New York, I Don't Love You

My friend and I decided to see a movie over the weekend. To set the record straight from the very beginning- I suggested Where the Wild Things Are. But noooooo, she didn't want to see it. (A decision she came to regret.) So she gave me 3 options: 1) New York, I Love You 2) Couples Retreat and 3) Coco Before Chanel.

I skimmed over the summaries and decided that out of the three, New York, I Love You looked interesting. It has a huge and well-known cast It was supposed to be a bunch of short stories about love. I now remember why I disliked the short story section of all of my English classes.

Let's just say, some clever marketing people promoted this flop. How they made this movie look appealing, I'll never know. The trailer was the best thing about the movie. That, and the very short storyline with Cloris Leachman and her husband as an older couple celebrating their 60-something year anniversary. It was a sweet moment. But that was it, only a moment.

The movie was terrible. My dad always told me that "hate is a strong word," and he always made me think twice about using it. Sorry, dad, but I HATED this movie. It was a complete mess. When the movie was finally over, all we could do was bust out laughing.

I was paranoid about posting such a strong opinion of the movie. Did I miss something? So I searched around and read other and most people had the same reaction as me.

I never thought I would need a description for a 0 on the Sweet Tea Scale. But I do now. I had to go home and watch Breakfast at Tiffany's, just to help me not hate New York because of this movie. It was a very bad, American version of Love, Actually. If this movie is really a depiction of love in New York, I feel very, very sorry for the place.

Reading Mojo

It's either all or nothing with me. I'm either blogging a few times a day, or not at all. I try to space it out, and I know that I can schedule postings for certain days. But if I let a post sit there for a few days, I tweak and edit it so much until it turns into something else and I don't even post it. I know, I have issues.

But I need to step up the blogging. My grandparents went out and bought a computer and Internet after reading this post, so I need to make sure they get their money's worth!

Somewhere between last year's break-up books and this year's endless task of reading health reform legislation, I haven't had a lot of motivation to read for fun. I buy the books, and have the best of intentions of reading them. I sometimes even start them. But haven't finished one in longer than I care to admit.

Enter my new book, Half the Sky, by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. I'll go ahead admit that my purchasing of this book contributed to the infamous Oprah Effect, since I originally saw it on this episode of her show.

It's a book about how women around the world deal with some serious oppression. So far, I've learned not to read the forced-into-prostitute-sections of the book before bedtime. That combined with my over active imagination, makes for some interesting dreams.

In all seriousness, the book so far is an inspiring look into the lives of some amazing women and is helping me get my reading groove back. Have you read any good books lately?

Creepy Cake

Hello, November! Can you believe it? October is seriously a blur. Sorry that blogging was so light lately. One week was taken up by a conference for work. Loosing a weekend can really set you back! And then I took a long weekend and went home for the Concert of Hope and Remembrance. More on that in a separate post.

I thought I'd share the Halloween cake that I made for a little get-together we had at our house. I'll go ahead and admit that the cake isn't from scratch. In fact, I asked my grandmother for a devil's food cake recipe, and she said go to the store and buy a box mix. Since the icing was from scratch and it takes time to decorate the cake, I decided to go with the shortcut.

I used a marshmallow frosting. Not bad for a cake decorating school drop out!

Hope everyone had lots of treats for Halloween!

For the record, I completed 2 of the 3 cake decorating classes that I enrolled in. I couldn't finish the third because of a work conflict, but will attempt it again in the new year.

Tomorrow is another day...

I am posting this Weight Watchers Wednesday with my head hung a little low and I'm certainly not making eye contact with you. It turns out that the loosing weight thing is a little harder than posting a cute little logo on my blog.

I was "good" for a few weeks and lost 5 lbs. Then I got a little stressed and gave in to a craving or two (or three.) I couldn't resist the Halloween candy section at Target and well...here I am. At least I'm being honest!

I've done good with breakfasts and lunches. I love the multi-grain cheerios and end up eating them dry on the way to work. You know, the way 2-year-olds eat it as a snack. For lunch, I've stuck to Smart Ones frozen meals and salads. I'm good with dinner as long as I cook it myself. I've been making a delicious and quick tuna steak once a week and then having chicken or soup the other nights. The sides are salads and steamed veggies. If it weren't for the Thai food I had last week, the french toast I had a brunch over the weekend, the handfuls of Reese's mini cups, and that yummy salsa and cream cheese dip I was craving, I might be doing just fine! Okay, okay- one more confession: the caramel apple suckers by Tootsie Roll= delicious. And they're only sold during the Halloween season!

