Because I missed the initial airing of the “We are One Concert” for the inauguration, I was happy to find it on HBO On Demand last night. While the performances were amazing there were two parts that really struck me.
The first was a reading of JFK’s speech he made to Amherst College about the importance of the arts. The second was the performance of Marion Davies.
If you missed the original airing of the concert, check it out On Demand. It’s definitely not one to miss!
While out to dinner with a good friend this past weekend, I learned something new about a food I am very familiar with; the cocoa bean. Turns out, the quality and taste of chocolate has everything to do with where the bean was grown. Just as grapes become Cabernets or Pinot Noirs depending on the conditions of the exact hillside on which they grow, the origin of a specific cocoa bean determines the type of chocolate it will become. I found all of this so interesting I thought it would be great to share it with my readers!
Both grapes and cocoa beans are greatly impacted by factors like climate and soil, as well as quantities of sunlight and rain. Cocoa beans are generally catagorized into three types: Forastero (accounting for 85% of the world's cocoa), Trinitario (about 10%), and Criollo (less than 5%). As with most things, the rarer the better, and Criollo beans are considered to make the finest, most expensive chocolate in the world.
Like wine connoisseurs, chocolate aficionados pay attention to aroma, taste and look. The flavor of Criollo is described as delicate yet complex, low in classic chocolate flavor, but rich in "secondary" notes of long duration, with a reddish coloring.
The largest areas of cocoa bean growth
Next time you bite into a piece of chocolate, take a moment to reflect on one of nature's great marvels: the amazing cocoa bean!
What is your favorite place to get chocolate? Please leave a comment.
This past weekend I was able to attend the Antique shows and I was inspired and reminded about how wonderful the art of collecting antiques can be. This economy provides an great buyers market. If you have a little money to spend I would definitely suggest investing in antiques. Instead of buying furniture pieces that will fall apart within a year why not invest in a piece that has been proven to last a lifetime. As a friend once said to me "if you can't afford good art, start with good furniture."
The 55th Annual Winter Antiques Show
Jan. 23 - Feb. 1, 2009
Park Avenue Armory
Park Avenue at 67th Street
New York City
Open Daily12 noon - 8 p.m.
Except: Sundays & Thursday12 noon - 6 p.m.
$20 Admission
What is your favorite antique you own? Please leave a comment!
While it is important for us to bundle up in the winter, it is even more important that we keep our pets safe during the cold winter months. Here are a few suggestions that will help make sure your pet has a healthy and safe winter.
Today's blog is not about food per say, but rather the lack of food I've had this week! My best friends and I are doing a five day cleanse together and... today is day three. I agreed to take part to wean myself off the large amount of sweets I consume.
The cleanse we chose is the Organic Avenue Five Day LOVEdeep fast. Instead of eating solid foods, every day we drink a series of seven "elixirs," each providing a different nutrient. The fast is designed to drench your body with vital nutrients while giving it a break from digestion. The best part? Each day, Organic Avenue delivers your drinks in this chic burlap bag, and takes the previous day's bottles to be recycled!
I have to say it has been extremely hard giving up coffee but I am feeling energized and healthy! Only time will tell if it ends up helping curb my sugar habit. I'll let you know...
Have you ever done a fast? Please share your stories!
To escape the cold this weekend I headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and spent about 5 hours wandering through their amazing new exhibits. The exhibit that was the most inspiring to me was The Philippe de Montebello: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions. The exhibition is considered a parting gift to the director that helped acquire 84,000 works while he was with the museum.
There were two furniture pieces that stood out to me above everything else. The first was a Bureau Brise writing desk that is one of the only surviving pieces commissioned for the personal use of Louis XIV. It is part of a pair and the other is at the Louver in Paris. It is so amazing to see something and think that Louis XIV once used this desk.
The second piece was a Tula table made almost completely of steel. What is so interesting about this table is that Tula was a gun manufacturing company until Katherine the Great summoned them to make furniture instead of guns. This table specifically is made of mostly steel but looks as though it is made of diamonds. The craftsmanship and design of this table is so breathtaking to me!
If you get a chance you should go see this exhibit and be inspired! If you do not live in New York City but you still want to experience the exhibit click here to look at the website.
What inspires you? Please leave a comment.
The paint room in the Material for the Arts warehouse
The Material for the Arts Warehouse
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