the fabulous olivia posted a blog entry today about celebrating the fourth of july in the UK, and i was particularly intrigued by an event she mentioned which will be serving “american food.”
unfortunately, they did not actually provide a LIST of the food, which disappointed olivia (and me) dreadfully.
so since i like thinking, talking and writing about food, and since i’m feeling esp. patriotic after my fireworks post, i’ve decided to post today about american food.
uh, so, i found that picture when i did a google image search for hamburger, and it’s clearly a sign that i should populate this post with pictures of american food costumes, preferably for babies.
maybe at another point in the future i will write just about that particular costume, because i have questions like, “does this make you want to eat yr baby?” and “if you put lots of babies in this costume, could you then stack them?” and “would a turtle mistake the baby for another turtle?”
anyway!
first, because i am v. scholarly, i decided to do some internet research.
on the msnbc site, i found “10 foods that make america great,” which sounds suspiciously like the title of the elementary school history fair project of my dreams. hello BLUE RIBBON.
anyway, i will save you the time and annoyance of having to learn the history of these food items by listing them below, along with my own enriching comments as well as the baby food costume pictures, which i’m now thinking are really the point of this entry but it’s too late for me to change course.
1. clam chowder
well, ok, sure. i mean, it doesn’t really come to mind when i think “american,” but it does have a sort of revolutionary war ring to it.
I KNOW, i know. that is definitely NOT a clam chowder costume. but it came up when i googled “clam chowder costume” and i just… wow.
2. pastrami
to be honest, i don’t think i really know what pastrami is. i suppose i could read about in the article but… meh. it seems like a new york thing, though, and therefore i’ll accept it.
there apparently isn’t much of a market for “pastrami costumes” but when i did the search, i found this picture, and i think spam is SUPER american, so i’m including it. that guy isn’t a baby, obviously, but he is v. happy about being spam. also, for some reason, i’m getting a mime vibe.
3. shoefly pie
what is… no.
PEOPLE. everyone know it’s APPLE pie. i don’t even LIKE apple pie, but i feel the need to defend its status as the all american dessert.
speaking of no… WTF.
4. smithfield ham
ok, did someone’s grandmother write this article?! where is the MAC N CHEESE?
you guys, like i even had a choice about using this picture.
5. po-boys
now HERE’S an item i can get behind, being a louisiana girl and all. no, it’s not a sandwich, it’s a PO-BOY, which is a great illustration of american attitude. “no, it’s not kilometer, it’s a MILE. GAH.”
this picture popped up when i googled “po boy costume,” and i decided to post it. because it’s still a *food* costume, and the internet says it is somehow connected with “po boy costume” so there.
6. fajitas
what?!! everyone knows fajitas are tex-mex, and “mex” stands for “mexico,” which is clearly a different country than america.
i SWEAR this came up on my fajita costume search. i swear.
7. chicago hot dogs
well, DUH msnbc. finally, something 100% USA red white and blue, no question. they may be full of mystery meat, but they’re cheap and can be mass produced. and americans believe in that.
finally! a costume that is the actual food i’m talking about! i’m beginning to grasp the serious dearth of food options in the baby costume world… this industry is in a sad state, my friends.
8. chile verde
you have got to be kidding me.
yeah, i know, it’s not verde. plus, it’s a little too anne geddes for me.
9. san francisco sourdough
why does san francisco get all of the attention here? i would’ve gone with wonderbread.
i know it sounds weird to say this after seeing all of the other images i’ve posted on this entry, but there’s just something… off about this costume. like, i think those arms were photoshopped on to the image. HEEBIE JEEBIES.
i guess i shouldn’t be surprised, cos i got that costume off a site that also features this photoshopped wonder:
YIKES.
10. olympia oysters
ok, you know what? if the food item doesn’t have a baby costume associated with it, it’s obviously NOT that great, nor is it that american, because people aren’t trying to make the most money possible out of it. so oysters, guess what. you’re NOT that big of a deal, cos babies don’t want to dress like you. there’s not even a clam costume for goodness sake.
recently, posh deluxe and several other Food Operatives decided to investigate a new culinary development near the UT campus. this mission was so vital, in fact, that it required a team of SEVEN extensively trained, highly skilled agents.
i’m talking, of course, about the new cupcake shop in austin, polkadots.
i think it’s obvious by now to everyone that reads this blog that i have a v. passionate (some might say obsessive) relationship with cupcakes. therefore, i considered it my duty to investigate this new source of tasty business and then share the results of my mission with you, because OBVIOUSLY you need this type of research in order to go on with eating cupcakes, i.e. living yr life. given the importance of this investigation, i want to provide you with as much information as possible, so i have posted full reports below from all of the agents on my team.
i’m incredibly thankful for this talented group of operatives, because i discovered that polkadots offers WAY too much deliciousness for one person to handle.
exhibit A: my bailey’s irish cream cupcake and a carton of wholesome milk.
and now, agents, let us proceed with the deliciousness debriefing!
the posh report:
ok, first off, i’ll admit that i’m not a huge frosting fan (except when it comes to fudge or cream cheese. NOM). so the frosting, while light and soft and NOTHING like that sugary grocery store crap, was a little too much for me. i think most people would enjoy it, though, esp. cos the delicious scent of bailey’s wafted from the airy folds of frosting. the cake itself was EXCELLENT– moist, cake-y and full of tasty irish cream flavor. most of all, it wasn’t *too* sweet, which is one of my Major Cupcake Rules. this cupcake + ice cold milk + a porch + a sunny afternoon = best way to gain calories ever.
the selina report:
my pumpkin cupcake was deeelish! The pumpkin had a good touch of spice to it and was super moist! The cream cheese frosting perfectly complimented the flavor of the pumpkin, was a good amount in proportion to the cake, and wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet…just the way I like it.
the erica g. report:
When I go to a new place I always get the standards so that I can easily compare (much easier to compare apples to apples). I went with the classic vanilla cake with chocolate icing. Polkadots put their own twist on the cupcake by adding the chocolate crumb topping and two gummy worms to give it the ‘mud’ look, and it really worked out. The vanilla cake had the perfect amount of moistness that is necessary in a cupcake, not too dry. The icing was a nice smooth consistency, not overly sugary but of the right creaminess texture. The chocolate crumbs on top just added that extra chocolate zest that I didn’t even know I needed. The gummy worms were a delicious surprise at the end of a perfect cupcake. Outstanding job Polkadots!!
the erica f. report:
Not surprisingly to those who know me and my lack of decision-making skills, I had a hard time deciding on which cupcake to try because they all sounded so yummy. I decided on Triple Chocolate because there was only one left, so it seemed like a sign from the cupcake gods just for me. When I got it, I hoped that triple chocolate meant that there was a special chocolatey surprise in the middle, but then when I looked more closely I realized that the three chocolates were probably the cupcake, the frosting, and the decorations on top. I was okay with that. Once I took a bite, though, I realized that it should have been called Quadruple Chocolate, because there was indeed a dense, dark, gooey chocolate center! And it was delicious.
the teresa report:
The coconut cupcake was delightful with some toasted goodness on top. The strawberry icing was the kind that you would love as a child, but maybe not so much as an adult. Regardless, the extra spongy cake made you want to say “heaven” outloud. Would I eat another one? Yes? Do I want to try them all? Of course.
