Never Doubt Paula

OK. Lesson learned. I've watched Paula's Party enough times that I should trust the woman. So, when a recipe calls for butter - never, under any circumstances, substitute it with margarine. Ever. I can already hear Paula chastising me for doing that.

Over the weekend I made spritz cookies for a friend's birthday. The first batch came out great. But when it came time to do the second batch I realized I didn't have enough butter. I did, however have margarine (Brummel and Brown to be precise). And the recipe - in my Betty Crocker Cooky Book - called for 1 c. butter or margarine - so I figured I was safe. I was not safe. The cookies were not safe. In fact, the second batch of cookies never came to be. The dough turned gummy - it was the same consistency of silly putty. In fact, I'm pretty sure I stumbled upon the recipe for silly putty.

I've Had Worse Ideas

Since becoming engaged I have done 2 things to prepare for the upcoming wedding:

• Bought 2 bridal magazines.
• Created a wedding budget. Without any numbers in it.
• Became so overwhelmed with the potential cost of the wedding that I shut off my laptop. And thought about hiding it under the bed so I wouldn’t have to think about it again.

Ok, so I guess I’ve done more than 2 things.

Thoughts that have run through my head in the past 24 hours so far regarding the wedding:

• Can I sponsor the wedding?
• See if Jameson will sponsor the bar. Lord knows that between Sean and his dad the sponsorship would pay for itself.
• How many banners could I fit in the venue?
• Tablecards with the sponsor logo and message aren’t that intrusive.
• So we make the best man give a 3 minute shout out to sponsoring company at the end of his speech – no one’s really listening anyway.
• Portillo’s caters. And they have a location in Buena Park – even better than ordering from the one in Downers Grove.
• Potluck for a party of 100… I’ve had worse ideas.
• I wonder what Jimmy’s doing the week before the wedding. He says he’s a sous chef…
• Single-handedly find cure for arthritis so G-ma can make the wedding dress.
• We will be in Vegas in August…

Holy Crap!

We're engaged. Sean proposed to me Friday night and amid my confusion and excitement I remembered to say 'yes.'

The setting was perfect, the proposal was adorable and the thoughtfulness that went into the elaborate planning (and ruses) all illustrate exactly why I love him so much.

As for the title of this post - I repeated that phrase at least twenty times over the course of the evening after I said yes.

Radio Free Madison, Day Two

I will pay good money to the person who can present me with a solution to my problem. My problem being that I can NEVER fall asleep at a reasonable amount of time during my first night in a hotel. I've been lucky enough to have a job where I get to travel and I have yet to fall asleep before 1:30 am and have a restful first night's sleep. Seriously - spread the word to your entrepreneur friends - i'm looking for an answer.

And apparently my laptop's possessed. While typing that last paragraph my cursor jumped into the middle of the paragraph on it's own and i ended up typing sentences in the middle of other sentences. It happened five times. In one paragraph.

Today was spent inside the Convention Center hearing a variety of speakers talk about niche marketing. I loved it. Maybe you wouldn't.

Cool thing I learned today: i belong in a niche that I didn't even know about: foodie travelers. There are companies within the travel industry that focus on culinary tours. How perfect?!? I eat my way through vacations - why wouldn't I want to take a vacation based entirely around food? Can't wait to google it and find some of those tours.

Radio Free Madison

Given that I lived in the Midwest for the first 24 years of my life, spent (practically) every summer and three-day weekend camping in WI, and logging an upteen number of hours driving between Minneapolis and Chicago during college - it's amazing that this is my first ever visit to Madison, WI.

Verdict: It's nice. It's Wisconsin - what else is there to say.

I'm here for work and will be here until Thursday morning. I'm looking forward to eating out at the various restaurants around the hotel and eating my way through this trip with my co-workers. Tonight I had seabass stuffed with strawberries. It was light, fruity - delicious.

The Clash Rocked It

New favorite venue: The Casbah in San Diego.

It's small, it's dark, it's AWESOME. For you Angelenos (sp?) reading this - it's about half the size of the Troubadour - so it's super intimate.

We saw The Black Angels there Sunday night. This was my third time seeing them and this is by far the closest we've gotten. It's going to be hard to go back to the Wiltern or the El Ray.

Random observation: when did Pabst Blue Ribbon become the drink of choice for the hipster SoCal boys?

I <3 BRMC

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club + The Black Angels = Fantastic Night

Location: The Wiltern
When: Last night

Best part of the night: Seeing both BRMC AND the Black Angels. The surprise for us is that the Black Angels weren’t suppose to be at that show. But since the original opening band had to cancel, the Black Angels filled in. Fantastic show. My (new) idea of heaven involves seeing these two bands play for eternity.

