1. Sackler Gallery and National Museum of African Art: I’ve made it my mission to visit all of the Smithsonian museums in DC, so this week I hit up these two small art museums. They’re conveniently connected by an underground tunnel, which I didn’t realize until I reached the bottom floor of the Sackler. Along with the currently-closed-for-renovations Freer Gallery, the Sackler is a Smithsonian museum of Asian art; one of the reasons I made it the next stop on my Smithsonian tour is that it too is closing for renovations on July 10th (it’ll re-open this October). The current collections on display are fairly small at both the Sackler and the African Art Museum, but the art is beautiful and the buildings are also pretty cool. The Inventing Utamaro exhibit at the Sackler had some especially amazing pieces—photos aren’t allowed, so you’ve got to go see it for yourself!
2. Wonder Woman Reading: after I saw and loved the new Wonder Woman movie, my friend recommended some reading for me. I promptly ordered three books—two comics and one nonfiction: The Legend of Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Origins by Renae De Liz, Wonder Woman Vol. 1 by George Pérez, and The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore. So far I’m about 2/3 of the way into the Origins comic and I’m really liking it! I can’t wait to read the rest of these.
3. Baked Macaroni and Cheese: my friend sent me this Alton Brown recipe awhile back but I kept forgetting to make it. I finally made it this week, and it was decadent and delicious! It required two cooking techniques I haven’t used in quite some time—making a roux and tempering and egg—but both went well. I had some caramelized onions in the freezer so I thawed those out and mixed them into the mac and cheese before baking, and they were a great addition. I used regular bread crumbs instead of the panko crumbs the recipe called for because I happened to have them on hand, and they worked just fine. This is not a recipe I’d make frequently because there’s nothing healthy about it, but man, was it good!
4. Bird & Quill Birthday Card: my friend is turning 40 this weekend and because I can’t make it to her party in St. Louis, I picked up this adorable card from Papyrus to send her. How cute is this illustration of cocktails?
5. Hail Merry Cookie Dough Bites: I had been eyeing these at my local Whole Foods, and when they went on sale (I believe for $2.99/bag) I finally bought a bag. And then I bought two more, in different flavors, because they were still on sale and I had to try ’em all! So I’ve tried the chocolate chip cookie dough, the sea salt caramel, and the dark chocolate—now the only flavor left for me to try is the pure vanilla. These bites are made using shredded coconut and coconut oil so they do taste rather coconutty; if you’re not a coconut fan you might want to steer clear. But if you’re down with coconut, these are pretty tasty! I think I like the chocolate chip cookie dough best. These are good for when you just want a bite or two of a sweet treat.
