Thursday is The New Friday

I was saying to Adam the other night that I can never get anything done the week before a long weekend. Instead of getting stressed and thinking GOD I HAVE TO GET THIS ALL DONE BEFORE THE LONG WEEKEND I instead find more and more things that can be put off because Come on man, it's almost time for the long weekend.

In other news, I am hyper.

Seriously I woke up hyper and continue to be hyper despite the fact that a see you enn tee in an Isuzu tried to ruin my commute by nearly killing me and despite the fact that vending machine is out of diet coke. And I have only had one medium iced coffee.

Still - HYPER.

I could have something to do with the fact that today is my Friday as I have alluded to one billion times over on Twitter? Yes in preparation for the long weekend I took tomorrow off so I may attend to some very serious business including but not limited to;

*A mist-on tanning session
* A manicure and pedicure
* Food shopping
* Christmas Tree Shop crap-buying

And then when Adam is done with his Finance final we shall away to New Hampshire until Monday evening, where we intend to spend some quality time grilling, lounging by the river, hitting up Antique Alley, going to a cookout or two (where I will be bringing these babies along with some low calorie Sangria that I have never made before and if it doesn't come out totally tasting like butt I will definitely share the recipe) visiting with assorted friends and just plain ol' relaxing. Adam has certainly earned it since he has had three finals to attend to along with the business of working full time. And I have earned it because hello, I just have.

Hope everyone enjoys their extra day off!

Pink Shoe Cookbook

Click on over to Pink Shoe Cookbook today for a luscious and HEALTHY lasagna recipe that's only 272 calories a serving and packs a delicius prosciutto punch in every bite

And stay tuned for MUCH more regular posting (including the worst thing I have ever made, to date) over at PSC since my burn has healed and I am no longer afraid of the oven.

Misery Loves Company

There is nothing that can snap me out of a bad mood quicker than someone ELSE in a worse mood. I don't know why this is, maybe it gives me an arcane glimpse of what I look like when I am in a pissy mood. Maybe I am evil and other people's anger amuses me, who knows. The fact is sometimes a great pick-me-up exists in someone else's bad day.

This morning, though it was a Monday morning, I woke up in a pretty good mood. It was gorgeous out. The sun was shining. The traffic was light. It was almost enough to make me feel better about the fact that I got about 4 hours of sleep last night. So I pulled into the Dunks parking lot for my Morning Mood Stabilizer and went inside. I walked towards the (ridiculously) long line and just as I was about to get there, a couple of construction workers darted in through the front door and basically rushed to get in line in front of me.

As I mentally plotted their deaths (Hello have you been behind most construction workers in line? For every one man there are usually eight orders they are placing for their buddies back at the site), I could feel my mood shift from On The Cusp Of Good to GRRRRRRR. Then about a minute later a woman plowed into me on her way out and spilled some iced coffee on my cardigan (which luckily is black!) and didn't even apologize but seemed pissed that I had chosen to stand in her path!!

The day was quickly going downhill.

Then something interesting happened. I heard a small commotion at the front of the line and when I looked up I saw that there had been a mix up. Apparently when the cashier yelled out "Next in line!" a guy started placing his order when this other woman had really been next and instead of her acting like an adult and saying "Excuse me, I was next" she started raining curses upon him under her breath and he heard her and was not amused. But he stilll went ahead with his order. Which turned out to be five specifically made coffees long and she was SO NOT HAVING IT. Words were exchanged. Eyes were rolled. People were made uncomfortable.

But at least one person was instantly in a better mood.

Hey I may have gotten four hours of sleep. And some mean men may have cut me in line. And some lady may have sloshed her latte on me, but at least my day didn't start off with a stranger yelling something rude about me involving a fist and a sexual act.

Right?

Happy Monday!

I'll Be Moving On

I have a long and sordid history of getting into relationships with the wrong kind of people.

In high school I never wanted these kinds of relationships, and thought I was an independent woman and could take care of myself. With time and wisdom, however, I realized that there are things a gal can't do on her own no matter how independent she is.

Like, say, achieve the perfect highlights.

So yes in late high school I made the leap from DIY color kits and experiments with Sun In (ok and in one ill fated incident, with a friend's Jolen facial bleach) and got myself a hairdresser other than whoever happened to be on duty at Supercuts. It was a lovely little salon in downtown Braintree whose name escapes me but was a favorite amongst the blue haired old lady set which is why our relationship did not last long. But I did learn about the beauty that is a layered cut, especially when you have Hair For Days.

