climbing in your undies

I don't even know what to say about these ad images. They are pretty darn silly. But they do catch your attention. They are for PACT underwear, a line of organic and sustainable underwear that's also socially conscientious. And these ads sure made me do a double take. What I noticed first was the amazing rock and their lines. They really caught my eye. (What can I say, I've climbed enough rocks to have an appreciation for great rock and their features.) Then lines of the rock led me to the nearly naked guy in his PACT undies. And I laughed. So I just had to go and look for more pics of people climbing in their undies. And here's one more:

[Images via fuseproject and PACT]

Oh, and a funny video:

New Year's Resolution

I am not a resolutions person. For me, setting and keeping resolutions is as painful and unrealistic as going on a diet. When I was younger and idealistic I tried, and quickly realized how foolish the effort was. So never again. I chalked it up to part of learning about myself with nothing to show for it.

Strangely enough, I found myself wanting to and actually setting a resolution for 2010. Maybe as I'm aging I'm reverting back to my former self. (Well, as I think this thought, the image of Benjamin Button as a 70-year-old infant jumped into my mind, so I sure hope that's not the case.) Regardless of the reason, I made a resolution, actually said it out loud to Elijah so he can keep me accountable, and am finding myself following it. Not only that, it's been fun! And I'm going to use the blog to track the progress.

The resolution is simple: eat more vegetables. By this I mean trying new vegetables, cooking them in new ways, and having vegetables be the primary part of a meal versus just sides. I want vegetables to be the heroes in my life. Now this is really part of a natural progression for me, as I am finding that I have less and less interest in meat, especially not large quantities of it at any given time. Yet I was still finding myself thinking of vegetables as an afterthought to what I eat, and therefore was just not having enough of it. So making it a resolution makes me more proactive about planning and engaged in thinking about what I eat.

In any case, so far so good. And I've really been enjoying it too. So far I've had some fantastic meals with these vegetables as the main ingredients: brussels sprouts, tofu (ok, not a vegetable, but vegetarian), cauliflowers, carrots, and celery. And coming up I have winter melons, sweet potatoes, kabocha, mushrooms, and potatoes. And I have plans to try cooking with endive.

I will try to document these things as best as I can and share them. It's hard for me to remember to take pictures while I cook but I'll be more mindful. With the Internet as my source for recipes, there are just so many exciting possibilities.

Cheers and bravo to vegetables!

Snuggie's Highs and Lows

Oh the Snuggie...

I will always remember my first encounter with the Snuggie - on cable late one night channel surfing. Between the ads of chat phone lines with very friendly ladies and offers from competing mattress kings, I caught the Snuggie commercial - the new indispensable product for anyone who's economical yet desires a warm, comforting companion that doubles as a blanket while lounging around the house. From that moment on, oh Snuggie, you've captured my attention and I've experienced so many highs and lows with you.

So it was, I thought of the Snuggie as one of those silly unncessary products that somehow get made and marketed. Really was it better than a regular blanket? So every time I saw the commercial on TV I would make fun of it and shake my head.

And then the Snuggie was spotted at the Inauguration and broadcast on the news, in blogs, everywhere. It was so cold in DC at that time the use of Snuggie looked like a smart idea. At that point America, myself included, changed its mind about the Snuggie. It is useful and maybe even classy enough for the presidential inauguration!

Then the Snuggie really caught on. It became a part of pop culture: Snuggie pub crawls, worn by celebrities on morning shows...it was everywhere! And I was amused by it all. Even Matt Lauer, who swore he would never wear one, succumbed to the great soft, warm Snuggie. So what if it made you look like a giant smurf monk.

The Snuggie, silly and dorky as it was, had earned a place in my heart. I was bombarded by its presence and it was dumb but funny enough for conversation, and therefore, memorable.

So much so that at our office Christmas party's white elephant gift exchange, when a Snuggie appeared I laughed and found that I wanted it! I wanted it so much I almost started salivating. And when a second Snuggie got unwrapped that evening I became doubly excited. I really really wanted that Snuggie. And I came close. I stole one of the Snuggies from a person but alas it was not meant to be. It got stolen back. Everyone, well maybe not everyone in the room, but many people wanted the Snuggies. It was a hot item. Almost as hot as the case of beer. Oh just imagine chilling on your couch with a Snuggie and drinking a case of beer...

In any case, that was as close as I ever got to owning a Snuggie. I reasoned with myself that if I really wanted one I can buy one online easily enough, and felt better that I didn't go home that night with one. And of course I never did buy one for myself. I have a perfectly comfortable down blanket that I use for lounging on my couch since it is so frigidly cold in my living room. Regardless I had found Snuggie had crept its way into my heart as an object of desire. A fleece blanket with arms that comes with a book light! And inexpensive! How useful.

