“If you meet up with your family over the holidays, take a family photo. Not enough families do this anymore.”
Annoyance of the Day - Gift Receipts
I hope you know where I'm going with this. What's so annoying about gift receipts? THE ABSENCE OF THEM.
(And before I go on, if you find this post selfish or crass, please don't ever get me a gift. If you're that sensitive about such a topic, I can't imagine you'd be a good gift-giver anyway.)
Now, why are people so anti-gift receipts? Those tiny pieces of paper are beautiful little angels who WANT you to enjoy the money that has been spent on you! The mere existence of them is one of the greatest advancements in our modern society. Hey! You don't like your gift? That's cool, go pick out something else you DO like and don't waste that hard-earned money that was spent on your behalf! That's all they're saying, why are they not more used?!
I'm not alluding that for every gift I get, I want a gift receipt attached to it - I'm not some sort of demon. But if you're buying someone a gift and you're asked the question, "Do you want a gift receipt with your purchase?" - why the hell is the answer ever NO?! Who has the abnormally high confidence that every gift they've ever bought has been the absolute perfect gift?
Oh, and the weirdos who give you a gift, you open it and then they say, "I have a gift receipt if you want it" - are we kidding here? Why did you not just include it in the box?! You want me to ask you for it?! I already told you that I'm NOT a demon, so no - I don't think I'll be asking you for that little piece of paper.
It's so simple. You get a gift receipt. You include with the gift. If the gift sucks, the receiver doesn't have to throw out something they'll feel badly about. They can, God forbid, GET SOMETHING THEY ACTUALLY WANT. Why is this a difficult concept?
Okay. I'm getting heated up here. I'm sorry. There are, of course, exceptions to these opinions. If you're in my family and there isn't a gift receipt with someone that I don't particularly care for - I'll probably let you know that I want to return it. And it won't be weird 'cause we're family and we can be dicks to each other without guilt. But with friends and acquaintances? That's a way harder area. Friends feel like they should know you, but such is not always the case. And telling a friend is WAY harder than telling your family.
And honestly, there have been maybe four instances in my life when I've really wished there were a gift receipt with a certain gift I've been given. I'm typically very happy whenever someone gets me anything, so I'm really just speaking generally. Gift receipts are so important. I mean, they exist - so why not give them with every gift? Unless you're buying that gift online, I really don't see why this custom hasn't caught on more.
All right, that's it. I'm sorry that you think I'm a terrible person, but someone needed to say it.
You can see more posts like this on my latest newsletter.
Iris Documentary
I first heard of this lady in that great Bill Cunningham documentary. She seems unique as hell and her relationship with her husband Carl was probably my favourite part to watch in this documentary. Definitely check it out on Netflix.
Mom Says
“Lettuce is believed to have magical and healing properties, including the power to arouse love and counteract the effects of wine.”
Best Morning Ever Mug
Designer Tom Medwin has created what he calls the "Best Morning Ever Mug," which has been designed to keep your coffee or tea warmer for a longer amount of time after you pour it, as well as provide a surface that acts as a doughnut warmer. $15 gets you one if they reach their Kickstarter goal (which they totally have already).
“All we know is the wind that blows.”
Heattech Clothing at Uniqlo
Nathan got me that Heattech outfit (shown above) last year and, quite honestly, it saved my life. We live in a basement that used to not have any heating (I know, that's a sad story, but we have heat now!) and I wore this set almost exclusively for four months. If that sounds like a joke, I apologize. It was a reality that we had to get comfortable with - and wearing this outfit made that winter bearable. It's such a warm outfit that they sort of remind me of stylish long johns. I think you can wear them underneath your regular clothing too since they're so slim-fitting. And if you're a fan of being warm, but not bulky-warm - then these are the perfect at-home clothes that you need to buy immediately for winter. They have mens sizes as well, so they're kind of the perfect gift for anyone who has ever been affected by warmth.
Spinach Tofu
I have found the best cream cheese flavour of life and his name is SPINACH TOFU. Does that sound gross? It sounded gross to me, too. But I swear to you, this stuff tastes better than any cream cheese I've ever had. The consistency is the exact same as regular cream cheese and you cannot taste one iota of tofu. And also? Have you ever felt grossly full after a regular sized bagel and cream cheese? Well, if you choose this flavour over regular cream cheese, YOU WILL NEVER FEEL GROSS AGAIN. Maybe 'cause there's just so much less fat in it? I don't know, I'm not a scientist.
If you need to try it, they've got it at Brooklyn Bagel in Queens and I feel like this flavour is slowly picking up steam and showing up at other breakfast places. Keep an eye out.
Black Mirror
The best way that I can describe this show is that it's like a modern, technology-based Twilight Zone. And I doubt that I'll ever watch it again after having seen the pilot episode.
So why am I doing a post on it? It isn't because I hated the episode. At first I thought that I did hate it, but after a few days I realized that I didn't - I hated the way that it made me feel. I hated remembering certain scenes that'll likely stay with me for years to come. I hated feeling all of the things I felt during that forty minutes. And I hated that a television show had the capability to make me feel a complex amount of emotions. I also hated the accents, but that's a personal preference.
I had been instructed to watch it by my brother Gary (whom I'm not even mad at, by the way, since seeing that episode really made me want to tell others about it). And when I spoke to him afterward, he put it best when he called the show "challenging." That's exactly what it is.
I talked to Nathan about it (he watched the pilot episode months ago) and he thinks I'm being a bit of a weenie about it and that he wasn't at all affected by watching it. Honestly, I don't even mind him thinking I'm being a little dramatic about it since he must be out of his mind for not reacting more strongly to it.
In any case, if you're at all intrigued by this purposely-vague synopsis, please go watch the first episode of the first season on Netflix and tell me what you think. I will, unfortunately, never forget it.
Emergen-C
I was going to do a post about how this stuff can really perk you up if you're feeling a cold coming on, but then I saw this video (below).
Sooo... if you're not watching your sugars, then I guess you can still use this stuff to stop a cold from coming on. But if you ARE watching your sugars, then be forewarned and stay away from this stuff! And honestly, we should all be watching our sugars.