New favorites

We all have our favorite things in life, right? And while there are certain things that I will always love no matter what (pugs, Jane Austen, and Velveeta Shells & Cheese to name a few), I love the surge I get when I've found something new and exciting that feels like I should have known about it forever. Some of my latest thrilling "finds" that are new to me but probably not to a lot of other people:

Tim Tams
My new favorite cookie, or biscuits, as they are called in their country-of-origin, Australia.

Yummy, crispy, chocolate-covered biscuits. I first tried these on my trip to Sydney this past summer, and now they can be had at local stores. And I don't mean the kind of foreign import that keeps the same brand name but is really made by an American company and doesn't taste as good (see Cadbury Dairy Milk made by Hershey's versus Dairy Milk actually made by Cadbury). There is even a drinking technique using them called the Tim Tam Slam.

Eric Hutchinson
I heard Eric Hutchinson's song "Rock and Roll" on the radio a few weeks ago coming home after a rough day and I instantly perked up. Then I got to see the Jason Mraz-esque musician perform at Lulu's in Waikiki this past weekend, and he rocked the tiny, packed venue. I like that his songs are clever, catchy and honest. Take a sample lyric from "Rock and Roll": "Another chance for cheap romance/Doesn't count cause the room is spinning/Nothing to lose tonight they both are winning." A fresh take on the stale bar/club scene.

Here's Hutchinson performing back in 2007.


From what I saw at his Waikiki performance, he's upgraded his wardrobe since then but the sound's still the same.

Tough Love
The only reality shows I watch on a regular basis are "American Idol," "Project Runway," and "So You Think You Can Dance." Just wanted to clarify that I'm not a reality show junkie. But I recently heard about a different kind of dating show called "Tough Love" on VH1 and decided to watch. This series is headed by male matchmaker Steve Ward, who gives women having trouble finding love, insight into how a guy's mind works, and not in the awful "The Pick Up Artist" way either. The women in turn learn how to connect with men. One downside to "Tough Love" is that it tries to follow the usual reality show formula of putting a bunch of a girls in a house together and hoping for the most drama possible. Luckily, the women so far have ended up supporting each other rather than trying to gouge each others eyes out. Besides that, the most compelling aspect of the show is Steve's truth-telling, and when you see the women "get it." My housemate and I enjoy this semi-trashy but strangely educational show and we even got her mother-in-law watching.

So there you have it: Tim Tams, Eric Hutchinson and "Tough Love." My current obsessions.

The Painted Desk's Origins

Blame it on a quiet house.

My roommates have left for two months of summer break, and the house is dead quiet except for music streaming from Pandora on my computer. There is no 1-year-old yelping out happy cries and toddling into my room to pull down blankets, stuffed animals and figurines from shelves. I can't bother his parents with my random thoughts nor talk them out with the toddler, who is a great listener, by the way.

Instead, there I was this evening sitting at my new writing desk and chair, which are painted a bright turquoise blue and decorated with birds and flowers. The desk lifts up to reveal a red interior with compartments. Every time I look at it, I get these lovely waves of happiness. And so I decided to start The Painted Desk blog to get the random thoughts out that I can't tell my housemates.

I imagine this blog will be a tangle of posts on TV, movies, books, 80s childhood nostalgia, and other things I would normally blurt out to live people who are unfortunate enough to be in my general proximity.

And I hope it inspires me the same way my painted desk has.

Photo: Pier 1 Imports