I decorated my apartment christmas style
Tonight, after crafting up a couple of christmas gifts, i decorated my apartment christmas style. i hauled down the three boxes that sat in my old apartment for years, unopened. lacking a tree, and not totally sure i'm ready to invest in one, i constructed a table-size facsimile out of a bunch of small plastic cups left over from my halloween party. tomorrow i'll get some tinsel, wrap that sucker up, and the ornaments will be hung with care. i've also got a nutcracker guy i got for christmas one year (huh?) and a bunch of pretty yights. oh yeah, it's festive, all right. UPDATE: the tree is complete! uh, except for a topper....
people sometimes ask me, catherine, what are you listening to right now? well, lately the party shuffle is where it's at. tonight i'm loving it: gogol bordello -> catherine wheel -> husker du -> get him eat him -> paul westerberg...and on and on. i haven't thought of gogol bordello in a while. i think it's about time for another visit to the bulgarian bar, some semblance of which i believe is now located on ludlow street (shame). or i guess i could/should go see their show at irving plaza on the 21st? anyone with me?
i watched my first netflix movie thursday night. it was the godfather. i'd never seen it. it was pretty good and held my attention -- nice control of mood, there, mr. coppola -- but i wasn't completely enthralled or anything. three stars! liked, not loved, not even "really liked." is that wrong? there were some great deaths, though. godfather part II sits waiting to be watched. the saga continues, both the corleone family's and my own....
i have also been watching quite a bit of food network at the behest of carl. the show semihomemade cooking with this crazy blond lady is pretty great. it's based on her 70/30 philosophy: 70 percent store-bought, 30 percent homemade. i'm all for that. seems practical. but this lady is pretty wackadoo. this artichoke centerpiece is just the beginning. she also did a very involved santa's sleigh party favor made entirely of candy. it was intense, people. but then, she unveiled the piece de resistance. her christmas tree, which she had decorated with all of her barware: wineglasses, martini glasses, the works, all hanging upside down on her tree! an alcoholic's dream, or possibly nightmare. what the hell do you drink your candy cane cocktail out of??
speaking of food, i recently scored a copy of real simple food in the recycling bin at work, and i don't normally find myself recommending magazines, but it was a quite a good read! it was geared toward the noncooker such as myself, instructing me to stock my kitchen with bread crumbs and eat more pomegranates. i bet you don't know what foods contain the all-important folate, do you know? (holly, you don't count.) i think it's just a theme issue rather than its own publication and won't be on stands forever, so get yours now.
okay, finally, here's a quick weekend report for those who are interested: got out of work semi-early on friday, met carl for a drink at barbes, then to meet brandon at great lakes, then to lovely italian dinner at al di la, reputedly one of the best restaurants in park slope. it did not disappoint. my dish featured boar. saturday: slept in and went running in the park again. should i get running shoes? suffered inexplicable allergy attack. cleaned both own and boyfriend's apartment, then went to the holiday party to start all holiday parties at erik and ellen's, which featured yummy almonds rolled in tasty stuff, baked ziti, and cupcakes. the bar has been set, folks.