Monday meanders: 1

{ Of course this coffee shop has a bike hanging from its ceiling | Gasoline Alley | NYC }

A few tidbits from my online futzing around last week for your afternoon distraction:

+ 8tracks is probably old news to everyone, but I never used it until I saw a link to this homey, cozy playlist from Genevieve's archives, which also led me to this one. Both perfect moody music sources for this time of year.

+ Instagram: A friend that knows me oh-so-well told me to follow this goodness—if you love golden retrievers as much as I do, you HAVE to check out Snowbear's escapades.

+ Next Generation Foods: Shocking stats on the amount of food wasted in the US and the UK, e.g., 40% of all food produced in the US is thrown away (!!!).

+ Les Miserables: I pretty much start bawling when I see/hear any of the trailers for this film. The music is incredible and the cast live-sang EVERY single take! Amazing.

+ YouTube/White House: Adorable video of Bo, the Obama pooch, inspecting the White House's holiday decorations. Please note his too-cute white front paws and his confused expression when he sees the stuffed Bo.

+ Hurraw! I ordered some goat's milk lip balm from Amazon.com a few months ago, but am thinking that when I run out, I may look into Hurraw!'s, which is made from premium organic, vegan and raw ingredients. The goat milk one was nice, but I like the idea of some flavor/aromatherapy—perhaps the chai spice, mint and moon balm?

+ Edible Manhattan: While reading the new volume, I saw this article (see page 26) about Kitchen Surfing, a great new site that allows chefs (professional or amateur) to offer up their services in people's homes. I'm thinking about signing R up for it, since he's a ridiculously talented cook and when he first moved to the US (and before work authorization came through) he actually considered offering up Sicilian cooking lessons on the side.

+ Edible Manhattan: Another excellent read—how Kristin Gillibrand (the first NY senator in 41 years to be on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee) is fighting for better national food policies.

+ BuzzFeed: I think I'm okay with every single one of these "unexpected" flavor combos except...avocado+coffee. You?