Tag Archives: spotify

appreciating cheese danish, friends who dance + surviving COVID

20 Dec

Hi. It’s been a while since we spoke. I was going to say “hot minute” but I can’t tell you how much that phrase irks me. i’m glad to be back as I believe we all need to concentrate on what we appreciate, what we love and care about and what we’re grateful for nowadays.

I’m not going to lecture, shove my POV in your face, try to get you to buy a course, a craft or try to build an on-line following. I don’t aspire to be an influencer or show you how cool I am in everyday showing you what I wear, what I put in my hair, what kind of leggings I buy.

Well, I might do that last one. After all, I’m interested in what other people are doing in this year-of-the-weird.

Really, what I missed and loved so much about writing this blog for 7 years was when my friends that I don’t talk to every single day track with me. It’s kind of a one-side way to stay in touch where the other side eventually catches up.

So, I had Covid in September. It wasn’t fun and wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I survived. Robert has it now. It’s much better for him than it was for me. He is tired and run down but no fever or anything else. He is taking it easy and I’m spoiling him with some yummy food. Not that either one of us need to be piling food in our face but somehow it makes us feel better.

He loves cheese danish. We aren’t big “donut” sweet breakfast people – more lox and bagels types – but he has always loved cheese danish. So waking up at 5:30am on a Sunday morning, I whipped up a 1/2 batch. I’ve always wanted to be someone who just whips up a batch of homemade danish and – LOOK! – I am!

This is Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe. And you can look it up, but I’ll give you my version to show you how easy it is. Also, note, these aren’t too sweet which I like.

What you’ll need to get from Instacart (don’t risk Covid for these. It’s not lobster for crying out loud!) MAKES 4

Puff Pastry – one sheet thawed out in fridge overnight

1/2 block (4 oz) cream cheese – room temp

1 egg yoke – room temp

1 tbsp ricotta cheese (make stuffed shells later with rest)

Vanilla

TBSP lemon juice (I forgot this and used lemon juice from bottle, big whip)

2 tbsp +2 tsp sugar

One egg beat with a dash of water in a little bowl

RECIPE:

In your mixer or in a bowl, mix on low speed the sugar and cream cheese. When smooth, add in ricotta, vanilla, egg yoke and lemon juice. Don’t whip it! just get it together.

Now press out or roll the puff pastry to 10×10. I actually got out a tape measure (dork!) but not necessary. You know me, I’m super detail oriented. Just flatten it a bit. Cut with knife or pizza cutter into four squares.

Take a spoon and put the cream cheese mixture in a dollap in the middle of each square. Take the egg wash and wash outside of square. Then take two opposite corners and pull towards each other and press. Egg wash the outside.

Oh yeah, preheat your oven at 400 degrees. Should have told you that at the top. I’m not a professional.

Pop these on sheet pan with parchment paper into the oven and bake for 20 minutes turning the tray around 1/2 way through.

Let me know if you try them. They are so good!

Lastly, call out to my friend Yareli. We share fitbit stats with each other most evenings. Sometimes we are “on” and sometimes we’re “off” but she is getting additional steps in by dancing at night in her place. Cracks me up. I love it. I made a playlist for you, Y.

February Playlist: Leonard & Frost

15 Feb

Not my typical playlist. That’s my disclaimer for –arguably– the best playlist for this dreary, tepid, news-saturated month.

So turn off the boob tube. Go on. Open this playlist and start at the top. Damn it’s good, if I do say so myself.

I’ve made it collaborative so you can add a song or two if you want. No AC/DC. I’m gonna call out some peeps here to contribute – you know who you are: AH, JG, DS, KK, CH, JG.  Yep, you.

You’ve gotta follow May Earlewine on IG. I love her morning pour over coffee jams.

Enjoy! It’s my Leopard & Frost playlist on Spotify.

listening to this now… detroit playlist

9 May

who am i kidding?

i’ve been listening to these songs for the past two months straight, not just now. they aren’t for everyone.  which is just how i like it.  i do believe i’ve worn ROF down playing them as much as i do.  i see some head nodding and wavy hand motions if he thinks i’m not looking.

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the music i love the most is stuff that could be the background music for my life.  just press play when i get up.

this particular mix is called detroit because i commute so much up there and stay at my cousins house out in rochester hills.  i get up super early and head out on 75 to make my way downtown.  after getting my flat white at starbucks, i press play and tear off for the motor city at 6:30am.  this is what i listened to in my headphones headed north.  i love this mix. especially spells by cannon.  <sigh.>

what is going through my head while listening to this is that i’m not actually driving down beat-up 75 at 6:30 in the morning.  i’m lounging by an infinity pool in mexico or i’ve got my feet in the sand in belize.  this is playing over the speakers.  it’s breezy and cool.

but now that i’m back in dallas for a week, i play it by our pool and think of detroit and 75 and early morning flat whites.

january playlist: snow & birdcage

21 Jan

when thinking of life’s most important things, music doesn’t typically come to mind.  probably not even in the top 5.

or 10.

but for me, music is key to sustaining a smashingly good mood.  and that’s worth something.  believe me.

this year, this website will highlight playlists every month.  all curated by yours truly.

this months playlist name comes courtesy of this website.  pretty funny name generator.  here’s another.

