As a wee, I loved the If you give… series. Actually, as an adult stuck in an unsettling post-college period, I am still enamored with the books. I am a sucker for the whimsical illustrations, the characteristically demanding critters, and the circumlocutory plots. With the absence of a pesky HARRY-POTTER-RACE-TO-THE-FINISH effect (the conclusion is hardly dubious!), one can focus purely on the ADVENTURE.

The If you give… duo, Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond, first released If You Give a Mouse a Cookie in 1985! Since then, they have introduced their readers to Pig, Moose, and recently… CAT. A cat that gets a *cupcake*!?!?! (I’m eating a Sweet Mandy B’s cupcake right now! Which, FYI, is just as adorable as the name implies. It reminds me of Samantha Parkington!) And cat asks for *sprinkles*!? (My cupcake has sprinkles!) If You Give a Cat a Cupcake screams S&D.

Just like Mouse, Moose, and Pig, Cat gets something edible, and things happen. Honestly, you’ll have to read it for yourself. I will share, however, that my favorite part is at the beginning:

“When you give him the sprinkles, he might spill them on the floor. Cleaning it up will make him hot, so you’ll give him a bathing suit.”

A cat in swim trunks? More precious than Precious Moments.

So, the only real design-related piece to this post is the popcorn fork, but I figured, while I’m at it, I might as well explain the very best way to eat popcorn:

1. Use a popcorn fork (6 pack for $7) so you do not get it all over your hands. Yes, these are like training-wheel-chopsticks, but they make digging-in very easy. This is a fabulous tool because I love to eat popcorn while I’m working at the computer but I HATE to get butter all over my keys or constantly wipe my hands off. (The web-site claims it’s the “most unique eating utensil since the dark ages.” I’m not sure about that, but I’ll go with it.)
2. Add M&Ms unless you want the chocolate to be all melty over your popcorn, in which case add chocolate morsels.
3. Add raisins. Yes, I know you could just add Raisinetts, but I believe adding actual raisins allows you to claim you are eating fruit, just like ketchup counts as a vegetable in school lunches (because of Ronald Regan, or at least so my mom frequently claims).
4. Light Butter popcorn also contributes to the illusion that you are eating a healthy snack.
5. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray helps you get the butter taste you would get in Movie Theater Butter which you would have bought if you were not pretending to eat a healthy snack.

As Bill Nye would say, don’t take my advice, try it! (Or something to that effect.)

Hello friends! In my very first issue of currently obsessed, I’d like to share some things that I’ve recently been consuming/listening to/lusting for. As you can tell from all the picks, I am in study mode. Non-mechanical #2 pencils? Check! Candy and coffee? Double check! (Note: My productivity is correlated with candy consumption. Legit.  Kind of like Felicity’s pre-med roommate and her M&Ms, minus the pre-med part.  Or, Michael from the Princess Diaries and HIS M&Ms. ) The Life Aquatic violates this set from being completely study-related (I can only intake a limited amount of David Bowie. Especially when I’m trying to “critically” read.), but this is currently obsessed…so no discrimination allowed. Ciao!

