GO ADRIAN!

Remember when you were in college and you thought, whoa, I'd really like to take that internship? Well, my friend is in college and he's trying to get the STA World Travel internship. I'd really like to take that internship!

Please vote for my friend Adrian, he put together this great video on why he should be the World Travel Intern for STA. I mean, it's legitimately good, I was really impressed.

Go HERE to vote. (It's just a click! If you have multiple browsers, vote on each one!) He has less than a week left!

(Ugh!) PleaseVote Vote Vote! (Number 1 has 10k votes and he looks super le douche, some LA hipster who went to school in Norway? The entire 5 minute video is him talking r-e-a-l-l-y slowly about how awesome he is... VOM.)

GO ADRIAN! Let me live vicariously through you. Just for now. Hopefully I'll be doing cool stuff soon!

Cupcake Chronicles

These cupcakes were too pretty not to post more pictures. Miniature cupcakes = 10x cuter than regular cupcakes. AND I get to feature the new plates from Anthropologie that I spotted in store at Christmas, which are now on sale. All I had to do was wait three months and $12 became $4.

(108/365) Lazy Sunday

I baked this half mix, half scratch. I found a mix and I had to use it. The icing I mixed myself.

I am quite proud of this baby cupcake. Small, cute, packed with fun and beautiful to look at. Only the best for my precious (co-workers). I baked 60+ of these cupcakes, I decorated 47 of them.

(107/365) Free Annies!

 

This was FREE! I walked up to the register, they handed me one and told me to walk. I didn't understand, but then I ate the shit out of this sugar cinnamon pretzel. I can still stand by my statement that I've never bought a delicious Annie's pretz. 

A Grammar Point: Misused Quotation Marks

While at Chocolatte, I mused to my friend Amy about how I LOVE when public signs have a misuse of quotation marks. More than likely, signs just shouldn't have quotes on them. Then, looking up, to my right, just happened to be a sign that had questionable usage of quotes...Amy and I decided to raid my handbag of random crap and make the sign relevant to our conversation. We decided to make it more questionable. Amy added quotes as I decorated the border with fancy scissors. Deviant activity!

(106/365) Chocolatte

 

I love the color menu at Chocolatte. I pass this place every day on the way to work, I'm always tempted to pay $4.25 for a Turtle Tracks Latte, but I don't. Until Friday night. TAST-EEE!

(105/365) Bar games

Tired of nuts in your face when you look at my blog?

I went to a bar on Thursday and had an amazing gyro. Instead of putting it up, I'm putting up the fact that I spent a lot of time at this bar, the Thinking Man Tavern, getting my ass kicked in Connect 4.

I had some fun while my friend drank.

(104/365) Wasaaaaaaabi

 

I eat these all day at work. They are almost gone.  They taste like.. a richer, chewier wasabi pea. I absolutely recommend you get these... and I'm caught up.

(103/365) Astronaut Mike Dexter

Look Liz Lemon. Look who I look at taped onto my monitor. Look who I look at while working everyday.

It's your boyfriend.

(102/365) JUST the tickets

 

Instead of having these posted in my room, maybe I should practice keeping these handy in my wallet, so I can stop having metro cards with $2 on them. I think the Charlie ticket is the cutest (from Boston!)!

(101/365) It's a wrap

Turkey and cheese wrapped in a croissant. Flaky buttery fatty yums!

Gaga for Kitty!

 

Ga

Ga

Oh

La La!

THIS IS WRONG, I know it.

First of all, I am in full lusty kitty mode. I went to the Sanrio website and now I am in a feeding frenzy!!! MUST BUY, MUST BUY, MUST BUY! LUUUUSTY Cat, LUUUUUSTY cat!

AIYA!! It started with a small blurb in my Google alert a few days ago. It's Sanrio's 50th anniversary... how nice. I screen shot this just so I could perhaps bring it up at a later blog. 50! That's a big deal. Then, today at work, an email came delivering an exclusive offer! 30% off all Tokidoki for Hello Kitty things.

 

 I WANT THIS

and 

 

THIS

then... somehow I ended up this... with many many more things than I had originally bargained for and... still NO WATCH TO SHOW FOR IT.

