Pinned!

Yogurt Brulee | Not Without Salt

AmandaCatherineDes

Banana Dog | The Village Cook

Jenna Wagner

Design Sponge

Finding Happiness in the Crazy

My apologies for being completely absent this week! Life has been crazy with appointments and disappointments, the perils of public transportation, and a sad laptop with some boo boos.

Still, I found some little things to appreciate...

My job requires a boring uniform of navy slacks or skirt, white button down, and a navy blazer. I like to punch it up with accessories when I can, and this week I did it with fun little necklaces.

Okay. Here me out on this. It's crunchy peanut butter on a sandwich thin. With a sprinkle of Trader Joe's Flower Pepper. That's right. Flower Pepper. It comes a grinder with black peppercorns, rose petals, calendula, lavender, and cornflower. I know! It sounds so weird! Flowers in your pepper? Pepper on your peanut butter? But it's SO! GOOD!

I've been spending a lot of time travelling into New York City for various projects, which means lots of time waiting for trains and walking the city streets. Leg warmers have been my savior! They're cute and they keep my stems nice and toasty.

Eggplant chips! My mom fried these up the other night and they were SO DELISH! She lightly dusted them with some flour before frying, and then sprinkled them with some tangy spices. Nom. Nom. Nom.

Please excuse how strange Nickolaus and I look in this screen shot. As I said, I've been having some laptop troubles, so we've been resorting to FaceTime. It doesn't always work too well, but the technology is still impressive when you think about what our cellphones could handle just a few years ago. All in all, I'm thankful to have this available.

This Week

Simple things that made me love this week...

Trader Joe's Lemon & Triple Ginger Snap Ice Cream. Magic in a carton.

Nickolaus joined Pinterest! Best of all, he has an entire pinboard dedicated to his dream bathroom.

I bought a book at Barnes and Nobel and my receipt recommended other books I should read.

 The Anatomy of a Cupcake! 

I wasn't so much a fan of Shit Girls Say, but White Girls Say to Indian Girls, White Girls Say to Brown Girls, and Indian Girls Say definitely made me giggle.

I'm on Pinterest!

My favorite pins this week:

DIY bud vase from soda bottles

Yellow submarine tea infuser

Lettuce Turnip the Beet 

Regenerate green onions

Savory oatmeal

Male Models

Today is a big day. Three years ago on January 11, my life changed. At the time it was for the worse, but now I choose to believe it's for the better. I'm a stronger person, not only for myself, but for those around me.

I spent my last couple of anniversaries trying to distract myself and crying a lot. This year, it's pretty much a normal day.

Except I wrote. And I wrote with intention. And that was how I reclaimed this day.

This morning I posted the first piece on MasculinityU, an initiative geared towards engaging young men in redefining masculinity and encouraging them to take an equal role in ending gender based violence. You might wonder what I, as a woman, am doing writing for MasculinityU, and when founders Sacchi and Marc first asked me to write for them I had the same thought. But I figured out how to contribute in a meaningful way with my new column, Male Models. Every week I'll be spotlighting a lovely gentleman who is helping to end gender based violence in his own way. 

I'm really excited about it! You can follow along here every week.

Today was such a fantastic adventurous day!

It started off with some great conversation with my brother as we both caught a train into the city. We split off at Penn Station so he could catch a bus back to U Penn and I could go audition for a production of The Vagina Monologues.

I got there a bit early so I wandered around the Upper West Side searching for a bite to eat. Even better - I found a flea market on Columbus and 76th! I found so many cute antiques and such and it was absolutely delightful. I didn't buy anything, but the flea market is there every Sunday, and I'm sure I'll be stopping back after some upcoming rehearsals. The most delicious smelling old books, fantastic wooden holder thingies, colorful old brooches... I was in heaven! While I managed to keep my wallet in my bag for the most part, I did get some delicious spanakopita and a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie - sugar and butter free, and absolutely tasty! I definitely hope that woman is regular vendor there because I want to learn all about the magic tricks she uses to bake these cookies.

The auditions themselves were so wonderful! This will be my seventh year involved with V-Day, the organization behind The Vagina Monologues that focuses on ending violence against women and girls. This year I'll be involved with the production by the Fourth Unitarian Universalist Society. What a wonderful group of women! I'm so excited to have the opportunity to be part of this community and this experience.

After the auditions and a sharing circle (that touchy-feely stuff is one of my favorite things about being involved with The Vagina Monologues!) I went back to the flea market and I bought the cutest red sweater skirt for $2. Such an awesome find!

I happily trotted back to the C train...but wait, the fun doesn't stop there! I got myself a strawberry beet smoothie for the train ride back home. AND THEN, I spent the train ride listening to the best pod cast ever.

That's right! The lovelies at Stuff Mom Never Told You (Whaaaaat? You've never heard of SMNTY? Where have you been? What are you doing for entertainment? You need to go download their podcast as soon as possible. You will thank me. I promise.) did an episode on the history of thong underwear. Fascinating stuff.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the makings of a perfect Sunday. Siblings, flea markets, delicious healthy cookies, thrifted clothes, and the history of wedgie-inducing underpants. Love!

(c) Sara Rosso

Have you seen these little delights? Move over, cupcakes - Macarons are here! These little French pastries have been popping up all over my internet feeds for a while now and, even though I had no idea what they would taste like, I knew I had to have some.

Bakeries all over the New York City area have started serving the treats - two layers with thin, crunchy crust protecting a moist almond meringue, sandwiching a ganache,  jam, or cream center. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? YES IT DOES!

