Standing outside of Magnolia enjoying a good dose of sugar!

I don't mean to brag, but...

This winter my roommate made an important discovery: The Barefoot Contessa baking mixes. If you have ever seen her on the Food Network, you will remember her for her significant use of butter, sugar and cream...but minus the Southern accent. (That would be Paula Dean.) Ina Garten a.k.a. The Barefoot Contessa makes some scrumptious-looking food on her show, and that quality goes into her baking mixes. I should warn you, however, that they are not cheap. I think Angie bought some at Crate and Barrel at around ten bucks a box. Are they worth it? It depends.

The first ones I tried (meaning, ate--my roommate did the actual baking) were her coconut cupcakes. They were delicious and stayed moist for ten days. Yes, I am just as surprised as you that they lasted ten whole days. The other cupcakes we tried were these yummy chocolate ones with fabulous frosting. I can tell when a frosting came from a can, and hers had no such flavor. Oh yes, despite the low yield (about 1 dozen per mix), the price was worth it.

The rate of $10 for a baking mix does not reflect NYC price gauging (completely), and so please don't think that a box of Betty Crocker costs $8.00. I compare the Barefoot Contessa cupcakes to the finer ones purchased at various bakeries in town. Cupcakes are quite the hip treat, and not because all that frosting goes to the hips. (Though that is entirely true.) I have become a fan of the cupcake since I have been here. Everyone has their preferred cupcake place. And I am pretty sure that one can gain cupcake love street-cred if one fancies a cupcake at a bakery besides Magnolia. My friend Stephanie wants to throw a cupcake taste-testing party so we can make a good assessment of the best bakeries in the city. I fully intend to participate in that shindig. Maybe I will get my little cakes from Billy's or maybe I will whip up a batch of The Barefoot Contessa. Since I have tried the cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery, Crumbs and Buttercup Bakery, I think Ina's mixes can stand up to ones purchased already made.

Or maybe I will make my own...from scratch.

Tonight my roommate and I made her chocolate chip cookie mix. Well, Angie bought it and I stirred. For a mix the cookies were very good. But mine are better. Don't mean to brag, but it's true. Watch out Ina for the High-Heeled Contessa!

A New Year, A New Ward, in New Amsterdam

Believe it or not I have lived in New York for one full year! What a year too. I think I have now settled myself into the routine of city-living. I have my favorite places, restaurants, people, but I still have lots to explore. Many people who have lived here longer than me have recounted that there are neighborhoods that they never visit. Crazy, huh? But soon everyone gets stuck in the rut of everyday living, the city is no longer new, and we stop looking for little adventures because by golly, we have errands to run.

That is how I have felt during the cold months. In Seattle when the weather was icky my friends and I would go shopping. Here when the weather is icky, I stay home and start to hate the city. Someone told me that no one likes New York in the winter. It is grey, freezing, and miserable going outsie. Now that it has started to warm up I plan to explore new portions of the city. I have only been to Central Park once (and it really doesn't count because I only walked through it), I have not yet seen the Brooklyn Bridge, and I have not even set one foot in Bloomingdales. Oh yes, I've got a lot of livin' to do here still. I'm certain year two will be better than year one. That's the plan.

There are a few things that need to be tweaked in order for me to truly love NYC again. I am now 31 years old. For some people that is not an issue. But as a female Mormon it means that I can no longer attend church with the young single people; I have to go to church with the married people ad the old people. I thought I was prepared for this day, but in actuality I ended up crying all afternoon. Even though the Inwood 3rd ward has not been my favorite young single adult congregation, it was full of amazingly talented people. Apparently that congregation had the highest concentration of professional musicians and performers in the city. Our special musical numbers were really special. One time a guy sang a rearranged version of the hymn, "I know that my redeemer lives," and I nearly had to wipe away a tear or two. (Trust me, for that's showing a lot of emotion at church.) The ward also had a talented chef and pastry chef who coordinated a lucheon that blew every after-church potluck completely out of the water.

The family ward has talented opera singers and other performers, so I won't miss out on that fun experience, and I imagine that in a month or two I will like the screaming kids. But it is a transition that I really wanted to avoid--or a transition I was hoping to face with a spouse. I don't want the friends I made to forget me since they don't see me on Sunday. I will just have to be proactive and beg them to be my friend.

The other thing I need to tweak is my job. I loved PR last summer. I worked hard, was given challenging assignments, and people valued my effort. Then everyone I worked with left the company, and the replacements saw my job title and I was not given the same opportunities as before. I spoke up often and offered my services time and again. I did get work to do, but as one client put it, I am the dumpster who gets all the crap assignments. So it is time to move on. I hate searching for a new job, but I also hate being under-appreciated.

I try to tell myself that these two issues shouldn't affect my feelings for New York, but bad jobs and loneliness can bring anyone down--even if they live in Topeka, Austin or Seattle.

So, let's hope that Year Two kicks Year One's little patootie!

So, I'm not very computer literate.

I'm trying to put some of my concert videos on my blog and it is not working. Kate, I even downloaded my videos to that Vimeo site you told me about, and when I go to the site to see my videos I get a blank screen. I'm rather frustrated and I need help. For all those who know how I am supposed to get these things to work, please help me out. I have some Travis and Snow Patrol videos that want to be published on m blog.