Barbara: We haven’t had that much time to do joint activities this month, mostly due to my planning a trip to Spain but lucky for me my favorite part of Spain was Catalonia and specifically Barcelona. This was such a charming city, from the breathtaking homes, gardens and Basilica de la de la Sagrada Familia designed by Gaudi to the food, shops and people of the city – pictures just don’t do it justice. But here’s a few that try.
As Ed Sheeran sings:
“And you and I we’re flying on an aeroplane tonight We’re going somewhere where the sun is shining bright Just close your eyes And let’s pretend we’re dancing in the street In Barcelona.
Las ramblas, I’ll meet you Come on and dance with me in Barcelona Drinking Sangría I just want to be in Barcelona”
It’s been a few “letters” since we visited a museum, so off we went to The Crow Museum of Asian Art, located at The University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson. It was a total surprise in terms of what we were expecting, and we truly loved it. We had visions of a very small building that was an offshoot of the original museum in Dallas. Wrong! Driving up to the museum you’re greeted by a large building with great sculptures outside.
And inside – fabulous art of every type and style. The museum offers tours for K-12, university and adult audiences that “foster dialogue, explore multiple perspectives and ignite curiosity in an inspiring environment.” The museum’s collections span Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and beyond. We saw folk art, jade pieces, statutes, furniture, masks, paintings, screens – a whole lot of creativity.
All in all, it was a wonderful visit and another reason we are thankful for expanding our art appreciation.
New delicacy: Japanese CHEESECAKE
Having just been immersed in Asian art, we thought it was appropriate to visit a small bakery called Mr. Puffy and try their Japanese cheesecake. The recipe was created by Japanese chef Tomotaro Kuzuno and is a pastry that is lighter in texture and less sweet than North American style cheesecakes. Definitely mixed reviews. Whereas Barbara really enjoyed the cheesecake consistency and flavor, it ran counter to Laura’s lofty cheesecake standards formed by a whole lot of cheesecake sampling dating back to when she lived in Manhattan in her 20s. So unable to put aside her bias, she found Mr. Puffy to be not all that puffy and a little on the bland side. But we were both glad we stopped by and had a new taste experience.
If you want a sweet month, you should start it off with a sweet. Right? So that’s what we did.
New activity: COOKIE CRAWL
Barbara: Laura was swamped with work and couldn’t make it, so I grabbed our friend, Pam, and we headed off to some cookie shops in the area. The first one we hit was Cookie Society in Frisco.
This shop had a lot of interesting flavors. The 3 we picked were Banana Pudding, Salted Caramel and Peach Cobbler. We divided the cookies into thirds so that we could later give Laura a taste test as well. Of the three my favorite here was the Peach Cobbler and Pam’s was the Salted Caramel. She prefers a crispier cookie though. My taste for crunch is halfway between soft and crispy.
The second shop was Sugar and Spice Bakery in Plano.
The owner said they had been there for about 14 years. Right in our backyards, yet we didn’t know about them! It was a cute shop and had a full lunch menu which we may go back to sample. The cookies we opted for were the Lemon Cake, the Cranberry Oatmeal and the Strawberry Shortcake. We each took a third of the Lemon Cake and thought it was good. Crispy for Pam with a subtle taste of lemon so not overpowering. We saved the other two to bring to Laura, along with a third of each other cookie.
The final stop was at Chip Cookies in Plano. We bought the Cocoa Chip, the SW Chip and the cookie of the week, which was the Twix Chip, a handmade shortbread cookie with a layer of caramel and topped with milk chocolate and Maldon Sea salt. The Cocoa Chip was the driest of the three so not our favorite, but the Twix Chip was very good, with that gooey chocolate topping and a very interesting cookie batter. However, it was the SW Chip that had us drooling. It is a warm gourmet cookie stuffed with a premium 57% semi-sweet chocolate wafers + topped with Maldon Sea salt.
By the time we got to Market Street to eat our cookie thirds with a cup of coffee, we were beyond stuffed. But, hey, that’s the way the cookies crumble!
