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Category Archives: this & that
On Whiskey
The Whiskey Reviewer is a thing?!?
The Whiskey Reviewer is a thing.
Whiskey is my favorite hard alcohol (a fitting choice since historically it’s the writer’s drink) but I’m only just beginning to explore its world. This Atlantic article on The Golden Age of Japanese Whiskey – apparently it’s the top in the world right now – is fascinating.
“Whiskey, like a beautiful woman, demands appreciation. You gaze first, then it’s time to drink.”
― Haruki Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
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Foxes ‘Doctor Who’ Performance – “Don’t Stop Me Now”
Foxes cover Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” with airy, velvet perfection in Doctor Who‘s “Mummy on the Orient Express” episode.
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Dear Readers: Autumn Love Letter
Remember to tell someone you love them today, or text a friend telling them you still remember that good memory you made together.
Remember to go outside sometimes and really see the sky, drink it in for a minute, blue and gray and green. Take a deep breath and feel the fullness of your being, you are here, you are really here in that moment.
It’s autumn weather and it’s time to curl up indoors. Let peace sink in, and gratitude for the strong walls that keep out the cold and the weather but let you watch rain fall like a flurry of starry silver on your windowpanes. Make some easy Parisian drinking chocolate. Eat fruit. Watch The Flash and re-read old romantic classics like Pride and Prejudice and North and South. Because it’s getting colder, you’ll probably be out a little less – start cooking more. Enjoy your roommate and/or family. Have people over every few weeks, and serve them simple, warm food, like lemon chicken orzo soup and sweet potato casserole, and lots of wine.
Deep-clean your room and bathroom, and string up some Christmas lights. They use very little electricity so leave them on all night long and watch them blinking until you fall asleep. Listen to more jazz and folk as the weather turns. Don’t be cross, or cold. Get up 40 minutes before you need to leave for work, and turn on plenty of lights, and drink tea or coffee while eating eggs fried with thyme, and buttered bread, slowly.
Love your home. Love the weather. Make art. Stay warm. Autumn is here.
–Love Coffeegirl
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Favorite Fictional ‘Boys-Next-Door’
1. Gilbert Blythe, Anne of Green Gables series. Gilbert Blythe doesn’t literally live next door, but he’s exactly the type – he grows up with you, teases and pulls your pigtails when you’re younger, than turns into a kind, sweet friend, then a smoldering romantic interest. Mostly though, he’s just that sweet, dependable, good-looking guy next door that you’ve always taken for granted and one day fall for.
Drug of choise: Watch webseries Green Gables, which is utterly dull for most of its run but sparkles right up with the introduction of Gilbert Blythe offering warm coverings in the rain. See also Staircase Wit’s Top Ten Most Romantic Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe Moments.
2. Cricket, Lola and the Boy Next Door. In Stephanie Perkin’s delightful second novel in her young adult series, Cricket literally lives across the street from strong-willed aspiring clothing designer Lola. The two kind of grow up together, then start to fall in love, have a fight, and Cricket moves away…until he comes back in Lola’s senior year of high school. Lola’s first love now inhabits the balcony across from hers. Cricket is a family friend, loved by her parents, and creative like her – his hobby is mechanical inventions made of metal and wood. Funny, supportive, and vulnerable, he’s very much a boy next door.
I know there are more, but most fictional heroes frankly fall into the snarky, aloof mold or the icy arrogant, combative mold. Who are your favorite boy-next-door figures?
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Fall Love
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Under the Light of a Thousand Stars- ‘Thinking Out Loud’ Ed Sheeran Official Video
This. is really gorgeous.
When your legs don’t work like they used to before
And I can’t sweep you off of your feet
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?
I’m thinking out loud
That maybe we found love right where we are
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2014 Returning Fall Series You Should Be Watching: Romance
Wrote up a romance post for Sound on Sight!
These are relatively dark times for romance, particularly since sitcoms—traditionally a destination for romance on TV—have fallen out of favor in the 21st century. Gone are the days of 10-season hits like Frasier and Friends; a sitcom now is lucky to make it past its third season. That’s not to say there aren’t some thoroughly enjoyable romance-focused series. Here are my top picks:
The Mindy Project
Airs Tuesdays at 9:30pm ET on FOX
Mindy Lahiri, the doctor with a retort for everything, returns, and this time she’s in a relationship with gruff, good-hearted co-worker Danny Castellano. Can the bickering, chemistry-laden couple make it work? Fox highlighting funny bits and gags in its Mindy Project promo reels and clips has always been a misstep, because while The Mindy Project is funny, it is the romance that is the show’s standout aspect and what sets it apart from other shows. There are plenty of comedies on the air right now, but there are very few that deliver, or even attempt, an epic love story. Nick and Jess in New Girl are halfway there, but that show is more realistic than The Mindy Project and has consistently refused, to its credit, to force its characters to be compatible.
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New York Loving: Concrete Jungle that Dreams Are Made Of
Amy Holt captures gorgeous looks at New York City. If you’ve never been, visit – and check out my New York City travel tips.
Coffee and Irony 