Finally — someone who might be more obsessed with to-do lists than me. Sasha Cagen wrote a book all about lists called “To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us” and she actually analyzed lists sent in by ordinary people. I thought she’d be the perfect featured list producer this month so I asked her a few questions:
Q: Why do you call yourself a compulsive list producer? Read more
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Sometimes New Yorkers do live up to the “they are so rude” stereotype and usually I can let it roll off my back. But sometimes it’s really irritating — especially when I’m paying for a service or asking for help in a store. Well guess what — there are ways to ensure that you won’t have to deal with such “service” again — in this town or any other! My guest blogger today is my best friend Danielle Freni who has started a Customer Service Revolution. Of which I gladly ride on the coattails of so I can get free drinks, better service and more bang for my buck! Now you can too. Read more
My mother has always been the cook in the family. I’m not just saying this because she’s my mom — but she really is a fabulous cook. So for most of my life I had the “why bother” mentality when it came to cooking. My mom had it covered…so I didn’t need to.
With the help of Food Network, my husband and I have slowly become foodies! Now we love trying to make new dishes — even if they don’t always turn out right. But baking is something that my mother doesn’t do and still I haven’t jumped into that arena quite yet. Baking is a skill that even the best cooks can’t master a lot of the time, but can be a fantastic hobby to get into. But it’s on my “to-learn” list so I’ve reached out to pastry chef Marnely Rodriguez for some help on what tools I might need before I start.
Must-Have Baking Tool List
by Marnely Rodriguez
Tools of the trade are thousands, but the following list is of the top 5 baking tools every person that bakes or wants to start baking should have. They are great tools that, when used correctly, will have you baking cakes and cookies on a weekly basis!
1. Digital Scale
Nothing is more important to a baker than their scale. Baking is a science and differentiates from cooking because you can’t really throw in random, unmeasured ingredients in a pan and magically have a chocolate cake.
A scale will let you precisely weigh your ingredients and develop a sense of awareness when baking. Just be sure to never convert volume measures (cups) to metric measures (ounces/grams). Stick to the metric system and you’ll be a step ahead of the crowd. Read more
I’m sure this has happened to you at least once — you are running for the subway and realize you can’t find your metrocard. It’s happened to all of us. Or you realize that you don’t have enough money left on the card for a ride and the train goes whizzing by you. Yep — it’s unfortunate and avoidable.
Metrocard Overload
This very thing happened when I was with my friend Danielle recently — she was searching and searching for a card with $2.25 for a one-way trip on the NYC subway. She found 7 cards total — none of them had enough on them. We missed our train. I always keep my metrocard in the exact same place so I don’t lose it. But not Danielle…sigh. Read more
In TV news we use the term “hit time” a lot. It means the time that your story will be “hitting the air.” We will say “what time is your hit?” or “this hits in 10 minutes,” or “are you going to make your hit?” Using strict deadlines in the news business works — the newscast will carry on with or without you. So you better be prepared and make your hit time. I’ve carried over the idea of hit times into my daily life.
Using the “Hit Time” Method
When I get dressed in the morning I have several “hit times” where I know if I’m not doing a certain thing at that time — I will be late. For instance — if I’m not out of the shower by 7:15am — I won’t be able to do my hair, makeup, eat breakfast, read the newspaper and check my email. I like doing all those things (and yoga) before I leave in the morning. I know by this “hit time” what I have time to do and what I can’t do so I can still make it to work at a reasonable time. Read more