the amber report:
For a gal that’s really not into sweets (gasp, yes we do exist) the yummy cinnamon cupcake from Polkdots was enough to sway me. Though the cinnamon cupcake lacks a ‘fru-fru’ and colorful exterior, its soft, moist and cinnamony taste has me craving more! Polkdots has made a believer out of me.
the hilary report:
My lemon cupcake’s icing was airy and had just a hint of sweet-tart lemony flavor. It successfully avoided that revoltingly crusty and sugary consistency that grocery-store cupcake icing has. Quality, people. Quality. Overall, my cupcake was tasty, but what really makes Polkadots a stand-out is the story of its owner (I’m counting on Sarah to cover the details of the human-interest angle) and the unique and independent flavor behind the business itself.
thank you, agents, for yr excellent detective work and analyzation. you have saved countless lives from death by lack of good cupcakes.
as hilary mentioned, the lovely owner of polkadots came out to the porch to introduce herself. here’s a shot of her and her husband:
don’t you want to buy cupcakes from them? yes, yes you do.
apparently, we were the largest group thus far to grace the porch of polkadots, so the owner lady (i have sadly forgotten her name, lost in the mist of a sugar haze) brought us some free cookies. agents don’t accept bribes, obviously, but we ate them in the name of Research (our academic conclusion? YUM).
she then proceeded to tell us, in the most earnest, charming way possible, that polkadots represented the achievement of her life’s dream! she graduated from UT a few years ago with a degree in engineering, worked for a while and then decided to risk it all by taking some culinary classes then opening up her own cupcake cafe.
i don’t think i have to tell you that she totally had the right crowd for this kind of story. all of us listened with rapt attention, nodding and smiling and throwing in the occasional, “you are AMAZING!” by the end, i felt like this woman was the commencement speaker for our graduation from Dream College.
based on the careful investigation of myself and my highly professional team of agents, i urge each and every one of you in the austin area to give polkadots a try. not only will you be rewarded with some tasty business in yr tummy, you will also be supporting one v. lovely lady’s dream!!! it’s like, the best of both worlds!! deliciousness and the human struggle for meaning!
and don’t worry about thanking us. this is what we do, because we’re professionals.
i now present to you, the best barbie i have ever seen. hint: if mattel makes a barbie version of this movie, I AM WATCHING THE PANTS OUT OF IT.
i remember, as a kid, discovering that the live action “alice in wonderland” TV movie was actually the most terrifying thing i’d ever seen (possibly inspiring my most fearsome nightmare, the trembling pig lady). now i realize that i had every right to be scared out of my pants.
vulture’s undertaken the vital task of uncovering the Big Hit Song of the Summer, a.k.a. “the next umbrella.” so far, i’m totally voting for estelle. have you guys heard her whole album? totes my summer jam.
you know how the shuffle function on yr ipod or itunes doesn’t really, like, work? well, NPR asked a mathematician (with a charming accent!) to explain how “random” isn’t actually ever random.
as if our government’s torture methods weren’t bad enough, now we find out that they were totally plagiarized! gah! we can’t even be original in our methods of inflicting pain!
fashion week continues with the fabulousness known as christian lacroix.
future sarah gift ideas to be found here (thanks, randy!).
erica, henri and i spent our last day of the trip in cancun, being rich.
and so today, i present to you a step-by-step guide of how we did it, so that you too can be rich, should you ever find yrself in cancun (or, really, anywhere. it helps if there’s a pool).
i will preface this guide by stating, as i mentioned yesterday, that we got a really good rate at our hotel thanks to erica. so if you want to *feel* super rich without the actual money to back it up, i recommend exploiting yr friends for any and all discounts.
and with that, let the lesson commence!
1) decide to spend the entire day at an uber posh resort
when you’re staying at a place that has a pool, nay, a series of pools that look like this, there is no need to set foot off of hotel grounds. esp. since, beyond the grounds, there might be poor people.
plus, rich people don’t need to work, so spending an entire day by the pool is pretty much their standard MO.
2) pick the best spot at the resort and OWN IT
we chose the nearby infinity pool, which earns its name by appearing to drop off, for all eternity, into the ocean. since erica arrived early, she claimed the poolside bed with the best view:
how do i *know* it’s the best view in the whole resort? well, uh, maybe because it’s IMMORTALIZED ON OUR ROOM KEY.
seriously, we are PROFESSIONALS at being rich. it’s almost sick.
here’s what the poolside beds look like, fyi:
imagine spending the ENTIRE day on one of those beds. that’s what we did, because that’s what rich people do. they LOUNGE.
3) act like you’re rich
rich people *know* they’re rich, and this knowledge infuses their every action with richness. therefore, you have to *feel* like you’re rich, so that you can consequently act accordingly.
it often helps if you wear a bland, slightly bored expression while doing something that 99.1% of the earth’s population never gets to do.
“yeah, so i’m drinking a margarita in a white bed by the infinity pool here in cancun on the perfect day. AND? sigh… je m’ennuie.”
but if you accidentally goof up by smiling really big cos you realize you’re hanging out in a gorgeous pool with yr dad, that’s ok, too. don’t forget that rich people are still HUMAN.
4) order way more drinks than you will actually need
rich people waste money all of the time, kind of like how you might not pick up a penny if you drop it on the ground because, you know, it’s just a penny. to rich people, it’s just, like, money. and since rich people HATE to run out of things, they always over-order. you know, “i’ll take two of everything on the menu.” so, when it comes to ordering margaritas by the pool, don’t be skimpy. esp. when it’s happy hour.
5) order room service
i shouldn’t have to tell you this, but i will. room service is over priced, and that is EXACTLY why rich people order it. this is a v. tasty way to be AND feel extravagant, so by all means, order from the poolside waiter named jesus. and whatever you do, *don’t* ask how much things cost. first of all, rich people could care less about prices. second, you actually really don’t want to know.
6) hand feed exotic creatures
rich people are constantly surrounded by exotic animals, whether they serve as pets, household curios or targets on the annual african safari. even the most rare of species elicit v. little surprise from rich people, because they know they could buy it and put a rhinestone collar on it with the spare change in their wallets.
for example, lots of rich people have peacocks littered about the lawn. peacocks are like the gnomes of the elite.
and so, if a peacock approaches you, do not hesitate to feed it a piece of pineapple, as this is a lesson all rich girls learned in the hallowed halls of northeastern boarding schools. hand feeding exotic animals is a sign to the world that you are a refined lady of great wealth and breeding.
7) end the day with a lavish steak dinner
everyone knows that rich people love to eat big, expensive steaks. so, after yr relaxing day by the pool, make sure you treat yourself to a meal at a nearby steakhouse, preferably one that shows you the raw meat before they cook it, so that you can inspect it for yrself. after all, rich people have v. high, exacting standards, and they have to make sure that everything in their vicinity is *perfect.*
during the meal, it’s important to insist on excess. not only do rich people love wasting things, they also want everything taken to the Next Level.
for example, regular french fries aren’t enough. for rich people, french fries must come in a waffle fry bowl.
and of course, don’t forget yr table manners.
LESSON CONCLUDED.
now go forth, and be rich!