• I got a pack of Ticonderoga tri-writes last month. They are wonderful! I hold writing utensils awkwardly and incorrectly (it’s not my fault!) (my hand basically looks like it is itching to punch someone…I know you were trying to picture my awkward-looking hand…). They sharpen very well (I love my Maped sharpener!). As the name implies, the pencil is triangular- a built in pencil grip! Also, these pencils don’t run away when you throw them down in frustration. How obedient!
• Trader Darwin (Joe)’s Gummi Vites are the best! I have a really difficult time taking vitamins. I never remember, and when I do, I cringe when I see the submarine-sized pills. Bleh. These make taking vitamins so much fun! They might be too much fun, however, because I have definitely been taking more than the recommended amount. :( Trader Joe’s, $4.99 for a bottle of 70.
• Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about Bill Murray. As part of the Chicago Air & Water Show a month ago, he jumped out of a plane. I thought it was particularly funny that the Chicago Tribune chronicled his jump, minute by minute. The search feature of the Chicago Tribune website is stumping me right now (as is Chicago Tribune’s distasteful usa-todayification…which re-affirms the New York Times’ superiority…REALLY? DO YOU THINK I’M AN IDIOT AND NEED A PAGE-BAR TO NAVIGATE A NEWSPAPER?), but here’s the gawker article that mocks the Chicago Tribune’s Murray coverage. Just last week, Bill Murray was in the news again in regards to his apparent approval of an upcoming Ghostbusters film. Anyways, with all this Bill Murray nonsense, I realized that I still did not have the soundtrack to The Life Aquatic. I have been listening to it since I got it this past weekend, and it’s pretty good. I’m not ready to declare where it falls in my personal Wes-Anderson-soundtrack rankings (Royal Tennebaums and Rushmore are exceptionally tight), but this one is great.
• At Trader Joe’s they sell this licorice in 1lb tubs. When you put a twisty chunk in your mouth? Utter bliss. Inspired by this post on Mindy Ephron’s blog, I went searching for a tub of Kookaburra at Trader Joe’s.  Although it may not be Kookaburra, the licorice still tastes like the best masticated-fruit roll up ever.  I can finish a tub, by myself, in less than a day. :( Trader Joe’s, $3.99 for a 1lb tub.
• This is one of the most clever devices that I have ever seen. The Pentel Handy-lineS Memorization Aid Highlighter Set (whew! what a name) includes a green highlighter, an eraser marker, and a piece of red film. As you can already tell, this is not a normal highlighter. So let’s say that you have this monstrous exam on world capitals. You have in your notes, “Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan.” While you’re studying, you highlight “Thimphu,” because you want to make sure it is ingrained in your head. Also, highlighting keeps you from falling asleep. After you’ve reached Zimbabwe on your list, you’d like to test yourself to see how much you’ve retained. Instead of awkwardly covering up your highlighted capitals with your fingers, all you have to do is cover your notes with the red film. Result? The film masks your highlighted text, and you can’t read it! Test away! When you’re done studying, you can even un-highlight test using the eraser. MAGIC! Available at JetPens, $5.70
• Moonstruck Chocolate Company is one of the best chocolatiers. They make really great truffles, and their chocolates are always well-balanced and not too alcoholicy (like Godiva). There used to be a lovely company-owned Moonstruck Cafe on Michigan Ave., but it closed. Womp womp. As a result, one of the only places you can get Moonstruck chocolates downtown is Macy’s. Moonstruck has a few cute signatures, including their ice cream cone collection, cupcake truffle collection, AND critter truffle collection. Similar to their iconic critter truffles, “Election Collection 08″ features elephant and donkey truffles! How patriotic! The elephant is a dark chocolate extra-bittersweet ganache, and the donkey features Moonstruck’s Mayan Ganache (milk chocolate, almonds, cinnamon). Also of note, the last time I was at the State Street Macy’s, the only election truffles left were elephants. I find this amusing and very telling. Available at Moonstruck, $15 for a collection of four.
• Sometimes I go to Caffe Rom twice a day. It has gotten so excessive, that I feel like they know me pretty well. I think I’m on my way from becoming “medium americano girl” to “Tricia.” This graduation is sort of exciting, and sort of embarassing. However, this is one of my favorite places to get coffee. It reminds me of my ex-barista days, and the espresso is good. I gave Intelligentsia a chance (actually two chances), and it was pretty gross. Unwelcomingly sour. And, whenever I go to Starbucks, I always spill. Probably because the hippie free trade coffee gods are trying to punish me. Karma is a bitch when you are wearing something non-black.

Note: Tomorrow, Tricia’s super-fabulous poster artist post series begins. I just thought I should let you know — it is so cool & I’m so excited!

Okay, so I know this is an art and design blog, but while I was in DUMBO, Brooklyn for Nerd Nite, I went with my intrepid co-explorer, Misa, to a restaurant called RICE, which apparently has locations in Brooklyn & Manhattan. The food was so tasty, eclectic and good-looking, that I couldn’t help but write up a small report to spread the news.

One reason, why I had to write about his is the dish shown above, Indian Chicken Curry, which mysteriously comes with everything from chicken, to mushrooms, to yogurt, and bananas! I was so surprised to find that all of the eclectic flavors actually fit together!