Barbara: This month I learned something about the bra. The bra has forever been the bane of my existence. As a young girl who developed kind of late, I was always wary of going to a party where the adolescent boys in those days thought it was hysterical to snap the bra back of all the girls and if you were caught without one you would never live it down. The ‘70s were great when it was finally acceptable and even cool to go without a bra (although now when I look at the pictures of me walking around Europe without one I blush as red as the tight little tank top I was wearing). Once I finally (thank goodness) needed a bra – and to this day – I was constantly conscious of the restricting straps, bands, wires, etc. on them. Who came up with this tortuous device?! Now I know. “Lisa Lindahl, Hinda Miller and Polly Smith were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for creating the modern sports bra. Their prototype was made by sewing two jockstraps together.” Two jockstraps? Of course – they must be the sisters of those little boys who were still torturing me! I guess you can’t win for losing.
Do our whole lives revolve around food? Sometimes, it feels like it does but that’s ok. The ABC Life encourages us to not only try new things and see new places but try new foods and restaurants as well.
New restaurant: Whiskey Cake
Brisket reminds us of home. Growing up it was cooked and served on many a Sunday or our uncle, who loved to barbecue, would dish us up some wonderful brisket. We looked around for someplace, other than a bbq joint, that was serving brisket and Whiskey Cake fit the bill. The two brisket burgers we tried were the French Onion Burger and the Tavern Burger. The French Onion ingredients were brisket blend, whiskey braised onions, gruyere, garlic-thyme aioli, and beef jus. The Tavern ingredients were brisket blend, new American cheese, dill pickles, lettuce, tomato, and fancy sauce. We enjoyed both but the French Onion won first place unanimously.
New restaurant: The Brisket Bar
Unlike brisket, BISCUITS do not remind of us home, but that didn’t stop us from visiting The Brisket Bar, whose motto is “Brunch is Better on a Biscuit.” We love a good biscuit, and this place has them in abundance. In fact, individual bags of flour are lined up and they’re the first thing you see when you enter the restaurant. We tried the Hot Honey Biscuit (chicken and honey) and the Biscuit French Toast. While we liked them both, the Hot Honey Biscuit was the clear winner of the two. Every recipe on the menu has been developed in their home kitchen and reflects the family’s passion for biscuits. With six locations and plans for more, the popularity of The Biscuit Bar will continue to rise (pun intended).
But if you want to have the best of both worlds Barbara highly recommends going to Patina Green Market in McKinney on a Friday, no later than 11:30. You need to check the menu to see if they are serving the BOB which stands for Brisket on a Biscuit. She’s salivating as we write!
Given that this was “B” month, how could we not look into the world of BEES!
First up was watching The Beekeeper, starring Jason Statham as a retired military operative who is now a one-man wrecking crew, unleashing revenge on scammers who delight in and succeed in robbing people online. The Beekeeper now lives out in the country raising bees and selling their honey. If you are game to go along on the ride and accept exaggeration, humor and predictable outcomes, you will enjoy this film. Unfortunately, if you have been subject to scamming recently, you may find yourself getting angry and a bit too involved in cheering on the revenge. But the movie does remind us to be extra aware of phishing scams these days.
Second, was a look into the evolution of the phrase “the bee’s knees.” There’s a lot of speculation as to how this phrase evolved, but it’s widely believed it was first used in the 18th century to refer to something very small, although its present meaning is “something marvelous.” This seems to be a reference to a dancer from the 1920s – Bee Jackson – and her active knees when she popularized the Charleston, or to the goodness of the pollen load carried on a bee’s back legs. We prefer the dance origin as the thought of someone’s “active knees” gives us a chuckle.
Third, we wondered: do bees actually have knees? Yes they do. Bees have six legs and each leg has a joint between the femur and tibia, known as a knee. The two front legs are used to clean the antennae. The middle two legs are used for walking and packing the pollen basket, which is situated on the two hind legs. The bee’s knees work together with the other parts of the legs to move the pollen along.
