Why didn’t this exist when I was in school?

Thoughts from the Republican Debate

1. Imagine Newt Gingrich in a turtleneck.

2. How many suits do you think Mitt Romney owns?

Nice try, Anthropologie.

You think I’m going to let my $28 candle burn out when there’s an inch of wax left? Yeah right. I just dug out your inferior wick and jammed a tea light in there. I expect to get hours more scent out of you.

(Wick rage aside, I highly recommend this candle. It’s what I imagine heaven smells like.)

Grilled Cheese for Adults

My friend and I met up in Chelsea to go shopping this afternoon. I was in the mood for a burger, but a good, greasy bar eluded us so we stopped in a cute place on 17&6 called Rye. There was a burger on the menu, but when I saw the truffle grilled cheese I completely abandoned my initial craving.

This glorious masterpiece was quite simple: fontina & goat cheese with truffle oil, served with arugula, mushroom and taro root. I can’t tell you how amazing it was; I wish it was socially acceptable to order two entrees.

FOMO

My friends & I frequently discuss our struggles with FOMO – fear of missing out. Ninety percent of the time, I am perfectly happy with whatever I choose to be doing. Yesterday I was lazing around the house in my flannels & moccasins, making bread, and watching Up All Night – all great snowy-Saturday-night activities. However, when my friend Pete texted me to ask if I was going to his sister’s party downtown, I second-guessed myself. Yeah, it was snowy and gross out…but did I really want to miss seeing my friends? Sure, I’ll be spending 5 days with them in Vermont in a couple weeks…but maybe tonight will be something awesome. “Come on, I even gelled my hair for you” pushed me over the edge, and I relented.

So I got dressed and headed downtown to 7th & Avenue C. The guy driving my cab was a huge jerk – he was texting the entire drive (which is completely illegal) – and at the end of the ride he asked if I could see his phone.

“What? I can see that its on…why?”

“Because I’m texting girls all night, you know.”

Okay, well I’m glad I took down your medallion number because I’m reporting your ass.

I walked in the bar and immediately knew I made a mistake. Alphabet Lounge is about the size of a postage stamp and there was about 150 people jammed in there. I saw some of Pete’s friends waiting in the coat check line and made a beeline. The music was so loud that you had to do the ear-makeout just to have a conversation, which is one of my least favorite things to do (I imagine everyone feels that way). Girls I didn’t recognize kept coming up to me and yelling ‘HEY! HOW’S IT GOING!?!” Those were the only times I was glad it was too loud for conversation – a simple smile, nod, and point in the other direction was enough to get me out of a jam. I stuck it out for a few drinks, but after an hour I had to call it quits.

I know I lean more towards being a homebody, especially now that I have a boyfriend. But events like that typically make me doubt myself – should I be enjoying that? Am I a senior citizen trapped in a 24-year-old’s body? Last night, though, I was 100% sure that I wanted to be leaving and I was making the right choice. Does that mean I’m outgrowing FOMO? I guess only time will tell.

Greater Than Slush

I’m usually quick to bemoan snow in the city, and even quicker to get enraged when it turns into grey slush 24 hours later. Yesterday, though, I was excited because it meant I got to put my new boots to the test. So far they have been amazing – just as dry as my rain boots but infinitely warmer. I think they’ll be perfect for my ski trip in a couple weeks!

I found a sponsor.

If a more perfect sponsorship opportunity exists, I can’t think of it.

District of Columbia

This weekend I took the train south to hang out with some old college friends in DC. Although we’ve spread out across the East Coast, every three to six months we try to get together in someone’s city for a weekend. We rotate cities – Boston, NYC, Philly, DC – so it’s been almost a year since we were here together. My friend Pat was a wonderful host, putting all 6 of us up in his townhouse.

Friday evening we waited 45 minutes for dinner at Lauriol, but margaritas and Dos Equis made the time fly. It was pretty rowdy – there was a table of roughly 25 that started the wave that ended up sweeping the entire second floor. Later we migrated to Nelly’s for some casual drinks. I was equal parts disgusted and intrigued by the big screens playing collegiate wrestling.

Saturday we had brunch at Eatonville, which was a magical start to the day. Who isn’t enthralled with sweet tea in mason jars?

I had the eggs & fixings; I think between us we sampled everything. Next time I’ll probably order the Charleston toast.

I have to admit I’ve never been partial to DC before (when we all get together, we tend to get into passive-aggressive competitions on who’s city is better) but I have to admit it was very charming this weekend.

Finding something that we all agree on (besides booze) is a bit of a struggle, but we struck gold with the Newseum. Covering the news from the past century and a half, it was filled with fascinating exhibits. My favorite was the exhibit of every Pulitzer Prize-winning photo ever; it displayed all the photos with their background story and words from the photographer. There was also a sports photo exhibit that was interesting.

The large section of the Berlin Wall was pretty impressive:

As was the broadcast needle from the top of one of the Twin Towers:

There were even funny headlines in the bathroom:

Awkwardly, I forgot to turn the shutter noise on my camera off, so the person next to me thought I was up to something naughty.

In honor of the holiday weekend, we decided to make the long trek over to the MLK memorial. Those national landmarks maps are not to scale. However, once we got there it was completely worth it.

Finally, it was time for something I’d been nagging everyone about all weekend: Ben’s Chili Bowl. We all got chili dogs & cheese fries & massive stomachaches.

We rounded off the evening with a game of Apples to Apples that was more competitive than it was ever meant to be and good intentions of going out to a 90s dance party – I’ll admit I was more than pleased when we scrapped our plans and ordered in Papa John’s instead.

A Slice of Heaven

I know, I know. “What’s with all the frozen pizza?”

But honestly, this hidden gem at Trader Joes is to die for. It’s a $3 flatbread pizza with mushrooms, cheese, truffle oil – what else could you really want? Tonight I’m using it as an appetizer, but usually it’s a full dinner for me.

Basket Case 2

Have I filled you guys in on TNSMDGC? It stands for Tuesday Night Shitty Movie Drinking Game Club. Every Tuesday my volleyball teammates and I get together and play a drinking game to awful movies.

It’s often the highlight of my week – no stress, no dressing up, and the entire time there’s a hilarious running commentary. We’ve been doing it for almost 4 months now and I think I’ve only missed two Tuesdays.

Tonight were watching Basket Case 2, which is my suggestion from an earlier Netflix discovery with Dave. If you have Netflix, I highly recommend the Basket Case series. It’s just so bad it’s funny. Our host has blogged a review each Wednesday morning; I’ll have to remember the link and add it here.

Tonight’s #1 rule: Drink every time someone asks “What’s in the basket?” Cheers!