Favorite Things | theclothesmakethegirl

May 2, 2013 Posted by Mel

Fave Things: Týnská Literární Kavárna

I shouldn’t like this place. It’s somewhat dark. It smells like cigarette smoke. The menu is limited to a few cold meat options (sausages, sardines, cheese), plenty of booze, and hot coffee and tea drinks. But this is one of my favorite places in Prague. It’s tricky to find… you have to circle around the Týn Church and, when you get to the back, remember that it’s not that... read more

Mar 17, 2013 Posted by Mel

Favorite Things: Bar Towels

When I took the knife skills class at Whole Foods last year, I picked up a bunch of new good better habits (Confession: I’m still lazy about keeping my knife sharp. Terrible!) and added a few essentials to my kitchen arsenal, including a massive cutting board that I leave on my countertop at all times, a knife sharpener (ahem), and — perhaps the least sexy but surely my favorite purchase — a... read more

Aug 3, 2012 Posted by Mel

Two Sites You Need To Know

I don’t generally like to give advice. I’m glad to share my experiences and provide a point of view, but I feel really uncomfortable telling someone else what they should do. And I feel even more uncomfortable when anyone says to me, “You should… blah blah blah.” So I’m not saying you should visit these sites, I’m just saying if you did visit them, you might like... read more

Jul 24, 2012 Posted by Mel

Two of My Fave Things!

What’s as delicious as Sunbutter + strawberries? What’s as badass as burpees + box jumps? Patrick Stewart + the Olympic Torch Seriously. How freakin’ great is this?! And now I’m just going all the way down the geeky rabbit hole. Join... read more

Jan 10, 2012 Posted by Mel

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things: NFL & Awards Shows

I’m not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the line, I fell in love with watching professional football. I still pick my teams based on their uniforms (I’m a sucker for the Saints black and gold, and I like the red stripes on the side of the Broncos uniforms) or which quarterback I think would have integrity, so I’m not sure I’d refer to myself as a real football fan. But... read more

Jan 2, 2012 Posted by Mel

More Fave People And Blogs

Fave People: YOU, Part 2 It’s been almost three weeks since Well Fed was officially released, and I’m delighted thrilled touched overwhelmed by how awesome all of you have been. Thank you for buying the book and cooking from it — then being so awesomely cool enough to take the time to write and let me know you’re enjoying it. That is the very best experience a writer can have, and... read more

Dec 19, 2011 Posted by Mel

Some of My Fave People & Blogs

Fave People: YOU Wow, you guys. Seriously. Just wow! I knew I had the coolest, smartest, most supportive blog readers around, but I’m seriously humbled and delighted by the positive response you’ve given Well Fed. Thank you so much for being part of our big adventure. Because of you, in our first week of sales, we’ve placed almost 1000 copies of Well Fed into kitchens all over the world.... read more

Nov 17, 2010 Posted by Mel

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things: Social Distortion

Also a favorite? Acting like a 17-year-old… which I will be doing for the next four days, minus a 2-hour chunk of time on Friday morning when I have to wear grown-up clothes and do a presentation at a client meeting. Can you even? A client meeting! In the middle of Social Distortion Weekend! But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, listen to this while you read my rant below: So… Social... read more

Aug 19, 2010 Posted by Mel

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: Crazy International Costumes

Delighted. Charmed. Aghast. Amazed. Inspired. Amused. Jealous. These are the feelings that surged through me as I scrolled through these astoundingly awesome and colorful and wacky costumes at the Miss Universe Pageant. Like any good drug dealer, I will give you a free sample, and then you can visit the links below for the whole shebang. You’re welcome. Miss Universe 2010 National Costumes, Part... read more

Feb 24, 2010 Posted by Mel

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: The Sitti Bowl

For as long as I can remember, my parents have used what we call the “Sitti bowl” in the kitchen. It’s a 4-quart pyrex bowl, yellow on the outside, white on the inside. It looks like this: [Thanks, Mom, for sending the photo of your Sitti bowl!] “Sitti” means grandmother in Arabic, and we call this the Sitti bowl because my mom inherited it from my great-grandmother – my... read more

Feb 22, 2010 Posted by Mel

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: Buddy’s Natural Chicken Sausage

We eat a lot of protein in our house. A LOT of protein. And as much as I love to play in the kitchen, sometimes we just need to eat. In those emergency situations – e.g., breakfast was four hours ago and we just got home from a movie theater where we tried to ignore the smell of popcorn for two hours – there has to be minimal time and effort between “hungry” and... read more

« Previous Entries

reading is sexy
Reading right now...

The Redbreast: A Harry Hole Novel
I'm about two-thirds of the way through this detective thriller, and I'm hooked. It's set in modern Norway with flashbacks to WWII (catnip for me!) and features a somewhat grim hero that engenders empathy. I can't help pulling for the guy as I watch him struggle with his case and his life. The cast of characters is a realistic but motley crew, and it reminds me of other favorites set in cold, snowy climes: the Millenium Trilogy and Smila's Sense of Snow.
Recently finished...

The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million
I picked up this book after reading an interview with Lee Child (author of the Jack Reacher thrillers). He referred to The Lost as "the book of the century" and since I devour as much as I can about the Holocaust to try to make sense of it all, I decided I needed to read it immediately. Part memoir, part detective tale, this book was thoroughly engrossing. It's intelligent, annoying, moving, frustrating, and ultimately, rewarding and beautifully written. It challenged me in ways I didn't expect, and I was sad when it was finished.