I love Adam Sandler because of classics like Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison, also because he reminds me of my older brother.
His Hanukkah song will live in infamy and tis the season to listen to it! I plan to tonight as my family and I feast on latkes and the matzo toffee I made.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
This song has been playing on the radio lately...
This song has been playing on the radio lately and I get pretty into it. I play the story out in my mind and kind of want to cry. Is it cheesy? Yeah... but still holiday rock out worthy.
Chicago
As a Midwestern gal, Chicago is the approachable near by big city and visiting there is always barrels of fun. Chicago is the creator of the deep dish pizza, which involves copious amounts of cheese. In a word, heaven.
I went to school on the North Shore at Lake Forest College and visited "the city" often (the city is a term for so many cities and everyone's "the city" is better than the other person's "the city", for instance, New Yorkers or Washingtonian's refer to NYC or D.C. as "the city" and to them, that really is THE CITY, but we all just say it because it sounds cool and cosmopolitan).
Anyway, visiting Chicago was and is always amazing. I would visit my best friend who attended Loyola and who lived at their Water Tower Campus frequently while at school. She knew the city (eat that New York) well and I was lucky to follow her around on adventures, mostly eating. Nom nom nom.
Chicago is especially entertaining around the holidays. Full of pretty twinkly lighted trees and festive window decorations at all the department stores. My mom and I like to make a trip to Chitown around this time and that we did about a week ago just for a quick overnight stay. What follows is an overview of our visit!
On Monday morning we arrive at the Hotel Palomar with our room ready because we smartly chose early check in. Yeehee hotel bathroom break! We are starved because we have done nothing but travel for a few hours, ha. So we stop by the Sable Kitchen & Bar located in the hotel. It is like the new place in Chicago and it lived up to all the hype. Plus Gwyneth, (why is this name so hard to spell? I spell it different every time and it is never right) mentioned it on GOOP. We were living the high life and our waitress was a sweetheart.
The hotel itself is beautiful in a modern way. Our room was pretty spacious with really cute decorations. The bed was comfy and the bathroom was clean. It was perfect for a mother/daughter combo. And to showcase some attitude, instead of the plain old white fluffy robes hotel rooms always have, the Hotel Palomar had zebra and leopard print robes! My mom got the zebra because she said the leopard would go better with my hair?
The first stop on our 24 hours in Chicago was to head to the Art Institute to fill our cups with a little culture. Although the steps at museums are always HUGE and hard to walk up, I love art museums. We had a great time UNTIL I SAW THIS LITTLE GUY,
Wah!
When I came to this painting I knew it was meant to be,
Bottom! And the title is The Three Graces, Grace is my middle name.
From there we walked to the Christkindlmarket, a happy outdoor holiday market with crafts and food and beer.
And then there were crepes. I'm pretty sure everyone and their mother has heard me talk about the banana and nutella crepes I had while visiting Paris. When I sank my teeth into one of those babies outside of the Notre Dame, it was done for. I feel like I'm a dog that has a finely attuned senses to pick up the scent or sight of banana nutella crepes. Credit to my mom though because she found the crepe stand at the market.
Excitement! The crepes were nothing like the ones I had in Paris and the french men were chuckling at my mom and I speaking French under their breath for who knows what reason. But I was about to get chocolately, hazelnut goodness it didn't matter that those guys could have been saying "Ha ha these fools." among other more exciting things. Maybe like "And they think that this is nutella." It was nutella as best I could tell.
Is that a burrito? Sort of. That was my crepe. It was ok. I dare not say I was disappointed though because it was all just so exhilarating.
After we pick at the burrito crepe and look at the market, we head back to the hotel to rest for a bit because we have a big night ahead of us.
To the complimentary wine tasting at the hotel! The Hotel Palomar does this great thing where for an hour every night they host a nice little wine tasting (which really means drink as much as you can of the selected wines in the allotted hour, and go! Not for us though, we were responsible).
Where the wine tasting was held.
We drank and dashed because we had high priority dinner plans at The Purple Pig. Now this place is the newest, coolest, bee's knees restaurant in Chicago. Oh yeah and I have a friend working there, this fact shoots my cool factor up tenfold.
