Oh, that's just the basement. Usually, if its like Old Navy there might be the chance of a discontinued item or something for like $6. I'm just stating that $50 is a definite. But I can't paint FemRabbit as a mad shopper, 'cause she isn't. Just there's an gravitational pull to stores like Anthro with her.

Yail, sorry, saw the "grandmotherly" adjective. Heh.

Hey, it is what it is, she's pretty much a grandmother (4 grandkids + 2 step grandkids) these days. She's just not my grandmother.

Got the new Husker Du book, which I already read and liked OK. But, the author goes to great pains to keep telling you how he doesn't want to get into all the band feuds, which are the most interesting parts. Also, poor editing with whole paragraphs repeated and that kind of thing. From a strictly factual standpoint, it is a good narration though and there are a few things worth reading. If you're a fan, you'll enjoy it at least a bit. But, don't expect to get much in the way of inside scoops. It's fairly dry although lots of good info about the local scene and all that. Also, my pet peeve is it seems like anytime you read anything about a band that was ever lumped into the hardcore scene, it gets mentioned with a zillion disclaimers about how said band wasn't really a hardcore band and was not all just like the rest and was so much more. It starts to seem ridiculous when every damn band worth a shit out of the genre totally gets called out as being not a hardcore band as if it is a horrible insult. Just seems like if there are so many bands that were a part of that scene that are specifically called out as being different from the rest and so unique..well, that's kind of the definition of a diverse scene once you strip away the hoards of pretenders that over-populate pretty much any scene.

And then to drive the point home, I got the collected Touch & Go fanzines, which was really a sweet gift from my little bro who said he remembers seeing those lying around my room when we were growing up and I would make him listen to weird ass punk rock 45s and remembered the zines when he saw the book. Anyway, a fanzine which would review the new Black Flag followed by mention of the Specials and then Public Image really demonstrated how most people in that era were nothing like the lock-step stereotype of hardcore fans that seems to get trotted out. I blame it on too much focus on the DC crowd and those East Coast boys.

Nice. Well, if its any consolation, dressing like a grandma is kinda in with the kids these days. Long cardigans. Slipper shoes.

OH yeah...and my favorite gift...



Also, a girl got me a snow cone machine. Coming this summer...Tequila snow cones.

The Bastianichs are from the same part of Italy as my mom and grandmother. My great-grandmother was a cook by profession. I bought Lidia Bastianich's cookbook for my grandmother a couple of years ago for christmas. My grandmother pulled out her mother's recipes (written in italian of course) and compared them to Lida's. Almost identical. But Lida's book was a great use for me because my great-grandmother did not put any real measurements down. Just stuff like "a couple of handfuls of flour," etc.

I posted my great-grandmother's gnocchi recipe in the gastronomy thread. I believe it's identical to Lidia's.

So those could be considered pretty definitive cookbooks on I-talian food? I've got no Italian roots but have grown to really enjoy cooking some of that food. I'd love to have some of the best and most basic stuff in book form.

I bought my grand moms a Panettone Milenese from this place: http://www.rulli.com/ and she was the happiest woman on the planet.

From my experience, yes. My grandmother would even say things like, "oh, I haven't had that since I was a little girl, my aunt used to make those exactly like that."

Awesome. The Good Cook had her book on sale for $11.99 too. Just picked it up.

Considering I just got a bunch of wedding gifts, I didn't really need/want anything this year. But I did get some cash from a few people, NC State carflags from the in-laws (who are actually big UNC fans), a mini moleskine notepad from my brother, some tea from my other brother, and a sweater from my moms.

I also bought myself a Trovata shirt and corduroy pants from Gilt Man and then gave She Guns a Ritz-Carlton gift card to use for a Signature Massage.

Got a great mix of highly practical and frivolously awesome.

6 cup French press w/ milk frother
Life - Keith Richards
4 set of down pillows (standard & long) - clearly a practical gift from my folks initiated by FemDerris. Still, they're awesome.
2 sweaters from Banana Repub (gift card for here as well)
$50 gift card for Barnes & Noble - my family has long since stopped trying to buy music for me. This will go towards that and maybe that Patti Smith book
Best Buy gift card - large chunk of change that was our gift from FemDerris' dad and stepmom. This will go towards a new tv for the living room. (waiting for post-Super Bowl sales)
Pair of 100% cotton pajama/monger pants - had the same ones for years and they barely resembled "pants". Good call FemDerris.
Madden 2011 - Wii

Then, the double shot coup de grace:

From FemDerris: 2 tickets to the Saturday "Tasting Tents" at the Inaugural Atlanta Food & Wine Festival next May. Being put on by Food & Wine magazine and by the same folks who have done the one in Aspen for years. This is the first one to celebrate all things southern.

From my folks: 2 tickets to Saturday and Sunday rounds of the 93rd PGA Championship in 2011 being held at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

Pretty awesome. More than anything though, I was pretty happy to have some money coming in this year to spoil FemDerris a little. Took her to a half day spa deal on Christmas Eve. Had to buy me at LEAST 2 get out of fail cards for when I fuck something up in the coming months.

Last month I bought a Sony Bravia 40" LCD/LED that comes with built-in Wi-Fi for video and music streaming. It's purdy sick. I'd recommend it, or at least consider a TV that has the Wi-Fi capability.

The Atlanta Food & Wine Fest sounds like something femdisco and I need to check out!


My pull:

Grimey's gift certificate
membership to the Frist Museum + Art of Tennessee coffee table book
wine class at Sunset Grill (I chose the Pacific Northwest tier class)
framed Hatch Show Prints from Ryman shows I've been to (2 Neils and a Neko)
"Cope With Stress Like A Pro" night class
Christmas ornaments
A Stripling's General Store gift box
a couple of bottles of Malbec wine
and some clothes that I returned.

I've got some Stripling's sausage in my freezer raht now.

I got this for the kids - we all love it. I made it to 76 the other night.

This Shepard Fairey Print


Kozik Monger


Kozik Hoody


David Sedaris Collected Works
and a bunch of other stuff. Great Christmas for me again

Heh, me too. Medium Beef Smoked and two Medium Fresh. I cooked up some of the Beef Sausage for one of our Christmas parties and it was a hit paired with some Boar's Head Honey Mustard. I ate the beef jerky from the gift box in a single day. Shit was good. Also bought some of their Raspberry Roasted Chipotle Sauce and the box came with a few different seasonings and a jar of their Vidalia Onion BBQ Sauce.

"You know what I got for Christmas? Oh, it was a banner fucking year at the old Bender family. I got a carton of cigarettes. The old man grabbed me and said, 'Hey, smoke up Johnny'!"