I had a conversation about this with my friend Ken over the weekend. He said that the only reason we city dwellers would most likely consider moving to the suburbs is if we have kids, dogs, and the only goal we have in life is to send them to proper schools (the kids, not the dogs). We both agreed to the fact that the sounds of the city (police cars, ambulance sirens, people cursing at each other outside our windows) make us feel at home. And those, we will never find in the ‘burbs.

On a more positive note, me and my friend Jason did our Christmas shopping during the weekend. And we found this adorable cellphone holder:

I’m just glad that it’s almost Christmas already, my favorite holiday of the year. Until then, I’m to crank my heater up, stay indoors and drink mugs of delicious hot chocolate.

Italian Soda

One of the coffeeshops in my neighborhood got me hooked to Italian sodas. I was spending way too much money on this addiction, so I decided to save a lil moolah by making it at home.

Sparkling water + syrup = healthier alternative to Coke.

I like mixing different beverages with Torani. I have the Pumpkin Spice, White Chocolate and Strawberry ones. The first two, I usually mix with my french pressed morning coffee, the latter with sodas.

Vampires won't dare eat this dish

You’ll need 40 cloves of garlic (AB made his with whole cloves, I minced mine), five chicken drumsticks, half a cup of olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper.

Season the drumsticks with salt and pepper and lightly fry until they are golden brown. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the drumsticks into an oven safe pan/pyrex dish/whathaveyou, along with the olive oil and minced garlic. Sprinkle with thyme and cover with foil. Let this sit in the oven for an hour and a half, afterwhich you should turn the oven off and leave the chicken to rest there for five more minutes.

Spread the minced garlic on french brioche. Dee-lish.

NOT a toy guitar

I’ve had this ukulele for a few months now, and though it could not screech like my Fender, it’s most certainly fun to play. I’m not posting a video because 1) that’s not my thing, 2) I have no plans of annihilating the entire human populace at this moment, and 3) I’m really shy. Ukulele is so much easier to play compared to a guitar. So for anyone who wants to play a stringed instrument, get a Lanikai/Makala soprano ukulele. You should be able to strum a few songs in no time.

…the difference between kissing and licking is not a small thing. It is the difference between leisurely romance and fierce passion, between cold and hot, between stone and blood, between mind and body…licking is never polite. Licking is ill-mannered, licking is total surrender to sex, total surrender to body, to animal need, to flowing juices. Licking is the return to primality.

Nothing is more sensual, more sexual, more arousing than tasting another person’s body.

Alan Lightman, Reunion

Ingredients:

Salt and pepper
Spaghetti
Olive Oil
Garlic cloves/garlic powder
Anchovies/Dried Anchovies/Anchovy paste
Bread crumbs
Onion, finely chopped
Red pepper paste (or red pepper flakes that usually come with your box of pizza)
Tuna
Tomatoes
Parsley

Add the spaghetti to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook al dente. I usually add a bit of canola or olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking to each other.
Toast the bread crumbs with the anchovies and the garlic and parsley.
In another skillet, mix olive oil, chopped onion, red pepper, and sweat the onions. Add the tuna and the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix the spaghetti with the onions and red pepper sauce. Top with the anchovy flavored bread crumbs. Perfect with Calpico.