Baxter Bark Twice

Do as I say, never as I do

Posts Tagged ‘the power of cheese’

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That moment when…

Posted by AllieB on April 9, 2015

That moment when you look at your public blog page on Facebook and realize you actually look like a crazy person:

completely insane

I bet Scott and Tom would just be really flattered if they saw these – flattered and appreciative of my craftiness in Microsoft Word, probably.

And this gem from 2011 that I made myself of myself:

BBT as kate

I wonder if straight jackets come in navy or like a charcoal color? I don’t have the tan to pull off white right now.

For more psychotic renderings like these, follow BBT on FB!

I’m not sure if I’m just totally cool with how batsh*t bonkers I look, or if it’s more that I think I’m so sane I can pull off the occasional foray to LocoTown. Maybe it’s a little bit of both. Either way, I think we can all agree I should’ve been a graphic designer.

Anyhoo, moving along:

~ we asked and FINALLY they listened: there’s going to be a new podcast delving into the unsolved case featured on the first installment of Serial about Adnan Syed and the murder of Hae Min Lee – it’s not on Serial and Sarah Koenig won’t have anything to do with it, but two lawyers who worked with the original team are working on it, plus the lawyer who brought the whole case to light in the first place, Adnan’s cousin Rabia. (Note: I personally think Rabia is a little nuts, but the addition of the two Serial lawyers ups the credibility of the venture.) WE JUST WANT TO  KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.

~ update your phone to iOS 8.3 for new, politically correct emojis. That’s great and all, but where are the block of cheese, the taco, and the fingers-crossed sign? Or, if you’re my bud JT, different wine varietals? I will say, the scrolling mechanism is vastly improved.

new emojis

I mean, it took me two minutes to add those three emoji and I was using Microsoft Word (obvs), so these techie “geniuses” really have no excuse.

~ book recommendation: A Friend of the Family. I read this awhile ago, but I saw it on my Kindle the other day and remembered how much I enjoyed it. Per Amazon:

Pete Dizinoff, a skilled and successful New Jersey internist, has a loving and devoted wife, a network of close friends, an impressive house, and, most of all, a son, Alec, now nineteen, on whom he has pinned all his hopes. But Pete hadn’t expected his best friend’s troubled daughter to set her sights on his boy. When Alec falls under her spell, Pete sets out to derail the romance, never foreseeing the devastating consequences.

~ I think I should go to business school…

~ I didn’t mention weather ONCE in this entire post.

~ IG account of the week: The Masters, duh. #teamAdam #yeahweknow

Ok, I’m done – short and sweet and to no point. TGIT!

Posted in Arbitrary, Princess Kate | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Back to School

Posted by AllieB on September 4, 2014

It happened; it’s over. Summer’s done, and Fall is here. Fall means football – yay! #Gurley4Heisman; Fashion Week – booooo #neveragain; and, at least in NYC, the hottest weather we’ve had all year. Mother Nature, you’re doing it wrong. I was thinking the other day how much I used to love going back to school: finding out your teachers, what boys were in your classes, shopping for school supplies…I wish there was a working world equivalent; I bought a new Moleskine diary yesterday in an effort to reclaim some of the thrill, but Five Star 5-section spiral notebook it is not. Adulthood is the worst.

However, BBT was total weak sauce over the summer, so I can pretend like now I’m back in “school” and my “homework” is to post consistently. Preemptive disclaimer: I was not a straight-A student.

And now watch me exhaust this already tired metaphor:

Home Ec: I had a hunch that Chef Allie existed, and the proof is in the pudding: I’m legit. I finally learned how to chop opinions without going blind (pro tip (or tip I would’ve learned in Home Ec if it had been an option – silly feminists): put them in the fridge til cold, THEN cut – the cold counteracts the tear-causing enzyme or something I don’t know but it works) and now I can properly adhere to recipes because onions, it turns out, are in everything and skipping them can definitely affect the integrity of your final product. And god forbid you affect the integrity of your final product.

In the past week I’ve made Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Peppers (thanks, Pinterest) and Cilantro-Lime Grilled Chicken with Strawberry-Jalapeno Salsa (DomesticateMe is one of my favorites – even before I started cooking her recipes). See links + pics below…you almost can’t tell which is professional and which is mine, except for you totally can – sorry I don’t shoot my meals with a CanonMegaHugeProfesh Camera:

Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

spicy black bean stuffed peppers

I took the liberty of replacing corn with some avocado and adding more cheese (duh)

Cilantro-Lime Grilled Chicken with Strawberry-Jalapeno Salsa

cilantro-lime chicken with strawberry-jalapeno salsa

I grilled the chicken in my iron grill pan, and thanks to the marinade it was juicy and moist and all of those words that are good re: grilled meats but horrible in every other sense.