LINKS
oh you must must MUST watch this NYT video on the international high school prom in brooklyn. it’s like, a global squee (and angelina jolie & brad pitt already want to make a movie about it! seriously!).
squee of the day: OMG!!! A MALTESE PUPPY ON WHEELS!!!!!!! she actually kind looks like a toy dog i used to drag around on a rope when i was two. except WAY MORE CUDDLEY.
i never thought i would say it, but this texas congressman is totally awesome for turning the tables on TMZ (thanks becky for the link).
i’m really sorry i didn’t update my blog while i was gone. it turns out that internet wasn’t free AND was only in the lobby, and honestly i didn’t feel like paying money for what was sure to be a slooow connection. plus, i got a REAL vacation– no phone, no email, not even celebrity gossip! i was like, caveman pants!
but now i’m back, and i’m ready to share the PANTS out of my trip with you. i hope you haven’t taken me off of yr feeds for lack of posting (put me back! put me back!)… i promise i took lots of good pictures and videos to make up for my absence.
so let’s get started!!! i’ve got my blogging pants back on and THEY FEEL GOOD!
so, monday morning, i had to get up EARLY (5 AM = pain) so i could load up thomas and then pick up henri so we could be at the airport by 6:45. see, our plane wasn’t leaving until 8:45 BUT i was nervous and wanted to be super duper early since we were flying viva aerobus.
for those of you who don’t know, viva aerobus is the discount mexican airline that just opened up a terminal in austin. they advertise rates of $9 each way (seriously), and we had gotten a majorly good deal on our direct flight to cancun. however, all of the emails i get from them… are in spanish. including one which seemed to indicate that our flight had been changed, and we would now be leaving out of… monterey.
SO… yeah. i was nervous.
fortunately, viva aerobus turned out to be AWESOME!!!!!! first, they have their own super small terminal which is not connected to the main airport, so the parking is close and our check-in took all of ten minutes. i was totally relieved, even though now we had about an hour and a half to kill.
while i read my book, henri used my hat to take a v. ladylike snooze.
finally it was time to board the plane!! viva aerobus!!!!!!!
after an easy and uneventful ride (seriously, viva aerobus es muy awesome), we arrived in cancun! and waited for erica and her family to show up! and then they didn’t!
yeah… so… we sat outside of our terminal for an hour, and instead of seeing erica and her family, i saw… laura cooley, a girl from high school. laura cooley, you are not my shuttle.
all of you pigbutts know exactly how hilarious that is…
anyway, after an hour, we figured out that there is ANOTHER terminal for international arrivals, so we went there, only to discover that erica and her family had just left to try to find us. fortunately, walkie talkies exist, and the shuttle people managed to reunite us. which was good, cos i was getting hungry, and we all know that that is a V. Bad Thing.
safely aboard the shuttle, we got to meet erica’s adorable nephew, leo!
leo is apparently way better at legos than i am. in fact, he told me so.
when we finally reached grand coco bay, my heart LEAPT with excitement. the beaches! the pools! the food! the beverages! i had finally reached paradise!!!!!!
here is the main lobby, where we spent several evenings at the bar.
and here are the pools!!!!!!
seriously, it looked JUST like the website, except for the rather cloudy skies. that little building in the middle is the swim-up bar, and you can see the ocean in the background! oh hai, ocean!
right near the front desk, they had the menu posted, because they knew i was coming.
can i just say I LOVE FOOD THEMES?!!!!!!
our room was pretty normal, but we had this great balcony where henri and i spent time reading:
after grabbing a late lunch and exploring the hotel, henri took a nap while i made use of the aforementioned balcony for reading purposes. summer reading, will you marry me?
the dinner theme was chinese, so of course the buffet was decorated like “a taste of the orient” at the senior citizen’s home.
i’m gonna be honest with you guys, and i hope you won’t be too disappointed. the food here? kinda crappy. like, there was usually ONE good thing on the menu, and the rest of the time, i got quesadillas at the snack bar or just made do with a salad. and yeah, i was bummed, but our rate was so cheap, i really felt like i couldn’t complain. plus hello the snack bar had WAFFLE FRIES. waffle fries go a long way in atoning for food grievances. still, in my book, waffle fries should always come with a chic-fil-a. and there was NO SIGN of a chic-fil-a in our resort, let alone in mexico. sigh.
after dinner, we decided to attend “comedy night,” a show put on by the entertainment staff. you guys, i was REALLY excited about this show. most people claimed they were only going for ironic reasons, but i *knew* this was gonna be comic brilliance. chalk it down to my previous cruise experience or my lack of good entertainment judgment, but i was sold from the first moment i saw the drama mask clip art on the poster.
of course, we had to stop at the bar and get some (FREE!) drinks first.
the comedy show actually began with a kid’s pre-show, which included a hat game (if the music stops and you have the hat, you’re out). that’s when henri and i both fell in love. me, with a little girl in a green dress, and henri, with the host of the show.
here’s a shot of the game in action (note, the host is on the left).
and here, for yr viewing enjoyment, are the final two contestants of the game, including MY FAVORITE LITTLE GIRL EVER (ok, besides naomi. and besides m’elle. ok she’s at least in the top five).
seriously, i could watch little kids play games all of the time. i don’t know why there aren’t more shows like this on TV, like maybe a “birthday party” reality show, which would be a nicer, more innocent version of “my sweet sixteen” featuring pony rides, runs through the sprinkler and lots of party hat-wearing kids with frosting smeared on their faces.
after the hat game, the “real” comedy show began and… wow. it was AMAZING. A-MAZING. basically, it was like watching all of the skits that almost made you pee yr pants at camp, church retreats and school talent shows… all in one night. the host of the show (i think his name was lilo?), was definitely the star of every piece, which ranged from him being a “midget” (his arms were his legs, and someone else provided the arms) michael jackson (henri swooned) to him pretending to be ricky martin. i mean, just watch this. FUTURE STAR:
so the premise of this skit was that various people wanted their clothes back from ricky martin, including one guy who uttered the highly quotable, “i don’t like you, ricky martin.” what *made* the skit was lilo’s commitment to being AWESOME. he was not afraid to TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT, even if it meant stripping down to his underwear and being chased across the stage by a guy who was only wearing two sombreros.
by this point, erica and i are laughing HYSTERICALLY. and you could say it was the tequila, but honestly, the show was THAT entertaining. maybe erica and i just have really immature sense of humor, i.e. Camp Skit Level.
my other favorite skit was called “the bodyguard.” first, you can’t go wrong when the announcer says, “have you seen the american movie called the bodyguard?” and then a girl dressed like whitney houston comes out and starts to lip synch to “i will always love you,” while her bodyguard beats up an innocent “little” girl who skips across the stage. then he beats up other random people, including santa claus, until they all come back in an angry mob and kick the crap out of him (the finale being a guy “peeing” on him, which, as you may know, is comic gold).
camp counselors, i hope you’re taking notes.
the main quote from the whole trip came out of a skit that involved a guy pretending to get drunk on tequila by using the two finger method– he would measure the pour by holding up two fingers, and then gradually his fingers grew further and further apart until the entire glass was filled. the audience kept yelling, “TWO FINGERS!” over and over again, which of course led to a chorus of “TWO FINGERS!” anytime we were remotely near a bar.
after the show, erica and i took a picture with the fabulous cast!!!!!!
i don’t know who that little girl is, but she obviously wanted to be on my blog.
oh yeah and some of the staff are wearing nun habits cos there was a “sister act” routine. I AM NOT KIDDING. THERE WAS SISTER ACT ACTION. THIS IS SERIOUS COMEDY.
