05.0 9.2014 | E X PR ES S |
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shopping lookout HATCHERY
Sweets for the Sophisticated
DEAR MANOLO
IF COOKIE MONSTER ever truly
grew up, his drug of choice would likely be Lark Fine Foods’ new Polenta Pennies ($8.25, Dean & DeLuca, 3276 M St. NW; 202342-2500). That’s because the bitesized treats — flavored with corn mush, lemon and golden raisins — aren’t too sugary. Try them with a fullbodied white wine or some goat cheese, but maybe not Cookie’s quaff (a jumbo glass of milk).
Specialties Delivery
An Age-Old Debate
FED UP WITH YOUR LOCAL CSA? (How is one person
supposed to consume so many beets?!) Hatchery delivers a monthly offering of five to six sample-sized products sourced from independent food artisans ($20 a month including shipping, hatcherybox.com). Treats may include Better Off Spreads’ spicy peanut butter, Big Island Bees’ organic honey and Potlicker Kitchen’s apricot and beer jelly. The tasting box also comes with a guide on how to best enjoy your new goodies as well as information about their producers.
IN “X VS. Y: A Culture War, a Love Story,” sisters Eve and Lenora Epstein (who grew up 14 years apart) compare notes on the music, movies, fashion and technology from their youth ($19, Abrams Image). Though there’s a lot the sibs don’t always understand about each other (Gen X-ers wrote their papers on typewriters?!) they manage to find common ground on a few things, including Madonna’s music, Judy Bloom’s books and “My So-Called Life” re-runs.
Get Carded
A Shoe-In
SUNDAY IS MOTHER’S DAY.
WHITE COTTON LACES?
Though we’re sure we’re not the first to tell you that. (Thanks for the fifth reminder, Mom.) Grey Moggie Press has you covered with clever-yet-touching greeting cards for the occasion ($5, available at local Ace Hardware stores and Eastern Market). Favorites include “Mom, when I was younger I thought you were the smartest woman in the world. I still do” and “Mom, you were my first best friend.”
Surely your fresh kicks deserve something a little less boring, like U-Laces ($3.50 a pack, u-lace.com). Available in 50 different shades like neon yellow and pastel blue, the elastic thingamabobs hold your sneakers together in a number of creative ways. Mix and match them for a rainbow effect (shown) or weave them into a crisscross pattern. The best part? No tying.
Grab Bag is gathered and reviewed by Jennifer Barger and Holley Simmons. Find more food, fashion, beauty and home goods at readexpress.com/grabbag.
ANSWERS FROM THE SHOE BLOGGER
My husband’s boss, who is not a warm and fuzzy type, invited us to spend Memorial Day at his family’s summer home in Maine. It’s really important that I make a good impression, but I don’t know what to wear. I’m not preppy in the least, so I’m stumped. Please help. —MEGHAN
Manolo says ahhh, the Day of Memorializing, it is the traditional beginning of the crazy, hazy, lazy, days of the summer, when the WASPs return to the Bar Harbor, to enjoy the sailing of cranky boats, late morning gin-and-tonics, and the repressed, Cheever-esque family dramas. Do no worry if the boss of your husband is not the warmly emotive
person, he will loosen up out on the water. It is the wife and the mother of the boss, for whom you must be on your guard. These thin-lipped ladies can insult you in ways you will not recognize or understand until many, many years later. “You know how they are at Miss Porter’s, don’t you darling? No? Well where did you prep? … Oh … I’m sure it’s very nice at Herndon High? Were you on the heavy eights crew? No! Well you certainly have an ‘athlete’s’ build.” Do not worry overly much about the opinion of these ladies. Your husband’s boss (whom the Manolo thinks of as Edward T. “Biff” Boddlington IV) will go out of his way to ignore anything they say. Here is the Trillby driving moccasin from the Cole Haan in the sandstone color ($150, zappos.com). Ask the Manolo a question at manolo@shoeblogs.com. Visit the Manolo at shoeblogs.com.