update of awesomeness

Wow, I really haven't posted in a while, have I? Sorry about that. Been busy with ... stuff.

Well, first and foremost, I'm sure you are all incredibly anxious to see the results of the TYG-Meter. :) The week I kept track, my very repetitive office neighbor used the phrase "There you go" 11 times on Monday, 4 times on Tuesday (v. low), 8 times on Wednesday, 12 times on Thursday, and 7 times on Friday. And that was only when I was within earshot. But I really should have counted them up yesterday because I swear she must have said it 80,000 times all before lunch.


As for my not-so-regular recaps of the lovely and wonderful Project Runway, I will be cancelling this feature. Reasons being a lack of motivation and a general apathy towards this season's contestants. I will say one more thing, though. I think Jerell will be the winner, and he deserves it.


So yeah, in other news, I had a birthday last week. On the day itself, I went to visit the p's and had a nice home-cooked dinner (yummy). My gifts this year were of the domestic goddess variety - a new iron and a new toaster. Sooooo badly needed. Then, the following night, I had some of my girlfriends over for some cocktails and gossip. All while in our PJ's, sitting on pillows on the floor. I wanted to get back to basics this year. And it was awesome.

The weather around here is finally turning Fall-ish. It's sad to see the Summer go, but Fall is my favorite season, so I'm very happy as well. (How I can be happy and sad at the same time is a mystery to me.) This is great sleeping weather, though it does make it a bit harder to get up in the morning. ;) But, I am so looking forward to the trips to pumpkin farms and apple orchards, the delicious scent of the season in the air, breaking out the sweaters, and putting together a Halloween costume.

And the sooner Fall comes, the sooner Christmas is here.

And Christmas is awesome.

I've been meaning to tell you ...

Project Runway - I didn't get a chance to write about the Brooke Shields episode from 2 weeks ago, but I have to say I was shocked to see Kelli go. Her outfit was not great, but I never questioned her taste level. And once again I thought the judges were on crack when they picked the winner. Keith's dress was plain ugly IMHO, and Jerell's was clearly a higher quality garment that even *I* would wear. But whatever. As for the drag episode ... most colorful episode EVER! Fun fun fun. I want drag queens as friends. I loved all of the top 3 and didn't care who won either way. So congrats, Joe. Bottom 3, I was glad Jerell didn't get auf'd, and I think they made a good decision to send Daniel home because he just wasn't paying attention to the jobs at hand. And cute as he was, he never ever smiled, and he was starting to look like a bobble-head. Though Keith better be the next to go because I'm getting reeeeally bored with him. We should call him "Scrappy" or something. And seriously? His so-called specialty of doing the fabric swatches all over the place, with unfinished edges, is really more of a cheat to get him out of hemming, or having to create something with a real shape! C'mon!!

TYG-meter - My neighbor says "There you go" about a bazillion times a day. Not as in "You asked for this report, and I have it ready, so there you go." But the slang-ish "There you go" meaning, "You're right" or "That's a good idea." Except she uses it as a filler so much that it's also taken on the meanings "What you said is very funny" and "That's very interesting." I was curious how many times she really does say it, so every day this week I'm keeping count. So far today we're at 6, which seems low, to tell you the truth. I just dread the day when I find myself saying it!! Gawd!

foodie bloggie

I don't generally blog about food, but Nora posted this meme thingie and it made me hungry (having a normal appetite again is a happy thing). So here's mine. I won't have tried NEARLY as many things as Mrs. Greenfish, the foodie, but I think there's a couple that I have tried that she has not. Neener neener. ;)

(Instructions edited to fit my settings and preferences)
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) RED any items that you would never consider eating.
4) GREEN any items you are actively interested in trying.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (Close. I've had Alligator.)
6. Black pudding (The idea makes me want to vomit.)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari (Had it, but I am not a fan.)
12. Pho
13. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (Not terribly fond of Indian curry.)
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (French cheese)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (My favorite is rhubarb!!)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes (Don't really like tomatoes, but my parents love 'em so of course I've had the heirloom variety.)
22. Fresh wild berries (Did I ever tell you about the time I ate poison berries ...)
23. Foie gras (I think I tried it??)
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese (Another vomit-inducing thought.)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (Ouch! No thanks.)
27. Dulce de leche (I can't believe I've never had this!)
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut (Yummy. My mom makes the best dish with sauerkraut and smoked sausage. And I have the ingredients at home! Dinner tonight maybe?)
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (Hmm, I've had them separately, but not together. Does that count?)
37. Clotted cream tea (I've had tea served with scones with clotted cream, but never thought to put the cream in the tea. Not sure if this counts either ...)
38. Vodka jelly (I'm gonna go with Nora's assumption that this means Jello shots.)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat (Um, no.)
42. Whole insects (Just no again.)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk (Goat's milk, no. Goat cheese, yes.)
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (I wish.)
46. Fugu (Too risky. :) )
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (Once a veeeeery long time ago.)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst (Lots of curry on this list, huh?)
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain (Yummers.)
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini (Had caviar, but not with blini.)
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (Why, oh why, would anyone want to eat roadkill? I imagine it tasting like burning rubber.)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (After having to look up what a Michelin Star is, I think this would be a good thing.)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate (Any kind of chocolate is all right in my book.)
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