And today I was happy to read a FastCompany piece on the Snuggie. I've come a full circle - proof from a third party that the Snuggie is, after all, not so useful and magical. Its performance and durability appears to be lacking. Thank you FastCompany, you've brought me back around to sanity.

Dusty and His Beer

Animals do the darnedest things. For example, I found out on New Years Day that Dusty is fond of Coors Light.

Here he is, guarding his beer. His look says, "I'm watching you. Don't try anything funny cuz I'm ready to pounce."

After he sensed there was no threat to someone taking his beverage, he relaxed and snuggled with his Coors. Looks like they had a heart-to-heart exchange.

carrot love

I know this link has been posted on multiple sites, but I just LOVE it, and must share.

Go to the Magpie Studio web site to learn more about the project - it has a nice environmental message.  What I love also is this pic from the project:

The image of the child feeding the rabbit is all too precious. Seeing this great carrot display, what I would love to see is a continuation of the project, where you release a bunch of rabbits on the carrot rabbit and photo-document or even video-document what happens.

How long would it take for the rabbits to consume the carrots? Do they start on the perimeter and work their way in or do they just jump into the middle and start eating? Do they get distracted by other things around them or does the sight and smell of a field of carrots keep them occupied?

So many questions. I guess I would have to build my own carrot field and find a host of rabbits to find out myself. Maybe some animal behaviorist or rabbit expert might find this an interesting experiment and join in the fun. Oh the possibilities!

[via Magpie Studio]

Blog I love: lets.rebuild.

I was searching for Herman Miller furniture one day, and stumbled upon lets.rebuild. And I've been a fan ever since.

The site doesn't just sell Herman Miller furniture - it's so much more than that. lets.rebuild. regularly lists and sells "upcycled, recycled, vintage, mid-century, danish modern, and custom built furniture as well as things genuinely worth having - in the Triangle area of North Carolina." I don't know if Ryan Helsel, who owns the blog, is the one who restores and works on the furniture or if he collects, and sells them, but I'm thankful that he's there to share these beautiful and smart pieces to the world. Even if I may not be interested in a piece, I still love the beautiful photography.

Here are some of my favorites from lets.rebuild.:



This piece reminds me of a chair I had - wooden stiletto legs, pale yellow, vinyl, mid-century. Except mine had a very boxy shape. Mine got redone in a beautiful orange wool fabric and now belongs to a friend. I hope this piece also got the same love.

[via lets.rebuild.]

Our Autumn Trip to New York

E and I took a 9 day vacation to New York, starting in the City, then up to New Paltz, then up to the Finger Lakes. I really missed the fall season and the changing of colors, and E had never been to New York, so we thought it would make for a great trip.

And of course, any vacation wouldn't be ours unless there was some climbing involved. So we got to climb at the Gunks, which was such an amazing place. I only wished it wasn't so cold and rainy so we could've gotten more climbing in.

It was such a beautiful trip - we got all kinds of weather and had lots of fantastic food (of course! It was New York!), and got to see old friends. Will definitely be back out to the Gunks again.

Worthless boulder

At the northern end of Central Park it lies, offering routes for some
climbing fun.

New York public library

Map room

Autumn colors

Upstate New York is full of autumn color splendors this time of year.

New York Trip

Since I'm on vacation this week I'll be posting on the road, in the same fashion as the last few. Unfortunately my phone is not going everywhere with me (not to the crags, for example) so only select items will make it, likely food-related, shoddy AT&T connection permitting. (I just tried 3 times to send some pics from my phone to the blog and failed every time!)

Best Pizza Ever!

Since this was E's first trip to New York, we had to have some pizza.

Keste's on Bleecker had really amazing pie! While not the traditional New York pizza, they had the most tasty dough. Thin but chewy, nice crusty finish that rises just enough for the perfect combo of airiness and chewiness.

We got the special appetizer that had marscapone cheese on it, so tasty. Also ordered the Pizza del Re, which had prosciutto, mozzarella, and mushrooms, and the Pizza del Papa, which had butternut squash cream, yellow and red peppers, artichoke, and mozzarella. All were amazing--the whole time I was thinking how I could totally become addicted to this crust.

Their amazing 1000 degree oven makes a pizza in a mere 45 seconds! So unbelievable. After our meal we went to the back to check out their famed oven and chatted with the chef and owner's wife, both of whom were perfect hosts. The chef told us the oven is so hot he loses 5 pounds of weight everyday in the summer from working in front of it.

The owner's wife shared about her husband's love of pizza - he eats it EVERYDAY, sometimes 2 pies a day. And he's been doing this every since she's known him - I think more than 10 years. He always said people in the States didn't know how to make a real authentic pizza and that some day he would open up his own restaurant that pizza right. And because of hid love of pizza, we reap the pleasure and privilege of eating some of the most heavenly pizza anywhere.