Favorite Things: matcha latte

I first discovered matcha lattes at Cafe Brio (an upcoming favorite thing) because I wanted to branch out from my first favorite drink - ginger chai latte (so delicious, but with a risky, i.e. unknown, number of carbs.)

At first, I did not like the taste at all. However, over time, it became my new favorite drink. Also, if you get it unsweetened (I get it lightly sweetened), then the only carbs are from the milk. Because I can't always get to Cafe Brio, and it does get expensive, I have been trying different matcha companies. So far I like Jade Leaf Match, and it tastes very similar to Cafe Brio's drink. I don't have any fancy equipment, so only the iced matcha latte resembles theirs. My version of the hot matcha latte is quite poor compared to theirs!

Favorite Things: Paper Mate Write Bros. ballpoint pen

I like to write and I like to write with nice pens. Sometimes my nice pens disappear. Now I have found another entry in the inexpensive nice pen category - the Paper Mate Write Bros. ballpoint pen at ~25 cents each!

Favorite Things: more chocolate

This is like a reverse grasshopper and ant story: I planned for the hot summer months when chocolate would be difficult to ship, and now my cupboards are empty! I am now counting the days for when mail order chocolate will be safe from melting. I am very much looking forward to trying Barometer Chocolate's new finds. I have come to the independent discovery that any chocolate from the Ucayali River (Peru) is phenomenal and a must try. There are the versions from Letterpress Chocolate, Odyssey Chocolate (alas, sold out!) and Fruition (no link, and also sold out!) Also, a new favorite brand is Castronovo Chocolate - and is peanut / tree nut friendly (a big thank you!)

Favorite Things: Simplify 101

Many years ago (September 2009, if memory serves), I discovered the online organizing destination Simplify101. It was an amazing space where I took online classes - back then, they were asynchronous written lessons, some with video content - and the best part was the online community forum where we could discuss our organizing challenges. I made friends from around the world, and lucky me, made a friend from a neighboring town! Although Aby doesn't run real-time classes anymore, she still offers asynchronous classes on her website. I've taken all these classes when they were originally offered, and they have helped me so much (no more "junk drawer"). I think the biggest takeaway (see yesterday's blog post) is that keeping an organized home is an ongoing process.

Favorite Things: Pentel erasers and eraser caps

I love products that make life just a little easier such as Pentel erasers - no more eraser streaks or torn paper! Then I discovered Pentel makes eraser caps from the same "hi-polymer" material - transformational! I'm no longer beholden to the inconsistent eraser quality that comes with a standard #2 pencil. These eraser caps are relatively inexpensive so it is easy to be generous and use them as a standard accessory even when the original eraser is intact.

Favorite Things: Scribd

I am both frugal and skeptical, so when introduced to a new idea, I often question: "what's the catch?" or "what will go wrong?"

My situation is I wanted to listen to audiobooks, however, the public library, while having an impressive collection, did not always carry the titles I wanted. Amazon's Audible service had lots of titles, but you either had to purchase the title individually which was paying almost list price, or you bought credits in advance which was a little less expensive.

In researching alternative services, I came across Scribd which is like Netflix for books and audiobooks. It almost seemed too good to be true. For a fixed price, I could listen to or read as many books in their catalog as I wanted. I read mostly nonfiction (psychology, behavioral economics, time management, etc) and Scribd carried many of the titles I searched, so I signed up for a 30 day free trial. I don't understand their business model, but I feel like I get my money's worth of reading / listening for the annual fee. So I couldn't tell you "what's the catch."

All I know is it's been two years since I first signed up, and I just renewed my annual subscription to start my 3rd year, and I still love it. Here's a 60 day free trial link; if you end up signing up, I'll get a 30 day extension on my subscription.

Favorite Things: garlic

We love garlic! Also, while Covid-19 = bad, one side effect of masking is that we are less likely to offend others with garlic breath!

In spring 2020, when the world shut down, I had the idea to investigate organic heirloom garlic. Costco's garlic is good, but since we also belonged to an organic community supported farm (they've since closed 😞), I knew that heirloom garlic was something special. Thus, an internet search led me to Keene Garlic and wow, so delicious. I bought 10 lbs, then another 10 lbs, then they were sold out and I found another organic garlic farm online, but it wasn't as good. So, in spring 2021, I pre-ordered 50 lbs of garlic, and we are now whittling away at the supply. It's true that some of the cloves are shriveled (we expected that), but most of them are still good, so we will see how much we order in 2022!

We weren't picky on types, and just asked for a variety; so far we have tried Music, German, Persian Star, Pehoski Purple and Chesnok Red.

Highly recommended.

