della reese is the devil
had a really fun weekend. mark’s cousin and his girlfriend came to visit, so we got to gallivant around town with them. i had to work friday night, so mark had dinner with them and then had them over to our place for a while. i won a $25 gas card and a bottle of shiraz at work for winning a sales contest, cause i’m the shit.
saturday brunch was at (where else?) honey’s. then we walked around old city, and did some shopping in rittenhouse. the boys went their own way, and trish and i hit all the girl stores. the sales were in full effect, so i got some great new comfy clothes…an awesome puma track jacket to replace my beloved, broken juicy jacket, some blue smith’s sweatpants, and a white zip-up fleece by north face. when we met up with mark and paul, they were bearing gifts…i got blue-boxed! randomly! and i love it. paul got trish a jacket she had been wanting. so the ladies were happy. =)
dinner was at tangerine. beautiful place, very dramatic look. good food, great drinks. chick pea crepes = YUM. then we took them on a little driving tour of philly…the art museum area, fairmount park, south street, etc. and we called it a night, cause we’re all old like that.
had brunch at the downtown continental sunday morning, and i saw my henry! we actually sat in his section, but his bitchy trainee waited on us, lol. it was a fantastic brunch, though. one can’t ever go wrong with a champagne cocktail and pumpkin waffles (and grits!). i had to work later that night, but it was a nice, low-stress shift.
it was great to spend some time with paul and trish, and get to know trish a little better. they’re very cute together. paul’s ex was apparently pretty psycho. he and mark compared notes on that subject.
had an audition for a production of "proof" on friday. i played claire when i did the show in 2004, but i wanted to be considered for catherine, so i went in with a catherine monologue. i felt great about it. i know that some directors have very specific ideas about type, so i won’t be devastated if i don’t get called back. i just know that i nailed the piece, and that feels good. i would love to do the show again, either role. and this theatre was beautiful, right on the water, only about 30 minutes away.
finally read lonergan’s "this is our youth" the other day. it’s a play that i saw so many scenes from in college, but never actually read. it’s really cool, i liked it a lot.
ok, time to go work out and watch "starting over"…although they’re pulling some stunt and having della reese on today, i think. you know, the crazy lady from "touched by an angel" with the stripe in her hair? yeah. i think i may have lost respect for the show. i suppose i should have lost respect when rhonda put renee in a cage last season, or when she made lisa dress up like a baby, bonnet and all, but…i love that fricken’ show.
music i’m currently loving…the aforementioned robyn album, and also "more adventurous" by rilo kiley. i DARE you not to get choked up at "does he love you?"
Books, Career, Food and Drink, Music, Shopping, Television, Work | Comment (0)walter
little red walter-hood?
this spoiled creature…600 thread-count sheets and down comforters are what he sleeps on
snack attack, muthafucka!
magnolia cupcakes RULE.
my massage at bliss last friday in new york was, well…bliss. the spa was conveniently located adjacent to our hotel.
right afterward, i headed down to brooklyn to meet with craig, the guy who i’ll be working on my demo with. he was very cool, and introduced me to some new music. for instance, remember robyn, the swedish pop singer of "show me love" fame back in 97? her latest album is DOPE. fuck if i knew.
dinner was at panchito’s on macdougal…i have loved that place since i was fourteen. le sigh…
we saw "slava’s snowshow". it was fun, a little boring at times, but fun. it’s very abstract, very visual, but honestly, i felt it lacked substance at times…just that you can only stand there making faces for so long until i call bullshit. the spectacle and underlying themes of the show are very cool, though. overall, a good time.
we popped a very old (1990 vintage) bottle of dom perignon later at the hotel not knowing what to expect. champagne ages differently than other wines, so there was a chance it could have had no bubbles or just strange flavors. but it was absolutely perfect and delicious!
we hit magnolia bakery the next afternoon and loaded up on cupcakes for us, our families, and for the miss america party i went to sat. night. we had actually tried to go the night before, but the line was so long it was ridiculous. did you know they have a guy at the door doing crowd control there? a bakery with a bouncer. let’s all say it together now…only in new york, folks, only in new york.
