In Honor of Last Night's Met Gala...

{All Roads Lead to Punk.}

May Flowers.

{Spray Roses in Pink.}

Breakfast. Or Dessert.

The Weekend. Illustrated.

{Paper. Work. (Buy new sneakers and then) exercise.}

College Football Season Has Returned.

{Final Score: USC 42, Syracuse 29 (following an hour-long weather delay (read: high winds, heavy rain and loudspeaker instructions to seek cover) before the start of the second half)}

Good Morning.

It's Been a While...

Here's what I've been up to since the last time I blogged:

1. Working.

2. Hanging out with my brother, who came to visit me in NYC earlier this month (and helped me paint the wall in my dining nook).

3. Painting the wall in my dining nook (I had been on the hunt for a rich, chalkboard-y gray color for this area -- I finally chose Benjamin Moore's aptly named "Gray") .

4. Watching Northern Iowa pull the rug out from underneath my bracket (and not being that upset about it).

5. Working.

6. Getting totally caught up in parliamentary procedure during the various health care votes in Congress (thank you, C-SPAN, for giving me a guilt-free reality tv option).

7. Feeling disappointed to learn that I didn't make it to Target's Liberty of London "pop-up shop" in Times Square before it sold out. Of everything.

8. Wondering if I would look ridiculous riding one of those Liberty of London bikes around downtown Manhattan this summer.

9. Personalizing two of the four Frosta stools I purchased at IKEA by transforming them into matching two-toned "side tables."

10. Dreaming about warmer weather (and a wardrobe to go along with it).

I'm Back (Again)

I've been gone. For a very long time. I blame my absence on the holidays (spent with family in Florida - fun!) and an unbelievably busy stretch at work (spent alone (well, occassionally with my similarly overworked colleagues) in front of a computer - not nearly as much fun). Enough! Reading up on last week's Altitude Design Summit (and the amazing bloggers who participated) inspired me to stop making excuses for not blogging. And so I have returned. A few things:

1. What I'm Watching: Mark Sanchez and the NY Jets are playing in the AFC Championship game as I type this post. It doesn't look good for them. But no matter what happens, the Jets had an amazing run this season. And Mark Sanchez exceeded almost everyone's expectations for his rookie season. Go Gang Green.

2. What I'm Reading: Game Change. Whatever you've heard about this book is probably true. I've only just started reading Chapter 3, and I've already had to pick my jaw up from the floor 7 times. I still don't understand how Heilemann and Halperin gained access to all of the juicy details that drip from every page of the book. It reads like a hyper-intellectualized (and exceptionally long) "cover story" article in People magazine. And I love it for that. (P.S. I spent an entire week attempting to purchase a copy of this book in Manhattan. It was impossible to do so. Thankfully, Amazon has what seems to be an endless supply of them in stock.)

3. What I'm Not Believing: The National Enquirer is throwing its name into the hat for Pulitzer Prizes -- for its coverage of the John Edwards affair and the child he has now admitted to having with his mistress, Rielle Hunter. No, I'm not kidding. The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz explains here.

Things that Happened Since I Last Blogged

1. I turned 28! I thought that 28 would freak me out, but I think I'm going to love all 365 days of it.

2. I neglected to name an NCAA Football Player of the Week. Twice. I blame this on my birthday celebration, an unintended Halloween celebration and a slight cold (which is almost gone -- thank goodness).

3. I became obsessed with West Wing reruns on Bravo. I've set my DVR to record them every time they air. I wasn't a huge West Wing fan during the height of its popularity, but I now see what I missed. TV makes working in the White House look so glamorous!

4. I've made more (minor) changes to the apartment. I've come to realize that I will be decorating my apartment forEVER. And I'm okay with that. (Yes, Mom -- I will post pictures soon.)

5. I started getting excited about the fall! The shift from summer to fall always wreaks havoc on my skin (and my sinuses, for that matter), but I am still excited for scarves and leather totes and hot chocolate and Thanksgiving! Speaking of Thanksgiving, I'm anxious to try this recipe, but with sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin. Yum.

