Merry Christmas to yourself

By • December 8, 2011 • Musings, The Daily Dish

A few years ago, my dad came up with an interesting idea.

In addition to pulling names for Secret Santa, our family buys one more gift: one for ourselves.

There’s no price limit. There are no restrictions. And you have to open it on Christmas morning.

At first, I thought it was a crazy idea. I wrapped something I already had and feigned surprise when I opened it that morning.

But over the years, I started to get it.

We spent a lot of time, effort and money buying things for other people — often buying things we want and would never get ourselves. So with my dad’s idea, we could actually buy something for ourselves — and not feel guilty about it.

So this year I splurged on myself. I got a Canon EOS 60D digital SLR — one that I’ve wanted for awhile now. I figured it was something I needed — I use some kind of camera several times a day — and really wanted.

So I did it. And I’m excited.

So if you could buy yourself a gift — you have to pay for it, remember! — what would you get yourself?

***

#TodaysGift

Dog Kimono from Inu Inu Hawaii

Image 1 of 19

Days left: 3

Dog kimono or yukata from Inu Inu Hawaii (www.inuinuhawaii.com)

Price: $30 online or at pet boutiques such as Calvin & Susie in Kilohana Square

The gist: Bored of the usual dog outfits? Or your pooch is quite the fashion diva? Get a kimono (or yukata) from Honolulu-based Inu Inu Hawaii, which specializes in unique Asian-inspired apparel for dogs. They come in all sizes — in fact, you can custom order ones for larger breeds — and patterns. Imagine your Rottweiler in one of these!

Best for: Dog owners, of course!

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Food trends of 2012

By • December 7, 2011 • Food

Last night I was reading the blog for the James Beard Foundation — a New York-based national professional nonprofit that serves to promote the culinary arts — and read its predictions for 2012.

Here’s what it suspects will be trending next year:

• Locavorism, redefined: We’re talking recipe revival, with foragers and historians retrieving recipes from the past.

• Donuts, donuts, donuts: Apparently, donut-related content online is up, indicating our fascination with these sugary wonders. In fact, malasadas made its list.

• Thai revival: This cuisine — one of my favorites — is expected to make a big comeback.

• Nordic menus: I have no idea what Nordic cuisine is — ingredients include sea buckthorn, wood sorrel, bark flour — but restaurants may start featuring it.

• Caneles are the new cupcakes: Yes, cupcakes are on the way out, according to the blog. In fact, macaroons made a quick appearance and are now replaced by these treats from Bordeaux. Caneles are made from an egg-yolk-enriched crêpe-like batter that’s baked in copper molds lined with caramel and beeswax.

• Eat-in kitchen: You’ll be pulling up a chair next to the stove.

• Blood: Blame it on “Twilight.” The next step in the snout-to-tail movement might just be the blood. Blood pancakes, blood cups, sauces thickened with blood.

• Smaller portion sizes: Mega meals are so 2011. Fine-dining portions are continuing to get smaller and tapas might become the new entree.

Got any thoughts on this?

***

#TodaysGift

Dog Kimono from Inu Inu Hawaii

Image 1 of 19

Days left: 3

Dog kimono or yukata from Inu Inu Hawaii (www.inuinuhawaii.com)

Price: $30 online or at pet boutiques such as Calvin & Susie in Kilohana Square

The gist: Bored of the usual dog outfits? Or your pooch is quite the fashion diva? Get a kimono (or yukata) from Honolulu-based Inu Inu Hawaii, which specializes in unique Asian-inspired apparel for dogs. They come in all sizes — in fact, you can custom order ones for larger breeds — and patterns. Imagine your Rottweiler in one of these!

Best for: Dog owners, of course!

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Great Debate: Banning e-mail at work

By • December 6, 2011 • Musings, The Daily Dish

It sounds like an impossible feat.

But Atos, an international IT services company, announced that it will ban e-mails because the big boss, Thierry Breton, considers 90 percent of them a waste of time, according to a New York Times article.

The goal of getting rid of what’s become the most common way we communicate in work settings is to get employees to spend more time talking to each other in person, on the phone or via “real time” tools like IM-ing and Twitter.

It sparked an interesting debate on the Times site, and I thought we could discuss it here.