Food and Drink, Music | Comment (0)happy anniversary to us!
tomorrow is my one year wedding anniversary. does this mean we’re not newlyweds anymore? feh. we’re newlyweds, alright. and i don’t mean that in a nick and jessica kind of way.
i made this for mark last night and felt compelled to show it to him right away for fear that my computer would eat it–it was overheating and acting funny. i was inspired to do this by what bea did for guav, and using windows movie maker for the first time was fun and easy.
click here if you wanna puke, in a good way
he loved it. today, we decided to exchange gifts after work as we grabbed a bite to eat. it is technically the "paper anniversary", and mark had expressed interest in a nice leather folio, so i got him a beautiful caramel-colored one from coach. he got me a beautiful pen and stationary set. ok, cool. and then a few minutes later he grabs a little box from his jacket and plops it on the table in front of me.
a platinum 1 and a 1/2 carat eternity band. holy shit. i was totally not expecting this! i have a very simple, very thin platinum wedding band, but it really compliments my engagement ring well. so i was totally happy with that, but…did i say holy shit? holy shit.
and the festivities continue! nyc tomorrow for a show and a massage at bliss. i am a spoiled girl. spoiled with stuff, as well as the best friend i could ever ask for in my husband. i love you, mark.
EDITED TO ADD: link fixed!
Uncategorized | Comment (1)oprah is a LIAR
been a good week. picked up some extra shifts at work so i can make cheddah. the restaurant has been more fun since heather left and eric took over as g.m. a certain other manager has remained a thorn in my ass, but i’m trying to pretend he doesn’t exist. anyhoo.
mark and i used my work "bonus" (a gift card to any of stephen’s restaurants) at washington square on monday night and had a wonderful, impromptu dinner date. apple sidecars are kickass! last night, we went out for sushi with mark’s work associates at haru, and had another awesome meal. tonight, i cooked mustard salmon, chili crabcakes, and garlic spinach. so we are well fed lately. yum.
so having just gotten back from one vacation, i am already counting the days till the next. mark found an amazing airfare back in september to las vegas that had to be used by feb. 15, so we decided to go for valentine’s day! i have lots of family in vegas and have been there…let’s see…7 times (8, if you include my trip as a fetus in my mama’s belly). but i always love going-there’s no shortage of things to do or people to see. this will be mark’s first time. vegas virgin!
i’m so pissed. i was about to start reading "a million little pieces" by james frey, which my mom got me for christmas, but now with all this controversy, there’s no way i can read it un-biased. i read the smoking gun article. damn.
Books, Food and Drink, Travel, Work | Comments (2)vote, bitches!
please vote for walter in odd todd’s 3rd annual holiday pet photo contest! voting starts friday morning, but you can view entries already here (walter is #33):
http://www.oddtodd.com/holidaypets3/start.htm
vote for walter. he will make all your wildest dreams come true.
Dog | Comment (0)kelley + renee=b.f. 4-ever
so we got back from sunny florida yesterday…this weather blows! it was perfect pretty much the whole time we were down there. a little chilly at night, but never cold, and sunny during the day, but never too hot. *sigh*
when we arrived tuesday evening, we just had dinner and drinks at the hotel, which we found to be pretty bleh overall. not bad, but not luxurious. paper thin walls, musty smell in hallway, unannounced repairs, yah know. but we watched "the 40-year-old virgin" in the room and laughed our asses off.