I Love The Golden Girls

Thanks to WE's dutiful rotation of The Golden Girls reruns, I have been reminded of just how much I loved this (Emmy award-winning) show! It was All in the Family meets Maude meets the South Florida early bird special. And what I've now come to realize is that while The Golden Girls may have been a half-hour situation comedy, Sophia, Dorothy, Blanche and Rose tackled some pretty heavy issues -- homelessness, racism, euthanasia, HIV -- and that's just what I've seen over the past few weeks of reruns. I'm pretty sure I didn't realize how socially relevant this show was when I managed to catch bits of an episode just before my bed time (circa 1989).

So, let's see . . . at the moment, my favorite things include tending to my houseplants (they're still alive!), trying new recipes (my cooking has improved dramatically over the past few months) and watching The Golden Girls on WE. Am I a 27 year old golden girl? Gasp.

Olbermann and O'Reilly: A Truce?!?

As I've mentioned on several occasions, I like to keep Stilettos on the Gridiron a politics-free zone (for the most part). So I'll keep this short. And neutral...

As a semi-regular cable news viewer, I cannot believe that I didn't realize that Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly had reached a truce of sorts (courtesy of informal negotiations that followed a cordial conversation about the Olbermann/O'Reilly banter between network hotshots Jeff Immelt and Rupert Murdoch).

The NY Times is reporting that Mr. Olbermann and Mr. O' Reilly stopped their years-long on-air feud in June, after executives at MSNBC and Fox decided that the war of words had become a lose-lose for both networks.

I really don't have anything more to say about this, other than that I am totally shocked I didn't even realize that the fighting had ended until I came across the NY Times piece. But now that I know, I think I'm going to miss it.

Le Weekend

Another weekend is upon us. It looks like I'll have just a little work to catch up on this weekend, which means that I'll be able to cross some things off my "fun" to-do list:

1. Pick up a few new, fresh Apica notebooks at Kinokuniya.

2. Drool over what I hope is an impressive selection of beads at Beads of Paradise.

3. Venture to The Strand for vintage fashion and art books for my new "bookshelf."

4. Watch Confessions of a Shopaholic, my highly anticipated Saturday Netflix delivery.

5. Read last 40 pages of Confessions of a Shopaholic before watching it on DVD.

6. Stock my fridge with yummy treats from Whole Foods.

7. Grab drinks with friends.

8. Post pictures of my new apartment improvements on blog!

The Bright Side

It's been such a strange and sad week. The news cycle ( Iran, Gov. Sanford, the deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and Billy Mays) has left me reeling. And a little numb.

Last night, I took a break from 24 hour news and popped Rachel Getting Married into my DVD player. I loved it. What everyone's said about Anne Hathaway's performance is true (she was great). And the cinematography, the set design and Rachel's wedding (spoiler alert: in the end, Rachel actually does get married) were just perfect.

In other positive news, this weekend my brother and I got working on a little project that has been in the works (on a very basic level) for some time now. The project is still in its infancy, but once it's ready to launch I will share the news here. It combines my interest in design with my brother's interest in social entrepreneurship and community development, and I'm confident that it will be fantastic. Stay tuned!

P.S. I'm watching the Food Network's shameless "interpretation" of Bravo's Top Chef as I watch this. And guess what? It's not that bad! I think I might like this show. . .

The Funniest Thing I"ve Ever Seen:

Simon (in skintight red pants) dancing with Ramona on the season finale of Real Housewives (NY). Hysterical. I'm still laughing.

Man, I'll miss this show. The Real Housewives of New Jersey better deliver.

Five Reasons to Love Gabriel Byrne

My cable was out for 2 days this week. To compensate me for my troubles, Time Warner Cable has gifted me with a $4 credit to this month's bill and one free month of HBO, HBO2 and Showtime. One hour into my free month of premium channels and I'm suddenly reminded just how much I miss Gabriel Byrne in In Treatment. Here's why:

1. In Treatment is such an amazingly authentic depiction of raw, unfiltered emotion. Gabriel Byrne delivers a compelling performance in every episode.

