wooo to welsh pop punk

heard this on the radio today. haha ohhhh so great. from 9th grade, yes??

free screening of leap year!

i personally think this movie looks a bit dumb but i'm all for seeing it for free! haha. and amy adams and matthew goode are adorableee so maybe it'll be a fun movie.

who wants to go?? i'm thinking bout doing milwaukee -- we could spend the day walking around and then end it watching this movie?? cuz honestly, barrington doesn't seem too exciting.

get ur free tickets hereee

another reason to love cotsco

COSTCO SELLS MINI BOTTLES OF PELLEGRINO. YESSSSS. you'll def be seeing me carrying these bad boys around the town!

the past decade in graphics

from nytimes --


(you can click the pic for a bigger view)

GENIUS!

"manly" cupcakes??? bahaha LAME

there's a cupcake place making news out of nyc. and no it's not magnolia (which i still NEEEED to visit). it's butch bakery ny, and their goal is to add a masculine aesthetic to cupcakes.

(photo from their website)

i'm all for finding ur niche and specializing in things. but cupcakes for men?? that's a bit redonk.

all that this company is doing is simply putting printed chocolate discs on top of cupcakes and calling them "manly" and unique. while some of their flavors do sound kind of cool ie their beer run (chocolate and beer-infused cake w/ a beer buttercream topped w/ crushed pretzels) and driller (maple cake w/ milk choclate ganache and bacon bits), the rest of them i've seen at other cupcake shops. (and uhh irish carbomb cupcakes rock both of those!) it just seems like their focus is on their brand and packaging. and when it comes to food -- these are stupid and usually are indication that it's a waste of money.

in case you're wondering, these cupcakes cost $56 for a dozen with shipping! THAT'S ALMOST $5 A CUPCAKE, PEOPLE.

to put things into perspective -- i can make 24+ cupcakes for $5, and that's if i use premium products. aka my cupcakes would be less than 1/20 of that price.

idk, i just feel like a man's man would think paying $5 for a cupcake ridiculous. and those who are foodies aren't embarrassed to get their specialty cupcakes from sprinkles and such.

so to butch bakery -- ur lame! and anyone else uncomfortable with their name???

ps who's up for a cupcake party soon??? i won't even charge you for anything ;)

getting closer to being a top chef...jk not really.

one of the great things about watching top chef was seeing the chefs do crazy methods of cooking that i'd never be able to do. one of these methods was sous-vide, which the v bros pretty much used every challenge last season.

for those of ya'll who don't know what sous vide is, it's basically putting something in a vaccum pouch and then cooking it water, where the temp kept at precisely where you want it. pretty cool huh? yeahh but the machines cost at least $1000 aka only baller chefs get to use it.

but now SousVideSupreme is making them for $450. whoaaa. they're trying to market these badboys for the everday home chef.

awesome...but $450!? that's still pretty redonk!! i say give it a few years and the price will go down dramatically. hmmmm college graduation gift poss?? (ha that's IF i graduate...) and ew, the thought of graduating and being done with college grosses me out.

anyways, thought i'd share! :)

i guess i should be grossed out, but i'm just hungry instead.

there is very little related to food that grosses me out. I remember watching super size me in health class soph year in high school and just craving mcdonald's food. and thisiswhyyourefat.com is just a dirtier version of food porn for me. (um....deep fried rueben balls!)

so i guess it should come as no surprise that this creation is just pure art to me --

(from eatingtheroad.com)

It's a Big McSausage Egg Surf & Turf Mac and is made from A Big Mac, Filet o Fish patty, McChicken patty, McMuffin egg, and sausage patty.

In total, this thing will cost you $7.71 and 1,730 calories. and -- you gotta go right at 10:30 to catch the breakfast and lunch menu.

haha yummmm.

Kentucky Christmas

courtesy of yumsugar

Ingredients

Handful of organic cranberries, picked over and rinsed
4 ounces organic cranberry juice
2 ounces bourbon

Directions

1. In a pint glass, muddle the cranberries until crushed (make sure not to pulverize the cranberries so much that you release the seeds' bitter taste).
2. Add a large handful of cracked ice, the cranberry juice, and bourbon, and stir.

i like cranberries. and obvs love bourbon...i wonder how this would taste though. def worth trying!

watch you'll be seeing me ordering cranberry whiskeys at the bars...

