Book of the Week: Insatiable

Meena Harper is just a normal girl living in Manhattan with her unemployed brother and excitable Pomeranian mix Jack Bauer. Meena is a writer on the soap Insatiable, struggling to pay her ex-boyfriend back for the downpayment on their condo, and completely average except for her one thing: Meena can see the future, specifically, how people are going to die. When Meena gets passed over for a promotion at work--in favor of the show's executive producer's spoiled niece--she also finds out that the soap has decided to go in a new direction in order to lure younger viewers. Insatiable is going Twilight. Unfortunately for Meena, not only does she not believe in vampires, but she actively dislikes the bloodsucking fad.

"Yeah," Leisha said, sounding a little bored. "What is it you're always saying again? In the cult of monster misogyny, vampires are king?"

"Well," Meena said, "they do always seem to choose to prey on pretty female victims. And yet for some reason, women find this sexy...Even though these guys admit over and over to wanting to kill us the idea that they're nobly restraining themselves from doing so is supposed to be attractive? Excuse me, but how is knowing a guy wants to kill you hot?" [p 35]

So begins Meg Cabot's Insatiable (set to hit bookstores in July), a refreshing take on the vampire trend, and there are indeed vampires in this book, other than the ones Meena is forced to write about for TV. In fact, Meena's next door neighbors are undead and it isn't long before she comes face-to-face with their cousin, a handsome Romanian prince and professor named Lucien. Not surprisingly Meena is drawn to the dazzlingly handsome and preternaturally charming Lucien and is surprised when he seems to be attracted to her as well. Of course, like with any relationship there are bumps on the road to romance. Little things like the fact that Meena is human and Lucien, well, isn't. Lucien is in town to track a vampire serial killer who threatens to expose his entire brethren and is being stalked by Alaric, a muscle-bound vampire hunter who works for the Palatine Guard and won't stop at using Meena to get at Lucien.

When I received this book in the mail I let out a little squeal of delight, I didn't even know Cabot was coming out with a new book and this one is certainly right up by alley. Okay, so it's not War and Peace, but most of the books I read aren't. I like books that entertain me and Meg Cabot always delivers on that score. I've loved her past series from The Queen of Babble to the Heather Wells books--add vampires (so I'm a Twihard--sue me), a little romance, and Cabot's quick wit and you've got a winning formula in my opinion. I also like the fact that Cabot's heroine has spunk and a backbone even when being courted by the preternaturally sexy Prince of Darkness.

The ending of the book was a little unsatisfying, but I guess that's to be expected if they're setting up a sequel. Regardless I enjoyed Insatiable and would recommend it for those who like Cabot, the supernatural or just a little bit of romance.


Browse Inside here.

Love It: Michael S. Smith and Ann Sacks

Athens Silver Cream tile by Ann Sacks - Love!

Intrigued by the Ann Sacks LED-lit backsplash in Carrie and Big's Sex and The City 2 apartment, I found myself on the designer's website to see more.

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While there are a ton of beautiful items on the site, I was immediately drawn to the Cosmati collection by Michael S. Smith.

I love a grey tile and the clean look of a white bathroom or kitchen, so this Michael S. Smith Cosmatiemilio grid (incarrara, nero marquin and marino blue) with an Alexandria border (carrara and marino blue) really speaks to me. Some other tile styles:

Valencia

Palais Royale

Venice

 

Alexandria

Seville Deco in Willow from Smith's Labyrinth Collection

I also thought this flooring (Parquet de Versailles in Bronze and Shagreen in Multicolor Wash) by Charles Stone was pretty cool - it can be used inside and outdoors.

Sex and the City 2 Review and a Guest Blog Appearance

I'm taking a break on the Getaways Guest Blog Series this week, but check back here next Thursday to hear all about another fab blogger's vacation faves. So let's talk Sex and The City 2 instead.