For me, I have a love-hate relationship with e-mail. I love the ease, the efficiency, the one-sided conversations it affords. But I hate checking them, getting spammed, trying to find an efficient way of organizing messages. It really only adds to my stress load — instead of reducing it.

And I feel like I can get a lot more done when I talk to people face-to-face. Meetings, as much as we all hate them, can be productive. We get everyone in the same room and get a lot of answers to questions, a lot of decisions made. It’s easier for me to get an answer from someone over the phone than through websites or e-mails — but it requires a bit more work in that I have to actually engage in a conversation with someone, which is something we try to avoid with technology.

See the challenge.

But banning the use of e-mail entirely seems a bit extreme — and unrealistic. But it’s an interesting experiment.

What do you think? Are e-mails a waste of time? Would we be more productive if that was limited?

***

#TodaysGift

Dog Kimono from Inu Inu Hawaii

Image 1 of 19

Days left: 3

Dog kimono or yukata from Inu Inu Hawaii (www.inuinuhawaii.com)

Price: $30 online or at pet boutiques such as Calvin & Susie in Kilohana Square

The gist: Bored of the usual dog outfits? Or your pooch is quite the fashion diva? Get a kimono (or yukata) from Honolulu-based Inu Inu Hawaii, which specializes in unique Asian-inspired apparel for dogs. They come in all sizes — in fact, you can custom order ones for larger breeds — and patterns. Imagine your Rottweiler in one of these!

Best for: Dog owners, of course!

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Anyone send Christmas cards anymore?

By • December 5, 2011 • Musings, The Daily Dish

I had an interesting discussion about greeting cards the other day in, of all places, Twitter.

One friend tweeted that she wasn’t going to send Christmas cards. Another responded she wasn’t, either. Instead, they were going to send e-cards — or some kind of mass electronic greeting — to save on the stress of writing, addressing, stamping and mailing dozens of cards to people who — let’s be honest — will likely toss them come January.

I’m still one of those traditional hold-outs, I guess. I actually enjoy sending out Christmas cards — and, believe it or not, receiving them. I hang them up in my living room as Christmas decorations, gazing at the smiling faces that seem happy to be there. I love it.

But the Internet — and our busier-than-ever lifestyles — have contributed to the decline of traditional greeting cards. According to a recent story in the Los Angeles Times, the Greeting Card Association, the U.S. trade association for the industry, expects 1.5 billion cards to be sold this year, down from 2.7 billion in 1995. One in four consumers don’t plan to send cards this Christmas, pointing to time, expense and hassle as reasons. Of those sending greeting cards, about 20 percent said they planned to send an e-greeting instead and another 11 percent are mailing family newsletters.

Greeting cards may soon become a thing of the past. And that’s depressing to think about.

There are few things I do every Christmas — it’s almost my tradition — and mailing cards is one of them.

Anyone else still sending Christmas cards? Or am I holding onto something that’s slowly become passe?

***

#TodaysGift

Dog Kimono from Inu Inu Hawaii

Image 1 of 19

Days left: 3

Dog kimono or yukata from Inu Inu Hawaii (www.inuinuhawaii.com)

Price: $30 online or at pet boutiques such as Calvin & Susie in Kilohana Square

The gist: Bored of the usual dog outfits? Or your pooch is quite the fashion diva? Get a kimono (or yukata) from Honolulu-based Inu Inu Hawaii, which specializes in unique Asian-inspired apparel for dogs. They come in all sizes — in fact, you can custom order ones for larger breeds — and patterns. Imagine your Rottweiler in one of these!

Best for: Dog owners, of course!

You Might Also Like

#TodaysGift

By • December 3, 2011 • Musings

Dog Kimono from Inu Inu Hawaii

Image 1 of 19

Days left: 3

Dog kimono or yukata from Inu Inu Hawaii (www.inuinuhawaii.com)

Price: $30 online or at pet boutiques such as Calvin & Susie in Kilohana Square

The gist: Bored of the usual dog outfits? Or your pooch is quite the fashion diva? Get a kimono (or yukata) from Honolulu-based Inu Inu Hawaii, which specializes in unique Asian-inspired apparel for dogs. They come in all sizes — in fact, you can custom order ones for larger breeds — and patterns. Imagine your Rottweiler in one of these!

Best for: Dog owners, of course!

You Might Also Like