I'M SORRY MIRSKY!!!

A certain MR. STEVEN MIRSKY has told me that once again I have not been living up to my expectations from others as a blogger- it’s holiday season and I’m BUSY!!!! However I’m very happy to report that I will not be going back to work until January 5th! TYMFJ- figure it out J So I have 10 days of nada, sleeping in, going out, doing what I want during the day and Mr. Mirsky- sure I’ll be able to post more blogs for you, hoo-rah.

So officially I’m excited for break and Christmas. I have no idea what I’m getting which is what happens every year because I never have a wish list. Today couldn’t possibly go any slower at work, don’t want to be here, desperately need it to be 3:00 when I can leave!

I know the economy is bad and all, but for us in this area I don’t think its hit hard yet. I have to say the prices on gifts this year were dramatically less, so much so that I ended up buying multiple gifts for my family members- my little sister made bank this year as all of the things I wanted to get her were surprisingly inexpensive. Places such as Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel (where some holiday purchases were made) all had their post-Christmas sales before Christmas!

Things I most enjoy about the holidays:
1. Christmas music
2. Christmas lights- although I’m disappointed in my neighborhood, go to the Mormon Temple- DO NOT GO INSIDE- i will discuss later on.
3. Food
4. Friends coming home
5. No work!!!

To discuss #2- Go see the lights at the Mormon Temple because it really is pretty, but if you don't want to engage in disussion with members of the church then don't go inside. I say this after last year... Sisters and brothers will come up to you spreading the good word of the book. I must say that we set ourselves up for it. WE were the ones going inside of these people's place of worship, but I really didn't know, I should have, but i didn't so below is a slightly awkward story which happened to me last year

I went with 2 friends to go see the lights and we decided to go inside and take a break from the brisk air. Not long after stepping through the doors we were approached and I became more than socially awkward. I'm not a religious person and to have someone talk about Jesus filling their heart was a little much for me. I don't judge or look down on people like that, it was just awkward. So in an attempt to scare off the girl with a white blouse and long black skirt i blurted out "I'm Jewish" and literally whipped my head to my friend out of utter embarassment and shock that I said that. As you all know I'm a halfie, but it seemed like a good enough excuse to just say it. It did not deter this girl from explaining to me how Jesus and Jews can come together and act as one, but she was very nice and said bye as my one male friend decided to furthur engage in conversation with her, Elise and I stepped outside. The point is is dont go inside and be surprised like I was. It's not a bad thing, but if you'd rather keep to yourself, remain outside.

Oh and just a quick and random note: As I sit at work doing nothing typing a band of protestors are outside drumming on their plastic buckets and smacking tambourines. I love these people and find them a part of the true holiday spirit. They’re protesting some architect/construction firm; HOWEVER, these people don’t actually work for the architect/construction firm. They are paid to protest and their musicality is awesome. It’s similar to a GDS go-go one might have attended in 8th/9th grade.

Until next time… perhaps I’ll write about Gossip Girl next.

Well Hello- Post Thanksgiving and Holiday Fun

I’ve been reminded I haven't been updating- I know, oops. I’ve been hellaciously (not a real word so don’t try and spell check it) busy. If you were around this Thanksgiving then you should’ve had a good time… if you didn’t- I don’t know what’s wrong with you :). Wednesday, obviously good. This year there was no long line, waiting outside, windows being broken by asses and the company was great. I think we have a new Thanksgiving tradition- Sapphire. Again, if you didn’t have fun something must have been wrong because it wasn’t the venue, but the company that made the weekend more than enjoyable- YAY FRIENDS!

Although I don’t officially get a winter break I am very happy to be taking the whole week of Christmas-New Years (until Jan. 5) off YAYYYY!!! Stay tuned for a possible day trip for skiing/snowboarding whatever you like- Nina and I will get back to you.

The holidays are coming up and again more fun things to go around this year. The menu, whatever is going on, plus My Brothers Place on New Years. I’m up for paying $50 compared to last years’ $100 tab which resulted in my decision to stay at my friends house- which was nice and pleasant but I want to dress up and be with everyone.

