favorite things discovered in 2005

movies:
um, we didn't really see very many movies.
i guess we saw five that i can think of.
we loved March of the Penguins (or rather, La Marche de l'empereur)
we liked Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Finding Neverland.
...and we saw The Aristocrats and Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic, but were underwhelmed by both. Perhaps our expectations were too high.
oh yeah, we also saw Chalte Chalte, which is a Bollywood film that i borrowed from a friend. i wrote about that sometime ago, but i'm too lazy to link to that right now...

books:
Three Junes by Julia Glass -- beautiful book, and not as girly as the cover would have you think
A Round-Heeled Woman by Jane Juska (which i just leant to my mother-in-law)
Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan by Jamie Zeppa -- my bookclub's favorite book this year
Sammy's Hill by Kristin Gore -- it's not going to win any literary prizes, but i snuck down to the hotel bar to read this late at night in scotland, and kept laughing out loud
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld -- so perfectly captures adolescent awkwardness you'll find yourself shaking your head and grimacing at the narrator's faux pas
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer -- just like Zac said, "sweet, clever, and totally engrossing."
Julie and Julia by Julie Powell -- just finished it, and it's a perfect light read for a foodie like me

music:
CDs:
- The White Stripes "Get Behind Me Satan"
- Reginald Robinson "Euphonic Sounds" (crazy good ragtime, composed just this decade!)
- Carla Bruni "Quelqu'Un M'a Dit"
- this crazy compilation called "Sons of Yma: A Collection of Peruvian Garage + Instrumental Bands From the 60s"
- the new Talking Heads boxed set
- Michael Buble (cheesy, but he has a voice like caramel and i love his covers of standards)
- Josh Rouse "Nashville"
- i'm embarrassed to admit it, but there are a couple of songs on "12 Songs" by Neil Diamond that are great

Live Shows:
- Lollapalooza (i can't believe i'm saying that since the name itself is so '90s, but despite the 105 degree weather, it rocked, especially The Black Keys)
- The Farmington Community Chorus Christmas Concert

foodstuffs:
Hema's Kitchen: yummy, yummy Indian food
This cool teashop called Tea Gschwindner (no, don't know how to pronounce it) that has awesome tea and that gave steve free tea because he was drinking some crappy tea from somewhere else
Argo Tea, where i got really into the mojitea (like a mojito, with mint tea and lime juice) and their yummy blend of hibiscus tea and apple cider
LuLu Petite's vinegars, especially the fig + meyer lemon version
The Ferry Building, in San Francisco

miscellaneous stuff:
White Sox World Series sweep (and going to Game 1 with Tracy -- thanks, Tracy!)
the game "Ticket to Ride"
the game "The Great Dalmuti"
our penguin humdifier
kickboxing together at Lakeshore Athletic Club on tuesday nights