3 on Thursday

Lots of new discoveries this week...

On Monday, I decided to pop into La Maison du Chocolat because I am always on the search for a good macaron and heard theirs was top notch.  Since it was my first time in the luxe chocolate shop, I decided to try a few things.  First, I picked out three chocolates (all dark chocolate with creamy dark chocolate centers mixed with different flavors - cinnamon, raspberry, and passion fruit).  Then it was onto the macaron I had been hearing about.  The flavors were all pretty classic so I went with the pistachio, my favorite of those more traditional flavors.  It was basically a perfect macaron.  Instead of a jelly-like center, the middle was creamy pistachio chocolate.  Though La Maison du Chocolat is not a macaron shop, this could easily be their specialty.  What made me like them even more was their offer to taste a chocolate.  Now, these tiny chocolates are $2.50 apiece and I had already purchased three so I was ecstatic to receive a fourth for free.  I hope they make this offer every time I stop by, though something tells me it's a first timer thing. 

Like always, it took me a while to jump on the "Girls" bandwagon, but once I did, I was obsessed.  I watched five episodes in a row and then attempted to savor the flavor of the remaining episodes.  I'm sure you can guess that didn't work out and I, of course, devoured the rest of Season 1 in one sitting.  Though I'm not sure Marnie totally fits with the other girls, I think the rest of the show is a pretty close chronicle of my first few years living in New York.  Maybe I'm not exactly like these girls, but I know enough people who are.  It is definitely a more realistic version of Sex And The City.  It's all sorts of witty without being cheesy and I am full on in love with the characters.

Everything on Steph's registry had already been purchased when I went to buy a gift for her bridal shower so I had to get a little creative.  I knew she already had martini glasses so I rounded out her bar with drinking accessories like a pitcher, a stirrer, and coasters.  To personalize the gift a little bit, I took the bar theme a step further.  Whenever Steph and I go out for our own lil date nights we always order lychee martinis.  They may be a little passé now, but 1) it's tradition and 2) they taste dang good.  Anyway, along with the bar accessories, I gave her all the fixins for our favorite lychee 'tinis.  Inside the package I placed a can of lychee and a bottle of vodka.  Now, if you saw this vodka, you'd probably be a little put off, as I'm sure Steph was, so I made sure to explain to her why I picked the brand I did.  The employee at the liquor store across from my apartment seemed very knowledgeable and when I told him what I would be using the vodka for and that my dear friend preferred Grey Goose, he implored me to buy Star Vodka instead.  He told me it was new, American brand that beat out Grey Goose and Belvedere in a blind taste test among women.  It was a dollar less than Grey Goose so I asked if he was getting extra commission for selling it through and he convinced me he just thought it was really good vodka.  The moment of truth came Saturday night when Steph and I prepared our lychee 'tinis and discovered that it was a delicious, smooth vodka.  It may not be well known, but I'm a big fan.