Two words I never thought I’d see on my Christmas list: “ukulele lessons”

Can we discuss how insanely inspirational I find these guys from New Zealand's Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqynAAYdLW8&feature=player_embedded]

(The above was filmed in Wellington's amazing Deluxe Cafe, where the orchestra used to play every Thursday morning.)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDdwpARNm-Y&feature=player_embedded#]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGdJpMfXha4]

P.S. Look for Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie in this one (and bonus points if you can spot him in the first video...).

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Found it!: Gaea Olive Oil

Four years ago, my brother David and I took a trip to Greece.  It was a first for both of us in many ways--neither of us had been to the country before, and on top of that, we'd never traveled together alone, just the two of us. It was memorable and fun and wacky (don't get me started on the hotel in Santorini that booked us in the honeymoon suite) and full of two of my favorite things: new wines and new foods.

One of my best finds was Gaea P.D.O. Kalamata Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It's a rich, peppery, award-winning oil that I seriously could have just bathed in. I brought a bottle home, happily consumed every drop, and even kept empty the bottle (it sits in a cabinet above my fridge--I just can't let it go). Seeing as though I live in New York City, I thought I could probably find it again in some specialty food shop somewhere, even if I had to dig. Not the case. I even called Whole Foods at one point to see if they could order it for me...to no avail.

I figured my search was probably over, until a few days ago. Hallelujah!  Amazon has started selling it by the case. My life might now just be deliciously complete.

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