Takeout Tuesday - Sweets By Caroline's Macarons at URBNmarket Pike and Rose

There were a lot of great vendors at the URBNmarket held in Pike and Rose recently, including Sweets By Caroline's amazing macarons!  The "regular" macarons all look great but the character ones are on another level - so cute!  I'm glad I got there early to get my pick of the whole selection, especially since it looked like she sold out in two hours.  I could see why she sold out so quickly - the macarons were all so fun to look at and the character ones were so detailed.

 

The macarons all tasted as good as they looked and were the perfect afternoon treat in the middle of my work days.  This URBNmarket was a great chance to check out vendors that I haven't seen in person before like this one, and try out some delicious treats at the same time! 

 

Lunchtime Links for August 12th, 2020

• Dessert for Two: Chocolate chip banana muffins. 
• Love and Lemons: Cucumber tomato salad. 
• Crazy for Crust: Pumpkin cream cheese muffins.
• Apartment Therapy: Pop culture quote candles. 
• Creme de la Crumb: Chicken tacos. 

Lunchtime Links for February 6th, 2020

• Seasons and Suppers: 15 minute spicy chicken.
• Cookies and Cups: Easy pork ramen noodles.
• Bakerella: Baby Yoda cake pops. 
• A Spicy Perspective: Easy Tiramisu.
• Serious Eats: Gimbap rolls.

Weathering With You

I saw Weathering With You last week during a fan preview event, and I'm so happy that the movie will continue to be screened in the US now!  This Japanese anime film is by Makoto Shinkai, the director of the huge hit Your Name.  The animation work is so amazing especially on the big screen, and even if you're not a big anime person I think anyone would love the story!  Be sure to check it out while it's screening in theaters, because it's a great film!

Lunchtime Links for June 27th, 2019

• Crazy for Crust: 4th of July M&M cookies.
• The Kitchn: Homemade hummus. 
• Apartment Therapy: Netflix updates in July.
• The Impulsive Buy: Dunkin' Hershey's candy coffee flavors.
• Creme de la Crumb: Banana bars with cream cheese frosting.

Lunchtime Links for April 10th, 2019

• Table for Two: Homemade chicken stock.
• Sora News 24: "Weathering With You" trailer. 
• I Heart Naptime: Pico de Gallo. 
• Serious Eats: Chocolate olive oil cake.
• Love and Lemons: Falafel flatbread.

A Star is Born Soundtrack

Clearly as a big fan of Lady Gaga, I knew that I would go see the remake of A Star is Born, which came out here on October 5th.  But even if you're not a fan of Lady Gaga and think she'll ruin the movie (which, how dare you, haha), it was really such a great movie that everyone should go see it!

The concert performances throughout the movie were especially done really well, and the sound quality adds to the feeling of being at a live show.  There's so many different layers to the story between Jackson (Bradley Cooper) and Ally (Lady Gaga) that I think everyone will be able to relate to some aspect of it.  While technically it is a remake that has been done a few times before, the original music and the way the story has been adapted by Bradley Cooper and his fellow writers was done really well, in my opinion. 

The soundtrack mixes together songs from the movie, songs that didn't make it into the movie, and key dialogue that sets you up for certain points in the story.  I love that it's almost like seeing the movie again in a different way.  Lady Gaga is obviously an amazing singer, but Bradley Cooper's extensive voice training is really impressive here as well.  Everyone go see the movie (multiple times if you're like me) and get the soundtrack ASAP!  

Mean Girls Day

Happy Mean Girls Day everyone!

Lunchtime Links for April 25th, 2018

• Buzzfeed: "Bao", Pixar short. 
• Oh Sweet Basil: Easy beef Ragu and pasta. 
• The Impulsive Buy: My Oreo Creation flavors.
• The Kitchn: Sausage and tomato Risotto.
• Creme de la Crumb: Margherita Pierogies skillet.

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!

DC CineMatsuri Film Festival

While the Tidal Basin cherry blossoms in DC haven't quite come out for the season just yet, there are a lot of fun Cherry Blossom festival activities starting in the DC area!  One of my favorite events is the CineMatsuri film festival, which started earlier this week on March 20th this year.

The CineMatsuri film festival is a showcase of a variety of Japanese films, and it's a great opportunity to catch some popular films that you might not have a chance to see otherwise.  So far I have been to see both "Teiichi No Kuni" and "Jinsei Fruits", and they were both really entertaining in different ways.  "Teiichi No Kuni" has a lot of physical comedy and a very creative story line (based on a manga series) that can relate to both school life and politics worldwide.  "Jinsei Fruits" is a very heartwarming look at an elderly couple in Japan that highlights incredible architecture, local and urban farming, and a "slow living" way of life.