First let me say that I didn't love the first movie. I was so happy with the way the series ended (unlike some TV shows that left us with a bunch of loose ends--Lost, I'm talking to you) that I was really worried that a movie would just sour it. I like  a happy ending, I want these girls to be happy, and I'm always afraid another movie might decide to ruin all that. Even though I was apprehensive I couldn't stay away. I mean, aside from the fact that seeing the movie with friends is a great bonding experience, I couldn't pass up the chance to spend another few hours with these characters.

{These glittery gold Louboutins should really be mine}

And, sure, I've heard the SATC criticisms. The girls are materialistic and flighty. No one bakes with their kids wearing vintage Valentino, etc., etc. Thing is, a movie filled with shoes and hundreds of thousands dollars worth of clothes? There is no way I'm resisting that, product placement be damned. I read something like Carrie changed outfits every three minutes in the movie and, let me tell you, it was glorious.

Add to that the beautiful interiors (Carrie admits that she'd recently been "cheating on fashion with furniture") and I was sold, regardless of plot. Charlotte's white kitchen? I want it to be mine and was thinking of something similar for the new house.

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Thing is, I liked this movie. Carrie and Big seem to be stuck in a watch-too-much-TV two-year marriage rut. Charlotte is struggling because even though all she ever wanted was a family they are now proceeding to drive her crazy (and, as she acknowledges, she has help!) Miranda is trying to strike a good work-life balance while dealing with a misogynist boss, while Samantha is fifty, fabulous, and suffering through menopause. Harry and Steve are awesome as always even if their roles are small. I don't want to give too much away, but Big surprised me. Not in a bad way. I think one of the most touching parts of the movie was the little tête-à-tête mommies Charlotte and Miranda have over a few cocktails. The only thing that really grated on me were all the bad puns and innuendos--girls, consider this an interfriendtion, it's got to stop.

I don't know what it says about me, that I can disagree with so many critics, but there it is. Have you seen the movie? If so, what did you think? If not, do you plan to? And check out these great ideas for a SATC 2 themed party.


Speaking of all things fab and fashion check out Marchesa's new line of handbags, which just recently went on sale.

I'm also guest posting on the lovely Alaina's Live Creating Yourself.

Hop on over to check out my Movie of my Life blog post. I love the concept of this series and was so happy to be asked to participate. I can't wait to read the answers of the other guest bloggers that Alaina has lined up, I just know they are going to be amazing!

Adventures in Food: Greek Pasta Salad

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I didn't start learning to cook until I was 24 and recently married and now, almost three years on, my culinary skills are still a work in progress. I've retained more than I realized from watching my mother, grandmothers and mother-in-law at work, but it's nearly impossible to ask any of these wonderful ladies how they make their food. Measurements? Pah. They spit on measurements. Everything is by eye or a occhio. A typical conversation will go something like this...

Me: "This is great. Can you tell me how to make it?"

Them: "Sure! A little bit of flour, some oil, un pugno (a fistful) of salt, three or four eggs--"

Me [pen poised over scrap of paper I managed to find in my freakishly large day bag]: "Wait! Wait! How much flour? Is that, like, a cup of oil or a tablespoon?"

Them: "How should I know?"

Me: "No, how should I know? I'm asking you, remember?"

Them [usually shrugging their shoulders unapologetically]: "You can't measure these things. You just know."

Me: "Right."

They might know, but I certainly don't. I begin to perspire as visions of overflowing pots and inedible experiments dance in my head. Staring fear in the eye I decide to bravely soldier on.

Me: "Okay, so then what?"

Them: [They go over forty-five steps at light speed, without so much as taking a breath] "...and then you put it in the oven. That's it. Easy."

Me [wondering if Webster's has changed the definition of "easy"]: "So, how long do you leave it in the oven?"

I'm grasping at straws at this point, well aware that I can neither remember what they told me nor replicate it in any acceptable way.

Them [casual shrug]: "Until its ready."

Of course.

Me [a little desperately]: "But how do you know when it's ready?!"

Them: "You just know."

