The Great Yogurt Taste-Off

I have a little obsession with yogurt. It all started when I went to New York with Jodi, Tara, and Charlotte and Tara introduced us to 40 Carrots, the cafe inside Bloomingdale's. The food is great (Sonoma chicken salad sandwich on cranberry bread. Yum!), but the real reason we go there is the yogurt.

Bloomingdale's soft serve frozen yogurt will change your life. I tell people this regularly, and I think I have converted a few people since my own eye-opening experience. First of all, it's sour, like real yogurt. This is not TCBY. And it's creamy and smooth and quite addictive.

After I had experienced this wonderful phenomenon, I was on a hunt for something similar in Boston. I found Berryline in Harvard Square, which is close. Apparently Pinkberry in California is also of the same vein. (Also, the song on the Pinkberry website is hilarious.) But then the Bloomingdale's in Chestnut Hill opened a 40 Carrots and I was able to stay true to my first love.

Tangent: I was walking through Bloomingdale's one day when I saw the construction in the corner and the sign: "Coming Soon: 40 Carrots". I practically accosted the girl at the Bobbi Brown counter.

Alli: Is 40 Carrots opening here? [hands splayed on the counter, far too dramatic for the question]
Girl at Bobbi Brown: Um.. yes [small step back, casually reaching for some sharp tweezers]
A: Will they have yogurt?!?! [a little breathless, pitifully hopeful]
G@BB: Um, I guess? [Whatever you say crazy lady, just leave me alone.]

So the 40 Carrots in Chestnut Hill opened in February and we left Boston in mid-May. For three blissful months, I had access to Bloomingdale's yogurt whenever I wanted [to drive to Chestnut Hill].

Fast forward to now, in Singapore. Kyle and I are walking through one of the (many, many) malls in Singapore and we see J. Co, a donut company. And there, at the J. Co, is a picture of yogurt looking like it could be the same kind of thing. So of course we buy some, and lo and behold: sour yogurt! Later Emily sends a text message saying that she's spotted Yami yogurt another contender. She didn't try it, but it might be the same.

Yesterday, Emily and I staged the Great Yogurt Taste-Off: Yami vs. J. Co.And the winner is:


Although J. Co is good, Yami is less icy, less sweet, tart, creamy, and dense. I'm not about to suggest that it could replace Bloomingdale's. That would call for another head to head comparison which would be a little tricky with the 24 hour plane ride and the melting. But it'll certainly keep me happy here.

Put On Your Dancing Shoes

There are so many interesting/confusing/hilarious signs here, and we've been collecting them. This is my favorite so far.

Monkeys and Lizards and Elephants: Success!

Now that you've seen the house... just a few pictures from our wonderful, wonderful vacation to Thailand. After the past seven months or so, it was much-needed time to reconnect and rest.
There was regular sea kayaking:

Stunt sea kayaking:

Lizard spotting and hiking:

Elephant Riding:

And lots of eating, drinking, reading, and beaching:

(There are no photos of the monkeys because they are smart buggers and stick around just long enough for you to get the camera turned on and then they're gone. But I promise, they were there.)

Shoes that Kyle Needs

I am giving up my personal search and leaving it to other sleuths. I need these shoes as it turns out. However, they are apparently only located at a Marshall's in Somerville, MA, as photographed. Unfortunately, not in the size 9 that it seems I will need for this particular design. I have searched elsewhere to no avail.

As far as I can tell, they are by quiksilver, thurston design. Not sure what the specific color scheme actually is, but I have seen them listed on ebay (size 12 or 13) as lime green.

If you see this shoe in a size 9, feel free to purchase and hold on to it for me until I can get them from you. Or I'll give you an address in Singapore to mail them to...

Simply Fans

When we started the farm share, it prompted thoughts about where lots of the things in our lives come from, not just our food. The farm share was such a no-brainer--local food, fresh and in season, great variety--that we started looking for other realistic, thoughtful, and simple changes we could make. We got rid of our paper towels and paper plates; we started using reusable shopping bags; and I made an effort to shop locally and buy handmade (if you get presents from me, I'm sure you've noticed my Etsy addiction.)

