Happy Halloween!!

The 1931 Dracula movie is playing today and tomorrow at Franklin's Artcraft Theatre and we are very excited to finally get to this theatre and to rightfully spend Halloween with Bela Lugosi. The Artcraft's 2008/2009 movie schedule is on their website now and it includes some great movies such as The Christmas Story, Sabrina, Some Like It Hot, and The King and I along with many other great flicks.

Vinegar is getting some much deserved recognition for being an amazing cleaning product. We use vinegar to clean practically everything around the house. It's cheap, natural, and, most importantly, effective.

Maybe big hair is making a comeback. Allure has an article in their November issue about L'Oreal's Elnett hair spray. It's a perennial favorite of stylists like Garren and Oribe but, until now, it wasn't available in the United States. L'Oreal has come up with a version that can be sold in the U.S. and it is now available at Target in case you need a little lift.

Mate Chocolatte

We recently raved about Guayaki's Yerba Mate tea which has an earthy flavor and, just this past week at our local Kroger, we discovered this chocolate variation. What a great idea! If you have a craving for hot chocolate this winter but don't really want to drink your calories (or are leery of the ingredient list that looks like a chemistry set) this is a great alternative. One tea bag has 4 calories and it is a blend of organic yerba mate, organic cocoa (seed), organic nutmeg, organic cinnamon, organic stevia, and organic clove. The box suggests having it plain or, if you wish, adding milk and sweetener but we found adding anything to be unnecessary. It was quite satisfying all by itself.

The November W Magazine has Angelina as photgraphed by Brad Pitt.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

When you are carving up those jack-o-lanterns, be sure to save the seeds. We feel better about using more of our pumpkin by not tossing the seeds but toasting them for a crunchy snack or salad topper. Here is our favorite recipe.

Seeds of a pumpkin

Salt

Olive Oil

1. Preheat over to 400 degrees. Separate the seeds from the stringy core. Rinse the seeds.

2. In a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds. Add a tablespoon of salt for every cup of water. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

3. Spread about a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of a roasting pan. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer. Bake on the top rack for 20 minutes or until the seeds begin to brown. When browned to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Let the seeds cool completely before eating. Either crack to remove the inner seed (we don't find this necessary) or eat whole.

You might not want to check out this link if you need to get anything done today. MTV launched MTV Music yesterday with the huge library of music videos available online for free.

Mediterrano Cafe- Indianapolis

Mmmmmmmmmm, Mediterrano. When we find ourselves with a weekday free, we take advantage of it by heading to Mediterrano for their amazing lunch buffet. For $10, they put out an amazing spread. We can always count on tabouleh, hummus, falafel, lamb and chicken dishes, and Mrs. WYA!'s favorite- bademjan which is an incredibly tasty eggplant stew. We only know that name for it because the dishes are very well marked so you know what you are getting. We went on a damp cold day so we also greatly appreciated their cracked wheat soup. We also discovered an apricot chicken that we had not tried there before but we were glad that we found it. We've never tasted a bad dish here. Our only problem is that have a hard time knowing when to say when and generally leave a little stuffed. It has a casual atmosphere where you walk up to the counter, pay, receive your beverage cups so you can help yourself to as many refills as you like, make your way through the buffet line (and if you wait much past opening there will be a line), and seat yourself. We always had to do this on a weekday off because they didn't offer the lunch buffet on the weekends so imagine our delight when we noticed the sign pictured above announcing that starting October 31st, their lunch buffet will be available everyday from 11AM- 2PM. That means if you can't get to the Castleton area during the week, you can go this Saturday for lunch and see just how tasty Mediterrano is. It is behind Castleton Mall at 5941 E. 86th St. Indianapolis, IN 46250

Free tacos today from 2PM- 6PM at Taco Bell thanks to the World Series.

Thanks to this article from the New York Times, we've found our new favorite word of the day. Do the current economic conditions make you more price tag conscious than label conscious when you are clothes shopping? You're a "recessionista" and it's chic!

We didn't get any pictures but the zombies that we saw last night in Broad Ripple for the zombie walk looked good! If you forgot to get your zombie fan a present for World Zombie Day or need a present for Halloween (or even Christmas), check out this remote control zombie that Mrs. WYA! bought for Mr. WYA! from Archie McPhee.

Mr. WYA! loves zombies so we're pretty excited about World Zombie Day tomorrow, October 26th. How can you soak in the undead fun? Head to Broad Ripple where there will be zombie walk to benefit Gleaners Food Bank.

The folks over at The Strand in Shelbyville are having a Halloween bash on Saturday with live music and a costume contest. If you want to make a day of it in Shelbyville, you could go to the Grover Museum's Indoor Street Fair (doesn't that sound like a good idea on a rainy Saturday).

