As 2021 winds down, I thought I'd share a few items I've enjoyed during the last month or two in between packing and shipping holiday orders. (If you're new to this blog, these are not sponsored links or paid ads, just things I genuinely liked.)
Here's a quick look at some of my recent favorite items:
Arts and Crafts
97-Year-Old Jewelry Designer Gets Her First Solo Show
You always hear people say "it's never too late!" but it's true! Baltimore jewelry artist Betty Cooke's work will be shown at the Walters Art Museum through January 2, 2022.
Embroidery Stationery
I thought these cards by Happy Cactus Designs (pictured here) were so pretty that I gave them as a gift this year.
Espadrilles Kit
Did you know you could make your own shoes? I feel like I'd need sewing machine skills to do this, but it's very tempting.
Paint Tube Doorstop
Perfect for your artist studio!
Macaron Coin Purse Pattern
I sure save a lot of sewing patterns on Pinterest for someone who doesn't sew. We have a newish macaron shop in Fort Collins (Poeme Macarons) and I've become slightly obsessed with macrons, even those that are merely decorative.
The Toaster [photo]
Yes, the art made in Argentina is made with toasted bread (2,500 slices)!
Books, Movies, TV
Ghosts
This is a very silly TV sitcom on CBS about an eclectic group ghosts that are living in a mansion owned by a young couple. I'm always looking for funny shows which seem to be in short supply.
Goldenrod by Maggie Smith
I enjoyed the poems in this book, which cover all sorts of topics such as the stuff she's found in her son's pockets and her divorce to current events, including the pandemic and the previous U.S. president. A few I especially liked: "Poem Beginning with a Retweet," "At the End of My Marriage, I Think of Something My Daughter Said About Trees," and "During Lockdown, I Let the Dog Sleep in My Bed Again."
Magic for Humans
The magic on this Netflix show is pretty mind-boggling in itself, but somehow the magician Justin Willman always seems to elevate the show to a different level. I never thought I'd describe a show with magic tricks as heartwarming or funny, but here we are.
On Animals by Susan Orlean
I wasn't overly excited when I heard about this new book filled with the author's previous work from The New Yorker, but I have to say it's fascinating: show dogs, homing pigeons, backyard chickens, and more. It's the kind of book where you could just read the chapters you find most interesting and skip the rest. (I haven't skipped any so far.) I probably should not have read the taxidermy chapter just before going to sleep one night, but that's on me.
Movie-Watching App for Deaf
I love that a teen figured out how to make an app so that deaf children could enjoy Disney+ movies.
Shang-Chi Bus Scene
If you've watched this Marvel superhero movie, you'll definitely want to read this Twitter thread where a real bus operator analyzes the scene's realism (or not).
Christmas and Holiday
Forget Gingerbread Houses
While not new, charcuterie houses with features like salami shingles and breadstick siding are increasing in popularity according to Martha Stewart.
An Inside Look at Toyota's 2021 Holiday Commercial
What's it like to live in the small town where this commercial was filmed? The biggest surprise for me was the beautiful Victorian homes, which (spoiler!) real people live in.
Knitwear for a T. Rex
Even if you don't read the story, it's worth just looking at the photo of the Christmas sweater that took 100 hours to complete.
Salvador Dali and Hallmark Christmas Cards
This partnership in 1948 surprised me, but the fact that these unusual cards didn't resonate with traditional Hallmark customers did not. The image of Santa with the drawers and melted timepieces is my favorite.
History
Child's 13th Century Drawings
Kids will be kids? These drawings were discovered a few years ago, but they're new to me. I like how the schoolwork is mixed in with the drawings.
Harry Houdini's WWI Draft Registration [photo]
The famous illusionist actually wrote that his middle name was "Handcuff" on this official U.S. government form.
Processing, A Programming Language for Artists and Creatives
Who knew there was such a thing? The programming language just celebrated its 20th anniversary. I might've been much more interested in programming had this been around when I was in school.
Recipes
I'll leave you with the one holiday recipe that I'm making this week for nostalgic reasons, not for any nutritional value! It's super easy, the kind of recipe that calls for boxes, cans, and bags of items rather than anything resembling traditional flour or sugar.
This German Chocolate Caramel Brownies recipe is close to my original one which is typewritten (with a typewriter!) on a piece of bond paper. (Does anyone even know what bond paper is anymore?) It's funny looking at my old recipe how much smaller packages are now. For example, my original recipe calls for a "12 oz bag of chocolate chips" and a "14 oz bag of caramels", but those packages now come in 10 oz and 11 oz, respectively. It is a pain to unwrap all the caramels, but it's pretty easy to bribe someone else to do it with the promise of free baked goods. I always use the "pudding in the mix" German chocolate cake mix if you can find it. This year I'm using dark chocolate (53% cacao) chips rather than semi-sweet. Enjoy!