You know what makes it lovelier? It's gluten free! That's right, macarons are traditionally made with almond flour, making this trendy treat perfectly safe for our friends who stay away from gluten...including my dear boyfriend!

Poor Nickolaus was diagnosed with Celiacs Disease over 15 years ago and, even though gluten free diets are much more popular now, he still misses out on so many of the lovely things I get to eat.

And thus, the Prerna and Nickolaus Macron Crawl Extravaganza was born! With stops at Payard, Mille Feuille, Bosie Tea Parlor, and La Maison du Chocolat we got to experience the magic of macarons.

First Stop!
Francois Payard
116 W. Houston St

Nick's pick: Raspberry Lychee
My pick: Chocolate

Granted, these were our first macarons ever, but we both thought they were fantastic! A great balance of crunchy crust and chewy cookie. You could appreciate the flavor both in the cookie and in the filling. I think Nick was surprised that I didn't pick a more exotic flavor, but I'm happy to report that both of our picks were delish!

Stop Two!
Mille-Feuille
552 Laguardia Pl

Nick's pick: Cheesecake
My pick: Passion Fruit

These macarons were definitely good, although we both agreed that we liked Payard's better. Nick wasn't a fan of the Passion Fruit, but I think that has more to do with the fruit itself than the macaron. These macarons were definitely the chewiest that we tried, and while I do appreciate that quality in my sweets, I think macarons need that thin crispy crust to seal the deal.

Third Stop!
Bosie Tea Parlor
10 Morton St

Nick's pick: Eggnog
My pick: Maple Bacon

Bosie definitely had the most creative flavors. I liked the texture and taste of both of the macarons we tried, but I wasn't a fan of the fact they kept them in a refrigerated case. The temperature made them a little weird to eat and the fillings were so cold that it was actually distracting! We ended up taking a few macrons from Bosie home for my mom, and definitely liked them better at room temp.

Last Stop!
La Maison du Chocolat
30 Rockefeller Plz

My pick: Pistachio
Nick's pick: Milk chocolate

I kind of felt like it was cheating because they actually fly their macarons in from France, but they were in amazing condition after surviving that trip! I don't know why I expected different from a place whose name translates to House of Chocolate, but I was thrown off by the fact that the pistachio macaron had chocolate ganache filling. Nick definitely loved them though! I think the milk chocolate was his favorite of the night.


We were only able to make it to four places to try eight macarons, mostly because we were trekking around Manhattan in the freezing cold, but it was definitely worth it. They were delicious treats, and unleashing my inner foodie was so much fun!

(c) Amy Rubin Flett - Pinwheel Designs

It's a new year and it's time to bring the blog back!

I started Crafts Service a long time ago with the idea of blogging about crafting, community service, and food...and it never really worked out. I mostly blogged about my life and musings. It sometimes, but rarely touched on the three...Which is fine, but not what I had intended. And that's part of the reason why I'm resurrecting this blog. Intention.

Scrapbooker Ali Edwards has a concept of one little word - each year, picking a word to be your catalyst. For 2012, I pick

in·ten·tion \in-ˈten(t)-shən\
1: a determination to act in a certain way
2: the product of attention directed to an object of knowledge

This year I want my actions to be more focused, more purposeful...especially in regards to crafting, community service, and nourishment - not only for my body, but also my mind and soul - and I have some resolutions for each.

Crafting:
I've been a paper crafter for a few years now, and I want to continue learning and growing as an artist.
This year...

• All of my gifts will have a handmade element, even if it's just a cute tag or a beautifully addressed envelope.
• I will organize my crafting supplies. Because I don't have a lot of space, everything gets packed away and I barely even remember what I have. I want to fix that system, not only to have things in order, but also to have them accessible.
• I will continue with 52 Weeks of Mail - sending at least one card or package every week.

Service:
After finishing up my AmeriCorps terms, I've definitely had a lack of service in my life, and I need it back!
This year...

• I'm working with the Interfaith Youth Core as a member of their Alumni Speakers Bureau, helping to spread the awesomeness of interfaith community service. As in the past, I want to put a lot of thought and work into my speaking engagements.
• I'm blogging at Masculinity U, an initiative started by some friends of mine geared toward engaging young men in redefining masculinity and encouraging them in taking an equal role in ending gender violence. I wasn't quite sure how my voice would fit when they asked me to write for them, but I decided to take on a column applauding real men on the work they have done towards ending gender violence.

Nourishment:
I've definitely neglected feeding my body and my mind recently.
This year...

• I will be more mindful of my food choices. I have no intention of cutting out things I love, but I want to make healthier choices that I still enjoy. I plan to cook more. I will drink more water and less of other junk.
• I will move more. I'm not going to be concerned with keeping up a gym schedule, and I may just cancel my gym membership altogether because, let's be honest, I'm not really using it. What I do want to do is be more active. I want to stretch. I want to want to move. I want it to feel good. Losing weight will, I'm sure, be a bonus, but it's not my immediate goal. I found the Couch to 5K program, which I think is perfect for me - I even found a treadmill version, which will probably come in handy this winter.
• I will remain active with my Move More, Eat Well challenge. I think having a community will keep me going, and documenting my journey will keep me accountable.
• I will read more. I think I say this every year, but this time I really do have more time and no excuse not to. After college, I've found that fiction doesn't really appeal to me anymore, but that's not reason to not enjoy the wonderful work of nonfiction! Thanks to a friend, I've joined an interfaith book club and I think it's a great way to start the year.

It's going to be a good year. I can feel it! I hope you'll follow along!