My mom and I went there at 6 o'clock on a Monday night and it was PACKED. My superstar connections got us seated in 15 minutes with about an hour wait for mere mortals. High off of how fucking awesome we were for being seated right away, with help from of the wine and bottle of Preseco we ordered (it was a celebration!), we indulged into the food of The Purple Pig. Oh my god was it good. You just need to go there and experience the culinary joys. But as my friend Gabie who works there said, you aren't going to find anything low fat on the menu.
The restaurant is tapas style. We ordered: the beets, the artichokes, the scallops and the roasted bone marrow. The beets were my favorite. I think I may actually have eaten the whole serving...sorry mom.
The preseco!
The food!
Me!
The menu!
I owe her my life, Gabie, my close friend and purple pig hookup!
Our night is not over yet. From The Purple Pig we travel to The Second City to laugh. I had only been to the Second City once and loved it, so I had been wanting to go back. My mom and I had the best time and both of us agreed our mouths hurt from laughing so hard. I also love the thought that Tina Fey once preformed at the very theatre I was at. Have I mentioned I love Tina Fey?
We are so smiley at The Second City.
After laughing for an hour we finally head back to the hotel and just collapse into this,
Everything about this Chicago trip was happy. I had the best time and it felt good to go there and not just shop the whole time, although we did some damage.
That being said within those 24 hours I must have overindulged a tinsy bit because I awoke the next morning and had many frantic questions and thoughts running through my mind like,
Is my stomach going to explode?
Why did I eat all that goat cheese last night?
I command that no one ever speak of goat cheese in front me again, or beets.
When will this end?
Why?
Damn you magician chefs at The Purple Pig luring me into your food.
Do I have to get out of bed?
I HATE FOOD AND WINE.
Obviously given my state I was the life of the party traveling back home that day.
And that concludes my trip to Chicago. I would recommend every place my mom and I visited to anyone looking for tips on where to stay, what to eat and what to see while in "the city."
I went to school on the North Shore at Lake Forest College and visited "the city" often (the city is a term for so many cities and everyone's "the city" is better than the other person's "the city", for instance, New Yorkers or Washingtonian's refer to NYC or D.C. as "the city" and to them, that really is THE CITY, but we all just say it because it sounds cool and cosmopolitan).
Anyway, visiting Chicago was and is always amazing. I would visit my best friend who attended Loyola and who lived at their Water Tower Campus frequently while at school. She knew the city (eat that New York) well and I was lucky to follow her around on adventures, mostly eating. Nom nom nom.
Chicago is especially entertaining around the holidays. Full of pretty twinkly lighted trees and festive window decorations at all the department stores. My mom and I like to make a trip to Chitown around this time and that we did about a week ago just for a quick overnight stay. What follows is an overview of our visit!
On Monday morning we arrive at the Hotel Palomar with our room ready because we smartly chose early check in. Yeehee hotel bathroom break! We are starved because we have done nothing but travel for a few hours, ha. So we stop by the Sable Kitchen & Bar located in the hotel. It is like the new place in Chicago and it lived up to all the hype. Plus Gwyneth, (why is this name so hard to spell? I spell it different every time and it is never right) mentioned it on GOOP. We were living the high life and our waitress was a sweetheart.
The hotel itself is beautiful in a modern way. Our room was pretty spacious with really cute decorations. The bed was comfy and the bathroom was clean. It was perfect for a mother/daughter combo. And to showcase some attitude, instead of the plain old white fluffy robes hotel rooms always have, the Hotel Palomar had zebra and leopard print robes! My mom got the zebra because she said the leopard would go better with my hair?
The first stop on our 24 hours in Chicago was to head to the Art Institute to fill our cups with a little culture. Although the steps at museums are always HUGE and hard to walk up, I love art museums. We had a great time UNTIL I SAW THIS LITTLE GUY,
When I came to this painting I knew it was meant to be,
From there we walked to the Christkindlmarket, a happy outdoor holiday market with crafts and food and beer.
