Chocolate and Zucchini Desktop Calendar

I love the blog Chocolate and Zucchini, and I use the author, Clotilde Dusoulier's books to plan imaginary epicurean tours of Paris. It's a little bit of Paris every month on my MacBook desktop, since she makes pretty desktop calendars with images of food. Click over here to get the May one.

Cherry Blossoms

Orchids through Darwin's Eyes

S. and I went to the Museum of Natural History this weekend to see Orchids through Darwin's Eyes, which runs for over another month, so you have some time to go see it. The flowers were so pretty I filled my camera with pictures. Below, a sampling.

Orchids through Darwin's Eyes

For the last two years I've gone to see the annual orchid show, which is held at either the U.S. Botanic Garden or the Museum of Natural History. The two switch off who plans and holds it each year, and this year it's the Museum's turn. Orchids through Darwin's Eyes is up and running right now, and the 15th annual show celebrates Charles Darwin, on the occasion of his 200th birthday.

Darwin studied the flowers, which helped him develop his theories of natural selection and evolution. The exhibit focuses on how he looked at orchids, and his continuing influence on naturalists, horticulturists and scientists today.

I haven't been yet, but plan to head there soon to take some photos.

Orchids Through Darwin’s Eyes closes April 27.

Photo Credit: James Osen, Smithsonian Institution

Fall Cocktails

It took several weeks of research in bars, but here's my article on fall cocktails. There are many that I tried that I couldn't write about, including a lovely mulled wine from Cork and a cocktail utilizing maple syrup at Bourbon.

You can read the article here. And then read my food blog post with more fall cocktail recipes to try if you don't want to venture out to a bar.

Cupcake Contest Rehash

I think I'm finally ready to think about all the sugar I consumed on Thursday, when I was a judge at the Washington Cupcake Contest.

There were four professional bakers (52 Cupcakes, MallowDrama, When Cup Meets Cake and Nostalgia Cupcakes), and five amateur bakers, which means that I tasted 27 cupcakes.

My favorite cupcake was a chocolate cake filled with raspberry and topped with chocolate ganache, made by the winning baker, Mollie Ohlhaut. The top pro baker was Nostalgia Cupcakes.

Click over to Danielle at Delleicious DC, who photographed the submissions.

It was such a fun event and there are already talks of another one next year.

Meow

I lose my reading glasses as soon as I buy them, but I still want these bamboo cat eye glasses. In green, of course.

Object Lust

I don't even have a computer at the moment, yet I want a typewriter. Specifically, this typewriter:







At mytypewriter.com you can find the typewriters used by Hemingway, Kerouac, and others.

On the computer front, I'm getting a new Mac laptop, but I won't be ordering it until October 26, when Leopard, the new OS, comes out.

Signs you are a giant DC nerd...

You wake up in the morning and are way too excited to see the list of The 50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill in your rss feed.