next morning, i got ready while mark scoped out a beautiful restaurant to have breakfast at. we inquired about celebrating new year’s eve there, but they were booked. doh! then we decided to drive to bal harbour (just north of south beach) for some shopping at the most gorgeous, exclusive mall EVAH. and that’s saying something, considering that i’m from north jersey. i got a fabulous pedicure while mark sat in a coffee shop with his laptop, working his magic…he canceled the last two nights of our reservation in fort lauderdale (which was when the price rose significantly) and booked the sheraton key largo resort using starpoints. they told us we would be upgraded to a jacuzzi suite and given the royal treatment. yippee! so we decided right then to drive down there and check it out. on the way, we had mojitos and ceviche in south beach. key largo is about two hours away, but it was such a nice drive, and we caught a beautiful sunset as we explored the dock at the resort. after a few margaritas, we returned to fort lauderdale.
the next two days were spent tooling around ft. laud. didn’t spend a ton of time on the beach due to very loud, annoying music from a private event, but i relaxed by the pool a bit. we ate at an amazing place called "canyon" where we had some of the best food and service in recent memory. new year’s eve was brief and low key, due to mark not feeling great. we ate a nice meal at a moroccan restaurant and called it an early night.
new year’s day, we had the most relaxing brunch at the hotel victor on south beach, where we were trying to play "spot the celebrity" and failing miserably. until renee zellwegger strolled past us! a very satisfying a-list sighting. then we drove back down to key largo, where our room was not quite ready. we walked down to the beach, where there was a water sports/activity booth. we decided to kill time with a champagne sunset cruise. it was great-thanks captain bruce! mark had a nice chat with a pilot, and expressed his own interest in training to fly. this guy was great, he started quizzing mark about his personality and giving him some really great insight about piloting.
when our room was ready, we were stoked. a huge suite, with a huge jacuzzi tub. i hopped right in, and a few minutes later, a bottle of champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries with whipped cream arrived at our door! we had fun with that, obviously. here’s the deal…when making the reservation, mark told them that we were celebrating our anniversary. which wasn’t exactly a lie, it is coming up in a couple weeks! and he’s platinum with starwood, so it’s upgrade city, baby!
next morning, we found an adorable little diner to have breakfast at that had these huge, amazing biscuits. after going back and forth about it a million times, we decided once and for all to drive down to key west. our concern had been that it was our only full day left, so we should just veg out at the resort. but everyone told us we had to do key west, so off we went! the drive is long-ish but pretty. as soon as we got there, we hopped on wave runners and went nuts. i love those things! it was probably the highlight of the trip. so exhilarating. the water was shallow and crystal clear, and we had a huge area to ride around in. lunch was, of course, "margaritaville" so mark could satisfy his buffet craving and have a cheeseburger in paradise, and after relaxing on the beach for a bit, we headed back to key largo. before dinner, we took a dip in the pool and hot tub and vowed to return to the resort. it was sooo nice and very reasonable. a great place to stay.
and then, sadly, we left early the next morning. but…there’s more. our flight was packed and had a few people flying standby ushered in at the last minute. one of them was renee zellwegger. right across from us. in coach. crazy, huh? when we got of the plane, i was right behind her and her enormous louis vuitton carry-on (but of course). she did not go down to baggage claim because she was waiting for her two friends who had seats in the back of the plane. we figured she wouldn’t be down at baggage, anyway, what with all the people around. but she eventually came down with her friends and stood a couple feet away. of course i was totally conscious of it, but i wasn’t gonna look at her or say anything. and then she turns around and says to me, "hey! i really love your sunglasses! where’d you get them?"
this resulted in a ten-minute conversation, where she introduced me to her friends, told me she loved my whole look (i was totally scrubbed out, too!), and i got the chance to tell her that as an actor, i really admire her work. she was so down to earth and unaffected, it was really refreshing. not holly-weird, like a lot of people.
so, yeah, me and renee are, like, totally close now.
in other news, i read "the da vinci code" at the urging of ilana. i had been hesitant to give in to the hype, but i finally did. i was glued to it in florida! and i stayed up late last night to finish it. the thing is, some of the writing is cheesy and lame. but the story is so engaging, and it moves really fast. i recommend it. it’s an easy read, if nothing else. i liked it.
mark has given me his cold so i feel poopy.
Books, Film, Food and Drink, Health, Travel | Comment (0)