Not that any of these things are "save the world" grandstanding and we are absolutely not "all or nothing." Big cookout in the backyard with friends and kids? We went disposable. And sometimes the best gifts do come from Amazon and Anthropologie.

But these were really easy changes, and we're finding that we like them. Eschewing paper towels and plates means that I actually use the linens and china we got as wedding gifts instead of leaving them in a drawer. Reusable shopping bags are a lot stronger than plastic and easier to carry than paper. And I love finding and giving things that were handmade by an artist or craftsman.
So I was thrilled when I got an email from our friend Courtney announcing her new endeavor: Beauty Fully Used. Courtney believes that simplifying makes way for creativity and enjoying the beauty of nature. Her line of paper goods are handmade from recycled papers -- the Spring Cleaning cards are my favorite (today) -- and she's a fantastic resource for useful details about recycling and clever ideas for organization that don't require spending a month's salary at the Container Store.

Not that I'd be tempted to do that.

(I love you, Container Store!!)

Ahem. Anyway, the results are really lovely: realistic, thoughtful, and simple. Just how we like it.

All photos courtesy of Simply Give.

O Christmas Tree

Hey, remember us? We got distracted by work and trips and babies and such. But we've got some posts in the works. None are that exciting. In the meantime, I leave you with our very first Christmas tree!Isn't it lovely?

I Do Like a Project: Chairs

Kyle is being quite dedicated to work these days which leaves me with more free time on my hand than I've had in the past. Courtney asked me the other day what I do at night now that Kyle is so busy, and I didn't have a very good answer. (last week: watched DVR'd episodes of House; ruined a batch of bread; ate lots of cheese and crackers, stared at my stash of winter squash and tried to drum up some motivation.)

So this Saturday while Kyle was at work, I took on a chair recovering project that I've been planning to do for a while now but didn't have all the right supplies etc. etc. excuses. excuses.

In September 2007, my grandmother came and spent the month in Boston and we had a fantastic time. One of our trips was to the September Brimfield show, which is the largest, most mind-blowing, amazing antique and flea market in New England. We came away with four of these GORGEOUS mahogany Rococo revival style balloon back chairs, from about 1840-1870.

I love them, but as you can see the upholstery was stained (this chair was the worst) and worn, so I wanted to recover them.

I love anything graphic; I think Kyle is sick of me suggesting that we cover our walls with words and maps and random typography. So of course when I saw chairs recovered in printed grain sacks and other reused printed fabric, I was sold. I love reusing old fabrics, and I love the graphic element.

Finding these sacks is fairly easy, but linen and hemp (often from France) can easily set you back $40-$50/yard. So I got a little more creative and started searching for burlap.

I enlisted my Dad's help because he is good at finding the really random things I ask for. It's a gift of his. And sure enough, on Friday night I got a box from home with four burlap coffee bags, complete with a few mummified beans.

With our coffee table serving as my elevated work surface, I covered three of the chairs on Saturday.

This wasn't a full reupholstering job. I don't know how to replace and repair springs (which I think will need to be done eventually), so this just went over the existing upholstery. I also think this is the least invasive option, so when the time comes, the mini staples I used can be easily removed.

I'm excited about them. I love the worn print and the slightly rough burlap contrasted to the graceful curves and workmanship of the chairs. And I think the colors of the burlap and coffee-brown ink really enhance the mahogany.

Now I wonder what my grandmother will think.

Landmarks for the Suicides of Fictional People

We found this a few weekends ago when we went to watch the Head of the Charles, the annual rowing regatta in Boston.

This is a little hard to read:

Quentin Compson/Drowned in the odour of honeysuckle/1891-1910

This marker is about the size of a brick, quite small, and it's set in the side of the Larz Anderson Bridge to commemorate the point where the Harvard freshman committed suicide by throwing himself into the icy waters of the Charles River...

in William Faulkner's novel The Sound & The Fury.

Love that.