What do you think of New Years resolutions??? I don’t know how I feel about them. I think it’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself to absolutely promise and swear to yourself you’re going to do this thing and that you HAVE to because its your NYR (New Years Resolution). I think that’s why sometimes they don’t work. For instance I have a friend who has tried to quit smoking for 3 years… still hasn’t happened.

Why New Years? Why not make resolutions when you want to? The point of New Years is to just have fun, be with your friends, and be excited for the next 12 months and whatever they may bring- that’s what I do :)

What do I look forward to for 2009- endless possibility.

P.S. Scythian, our favorite Irish band will be at Harp & Fiddle in Bethesda next Thursday- most of us will be taking the following Friday off!

Twilight

I am not going to sit and have you read about why I’m the movie’s # 1 fan because I find it creepy when people do that and devote their undying love for a film or its actors. I will say that I am a big fan of the movie, and although I have not read the books (tisk tisk shame on me) I plan on borrowing them from my friend Elise in exchange for giving her a copy of the soundtrack.

Twilight is the next great pop-film phenomenon and it’s not hard to understand why. Since I haven’t read the books I can only comment on the film. It’s endearing, mysterious, dark, awkward, funny, and romantic. True love between an immortal superb being named Edward and the love of his life, Bella- a fragile girl who is intrigued by the complicated wit and charm of her vampire prospect.

The soundtrack is great with songs by Mutemath, The Black Ghosts, Paramore, Muse, Collective Soul and Carter Burwell- you’ll even get some classical pieces in there that fit nicely in the film. Leading man Robert Pattinson also has two original songs on there, that you don’t hear in the film.. I don’t think.

I’ll definitely be seeing this again because...
a) I liked it so much
b) I want to see where the music was in each scene of the film

c) Elise and I have a thing for Robert Pattinson, it's healthy I promise you. But there's something about a slightly awkward, seemingly complex guy..

I would not be surprised if the pale skinned, awkward guys in high schools who sit in the back of the class room start to get more attention from the girls they knew, but never talked to.

Looking forward to moving to London next spring! PS stay tuned for photos and posts from this upcoming Thanksgiving Shinanigan week!

Thanksgiving Shinanigans!

Simply put, this is the craziest weekend for us BCC'ers. More people and probably more outlandish stories since it all gets jam packed into one weekend. Everyone who attended BCC High School looks forward to Thanksgiving weekend. Why? Because it's 4 straight days of absolute ridiculous-ness, tradition, parties and being with friends and family you haven't seen.

Wednesday- CHADWICKS. This has been a BCC tradition for years. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving everyone goes to Chadwick's. Some people wonder why a school located in the middle of Bethesda wouldn't choose a bar to go to there… but we're smart. Chadwick's was chosen for a simple reason- it stays open later than Bethesda bars! And the metro is right there which means us BCC'ers are extremely responsible and don't drive on the biggest drinking night of the year (yes this is true!) I'm more than looking forward to seeing everyone I haven't seen since summer or since last Thanksgiving!

Thursday- Thanksgiving. Bring on the glorious food.

Friday- Annual BCC Football Game being held somewhere. And then there is the toughy. The class of 2003 is having their 5th year high school reunion. However, there is a small amount of concern due to the fact that it costs $30 for 3 hours and some people :

a) don't know if it's worth the $30

b) will have seen everyone they wanted to see at Chadwick's

c) are 100% positive they are going to Thanksgiving Throwdown at Sapphire the following night (which people are agreeing is worth more than the reunion). ehh.....

Saturday- Thank you Graham! We're taking over the bar and celebrating the last night of the Thanksgiving weekend. Dance party in the front, beer pong and or whatever drinking games people think of in the back. Get ready for lots and lots of pictures courtesy of EVERYONE.

MORE than looking forward to it! Stay tuned...

Brotherly Love & Great Food!