Big thanks to Cityoga for hosting Bryan Kest last night- it was an amazing time. We hope that they will bring him back next year. Mrs. WYA! does yoga with him every week via his Power DVD so it was so cool to actually take a class with him live. He was really funny (and showed that you can bring salty language into a yoga class) and he was wise while being really down to earth and not preachy. He talked about the relationship we have with our bodies and how no research has ever shown that it is healthier to have a bicep bigger than your head or to touch your head to your legs in a forward fold. It was all about going to your own very personal degree of difficulty on the mat to carry over your ability to remain calm in difficult situations off of the mat (which is what it is all about anyway- not whether you can contort yourself). If he is coming to your area- go!

So the gentleman who helped establish CNN and just passed away had the last name of Headline? Wow.

It's Friday so you might already be in a weekend state of mind and looking for websites to kill time as you wait for quitting time. This is one of Mr. WYA's new favorites. He likes to type in insults to co-workers and let the computer recite them after he has craftily left the scene.

Oh you lucky Ft. Wayne area readers. Head to the gorgeous Embassy Theatre on October 25th to see the epically creepy movie Nosferatu accompanied by Dennis James on the Grande Page Organ. Dick Stoner is going to perform a magic show at 7PM and the movie will start at 7:30PM. We are so jealous.

Pick hits from Trader Joe's

Our trip this past weekend to Trader Joe's yielded a couple of interesting finds. The Soy Chorizo that we had seen in the recent Fearless Flyer caught our attention so we picked that up along with an impulse item at the checkout- "Nothing But... Banana, Flattened" which was advertised as a banana jerky. We looked at the package while we waited to pay, fully expecting to see that some kind of oil was added as is usually the case with dried bananas but, sure enough, the only ingredient was bananas. They were so tasty and flavorful in this flattened form and how handy for an office drawer or in the car.

We just had the chorizo last night and it definitely had some kick. Although it comes in casings in the package, you remove those before you warm it up so it is in crumble form. There is a noticeable amount of red pepper in the chorizo and it had a nice texture for a soy product. The textures seem to be improving all the time for these vegan products. Good ole TJ's, there's always something fun to discover (and the nicest people working there).

Holliday Park- Indianapolis

In Autumn, Holliday Park particularly calls to us. It's such a gorgeous place anyway but the fall foliage really makes it special. If this park is nowhere near your home, you need to make a special trip to visit it anyway. We love the trails that wind down towards the White River. We even think it is cool on the part where you walk under the road. After a hearty hike we always have to take time to gawk at the Ruins. They are originally from a New York building that was torn down and they look so grand in this park setting. Holliday Park is one of those places in the city that always makes us happy.

Don't forget that the Irvington Halloween Festival is now underway. Tonight there is a showing of the 1931 Frankenstein at the Irvington library.

Want to be in on all of the horror movie references at the upcoming Halloween parties without the time investment of actually having to watch all of those movies? Fearnet.com has thoughtfully posted 66.6 second video synopses for several scary movies from Evil Dead II to Boogeyman. Now you can retain some of that precious leisure time but still sound knowledgeable as you rattle off the body count in Friday the 13th Part VI.

Who was/is the "Greatest Frontperson Ever" in the history of music? Jim Morrison? John Lennon? Michael Stipe? Vote here.

Teavana at the Fashion Mall

We are going to tread very carefully here. We were actually unaware that Teavana had opened a location at the Fashion Mall until we received an email from the company stating that they had opened new stores and Indiana was listed. We've visited Teavana in San Francisco and, earlier this year, in Cleveland. The San Francisco one was the biggest and more like a cafe with lots of tables and chairs. The Cleveland one and the Indy one have plenty of merchandise, and tea samples, but nowhere to sit and enjoy your tea. They do have a huge variety of teas that they can brew for you, hot or cold, and they can even blend multiple teas together for you. Indy has great locally owned tea houses like Tea's Me and the one we blogged about yesterday, Tea Cozy. We implore you to visit these locally owned tea houses but, if you're stuck on the north side and have a tea craving, you will probably find an enjoyable beverage at Teavana. It is on the Nordstrom side of the mall directly below the movie theatre.

If you need some really tasty baked goods for your next event and don't want to make them yourself, we just had some delicious goodies from Bakery To You courtesy of Mr. WYA!'s employer and highly recommend them.