Current Obsession [december '09]

oh yeahhhh remember when i was doing this?? so yeah, the month's almost over but i might as well continue this thing

random things swongy likes right now:

1. adding a dash cinnamon into coffee grounds. read this on fabsugar the other day and decided to try it out since i'm without my beloved french press. it's sooo good! its adds a little bit of richness that i felt was lost with drip coffee (since apparently the filter paper absorbs the delicious essential oils...thanks google). for all of ya'll who hate flavored coffees (i'm one of them too), don't worry cuz it's not too strong (unless u add a shitton obvi)
2. cooking intense meals. i have soooooo much time on my hands now it's redonk. so i've made dinner twice already: i roasted a chicken and also pan-fried chicken breasts and made a ratatouille with it, which is a lot more complicated than i expected. (pics to comee!) i got the turkey carcass from chrismas din and def plan on roasting it/making a stock out of it.
   
3. minesweeeperrrrr. omg i forgot how addicting that game can be. and it stinks cuz i only want to play the expert level, which takes a good 4+ minutes per game aka i end up spending wasting half an hour and not realize it. i'm kinda rusty but i'll def announce when i get a good time haha. (cuz i know ya'll care sooooooo much)
   
4. having hbo on demand. wooooo. and they have some GREAT movies. and by great i mean old one that are super lame but fun haha. i mayyyy have seen one fine day twice already...
5. google reader. actually anything made by google. sooooo great/convenient.
6. reading random articles. just read one about restaurant menu psychology..haha.

for those who were cool and watched the sing-off

idk if they're supposed to be serious or not? but pretty catchy!!

stuff that i can't afford but loooooooooooove

random things things i've fallen in love with--

hunter now makes leather boots (which are waterproof btdubbs!)! how beautiful are they?!??! but they're like $500 :(. i'll be content with my wellies i guess. jk... i just found a pair for much cheaper on zappos! hm...maybe i can ask felix to buy me a pair..u know, since he and the fam went to the bahamas without me.

trina turk's kathleen cardigan. this picture doesn't really do it justice...the sequins are so pretty.


chloe's bow detail asymmetric top (on the left). yeahhh you know, it's only a little over $2k. nbd. but seriously...how amazing is that sleeve of bows!??!

say whaaaaat

http://www.chicagocupcakecrawl.com/cupcake/

BLACK DOG

Smoked brisket sandwich w/ twice baked potato casserole. YUMMMMMMM :)
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swongy's christmas playlist

enjoy! and yes...i am aware that some of these aren't really christmas songs haha

so true.

(207): winter break is gonna be like a weird mixture of rehab fat camp and holiday cheer.

i love john mayer?

johnny mayer was on ellen today. look how adorable is JM in his sweater (which is RL btw...total swoon!). i'm totes getting pumped for the holidays!!

loco for taco loco

At taco loco aka the last one on smile politely's list! Ill post my review later :)
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UPDATE --
so i actually have been having a weird taco phase. Since going to taco loco friday i have also had tacos from taco bell, los amigos and la bamba. ummm yeahhh i suck. and i reaaaallly need to get back to the gym once i get home haha. anywho my next post will just be a review on all four places. well -- maybe just 3... i don't think you need me to tell you about the awesomeness of taco bell haha

i guess i could've seen this coming..

the voltaggio brothers have their own website now! check it out hereee

ummm $5 says it'll be interesting for two weeks and then i'll forget about it. haha

ohhhh kevin g! (gillespie that is.)

wooo for referencing mean girls! haha. anywho, found a recipe from BACON JAM! check it out on yumsugar

ohh -- and I just read somewhere that kev and his wife of 6 years split right before they taped the finale :(

fun website!

http://food.theatlantic.com/college-cooking/

posts on college cooking? SAYY WAHAAAT. def liking this :) athough its not letting me follow them on google reader. boo.

sad that tc las vegas is over :(

not gonna ruin it for ya'll who haven't caught the finale yet.

but -- what did ya'll think??

can't wait till the reunion show next week. who bets jen and michael will admit they've been getting it on? haha

oh, and i had an idea of who was gonna win weds afternoon thanks to tina who found this on grubstreet. it's a scan of a page in this week's people which came out TUESDAY BEFORE THE FINALE. whooops haha. (obvs don't check it out if u don't want it ruined..)

so aMICEing. (i'm cool..)

found this from fabsugar.

these fashion-inspired cuties are $40. although they are super adorbs i don't think they're worth spending that much cash. but they're still fun to look at! each are supposed to be can you figure who each one is supposed to be??