And then there were crepes. I'm pretty sure everyone and their mother has heard me talk about the banana and nutella crepes I had while visiting Paris. When I sank my teeth into one of those babies outside of the Notre Dame, it was done for. I feel like I'm a dog that has a finely attuned senses to pick up the scent or sight of banana nutella crepes. Credit to my mom though because she found the crepe stand at the market.
Excitement! The crepes were nothing like the ones I had in Paris and the french men were chuckling at my mom and I speaking French under their breath for who knows what reason. But I was about to get chocolately, hazelnut goodness it didn't matter that those guys could have been saying "Ha ha these fools." among other more exciting things. Maybe like "And they think that this is nutella." It was nutella as best I could tell.
Is that a burrito? Sort of. That was my crepe. It was ok. I dare not say I was disappointed though because it was all just so exhilarating.
After we pick at the burrito crepe and look at the market, we head back to the hotel to rest for a bit because we have a big night ahead of us.
To the complimentary wine tasting at the hotel! The Hotel Palomar does this great thing where for an hour every night they host a nice little wine tasting (which really means drink as much as you can of the selected wines in the allotted hour, and go! Not for us though, we were responsible).
We drank and dashed because we had high priority dinner plans at The Purple Pig. Now this place is the newest, coolest, bee's knees restaurant in Chicago. Oh yeah and I have a friend working there, this fact shoots my cool factor up tenfold.
My mom and I went there at 6 o'clock on a Monday night and it was PACKED. My superstar connections got us seated in 15 minutes with about an hour wait for mere mortals. High off of how fucking awesome we were for being seated right away, with help from of the wine and bottle of Preseco we ordered (it was a celebration!), we indulged into the food of The Purple Pig. Oh my god was it good. You just need to go there and experience the culinary joys. But as my friend Gabie who works there said, you aren't going to find anything low fat on the menu.
The restaurant is tapas style. We ordered: the beets, the artichokes, the scallops and the roasted bone marrow. The beets were my favorite. I think I may actually have eaten the whole serving...sorry mom.
Our night is not over yet. From The Purple Pig we travel to The Second City to laugh. I had only been to the Second City once and loved it, so I had been wanting to go back. My mom and I had the best time and both of us agreed our mouths hurt from laughing so hard. I also love the thought that Tina Fey once preformed at the very theatre I was at. Have I mentioned I love Tina Fey?
After laughing for an hour we finally head back to the hotel and just collapse into this,
Everything about this Chicago trip was happy. I had the best time and it felt good to go there and not just shop the whole time, although we did some damage.
That being said within those 24 hours I must have overindulged a tinsy bit because I awoke the next morning and had many frantic questions and thoughts running through my mind like,
Is my stomach going to explode?
Why did I eat all that goat cheese last night?
I command that no one ever speak of goat cheese in front me again, or beets.
When will this end?
Why?
Damn you magician chefs at The Purple Pig luring me into your food.
Do I have to get out of bed?
I HATE FOOD AND WINE.
Obviously given my state I was the life of the party traveling back home that day.
And that concludes my trip to Chicago. I would recommend every place my mom and I visited to anyone looking for tips on where to stay, what to eat and what to see while in "the city."
Sunday, December 4, 2011
The best picture, ever.
This picture is on a constant rotation on my computer and iPhone background. I am obsessed/in love/admire/want to be/need to meet/want her to be my best friend, mom, girlfriend with Tina Fey. 30 Rock is my favorite television show blah blah blah.
Kristin Wiig is hilarious. She is the best on SNL: Gilly, Penelope, Michelle Bachmann, Target lady. Need I mention Bridesmaids? Pure excellence, really what more is there to say?
And Maya Rudolph, I haven't seen as much of her as I have the other two. But I can say that she's great as an Oprah-esque diva in Up All Night.
This picture just makes me happy. The question at the top is ludicrous and shouldn't even be a thing, but it is. Duh women are funny, obviously.
Beautiful Liar
Remember this song?
This was my jam once upon a time. I thought I'd give it a little love, one because it is a great song and two because it has Beyonce and Shakira, some very bad-ass females. I mean who doesn't think Beyonce really should rule the world and who doesn't want to have Shakira's fly dance moves in their back pocket?
