Bag Fries

Everyone knows that unexpected food is the best tasting (and most celebrated!) food. One of the most common occurrences of unexpected food occurs every time you get fast food, although you may never have taken the time to appreciate it. I am of course referring to bag fries.


You know what I mean by that: those delicious extra fries that you find greasing up the bottom of the paper bag that your Big Mac/Whopper/Chicken nuggets and fries just came in. You've already enjoyed your burger and indulged in those delicious salty fried potatoes and you're just about to throw out the bag when you look in and discover, much to your delight, that your adventure into Guiltland is not yet over. There are still bag fries to enjoy, thus extending your dietary lapse in judgment another few seconds. Those are the fries that are the most delicious, mostly because you had already come to terms with your meal being over.

My guilty pleasure is enjoying the unexpected extras in life.

John Lennon at 70

One guilty pleasure that is accessible and easy to enjoy is music. And one of the greatest songwriters of all time would have celebrated his 70th birthday this past weekend. I am, of course, referring to John Lennon.

No matter where you stand on the musical or political spectrum, John Lennon wrote songs that give you pause. Lennon's ability to reach out and touch your soul, make you stop whatever you happen to be doing at that moment, is unparalleled. Anyone that can do that in today's "go go go" non-stop world is worth celebrating.

Great music is a guilty pleasure that can be enjoyed by all.

It's Spice Season

Those long-fabled, long-fantasized about crisp and cool days of fall are here again. Here in the Northeast, we've been thrown straight from the sultry days of late August into the often harsh days of November without so much of a fall break in between. The past few days have been the kind of days to chill the bones.

Thankfully, it's also spice season....pumpkin and apple spice, that is. Traditional staples designed to cut through these bitterly cold days and warm you from the inside out. Spice season is the time of year that says, "I'm ready for fall, but not quite ready for winter and hot chocolate just yet."


When I'm feeling particularly guilty, I indulge in Chaddsford Winery's Spiced Apple Wine, mulled and served hot with cinnamon sticks. Savored fireside while the football season heats up and the temperatures drop, this savory treat officially kicks off the start of fall.

This guilty pleasure is about savoring the early days of fall before they become the snowy days of winter.

Hankering for the Blues