EDIT 4:47 - just found out that the store, tratutti.com donates 20% of their proceeds to a charity of your choice. so maybe it is worth buying...haha

answer --- anna wintour, karl lagerfeld, coco chanel and betsey johnson.

Spotted at Friar Tucks

IT'S SNOWING!!!

yay because that means winter is here!

boo because its windy and cold. my hair froze on the way to class :(

"Who I Am" by Nick Jonas and the Administration

i think it's a great melody and i like the instrumentals. but it's a bit repetitive... curious to hear his other stuff.

thoughts???

fun plates!

check out what i found from yumsugar --

they're $8 for a pack of four. probs not worth the price...but still cool!

color of the year, eh?

pantone, the "world-renowned authority on colour" has announced the color of 2010 to be turquoise!

i feel like i've seen that color a lot somewhere. hmmmmm

adding to the list of chi-town restaurants i gotta go to

1. Edzo's
2. Smoque
3. Xoco
4. Alinea
5. The Publican
6. blackbird
7. avec
8. Big Star
9. C-House
10. Urban Belly
11. Epic Burger
12. The Drunken Goat
    

"grilled" chicken sandwiches

yeah...remember the time i said i'd post pics of meals i made?? whooooopsss. here's a sandwich laura and i had back in september during one of our many make-dinner-and-watch-top-chef dates --

the recipe was inspired by giada's rolled chicken sandwiches. here's our cheaper and easier way --

ingredients:
1 french loaf
one chicken breast
1 cup baby arugula
2 roma tomatoes
swongy's parsley "aoili"*
salt & pepper

*(her recipe seemed too complicated for our lazy selves. so we just smashed a clove of garlic into a paste, and added it to 1/4 cup of light mayo along with 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley, and the juice & zest of half a lemon. oh and salt and pepper to taste, duh)

we george foreman-ed chicken breast, and assembled the sandwiches. make sure to pack in a ton arugula. like legit, smush in as much as you can. and also add a generous amount of "aoili". oh and don't forget to add salt and pepper the sandwich when it's complete! (this is a fun tip i picked up from watching ina haha)

the sandwiches were delish but the bread was def too thick. sooo the next time we made these bad boys we scooped some of it out before toasting. and don't worry cuz it won't go to waste; the bread scraps can be used for croutons! wooo

we served these with roasted potatoes and had a jolly of a time watching tc.

watch out ya'll -- posts about croutons, roasted potatoes and more will come soon! i promise!!!

just sayin' (#2)....

why must the farmer's markets close at 1pm??

how do they expect me to wake up that early on a saturday? :(

$1 oatmeal at jamba!!!

yummmm. too bad it doesn't work at the one down here. haha.

day drinking isn't a sign of alcoholism...

...it's just following a new food trend! haha

this is according to the nytimes, which posted an article about "daytime drinking". i guess saying "daytime" makes it sounds a bit classier...

anywho apparently a lot of bars are recognizing the profitability of opening their doors during the day. they're coming up with *new* drinks that "either feed you or wake you up" and are more appropriate to drink while the sun's still out.

YES. MY LOVE FOR DAY DRINKING IS JUSTIFIED. wuddup.

(sorry if you're reading this mommy...)