Favorite Things: more chocolate

There seems to be a theme around my favorite things: food (chocolate, olive oil) and learning new things (improv, online classes.) Today I am back to chocolate and I ran across this article in the Washington Post about Oded Brenner and his Blue Stripes Urban Cacao venture. I first heard about Max Brenner chocolates because my cousin brought me a gift of these fancy delicious chocolates, so this was cool to discover a website with interesting products (cacao water?) and to read more about the story of chocolate.

Favorite Things: Magnet Theater

I've been wanting to take another improv class, and I know I'll find my way back to the Pit, except for now their class schedules haven't fit my schedule. So, after taking a free Intro to Improv at Magnet Theater with Ellen Matthews, I decided to jump in to her Level 1 class, and that is a lot of fun. Key takeaways for quickly developing a two-person scene: establish quickly who we are to each other (relationship) and where we are (location). Try not to ask your scene partner questions (that puts the burden on them). instead make strong choices to move the scene forward. Overall lots of fun and extended my comfort zone.

Favorite Things: Monthly Planner

Back on the January 3, 2021 post, I talked about my search for a better planner that took me past monthly calendars/planners. Although the monthly planner didn't work as a planning tool, it's actually working nicely to keep track of blog posts and events that did or did not happen (i.e. hybrid school days that pivoted to virtual because of snow, etc.) It's a pretty way to keep track, and the one I got was from Russell+Hazel (purchased from Target), a brand I first heard of through my favorite organizing website (and back when they offered online classes!)

Favorite Things: JAM PAPER binders

I will submit that having fancy, colorful stationery products is a bonus to lift spirits during pandemic times. I ran across these JAM PAPER loose leaf binders that are more expensive than I previously would ever pay. However, they are strangely satisfying, even with the raised exterior texture (it's called "glass twill".) I have them in purple, orange, green and clear!

Favorite Things: more chocolate

I was curious to learn more about chocolate and Google led me to some articles by Melissa Clark in The New York Times that must have been part of series: "How to Taste Chocolate," "Everything You Don't Know about Chocolate," "Melissa Clark's Favorite Bean to Bar Chocolates." From Barometer Chocolate, I had already tried a Chapon sampler (not included in Ms. Clark's mostly USA list) so I am looking forward to trying 9 new chocolates of the 13 recommended (I've already tried Fruition, Guittard, Letterpress and Vahlrona.)

Favorite Things: Barometer Chocolate

I first learned about Barometer Chocolate through an email from United Way of Northern NJ because they were hosting a virtual chocolate tasting fundraiser. At first, I was a little disappointed by the small quantity of chocolate and I had to remind myself this was for a fundraiser. By the end of the evening, I was so glad I signed up for this tasting experience because Nadine Kerstan, Barometer's founder and a chocolate sommelier, shared so much about chocolate that I never knew before, such as the difference between fine flavor vs. commodity cacao beans, and then I learned how to fully appreciate the chocolate - "snap" the chocolate in half and listen to the sound, smell the chocolate, taste the chocolate and look for "notes" like fruit and nuts. This chocolate is not like grocery store chocolate, and it only has two or three ingredients, i.e. Fruition 77% Dominican Los Bejucos - cocoa beans and cane sugar, and Letterpress Tranquilidad 70% - cacao beans, unrefined cane sugar and cocoa butter. Delicious and highly recommended.

Favorite Things: Patricia and Paul

I discovered Patricia and Paul: Artisans of Fine Oils and Balsamics last year (a few weeks before the pandemic shut down the world) while I was passing the time in downtown Westfield. I probably passed by the store three times before I actually got up the nerve to walk in. What exactly are fine oils and balsamics and why were there steel jugs lining the store walls? Luckily, there were several people already browsing in the store (less attention to me), so I decided to step inside. In retrospect, I need not have felt nervous as Erin, the salesperson and owners' daughter, was so welcoming and friendly. She explained that I should use the small cups to sample any olive oil I wanted. What? You drink olive oil? Now I was curious. So I walked around the store, and Erin again encouraged me to try a sample. I tried several olive oils, and settled upon the garlic and tuscan herb infused olive oils to purchase. I also tried several balsamic vinegars, settling on traditional balsamic and a peach flavored white balsamic vinegar. Since then, I've bought the garlic and tuscan herb olive oils many times over, however, we are still working on the original large bottles of vinegar! 

The olive oils at Patricia and Paul are truly delicious, and I learned a ton from Erin. Previously, we purchased the 2-pack of olive oil at Costco, thinking we were doing something good for our health. Did you know it is only 15% virgin olive oil? So that is why there is such a price difference among olive oils!

Favorite Things: Paper Mate InkJoy Ballpoint Pen

Following up on last week's favorite things post, my favorite inexpensive pen is the Paper Mate InkJoy ballpoint pen. It writes incredibly smoothly and costs less than 50 cents a pen, which makes it easy to be generous about letting people walk away with them (which they will because the pen writes great!) There is also a retractable version as well as lots of ink colors too. And good luck, bad luck, in searching for these links, I see there is a GEL version that I may need to investigate!