and you guys, that was just the first DAY. all of that awesomeness in ONE DAY!
the next morning, a group of us decided to rent bikes and ride into town to check out fifth avenue, where all of the tourists go to avoid poverty and bad drinking water.
here’s our bike gang: kate, alexandra, erica and jim.
the benefit of a week-long wedding celebration is that you really get to know yr fellow guests rather than saying “hi” from across the dinner table and never speaking again except for, “can you please pass the butter?” i had a blast making friends with meredith and kiley’s incredible crew, particularly alexandra, who hails from greece, star joneses like nobody’s business and dances like a maniac.
the ride to town was short, thankfully, cos our bikes were *worthless* (<– said in falsetto). they were so bad, they even made me miss peabody and his ganky ways!
an american apparel billboard basically served as the welcome sign to the tourist area. “you are now entering the totally commercialized zone.”
and yes, there was a starbucks. TWO, actually! but no, i didn’t buy any coffee there* (*i really wanted to, but i felt too guilty and american to go through with it).
in spite of american capitalism, fifth avenue was super duper charming. it’s entirely pedestrian and lined with cute shops, restaurants and bars.
we stopped for lunch at this crepe place, which looked like something you find framed on the wall of a hotel. i mean, there was a BICYCLE leaning against the sign for goodness sake.
i ordered a spinach and cheese crepe with a juice drink made of strawberry, bananana and mint. IT WAS TASTY FRENCH-IN-MEXICO BUSINESS.
the other bonus to this place was the cute little boy playing on the floor. even though i loved him, i kind of hated him too, cos he probably gets to eat crepes all of the time. FOR FREE.
after lunch, we walked further down the street (which literally goes on for blocks and blocks) and looked at all of the merchandise, some of which is what you would expect to get after yr grandparents’ mexican vacation. “finally! a mexican wrestling mask and a mini-sombrero! thanks, gramps!”
i mean, yowza.
of course we had to take advantage of a senor frog’s photo opportunity. to my knowledge, none of us actually went into a senor frog’s during the entirety of our trip, but hello, you can’t pass on taking a picture with a big plastic frog.
SPRING BREAK 2008!!!!!
thankfully, that picture was taken far enough away so as to partially conceal my sweatiness. DANG i was NAST-TAY. like, “miz jackson if you’re nasty” nasty. even though it was cloudy (thank heavens), it was still mucho caliente outside.
but i really didn’t mind, cos a) i knew i’d eventually end up in the pool b) i love exploring!
i mean, just look at this cool building/staircase/platform thing.
in spite of my distaste for super sanitized tourism, i couldn’t help but fall in love with fifth avenue. i mean, LOOK! look at this cuteness!!
we decided to walk back part of the way on the beach, which was mercifully cloudy but still amazing.
we returned to the resort, a bike gang hardened by the rough starbucked streets of fifth avenue and ready to take on more adventures…
seriously, we are totally the girls that would beat up the bullies and get you back yr ice cream man money.
tomorrow’s post: a bachelorette party, dancing on the beach and the crowning of mr. coco bay!!!!
LINKS
i’ve been meaning to tell you guys! there’s a new cupcake place in austin! and it’s on my bike ride home!!! and it’s called POLKADOTS!!!!!!!! i can’t wait to go there!!!!!
nicole kidman did a photo shoot for vogue to promote “australia,” and DANG girlfriend looks gorgeous. WARDROBE I WANT IT.
speaking of favorite little girls, check out this video of naomi singing “jingle bells” (i think?). she’s totally the next regina spektor.
there are a lot of benefits to finishing graduate school, like being able to put yr shiny new degree on yr resume and NEVER HAVING HOMEWORK AGAIN and people calling you “master.”
wait, people don’t call you “master” when you have a masters degree?! are you serious? WHY DID I WASTE ALL OF THIS TIME?
anyway, all of these benefits are great, but my favorite part is CELEBRATING THE FACT THAT I’M DONE.
cos i am reeeeally good at celebrating things. so good, in fact, that i managed to pack ALL of my favoritey favorites into one weekend. read this list and be amazed:
1) my parents
2) my friends
3) tasty business
4) alamo sing-alongs
5) radiohead
this was no cookies and punch reception, people.
friday night, my parents took henri and me to a posh dinner at mars on south congress. i’d never been there before, so it was even more exciting!
we started off with the tuna tataki, which was EXQUISITE.
for the entree, i ordered the butternut squash gyoza with sake cream sauce. IT WAS AMAZING. OMG. looking at this picture makes me want to lick my monitor. and that is gross.
of course i saved room for dessert, cos hello, it wouldn’t be a poshdeluxe celebration without baked goods!!!! although i will forever love the donut holes at parkside, these glazed donuts (with espresso gelatto) absolutely took my breath away. LOOK AT THEM.
ok great now i’m starving. thanks for nothing, lean pocket from lunch!
it’s been so wonderul to have my parents close by in round rock, and on friday, i was especially grateful for their presence (and not just cos they bought me food). they’ve always been so supportive of me– honestly, i’ve never met two people who are more encouraging, to *everyone*, than my parents. when i saw the pride and happiness in their eyes, i felt like a million buckaroos.
yay, now all three of the pitres have masters degrees! we are, as meredith likes to say, so freaking scholarly!
since i knew i’d be seeing many of my VIPantsers over the weekend, i decided to ask them for advice, cos their opinions and perspectives mean the world to me.
i started with mom and dad:
see? aren’t they the best?!!
then i asked henri, cos i think he is v. v. smart, and he’s also business-savvy, which i am not.
i’m starting to feel like a children’s book character, gathering advice from adult figures, but ha ha i’m an adult, too. i just forget sometimes.
josh met up with us at the stephen f. austin for a drink so my parents could ask him a billion questions about his new job and his engagement (another great thing about my parents– they are like second parents to all of my friends). josh has been there for several major milestones in my life– the first day at rice, the first day in austin (he helped me move, bless him) and now graduation– and i feel lucky to have a person like him as a constant in my life.
plus, he totally knows how to enjoy a sing-long, which is where we went next.
thank you, josh, for always letting me take ridiculous photos of you and then singing to weezer’s “buddy holly” at the top of yr lungs.
the alterna-90s was the perfect theme for the night, considering the nostalgia invoked by songs like “mr. jones” and “smells like teen spirit.” as i danced around and sang angst-filled lyrics, i thought about how far i’ve come since seventh grade slumber parties and late night journaling sessions at dietrich’s.
the show ended with “it’s the end of the world (as we know it)” which was, well, wildly appropriate.
afterwards, i asked josh for advice, which he gave while wearing his glasses.
the next day, henri and i drove to houston to see RADIOHEAD!!!!!!
not only is radiohead (still, after all these years) my favorite band, but they also happen to be intrinsically connected to graduation for me. back in may of 2001, i ran back to my dorm room after the rice ceremony to sit at my desk, still wearing my cap and gown, and buy a ticket online for the radiohead concert later that summer.
and so, of course i had to see radiohead after graduating from grad school. it’s just in the stars.
i don’t usually like “big” shows, but there’s something so fitting about seeing radiohead in a place where you can sit comfortably, surrounded by yr friends, and let the music wash over you.
note my awesome new bling, a graduation gift from my parents. cos P stands for pitre, poshdeluxe, pants, pretty much everything that is awesome in the universe!!!!