This past weekend was family weekend up at Drexel University where my little sister is sailing through her freshman year. She didn't have any adjustment period, she was ready to venture off in a new city and be on her own. This was my second trip to Philly and it seems that every time I go my visit affirms that I will be coming back. We've done the whole eat a philly cheese steak from Ginos until you get sick thing so now when we go its more of to visit the city that we really like.

Our family enjoys food- we love it (which you might not believe since all of us are relatively small like Who's). However if there is one thing we always look forward to on any kind of trip we take it's the new restaurants and cuisine we get to experience. I love where I'm from and very proud to call myself a Washingtonian/Bethesdan, however, Philly has better restaurants and better food.

TOP 3 RESTUARANTS

Barclay Prime. I die. Tucked in the corner of 18th Street in Rittenhouse Square is a treasure. The Barclay Prime. I ate Kobe beef. That's all I need to say- I ate Kobe beef and it was magic. The meat literally melts in your mouth and my sister was happy to share as the table became more family style as we all started sampling eachothers food. I didn't speak the entire meal because I was to involved with the food. Barclay Prime makes their own gourmet tater-tots. I'm done. We didn't get dessert as we were too full and I clouched back into the forest green velvet sofa we were sitting on. Intimate yet contemporary- Barclay Prime is a must. Click the link below, however I do not condone the music playing on the website.
http://www.barclayprime.com/

The Parc Restaurant. Step inside to find yourself in an early 20th century Parisian cafe with antiqued mirrors, bulb lamps and mosaic tiled floor. If you want to feel warm and cozy, and pleasantly full I suggest eating here. The weather may not be perfect, but the windows are open and the heat lamps radiate a warming buzz so you can't feel any brisk air. The omlettes are perfection, fluffy and packed with flavor. Whatever you crave, heavy or light, you are sure to find something to enjoy at The Parc Restaurant.
http://www.parc-restaurant.com/

Lacroix. Not a French restaurant- I still can't figure out how the chefs put together dishes that have unbelievable depth when it comes to flavor. Lacroix is special because you can do a couple of things when you order: You can order one dish and many side dishes or you can just eat the sides they are that good. Try the blueberry risotto, brussel sprouts with black truffles or cheese brocollini. It's not fair how some people are born with a gift to cook. You are made to feel attended to in every way possible as you don't have 1 waiter, but several matre d's who make your dining experience most pleasurable with their team efforts.

http://www.lacroixrestaurant.com/

NOTE: Parc Restaurant and Barclay Prime are both owned by Stephen Starr- BRAVO TO YOU SIR!

OH, but my absolute favorite memory from the trip??? The night my entire family watched Wall-E in our hotel room. The hotel brought up treats and milk in sippy cups with helium balloons attahed to them. I look over and there's my dad... Legs dangling off the side of the master bed, caramel apple in one hand, sippy cup in the other, watching Wall-E. Giggling from all ensued, except for dad who was focused on the film <3

History Being Made...

It didn't matter if you voted red or blue, conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat, donkey or elephant, Obama or McCain- history was going to be made last night and it was. Barack Obama is our President-elect, until his official inauguration in January.

I stayed up last night which seemed to fly since this time as we new right at 11:00 pm that Barack had swept up California, Washington, and Oregon which would give him the 270+ electoral votes.. but enough about what happened last night because we all know...

I just want to say how amazing it was to go to bed last night and wake up this morning thinking how I am a part of history. This is my 2ND time voting in a Presidential election, but it was the first time I felt my vote stood for something and really mattered. What I found incredible was the fact this morning we saw Barack Obama had 349 electoral votes which isn't even the official number. This was a huge win, something I don't remember happening in other elections of my lifetime.

Change is definitely here- I think this election stood for something bigger than ourselves. This election has brought change to the ways of old politics and will forever change the face (no pun intended) of democracy. His speech was powerful, moving, yet extremely humble. This is the new generation of politics and I'm so excited to be a part of it.

I went on Facebook this morning to see what some of my friends were saying, both Obama and McCain supporters and found their status posts fascinating.. here are a few (who shall remain nameless).