Even if you're not specifically a fan of Japanese films, I highly recommend checking out the film offerings to see if any of them are of interest to you.  I'm glad I had a chance to see these films thanks to the festival, and I look forward to the future film selections as well!

Georgetown Cupcake - Halloween Cupcakes

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope everyone has a delicious day filled with candy!

Pictured above we have some of the Halloween selections from Georgetown Cupcake this year:

- Chocolate Ghost
- Chocolate Toffee Spider Web
- Vanilla Bat
- Vanilla Candy Spider
- Vampire Red Velvet
- Haunted Chocolate Cheesecake

They are so cute and festive - perfect for a Halloween party tonight or a post-Halloween treat if you didn't already have a ton of candy, haha :o)

USPS - Disney Villains Stamps

 

It's no surprise since I enjoy sending mail, but I love seeing when USPS comes out with new stamp designs, haha.  There have been a lot of fun ones over the years, and this recent Disney Villains set is definitely one for both kids and kids at heart!  I love how colorful these stamps are, and anyone that is a fan of Disney movies would love these!  I hope USPS continues to come out with movie-themed stamps, they're always a big hit.

Lunchtime Links for April 14th, 2017 - Kimi No Na Wa Movie

 In lieu of my regular Lunchtime Links today, I wanted to share some reviews for the Japanese movie "Kimi No Na Wa" / "Your Name" that is currently out in select US theatres.  This movie was a huge hit in Japan last summer/fall and continues to be really popular, with movie-themed pop up cafes doing really well in Japan.  The animation is really amazing, and I love the soundtrack as well.  The Japanese band Radwimps worked closely with the director to create all of the songs in the movie, and it's really a great compliment to the story.  If you have a chance to see this movie while it is being shown by you, I highly recommend it!! 

• NPR
• The Guardian
• Vox

Mean Girls Holiday Shirt

Anyone that is a fan of the "Mean Girls" movie will love this holiday shirt at Target! It's one of the most popular lines in the movie (in a movie FULL of popular lines, haha) all decked out in a festive holiday theme.  We may never actually see Glen Coco in the movie, but this is a fun twist on the usual festive holiday clothing that comes out around this time of year.  As an extra bonus, it's a slouchy and very soft fabric!  Target also has a ton of other quote t-shirts and holiday tops, so be sure to check them out soon! 

Lunchtime Links for August 14th, 2015

• I Heart Naptime: Roasted garlic tomato sauce.
• Brown Eyed Baker: Tiramisu trifle.
• Averie Cooks: Italian chicken pasta salad.
• Bakerella: Snoopy cake pops.
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Caprese avocado toast.

Ben & Jerry's Scotchy Scotch Scotch Ice Cream

Who wouldn't love an ice cream based on one of the greatest movies of all time, Anchorman??  I saw this at Wegmans and immediately picked up a pint to try it out.  Anyone that has seen the movie should recognize the name immediately, haha.

I love the Anchorman-themed description on the side, haha

As you can see there's lots of gooey butterscotch swirls throughout the butterscotch ice cream.  As anyone that has had butterscotch before knows, it's very sweet and can be overwhelming at times.  This was just the right amount, especially with the creamy butterscotch ice cream being the majority of the ice cream.  I hope Ben & Jerry's does more movie collaborations like this one! 

Newseum - Anchorman Exhibit

As soon as I heard about a new Anchorman exhibit opening in the Newseum, I knew that I HAD to go ASAP - it's one of my favorite (and most quotable) movies!  I loved the idea of this crazy movie being in such a legitimate (and often serious) news-themed museums, haha.  My friend R and I checked it out before Anchorman 2 came out, as a nice little warm up to the sequel. 

The exhibit is small, but packed full of movie memorabilia, and it was so fun to see everything in person! The way that the Newseum's guide takes you around the exhibits puts this one right at the end of the "tour", which I thought was a really good idea.  All of the serious and educational exhibits are great, but the Anchorman section was a nice breath of Sex Panther - I mean fresh air, haha.  If anyone is a fan of the movie and is in the DC area I would definitely recommend checking out this exhibit while it is around!

Anchorman: The Exhibit in DC

One of my all-time favorite movies has a special exhibit in the Newseum starting today!

Anchoman: The Exhibit sounds like a super fun exhibit for anyone that is a fan of the movie.  Of course, my favorite part of the description has to be - "I'm literally trapped in a glass case of emotion," said Burgundy about his inclusion in the museum's exhibit.

This exhibit is scheduled to be at the Newseum until August 2014, so be sure to jog (with a soft J) on over to check it out before it closes! 

Lunchtime Links for June 20th, 2013

• My Baking Addiction: Chocolate swirl coffee cake.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Pepperoni pizza pretzel rolls.
• Bakerella: Mini minion cake pops.
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Caprese garlic bread.
• Food Fanatic: Peanut butter pretzel bars.