I have yet to click to check out. I'm waiting for rational thought to hit me, my heart rate to slow. Maybe I'll pop in the shower, cool off a bit before I check out.

Blog-o-versary!

Tomorrow (as I write this)/Today (as you read this), February 17 marks the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of my foray into the blogging world.

I was thinking about sending out a treat for someone who comments on my blog. That's usually what bloggers do right? :-/ Sadly, I'm without any free random swag that cosmetic companies or hair companies want to send me.

I do have a pretty sweet selection of books to choose from. FREE romance novels*, it is!

This, among others, could be yours! So, quick recap. Comment in the comments and perhaps see a book in your mailbox by the end of the month!

*I'm arbitrarily sending three one to whomever I feel like. Postage costs money, folks.

Also, apparently no one reads this because no one is commenting......... awkward.

Cold Anger

There's something to be said about the weather. When you have nothing to talk about, you know you can talk about the weather. Weather, the go to topic about nothing. Except when it's something...

I am a resident of Georgia. The Peach State. We have property, porches and football. All of that exists with the understanding of warm - hot temperatures. I can recall fondly and wistfully my days in high school where one day in winter, it would venture below freezing and I would be scrambling to find tights or hose to wear underneath my skirts - that was when nude/tan pantyhose was cool (btw, it's not now). I didn't own anything fleece until that stupid Old Navy commercial came out and pierced my consciousness. Light jackets were always enough.

i live here!

What I'm trying to say is, this year has changed. This year is different. Perhaps this year is different because I also have a job and need to wake up quite early and face the freezing cold outside... But there are understood laws in the world. Georgia is to be warmer than anything higher in latitude at all times (mostly I am talking about NYC and DC). People in the South enjoy exposing skin and wearing pastel colors. Instead, I have to constantly see overweight moms weighing their performance fleeces combined with ill-fitting mom-jeans. Instead of flinging off the cold weather, my body thinks that deep hibernation is necessary. I don't even want to talk about my eating habits this past month!

Forget the suppositions, it's actually because IT IS A LOT COLDER this year than any year that I can remember. Tomorrow when I wake up, it will be 25F and feel like 12F. Humor me when I say that I'm upset. When people move to Minnesota, they know that they are in a frigid hell with constant snow and the incessant need for wool socks and boots that must be water resistant. My refusal to wear pants at work is forcing me to be extremely cold. I own 20 pairs of tights now, there's no more scrambling to find nudey tan underthings - matte, sweater, lace, dotted, criss-cross, floral, florescent colors - Tights, you are my bitch lover. Good thing I'm also extremely stubborn. I wish my frustration about the weather alone would heat my legs. Dear Georgia, stop being so cold. I miss being able to slide bare feet into flats!

not here!

Videos posted worth me posting!

I like these. I discovered via Geekologie.com.

Two rather non-traditional articles about the 43 Presidents of the USA

First, found via NYmag.com, an article by Nerve listing the "Top 43 Sexiest U.S. Presidents." Surprisingly, it's not Mr. Obama, nor is it JFK, that stud. I love #14, Zachary Taylor, a factor in his ranking being his nickname, "Old Rough and Ready." As a child memorizing the presidents, I never realized that these nicknames could take on a completely different meaning.

Meanwhile, I've just tried looking for a photo of him, Zachary Taylor, our 12th President and if you can't imagine what he looks like off the top of your head, which I doubt you can, unless by chance you've done your thesis for some reason on him, I don't know why you would... I would like to re-imagine him as this man:

 

because I think Gabriel Byrne is a dirty sexy man.  This is probably wrong in so many ways.... but doesn't he look rough and ready?

ONTO THE SECOND ARTICLE! The NYTimes recently ran a totally awesome article on Hair and Leadership called, Heads of State.

Slightly strange, but essentially take a read of both and I hope you've enjoyed the hair portraiture of the NYtimes and PENNY HOWELL JOLLY, a professor of art history at Skidmore College and the author of “Hair: Untangling a Social History."

It already exists!

I've been playing with Google autocomplete for a while only to discover that there's already a blog devoted to it!

Aaa, the innovation of mankind. Of course there is.