And that's it. My introduction to cooking. It's been a trial by fire, as they say, although the trial is to avoid the kitchen fires. So I've done my best to cobble together some instructions, recipes and recommendations, while keeping my eagle eyes open to see what tips I can pick up by watching. Like I said, it's a slow process. I've used some recipes to guide me, but as I get more comfortable in the kitchen I find myself going down the road of doing things by eye, substituting on the fly, and not really knowing how I ended up with what I did. In short I'm turning into them.

All in all my journey in the kitchen hasn't been that bad. I can think of only one occasion when the fruit of my labour wasn't actually edible--a misstep with stuffed artichokes I'm happy to forget (we ended up eating fried eggs that night instead). This year I wanted to try to challenge myself to try out new recipes and expand my horizons, but I haven't been as religious about it as I wanted to be. Time constraints mean I'm always falling back on some great fail safe recipes, among them the pizza my husband loves and easy pasta dishes like one of my faves: fusilli with broccoli.

This weekend, though, I decided to try something different. For my nephew's birthday party on Saturday I was determined to actually make something to bring rather than buying something like I usually do. (I like no muss, no fuss and a certainty that the finished product will actually be edible). I figured pasta salad, which surprisingly I had never attempted before, would be an easy enough crowd pleaser and so I started trawling the internets for a recipe.

Of course, being me I couldn't just stop at one. Maybe it's the influence of the ladies in my life, who knows. I ended up making a Greek Pasta Salad that was a mishmash of about five recipes I found. Happily everyone seemed to really like it and so I made it again for a barbecue I was headed to on Monday and, what do you know, another success! I love this because its relatively quick and easy (the most labour intensive part is some chopping) and fool proof, which I need. So without further ado...

Greek Pasta Salad

{Please ignore the bad cell phone quality pic - will get my camera fixed one day soon!}

Ingredients

1 package of pasta (I used fusilli)

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons dried oregano

3 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons dried basil

2 tablespoons black pepper

2 tablespoons sugar

1 red pepper, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 green onions, minced

20-25 grape tomatoes, quartered

1 can of sliced black olives (4 oz), drained

crumbled feta, about 2 cups

Directions

1. Boil water (I add salt and oil) in a large pot for the pasta. Cook pasta until al dente (I don't like it too soft).

2. Add first batch of ingredients (oil to sugar) to a large bowl. Whisk together.

3. Add second set of ingredients along with pasta (after you've drained it). Mix together and you're done. Refrigerate overnight.

The first time I made this I only had time to refrigerate it a couple of hours. The second time I let it chill over night. While the first batch was good, I found that the flavors were much stronger with the last batch. I'm not sure how many this recipe serves, exactly, but it makes a pretty big bowl -- good for at least ten people.

Buon Appetito!


I'm going to watch SATC tonight -
I really hope it's good!

Photos via

Book of the Week: Lunch in Paris

Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard describes itself as "a love story, with recipes" and it delivers. The book is a memoir of the American writer's experience after moving to France to be with her now-husband, Gwendal. Learning French cooking, as well as the French habits of shopping for fresh ingredients daily and keeping portion sizes small, is a big part of Bard's adjustment in her adopted country; and peppered between the big and little moments that make up a life together are some mouthwatering recipes she learned along the way. I thought this book was great--I mean, romance, food and a European city, what more can you ask for?

In the case of this book the food is certainly an integral part of the story and coming from an Italian family myself I could certainly relate with the way food is interwoven into so many aspects of life. I also found Bard's journey compelling--her struggles to not only learn a foreign language, but a foreign way of life. Little things we take for granted, like cultural references and ideas about work ethics, don't always translate.

Elizabeth and Gwendal

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I'm now looking forward to trying out some of Bard's recipes including molten chocolate cakes (I have made these successfully in the past, but I'm always open for new versions of chocolate delight) and rataouille. If I have any success I will certainly let you know!


Browse Inside here.

A Winner: Little Brown Pen Giveaway

I'm happy to announce that the winner of the Little Brown Pen Giveaway is Averill of Odi et Amo!

Thank you to Nichole and Evan of Little Brown Pen for graciously agreeing to host this giveaway and to all of you who participated!