But let's keep focusing on the positive. I've been drinking lots and lots of water, and cut back to one caffeine drink a day- usually coffee in the mornings.

So there you have it...the highs and lows of the Weight Watcher Wednesday adventure. The good news: the candy is almost gone and I promise I won't buy any more. The bad news: I'm going to be crazy busy at an upcoming conference for work. There will certainly be a need for Starbucks type pick-me-ups and temptations of quickie conference food lunches. I'll do my best to make it skim and to consider the healthy lunch options.

Oh and then there's a weekend trip to SC the weekend after next. But one week at a time.

Gorgeously Green Update

I thought I'd update you on the Gorgeously Green 30 Day Pledge that I took. The pledge is in green and my results in black.

1. I commit to cutting my beef consumption down by 25-50%. I will prepare at least three meat-free meals a week. Meat production has a very heavy eco-impact.
I consciously tried to cut back on the meat that I ate. I made Tomato Pie with some fresh, local tomatoes that I bought at Eastern Market, which turned into a few meat-free meals for me. I also made some delicious veggie pasta, had some soup and salad nights, and veggie pizza.

2. I commit to buying organic, seasonal, and locally produced food whenever possible. I vote with my dollars and want to support sustainable producers.
I bought seasonal and local from Easter Market early in the process. I have to work on the organic part of this one. This girl has a budget!

3. I commit to cooking at least three meals a week at home so that I can save money, my health and the planet.
I do this anyway so this was easy!

4. I commit to reducing my food waste by 50 percent by sticking to my eating plan and my shopping list and by using my leftovers.

I tried to use up all of my leftovers...not easy for me as I always make too much food!

5. I commit to growing something edible (even an herb will do!)
I had a few veggies left from my summer garden which made a yummy salad!





6. I commit to recycling my paper, plastic, glass, and cans, and to buying recycled paper products (paper towels, napkins, and toilet paper) to preserve more trees.
I have recycled everything I could, including those annoying wire hangers from the Dry Cleaners. Most dry cleaners will take the hangers back and reuse them! I do need to work on buying recycled paper products.



PS....In an organizing frenzy a few weeks ago, I went through a huge box of photos and put them in albums. (My roomies had TONS of laughs at my expense while looking at some of my school pictures.) But, this one caught my eye, as I think it proves I've always been a treehugger at heart! (I'm the blonde.)

Lonny Magazine

You know how I looooved Domino magazine? I finally got a subscription and a month later, the magazine was dunzo. So imagine how excited I was when I found out about the new Lonny Magazine. (Thanks, Lisa!!) Some former Domino staffers are launching the new online design magazine. The site went live today!

A Charleston Wedding

What better way to decompress after a particularly difficult week than heading to Charleston for a beautiful wedding! There's something so charming and calming about Charleston. I headed down with my roomie for one of our friend's wedding. We even worked in a blissful hour on the beach just laying in the sun.

The wedding was beautiful- outside and beside the water. There was a huge wrap around porch. And of course, the bride was stunning.

The scene from the porch:

Roommate pose:

First Dance:

Fun with friends:


With the Bride:

Congrats to the newlyweds!

Field Trip to the White House

I recently had the opportunity to attend not one, but two White House events. Both events were held at the Executive Office Building, which is on the White House grounds. I've been on a tour of the Executive Office Building and the West Wing of the White House, thanks to a family friend that was working there. But had never been to the Executive Office Building for anything official.

The bigger of the two events feature the First Lady. She gave her first big speech on health care reform, which got a lot of press. It was a fabulous speech on women in health reform.

Moments like this remind me of why I moved to DC in the first place. This sort of opportunity doesn't come up all that often. On our walk there, we saw Chuck Todd- NBC's White House Correspondent! (DC star sightings aren't like they may be in NYC or LA.)

Anyway, in typical DC fashion, we saw some interesting sights on the walk there and back. Protesters....