I love this post. Read the choices Google gives closely.

http://autocompleteme.com/

Minute Maid Boost Ad

I don't think that the little Asian girl is THAT cute in this one, but I haven't seen any Kylie commercials lately so this'll have to do!



"Don't worry about it, I kept the receipt." I also like what the bunny makes when he's shocked. ö I don't know what noise that letter makes exactly, but it sounds exactly like the bunny. ö ö ö

Splurge vs. Steal: Sandals!

Any prepster will tell you that Jack Rogers go with anything and are a staple in your wardrobe from spring through summer.

Throw it in a bag and it matches pretty much any dress, jeans, and skirt that you've packed in your overnight bag for the coast, shore, beach, or a short walk in town.

Unfortunately, once your Jack Rogers touch water or dirt, they're ruined. By the end of summer, you have to seriously contemplate keeping them for another year and because they were a cool hundo $, you do. But man, are they beat up.

click to enlarge!

Fear no more, my fellow friends! Target to the rescue!!! For so long, I've turned to Target for my flats and sandal needs and once again...I'll shut up and just show you.

 

click it! click it! click it!

Blink your surprise away, it's true. Your eyes are not lying to you. We've got a strong copy of Jack Rogers and for 1/5 of the price. I've already bought two pairs from online, in case they run out or are pulled from the shelves. 

Yay for Steals!

Ads that work!

I saw this ad from NYmag.com and I liked it so much, I clicked it.
Admit it, it's gorgeous and TOTALLY MY STYLE.

This is what I saw when I got to the Bergdorf site.

Great ad! You can see that the dress is fun and allows for movement in 4 inch pumps, but then I looked at the price........

Dreams crushed. Hopefully, Michelle Obama wears this dress soon so I can stare at it some more!

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's the year of the Tiger! Le Tigreeeeee. I've spent about 30 mins thinking about how to soundly write a post on Chinese New Year.... culturally, I've never been able to take this holiday off at school, but I've wanted to every year. I thought about posting fortunes that you could look up on the internet, but I realized that I looked up mine quite a while ago and all I know is that THIS year is MY year. Therefore, it's not yours, so there's no point in showing off, really.

Hello Kitty is celebrating the CNY as well, as can be seen here:

 

and here!

Yes! This year, my habits of making RAWR noises is totally legit. I contemplated buying Le Tigre polo shirts, but polo shirts make my boobs look weird!

The TimesUK had a photo slide show of Chinese New Year in Beijing; I stared at it longingly.

 

click to enlarge!

I remember only 3 years ago when I was in Beijing during the New Year, buying random pig paraphernalia and going to large crowded festivals where a ton of Beijing-rs hung out. Little children wearing backless emperor costumes, the unnecessary need to buy things with pigs on them, including headbands and stuffed animals.... Meanwhile, the mass exodus of non-native Chinese people leaving the city making Beijing a ghost town of services. Chinese New Year began the month where I ate out of the grocery store for a month because no restaurants were open. I climbed to the rooftop of the library on the Capital University of Economics and Business campus and watched the fireworks explode from every surface for hours on end. Lawlessness concerning cheap fireworks = scarily amazing dangerous fireworks display! 

新年发财！ 红包拿来！

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! Wear red to scare away evil spirits and bad fortune! Feel free to mail me a red envelope stuffed with cash! Sorry this post isn't more edifying, but here's a wiki on Chinese New Year in case you wanted to learn more!

Bananas vs. Kit Kats

The great debate of February 2010 via BBC. Which is a better snack? Amazing article, BBC!

The Kit-Kit, with its satisfying snap, its chocolate-y taste and its apparent good luck factor with test taking youth in Japan? Japanese parents swear on the luckiness of Kitto Katsu, which will lead their kids to success! Cheryl Cole is a spokesperson for Kit-Kats (point!)! The Kit-Kat used to be the snack of choice of PM Gordon Brown, but he has now since changed his 4 Kit Kat diet, to a 9 banana diet in order to lose weight, which leads us to consider...

 

these are salt and pepper shakers. they can be purchased for $36 here. 