Lost Finale: The End

WARNING: POST CONTAINS EPISODE SPOILERS

I'm still processing last night's episode, but I find that I'm pretty much on the fence. I'm glad the Losties found their happy ending, reunited and together again, but I can't help but feel like the writers copped out (and some parts were pure cheese). Not one real answer, although I suppose I should have known better than to expect any. Maybe they just want us to buy the DVD?  (insert eye roll here)

I guess the writers would say that answers weren't the point of the series. Perhaps not, but after stringing me along for years I would still appreciate a few answers, in addition to all the light imagery and boo-hooing over Jack's journey (and, really, was anyone surprised that he was the one to make the final sacrifice?) I'm not a hundred percent sure what I'm supposed to take away from it all other than we all die at one point or another, its all real, but there is no real "now." Okey dokey. I guess the whole point was the characters' evolution? That the island was just what facilitated their changing and growing? Blah. Call me greedy, but I wanted more than that.

A very old bottle of Oceanic water

I think a lot of the little things were well done. Vincent lying down beside Jack as he was dying was beautiful. Not even Jack had to die alone (the running shoe in the tree was also a nice touch). Ben deciding to wait outside the church to "sort some things out" was appropriate. Loved Juliet and Sawyer finding one another again and Sawyer and Jack's handshake. The scenes between Jack and Locke were also so well done. I did find the whole Kate-Jack thing kind of forced. I know they were engaged off-island, but it seems like any time she actually had a choice between Jack and Sawyer she chose Sawyer so why the change now? Maybe because Kate finally realized that Sawyer wouldn't have her anymore? Lame. Although I will say that I liked that Kate's a-ha moment was delivering Aaron and not when she first spotted the Doc.

In true LOST style the finale just left me with more questions. So what happens to the ones who got off the island on the plane? To Hurley and Ben? Did Desmond ever get back to Penny? I guess we get to make up our own stories for the characters, imagine what we would like to have happened...I just feel like something was missing, that there should have been more meat.

A Multi-Faith Afterlife

I'm not sure what else there is to say. I guess some gnawing questions will just go unanswered. It seems that the writers wanted the ending to be somewhat ambiguous. All I do know is that LOST, even with it's flaws, was one of my favourite television shows ever. I loved the tongue-in-cheek writing, the Easter eggs, the relationships, the humor. I'll miss it for sure. Hopefully other television writers will heed the example of LOST--I think there is room on television for a convoluted, difficult to follow, but ultimately intelligent and challenging show. So, in the words of Jimmy Kimmel, aloha LOST. It was nice knowing you.

What did you think of the finale?

{Screencaps}

I'd also like to thank all of you who came here to

 discuss and comment on the show.

I really enjoyed talking about it and dissecting it with you!

The Champions

Yesterday Inter Milan beat a talented Bayern Munich team 2-0 to win the European Champions League title -- a huge deal in the football world, an event watched by hundreds of millions of people. It was the culmination of an amazing season where Inter pulled off a tripletta or treble, winning their domestic league (Serie A), domestic cup (Coppa Italia) and the Champions League. Looking back to when I watched the team in Boston last summer (Diego Milito, the hero last night, also scored the two goals in that game against AC Milan) it's amazing to think of all they have accomplished since. Few things seem to rouse passion like sport and, needless to say, it was a proud day for Interisti everywhere yesterday.

Unfortunately for my husband he's an AC Milan fan. It was not such a proud day for him.

Il Bernabéu, Madrid

The Captain - Javier Zanetti 

Zanetti with an emotional Jose Murinho (coach)

Samuel Eto'o

Francesco Toldo

Il Principe - Diego Milito

And in Milano...

Piazza Duomo, Milano

Stadio San Siro, Milano

Thiago Motta and Mario Balotelli

Grazie Ragazzi!

Check out this Nike ad, I thought it was pretty cool:

And now I am munching on bombe calde made with Nutella, one of God's great gifts to mankind, while anxiously awaiting the LOST finale. Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and we'll talk when it's over!