Last weekend I managed to make those margaritas and cupcakes from the previous two entries as well as some jasmines. Our grocery receipt looked like this: five bottles of alcohol, chocolate cake mix, and one head of garlic.

More fake recipes! Taken out of an email from Real Simple magazine. Fake a Margarita Fill a blender with ice. Add 2/3 cup tequila, 1/3 cup triple sec, and a 6-ounce can of frozen limeade concentrate. Blend on high until slushy. Pour into 6 glasses rimmed with kosher salt. Garnish with lime slices.

Maria's Chocolate Cake Cheat Recipe

• 1 package chocolate cake mix (ignore the box directions)
• 1 package 3 ounce chocolate pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cut warm water
• 1 cup sour cream Mix together. Bake according to directions on cake mix box. Don't tell anyone the secret. Smile and say why yes, I did make it myself. Makes great cupcakes too.

* Maria credits this to someone else, exactly whom she has forgotten, but thank you anyhow!

Gosh I'm tired. This extra two hours per day of commute I gained when we moved takes quite a chunk out of my photographing my new scarf and actually unpacking time. Some things have been going on, mostly involving buying stuff. I'm looking for the perfect pair of summer commuter shoes - the Simple shoes just didn't work out. I must have weird shaped feet. After a fruitless search in a rather large Nordstrom, I ordered these Kenneth Cole slides (I'm not usually a label girl but these look potentially comfortable), and these Keds (on sale too!) to try out. A few weeks ago I decided I needed a break from paying for shipping, but what can I do if the stores just don't have them? And, I wish I could wear flip flops. It would make the summer shoe thing sooo much easier. I have been slow to grab the freshly published book by Douglas Adams The Salmon of Doubt. I have adored Hitchhikers since I was wee and found the first book in the kids section of the library, where it had been shelved accidentally. I even own Last Chance to See, and have the entire radio program on cd (having lost the audio tapes which kept me company on many a road trip in the past, I hope they went to someone who appreciates them as much as I did). I was very sad when Douglas Adams passed away last year. Sometime earlier this year I surprised myself when we joined an actual wine club! Our second shipment arrived a few days ago, and it looks yummy. I heart Bonny Doon Vineyard. The tasting rooms are the friendliest, and the wine is well explained. They even make a wine which is banned in Ohio - though I suspect just the label is banned, and just in some rather rural part of Ohio. I have been scouring combinations of Ikea, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Depot and even a Hold Everything for the storage furniture we need so we can put away some stuff. I seem to envision exactly what I want and then try to find it rather than simply measuring the space and finding something which will fit into it. It isn't easy. And I want these pillows in orange, red and olive for our couchfuton. I suppose one is never too old to shop at Urban Outfitters.

oh hey! not martha is one year old today! and I find the meathead link has gone 404 on me! I saved a mirror, I love it that much.

At The Morning News - The Case for Cocktails, why we should cultivate our vice for sophisticated drinking. For loving information on nearly forgotten drinks, visit Lupec - Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails .

I almost forgot! Erica Mulherin (check out the shiny new permalink!) mentioned she received a West Elm catalog in the mail. I heard an NPR report about this, West Elm is a part of Williams-Sonoma and is a shot at the younger hipper cheaper crowd, see this article in The Gourmet Retailer. I have been eyeing a shop near my new apartment called Hold Everything, which I find is also a Williams-Sonoma dealy. According to the NPR report thingy West Elm isn't the first time a home goods retailer went for the younger market, Crate&Barrell had a line of shops under a different name, though I forget what the name was now, darn. Abercrombie and Fitch has Hollister a beach based clothing brand, named after a town in California which in reality is nowhere near the shore. Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy are all the same company. Check this out - L'oreal, Biotherm, Giorgio Armani, Garnier, Lancome, Maybelline, Ralph Lauren, Redken, Vichy and Laroch-Posay (?) all the same company (go to "our brands" then "our brands portfolio"). Estee Lauder? and Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Origins, MAC, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Tommy Hilfiger, Jane, Donna Karen, Aveda, Stila, Jo Malone, Bumble and bumble and Kate Spade all under the same company. Ok, so it's not news, I know, but it helps to remind myself that it's all about the packaging. Which I knew already.

New site! (at least for me) Going Bridal - the adventures of a soon to be bride who is making her own dress (!) and trying to figure it all out. We can all watch from a safe distance. Has great links!