Second best part of the night: Great seats. Let me just say that there is no bad place to stand in the Wiltern. But, last night we managed to grab a table right behind the soundboard so we were able to sit AND have an unobstructed view of the stage. Awesome.

Third best part of the night: the idea of grabbing a donut after the show at one of the many 24 hour donut shops that litter southern California.

Worst part of the night: biting into the donut I’d been eagerly anticipating all night long only to realize it was dry and stale.

Random sighting of the night: Seeing the Griffith Park fires up close, as we were on the 10. We could see the flames and the huge cloud of smoke that rose from the fires and blanketed the downtown-scape.

Coachella 2007

Favorite acts

1) LCD Soundsystem

2) Arcade Fire

3) Amy Winehouse

4) The Decemberists

5) Gogol Bordello

6) Brazilian Girls

7) Lily Allen

8) Jesus and Mary Chain

9) Arctic Monkeys

10) Cut Chemist

11) Peter Bjorn & John

12) Kaiser Chiefs

Biggest Surprises

1) Gogol Bordello. it's raucous gypsy rock - what's not to love?

2) Lily Allen. After seeing Amy Winehouse with her powerhouse voice I was sure I was going to be disappointed with Lily Allen's set. I was wrong. It's unfair to compare the two. They're in two different leagues and make two different kinds of music. Lily Allen's was very dancey and fun. Amy Winehouse's voice was reminiscent of Ronnie Spector.

3) Lemonheads. Can you believe Goldenvoice arranged to have the Lemonheads play in the same timeslot as Rage? They set Evan up for disaster. But it was cool to be 1 of 150 people watching them play, as opposed to being 1 of 60,000 watching Rage play.

Disapointments

1) Air. I left Lily Allen's set because Sean REALLY wanted to see them. He'd been talking all weekend about seeing them. We show up and 30 minutes after their set was suppose to begin, they still hadn't started playing. 2 minutes after we left, they started playing.

The next group isn't quite a disappointment, they're just not at all what I was expecting:

2) The Good, the Bad and the Queen. They'll have to go in the same category as M. Ward. Love the album, could listen to it forever. But when I see them live I just want to close my eyes and take a nap.

Sad I had to miss
1) Interpol
2) Kings of Leon
3) Tokyo Police Club. This week's Gilmore Gils referenced them at least 5 times. Wish I could have seen what all the fuss was about.
4) Rufus Wainwright. Luckily, we're seeing his "Judy Garland Live At Carnegie Hall" show at the Hollywood Bowl in September. Can. Not. Wait.
5) Rodrigo y Gabriela

Big Thumbs Down (aka: I will never pay to see these guys again)
1) Peeping Tom

Sadly, Danny Devito Watch 2007 was a failure. Sean and I had ZERO sightings. Although our friend Todd saw him onstage when he introduced Peeping Tom. Next year, Danny. Next year.

My 1 celebrity sighting: Adrian Young - of No Doubt and Tim Olyphant's 'sports reporter' replacement on Indie.

Wine Country

Over the weekend Sean and I went to Temecula wine country as part of a friend's birthday celebration. While California's known for it's heavy hitter of wine country (Napa) and Sideways did its fair share of tooting Santa Ynez's wine country horn, Temecula seems to be the Little Engine That Could of California wine country.

Here's a rundown of our day:

Pick-up: A shuttle picked us up at a hotel in Temecula. Shuttle riders consisted of: birthday celebrators; middle-aged women looking to get loaded; and a young couple escaping their child (aka celebrating an anniversary).

Vineyard 1: Callaway Winery

Favorite Wine: Chardonnay

Happy discovery: Viognier - it's incredibly fruity (hints of pear and peach). Delicious.

Callaway was my favorite winery of the 4 we visited. Tasting room had lots of natural light coming in from windows on 3 out of 4 walls and skylights, views of the mountains and vineyard, helpful staff, really good crackers.

Vineyard 2: Wilson Creek Winery
Claim to fame: Almond Champagne. Delicious.
Happy discovery: Chocolate port served in a chocolate shot glass.

This is the Disneyland of wineries. It's all show, no substance. Owner's family is from Pasadena. Sounds like they came into some money, got tired of working and hopped on the wine bandwagon after Sideways came out. The grounds are beautiful - picture perfect. But all winery profits obviously go into the grounds, rather than the grapes. I thought the whites tasted sour and the reds were too tart.

My Favorite Moment

Vineyard 3: Longshadow Ranch
This too seemed like it hopped onto the wine bandwagon. As a ranch, it was great. As a winery... let's just say it was good as a ranch.

