Travel & Entertainment
An out of this world view.
October 20th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: simple pleasures, Travel & Entertainment
Have you ever gone star gazing?
No, not the kind where you end up necking in the back seat of an open convertible (fun), or the kind where you’re hanging outside the stage door stalking your latest pop crush (pathetic). 
We’re talking about going to an observatory and peering through powerful telescopes at distant constellations. View Jupiter and it’s moons, Saturn and it’s rings, trace the Big and Little Dipper.
Check out your local science museum or college for an observatory near you.
Wicked awesome free fun.
Bitches on a Budget: “More Ideas than Bergdorf’s has Snobs”.
August 20th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: bargain, Beauty & Grooming, Book Reviews Bitches on a Budget, budget, Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness, savings, Shopping, Travel & Entertainment
The Star-Ledger of New Jersey
wrote about Bitches on a Budget:
“...this book has more ideas than Bergdorf’s has snobs. Buy it! With a prose style that clickety-clacks across the page like stiletto heels on a marble floor, Rosalyn Hoffman gives pointers, tips, guidance and ploys for you to maintain, or attain, the glam of a glossy fashion mag. Clothes, home furnishing, vacationing, dining and, yes, plastic surgery, this book covers it all.”
“Some tips: The clothing at Walmart can be as stylish as at Neiman Marcus, and pleasure in a museum as seductive and romantic as a European spa. Dining out? Lunch at that expensive new restaurant everyone is talking about is cheaper than dinner.”
The Sassy Minx  wrote about Bitches on a Budget:
“Seriously, I LOVE this book. It’s for minxes like us, who know what we want but don’t want to pay the earth for it. Author-girl, Roz Hoffman is officially my new recession era fashion guru, travel agent, grooming consultant, therapist, sommelier and life coach all rolled into one – come meet her, read about her awesomeness, (more…)
” Purge the lust in your heart…”
August 16th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: Decorating, Happiness, simple pleasures, Travel & Entertainment
After spending the last few weeks doing the things we love best: cooking with friends, eating, bicycling, going to the beach, reading, learning to square dance (don’t get all nervous, we’re still our normal, not overly perky selves–but stepping out every now and then is a hoot) we were reminded of our own sage advice. Living a rich life is not expensive.
From the book Bitches on a Budget:
Free Your Mind Fill Your Wallet:
Purge the lust in your heart for all those meaningless, outsize status pieces you’ve been mindlessly pursuing and thinking indispensable to your happiness. You know the La Cornue stove, the Noguchi Freeform Sofa, the set of original Fornasetti wall plates–they won’t make you happy. Well, not that happy.
Share your prescription for happiness on a budget.
Beach Rage
August 12th, 2010 | 1 Comment
Tags: Jet Blue Escape, Travel & Entertainment
Fantasies. We all have them. Admit it. You do. They’re therapeutic. They’re entertaining. They’re cheap.
There are all kinds of fantasies: salvation, rescue, escape, sex, power, revenge.
What makes them fantasies is that they’ll most likely never happen. You don’t act on them. Ok, sometimes dreams do come true, but we’re talking about the kind of fantasies that are (or should be) fairy tale or criminal: Toad to prince. XXX rated. Bank robbing.
We’re thinking about this for two reasons: the Jet Blue flight attendant who in a “Network” moment, (more…)
Think Small. Save Big.
August 9th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: budget, savings, Travel & Entertainment
In Chapter 7, Get Out, Get Entertained: Welcome to the New Good Times, we tease out the difference between comfort and pleasure. We offer up new and old venues (rethought) and activities for you to get out to, so you can enjoy yourself without blowing your wad. After all, there are lots of leagues to play in, whether it’ s in food, art, theater, music or sports.
From Bitches on a Budget:
This is your opportunity to stand up and rethink the activities that you’ve been spending your time on. Money and things can be re-earned and remade, but time is a nonrenewable resource, and only you have control over how you spend yours.
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Despite common wisdom, spending money doesn’t bring true, long-lasting pleasure. Yes, we know the rush when you snag a table at that hot new restaurant or score tickets to a sold-out concert. But how long does that feeling last?…Did you really love the deconstructed, reconstructed, molecularly reengineered food? Did you truly adore the narcissistic spectacle–gyrating hips, fireworks…. of that stadium concert?
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It’s time to consider a separation from the jaded majors in favor of playing the field with the sweet farm team. After all, why would you want Alex Rodriguez when you can have a fresh, waiting-to-be-broken-in, pliable, up-and-coming prospect? (Yep, that’s how we like them: up-and-coming.)
Honey, this little economic adjustment may be just what the doctor ordered to get back in touch with the things you love and break the ‘more is more’ and ‘bigger is better’ cycle.
Bitches on a Budget is published by the New American Library division of Penguin Books. Available at most bookstores and Amazon.com.
