when i moved to new york in my early twenties, one of the first things i did was head to the market to stock my cupboards. i didn’t imagine making big meals in my holly hobbie sized kitchen, but i always need to be able to bake. i began at the closest d’agostino’s with my rolling granny cart and started shopping. to my great frustration, they did not have C&H sugar, only dominos. i am very brand loyal so i did not buy brown or white sugar that day. over the next few weeks, i went to nearly every d’ag and gristedes on the island of manhattan in search of my sugar. i even tried the fancy balducci’s and citarellas. finally, someone explained to me that there was no california & hawaii sugar in new york and if i wanted to make chocolate chip cookies, i was going to have to work with dominos. i was crushed. it is generally not easy for me to change course… when i like something, i stick with it. i have been using the same deodorant (secret, powder fresh), brushing with the same toothpaste (crest with the sparkles, not the stripes) and moisturizing with the same lotion (eucerin intensive care) for decades. (PLEASE do not tell me if any of these brands are building up weird electrodes or minerals in me - i have had enough changes lately!)