Word to the wise: Stay away from the White Merlot.
Happy Discovery: 2 dogs and 2 baby goats.

Vineyard 4: Cilurzo Vineyard
Favorite Wine: Bordeaux Blend (for a white wine drinker like me, this was HUGE discovering a red that I thoroughly enjoyed).

Happy Discovery: Cilurzo Vineyard has a nice duck pond at the top of a hill that looks over their vines. This duck pond is home to the World's Fattest Duck. It's the one sitting down with his head nestled into his body. This picture does it no justice. It would have been better if I'd gotten into the shot to give you some size perspective - but you know my history with ducks. It was better I stayed far, far away.

And that concluded our trip to Temecula wine country. We didn't get a chance to drive to Fallbrook to check out Tori Spelling's new B&B - but we'll make it down there eventually.

I Have No Idea

Location: Melrose Ave in West Hollywood - near the Pacific Design Center.

The first two are easy: two werewolves. Person number two seems to be some poor girl stuck in an upside down whisk. The third person? Homeless person or person dressed as homeless person.

Yes, Grandma - this is apparently what people do in LA on a Sunday afternoon.

Planet Earth

My new favorite show for the moment is Planet Earth. Or as Sean likes to call it "Mortal Stab Wounds From Around Our Dying Planet."

The Discovery Channel is airing a show call "Planet Earth" and it's fantastic. Each hour long show is dedicated to a specific topic, such as Great Plains, Shallow Seas, Desert Plains and so on. One of our Discovery Channels (I think there are about a gazillion variations of Discovery something) is HD. So the show looks AMAZING on our tv. And you know me, show me bright shiny colors and I'm hooked.

Contrary to what Sean says there is very little maiming. He just happens to sit down at the couch at the exact moment the "kill or be killed" fights for survival are on screen.

The most important lesson I have learned from watching this show: I will NEVER go swimming in the shallow seas of Indonesia. There are swarms of attacking sea snakes that feed on the fish that live near the coral reef. Watching that segment on tv gave me heebie-jeebies that I'm still trying to shake off.

Coachella Smackdown

With Coachella only 6 weeks away and the Coachella lineup on my bulletin board at work, I'm starting to prepare my mental "must see" list for the weekend. While I'm excited to see a handful of acts (I'm talking to you Brazillian Girls) I'm really looking forward to seeing Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen in what I have dubbed the "Battle of the Naughty Brit Ingenue."

They're both Brit pop stars who are tabloid darlings across the pond due to their saucy attitudes and penchant for illegal self-medicating ways. (trying to keep this as PG because, well... you know the title of the blog.) Luckily they're playing on different days so there will be no Sophie's choice making there (in a weekend that will be filled with those type of choices). And I'm sure this was a conscious scheduling decision made by show managment.

If you haven't listened to either of these girls I suggest you do so now.

Best Invention Ever

The reusable hot/cold gel pack with ankle guard. Because of this fantastic little device, I can ice my sore ankle and work at the exact same time. Or, if my muscles are feeling tight, I can heat the gel pack and apply gentle heat to the area. It's freaking amazing. Although I have to wonder if my impression of this device is clouded by the slight ache that has become an ever present annoyance in my life for the past 9 days.

I Strained A What?

Saw the doctor this afternoon. I've been reluctant to see a doctor - I mean, it's just a sprained ankle, right? Well, after having no less than 6 people ask me "have you seen a doctor, yet?" I acquiesced. Most notably because because the ankle is still super swollen (it's at least twice the size of my left ankle and it's swollen in weird places) and my foot/ankle is all kinds of shades of blue and green. So the doctor looked at it, poked it, looked at it some more and poked it some more. Had a few x-rays taken. Turns out I strained a tendon. The remedy: doing the exact same thing I've been doing for the past 5 days: ice, elevation, rest. And ibuprofen. The swelling's suppose to go down in 2 weeks and be completely gone in a month.

Thing #1 I learned today: wrapping an ankle in an ACE bandage does absolutely nothing. According to the doctor the ACE bandage does nothing to help the ankle heal.

Thing #2 I learned today: it can take up to a month for swelling to go down. A MONTH! Crazy.

Who Said the Universe Doesn't Like Revenge

5 minutes after this picture was taken...

... I tripped and sprained my ankle. The culprit...


... these shoes + unfamiliar patio = sprained ankle.

Maybe the universe is getting tired of me only doing weird poses whenever someone snaps a picture of me and Sean. And making me trip was its way of getting back at me.

P.S. Thank you Carlos Santana for making a pair of shoes that made the world stop when I saw them at Macy's.