2. Byrne began his acting career at 29 -- he worked as an archaeologist, bullfighter and teacher before turning to acting full-time.

3. He works as a UNICEF ambassador.

4. Today, he calls Brooklyn home.

5. And finally, my personal favorite: Gabriel Byrne once dated Naomi Campbell!

(Random facts courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday. He's the best. Happy birthday, Dad. Don't fall out of the hammock! (inside joke)

A Tale of Two Jimmys

Jimmy Fallon's late-night show is growing on me. I caught a few episodes during his first week, and the secondhand embarrassment was almost too much to take. Jimmy F. was incredibly nervous, and it showed. But he's gotten so much more comfortable with the show, and I'm really starting to like it! He's had some great guests ... Justin Timberlake, Rashida Jones, Robert DeNiro ... and it certainly helps that Fallon snagged The Roots as the house band every single night. (aside: 3 years ago, my brother and I caught them in concert at Radio City Music Hall. That concert still ranks as one of my top 3 entertainment experiences of all time. Hands down.).

I felt similarly about Jimmy Kimmel's show when it first aired in 2003. I didn't like it at all, but somewhere between laughing at Uncle Frank and "This Week in Unnecessary Censorship," I was sold.

While we're on the subject of late-night talk show hosts, here's hoping that Jay Leno feels better and returns to television soon.

Four Reasons to Hook up my TIVO this Spring/Summer

1. Lifetime's Army Wives. Maybe it's because I'm an Air Force brat. Maybe it's because I love nighttime soaps. Whatever the reason, I am obsessed with this show. I've seen every episode at least twice. It makes me nostalgic for my childhood. New season premieres in June.

2. Bravo's Real Housewives of New Jersey. Enough said. New season premieres in May.

3. Bravo's, err Lifetime's Project Runway. Finally, PR has been freed from the unrelenting grip of that nasty legal battle over the show's move to Lifetime. New season premieres in June (?).

4. WeTV's Bridezillas. This show is outrageous and I love every minute of it. I think it's addictive. I've even convinced my mother and grandmother to watch. (This, I might add, is no small feat. It is very hard to convince them that any reality television show other than Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, Judge Mathis, The People's Court or Divorce Court is worth watching.) New season premieres in June.

A Work-Free Weekend! (Almost.)

I actually do have work to do this weekend. But I can do it from home. So I made plans! Tonight, I'm having a few grad school friends over for drinks, food, and several months worth of catching up. And tomorrow is my very first sewing class, which is supposed to leave me 1/5 of the way toward knowing how to "sew like a pro." Fantastic. Details to follow.

Dinner (Plus a Few Very, Very "Before" Shots of the Kitchen)

My mom has requested that I post photos of my kitchen. Truthfully, there's really not much going on there yet. I envision creating a more retro-looking kitchen, with the unique pieces that I have collected and continue to collect on display. I'm not exactly sure how to do that (perhaps all the more reason to post pictures -- ideas, anyone?). But before I post those pictures, here are a few pictures of tonight's dinner preparation (spicy sausage and kale soup...so yummy on a cold winter night!).


The ingredients. (Fresh! I made a trip to Whole Foods this afternoon.)


Italian sausage, browned and seasoned with crushed red pepper.


White onion and pepper bacon, sauteed (ignore the bits of Italian sausage loitering on the sides of the pot).


Red potatoes simmered in (organic) chicken stock with the onion and the pepper bacon.


The main ingredients -- Italian sausage and kale -- added to the broth.

Dinner! (And yes, I realize that my bread plate and spoon are not on the correct sides of the bowl. I was starving when I took this picture, and I literally threw the soup, bread, and spoon down on my kitchen counter just long enough to snap a quick picture before I moved everything to my coffee table, where I proceeded to eat and watch the opening minutes of the Golden Globes.)

And now for the pictures of my kitchen. Not much to see here. Just looking at these pictures makes me want to pore over the pages my Domino Book of Decorating for ideas on how to rescue it.