So is it lunch time yet??

non sequitur

I'm feeling down today. The finality of certain situations is really resonating with me today, and my emotions are in full swing. I am feeling loss - the effect of missed opportunities coupled with helplessness to change the past, or to change people. For a few years now I've wondered how this would all turn out. Would this strong emotion I've tried to bury for so long finally be proven right, or would it be just another wrong? Would I get my happy ending? In a few short weeks, it will all be over. Decisions and plans are being made at this very moment. And it seems that that happy ending will not be coming my way. Today I am feeling a strong desire to make a choice. Choice No. 1 would be to accept the way things have turned out, to grow up and learn the lesson that I'm sure is in there somewhere. Choice No. 2 would be to fight - hard - for what I have wanted for so long and believe I deserve. Happiness. But it won't work. I am not strong enough. And my heart is breaking.

(Apologies for the vagueness, friends. This is me throwing thoughts into the ether.)

PR5 ep. 3&4

It appears I missed posting about last week's Project Runway, so now that this week's episode has aired, I guess I'll just moosh them both up together in one post. Yummy.

Well, last week, from what I remember, was actually a bit of a puzzler. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what the judges were thinking when they chose the top and bottom 3. I loathed the winning dress (no offense to Kenley). It may have been passable if it didn't have that strange pouf of purple jutting out of one hip, but even then, I probably wouldn't have given it a second look. Oddly enough, I liked Jerell's dress the best, even though I'm kinda undecided on his style as a whole. But it wasn't even in the top 3. Of the ones they chose, I definitely thought Terri would win, but alas. As for the bottom 3, Emily absolutely did NOT deserve to go home, compared with the dumpy thing that Jennifer came up with. Emily's exit comment of "Hell, no, that wasn't the losing dress!" gave me a bit of satisfaction that she was just as dumbstruck as I was by the decision. Sure, nobody really believes they've done the worst, but she was almost militant about it. I'll miss you Emily, you were auf'd before your time! My faves that episode were Jerell, Kelli, Blayne and Leanne (I just vomited a little in my mouth having to admit that). Jennifer's was the worst by far, and the rest were just blah to me.

On to this week!

Yay Olympics! Yay America! That was the theme - to design an outfit appropriate for the athletes (female) to wear to the Olympics opening ceremony. But before I get to the clothes, I must share an observation. It seems to me that no real contestant drama is happening so far this season and thus TPTB are resorting to manufacturing some of their own. Or rather, they're taking little tiffs and complaints and trying to make them seem bigger than they really are. This episode was filled to the brim with "He stole my fabric ... he re-threaded my machine ... she laughs too loud ... blah blah blah ..." Nothing substantial ... so ... why bother? I dunno, whatever. Moving on! I'm not so much into the sporty stuff, but it was actually very refreshing to see the designers doing something other than little cocktail dresses. And this time around, I thought their top and bottom 3 choices were spot-on. Korto definitely deserved the win. Her design answered the challenge perfectly and was very fashionable and modern and appropriate for an athlete. And FINALLY, Jennifer got eliminated. I don't know what it was about her (Her insistence despite all evidence that she is a surrealist? Her teeth?) but I just couldn't wait to see her go. I didn't think her outfit this challenge was as bad as last week's disaster, but it was in no way relevant to the challenge. It didn't say "Olympics" and it didn't say "America." It said only "Jennifer" and that was enough to get her a one-way ticket back to Holly Golightly Land. Aside from Korto, I also really liked Joe (I think this is the first time his design has even registered on my radar) and Leanne (Did I really just admit to liking her again??). The judges also really liked Terri, but was I the only one who noticed that the model's chest was literally bulging out of the strapless top underneath the jacket? Not pretty, and not a good sign for anyone who actually HAS boobs. Two more quick comments before I get to the rundown: 1) Michael Kors commented to Joe that he had trouble with the length of his skort, but to me that looked intentional. Wasn't it? It seemed an awfully big mistake if it indeed was one. 2) Daniel really shouldn't have listened to Kenley when she told him to ditch the jacket he was making for his dress. If he'd gone with it, the judges may have understood better where he was going with his look, and he might not have gotten so close to elimination. Do I smell sabotage??