Cucumbers in Hot and Sweet Sauce
August 6th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness, recipes, Travel & Entertainment
Last night we made one of our favorite dinners-brown rice bowls: Brown rice, steamed spinach, mung bean threads, squash in sesame oil, seared tofu with teriyaki sauce, carrots, bean sprouts, fresh spearmint, cilantro, basil, ground peanuts. For condiments: curried peanut sauce, sriracha and hot and sweet sauce. Inexpensive and delicious.
Cucumbers in Hot and Sweet Sauce
2 cucumbers sliced and seeded
1 cup white vinegar
1/2-1tsp hot pepper flakes
1 cup sugar
1 pinch of salt
Combine sugar and vinegar in a small saucepan, slowly bring to a boil then add salt and pepper flakes (to your taste) . Simmer for five minutes. Remove from stove and let cool. Meanwhile slice the cucumbers the long way, use a teaspoon to slide down the center of each half and remove the seeds. Slice into thin half moons. Add to cool sauce. Let marinate at least a half hour before serving. This will keep up to a week in the refrigerator.
Speak Up-Get Service(d)
July 31st, 2010 | Comments
Tags: Shopping, Travel & Entertainment
What is it about being a woman and getting bad service?
We’ve all been there. On the airplane: as you’re struggling to get the bag in the overhead bin with one kid hanging off your neck while the other is clawing at your hip, and the intentionally oblivious flight attendant is leaning over some business dude in the row ahead of you ostensibly helping him find his seat belt. At the auto dealer: where the guy with more product in his hair than you is asking when your husband or dad is going to join you. In the restaurant: being led to your seat at the worst table in the house in the corner by the kitchen next to the swinging doors.
Whenever this happens to us, we speak up. Whether it’s by walking out of the car dealer, speaking to the manager in a restaurant or writing a letter to the airline (careful, speaking up on an airplane can get you arrested:) we politely, but firmly make our experiences known. Trust us, most business owners do not want pissed off customers and often their response is generous. (See ch. 7 in Bitches on a Budget .)
So ladies, don’t take it anymore. Your money is as good as the next guy’s. It’s time to do what you do best.
Bitch, bitch.
Pamper the Bitch. No, Not You! Your Pet
July 29th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: Beauty & Grooming, Dogs, pets, simple pleasures, Travel & Entertainment
 In the final chapter of our book we come to your very favorite bitch—no, not you! Your dog. Pamper the Bitch reminds you that sweet yapping Maxie still deserves some special treatment (even when your bankbook is whimpering). But you’ve gotta be smart. No overpriced doggie clothes or mani-pedis. We give you tips on affordable feeding, medical treatment, travel, entertainment. And if there’s no pet in your life, we outline the most economical, ethical ways to acquire one.
Don’t worry– we’ve got stuff for feline-lovers, too. We’re bitches after all, and know you like to pamper little pussy, too.
Here’s a sample:
Have fun like a dog. (Can you keep your mind clean for just one minute?) In these tight times dogs are the perfect companions. They remind us what’s important. They teach us to appreciate FREE things: friendship, play, the natural world. They require absolutely nothing but company, good nutrition, and exercise. So enjoy having Maxie. Get humble. Let her teach you a new way of being– this is a valuable lesson any time at all, but especially in a rough economy. Find pleasures in the little things. You know, snuggling, stroking, black leather collars…
Bitches on a Budget is published by the New American Library division of Penguin Books. Ask for it at your local bookshop or Amazon.
Bitches on a Budget Tongue Teasing Devil Brownies
July 16th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: brownie recipe, brownies, Food & Spirits, simple pleasures, Travel & Entertainment
Back by popular demand the best brownies you’ll ever make. Period.
Food fashions fade in and out like pouffy skirts. It’s kind of tricky to know when to bite. The latest seems to be a hot and sweet tongue teasing, and we’re here to reassure you that this trend is for real. Sophisticated hedonists have always known that stoking up contrasts arouses your sensory pleasure…
So you don’t feel left out of the latest foodie flavors, we’ll share our own recipe for brownies that’ll have them on their knees, weeping and begging you for more:
The Bitches’ Devil Brownies
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
5ozs unsweetened chocolate
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 ¾ cups sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
½-1 tsp crushed hot pepper flakes (up to you how hot you like it)
Pinch of kosher salt
¾ cup walnuts (optional)
8” square buttered baking dish
Melt chocolate and butter in microwave for approximately two minutes. Stir to completely dissolve chocolate. Add sugar and mix until you can’t see granules. Beat eggs and vanilla with a fork, add to chocolate and sugar mixture, and stir until glossy and smooth. Mix in hot pepper flakes, salt, and walnuts. Stir in flour until everything is mixed evenly together. Pour into buttered baking dish. Bake approximately 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out smooth. (Our advice is to slightly under-bake these, they taste even better).
So easy and you’ll look like a hip baking genius–you owe us big time.
P.S. This is our basic brownie recipe all tarted up. Skip the spice for the best brownies ever.
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