Sparkly Things

I've been a terrible blogger lately. I know. I said I was back, and going to be blogging regularly. Sorry guys. I LIED. I meant it at the time, but then I was busy, and I was tired, and all the travel of the past couple months caught up with me. Throw in a few visitors, and a couple debilitating migraines, and my blog has gone down the tubes for the past couple weeks. BUT NOW, beginning the end of the day today, I will be on vacation for two weeks, which means among other fabulous things, lots of free time to blog as much as I please.

Speaking of fabulous things. How about these shoes? They have been gleaming at me from the window of the Aldo I walk by every single day on my way home from work, begging me to come in, try them on, and take them home. What girl doesn't want to own a sparkly wonderful pair of heels like these? They make me want to put them on and dance the night away all around town in a short little number. Aldo even categorizes them on their website as party shoes. That is how much they just shimmer FUN! JOY! HAPPINESS!

I want them, I need them, I have to own them, but alas. Aldo does not sell shoes in half sizes (Damn them!), so I know they will never fit my feet properly. Yet I'm still considering it. I was at H&M, trying on a very blah, peach and magenta chiffon dress. Everything about it was neutral and boring, except for the FACT that they would pair perfectly with these bad larrys, or GONES if you want to go with the name Aldo gave them. I almost bought said ugly dress just to have an excuse to buy the sparkly footwear to go with it.

Then continue on my walk home, and you pass Urban Outfitters, which has this sparkly number, the Silence and Noise Lords a Leaping dress in the front window. The model in the pic is just not doing it justice. It is a sequined confection that has delicate boning  that you can just tell would push up and scoop low in all the right places.It begs to be worn with a little cleavage, some red lipstick, and perhaps some silver heels. Even as a person who typically hates New Year's Eve, it makes me want to throw this on, and celebrate it every day!

What is it about this time of year that makes a girl crave sequins and sparkles?

Black is the new Brown

Just when your favorite sushi place FINALLY started adding a couple rolls with brown rice to the menu, and that Chinese place you always order from started actually offering the option of brown instead of white, there's a new healthy grain in town to mix everything up again: black rice. The dark morsels are also known as forbidden rice because according to Chinese legend, only emperors were allowed to eat it, and everyone else was prohibited because it was so rare, delicious, and nutritious. Fast forward a few hundred years, and while still uncommon, it is now available at your local Whole Foods.

Black rice is reported to carry the same good for you antioxidants that got blueberries the status of super-fruit over the summer. Except black rice is even better because you receive the cancer-fighting, heart health-promoting anthocyanin antioxidants, but with even more fiber and less sugar than its berry rival. It's even more beneficial when it's eaten in the uncooked, rice bran form. Black rice has quickly gained status as an "it" food, providing you with vitamin E, iron, a host of other nutrients, and additionally working as an anti-inflammatory agent to reduce general infection and illness.

Suggestions for preparing it include replace substituting in any recipe where white or brown rice is called for, but be prepared for the nutty flavor it will add to the dish, and be sure to add a little extra water. Pulverize kernels in your coffee grinder and sprinkle the black rice dust over any dish. Soak the rice and pop in a saucepan with a little oil for a crunchy pop-corn like snack.

Perfect Cuppa Cocoa

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I'm back

There's nothing like a long absence from, well, anything to refresh your fondness for it in the first place. Let's be serious, I was getting straight up annoyed with NYC about a month and a half ago. The flurry of people everywhere, constantly getting in my way, the incessant walking , how gosh darn expensive absolutely everything is was just getting on my nerves. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this city has a way of wearing you down, no matter how much you like it.

Fast forward 7 weeks and after a prolonged period of on again off again traveling for work, I could not be happier to settle down into this city for a while and just.not.go.anywhere. I will resume my regular blogging habits now that I'll have all that extra time that I won't be spending packing and unpacking my tiny pink suit case every couple days.

Instead, I have a packed agenda of eating out, going to bars, viewing every Christmas sight in the city, and going ice skating. And you know what? I'm pretty pumped. Being away has reminded me of everything I missed while I was gone, and the couple things I didn't. 

We'll start with the suck-o parts of NYC:

• Having to make my own bed, and take out my own trash. That was one part of hotel living that I really could get used to. I make a mess, the maid picks it up while I’m at work.
• Walking places when it's COLD and WINDY there is no coat with enough down, no boots with enough fur, and no scarf hat combo that can adequately keep out the winter chill from icy gusts
• The NASTY nasty smells. I got in a cab and had to roll down the window because the body odor/vomit stench was so strong it was making me nauseous
• The lack of country music stations on the radio. Hey, everyone feels like a little Tim McGraw every now and again.

The above listed make me miss my rental car that smelled only of fresh new car scent and my own perfume that I could leave idling until it warmed up to a nice hot temperature.

On the other hand, there are some things that are pretty awesome:

• Not having a car. I know. I just said I missed mine, but then again tonight I plan to go to happy hour, and instead of being stressed about having 1 beer per hour so I can drive home, I can have  2 or 3, or as many as my heart desires with no worries about drunk driving. And you know what else? Getting a little exercise on my way home sure beats looking for a parking spot.
• Ethnic food and healthy eating out options. This is the biggie. Where I was, there was nothing but chain restaurants that relied on frying and soaking in oil to imbue food with a hint of flavor. It’s pretty safe to say that my poor little tummy has been upset and craving veggies for the entire time I was gone. Where I dreaded eating the drab restaurant food for the past few weeks, now I cannot wait to get myself to a Thai place for some Pad See Ew, to order one of 10 salad options from a single restaurant to be delivered to my home, and to get to the grocery store for some whole fruits and veggies.
• My view of the Chrysler building from my desk window. The Maine Capitol building doesn’t hold a candle to my regular view.
• Establishments that stay open past 9pm. What if I want to take a nap after work before starting my evening?
• CHRISTMAS FERVOR. No place does Christmas like NYC period. This weekend alone I will see carolers, a tree lighting, a giant menorah, and drink hot cocoa. Jealous?
• My friends and my vast nail polish collection. Airport security does not look kindly upon those traveling with too many liquids in their carryons, so 5 nail polish options were out.
• Strangers who don’t talk to you. I’m not a morning person, and I appreciate the glares or lack of eye contact I receive from others on my morning commute. I prefer to know that other people are pissed off to be awake too, rather than to smile and make small talk while before I’ve had my coffee at the continental breakfast.

With that said, I’m back, I’m happy to be back, and I’ll stop being an absentee blogger now. Sorry about the little break in posts guys!