My grandmother was a sculptor. Her artwork was quite amazing, she started in limestone & then moved into granite, wood & all types of stone she’d pick up from a local quarry. I remember the first time she let me use her tools & carve a piece of stone.  It was so much harder than I’d imagined & it made me appreciate her work even as a young girl. I have a lot of my grandmother’s work, and want to acquire more sculpture, but it can be quite expensive. I saw this marble sculpture on 1st dibs today & it made me think of her. Art really is amazing in rock form. I love it.

A dear friend who is studying cake decorating and the art of sugar asked me to go to The NYC Chocolate Show. I happily agreed, as it’s a rare weekend I take off anytime for adult-only activities and the Chocolate Show seemed like an ok-enough activity. Plus I thought you people might like to hear about some good chocolate pre-holiday. Overall the show was like a mini-convention. Loads of people and not near as many venders as I expected, but there were some winners peppered among the crowds. I decided to do the entire show before I purchased anything, as the husband made it very clear: bring back samples. I was near sick with tastings halfway through, but soldiered on. It also became very clear what stood out from the pack. Now let me preface & say this…..chocolate is in the eye of the beholder. I happen to like it more pure with less sugar and DARK. The minute I tasted my favorite, it became clear that nobody matched up to them, and that was Chocolate at Cotton Tree Lodge. Apparently their big sell is the lodge in Brazil where you can go stay at their jungle retreat and make & eat chocolate from the source.  This did not sound like a bad idea and, their chocolate was by far the best at the show. I tried the 70% dark and it was amazing. Smooth, lightly fruity & just delicious. Some of my next favorite companies were for all kinds of reasons, some taste, some look & some with inventive ideas. I really enjoyed No Chewing Allowed, their chocolate truffles were just lovely.  A bit on the sweeter side, but whose going to not want that! They melted amazingly in your mouth (hence the name) and the look and feel of their entire brand & packaging was a sure standout….I would rate this as a great little holiday gift for kids of all ages (aka adults). Another really great idea & company standout was Rogue Confections. Rogue took a simple but great concept & really ran with it, they take their inspiration from vintage textiles & old-school postcards & present their chocolate in such a unique way. They’re retro/vintage feel was a sure standout.  I totally dug the chocolate discs, mini-disc lolli’s, and chocolate postcards. What a great idea for a local wedding or again a great holiday gift. Really loved these guys! I have to give a minor shout out to Antidote Chocolate. By far the most design forward beautiful packaging at the show, and innovative flavours: Ginger & gooseberry, Lavender & Red Salt, Banana & Cayenne…you get the point. Another standout for taste & look was the Grenada Chocolate Company. The taste was dark & rich and clean. They had a very intense flavour and I loved the island packaging. My final choice of the day was not about chocolate, in fact it was related to my all time favorite: caramels. Yes Liddabit Sweets were the real deal. At first I left the table due to my own hold ups about corn syrup, but the flavour was so darn great I went back twice and finally got up the nerve to ask them about the corn syrup- apparently either corn syrup or glucose syrup is used to help with crystallization.Ok I can get with that….just not so often, but these people really got the whole salty sweet combination- I finished my bag of caramels alreay (note the show was yesterday!). Overall a fun trip, though an expensive day if you add the ticket & all the purchases..but note: the husband was happy. (I purchased some old favorites: Francois Pralus & Michel Cluizel.)