The other special part about this restaurant is that you can choose the rice you get with your meal. I love, love, love Thai Black Rice (or Purple Sticky Rice, as we called it in Ithaca). In the picture above the Indian Chicken Curry is combined with Thai Black Rice with Edamame (which I believe was cooked to be less sweet than the non-edamame rice), but Misa and I decided the perfect combo would’ve been Indian Chicken Curry with Thai Black Rice (where as my dish, Thai Coconut Curry, would’ve been better with the Edamame Rice).

Above: Indian Chicken Curry with Thai Black Rice with Edamame, Mango Chutney, Thai Coconut Curry with Thai Black Rice.

By now, you know I love cupcakes. Sometimes, I lay awake at night wondering if I should’ve named my blog Stickers & Cupcakes. I always get angry when my Ziploc-enclosed cupcake gets (a) smooshed, (b) icing all over the bag (yes, I turn the bag inside out and lick, is that gross?).

Anyway, despite Cup-A-Cake’s shameless use of Comic Sans on its web-page, I’m really exited about the no-smash containers they created. Apparently, you can turn these $3 suckers upside down and the icing still won’t get all over the place. Magic? I think so.

If you are much fancier than the Cup-A-Cake, don’t travel, and just found $60 under your couch, you can get a fabulously fancy cupcake stand from Fred Flare. Obviously, you will also need a fancy Alice-in-Wonderland-esque tea party dress to eat off of this plate.

I’ve been pretty obsessed with cupcakes lately, so I was thrilled to see these ice-cream-cone-filled cupcakes on New York Magazine’s “Grub Street” blog. (The inside scoop was originally from Blondie & Brownie’s food blog.) And the food itself? $3.50 at the Treats Truck, which I visited when I was at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn this past year.

I was so excited about last week’s NY Times article called Finding Beijing in Flushing (which includes an interactive map and a printable “best food in flushing” cheatsheet) that I myself went over to Flushing, Queens (…which happens to be only 3 miles away) to try some of the food myself. For those of you who are Manhattanites, I wouldn’t poo-poo hiking out to Queens for what some consider the true Chinatown of NYC (take the 7 train out to Flushing or hop on the Port Washington line of the LIRR from Penn Station).

So, since the Olympics are in Beijing, and I got such pretty pictures of the food, I figured I’d give you my own (albeit, brief) food-tour of Flushing. Yum!

I had to start with my favorite drink. Bubble Tea can be made wrong, but they do it to perfection at Quickly (40-41 Kissena Blvd, pretty close to the train station). The taro (my favorite flavor — tastes a little like the milk at the bottom of your cereal bowl after Lucky Charms) milk tea with tapioca pearls cost only $2.50 (a good price for bubble tea)!

If you haven’t had Bubble Tea, those black balls above are the Boba, my favorite part of Bubble Tea. These little balls of tapioca are chewy, gummy-like, and nearly tasteless. They come up through a fat straw as you drink your tea and should be soft but not mushy.

Also near the train station is a little cart with meat on a stick. This stuff is seasoned to perfection and only $1 (cart on 41st near Kissena). The NY Times article recommends the lamb, and I agree!

These pork buns are everywhere in Flushing, mostly at bakeries. The sweet bread is steamed (there is also a baked version) with a BBQ-tasting pork mixture inside. Sounds weird? Tastes great!

While you’re in Flushing be sure to stop by some grocery or fruit stands. Not only do they have more eccentric fruits than are often available at your local grocery (lychee on left — don’t eat the shell, just the jelly-like stuff inside, and figs on right), but everything is much cheaper than the regular NYC prices (if you go a bit further from the train, they get cheaper)!

Finally, try some Asian desserts! (For this and other groceries, I went to the Hong Kong Supermarket on 37-11 Main St in Flushing, about a half of a dozen blocks from the train). I love the Milk Candies (right)!

Sometimes, you want the icing and the cupcakes… and an art project. If so, crazyaboutcupcakes.com has inspiration images that will make you drool!

If you want to torture yourself with more sweet snacks, check out Oh Joy’s recent post on magical looking icy pops from icypops.com.

Above left: The more stylish version of the frosting shot. Image from Fosters.com. The Foster’s article includes a recipe for making your own frosting shot. Above right: A frosting shot from Babycakes, presumably before the vintage shot glasses. Image from Roboppy’s Flickr stream.

