Stuff I Like

http://pinterest.com
Having discovered Pinterest, my pin boards there hold the most complete and up-to-date collection of stuff I like, so there's that.  But apart from the boards, I thought I'd throw some items up here that I don't have there and direct attention to some of my favorites.






Restaurants
CoalFire (Columbia, MD):  This is my all-time favorite pizza place. 

Starbucks (everywhere): Grande 5-pump no water Chai tea latte

Metro Silver Diner (Annapolis, MD):  We like to go here for breakfast on Sundays.

Margharita's (Newark, DE):  My all-time favorite cheesesteaks.

The Charcoal Pit (Kirkwood Highway and Rte 202, Wilmington, DE):  This is the place for a great burger in DE.  Also, the best place for ice cream.  The Pit actually has BUTTERSCOTCH, vs. the inferior alternative of caramel.  This is KEY.  My favorite:  Butterscotch sundae with butter pecan ice cream and wet walnuts (whip & cherry)
Other options for butterscotch bliss: 

Oceanside Sub Shop (Fenwick Island, DE):  THE place to eat at the beach.

Hickory Park (Ames, IA):  Order the "Saucy Southerner"

The Mandarin (Ames, IA):  Best sesame chicken on the planet.  Seriously.

Friendly's (various locations):  My first ice cream shop.  I remember going here with my parents, my first boyfriend ordering "The New Choco-toffee Crack-up Sundae Featuring Heathbar Candy" word-for-word just to embarrass me, my husband, my daughter as the 1st place out since she was born, etc.  They do NOT have butterscotch, and the service at the Crofton location is TERRIBLE, but they are close to my heart.  The Newark, DE, location is no more (snif).  I love their Turkey Club Supermelt.


Brick-and Mortar Shops
  • Trollbeads:  Annapolis Mall Location, Annapolis, MD  as well as... 
  • GrassRoots:  Newark, DE
  • PaperSource:  Annapolis Town Center, Annapolis, MD
  • Target:  Pretty much everywhere.  Watch out, 1 foot in the door and you're out $100
  • Pier One Imports:  Love to browse here.
  • Pottery Barn:  If only I had unlimited funds!
  • Crate & Barrel:  See above.
  • New Balance:  Annapolis Mall Location, Annapolis, MD -- Just for the smell.  It's like "new car" smell, but better.  I usually wear Nike running shoes, actually, but NB are great for wide widths.
  • Specialty Running Shops - I used to run.  I was never fast, but I always enjoyed the expert attention I received at these shops.  If you need running shoes, do yourself a favor and visit a real running shop.


Websites
  • Iowa Insect Information Notes
  • Astronomy Picture of the Day
  • The Washington Post On-Line
  • For blogs, see my list at the bottom of the page.
  • Trollbeads After resisting for months after a Trollbeads kiosk was established in the Annapolis Mall, I finally gave in and started to collect these beads.  I love the quality and variety of glass beads offered by Trollbeads.  Each one is like a little piece of living color.  I have a bracelet full of beads.  Each one signifies something important to me or a life event.  Trollbeads bracelets do not have threaded ends like Pandora bracelets do, but I believe Trollbeads cores are big enough to fit on Pandora and other makes of bracelets, but check for yourself.  If I'm wrong, please let me know.  I started with a brown leather bracelet, but it stretched so much I had to tie knots in it, which was no big deal, but I have since switched to the silver bracelet.  Now they have more different colors of leather bracelets.  The thing with the leather one is that it holds twice as many beads as a single metal bracelet.  For beads I have or want, see my Pinterest board.

SO COOL!  Guess what happened to me!  I pinned some beads from Franny's Gift Gallery, which I saw online.  Lo and behold, they were having a Pinterest contest and said that by pinning one of their beads I had won!  They were going to send me the Yellow Onyx bead I'd pinned.  I had the gall to ask if it wasn't the color I expected if I could send it back and get the Carnelian bead instead.  You will not believe this.  They sent me both beads!  Seriously!  They are quite lovely and I am very pleased with them.  They appear to be real stone and are beautifully faceted.  The colors are bright and beautiful.  They arrived in their own little box by FedEx.  I thought at first that they were a good bit smaller than Trollbeads' stone beads.  This is not quite true.  They are very slightly smaller maybe, but mainly the dimensions are just somewhat different and they have a larger core, which threw me off.  I am so delighted with these! 

They almost make up for just getting pulled over and given a warning for cutting through a gas station.  I wasn't intending to avoid the traffic signal, as the warning states.  I just had no other way of getting back into traffic on Mayo Road and so took the entrance out onto Solomon's Island Road.  He didn't ask me my intentions! 




Music
Symphony of Science: We Are All Connected, Glorious Dawn, The Unbroken Thread
Sirius Satellite Radio: Kid's Place Live!

Need to manipulate your mood?  These are currently on my "Happy" playlist:
  • Casperbabypants: Butterfly Driving a Truck*
  • Blue October:  Jump Rope*
  • From the new Muppet Movie soundtrack:  Everything is Great, Muppet or a Man, Me Party
  • From the Enchanted soundtrack:  Happy Little Working Song
  • Todd McHatton's Galactic Champions of Joy album: I Think I'm a Bunny*
  • Randy Kaplan:  Don't Fill Up on Chips*
  • Robbie Schaefer: Fits Right In
  • Presidents of the United States of America:  Peaches
  • They Might Be Giants:  Birdhouse In Your Soul,
  • Barenaked Ladies: Light Up My Room, Pinch Me, Baby Seat, The entire Snacktime* album
  • The Lightning Seeds: Sense, Pure
  • Jars of Clay: Flood, Liquid
  • Indigo Girls: Cold Beer and Remote Control, Get Out The Map,  Jonas and Ezekiel, Virginia Woolf, and loads of others...
  • Billy Joel: the Glass Houses album
  • The Beatles: Strawberry Fields Forever, With A Little Help From My Friends, Blackbird
  • Neil Diamond:  America, Sweet Caroline, Song Sung Blue
  • Madonna:  Ray of Light
  • Lady GaGa: Telephone
  • Seal: Bring It On
  • Paul Simon:  Just about everything that's not obviously sad.  Especially the Me & Julio version on the new Muppets Movie Soundtrack.  Also Gumshoes, You Can Call Me Al, Graceland
  • + other stuff I can't think of right now...  suggestions?
*Kids' music, but good stuff!





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