Also, I want to dance in the rain like that someday, preferably with Beyonce and or Shakira. Where is Shakira? She made like a she-wolf and just disappeared I guess. Hopefully she'll pop up soon to wow the universe and dance in oil again.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Embarrassing confessions
Ugh, sometimes I feel like my life is a constant state of confusion full of corrections. And that I am like totally some like dumb blonde, but this is false! I am a fake blonde (for the record, I don't think blondes are dumb at all) and not dumb, except I do have stupid embarrassing confessions.
1. Today I asked my mom if tin foil could go in the microwave. As soon as it came out of my mouth I knew it couldn't. Even that moment of tin foil questioning is embarrassing though.
2. Until like a year ago I thought guys pulled their pants down all the way to their ankles when they used urinals. What are those long zipper holes for in their pants you ask? My thought process obviously never got that far.
3. Remember those Chevy "like a rock" commercials with that catchy jingle? Their catch phrase is LIKE A ROCK, the song mentions being strong...LIKE A ROCK. Nay nay I say because I sang the song as "lagarah." And when I say sing, I mean I jammed out to this fucking commercial. I would hum it around the house and just be in the zone. Then one fateful day my brother heard me singing and was flummoxed by my lyrics. He kindly corrected me (not) that it was not lagarah, but like a rock. I sort of stand by my lyrics because I do not think the singers enunciate very well.
Some of you may well agree with me until the zinger at the very end of the commercial. Cue to the lower left hand corner of the screen where the Chevy emblem appears with LIKE A ROCK clearly written underneath. There are few to no words that can be used to defend this hiccup.
And that is all for today.
1. Today I asked my mom if tin foil could go in the microwave. As soon as it came out of my mouth I knew it couldn't. Even that moment of tin foil questioning is embarrassing though.
2. Until like a year ago I thought guys pulled their pants down all the way to their ankles when they used urinals. What are those long zipper holes for in their pants you ask? My thought process obviously never got that far.
3. Remember those Chevy "like a rock" commercials with that catchy jingle? Their catch phrase is LIKE A ROCK, the song mentions being strong...LIKE A ROCK. Nay nay I say because I sang the song as "lagarah." And when I say sing, I mean I jammed out to this fucking commercial. I would hum it around the house and just be in the zone. Then one fateful day my brother heard me singing and was flummoxed by my lyrics. He kindly corrected me (not) that it was not lagarah, but like a rock. I sort of stand by my lyrics because I do not think the singers enunciate very well.
Some of you may well agree with me until the zinger at the very end of the commercial. Cue to the lower left hand corner of the screen where the Chevy emblem appears with LIKE A ROCK clearly written underneath. There are few to no words that can be used to defend this hiccup.
And that is all for today.
The Albert Memorial
As I've mentioned before, I spent a semester abroad in London during my junior year in college. It was absolutely, without a doubt the grandest adventure of my life. My decision to go to London was the best choice I've made to date.
I am not embellishing when I say I think about London and getting back there somehow everyday of my life.
These are my most recent ideas:
1. Marry Prince Harry
2. Become a professional scone connoisseur/taster, obviously a mecca to London would be imperative to this career track.
3. Get a job with Gwyneth at the GOOP office in London
4. Marry Henry Cavill (My friend and I walked past him once in London! What a day. He was in his long hair phase for The Tudors.)
Two out of four of my ideas center on marriage and while Prince Harry and Henry Cavill are both magnificent candidates for my future husband, I can not base my path back to London on a man. Can I get a hoora ladies?
Looks like I have to make the most difficult choice between devoting my life to pastries or working for Madonna's bff and Chris Martin's wifey. What a choice!
...I think my safest bet is to continue brainstorming.
Today was an especially reminiscent London day because I listened to Adele's Live at the Royal Albert Hall album. Oh. My. God. Well played Adele, you have a voice like butta baby. So there I am sitting in my bed listening to Adele singing her heart out about love and I can hear the audience cheering and doing happy "I'm at an Adele concert" dances. I'm feeling bad for myself. I am wanting to be back in London. Then I got over it and decided to blog about Londy.