Creating Our Own Happiness

If you're reading my blog you probably already listen to NPR. Which means you probably know about "Morning Edition." Which means you also probably know about the segment "This I Believe."

I didn't get a chance to hear Wayne Coyne (he of the Flaming Lips) recite his segment on NPR, but I heard about it the following day on a completely different radio station (thanks Joe Escalante!). I really liked it and wanted to share it with you.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7572601

My New Toy

I welcomed iPod number 2 into my life yesterday. This doesn't mean I love video iPod any less. It just became a nuisance bringing that to the gym and having it weigh down my arm when I was on the treadmill. (ha! I say that like I actually go to the gym on a regular basis!) This little guy weighs nothing and just clips onto my shirt. Who wants to start the betting pool on how long it'll take before this thing comes flying off my shirt and goes sailing across the gym?

Now if I can just figure out how to put my workout playlist onto this little bugger.

I'm Back

After spending 8 days in Indianapolis (with an unexpected layover and stay in Dallas) I'm finally back home! It feels good to sleep in my own bed and be surrounded by my own stuff. I think what I'll miss the most is having my bed made for me every day by housekeeping... wait, that happens at home (substitute the word housekeeping with Sean). So, what I will miss most is coming home every night to find 2 chocolates on my pillow.

Rather than write a novella-sized recap about the week, here are a few things that I can remember. As the cloud of exhaustion clears from my head and I recall other funny or memorable moments, I'll add to this list:

• Walking to dinner Tuesday night I was reminded why I left Minneapolis for Orange County: I saw a guy scraping ice off his windshield and digging his car out of the street. Looks like the snowplow came through and cleared the street. Too bad his car was still in the street.
• Carrying a box cutter in my back pocket during set up was the best idea ever. Next year, I'll take the Gerber tool. (Do you hear that? That's the sound of my dad beaming and realizing that I am in fact his daughter.)
• Indianapolis does not plow its side streets!!! According to the newspaper article I read, the city does not make it a habit to regularly plow side streets. So when the mayor made an announcement saying they would (due to the horrendous storm that hit the city) it made the paper. Do these people not have family or friends in Chicago? Mayoral elections have been lost due to unplowed streets. People of Indianapolis - rise up! Demand that your streets be plowed!
• After 8 days of setting up and working the show, the connection between my brain and my mouth slowed down to a crawl. I would think of the words in my head but they wouldn't quite come out of my mouth. I sounded like a drunk 3rd grader speaking a language that wasn't native to my tongue.
• My brand new show pants from Banana Republic? Great. Cramming a walkie talkie, box cutter, cell phone, chapstick, keys and pen in the back pockets of those same $100 pants? Not so great.
• Some how my body found a "college lifestyle" reserve somewhere hidden within the recesses of my body. Even though I only had 2 hours of sleep the previous night, I was able to function like a put-together, well-rested, competent adult. I haven't been able to function on no sleep since college. I have NO idea how I pulled that off.
• Sleeping in a hotel room 8 nights has completely dried my skin out. My skin was never this dry when I lived in Minnesota or Illinois, so it's not the winter weather that did it. Next time I travel I'm going to bring my humidifier. Seriously, my skin is so dry it's scaly. Any suggestions?
• I found another dim sum buddy! Although I think I freaked her out because, and these are her words, I'm 'hard core.' Hard core = getting to the restaurant before it opens to stand in line for 30 minutes (as opposed to getting to the restaurant an hour after it opens and waiting in line for 1 hour and 30 minutes).

All in all, we had a great a show and I'm pleased with how it all turned out. I'm happy to be home and sleeping in my own bed.

My First 5K...

... has lead to participating in one 5K every month.

Sean and I participated in the Pacific Shoreline 5K this weekend. He ran it, while I walked it with my friend M (who can really book it even though she's pushing a stroller with 70 lbs worth of kids in it). It was a lot of fun. And somewhere between the walk from the banana stand to the shuttle back to our car, Sean convinced me to participate in one 5K every month with the intention of eventually running every one.

I'll keep you posted.

Why I Love LA

Random celebrity sightings.

This month's random celebrity sighting:

Saturday night we went up to LA to see the M. Ward concert. As we were waiting in the valet line for the car Jason Lee walked right past us and stood in the same valet line. What makes these random celebrity sightings so cool is the fact that we have them at venues and events that we go to on a regular basis - most commonly at concerts. There's something utterly cool about seeing someone you see on TV at a concert for a band you listen to all the time. Like, seeing Sandra Oh stand in the same line you're in to see Thievery Corporation (random celebrity sighting #1).