I dabbled with a few other salons in Braintree, especially after an unfortunate OH HAI! DYING YOUR HAIR BRIGHT DAMN RED AT HOME IS A GOOD IDEA incident. And while they all had their good points, I could not commit.

In college, I frequented Dellaria in downtown Boston for a few semesters. I liked that their blowouts were only $20 so I would treat myself to one once a week on Friday mornings before class. They also did a pretty decent job with highlights - who knew that getting highlights did not ALWAYS necessitate using a cap and a little scalp-picker/comb? It was quite illuminating! But as time wore on the allure of downtown Boston faded and I began going to the Dellaria in Braintree at the mall. Here I met a stylist I would be with for a while. . She had a way with color and to this day still gave me the best cut I have ever received. I literally brought in a picture of SJP and was like "please make my hair look like that" did it and I was in love and it grew out BEAUTIFULLY! Then she decided having babies was more important than doing hair (how dare she!) and I never saw her again.

Snif snif.

I tried to go to a coworker of hers who she recommended but we had a difference of opinion. The difference being I said I did not want eggplant colored hair and she decided that I did.

Sigh.

Around this time, my bff Andy started working at a LOVELY salon on Newbury Street and so I followed him there and for about two years, as I have expounded about on this blog many times, had a fabulous hairdresser and fabulous hair and could not have enough good things to say about them. I still don't.

The thing about me is? I am cheap. Well no,cheap has a nasty connotation so let us say I am budget-minded at times. And this salon was always pretty reasonable for a Newbury Street salon but when a letter arrived stating they would be raising the prices on all of their services, I did some calculations and arrived at the decision that it might be best to test other waters. I mean fabulous hair can be achieved at other places. And it had been a while since I went to a salon in the actual town I live in (which is chock a block with salons) so why not?

I did some research and asked around at work and after hearing the same great things about the same place, I arrived at the front desk of Aura Salon in Quincy last night, ready for a cut, partial foil and blow out. My stylist K, was super friendly and sweet and we chatted about what I wanted, where I was coming from, etc and then dove in.....and did a FABULOUS job. My highlights are exactly what I wanted and the cut is perfection. At the beginning of the appointment I half apologized for the behemoth that is my hair, and she scoffed "My hair looks exactly like yours when I don't straighten it". Hello! No one can do curly hair like a curly haired girl, am I right? I was very pleased with how it turned out, she at no point made me feel rushed and I appreciated that she didn't have 3 other clients and could focus exclusively on me. She also gave me free samples of the products she used on me so I can try them out myself at home before buying. Love it. Oh and the price? About $100 for all of this.

!!!!!!!

At that price I can definitely go once a month and it's conveniently enough located so I can pop in on a whim and get a blow out if I so desire. Score!


(obligatory sh*tty camera phone pic)

I finished off the night at a local restaurant/bar with some friends and I have to say, martinis taste a little better when you've just had a fabulous hair cut.

F Off

Is it possible to have a flu of the emotions? Wherein it isn't your body that is afflicted but your attitude?

I have been in the BITCHIEST mood this week. I hate everyone. I dislike everything. Pleasantries make me nauseous. Politeness makes me gag. Basic human decency makes my skin crawl. WTF?


It's seriously like having a stomach bug but instead of vomiting the contents of my stomach I am vomiting bad attitudes and snarky statements. Again I beseech you, WTF?

Adam had the foresight to head off an altercation at home by taking me out for martinis tonight and I now feel equipped to say that tomorrow I will be in a better mood. Right? I mean THREE days existing inexplicably in this mood would just not be right.

Besides I have a few things to look forward to this Wednesday, though it is the MIDDLE of the week and I definitely feel it should be at least THURSDAY (see what I mean about a bad attitude?). These things are:

1) Wearing my new skirt for the first time

(Talbots Outlet - you complete me)

2) An evening hair appointment with a NEW HAIRDRESSER (sacre bleu!) to freshen my highlights (and mask the abomination that is my roots)

3) A fun night on the town immediately proceeding my hair appointment because come on, one mustn't waste a fresh blow out on one's boyfriend alone. The WORLD must be privy to it.