EDIT 5:31 -- um, i just remembered that the bongo room has a fully stocked bar! yet another reason i love that place. blahh i need to turn 21 asap :(

i need an oversized black blazer PRONTO

check out these great outfits --

(1st one's from fabsugar, the 2nd's from the sartorialist)

ugh, look how these completely different outfits are completed by the black blazer. and -- i have pieces that could replicate each of these outfits. love love love preppy/grundgy/girly mix they both have!

you might be wondering -- the shopaholic swong doesn't have a black blazer? sadly, no since i've been trying to watch my spending. i tried on the father's and they were all too big :(. over break i found a reaaally fun black wool tuxedo-esque jacket at the brooks brothers outlet. it was slim-fitting but long. it was obvs reduced a lot from the original price but mother wasn't willing to buy it and i wasn't sure i wanted to spend the money on it (lets be real here, it's brooks brothers..so the reduction still wasn't too good for ze wallet). but after seeing these, i think i might go back over break and see if it's still there...

it'd be a good investment, right???

now 9/10 on the list. but swongy's not that excited.

so i had an earlier post about smile politely's list of top 10 restaurants that have opened in the past decade.

decided to check out thara thai for linner (meal btwn the times of lunch and dinner) with tina and laura.

the place is on bloomington rd right next to a econolodge. yeahhhhhhh

we were planning on getting food to go because a) the reviews said the place was kinda dirty and b) we could enjoy our thai with white wine in the apt and day drink. i hate how early it gets dark now..haha

once we got inside, we saw that the place wasn't dirty at all and we were def too hungry to bring the food home.

i ordered the basil chicken, laura: yellow curry w/ chicken, tina: beef pad see ew, and we shared an order of crab ragoons. my basil chicken was probs the worst i've ever had. it was basically pieces of chicken and veggies stir fried in a generic brown sauce with some basil leaves thrown in. it was so bland. we tried adding soy sauce but that just made it more like some random chop suey dish than basil chicken. it ended up working well for drunk food that night but otherwise it would've just taken space in the back of my fridge and then thrown out a few months later.

laura's yellow curry was alright. again, there was a lack of flavor. there was too much coconut milk and not enough spice. and there wasn't that much veggies either. but it def was better than the basil chicken.

but --our meal wasn't a total bust. tina's pad see ew, which was recommended by a review she read, was pretty good. it had a good balance between sweet and savory. the noodles were stir-fried well and had a good wok-iness* to them. the beef was flavorful, cut thin and tender. and they served it with chinese broccoli that was a little undercooked, leaving it crunchy and mustardy. you could taste each component separately and it wasn't a big pile of bleh like my basil chicken.
*(yeah sorry bout that but that's like direct translation from a chinese word i'd use in a convo with the 'rents. what i'm trying to say is -- the noodles were fried enough to have a little bit of burnt goodness... if you're still lost, sorry. i suck at explaining things.)

the reviews also reccomended the crab raggoons. i rarely eat crab raggoons because they're usually on the american side of menus and i forget about them. sorryyy. and like really...they're just fried wonton skins filled with cream cheese! but anywho we ordered them and they were actually pretty good! the cream cheese filling had some celery giving it some texture, which is always good in my book. and they added some spice to it to give some smokiness. all of that with the thai sweet and sour sauce made a great bite.

but would i go back to thara? probably not. while the crab raggoons and pad see ew were good, they weren't worth the money (the pad see ew was like $12 and the crab ragoons were $7) or the trek out there. overall, the place was expensive and very medicore, if not less. i would much rather go to basil thai.

now i'm nervous to go to taco loco aka the last one i haven't gone to on the list. if thara had failed me, how's taco loco gonna go??

ps- im gonna start brining my camera or taking pics on my phone so my posts are a little more interesting!

the most perfect competition ever

john mayer is just a ball of awesomeness. on top of being a great musician, beautiful man, and hilarious comic...homeboy also bakes!

last year he did "livebaking" on his blog, where he posted up pics while he was baking/decorating a christmas tree bundt. (it was actually kind of cool because he didn't say what he was doing so u just had to see what the next picture would reveal.) i tried to look for a pic but it's not on his blog anymore :(

After that, he held an interfaith holiday baking competition...where he asked people to submit pictures of holiday themed cakes they had made.

he's holding the competition again this year, and the winner will get FOUR CONCERT AND MEET&GREET TICKETS. ahhh.

holiday baking AND possible free jm tickets...need i say more??

the submissions are due by dec 29th.

lets bake and decorate over break bitchesssssss.

8/10 -- not too shabby!

