Things I Love Thursday

You thought I'd forgotten. Well I didn't. Yes, it is 11:38 pm on Thursday and I am just starting a TILT post but that's how it usually goes.

Since it's been awhile, there are many things I love today so I'll try to keep this to a bullet point fashion. But I'm not making any promises.

(1) ICED TEA. No, not that swill that comes powdered in a can, although that can be quite thirst-quenching. I mean, boiling 2 quarts of water, steeping 4-6 tea bags and then serving chilled, the whole nine yards. My brilliant friend Jillian came up with the following delicious concoction: 2 sachets Tazo Passion Fruit and 2 sachets Earl Grey in the same pitcher, with a little less than 1/3 cup of sugar.  You can change the proportion of tea bags to your liking but it is like a English garden party in your mouth. Delicate fruit and a pop of lavender.  Jilly darling, I bow before your greatness.

Clearly, I'm not cut out for this bullet point stuff...

(2) Mug cake. Just type those words into Google and BAM, you're five minutes away from chocolatey bliss. Yet another Jillian find. Perhaps I should just devote this post to her culinary talents...

(3) Stevie Wonder's cover of "We Can Work It Out". You can give it a listen here. I am a Beatles purist. I don't like covers of their songs. Call me a snob but no one seems to do them justice. Until now.  Then again, I adore Stevie Wonder. He could probably cover Lady Gaga and I'd like it. Ok, let's not get out of hand.


(4) Being home - Clearly I loved college and all the freedom and empowerment that entailed. But let's be real. I love nothing better than a fully-stocked fridge, doing my laundry for free, not wearing flip flops in the shower, and sitting on the deck in shorts drinking iced tea and silently judging the golfers that drive by.*

(5) The library - During the school year, between studying and research, it was my second home.  But that's not why I love it.  For the last nine months,  I can count on one finger the number of books I got to read for pleasure.  But it's summer now and I can dive headfirst into a stack of literature piled waist-deep. If there are two things I love in life, they are books and things that are free. The library is a beautiful marriage of these two. Books recently in my library stack:

• Stealing Lincoln's Body by Thomas J. Craughwell
• The Elements of Cooking by Michael Ruhlman
• K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain by Ed Viesturs
• Tom Bedlam by George Hagen
• Frommer's Switzerland

(6) Bath and Body Works sales - When these cats have a sale, they REALLY  have a sale.  None of this "Spend $100, get $10 off!" business. We're talking 50% off, buy 2 get 1 free, $4 hand lotions. I spent a shocking amount of money in their store recently but I made out like a bandit. I have enough creams, candles, and soaps to keep me and the 50-ft area around me smelling delightful for a good long while.** Current favorite scents:

• Dancing Waters
• Black Raspberry Vanilla 
• Eucalyptus Spearmint
• Irresistible Apple

(7) New Hope, PA - A really adorable burg on the border of NJ and PA. Cute shops filled with useless things and delicious smelling restaurants nestled on the Delaware River, all wrapped up in the charm of an East Coast small town. Also the perfect spot for the European bookstore/bakery/cafe/papery I will open someday.  In that alternate version of reality where I am a self-starter with gobs of money, have a head for business, and there's an economy where dreams don't go to die.

There is so much more, but for the sake of you kids and your short attention spans, I'm going to tie it off here. Still much to tell you.

Hope you had a lovely Thursday. It is still totally Thursday in California so this counts.



*My parents live on a golf course. Our back yard is directly in view of one of the holes. Yes sometimes golf balls hit the deck. I can't decide if it's more fun to throw them back or to hide them and then yell at the golfers for walking on our lawn when they come looking.  In case you can't tell, golfers will not make it on any TILT posts.
**To any B&BW reps, I am open to sponsorship.  I will continue to shamelessly plug your products, should you choose to shower me with money. Or more hand cream.