" It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America"

" Is still drunk, but celebrated the landslide with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid"

" Is suffering through all the nonsense"

"Is proud of his counrty"

" Is thrilled to be alive during this historic time"

" Had the night to sleep on it and is still pissed"

"Is glad she made her own political choices and not one her parents raised and made for her"

"Is emotionally overloaded, blessed for all I have, but pained by what i see"

" Is proud to be AMERICAN! MY VOTE COUNTED AND SO DID YOURS!"

" Is on Barack Cloud 9. I drank the Koolaid and it tastes good!"

" Is thanking Baby Jesus"

I've already saved a few newspapers (one to read and one to save) and I can't wait to see what happens to this country. Things can only get better and I have an awesome respect for the man who will lead us back to greatness.

Happy Halloween Weekend

I don't think I've had so much fun on Halloween (it absolutley helped that Halloween fell on Friday this year and hope everyone can say the same thing!) And I'll give another shout out to my little sis whose birthday is Halloween! Despite having work the next day at 10AM there was no question about going out and there was a menu of festivity options to choose from. For cab reasons we planned on going to Ireland's 4 P's then meeting up with friends after... well 4 P's just turned out to be to much fun and we never made it to the party.

I was surprised that when we walked in all eyes turned on us since we (Elise and I) were the only people with full-fledged face paint on and Karna rocked her Mardi Gras Chicken hat adorned with beads. Not wanting to do anything complicated we kept it simple : regular clothes, painted faces and chicken hats.

Scythian was there (as noted in a previous post) and they were excellent as usual. We even got a shout of from them on stage when they thanked the "2 dead pandas" for coming out. The shouter-outer even snapped a photo with us(left).

Cider, one-handed hand clapping... the usual. The only somewhat unfortunate part of the night was Elise and I both wrecked our red suede shoes.. sigh, but all in all I'd say the the evening was fantastic!!!

SIDE NOTE: This week is going to have lots of important and historic (cross your fingers) things happening (cough cough)... MAKE SURE TO VOTE! So I'll probably be writing a little more than usual this week... until then.

Pure Bliss Baked Daily

Unfortunately I can't take credit for the line above... it belongs to Georgetown Cupcake. People who know me know that I love cupcakes. I love eating them and I love baking them. In fact, something I (along with my friend Elise) always thought would be fun would to be opening a cupcakery of our own.

Washington Post's Cupcake Wars lists all of the top places to get cupcakes in the Washington DC area who will battle for glory in hopes of becoming "Washington's BEST Cupcake".. I will be staying tuned. I can only speak about Georgetown Cupcake (Georgetown) and Hello Cupcake (Dupont Circle) from personal experience. Georgetown Cupcake wins.

Hello Cupcake is great if you're looking to eat something that tastes like you made it. They're more expensive than Georgetown Cupcake and their flavor and presentation don't come close. It's also a little hard to find if you don't know exactly where it is as a co-worker and I wandered the streets of Dupont Circle for 15 minutes looking for it and finally spotted the pink flower decals on the window.

Georgetown Cupcake uses only the freshest and most unique ingredients to make their cupcakes. It's worth the line you will most likely wait in and the $2.50 you'll spend on 1 cupcake as it definitely doesn't taste like it came from a box.

A couple months ago GC didn't have it's shizz together and would open late, close early, and run out of cupcakes (GHASTLY!) Not anymore- they've hired more people, more bakers and always have one person taking orders, one person running the cash wrap and one person boxing your petite gateau to get you in and out.

This Friday is not only Halloween (come to Ireland's 4 P's!), but the floor I work on is having a cupcake day- from Georgetown Cupcake. So much to look forward to!

Georgetown Cupcake
http://www.georgetowncupcake.com/
1209 Potomac Street, NW
Georgetown

Let it FADO!!!

It’s been 7 months since Scythian has played at DC Irish Pub Fado, but they’re back!!! Scythian kind of sounds like it would be hard core heavy metal, not at all (you’ll never read about me going to something like that ) It’s celtic/folk/irish rock music- not as harsh as Drop Kick Murphey’s, but same idea and they’re awesome.