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while you listen to this playlist:
you’ll either be:
a) pouring a glass of wine and surfing the web. check out this blog, this blog or this blog.

b) fixing dinner made of pasta, homemade tomato sauce and meatballs (and drinking a glass of wine)

c) cruising in your car, top down and wind blowing through your hair. (no wine)

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photo: @livenation
this month’s playlist is full of fun, moody riffs as well as some songs that will make you say… “i liked that song a long time ago but had no clue who it was!”

here are a couple of my favorites:

LAPSLEY:  falling short.  this has me written all over it.  just had to hear the first few notes and i was sold.  whole album is awesome.
GUSTER: long night.  oh wow.  first with satellite then comes this song.
BIG DATA: dangerous.  they had me at the claps.
BROODS:  old song but love love love.
SIA:  i want it to be known that i’ve loved her for over 15 years.  it all started with this song.  this live version brings big tears to my eyes  – she’s just that good.
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sia photo courtesy of here
you might want to join spotify as it’s the only way to listen to music – if you’re a music lover.  follow me here!

enjoy!

idea + advice for parents

25 Feb

this isn’t going to be that deep.  it’s just an idea + a little advice for you.

adviceidea

this past week, i was driving to work and stuck in rush hour traffic.  i don’t really complain because i like the time by myself.  i typically go through my to-do list for the day and alternately jam out to really good music.  like my spotify disco mix.  good music is subjective, you know.

anyway.

i do this because music lifts my spirits (kind of like this) and takes me out of the mundane go-to-work-time-to-make-the-donuts routine.  it was during this disco jam-out that i thought of my friend at work.  you know who you are.  she used to be quite the disco queen back in the day.  and i was thinking of her while listening to this music.  then my mind shifted to the fact that her daughter just had her first baby – her grandchild  – a girl.  joy of all joys!  my mind then shifted to my very good friend and sister-in-law, susan.  i was talking with her that morning about the blog she did for her kids – which is excellent.  i thought that my friend at work would like the same idea.

now you know how my mind works.  riveting.

i thought that my friend at work should do a blog to her daughter and granddaughter filled with wisdom, family history and laughs, advice, recipes, memories and pictures. this wasn’t my idea, i got it from susan’s blog. here was the advice i gave my friend at work, that if you want to start a blog for your loved one.

< IDEA:  a memory blog>

here is the way to start:

  1. think of a name for your blog. needs to be something personal between your daughter + you.  that makes it fun. 
  2. think of 5 or as many as you want topics to frame your posts.  as mentioned, some ideas are: Recipes + restaurants, sweet memories, to my granddaughter, advice etc… 
  3. if you want, snoop around go to http://en.wordpress.com/  to just explore.  
  4. carry a notebook and jot down ideas for blog articles as they come to you.  i have an app for my iphone called GNEO for this list.  It’s easy.  

lastly, write your first post.  just do it in email or a word document and then copy/paste it into your first blog post. 

Here is some advice. 

  • write exactly how you would talk.  don’t worry how well you write, worry about making sure it just sounds like YOU.
  • write like you’re talking to your daughter.  Don’t write like strangers are reading this – you don’t have to over-explain.  You’re just having a conversation. 
  • start with why you’re writing this blog and what you want to accomplish with it. 
  • don’t need to make it too long.  try to always include pictures.  

that was the idea.

here is the advice:

if you have kids under the age of 16 – get onstar.  get a gm vehicle with onstar or get just the rearview mirror.  if your kids are looking for a great inexpensive car with a ton of value – recommend something like this.   i know you have navigation on your phone – who doesn’t.  but what you don’t have is someone that knows if you get in a car accident, witness a car accident or have an emergency of any kind.  if you’re in an accident, onstar immediately calls for help – you don’t have to do anything.  they will also talk with your kids if you are in trouble – many more.  it is a no brainer to have and, in my mind, not smart to not have.  watch this:

tuesday: 5 lovely links (you’ll love)

15 Aug

everyone needs an soundtrack or anthem for their life.  right?

then again, maybe life is too broad, let’s take it back a couple levels.  not your life per se, as you may get tired of the same song over and over again,  but for your mood.  yes.  you know that song that gets your blood pumping, your mind racing.  maybe even anthem is too strong of a word as well.  it’s not as if we all need the theme from rocky to play constantly in our minds.  however, that would be nice, would it not? – it was an inspiring theme. 

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