So yeah, here's to feeling less like commiting a mass murder and more like my normal GOOD TIMES self.

Making Love in Large Urban Areas

Not since The Little Mermaid (what, I love that movie!) have I been SO EXCITED for a film's premiere!!




I have seen every episode approximately a million times and STILL laugh and yell and mock Carrie's dubious clothing choices in a loving way at the same parts. The series finale still makes me cry. I see the trailers and I get goosebumps and squeal like a gal of 25.

And who better to see it with than my girls?

And so the fact that Jenny bought our tickets for a late afternoon the day it comes out makes me SO HAPPY. There will be cosmos. There will be an excruciating amounts of girl talk. There will be inappropriate BJs...and that's just at dinner afterwards. Who knows what the movie will hold?

I. CAN'T. WAIT! Is anyone else freaking out?

How To Be an Idiot

You may not be aware of this but Being an Idiot is a highly developed skill. It requires doing things in a precise order that Non-Idiots would never think of. Acting like an Idiot may seem effortless but I assure you the time and expense that goes into it is quite shocking.

For instance:

If you talk to any of my real life friends they can tell you that I have been on the hunt for a cute yellow shoe for MONTHS. Possibly even a year. I have searched high and low but nothing was the right shade of yellow, or if it were it was the wrong shape. Or if it was the right shape it was way too expensive or really cheaply made. This has been a mission that has weighed heavily on my mind (or just from time to time when I think about it).

Anywho as these situations usually end, I was out shopping with my Mom over the weekend not even looking for shoes and BAM there they were on the shelf. The perfect shade of yellow. The perfect shape. The perfect yellow shoe for me.

The fact that they were suede did not deter me from the purchase and I happily bought them and then immediately went home to model them with all the outfits I thought would have looked good with a cute yellow shoe.




I mean look at them! Could they be more precious?

So for Mothers Day, I put together a lovely springy ensemble- that consisted of a black and white graphic print smock top, black short sleeved cardigan, dark jeans and my new yellow cuties. They were everything I hoped for and more.

When I arrived at my parents house, everyone was sitting outside with the dog, basking in the sun. I, precisely after modeling my new shoes again for my mom, took it upon myself to plop down on the grass and rough house with the dog.

Let's re examine that statement. I got on the damp grass with my new SUEDE light colored shoes and basically rolled around repeatedly.

WHO DOES THAT!? ONLY AN IDIOT!

Yeah so my awesome new shoes that I searched high and low for , for almost a year, are riddled with grass stains and barring some secret formula for removing grass stains from suede? I am pretty much out of luck.

I am consoling myself with that old adage. How does it go again? It's better to have loved and lost an adorable yellow shoe than to never have had an adorable yellow shoe at all?

Accomplishments This Week

* After some urging from Adam, finally made ice cream using the ice cream maker I got three years ago. Fresh ice cream is the BOMB!

*Successfully navigated late afternoon traffic in the Financial District to attend a meeting on Summer Street. Found (sketchy) $5 parking garage around the corner from my destination!

* Busted out my fave pair of dark denim clam-diggahs I haven't worn since last August and they are at least one size too big now. WOO! Wearing them anyway though because I am a shlep.

*Spent one gorgeous evening sipping cocktails and eating salads with Jenny seaside at Marina Bay. Now, Marina Bay is pretty cute:

but when Jenny pointed out "Hey is that a condom floating in the water?"

I had to take a (not very good, I know)picture because thay pretty much sums up what I really think about Marina Bay.

*Began taking my Nasonex again because HELLO ALLERGIES NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN

(from nataliedee.com)

*Attended sexual harrassment training at work and am now a sexual harrassment all star!

*Decided playing badminton on the front lawn of our apartment building is cool.

What about you guys? Any good accomplishments this week?

Afternoon Chuckle

Having a company name and logo is all well and good. But your slogan is what really makes or breaks you. Those few words that form a catch phrase or motto of a company give you the best idea of what they're all about. More, I believe than a snappy graphic could.

Especially in this case.

Take this local steel company.






Nice simple name. A nice little folksy image of a crane.



But all it takes is a little slogan thrown on there...



...to let you know they would probably be a lot of fun to work with!

How It Looks That I am Blatantly Playing Text Twist At Work