Smile Politely (another CU food blog) just posted this article...

The Top 10 new restaurants of the decade
10. Taco Loco
9. Escobar's*
8. KoFusion*
7. Xinh Xinh Cafe*
6. Thara Thai
5. Luna*
4. Siam Terrace*
3. Bombay Indian Grill*
2. Farren's*
1. Black Dog Smoke and Ale House*
(* = where swong has eaten)

pretty good list, imo. so glad to see that farrens and black dog are the top two. totes agree with that. but surprised siam terrace is #4. i've gone twice and both times i thought the food was kinda overpriced and bleh (basil thai is muuuuch better!) i'm curious about thara tho. and escobars should be higher than #8. they have delish latin inspired food AND FREE MUFFINS. (one time the free muffins were banana/chocolate/coconut/caramel....just think about that)

anywhoo i have two to still check out -- let's go!!!

finally signed up for the illinois half!

the race is may 1st 2010. my training starts feb... ohhh boy. excited/nervvv!

OMG i love jason segel

found this on tresugar...it's currently my status on the fb

that number actually works! if u click through and read the comments on the vid they're like "awesome dude! spent 10 minutes talking to him. he was super nice" and stuff like that. ashley and i were gonna 3-way call him. but i was downstairs and was too lazy to get my phone. anndd i def am too awkward to be able to carry a 10 minute convo with him. i suck. i know.

anywhooo i decided to look for other vids of jason singing on youtube. found this HILARIOUS clip of him with nph singing le mis.

...total swoon!

food-centric igoogle themes and gadgets...oh my

to paraphrase laura forman -- "great, not that i didn't think about food enough. i'm going to be obese. thanks."

check it out hereeee

list of chi-town restaurants i want to go to during breaks --

i thought a physical list might be a good idea...

1. Edzo's
2. Smoque
3. Xoco
4. Alinea
5. The Publican
6. blackbird
7. avec
   

definitely my winter nail color.

so i'm pretty much one of the most indecisive people ever..duhhh. its just that i'm always afraid of making the wrong choice so it takes me forever to find something and stick with it.

such examples of my indecisiveness include --

• ordering food. i'll change my choice like 4 times before ordering. and i usually ask to change it a bit still. ohhh and i eat off of other people's plates to try what they had. (orrr i'm just being a lazy fatty..)
  
• shopping. uhh how many posts have been devoted to my search for my perfect bootie???
  
• nail color. it took me until i was 19 to find a pink nail polish i was satisfied with....haha

soo what if i were to tell you i found my new favorite winter nail color on a last-minute polish decision??? hellooo russian navy in matte

basically...i was getting a pedi (with midnight in moscow, obvi) and saw the ad for jimmy choo for h&m. the ladies in it had bejeweled dark blue nails. i decided i wanted to try blue. i saw russian navy in matte on the wall and went with it! and now...LOOOOOOOOOVE. for ya'll who know me, this is bit shocking. even changing to a dark color this season was a struggle (i attempted to switch to MinM a week before i actually did but couldn't take its intensity after seeing it on two nails and went back to LTMER) so to switch from my go-to winter color for 3 years to a new one on a snap decision? huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge deal. haha

i actually don't like the matte look and had to put on two coats of top coat to make it shinier. but -- i'm glad i went with the matte because the original one has glitter (grossss). the matte version's also nice because it doesn't show uneven painting/imperfections as much. and i feel like i've seen a lot of bold nail this season (ie chanel's jade, bright reds, and the tzr's suggested white a few weeks back..). for me, russian navy's a nice pop without being too much. the cool, dark blue seems stand out from my colorful tops but still not be (too) clashy.

(i took a pic of my nails and i'll post it once i upload stuff from the cam cam!!)

my never-ending search for my perfect bootie...

i'm liking KC's louboutins here.... so maybe these in all leather. but with a shorter and/or wider ankle??

food network's 30 minute turkey chili

check the recipe out here

doesn't seem too hard....and i can do it in a large skillet! wooooo

i'm thinking bout making this weds night and then watching top chef. maybe with cornbread too!

who's in??

moving to the dark side

i realized it's time to move to dark nail polishes....

so goodbye Let Them Eat Ricecake and hellooooooo Midnight in Moscow.

difficult move for me after being OBSESSEDwith let them eat ricecake for the past four months.

but i'm back in love with midnight in moscow. i started wearing this senior year of high school when i decided that black nails were too intense for me. midnight in moscow is black but with fine red glitter, which makes it a bit more warm and not so goth-like. woooooooo!

soo yeah, i'll be rocking this color till spring. holler

(oh and ashley didn't like the picture of my ninja cuz she said it freaked her out...so i had to change it)

not that i like burgers or anything...

