Happy Friday!

What will you be up to this weekend? As for me, I couldn't be happier that February is almost over and though things are yet to fall into place, the worst has come and gone. Anyway, here are the links I love for today:

• This week, I've been having one-too-many crepe cakes. You've got to try these, they're delicious! The baker used to be a pastry chef for NY's Dean & Deluca, so you know she knows the good stuff!
• Dining After Downton Abbey, why English food isn't as famous as it used to be.
• The most adorable puppy photos by Bruce Weber (for Vanity Fair)
• The wonderful Grant Gustin, all lovely and sexy singing Glad You Came
• John Steinbeck on Falling in Love  (My professor tweeted this link and it's such a nice letter that I kind of feel like it's meant to be shared. It also reminds me of a site I really love, http://www.lettersofnote.com/)
• The pleasure of re-reading: How Reading Books More Than Once is good for the health. (Hah, I'm not crazy! Hooray! Auntie Jane will be pleased. And by Auntie Jane, I mean Miss Austen because I read her books more than I read the things I should be reading.)
• Also, I finished reading Matched last night so I'm starting the second book, Crossed, this weekend. I guess this means I'm back reading YA and finally out of my romance novel reading phase which, in this last few weeks, I have come to know as the Venus flytrap of reading addictions. (It is interesting to note that the idea for these reading selections came from one person, we shall call her Mary.)
• A recipe for Ginger Scallion Sauce from Lottie + Doof. Finalement! I've been looking for this everywhere.
• Last weekend, in a snapshot (Filed in: Sometimes, I'm really happy I have work and that I have people beyond my level who I can talk to--it's fun because they have more to share!): 

A late happy heart's day!

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope yours was a good one. Here are the links I love for this week:

• I didn't get any macarons this year but it would've been nice if I did.
• Things we can all learn from Jeremy Lin (Forbes).
• Adele's interview in Vogue. I love this part,   “I am quite loud and bolshie,” she says (British slang for unruly and clamorous). “I’m a big personality. I walk into a room, big and tall and loud.” Bonus: quotes from Adele's album of love from Huffington Post. 
• Brainy models changing the catwalk, God help us all (normal women in the world) in The Economist. 
• PDA: Presidential Display of Affection from Foreign Policy, photos of world leaders locking lips, gazing wistfully, and other awkward moments.
• 55 Powerful Photos from 1955-2011 (winners from Every World Press, a yearly photo contest in Amsterdam) and a look at a novelty Chinese Sex Toy Factory (made me remember the film Lars and the Real Girl and the fact that sex is, in many ways, a trade).
• The trailer for Pride and Prejudice (2005). I didn't have time to read Pride and Prejudice this Valentine's day (I always do) but I did start and end my day watching this film. It is my favorite film of all time--the electricity, the beautiful screenplay, the amazing soundtrack c/o Dario Marianelli. Oh goodness, this movie is a dream. 

Pop-A-New Guineas!

Hello! My sister has been so good to her first guinea pig, Chloe, that another guinea pig didn't seem like a bad idea. Behold, she now has four (two fluffy Abyssinians and two American guinea pigs) and I'm happy to write that they get along swimmingly in their new "cage". It isn't really a cage, it's a rather long and spacious aquarium I filled with wood shavings and food. They did a lot of running around and popcorning the first time we put them there. Aren't they cute? :) All they do is eat and run around but I'm hoping we can train them as a special squad that will later on help save humanity, you know, kind of like G-Force? Yup. I noticed that Chloe doesn't wheek as much as she used to when she was alone. I guess guinea pigs are really social animals, a lot like my sister but a whole lot less like me. Although, they do eat more than they ought to and that gives us a common ground. More pet news after the cut.

The type of kisses where teeth collide

"I've been trying to figure out exactly what I need, call up to listen to the voice of reason, and got the answering machine."

Looks more and more like Bob Dylan everyday, this one. Alex Turner's acoustic performance of Reckless Serenade by the Arctic Monkeys.