while we were waiting for the show to begin, it started to sprinkle, so henri, matt, meredith and i took shelter under a blanket. it totally felt like an elementary sleepover where everyone gets under the bed sheet and tells ghost stories with a flashlight.
i realized that all i need are these faces, cos even under a blanket in the cold rain, i had the time of my life. some people throw massive catered parties to celebrate their graduation, but i’ll take my best friends and a blanket any day.
josh, erica and teresa showed up to join our little party, which just made me happier. yay!! radiohead with people i love!
and THEN mark lewis came! i sweart, it felt like, “POSH DELUXE, this is yr LIFE!!!” the best part was that mark and meredith finally met in person… it’s the greatest feeling, when two of yr most cherished friends meet each other with wide smiles and outstretched hands and say, “i recognized you from the blog!” ha ha.
the radiohead show did not disappoint. LIKE I NEED TO TELL YOU THAT. it was AMAZING. first of all, the sound was incredible, and i give radiohead’s engineering skills full credit, cos the acoustics at the woodlands pavilion aren’t always that great. second, they had INCREDIBLE LIGHTS!! WOW!!!
look!!!!!
and they changed colors!! and displayed designs! look!!!
the colors would change in time with the music, so the show was a feast for both the ears and the eyes.
even though i love ALL of their albums, i was especially gratified when they played not one but TWO songs from “the bends.” here’s a video of “planet telex,” which was part of the encore. you can see the lights go CRAYZEEEEE.
when i listen to radiohead, my mind reels… sometimes just about life, sometimes about specific memories attached to songs. every track from “amnesiac” reminds me of falling asleep in european hostels, cos i bought it when kendall and i were in london after college graduation. “the bends” takes me back to freshmen year, when life was exciting and scary and frankly, overwhelming.
as i stood there and let the music seep into me, i thought so much about that summer, seven years ago, when i saw radiohead for the first time. i had just come back from europe, rented a house in montrose with mary, and had absolutely no job prospects. i didn’t have a clue about my next step, and somehow, i found that exhilarating. the music soared around me, and the world was open to receive it, open to receive *me*.
and even though so much has happened since that concert, i felt the same way as i stood there, a girl with a master’s degree but no master plan, a girl with a lot of possibilities and a lot of (sometimes conflicting) directions. but i’m not really the same… i’ve learned things and made mistakes and collected even more incredible, amazing people in my life. and that realization made me feel a little bit stronger.
i looked up at the moon as the music and sounds of the crowd rose up into the sky, and i felt precious in my insignificance.
as the crowds streamed out of the gate, i took advantage of mark’s concert attendance to ask him for advice.
the next day, a group of us accompanied matt to st. arnold’s brewery to support him in a beer brewing contest he entered. his final score was incredibly high, and all of us practically exploded with pride (meredith especially).
go matt! you are a master brewer, and i will enjoy the fruit of yr labor anytime you need me.
i love that my graduation celebration included celebrating someone else for their fantastic achievement, esp. because it makes me appreciate the support of my friends and family even more. in fact, the weekend went from a celebration of graduation to a celebration of ALL of the wonderful things in my life, and for me, that’s even better than a new diploma.
before we left, i asked one more friend for advice: meredith.
after gathering all of this advice, i feel like the richest girl on the planet.
because yes, meredith, the world IS my dance party. and i’m going to enjoy the pants out of it.
LINKS
have you guys seen the new trailer for joss whedon’s “dollhouse”?!!! ZOMGGGG. (thanks erin for the link!)
today i read an article about a girl scout who sold 17,328 boxes of cookies.
you guys.
seventeen thousand, three hundred and twenty eight boxes of girl scout cookies.
that is INSANE. it reminds me of the time in elementary school where our teacher demonstrated what “one million” constitutes by printing out zillions of sheets of stars and lining us up around the playground. i don’t really think i grasped a million, but i *did* grasp that standing next to a boy was really, really annoying.
i wish i knew if that was enough cookies to take us to the moon, cos i love stats like that.
what i also want to know is where they stored all of those cookies, cos a living room can only hold so much. just ask my mom.
note the messages on the boxes, meant to inspire the workers inside the cookie sweatshop.
apparently, fifteen year old jennifer sharpe accomplished this feat by selling cookies on a street corner.
“Sharpe sold cookies every day on a street corner with help from her mother and troop leader, Pam Sharpe. ‘We were always there; we never closed,’ Pam Sharpe said. ‘At one point, Jenny got really sick and we did shut down early, and we heard about it the next day.’”
ok, WHAT?
first of all, back in my day, there was none of this “corner” selling. we weren’t drug pushers, we were little girls who nervously went around the neighborhood with our moms and prayed that no large dogs jumped out from behind front doors. sometimes i got lucky, and my dad would sell a few boxes for me at his office, but that’s about it. nowadays, i can’t exit walgreens without moms (and occasionally the girl scouts themselves) asking me if i want to buy some cookies. one of my friends (selina?) told me that she even saw some cookie pushers OUTSIDE OF HER GYM. you guys. that is a “troop beverly hills” plot point, not a real life strategy.
second of all, who are these people that complained when jennifer was out sick? seriously, are we talking about cookie fans or crack addicts? i’m having “the wire” flashbacks. jennifer, you better watch out for omar little, cos he’s gonna break up yr cookie monopoly and TAKE YOU DOWN.
with all of that said, i still love girl scout cookies, even though i didn’t buy any this year. after reading the article, i decided to check out the current flavors, just to give my tummy a little nostalgia.
uh, ok, i don’t recognize HALF of these cookies. esp. cos they all have new names!! it’s like my favorite cookies have entered the witness protection program.
the REAL name of samoas is actually “caramel delights,” and i have NEVER heard the peanut butter sandwich cookies referred to as “do-si-dos.” that’s just really dumb. i could not sell that cookie with a straight face, not even if you gave me a patch for it.
and i don’t think we called the peanut butter chocolate ones “tagalongs,” but they were always too rich for my taste, so i don’t really care about the name.
i’m happy to see that “thin mints” have remained true to themselves. they were always my favorite; in fact, i still have some from last year in my freezer, because i’m an only child, and i hoard.
when i was doing a search for cookie images, i found this info-graphic from “the onion”:
jennifer sharpe is so hardcore, i bet she could even sell prune shingles on her corner. those addicts will buy anything.
LINKS
have you seen the trailer for the new zach galifianakis movie, “visioneers”? two words: judy greer.
on friday night, after years of research and a complex series of highly scientific tests, i discovered the Best Mac ‘N’ Cheese in austin.
before i unveil my discovery, let’s just take a minute to appreciate mac ‘n’ cheese for what it is: FOOD OF THE GODS. otherwise known as MANNA. otherwise known as I COULD EAT THIS EVERY DAY AND NEVER GET TIRED OF IT COS IT IS SO TASTY.
according to my impressive research, i.e. the internet, mac ‘n’ cheese is “america’s favorite comfort food.” you know, americans aren’t always the smartest people on the planet, but i have to say, they are right on the money with this one. what could be MORE comforting than filling yr tummy with rich, creamy, cheesy noodles shaped like elbows?!! when i eat mac ‘n’ cheese, i feel that All Is Right With The World. and then i want to take a nap, cos i’m so carbtastic.
since i believe in education, here’s a little history of mac ‘n’ cheese, care of my impeccable sources.