Favorite Things: Pilot Precise V5 Rolling Ball Pen

I really like pens that write smoothly. My favorite for many years was the Pentel Energel Needle Tip 0.5 - this pen has a nice weight to it with a satisfying retractable tip. I also liked that refills are available! Except that over time, the two pieces of the pen would separate when I wrote, and that very annoying. I wondered if maybe I did something wrong, yet it kept happening. It even happened with the expensive alloy version, so that was frustrating!

Then I discovered the Pilot Precise V5 Rolling Ball Pen and wow, so smooth. Plus it comes in lots of ink colors which is very fun for doodling. The version I have is not refillable, though in looking for links on Amazon, I see there is a retractable version. I will have to experiment. Yay!

Favorite Things: Brooklyn Brainery

I discovered Brooklyn Brainery's existence in late December 2020 (thank you Google) when I was searching for storytelling classes, and wow! I am so impressed with all the interesting classes on offer that I didn't know I needed, but really do!

I started with Jen Brown's Goal Setting class and wow! What a great way to end 2020 and brainstorm all the things I want to do in 2021 (this blog being one of the goals!) Then I took Cheryl Passwater's Gut Health and learned a ton about the digestive system. For fun, I took a Project Management class and then a Herbal Health class and I'm obsessed with checking out the site for new classes.

Brooklyn Brainery is such a cool and amazing place, previously only available to Brooklyn-ites and those who live nearby. Bad Coronavirus has made these classes available online to the rest of the world.

Favorite Things: Moleskine Notebooks

Moleskine notebooks have been a favorite since 2006. My go to version is the black hardcover classic large ruled notebook. Considering that my very first Moleskine notebook lasted from April 2006 until October 2013, and since then I have gone through 24 additional books, you may well wonder what happened (preview: that's about when I got involved with volunteer work.)

What I like most about this system is that I have one "go to" place for taking notes. The downside is that the system is chronological and not subject based, so I'll have notes from a lecture interspersed with a volunteer meeting. What I changed in the last year was to use a separate Moleskine notebook for long term projects and commitments, the kraft brown softcover XL cahier ruled notebook. That way I just have to grab a specific book and all the conversations are together! The books are very well made and it always makes me happy to open a new notebook.

Favorite Things: The People's Improv Theater

If there was anything good that came from the Continuing Saga of Coronavirus 2020 and Beyond, it's that so much of the world that was previously inaccessible turned online. 

Ever since a friend suggested improv, aka improvisation, as a way to get better at public speaking, I've had the idea that I would take a class. I live outside New York City, where there are lots of improv classes and theaters, and while it doesn't take that long to get to Manhattan, the travel logistics and time constraints were obstacles to that first step.

After I got through what I can only describe as low-level depression in the early days of Coronavirus, I started Googling for online improv classes. And, wow, there were a lot! Many schools offered free or low cost drop in classes, so I started there first. I discovered what I liked, didn't like, and also discovered that the east coast / west coast time difference was an issue.

Of all the schools I tried, the classes at The People's Improv Theater (aka The Pit) in NYC became favorites. I started with a Stand Up Comedy drop in with Chris Griggs because I was curious. Chris was super cool and generous even though I was clueless. I learned a bunch and maybe I'll take a stand up class one day. Then I took Joy of Improv with Sunny Atwal and I loved this four week intro, so I moved on to Sunny's Introduction to Public Speaking, which was another ton of fun. I learned to embrace the "pause" and am really conscious now of vocal fillers, um, uh, you know, etc! That doesn't mean I've eliminated the fillers, just that I am super conscious of them now! Then I took Storytelling Level 1 with Lisa Whitten and that was even more fun, and wow, that opened up a walk down memory lane with all the story prompts! Overall, I highly recommend their classes!

Favorite Things: More Time Moms Calendar

One of the best parts of the new year is searching for and finding that perfect calendar. Luckily for me, in 2009, I found More Time Moms' Family Organizer / wall calendar which I absolutely love and is a great fit for me, so my search is over! I highly recommend it. 

I like the calendar's big squares because there is lots of room to write down appointments and events. Also, there are light "lines" printed in the square, so that helps with neatness. And the best reason of all is their calendars are printed on regular paper! You might not think it's a big deal, but have you ever tried writing on those glossy calendars? You basically need a Sharpie to write anything. And I am definitely not a Sharpie person when it comes to calendars. Pencil all the way - after all, things change, and I want to be able to erase, not have to cross things out! Maybe the only "negative" about the calendar is that you'll need to procure heavy duty magnets to keep the calendar from sliding down the fridge.