What a crock

I'm a big fan of crock pots. Especially when the weather turns cooler. It's the perfect time for hearty stews that are so easy to make in these contraptions. You just chop up the ingredients, throw it in the pot and 8 hours later you've got a great tasting meal.
The problem is that I didn't own one in the city. Until now.
I decided they were too essential to cooking and living on a budget not to have one in both homes. So I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond the other day (there's a huge one only 3 blocks from my apartment) and snapped up a nice one for only $35.
The next day I made a delicious beef stew with big chunks of stew meat, celery, onions, mushrooms, and carrots. All this marinates in the crock with a can of beef broth, a little bit of flour, some thyme, and salt and pepper, and-VOILA!-easy peasy dinner. It couldn't be easier. I'm gonna use this one a LOT this winter.

Venus or bust

I was walking to the grocery store late yesterday afternoon when I spotted a group of dining room chairs right there on the curb of 57th Street. Someone was obviously throwing them out. They weren't that attractive, a blonde wood Bob's Furniture kind of take on Windsor chairs, not for me. But sitting right on top of one was the amazing looking bust. I walked up to take a quick glance and it looked to be in good condition. It was so cold out I wanted to get to the store right away--I was only wearing a sweatshirt and it must've been around 30 degrees--and it's only one block away. I said to myself, "I'll quickly grab my groceries and if, on the way back home, the bust is still there, I was meant to have it." Sure enough, 15 minutes later there sat my bust. Because it was somebody's trash I thought it must be chipped, or badly cracked, why else would someone get rid of it? But no, it was in perfect condition, only slightly dusty. I stuck it under my arm and skedaddled up to the apartment. I cleaned it up with dampened paper towels and Q-tips to get into the crevasses and it looked good as new. At first I thought it would look good on the fireplace mantle but the base is too large. I ended up putting on the windowsill next to the bed and added one of my bandanas, a gray one, to add a little whimsy and to make it less formal to fit the style of the apartment.
I love it.
The big question is whether it's a bust of a woman...or a man? It could go either way, it's very neutral. I'm leaning slightly in the direction of woman because the hair looks like it's in a bow...but that's no real indicator. So with that I'm calling her "Venus". She's the new denizen of The Beautiful Wreck.