***
Some believe the dish was created by founding father Thomas Jefferson, known for his great interest in food, and in a 1996 “Restaurants & Institutions” article, Barbara Bell Matuszewski wrote that Jefferson served the dish in the White House in 1802. However, noted food historian Karen Hess claims Jefferson did not invent the dish, though he did return from a trip to Paris with a macaroni mold.
According to John Mariani, author of “The Dictionary of American Food and Drink,” macaroni and cheese was first made in the nineteenth century, but it took on a even greater popularity when Kraft Foods introduced the Kraft Dinner (macaroni and cheese) in 1937. According to a company spokesperson, Kraft now sells more than one million boxes of the dinners every day! The Kraft dinners are so popular, in fact, that children and some adults have been known to turn up their noses when offered a rich and delicious homemade version.
***
wow, i always knew thomas jefferson (or, as we affectionately called him in high school, “thomas j.”) was smart, but now he has ascended to the GENIUS LEVEL. i mean, i realize that he helped give us liberty and the need for revolution to water the tree or whatever, but HE BROUGHT US MAC ‘N’ CHEESE. FROM FRANCE (merci to the max, french pants!!). i can’t think of a greater mark to leave upon our fair country, a legacy more magnificent than enlightening our culinary minds to the presence of such TASTY GREATNESS.
so yeah, as the “article” mentioned, most people meet mac ‘n’ cheese for the first time via the kraft box.
i am certainly no stranger to this cheerful blue box, as it most certainly brightened our family dinner table on many occasions, not to mention buoyed my stomach after countless less than satisfactory college dining experiences.
however
i cannot believe that this statement is true:
“The Kraft dinners are so popular, in fact, that children and some adults have been known to turn up their noses when offered a rich and delicious homemade version.”
ok, WRONG. that is so, so wrong. WHO are these people turning their noises up at homemade mac ‘n’ cheese?!!! SHOW THEM TO ME. show them to me, that i might open their eyes to the glories, the deliciousness of mac ‘n’ cheese made without orange, powdery cheese.
i mean, we don’t have to go anywhere fancy. the first step in cultivating yr mac ‘n’ cheese palate is simply a visit to luby’s.
granted, luby’s isn’t gourmet. but the richness and tastiness of their pale yellow mac ‘n’ cheese has not wavered for 28 years (assuming i tried some when i was one, which is possible). in fact, even after sampling some of the finest mac ‘n’ cheese the world has to offer, i still love hitting up luby’s for a luann platter with a heaping bowl of cheesy goodness.
however, luby’s is only the first step for mac ‘n’ cheese appreciation. once you’ve tried this dish with bread crumbs, or exotic cheeses, or truffles, you’re destined to become an addict. you’ll find yrself scanning the menu at a new restaurant, desperately searching for “mac ‘n’ cheese,” asking the waiter if they’ve ever thought about adding it to the menu because it IS america’s favorite comfort food, AFTER ALL.
anyway
back to my scientific conclusions
so i’ve tried a lot of mac ‘n’ cheese in austin. like i said, luby’s is a good stand-by, and so is hoover’s (talk about comfort food!). i also really really love the mac ‘n’ cheese at moonshine, and of course, there’s the alamo drafthouse version (WE ALL KNOW WHERE THAT CAME FROM).
friday night, henri proposed that we do a Tour De Mac ‘N’ Cheese, which would consist of trying the dish at the wink bar, at lambert’s and then at parkside (where we already knew it would be yummy). this is pretty much the best idea I HAD EVER HEARD, so i willingly agreed.
first stop: wink bar
you guys, just look at this mac ‘n’ cheese. LOOK AT IT.
i have to say, it was really hard to take that picture (with sadie no less) cos the closer i got to the dish, the more i wanted to just smash my face into all of that cheese. and NOTE THE PRESENCE OF TRUFFLES.
verdict: the breadcrumbs added just the right amount of crunchiness, while the creamy sauce was luxuriously rich and strong (no bland cheese here). the noodles are slightly longer than regular elbow macaroni, which i found incredibly satisfying. plus, truffles = POSH. i was supposed to split this with henri, but i found myself trying to eat really fast so i could have more of it. next time, i am sooo getting my own and i’m NOT sharing. SIMPLY DIVINE.
another plus about the wink bar, if you go for mac ‘n’ cheese, is that they have DELICIOUS sliders with BRIE!! BRIE I SAID!!
does that look like the perfect way to spend an evening or what?
next on the list was lambert’s which turned out to be super crowded, with a wait time of an hour and a half. uh, i’m sorry, but i was on a v. vital scientific mission! TIME WAS OF THE ESSENCE.
so henri and i ducked into cru, this kinda cheesy (HAR) wine bar on second street, which does not serve mac ‘n’ cheese but DOES offer a lovely fondue with truffle oil. if you’re ever in a bind, it’s a pretty good substitute.
(sorry the picture is so dark. i totally forgot flossie, so sadie took one for the team).
next up was parkside, where i knew the mac ‘n’ cheese would NOT disappoint.
verdict: first of all, it comes in a super cute pot with a little top! yay! as for the taste, there’s a subtle blend of interesting cheeses that you don’t normally find in mac ‘n’ cheese (of course, i don’t remember what they’re called). it’s creamy, and the bread crumbs are light and crispy, so it never tastes dry. DELICIOUS!
it was a night of exhaustive research, but in the end, my conclusion was clear. even though i could eat at parkside every night of the week and never get bored (did someone say donut holes?), the best mac ‘n’ cheese in austin can be found at WINK!
i know you guys are RELIEVED to finally know the scientific truth, but you don’t need to thank me. instead, go out tonight and eat some mac ‘n’ cheese, or even just whip up a box of kraft at home, and before you sit down, say a silent prayer of thanks to thomas j., the Father of America’s Comfort Food.
gah, gotta go… the nobel prize committee just won’t stop calling me!
LINKS
did you guys know that yogurt is the perfect food for women? IT IS. i love eating yogurt in my gray hoodie or when i’m at a wedding. if you don’t know what i’m talking about, please watch this hilarious video.
i know it’s a little early to talk xmas but PLEASE SANTA BRING ME A LISA FRANK T-SHIRT. PRETTY PLEASE with rainbows and purple ponies and pink hearts on top!!!!!
so i’ve been taking this class about art museum education, and naturally it has led me to think about what kind of museums i like and which ones make me all zzzz.
today, while having class in the blanton (the art museum on campus), i found myself daydreaming about my fantasy museum… which would, of course, be the Museum of Baked Goods.
here’s an architectural rendering:
this museum would basically be the BEST MUSEUM in the entire world. like, even better than the tate modern.
first of all, the whole place would smell like baking bread, not cos we’d be burning yankee candles but cos there would be ACTUAL BREAD BAKING. basically, i’d like to take the mrs. baird’s factory (road trip ‘01 holla!) and find a way to fit it into one of the galleries. then you could learn about how bread is made and get to eat a slice (with butter!). v. v. educational AND tasty!
there would also be a gallery of pies– pies from around the world, cos culture is V. important. i would probably hire a consultant from house of pies just to make sure i had good representation. and yes the pie would be fresh and edible! i’d probably include some pie-making demonstrations on a daily basis.