English: I am writing every day. I bought a paperback copy of On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King which has anecdotes and exercises and all sorts of things that will poof! make me a published author.

Free Period: I finally installed our Amazon Fire TV this week (credit: CharBaxMaines). The talking remote works incredibly well and now we are ready for the Polar Vortex which will be here from September – April. Joy.

hilary as abominable snowman

PSA: this is Hilary on a good day the abominable snowman, mascot of the Polar Vortex. Beware of the Beast.

I know things are going south when I start throwing the abominable snowman Hilary under the bus – we’re done! And I promise not to post anymore pictures of food I’ve cooked for a full month. But if you want to like message me about what’s coming up next in BBT’s Kitchen, by all means – feel free.

TGIT!

Posted in Arbitrary, Food & Drink | Tagged: , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Did someone eat an onion bagel?

Posted by AllieB on October 9, 2012

Long time, no see! I kind of meant to give BBT a makeover before I wrote again, but that requires time and effort, the former of which I have little and the latter…well, you know how I do with things that require effort. Nevertheless I decided touching base was more important than a new face (that rhymes), so here I am. Hello.

What have I been up to, you ask? Let’s go with the list approach:

1. I moved to New York! 100 points to Gryffindor, because I love it. Honestly, I haven’t been around that much due to an aggressive Fall Wedding Schedule (FWS henceforth), but I’m making the transition pretty smoothly. Turns out someone with my skills and background is very much in demand, and I got job at a reputable, heard-of company doing legitimate, paycheck-worthy tasks, so that’s good – I really like it so far. NYC is a tough place to be sans income.

I call this one “Skyscrapers” – Empire State; Chrysler Building; Twin Towers

Moving here is by far the best idea I’ve ever had, and I don’t know why it took me so long to figure this out. I think I was like half-dead in Atlanta or something; I’m pretty sure we can all agree I was not maximizing my potential as a person. Ever since I made up the saying “wherever you go, you’re still there”, I’ve realized that a change of scenery can be just what the doctor ordered, but it also isn’t a magical panacea that fixes everything. NYC is giving me the kick in the pants I sorely needed, but now it’s up to me to actually dooooooo something – which I fully believe I will. Ok, I can ramble on forever using stale cliches and ruminating on abstract notions, so I’ll shut it down. In conclusion: me + NYC = good.

2. Weddings are happening.

Hadley and Greg’s wedding in Newport!

From top left: wedding day with the class of 2001; the somewhat picturesque altar at White Castle Inn where they exchanged vows (and the microphone into which I read my reading, which did not work despite the rigorous testing that occurred minutes previous; I handled it like champ, totally unruffled, even when the plane flew overhead thereby completely drowning me out…other people’s weddings are all about me, right?); besties at the clam bake; a historical mansion in Newport with a two-story funhouse water slide (I found this strange.)

3. Happening some more…

Hilary and Jim’s wedding in Savannah!!

From top left: the perfect reception accessory; rear view photography by B.Ward; Agnes and Jim (this is not at the wedding, but Agnes is in a life jacket, so I stuck it in there anyway); Pal-Bert-Mrs. BillyBelShipley-Pants; Savannah Yacht Club vista

4. I think you can guess where I’m going with this

Jennifer and Alex’s wedding in Sandestin!

From top left: four favorites at the Rehearsal D.; #nofilter pic of Rehearsal D at Bentley’s on the Bay; BEAUTIFUL BRIDE; bride & groom (credit: Heather); my margarita enjoying the beach

I’ll tell you, if you’ve gotta have four of your nearest and dearest get married within six weeks of each other, I hope you’re as lucky as I am in that they are all incredibly breezy, laidback, obviously beautiful brides whom you genuinely enjoy celebrating. I’d have gladly gone to Pigeon Forge for these girls, but I’m glad I got to go to the beach instead. Three down, one to go…I’ll see you in nine days, Pants.

5. In my sixth grade Language Arts class I was taught that a list/outline should always be constructed in odd numbers.

I’ve got lots more where this came from – I didn’t even go into the story about the broad-backed beast of a girl who stole the bagel OUT OF MY HANDS at Starbucks in Bryant Park, or the pre-school teacher who accosted me in the bathroom at Frankie’s 570  in the West Village to talk about AND show me her FUPA, but I promise I’ll be back…have a nice Tuesday, if that’s even possible – Tuesdays are still the worst day. Oh, here – this proves my point nicely: I searched random holidays that fall on October 9, and I found this…that’s right….Happy Moldy Cheese Day.

Bummer.

