I Resolve …
A one-stop shop for New Year’s resolutions
The new year rolls around, and everyone starts thinking about goals and self-improvement. So we’ve looked back at the past year and defined an entirely attainable set of skills and experiences that are worth adding to your resolution list, from oyster appreciation to travel discoveries. It’s you, only better.
1. Create the ultimate home bar. Level one: Perfect your margarita. By level three, you’ll be making oat and honey vodka for the Quaker Shaker. Tom Cruise bottle-throwing skills not included.
2. Visit Xalapa, Mexico. Experience this misty mountain town before the rest of the world discovers it. Come home with new recipes for Veracruz seafood dishes and a taste for mezcal.
3. Discover the beauty of a well-written thank-you note. Be the dinner guest who gets invited back.
4. Roast your own coffee beans. Freshly ground just isn’t fresh enough, and your popcorn maker is only attracting dust. Everyone’s doing it.
5. Can your own preserves. If you start preserving now, you’ll have plenty of gifts to give at the end of 2008.
6. Class up your kitchen. Quick fixes that will make your pots and pans easier to reach, your counter space more efficient, and your spirit calmer.
7. Learn to love oysters. And if you love them already, learn about new ones.
8. Visit taco trucks. Street food is delicious, whichever street you’re on—from New York to New Delhi. Find out what your city’s street hawkers are selling.
9. Make your own candy bars. Because they’re so much better than the commercial brands.
10. Camp in style. You’ll never open a can of stew again.
Davina Baum is managing editor of CHOW.