gone but not forgotten

antm runner up ELYSE SEWELL blogs.

from asia.

about modelling.



(i finally learned how to insert links! WAHOO!)

johnny cash what?

guadelupe. whacked out on project runway. the parker posey of season two. but even MORE of a trainwreck.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6599177705833528587

chocolate soda. don't judge.

so my weird-o local mini-mart occasionally has shockingly gourmet selections. And last night I was shocked! amazed! bewildered! bedazzled! to find

Canfield's Diet Chocolate Fudge Soda.

The name alone had me at hello.

Deeelicious. Perfect for easing the chocolate-cravings.

apparently they also sell it at bevereagesdirect.com


Love,
The Chocoholic

a simple thank you would do

so I'm a firm believer in etiquette (hence my collection of vintage books about manners). Even more than etiquette, though, is just a basic respect for other people. I fire off thank you notes before the gift wrapping has even been thrown out, I always RSVP promptly, etc. Is it unreasonable to expect the same in return?

Particularly when said efforts involve the U.S. Postal Service (See: Valentine's Day Fiasco '06), a simple email acknowledging receipt would be LOVELY. My mom, for example, sent me an email saying she had received her bday present and "merci beaucoup" and "xoxoxox." Ditto for Charla and Valentine's Day. My brother called me to say he was so surprised and I had made his day. I don't include these examples to imply that I need gushing gratitude to make it worthwhile for me! No, no, no! A simple email or phone call just to let me know it has ARRIVED saves me the worry and headache of fretting.

Some brief background: A certain exboyfriend, let's call him "Jolie," and I have recently rekindled email contact after a few years of not speaking. As a token of our new friendship, I sent him a birthday card. During the midst of my Hell Week, with every second accounted for, I raced to CVS, chose a card that was appropriately "friend"-y with no overtones of romance or ambivalent feelings, wrote a message to match, and then trekked to the post office to have them weigh it for extra postage. And I have heard nothing since. Now I feel like a jackass for extending the peace pipe, waving the white flag, letting the dove fly, etc.

Am I being crazy?!

I don't eat buffalo

okay so NO ONE loved Jessica Simpson more than me (hellO, i continued to buy all of the DVD's even after they had broken up!)...

but my take on the break-up is that she really made a mistake, because no one will ever adore her as much as Nick clearly did (um and did I mention this is my greatest fear in life?)...

and following that Miss-Kentucky-fiasco (ICK), I think Nick's new alleged girlfriend is actually kinda hot! and cool! I love her outfit (who makes that shirt?). and her hair. She looks almost Sienna Miller-ish, but cuter.

Go Nick!

before & after

go here:

http://www.fluideffect.com/index2.html

for before/after re-touching photos of TONS of people, including rachel bilson, nicole R, rebecca romijn, etc.

gym rats

Read this article. It's sadly true (and gym-spiring).

An excerpt:
"everyone at the gym--the men and the women--are all checking out the hottest girl in the place. the thing is, the women are looking at her and thinking, "god i wish i could look like that. i am going to pump the elliptical machine up to 7.5 today and maybe that will help me look like her." the men, on the other hand, look at the hot girl and think, "i'd kill someone just to see that girl naked. i am going to hit the weights with a vengeance today and maybe i can get with a girl that hot." that's the difference between women and men and i've been thinking about this a lot lately."


http://ijc.typepad.com/ijc/2006/02/if_you_hit_the_.html
(via Gawker)

as per popular request

calorieking.com = The Bible

I crown thee Calorie King.

M'aidez

So sugar-free Jell-O is all the rage, and I noticed you mentioned it in your Ode to Cool Whip (not as good as your high-school-era Ode To JR, which, as I recall, was rhyming, witty, and utterly offensive), but I have to say, I have serious issues here.

I want to like it, really I do (I mean, hell-O, Jell-O is only 10 calories! How can you *not* want to like it?!)! But every time I try it, memories of Jell-O shots come flooding back. I can practically taste the vodka. And lest I remind you of Valentine's Day '02, most often referred to as The Apocalypse, in which the excessive consumption of said Jell-O singlehandedly undermined my entire fledgling relationship.

The only flavor I can stand is Strawberry-Kiwi. Do you have any recommendations?

All good things come in little blue boxes

Some etiquette tips from my 1961 vintage copy of the Tiffany's Table Manners For Teenagers book (25 cent thrift store score, the beauties of having gone to college right next to an old dilapidated mill town):

It is customary for the young man too help the young lady on his right to be seated. When you both have been seated, *don't* look around like a startled beetle...

You don't have to wait for your hostess to start eating, but don't leap at your food like an Irish wolfhound...

Don't stick your elbow out and raise your whole arm like a derrick...

Do not hold the knife and fork in this position when you are talking. It looks unattractive and belligerent...

If the asparagus is long and thin, cut off the ends with your fork held in your right hand and eat with your fork. You will then avoid imitating a trained seal...

(for the Art History major in me): Don't let your elbows stick out like flying buttresses. Keep them close to your sides...

Don't put too much food in your mouth at once. It looks as if you were brought up in a kennel...

More to come later! I vote that the next MK&AO Do Dinner Outing (Morimoto?) involve extra etiquette, in addition to the usual stripes/silver/leather/somethingoldsomethingbluesomethingborrowedsomethingblue Rules.

(really the illustrations are just CHARMING but, sadly, I lack a scanner).

ANTM

Can't wait for Cycle 6 (?). I hated Naima then, and I hate her now. Was it a figment of my oxygen-deprived-I-can-no-longer-breathe-on-this-damn-treadmill imagination, or is that her in the new Weezer video?

(image from coacd.blogspot.com)

Is it wrong...