but there wouldn’t just be food, there would also be art! paintings and drawings and sculptures of baked goods! it would be so beautiful! i think that shall be called the Thiebaud Wing of the museum.
i, of course, would give tours, which would include such activities as “decorate yr own cupcake” and “name that bread!” in order to reach out to the community, there would also be a monthly lectures series, including topics like “careers in baking in the twenty-first century” and “yeast: it sounds gross, but it’s awesome!” my dad would even be a guest speaker on “beer biscuits: safe for children.”
so, that’s my museum, and i hope you all become VIP members so you can get yr name inscribed on a stone cupcake.
now, tell me what YR fantasy museum would be…
my only request is that yr museum be open on mondays, cos is that annoying or what?
i’m probably late on the train here, but have you guys seen the evil face baby? LOVE. (thanks, selina)
so matt sent me this cadbury creme egg commercial about eggs committing some kind of mass suicide. to be honest, it’s kiiiinda creepy.
how have i never seen the CUTE SHOW before? the opening credits include my favorite things: a rainbow, cucpakes, and a kitten with sunglasses!! i think i made this show in my dreams! anyway, check out the (short) episode about squishy face cats. PRECIOUS!
my weekend was full of food, family and tots, which means it was pretty much the best weekend ever.
on saturday morning, my mom and i went over bright and early (dude. it was 9:30… ON A SATURDAY) to check out the downtown farmer’s market. i can’t believe i’ve never been there before, cos it’s like a sarah fairy tale land. there’s tons of fresh food and there’s lots of people out and about (don’t you just love seeing people out and about?) and there’s a billion dogs and even more babies!!!!! it’s like a dream come true!!
here’s mom, enjoying her empanada (note: the empanada stand is totally tasty business).
and here’s an example of the cuteness that abounds at the market:
i love that this girl was all upons her ice cream, even though it was pretty chilly outside. SHE MEANS BUSINESS.
oh, you need another example of cuteness? ye shall receive:
this baby is FED UP with the paparazzi. she’s all, TMZ! SUCK ON THIS! of course she’ll probably write a myspace blog about how much she hates that i posted this photo, and then she’ll sue me, and then we’ll both go on ET to talk about what happened… but i can’t help myself.
the dogs totally gave the babies a run for their money in the awesomeness department, though. i mean, look at this big shaggy dog! you can just *hear* his sweet goofy voice in yr head, can’t you? “HARRO, SARAH! HI HI is that a piece of food? WHERE DID IT GO? HARRO HARRO!”
and then there was this great (and i mean Great) dane, who could totally give all of the tots a horsey ride.
THAT DOG IS HUGE!!!! but he was also super friendly, so it was ok.
all in all, it was a glorious and tasty morning. and look in the background– it’s henri’s condo!!! gah i can’t wait for june.
the austin appreciation continued on sunday, when my parents and i went to the chocolate festival!!! which is a festival about chocolate!! which is amazing!!!!!
basically, you buy tickets for a two hour session inside of the building, and you get to sample TONS of chocolate items from different vendors. it kind of felt like we were at a convention, but trust me, chocolate is waaaay better than, say, a free XXL t-shirt or a keychain.
and hey look! that guy in the orange shirt is my friend shannon, who lives in dallas!
so yeah, you guys, there was a lot of chocolate. IT WAS EVERYWHERE! and in a variety of different forms! like, there was chocolate truffles and chocolate bark and chocolate milk and hot chocolate and chocolate sauce and chocolate gelato and chocolate coffee and chocolate bark and raw chocolate and chocolate brownies and chocolate cookies and ZOMGGGGGGG!!!!!!! CHOCOCHOCOVERLOAD! like, willy wonka just flooded the entire place with his chocolate river.
i have never EVER experienced so much chocolate in my entire life. it was kind of… surreal. like, maybe this how a princess feels, when you get to just have whatever you want, you know, like eating bonbons by the pool while a servant fans you like it’s no big deal. oh yeah, i just ate 20 pounds of chocolate cos i felt like it. obviously.
there was a competition going on for “most creative,” so we walked down the row and tried all four items:
as you can see, i was NOT that impressed with the “creativity” on display. i mean, sure, all of these things were tasty, but creative? ice cream? really? i was kinda hoping for something like chocolate enchiladas or chocolate covered fried cheese. you know, the best of both worlds.
i ended up voting for the gelato, cos it was just so darn tasty. mom agreed.
one of my favorite booths featured mini-macarons, like the kind i buy at laduree in paris!
aren’t they the cutest?!! don’t you just want a big basket of them on yr table so you can eat one whenever you need to feel special?
after sampling everything (EVERYTHING), i decided that my hands down favorite chocolate item was the mole:
maybe it’s cos i got kinda sick of regular chocolate, but this mole sauce was UNBELIEVABLE. i mean, i can’t even write about it without my mouth watering, which is kind of gross when you’re not eating anything and you end up with extra spit in yr mouth that you have to swallow. anyway. the mole was SO FREAKING TASTY that i went back for a second chip. mmmm mole. it was made by a personal chef, which means i have to call this woman and ask her to make me some mole, *personally.* how CONVENIENT that my birthday is coming up…
mom, dad and i didn’t even make it through the full two hours, which means we are weenies. the chocolate totally OWNED us. just take a look at dad:
outside on the patio, i decided to interview mom and dad about their favorites. here’s what they had to say:
mom:
dad:
afterwards, dad said, “oh no. is this gonna be on yr blog?”
DUH, dad! everything goes on the blog! that’s why i DO things. so i can write about them. now i just need to find someone to *pay* me, and then i can do even more things, which means even more blogging, which means more tasty business and babies and puppies in my future! this is the formula for success.
ok, i’ll write about the rest of the weekend (oh yes, there’s more) tomorrow.
LINKS
i only have one link for you today, but it is AWESOME. have you guys heard about the man who climbed everest in his shorts? I’M SERIOUS. read more about him here.
out of all of the days on the trip (which were few, i know), saturday seemed destined to be my favorite.
it began with a cup of coffee brewed by j. and that is good, cos j. makes excellent coffee (it comes from ritual of course). here’s j. with his morning smoke and mug of coffee:
i took a picture of the little figurines on the fireplace mantel, cos i did not want to forget them.
aren’t they charming? i wish they would all come and visit me.
on our walk to brunch, we passed by a church that is now a buddhist temple. if you look inside the glass doors, you’ll see a giant, grinning buddha, which is not really what you expect to see on the inside of a building like this:
but that’s just the fun of discovering a city’s secrets, isn’t it?
also, i love the name of this place (which i think is a chain):
we be sushi! sarah be hungry!
j.’s roommate, annie, came with us to brunch. she hadn’t had a mimosa in about three years, which is UNBELIEVABLE. seriously. i kiiiinda wondered if she was lying. regardless, we corrected this travesty immediately.
i can’t remember the name of this restaurant, which is a bummer, cos this was probably my favorite meal of the ENTIRE trip. definitely one of my top brunches of all time! which reminds me. i need to make stickers that restaurants can put in their window, sort of like zagat but they will say: “posh d thinks we are the PANTS!” or something.
anyway
we began by sharing some french toast with bananas and lavender caramel sauce, which was DIVINE!!!!!!
totes the best french toast i have EVER had, no question.
oh and actually we started with some gorgonzola-stuffed dates, but those went too fast for me to take a picture.
for my main course, i ordered poached eggs with thinly sliced ham on fresh grilled bread. obvs i am a genius, cos this was ABSOLUTELY the best option i could have chosen.