The Banana. From the BBC article: "Rich source of potassium, essential for good blood pressure and heart function, and fibre. A medium banana has roughly 400mg of potassium, 11% of your daily recommended intake and 3.1g of fibre, 12% of your daily recommended intake. Also helps regulate blood sugar levels and slowly release energy."

Nutritionally, I think the banana trumps the Kit Kat, but in terms of good memories, every Halloween, I don't think I dreamed of receiving an excess of bananas.

I cannot deny either if it is placed in front of me. In fact, I am eating a banana as I type this. Banana = FTW.

(100/365) Hey you, on the left.

Back home and restocking some supplies at Target. I spotted these cuties hanging out.

When I run out of shampoo, conditioner and body wash, I will be purchasing some crisp apple delight! Method has the cutest bottle designs!

(99/365) Snow, snow GTFO!

I stole this from Sara's status on gchat... but.. it's true. Like I previously posted, this was the sight that greeted upon my entry back into the South. To all my friends worried about the 3-5 inches of snow, I was just in more than 10x that! (I prefer 3-5 much better!)

(98/365) Quesadilla Condiments

My compliments to the chef at the Yard, the hotel restaurant at the Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards.

It looks a little bit like Christmas on crack, in food form. Or is that just me?

(97/365) Snowed-in best friend

It was Wednesday, 2/10/2010, all day it was snowing. I didn't leave my hotel that day. Hello, HBO.

(96/365) Scrabble Scramble

So according to my co-workers, THIS is not a word. I beg to differ. Although it isn't specifically listed in any dictionary, I believe a quick usage of this word in a sentence would easily unfurl to any discerning mind the word's meaning.

Paris Hilton = VAGEND.

(95/365) Totally Appropriate T

Found at the National Bohemian store, a local beer from Balti. The recognized nickname of National Bohemian, is Natty Boh. Love the creativity.

Snowver it!

This morning, I woke before dawn to get on a plane to leave Baltimore after a week of inactivity due to blizzard conditions. Only to find out that snow was coming my way to Atlanta. Ironic? Apply the definition that I've just posted and get back to me! In honor of my extended weeks in Baltimore where I experienced the most frequent snowfall and the heaviest snowfall up to this point in me life, I am posting a few photos commemorating the beauty of huge amounts of snow.

 It first started snowing the weekend of January 30. The snowfall was sudden but did not inhibit any driving or transport. The following Monday, we arrived at work.

 

 By the Tuesday of that week, it was snowing again and the largest storm had yet to approach. We were given a half day off on the following Friday. Friday = SNOW FIGHT!

 

 

The snow was so soft and chunky. I could pick it up and pelt it, HARD. I ate it about 10x but the ground was covered by soft downy snow. After about 5 rounds followed of dancing, snow fighting, dancing, continued by more, more MORE snow pelting. I think I finally realized it was game over when I was rolling down a hill of snow/dirt and being kicked down that hill by one of my co-workers. 

The next morning, I awoke to thigh high snows!

 

I was wary.

 

The whiteness of the snow contrasted beautifully with the blue sky and the blue wall. 

 

Someone scraped an opening at a bus depot, I stuck my face in it. 

 

The Harbor was resplendent in its beauty.

 

 After a quick perusal , I've decided that the snow capped ship looks a lot more romantic than just a regular ship/boat. I took a long walk from my hotel to the Harbor which was 5 blocks away in the freezing cold, at sunset. It was exactly the right time to go!

Two days after the snow, it snowed again. This is Fell's Point in Baltimore, BEFORE the second big dump. I did not leave my hotel after it started snowing Tuesday afternoon. 

 

Hippo!

The road to the coast. This shot looks quite historical. I stand by my statement that Baltimore is the poor man's Boston. Ignore the signs of modern technology please!

 

People worked at the tops of the buildings to dump the snow off, as to protect the integrity of the buildings. These old historic buildings were not built to withstand 60 inches of snow on top. Snow is one heavy lady! 

 

Domo arigato, Mr. Yogato! SO CUTE.

 

 A street that has obviously not been touched by a snowplow!

I stayed indoors at my hotel from Tuesday until this morning when I left for my flight.

Today is Friday. I laughed when I looked out the window, and this is what I saw in my front lawn in Georgia.