*Today’s title obviously pays homage to one of my top 5 movies, Devil Wears Prada, but it also describes me on Bagel Friday. Every Friday at work there is a huge spread of bagels (which is awesome), and last Friday I found myself engaged in a “getting-to-know-you” conversation with someone who had indeed just eaten an onion bagel. Onion bagels should disallowed in the workplace; onion bagels and tuna salad are herewith banned.

Posted in Arbitrary | Tagged: , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

The skies are angry

Posted by AllieB on May 22, 2012

Summer has arrived. Not the wet, hot blanket heat that we can look forward to in a month or so, but the totally insane, violent storms that come in out of nowhere, like the one last night. I was cruising down Peachtree, noticing how weird it was that it was raining in the Northbound lanes but not the Southbound ones (hmm strange), when all of a sudden I was blindsided by walnut-sized hail. What the hail!?* Anyway, I’m just glad Whole Foods has that underground parking option, and I never thought I’d say anything positive about a parking deck.

I’ve been getting around recently: here, read about one of Atlanta’s newest restaurants, Campagnolo in Midtown.

Located at the corner of 10th and Piedmont, Campagnolo is a festive hub of a restaurant with a chill yet “we’re new and hip” vibe. It’s longer than it is wide, but the patio and main dining area are pleasantly spacious and open. I felt a bit claustie as I made my way back to the bathroom, but that could also have something to do with the wall-to-wall humans packed in for a birthday party. In the grand tradition of myself, I arrived 30 minutes late and missed the apps, but I understand there was a homemade focaccia with baked goat cheese that was excellent. What I thought was excellent was the rose, the Le Cengle from France, and I also enjoyed my Zucchini Piccata. I didn’t take pictures because it hsa been requested that I not do that, but it was good. It had capers, and I love capers. Sissy and Dani split an orecchiette dish with spicy homemade sausage and cherry tomatoes, the portions of which were quite large, especially since they split the $10 small size. One of the highlights of my night was hearing Dani order this.

We had a lot of fun. There’s free valet parking, which is good because this little block of Midtown gets real saucy on Friday evenings….

everyone say, 'goat cheeese'

If I want to be a restaurant food critic, I’m going to have start eating the restaurant’s food…

Speaking of cheese, this past weekend someone – I believe it was Boda, and I apologize if I am misappropriating credit where it’s due – posed the question, “why can’t cheese be a power food?” Honestly, why can’t it? I see no reason why a bowl of queso can’t have the same perks as a big bushel of broccoli, except for the obvious fact that it’s impossible. I just wish things had gone differently from the get-go re: allocation of nutrition. Thanks a lot, science.

I love you Liz Lemon: click here for a very funny photographic timeline that chronicles the tumultuous history of Liz’s locks. Remember when she studied abroad in Germany?? It’s like a quick review of all the best episodes.

OH! The power of social media has finally paid off for me, personally: I bought the $34 year subscription to UsWeekly yesterday, and then went about sharing my personal link via various social media channels (The Twitter, FB), and if three people clicked thru on my link and purchased it then I got my deal at no charge…well, and this surprises no one, it worked and now I can look forward to the weekly gift of celebrity smut for a full 52 weeks for free. Sometimes I really am my mother’s daughter.

*HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CARO!! And thank you for allowing me to filch your words for today’s title. I will repay you in pizza tonight. XOXO.

Have a great day – hopefully one that has more direction and focus than this here blog post. I’m off to Flywheel…hayulp.

Posted in Arbitrary | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Hi.

Posted by AllieB on June 27, 2011

I don’t have a lot for you today…I could go on a diatribe about how much I hate Comcast and the fact that my cable/internet has been out for four days and that I am MISSING THE PREMIERE OF WEEDS TONIGHT as a result, but that’s no fun…oh, how original: I hate my cable provider.

I could also rant about the weather and how insane it is – that’s brand new information.

Or, mayhaps, I could regale you with how much I love the library. Due to the aforementioned cable outage, I cannot work from home and it’s wrenching everything and am thereby forced to do my work at the Buckhead Branch – my fave. Kayruh is sitting across from me. Hi, Kayruh.

As a last resort, I might throw in the intervention I had to have with myself last night re: grilled cheeses. Actually, I don’t think I will get into that…but the Duchess of Windsor certainly helped (I can’t bring myself to include the image on the post – the juxtaposition would be too unfair. It was taken earlier today – she went to see a match at Wimbledon.)

This week, BOLO for: a new page detailing BBT’s book recommendations (a page akin to the restaurant guide), a survey (my post on Friday gave me an idea…!), and some other awesomely awesome stuff.

Tex’s Tacos schedule for the week.

Your horoscope for the week.

I cannot stop listening to this song; if I’m in my car, it’s on repeat.

Posted in Arbitrary, Princess Kate | Tagged: , , , , , | 6 Comments »

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