SERIOUSLY. TASTY. BUSINESS.
i can’t even handle looking at that picture, to be honest. because it means i would need to jump on a plane to enjoy that dish again, and frankly, i just don’t have the time right now.
since j. is a regular (weekly) customer at this place, he gets lots of special treatment. including free dessert!!!!
i love eating dessert at brunch. it feels so SINFUL and wrong. especially this dish, which was a light lemon pudding with some kind of gingerbread in it. NOM NOM NOM.
after brunch, we headed over to ritual to meet up with julie, ye olde powersuite member (college roomie) and her archi husband, jared. but i actually saw them on the street first, so i got to shriek and hug julie in front of even MORE people. IT FELT SO GOOD TO SEE THEM!!!!!!!!
i realized that i haven’t seen the fishers since they got married, which was over two and a half years ago. i hate that it’s been that long. can’t we all just, you know, rent a big resort somewhere and invite everyone we know (correction: like) and just have group vacations every summer that involve lots of conversations and dancing and firefly catching and eating? i mean, how hard could it be?
as we strolled through the mission, we popped into a few stores. i really liked this one, which reminded me of that junk yard in the heights on 19th street except a lot cleaner and nicer and probably more snake-free.
i even got to pose for a photograph! well, i wasn’t actually the *object* of the photograph. the owner of the store asked me to stand next to this huge ship light so that the size would be to scale. i think it’s online somewhere… if i find it, i will let you know. cos this could totally be the chance i’ve been waiting for– an opportunity to make the leap from internet security modeling to object scale modeling!!!! holla!
here is a guy painting inside a store window. me and the backpack dude watched him.
and here’s a purple house! yay!
taking advantage of the lack of actual rain, we strolled to dolores park to enjoy the view. and oh, it was lovely!
this building (below) is really a high school. it reminds me of the schools in movies, when you think, “there is no way that is actually a high school” (see “10 things i hate about you,” RIP heath). but this is ACTUALLY a high school.
it really is a glorious park. i wish i could go there every day and maybe play with a baby or a dog and then roll down the hill and recklessly accrue grass stains.
henri agreed.
ok just one more shot of the view, cos i can’t help myself.
i mean, WOW, right?! also, big wow to the MOAT around the playground. yiiikes.
as we walked to julie and jared’s car, we passed by my all time favorite sign in san francisco: the glittering cocktail on the 500 club!!!!
note: they painted a “not” in front of the “open 6:00 AM” sign. crafty!
here’s a close-up of the sparkles:
if i could put that sign in my front yard, i would.
since henri and i hadn’t gotten to explore much beyond the mission, we decided to play tourist and check out fisherman’s wharf. i’d seen it before but never actually experienced it.
and ooooh MAN, it is TOURISTY. i knew cos the first store we passed had personalized license plates!!!!!!
as previously discussed on this blog, personalized license plates (signs, keychains, etc.) are the ultimate indicator that you are in Tourist Country.
in the name of “getting in the tourist spirit,” i asked jared to take a super cheesy picture. since jared is nice, he obliged.
i can’t decide if jared is the evil that the monkeys are trying to avoid or if he’s so pure that he doesn’t need to actually cover anything to avoid temptation.
i love all of the old businesses around the wharf, especially their signs:
we walked out to the edge of the pier to get a better view of the bay. note the “forbes island” lighthouse on the right of this picture:
it’s actually a boat, disguised as an island!! apparently you board and then the boat heads out onto the water and you get to eat while sitting on a fake island. I LOVE IT. next time, i am SO hitting up the forbes.
here’s alcatraz with some sailboats:
i think it’s funny how alcatraz has become this big tourist thing. i mean, sure, it’s fascinating, but when stores are selling prison stripe baby onesies, you gotta wonder.
henri was reeeally into learning about tides.
here’s julie and jared, on top of the world! er, well, san francisco.
gah i love them so much. I LOVE YOU GUYS!
and, since henri and i are completely ridiculous, we couldn’t just take a normal picture. oh no. we had to make it totally dumb.
as evening began to fall, julie and jared graciously agreed to drive henri and me to oakland to visit some of his high school friends. even though we spent some wonderful hours together, it honestly wasn’t nearly enough to make up for two and a half years of missing my dear friend julie. do you ever feel like you miss people MORE after you’ve seen them? cos that’s exactly how i felt (and still feel) after saturday.
but it did my heart good to see juliana banana, even for a brief time. she and jared are still the same, wonderful, whimsical, warm-hearted people, and yet, they seem a little bit older, like they’ve gained a stillness, a peace in their spirits. it’s the best feeling in the world to see someone you love and know that they are well, they are happy, they are living their lives fully and fruitfully.
julie is moving forward with hope and light, and even as she presses ahead on her own path, our hearts stay close. i am so thankful for that, especially when i look back and see how far we’ve come since painting our ceiling with glitter and dancing to the beastie boys at 3 AM.
on the way out of the city, we drove through downtown, where i’ve stayed on my past san fran visits. here’s a shot through the car back window:
we arrived in oakland to visit with henri’s high school friend alli, her husband, and two other classmates, anne and kristin. ok that is lie. HENRI came to see those people. *I* came to meet jonah, aly’s little baby boy.
meet jonah, in mid-surprise and mid-carrot stain. actually, the best expression he makes is AFTER the flash bulb has died down– his eyes go from shocked to disapproving. seriously, i have never seen a baby glower like that before.
it was nice to hang out at the house and watch the baby and get to know some people from henri’s past. meeting high school friends always fits a unique piece into the puzzle of a person, don’t you think?
ok enough about that. here’s more pictures of jonah:
alli gave him a bath and put him in his footed jimjams. and then i took a video, cos i couldn’t help myself:
apparently, jonah likes to sit in what his parents call “the office”:
“the office” is where jonah gets his big business done, and by that i mean, he likes to poop in there. i am not kidding. watch this video and listen to his parents give away his business secrets:
i can’t really fault jonah, cos pooping really is the most important thing that babies do (ok, besides eating).
here’s kevin, jonah’s dad, experiencing domestic bliss (complete with a cat).
after a lovely visit, kristin gave henri and i a ride back to the city. we had reservations to eat at firefly with j. and his friend chris, so we met up at j.’s apartment and walked (in the rain, but i had an umbrella, so it was ok) to the restaurant. on the way, j. pointed out a realtor’s office which doubles as a right wing propaganda machine:
reagan! and eagles! and english! FINALLY!
randy, you should meet my dad there. you guys would be in heaven.
it was fun to see firefly in full-on bustling form after observing its calm the day before. we sat at the EXACT same table where meredith, matt and i sat for NYE 2005-6, and we, of course, enjoyed some tasty tasty food. and j. even got a massage, which is not on the menu.
i didn’t take pictures of the food, cos it was dark and, well, cos i was HUNGRY. but it was delicious delicious. and it was fun to get special attention from all of j.’s co-workers, including these lovely ladies:
we headed home with full tummies, and i fell asleep right away (as i tend to do).
even though i was sad about the thought of leaving the next morning, the prospect of heading home seemed quite nice, actually. which is a sure fire sign that you’ve had a good trip.
and also, that you’ve been sleeping on an air mattress.