A couple weeks back we noticed Scythians line up was anywhere and everywhere except for DC and there wasn’t a sign of their return to Fado. Disappointed that perhaps our local favorites got “too big” for the area they managed to get 2 shows in for October… one happened to be last Thursday.

Somehow the thought of waking up early, going to work, and functioning like a normal person slips your mind as you drink your ale of choice, sing, stomp, jump and clap your hands. The band seems to manage convincing people quite easily to stay until the lights come up and everyone is officially kicked out (around 2 AM)- and it’s always worth it.

Don’t come to Fado when Scythian is there wearing your favorite blouse or pair of shoes. it Don’t come if you easily get offended if people shove and push you and most likely will spill a little beer on you- it just happens while everyone is dancing and singing. If you don’t think you’re “that kind of person” I dare you to try and come sometime and not have fun.

Next Show:
October 31, 2008
4 P’s in Cleveland Park
3412 Connecticut, Ave. NW,
9:00 PM

South Moon Under

Am I slightly biased? Absolutely…

For fun I work at South Moon Under in Bethesda on Saturdays. Working Monday through Friday 8:30 AM- 5:30 PM behind a desk in corporate America can be somewhat draining. It’s not that I don’t like my job or the people I work with, but I need my fun. Working at South Moon Under is my mini-creative outlet and allows me to do something I really love. When it comes to fashion I DIE (in the words of Ms. Rachel Zoe herself).

South Moon Under is a small chain of boutique stores that has laid back, yet fashionista styles of clothing. We have everything from plain white tee-s by C&C California to Marc by Marc Jacobs bags.

The store understands that the economy is in a poop bowl stage right now, but we have awesome items that are extremely affordable like White Mountain suede boots for $49.00- in fact all of our shoes are reasonably priced.

We do carry high end items such as Juicy Couture, Ella Moss, Frye, Paige Denim, etc. which can run you a couple hundred dollars. However, my theory on purchasing any type of item, whether it be clothes, home accessories, etc. is this.. IT’S AN INVESTMENT.

Don’t buy something if you know you’re not going to get phenomenal use out of it. I’m not knocking stores that sell similar items for way cheaper, because at many of those stores you can’t tell the difference between a Forever 21 sweater vest and that of one from Nordstrom. However, South Moon Under prides itself on carrying the highest quality merchandise to make sure your purchase (s) last a long time.

Whenever I buy anything regardless of price I ask myself a couple of things:

1. How practical is the purchase? Will I wear this often?
2. Will this be out of style by next season?
3. Am I confident in the garment?
4. Is this a NEED or a WANT- yes there is a difference

South Moon Under as a company prides itself on giving the customer exceptional customer service. In Bethesda, our customers are our friends. If you walk in on any day you will probably see us girls hugging our clients and catching up with them on work, their kids, or just life in general because we care. It’s not just about selling at South Moon Under since we ARE NOT a commission-based company. It’s about establishing a relationship with the customer since they trust as their mini Rachel Zoe’s and fashion guides.

Come visit!
www.southmoonunder.com

Wildwood Center
10247 Old Georgetwon Road
Bethesda, MD 20814
301.564.0995

Welcome!!!

A co-worker of mine showed me her blog she very recently created and I loved the idea. I’m not a writer, but I tend to always have something to talk about. In August 2008 I attended a Business Writing and Grammar seminar that I really didn’t want to attend, but thought it would be a good idea to refresh my memory when it came to proper grammatical skills.

The speaker was fabulous- thanks Gerry! Not only was Gerry energetic and fun, but she made you want to become a better business writer. Even furthur than that she purposed the idea that anyone can be a real writer. Everyone has a story to tell and explained that if you were to sit down and just write random thoughts for a half hour every day, in incomplete sentences, that didn’t make sense for one year, you’d have a novel.

I don’t think this blog will become my personal diary, but my goal is to write about something every week- without a theme- so this blog will be pretty random, like me :)

Oh and the reason for the name of this blog is pretty simple-- blue is one of my favorite colors and SMEE is the name I have chosen for the English Bulldog I want to get one day (hence the picture you see at the top).

Enjoy!