In my most recent edition of Currently Obsessed , I mentioned that a recent thrill has come from eating vanilla frosting directly from the can, no cupcake or cake required (or none availible, as it may be). Upon seeing this post a friend recently mentioned that there is a new fad for frosting eaters — frosting shots. It is said that these little guys take the middleman out of frosting enjoyment.

One of the places offering such deliciously calorie-filled snacks is Babycakes, a popular place for vegan cupcake eatery in lower Manhattan. According to The Arizona Republic, Babycakes tried to rid itself of the $1.50 frosting shots, but people just kept coming back for more. Now, they’re served in vintage shot glasses and people who want to add a twist to their evenings often stop by before going out to the bars

And, in case you are health conscious, even Oprah magazine thinks Babycakes, in all of their vegan, gluten-free glory, are pretty good for you, and pretty good tasting, too.

I was chatting with a friend the other day and claimed that my hypothetical wedding (in a galaxy far, far away) would include my unique candy buffet, set-up with colorful candies in jars like a candy store. I thought I was pretty brilliant.

Apparently, other people have already been this brilliant. My friend immediately directed me to Style Me Pretty (a wedding blog) and soon I was venturing through tons of candy jar pictures, including a delicious post about Wedding Cake Alternatives.

My favorite candy jar set-up is from this post, and is shown in the upper left-hand corner of my collage.

I am super-excited about the Donut of the Week from MarthaStewart.com’s section on Unique Wedding Cakes. If you really want to make this tower of yummy-ness visit the web-site for tips on how to make it perfect.

TCHO: BETA

Chocolate (my favorite, btw)! In beta (what?!)! With cute packaging (yeah, I’m a sucker for that, too)!

I can’t wait to get my tongue all over this piece of crafty genius I saw at trendwatching.com. While Tollhouse or Hershey’s pride themselves on using really old recipes that have been around the block, Tcho has chosen a different route wfor creating their specialty chocolates (read: not the same as the stuff you by for 85 cents at Rite Aid).

Tcho crafts and re-crafts their chocolate with all the feedback they get along the way. They’ve been releasing “beta” versions of their chocolate bars (available for purchase online only) and eventually they’ll release the chocolate in version 1.0.

“From our first batch, we’ve improved every aspect of “Chocolatey” again and again, including the progression of taste over time (attack, sustain, and decay), the sweetness, and the mouthfeel” (Tcho).

They’re in version .99 right now, so the chocolate has got to be pretty awesome, plus you can send Tacho your feedback right away to help create version 1.0.

The chocolate is a little price-y ($10 for a two pack), but you’ve to remember this is specialty chocolate, and from all the reviews I’ve read online, it’s delicious.

Bonus: look at that pretty packaging! The earthy brown suggests natural flavors and the simple typography with a single splash of color indicates an elevated design-sense above and beyond that lowly pop chocolate I’ve been buying at the supermarket.

Oh-la-la! Hungry now?

A little ramble on food and fashion.

I’ve been shifting through old magazines and clipping pictures of foods that look pretty and yummy (making a little inspiration book), but, unfortunately, the recipes are often complicated and require lots of ingredients, some only available at specialty stores, so I decided to create my own special, pretty food.

It suddenly occurred to me that making meals is a lot like putting together an outfit. You add and subtract until it all “matches.” Often, you need a central piece or idea that holds the concept together, and “food porn” — ie pretty pictures in cooking magazines and the like — is a good way to jumpstart your brain into creating a new and exciting dish, the same way fashion magazines don’t suggest you go out and buy that $500 Marc Jacobs top, but that you find a few things in your wardrobe that can be put together in a similar way. (more…)

I was recently catching up on a (very) old issue of In Style, and, being perpetually drawn to pretty colors and sugar, noticed the cupcake in Katie Holmes’ hand before I noticed Katie herself.

The article is so old that it’s from a time when Katie lived alone in NYC, and visited Billy’s Bakery, on 9th Ave between 21st and 22nd Streets, once a week.

I’ve never eaten there, but if their cupcakes look this yummy and all of the magazines are raving about them, I’m sure they’re good and will be sure to stop by soon.

Another plus? The shop has the charm of a 1940s kitchen. Sweet!