount, 10% member discount, and my 20% off coupon, I got over $10 off the retail price, woohoo!

And... on to the signing!!  I hustled over to Bethesda Row on Friday, and there was a HUGE line snaking around the Bethesda Row area.  It was well-organized and monitored by security though, which was nice to ensure no line-cutters or confusion.  There were also some restaurants handing out mini panna cotta cups, sandwiches, and brownies, which was a nice touch.  It didn't take long for the line to move through, and I realized why - they had set it up so we had our books open to a specific page for him to sign, as well as two people specifically in charge of taking people's cameras/phones to snap a quick photo before moving on to the next person.  That being said, OF COURSE I still talked to Andy as much as possible without getting escorted out.

And now, a non-dramatic-but-disturbingly-specific retelling of our interaction:

Me: Hi!! So nice to meet you! (reaching out to shake his hand... I have no idea why I did this, he did seem a little surprised, but oh well).

AC: Hi there!

Me: Do you mind adding a "MAZEL" to my book?

AC: Sure.

(Photo being taken, AC starts signing the book as he is smiling for the photo).

Me: So are you a pro now at signing names while taking the photo?

AC: Yes... but not with your name!

(We laugh, and totally have a MOMENT)

Me: Thank you!!!

AC: It was nice meeting you, thanks!


LOVE. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE ANDY COHEN.  I wanted to run back and ask him 2983479823743938974 questions about Housewives gossip, if he actually likes Jeff Lewis or hates him, why they decided to have that stupid Work of Art show, and why I have never been able to get through on the phone to Watch What Happens Live, and so on.  Alas, I could only have about 20 seconds of talking to him, but it was still so much fun!!

Lunchtime Links for February 9th, 2012

• Peanut Butter & Co.: Spicy peanut butter noodles with ground beef.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Nutella waffle cakes.
• Good Life Eats: Cute DIY bookmarks.
• Closet Cooking: Bacon guacamole. 
• Serious Eats: Warm chocolate desserts in NYC.

Take Time to Unplug

In thinking about some changes that I'd like to implement this year - so, resolutions without actually being yearly resolutions - I thought of something that I would like to try out for myself.

I've found that my daily routine is pretty, well, routine - usually some variation of dinner (in or out), working out if I'm not out, watching tv, playing around on my iPad, laundry every week or so.  The addition of my new iPhone to the mix has only added as an extra distraction to my daily downtime, haha.

So, I've decided to try out an hour of "unplugging" every day to see how it goes.  "Unplugging" for me will include not using my phone, iPad, laptop, or tv for an hour.  I know it sounds unnecessary but seriously, I even check my phone or iPad while I'm eating dinner.  So, hopefully this change will also help me to actually step away from technology for a little bit, maybe even read the piles of books that I have around, haha.

Have you taken a moment to unplug today?

Lunchtime Links for December 23rd, 2011

• Sassy Radish: Holiday gift guide- cookbooks.
• Gluten Free Living: Peppermint marshmallows. 
• The Kitchn: Portable and delicious weekday breakfasts. 
• Kirbie's Cravings: One minute brownie mug cake. 
• Cupcakes and Cashmere: Cake pops.

Lunchtime Links for December 16th, 2011

• The Kitchn: Holiday cookie recipes from Momofuku Milk Bar.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Chocolate caramel mug cake.
• The Pioneer Woman: New cookbook.
• Penny Pincher Fashion: Birchbox review. 
• Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Recap from TVGasm.
  

Mad Hungry Cookbook - Crisp Toffee Chocolate Bars

I received a copy of Lucinda Scala Quinn's Mad Hungry cookbook some time ago, but hadn't really had a chance to cook much out of it.  When I did flip through it recently, the Crisp Toffee Chocolate Bars recipe definitely jumped out at me.  It looked tasty, easy, and I had everything on hand to make it- woo!

These bars were a little more crumbly than most other cookie bar recipes I've tried, but not in a bad way.  It did make things a little difficult when I tried to cut them into squares, but for the most part wasn't an issue.  They definitely went quick in my office kitchen- there's something v. familiar and nostalgic about a classic cookie bar, I think.  These had a really rich texture and flavor, studded with lots of chocolate chips and nuts.  Variations on the mix-ins would be easy to suit anyone's tastes.  I can't find the recipe online from my search, but if anyone's interested let me know and I'll send it to you from the cookbook. 

Tabatha Coffey: It's Not Really About The Hair

A big "Thank you!" to Barnes and Noble for hosting a Twitter chat + book giveaway with Tabatha Coffey recently; thanks to them I'm now a proud owner of an autographed copy of her book, It's Not Really About the Hair. 

If any of you have seen Tabatha on her season of "Shear Genius" or the currently running "Tabatha's Salon Takeover", you'll know about this amazeballs hairstylist with the no-nonsense attitude.  I personally think that Tabatha is a phenomenal hairstylist and businesswoman, and fantastic overall.  This book is an interesting read into the life of Tabatha, with tips on tackling all of life's obstacles (big and small).  I read this book in a few short days and was amazed at the life Tabatha has led so far, and how she got to the successful position she is in now.  Give this book a try if you're a fan of Tabatha!   

Lunchtime Links for January 13th, 2011

• The Kitchn: Using muffin tins to freeze soup.
• Serious Eats: The bread at Eataly in NYC.
• Gaga Daily: Lady Gaga named International artist of the year in Japan.
• YumSugar: Trader Joe's sandwich recipe.
• The Peche: Malted crisp tart from the Baked cookbook.