... that I find this very exciting?!

Nicole Richie and DJ AM spotted together in public for the first time since their break-up (not counting those awful awkward photos of them in Miami for New Year's), Feb 21 leaving Mr Chow in LA.

P.S.

Like The Sweater, I, too, have a gym-uniform. And it usually involves one of these Nike Dance tank tops (they're called "Tease Tanks.")

So. freaking. amazing.

Soft. Make you look skinny. Wick sweat away. EASILY cute enough to wear with jeans.

Luckily, I have one in every color (and, um, two in black), so I don't have to smell like the Sweater.

I highly recommend.

The Sweater

have I told you about this girl at the gym?

I go every morning, at the same time... and she's always there, too.

She wears the same blue shorts, yellow top, and grey scrunchie (!) every day.

She has an identical routine every day, too.

This is how it goes:
1. Go to paper towel dispenser. Dispense 1 foot square of paper towels.
2. Go to treadmill. Start running.
3. Wipe right armpit with paper towel.
4. Keep running for three minutes.
5. Wipe forehead with same paper towel.
6. Run some more.
7. Wipe left armpit with paper towel.
8. More running.
9. Wipe forehead again.
10. Run.
11. Wipe neck.
12. Repeat steps 3 through 11 for 45 minutes.

Hence, she is The Sweat-er.

Needless to say, you don't want to get stuck on the treadmill next to her or even behind her (the wind currents).

It's a Motherf'ing Walk-off

Planning a Project Runway finale party in a couple of weeks at my apartment... what to make (food, drinks) to go with the theme?!

My go-to, serve-at-every-function-because-it's easy-as-pie-and-pie's-not-easy-at-all-so-this-is-actually-easier-recipe:

Take a bag of whole, unsalted almonds.
Drizzle with evoo.
Add cumin, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, cinnamon, chili powder... and whatever else you have lying around.
Put in oven. Cook.

Et voila. DEEEElicious.

and also, check it out:
http://bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com

You got it, dude.

have you seen this? The new MK&AO badgley mischka ad campaign? I think it's way better than the Nicole Richie Jimmy Choo cheesy ads.

Nothing tastes as good...

... as being a skinny minnie feels!

My fave easy-DIY low-cal (ie all well under 300 c's) dinners at the moment:

*Roasted Asparagus
(spray a cookie sheet with Pam, put asparagus on the sheet, spray with Pam, 2 tsp of parmesan cheese, salt & pepper. Bake at 450 until you can pierce the asparagus easily with a fork.)

*Pasta Primavera
(Use angel hair; it's the most filling by weight. 100 cal/ 1 oz. Prepare angel hair according to package directions. Steam broccoli & asparagus. Heat low-cal tomato sauce- 70 c per serving. Mix. 2 tsp parmesan cheese optional, 20 additional cals)

*"South American" (as my mom would say) Chicken
(For chicken, use either Perdue Short Cuts- follow directions on pkg to heat- or raw chicken breast prepared with Pam. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 c light shredded cheese, pineapple salsa from Trader Joe's- only 15 cals per 2 tbsp!-, heat in microwave until melted. Optional, add 1 tbsp sour cream (20 cals). Dump entire contents onto a bed of field greens.

*Meatballs & Sauce (Trader Joe's necessary. Luckily for Char, TJ's is opening in NY!)
http://www.nysun.com/article/10058
(TJ's turkey meatballs, 50 cals each and enormous. TJ's organic creamy tomato soup, 100 cals per cup. Prepare according to individual directions.)

*and, mais oui, Lean Cuisine!


Kitchen necessities (absolutely, positively, HAVE TO HAVE THEM):

*Scale to weigh your food for portion control (I bough a cheap one from Target, for $10, but have been eyeing electronic models- more precise.)

*Mesu bowls (see picture).

*Baby spoons. Sounds certifiable, but I swear by it!

Definite Red-Flags

Items a boy should never have in his apartment:

Multiple stuffed animals.
Animal-print pillows.
A row of jelly-filled color-coded candles in his bathroom.
A 3-ring binder with "Restaurants" hand-written along the spine.
The Collected Works of Jodi Picoult.

next time, we are SO taking photos.

all i want

"What I had wanted all through my 20's was a really great boyfriend: someone who called when he said he would, who would get up early and go running with me over the Brooklyn Bridge and who would jump at the chance at weekend getaways in the Berkshires.

I wanted someone with whom I could read the Sunday paper in bed, who would sit next to me during foreign movies, who would bring me chicken soup when I felt ill, who would send me flowers on Valentine's Day and sometimes for no reason at all." (from today's NYTimes)

Except I hate couples who run together, and let's edit "foreign movies" to "romantic comedies."

How the Other Half Eats

Have you seen this?

You can see the grocery lists of D-list celebrities. Oddly engaging, like checking the ana-intakes.

http://www.freshdirect.com/category.jsp?catId=picks_celeb&trk=promo&ad=HP_celebrity_Paulina

meanwhile, my shopping list for the day would look something like this:
Water, water, water.
A vat of peanut butter.
Waldorf chicken salad (ew).
Leftover pasta.

the calories in the aftermath of drinking are just not worth it!

ineffable

SO NAUSEOUS.
beet, i don't think last night can be adequately described in any way to possibly evoke reader comprehension of what went down.
WTF????

"Tara" and "Charla" 

birth of a blog

dinner with my grandparents tonight...

gp1: "what are you doing later, darling?"
me: "i'm going out with Charla."
gp 2: "oh, is she that blond one?"
gp1: "yes, and she's lovely! she knows her basketball, too!"

heading out with Charla. yahtzee, game on.