And finally, we couldn’t let this post end without trying a new cocktail: THE BEE’S KNEES. This cocktail was made from gin, a mixture of hot water and honey to make a syrup, lemon juice, and ice. It was very easy, quick and quite delicious. The Bee’s Knees cocktail was also developed during the Prohibition Era. Honey and lemon juice helped to sweeten the drink and hide the taste of poorly made alcohol. It was not too strong although it did creep up on us after a while. We both really enjoyed it. In fact, it was the bee’s knees!
We both love independent bookstores and try to find them wherever we go. This week we found two, not near each other, but worth looking into. The first one was in Denton and named The Plot Twist.
From the name, one would think it was a mystery shop, but it was actually a romance bookshop. We were surprised at how very crowded it was but then realized we were in a college town. The shop was filled with various romance books but organized into categories such as fantasy romance, historical romance, contemporary, etc. They also served coffee and other drinks and the salespeople were very helpful. They had a back room, darkened as would befit a romantic getaway – in this case with a book.
The second bookstore we visited – Crow Hollow Bookshop – was located inside the Lonestar Mercantile in Allen.
As you might guess from the black ravens hovering over their sign, the books in this shop were of a darker nature. We gave it a pass after getting creeped out by the first book we scanned. But the shop was worth a visit if for nothing else than getting to see the Mercantile, filled with very reasonably priced gift items. We’ll have to go back and explore the shops we didn’t have time for on this visit.
We were planning on a bigger activity but because of the high winds we decided to stay local and start the month with a sweet treat which we found at Bazaria Sweets on Spring Creek Parkway in Plano. The gelato was beautifully presented and delicious.
Barbara had the mint chocolate chip gelato. She thought it was yummy but couldn’t distinguish it from ice cream. Laura had the cookies and cream which she thought was amazing and creamy. According to the sign, the owner’s “Fig Krokan gelato was judged for flavor, structure, creativity and presentation and found to be masterfully executed.” As a result he’s moving on to the semi finals at the Gelato Festival World Masters competition. We wish him luck!
We then literally blew into the door at Fadi’s Deli and Bakery for baklava. What?? We just had gelato you say? Yes but baklava was calling so we had no choice. Laura took home a small sampler of their pistachio, walnut and plain and Barbara took a package of walnut. Her poker pals will be happy.
Barbara: How many synonyms are there for fabulous? This show was stupendous, unbelievable, wonderful, AMAZING…I can’t use enough hyperbole to describe it. The way the dancers used their bodies, props and lighting to interpret the story of Alice in Wonderland was something I had never experienced before. My mouth was set in a permanent grin, interrupted only by an occasional open mouthed, stunned look. I was so very lucky to have read about it because it was a one-time only performance. But I will definitely be on the lookout for any future performances by MOMIX. If anyone sees one coming to their city, I highly recommend you buy tickets.
You know how you have a hankering for something but cannot make it fit into your ABC Life? That’s what happened this month. But luckily we found a way…
New restaurant – BIG RAY’S BBQ IN ALLEN
We headed out to try the pork ribs at Big Ray’s BBQ. It sounded authentic and there were plenty of cars in the lot. Unfortunately, we were disappointed. The food wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great either. The ribs were fatty, and the glazed carrots surprised us by being served refrigerated. All in all not the best experience but our quest for ribs will not end. Any recommendations?
New movie – ADAM’S RIB
Laura: A few months ago I bought The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter by Jeremy ARNOLD. He recommends ADAM’S RIB, a 1949 movie with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. So, although it’s not a rib you can eat, it was a rib to enjoy. The film has two main storylines. The first is an attempted murder case and the second is the marriage between the two stars, who are both lawyers and married to each other. What makes this movie so essential is its arguments for the equality of both sexes. Katharine Hepburn represents the accused wife and argues for treating her under the same expectations and laws that influence society regarding men. This is really brought home in this movie and since it was back in 1949, it’s very impressive. The movie also has a lot of humor and great dialogue, reminding me how the old movies definitely relied on banter rather than brawls.
New experiences keep your life fresh and interesting – a constant stream of discoveries. So the sisters are having fun with the ABC Life – an orderly way to expand our lives with fun places to visit and fascinating things to do, read, eat and experience. The ABC Life is where you do as many things within a month that you can – starting with a specific letter.
The ABC Life Blog 