Edzo's. Grass-fed beef. Written about in the New York Times. Meat is ground fresh daily. Everything is cooked-to-order. tonnns of toppings. oh, and its in evanston.

lets go.

WANTED: warm/cozy outfits that are still fab to go out in

it's getting cold out and going out in tanks or skirts isn't really flying anymore. sooo dilemma -- how can i dress for the weather without looking like i'm about to trek the north pole??

i have a couple of ideas in mind. tell me what you think/gimme your suggestions!

1. smart layering. what i mean is that i can still wear some of my warm-weather clothes but maybe throw on a pair of tights or closed-toe shoes (OR FUCKING BOOTIES IF I CAN FIND A PAIR!). last winter i kinda went crazy with tights that were on sale at banana and have amassed quite the collection haha. (so yay for not having to buy them!) i'm hearing that textured tights/leggings are being a big trend. (rzoe had lace leggings in one of her emails last week!) oh and scarves!!!! soo yeah i'll try to work on layering. but this will probs be a bit tricky and require me trying on 2307234234 different outfits...

(selena and taylor in textured tights/booties/closed toe pumps and lace leggings from r.zoe's email)

2. fab outerwear. i have an awesome grey wool blazer that i scored from my grandma last year. it's a bit cropped which works well for me since i'm short haha. and it helps tie in the many oversized tops i have. anddd i JUST bought a super fun faux moto leather jacket from forever and didn't break bank (too much..). YESSSSS

(awk pic of the blazer, my new moto jacket!!)

3. COZY TOPS. well...this will require some shopping. but i'm okay with that! here are some from fabsugar i found that i looooove. but they're expensive aka i'm gonna havta search for cheaper versions of these...

(sequined sweater by joseph $693, sequined stardust sweater by free people $118....sadness)

BUT SOME FUN (and realistic) OPTIONS FROM URBAN---

(these would all work very well with my new bandage skirt! haha)

thoughts/suggestions??

bourbon in the beauty world. holler.

sooo we all know that i'm a boy and love my whiskey, especially jim beam. i just love its vanilla/citrus/woodsy quality. so rich and warm and just awesomeee.

in case you're wondering, bourbon is whiskey made in the bourbon county of kentucky. kind of like how champagne is sparkling wine but made in the champagne region. (ahhhh guess how many times i had to retype that from champaign) jim is a bourbon. jack is not.

so imagine my excitement finding a slideshow of beauty products with scents of my fav alch! woooooo.

Check it out here!

Current Obsessions [november '09]

woooo it's november. fun things to look forward to this month -- parents coming down here, tgiving, shopping, reunited with fun people, and free time in the chi. but ok...what does swong love as of right now??

List of Stuff Swongy loves

1. Adding milk to coffee. now hold up, before you go freak out at me, don't get me wrong i'm a still avid black coffee with splenda girl. howeverrrrr coffee and milk has become my new fav pre work out drank.
   
2. Reading random articles. like REALLY random articles. maybe i'll start posting some of my favs... i just finished reading one in the nytimes about how restaurants are cutting costs. actually...read it here. pretty interesting!
3. Microwaved baked potatoes. it's getting cold out...so ive been craving warm foods more. and in three minutes you get a hot, fluffy and delicious potato. wooooo
4. Kevin Gillespie. Michael V is still a hottie (although I've realized he looks reaaaally awkward when he smiles) but Kevin is just adorrrable. i loved how in last week's episode he was saying how he had to work to get his chub-tastic body. and his cooking is just redonk. he won both the quickfire and elimination challange AGAIN. redonk. and i'm thinking he might win over the V bros. i know, i can't believe i'm saying that myself.
5. ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. just started last week, already well into the 2nd season.
6. Yoga videos on demand. so awesome.
7. Roasting chicken....yeahhhhh i've been roasting one every week. oh and saving the carcass to make stock duhhh. and i've taken pics haha. i'll post them up soon.
8. hair products. i think it's because my hair's getting longer...but garnier fructise gel/creme = awesomeeee. oh and big fat hair hairspary.
   