Tea Cozy- Indianapolis, IN

We are so lucky. In addition to our favorite locally owned tea houses, Tea's Me and International Tea & Coffee, Indianapolis now has Tea Cozy. We stopped by last week for a spot of tea and found it to be a gorgeous space with a mind boggling variety of teas (over 100 our server told us). They have plenty of tables and a very helpful tea menu so you have ample time to peruse the choices. For our maiden trip there, we decided on cups (they also offer pots) of Borengajuli (a hearty black Assam tea) and, from their Ayurvedic Blends, a Yoga Tea. While we waited we enjoyed the beautiful atmosphere, good music, and people watching the folks on Market Street. Our teas arrived and they were delicious. The cinnamon, ginger, cloves and cardamom in the Yoga Tea just hit the spot for Mrs. WYA! and Mr. WYA! loved the strong black tea. Next time, we are going to go hungry because The Capital Pot Pie on their menu caught our attention. It is described as a Reuben in a crust. We also overheard the server mention that they have a Saturday brunch. Just a note for when you go (and we hope that you will), the entrance is off of Market St. despite the fact that their address is 50 N. Illinois St. It is in the Block Building so you just go into the main doors and take an immediate right.

Thomas W. Binford

We've often wondered, as we drove down Binford, who Thomas Binford was. It seems that he was a major influence of so much of the what Indy has to offer. He co-founded Indy's Urban League and, from 1956-1969 was the President of the United States Auto Club which was the sanctioning body of the Indianapolis 500. Additionally, he was the chief steward of the race from 1974-1995. This information is courtesy of the New York Times obituary. It turns out he also played an important role in founding the Pacers. Now, we're a little more enlightened about the man when we drive down his road.

Thanks to this NYMag.com post, we just found out that Wonder Woman and Diane Von Furstenberg have joined forces for what looks to be a very inspiring book.

Will the new Guns & Roses CD be good? If not, at least Dr. Pepper is following through with their promise of a free can for everyone if the CD gets released on time.

A work schedule is keeping us from going to this (darn it!), but we hope that lots of people do go and that they leave comments to let us know how it was. Not only is legend Sammy Terry going to be at the Historic Ohio Theatre in Madison, IN but they are showing gimmick king William Castle's movie, 13 Ghosts in Illusion-O. Tickets are just $10 and, to top it all off, the proceeds benefit Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Jefferson County.

According to an email update yesterday, there are (shockingly) still 6 spaces left for the Bryan Kest Master Yoga Class at Cityoga next week. Mrs. WYA! does yoga with Bryan Kest every week via his Power Yoga DVD and is really looking forward to this. It should be a great class and it should be a sell-out so c'mon Indiana yogis and yoginis- register now so we can continue to get great yoga teachers stopping in Indy as they tour the country.

Sakura- Fort Wayne, IN

We seem to be inadvertently following a theme of visiting an Indianapolis restaurant and, shortly thereafter, visiting one in Fort Wayne with the same name. First, it was Saigon in Indy and Fort Wayne and, now, it is Sakura. A couple of weekends ago, we enjoyed the Indy Sakura and, this past weekend, Mrs. WYA! enjoyed the Fort Wayne one with a couple of girlfriends. It was a very similar experience. The Fort Wayne Sakura, in the Times Square Shopping Center, looks modest from the outside but is beautifully decorated inside. The lunch specials come with soup (miso or clear broth) and a salad that had that same wonderful ginger dressing that the Indy Sakura had. For comparison's sake (and because she loves it), Mrs. WYA! decided to see how their Unagi Don was and it was every bit as good as the one here in Indy. The portion might have been a bit smaller, but it was every bit as tasty. Shown here are the other crowd pleasers from our visit; sushi and the Chicken Teriyaki Lunch Bento Box. We don't know how many other choices Summit City residents have for Japanese food but we hope that everyone knows about and supports this great place.

5828 West Jefferson Blvd.

Fort Wayne, IN 46804

Tel: 260-459-2022

The New York Post has an interview with Christina Hendricks (who plays the curvy and fabulous Joan Holloway on AMC's Mad Men) along with stunning photos proving that this girl looks good no matter what era she is in.

Loretta Lynn at The Honeywell Center- Wabash, IN

Mrs. WYA! spotted the advertisement for Loretta Lynn's concert in Nuvo several months ago and decided that she and her Mom needed to see the legend at this venue that she'd never been to before. The concert was this past Sunday night and the Honeywell Center turned out to be quite impressive. It is right in downtown Wabash, was originally constructed in 1949 and you can see in the pictures what a great design it has. In 1994, an addition was constructed that included the 1500 seat theatre where we had the pleasure of seeing Ms. Lynn. While we had pretty close seats, there really didn't seem to be a bad seat in the house. They have a really great website where you can buy tickets that not only lets you pick the section but also the exact seat. We like an aisle seat so we really appreciated that feature. We also appreciated the free and ample parking.