I was lucky enough to be located in the oh so posh Kensington area of London while studying at Richmond University. About a block away from my dorm room was Kensington Palace and gardens. This quickly turned into my place. I walked there pretty much everyday I was in London.
You know how in books and stuff the main character goes on a walk and her feet takes her somewhere without consciously deciding to walk to Dairy Queen per say? Well when I read or heard that I was always like "Bullshit, that doesn't happen." But it does!
Every time I went to Kensington Gardens, I would find myself at the Albert Memorial (right across from the Royal Albert Hall, hey Adele). This monument is breathtaking. It was created by the late Queen Victoria (have you seen The Young Victoria with Emily Blunt? If not, do. I cry from lovey happiness it's so wonderful) for her husband Albert who died of typhoid. She installed a number of monuments around London to showcase her love for her husband.
Sadly, I HAVE NO GOOD PICTURES OF THE MEMORIAL, but google does.
Gasp! Right? To anyone who asks, I say that the Albert Memorial, The National Gallery and The Globe are my top picks in London, in that order.
I remember going to the Albert Memorial on Valentine's Day, let's just say not in the most romantic mood, and I looked at that statue and thought "Blah screw you Valentine's Day. But, at least I am in this most amazing city sitting in a beautiful spot." The Albert Memorial just had that calming effect on me. Then I went out to an Italian dinner with my lovely, gorgeous friends. Aha all was right in the world.
And my London thoughts for today all started with this song:
I am not embellishing when I say I think about London and getting back there somehow everyday of my life.
These are my most recent ideas:
1. Marry Prince Harry
2. Become a professional scone connoisseur/taster, obviously a mecca to London would be imperative to this career track.
 |
| Yumo! Scones with clotted cream and jam from The Muffin Man in Kensington. Every bite there is deliciousness. |
4. Marry Henry Cavill (My friend and I walked past him once in London! What a day. He was in his long hair phase for The Tudors.)
Two out of four of my ideas center on marriage and while Prince Harry and Henry Cavill are both magnificent candidates for my future husband, I can not base my path back to London on a man. Can I get a hoora ladies?
Looks like I have to make the most difficult choice between devoting my life to pastries or working for Madonna's bff and Chris Martin's wifey. What a choice!
...I think my safest bet is to continue brainstorming.
Today was an especially reminiscent London day because I listened to Adele's Live at the Royal Albert Hall album. Oh. My. God. Well played Adele, you have a voice like butta baby. So there I am sitting in my bed listening to Adele singing her heart out about love and I can hear the audience cheering and doing happy "I'm at an Adele concert" dances. I'm feeling bad for myself. I am wanting to be back in London. Then I got over it and decided to blog about Londy.
I was lucky enough to be located in the oh so posh Kensington area of London while studying at Richmond University. About a block away from my dorm room was Kensington Palace and gardens. This quickly turned into my place. I walked there pretty much everyday I was in London.
You know how in books and stuff the main character goes on a walk and her feet takes her somewhere without consciously deciding to walk to Dairy Queen per say? Well when I read or heard that I was always like "Bullshit, that doesn't happen." But it does!
Every time I went to Kensington Gardens, I would find myself at the Albert Memorial (right across from the Royal Albert Hall, hey Adele). This monument is breathtaking. It was created by the late Queen Victoria (have you seen The Young Victoria with Emily Blunt? If not, do. I cry from lovey happiness it's so wonderful) for her husband Albert who died of typhoid. She installed a number of monuments around London to showcase her love for her husband.
Sadly, I HAVE NO GOOD PICTURES OF THE MEMORIAL, but google does.
Gasp! Right? To anyone who asks, I say that the Albert Memorial, The National Gallery and The Globe are my top picks in London, in that order.
I remember going to the Albert Memorial on Valentine's Day, let's just say not in the most romantic mood, and I looked at that statue and thought "Blah screw you Valentine's Day. But, at least I am in this most amazing city sitting in a beautiful spot." The Albert Memorial just had that calming effect on me. Then I went out to an Italian dinner with my lovely, gorgeous friends. Aha all was right in the world.
 |
| Another yumo |
And my London thoughts for today all started with this song:
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