Two new things to be excited about

I just found a great NYC food blog. Gezellig Girl is brave enough to post about how her cooking style differs from her mom's (hi Mom!), knows about Chinatown (and I want to learn!), is interested in teapots and watches Top Chef. It is very late notice, but I hope she might be able to make it to our NYC Food Blogger party tomorrow.

The second exciting thing is that I won an Ebay auction for the December 2004 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Not that there were many people clamoring for this magazine, but I really wanted it. Someone was bidding against me, but I still got it for only $4.82.

In that issue, there's information about how to make Christmas centerpieces using carnations. Carnations -- the un-exotic, cheap, forgotten flower, bouquet filler -- reimagined into modern, interesting, yet still inexpensive centerpieces. Its sort of a metaphor for the rediscovery of my part of Brooklyn, or just a good life philosophy in general.

I'm hoping I can pull something like this off for our Holiday Book party. I'm off to Bed Bath and Beyond to think up some simple decor idea for tomorrow night's Food Blogger Pickle Party.