Things i wanna do this month: continue getting back into shape, be more creative with the clothes i have, keep my room clean, not shop till tgiving break, keep an eye out for my booties, finish watching arrested development, clean out my closet, come up with new healthy recipes

some old jm. love.

finding the new lady gaga song on youtube ->making a new playlist of vids -> john mayer songs ->live jm videos -> this amazingness.

and not gonna lie, seeing him wearing the double polos made me really happy. what a great great trend. love love love.

but even with the very uhmmm douche-y attire, homeboy is rocking it. MAJOR.

cant wait to see him live again. always amazing. i'll drive to milwaukee if necessary.

(oh and let's try to bring back dated trends! nylon chokers anyone???)

oh the joys of living on green street..

so i'm chilling on my bed... watching some arrested development (in the middle of season one now!), gchattin' and writing an angry email to el padre.

all of the sudden i hear a huge commotion coming from outside. it's 2:02 so i'm thinking people are getting out of bars so w/e. but wait..its getting louder. there's shouting. A LOT of shouting.

i go over to my window and oh...two separate group of guys are fighting each other. they're going at it. it's like watching UFC but up close and with scrawny white boys. one guy gets knocked out cold and falls onto the street.

now there are two cop cars and an ambulance outside. and tons of talking. it's ruining my arrested development. oh and my concentration to write my angry email.

poop.

recap of ze weekenddd

sooo i went home this weekend. it was fun although a bit unproductive. i'm still without booties :(. and i only bought one top...but it's a SUPER fun top.

um....HOW FUN IS THE BACK?? and u def can wear it the other way too. it's a marc by marc jacobs but on sale a tonnnnnn at cusp. originally $188 got it for like a 1/3 of the price :) a bit of a splurge still but i mean, it's all that i bought this weekend and it's sooooo awesome. agree?? mine fits a little loser tho cuz i wanted it to be more tunic-y. like idk, i think its a bit strange for it to be loose in the front but fitted in the back? (like it is on the model) sooo yeah.

it was gbn's homecoming this weekend and the town was painted. it was so weird feeling even more disconnected from gbn. and does gbn tv still exist??

lastly -- i went to dinner at kamehachi with the mother on saturday and was seated at a table next to a bunch of junior highers. they started singing "I Want It That Way"...BUT DIDN'T KNOW THE CORRECT LYRICS. like wtf. thinking about it...they were probably JUST born when that song came out. don't i feel old...

i'm still looking for a cute pair of all-leather booties with a hidden platform! something comfy and cute and not too crazy. and at a reasonable price. WHERE ARE THEY!?!??!

EDIT -- i also need ideas to style this top to wear out! helpppp

update 1:42 -- so i've decided to wear that with my black bandage skirt. eff that whole no-blue-and-black rule. oh and with light wash skinnies and boots during the day. woooooo

plaid shirts.

look what just got posted on fabsugar....


when i was home this weekend, i had this sudden realization that i really want a nice-fitting, stylish flannel shirt. and oh hey...it's on trend. wuddup. although i doubt i'd wear heels to class so idk. is it possible to wear them without looking too barndance-y?? i think i'd go for a more fun color than just red..because well, red just SCREAMS "hey i'm about to go milk a cow" (or w/e is a popular farmy saying..) and also, kristin's shirt is an elizabeth and james and costs $250 haha

jcrew had some really fun ones...

(the funky color combos make it more chic and less country-ish..?) and they have boy's shirts with the same patterns which are cheapler :)

and so did martin+osa...

i fell in LOVE with this at the store...its sturdy and has a really fun lining that can be seen when u roll the sleeves. the only thing i don't like are the snap buttons..oh and also its $79 price tag.

sooo thoughts?? is it worth following this trend? and -- which shirt should i go for??