Now that we've given praise to the venue, we have to gush about Loretta. She's in her early 70s, she mentioned that she recently had back surgery, and she was fighting a cold. And yet, her voice was amazing and she was a very entertaining performer. She told stories between songs and had a lively rapport with her band- frequently telling them "play anything boys, just start one and I'll try to hang on" and hang on she did. She also encouraged the crowd to just shout out what they wanted to hear and she'd sing it, making the concert feel like a cozy honky tonk jam session. At one point, during one of her gospel songs, there was no music and it was just her voice filling the room- WOW! This lady wasn't feeling 100% and her voice was still so powerful that it gave us goose bumps. She was fun, down to earth and, even though Mrs. WYA! was a little disappointed that she didn't do any songs from Van Lear Rose, she was the real deal, exemplifying talent and what a consummate professional is. The picture above is from her singing Coal Miners Daughter which brought down the house as her big finale. What a great evening. If you get a chance, go see one of her concerts.

OK entrepreneurial Hoosiers, we need a "smash shop" in Central Indiana like this one in San Diego. Just the other day we were in the mood to break something- this would have been the perfect outlet.

Key III Candies Outlet Store- Ft. Wayne, IN

We'll take "factory seconds" of these great candies for bargain prices any day when it just means that they lack uniformity in shape. Who cares what a maple creme peanut cluster looks like when it tastes this good. We stopped at the Key III outlet store in Fort Wayne yesterday and found a great "buy 1 get 1 free" sale on their 14 oz. bags of chocolate covered maple creme peanut cluster candies and their vanilla creme peanut clusters. The caramel peanut clusters weren't on sale but, at $2.50 a bag, they're still a whole lot of tasty for a little price. They are all good but we've always had a weakness for the maple ones; good any time but especially during this autumnal season.


4211 Earth Drive (at Engle Rd.)
Fort Wayne, IN 46809
260-747-7514

Toots

We love old movies and Mrs. WYA! is particularly taken with the old clubs that the movie stars illuminated. She'd love to go back in time and dance at the Trocadero or dine at the Stork Club. So, when we heard about the Toots Shor movie last year, we anxiously waited to see if it would come to Indy. It never did but it is coming out on DVD and, if you pre-order before October 28th, you'll get a 10% discount. We can't wait to get our copy.

There's free chow and music today at the Greenwood Yat's between 4PM and 9PM.

Let's Hear it for Your Neighborhood

We'd like to hear about great Indy neighborhoods from the people who live there. Our reason for this is two-fold. First, we'd like to start highlighting Indy neighborhoods on the blog. Secondly, we are starting to go a little cuckoo in suburbia and are plotting our next move that will probably take place in the next couple of years. We are looking for vibrant residents who have pride in their neighborhoods. We are happily child-free, and intend to stay that way, so school districts don't matter to us. We really like walkability since that is a big form of exercise for us. We were intrigued with Rocky Ripple last time we walked the towpath and intend to look into that neighborhood. So, Irvington, Little Flower, Fountain Square, wherever- we'd like to hear from you. Do you feel safe in your neighborhood? Are your neighbors eclectic? Is housing affordable? We really appreciate your input.

Want to be on TV, in magazines, and on the radio? MyNDY, Channel 23 is searching for someone who will be the face, voice, and personality of their station for a year. You even get a paycheck for representing the station. The first audition is just a week away on October 16th- check out the details here.

Free theater!!

Mark your calendars- on October 10th, 4 local theaters will give away a total of 300 tickets as part of a national promotion aptly called "Free Night of Theater". American Cabaret Theatre is offering "Solid Gold Soul", Indianapolis Civic Theatre is offering "Golda's Balcony", Indiana Repertory Theatre is offering "MacBeth", and The Phoenix Theatre is offering "November". The performances take place on specific dates between October 16th and October 30th and the details are on the Indy Arts page.

Oh, our chests hurt and we can feel our arteries closing just looking at this picture. It's a hamburger sandwich with grilled cheese sandwiches serving as the top and bottom bun!

Sakura- Indianapolis, IN

Sakura is one of those places that, as soon as we pass through the doors, we feel a little bit more blissful. We've always had great dining experiences there and the atmosphere and decor are just so soothing. This past weekend we enjoyed a lunch there. We had some green tea, and proceeded to order the lunch specials of Unadon and Katsudon. We've heard that they have great sushi but we always find ourselves getting other specialties when we are here. The lunch specials are a great bargain because they come with salad (which is unremarkable except for their tasty ginger dressing) miso soup (always a pleaser), and rice. Mrs. WYA! loves Unadon which is marinated eel. If you haven't tried eel, keep an open mind. It is mild and it has a thick teryaki-like marinade on it that is awesome and drips down to flavor the rice below it in the bowl. This was our first time trying the Katsudon which is a bowl of rice with pork cutlets, onion and egg on top of it. The lightly breaded cutlet was tender and tasty, and the scrambled egg topping was light and airy. The green onion garnish really complemented the dish.

Sakura has been serving Indy for over 20 years so their great food is not a secret. However, if you haven't been there or it has been awhile, head to Keystone Avenue for a lovely dining experience.