Five things we’re excited about: January edition

New year. New blog concept. Same old Lil' John. Here's what the Treebird team currently finds fascinating, exciting, and just plain joie de vivre-ish. 

New cookware

It was a banner holiday season for all things culinary at the Treebird family. We’re talking Le Creuset things, Wufstof things, marble things, even a cheese dome. So we’re going to be making coq a vin and cassoulet, slicing with precision and ease, and storing our cheeses in an optimal, cave-like atmosphere (and wrapping with Formaticum cheese paper, of course).  

The return of BBC mastery

Netflix has been doing pretty well, what with Orange is the New Black and House of Cards (Kevin Spacey loves that affected Southern accent), but the BBC proves that network television is still alive and well, so long as you’re not Fox. The Brits are ruling the new year with the long-awaited American premieres of Downton Abbey and Sherlock. And this following on the heels of BBC America’s Orphan Black. Just give Tatiana Maslany the Golden Globe now.

Spas and such

Exhale Spa, at the Loews Hotel in Midtown, offers some of the best yoga classes in the city. Jaci is also the proud recipient of a Blue Med Spa membership, where she gets monthly massages/facials. She and Paloma have big Flywheel plans in the works, and Jason kicks it old-school with a bench and barbells. Patrick, meanwhile, hiked the AT nine years ago, and is holding out on joining a gym until they can replicate that type of experience.

Resolving and regressing

Change is hard, and the power of habit is considerable. That said, it’s nice to try to change once in a while, even if we know it may very well be fleeting. We’ve largely sworn off sugar, Jaci is gluten-free, and Patrick mostly avoids soy. The Omnivore’s Dilemma helps. Now if only we could forage in Denmark with Rene Redzepi.

Daydreaming about the world

Those Viking River Cruises commercials really get us. Sometimes we just let our minds wander off to the Peninsula House. Or Machu Picchu, swimming with sharks, New Zealand, sushi in Tokyo, the French countryside, canals, far-eastern Siberia. OK, all but the last one, which is almost as frightening as space. Someday we’ll get there. For now, Atlanta is pretty nice.