Runway Rundown: (most fave to least fave)
(Note: This was hard this week! So many people have moved up and down the scale.)
Kelli - My new top pick. She's been the most consistent and I think she's got the potential to make it to the end.
Kenley - NYC Challenge Winner - Though I didn't like her NYC-inspired dress and her Olympic outfit was just so-so, I still put her pretty far up there.
Korto - Olympic Challenge Winner - She made quite a jump due to this stellar outfit.
Daniel - Don't know what's up with Daniel, but I still see potential.
Terri - I guess she's just one of those in-the-middle kind of folks for me. Nothing outstanding, but nothing terribly yucky.
Jerell - He is seriously all over the map. One day he's making something gorgeous, the next day it's Mary Had a Little Lamb.
Blayne - This guy is beginning to grow on me, personality-wise. I want him to design some really great stuff so I can put him up at the top of my list.
Suede - Nothing new to say about Suede. Middle man.
Leanna - I can hate her if I want to.
Stella - I'm beginning to think it was a mistake to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Joe - One impressive design among a bunch of dookie.
Keith - Someone has to be on the bottom. Might as well be Keith.
Emily - Eliminated NYC Challenge
Jennifer - Eliminated Olympics Challenge

p.s. I'm surprised there haven't been any group challenges yet. Betcha that's what's coming next week!!

p.p.s. I owe you a post about Lollapalooza! Stay tuned.

summer fun

Exhaustion has set in after a whirlwind weekend. Well, for homebody me it was a whirlwind anyway. The plan was:

Friday - Brookfield Zoo with my parents, then back into the city for the birthday celebration of Jillybean's BF
Saturday - BBQ on Montrose Beach with some friends, one of whose mother was in town from China, then a Bachelorette party for a friend in from NY
Sunday - possible brunch with NY friend, then Wicker Park Fest with some pals from work

That was the plan, anyway. However, Friday morning I got a text cancelling Saturday's barbecue, because the host had to get his appendix and gall bladder taken out. Yikes. After ensuring he was okay, I decided to rearrange my activities, and move the trip to Wicker Park Fest to Saturday so I could see The 1900's play. Well, after the Friday at the Zoo, and the Friday night of drinking too much whiskey at the birthday party, any activities during the daylight hours of Saturday were pretty much out of the question. I had to make a quick trip to the grocery store to purchase appetizer ingredients, and then made my way (late) to the Bachelorette. (Side Note: The Baton Club is an experience definitely worth the price of admission, in case you're ever in a position to go.) It was already 12:30 by the time the show was over, so I decided to forgo the clubbing and cut out early, relatively speaking. Brunch was a no-go on Sunday due to the timing of flights back home, so around 3:30, I left for WP Fest. A small snafu in plans led me instead to my friend's girlfriend's house, where we chilled for a while, and then eventually made it out to the Fest, running into a random assortment of work friends and colleagues. But a couple hours later, I was pooped. The yawns were flowing in direct proportion to the sangria. I got home at 9 and wanted to go straight to bed, but ended up watching a very sleepy hour of TV before finally hitting the sack.

And I wish I was still there.

NEXT weekend, I am super excited to be going to Lollapalooza! Another crazy weekend is certainly in store. 3 days of outdoor music, and a Monday vacation day for good measure (and recovery). Friday especially promises to be brutal - in a good way, of course. Lolla all day long, then the Gogol Bordello after show at the Metro, and THEN a gypsy-punk-themed after party at a friend's place ... if I make it that far, that is. ;)

Good times.

convergence

I don't meet many people with the same name as me. It's not really an unusual name, but it's just uncommon enough that I've only known maybe 2 or 3 others in my life. Maybe met a couple more, fleetingly.

Today I was sitting in my office when I got a phone call from "the other Heidi" with whom I used to work in the same department, and sat across from (causing endless confusion). At the time of the call, I had a man sitting in my office with me. His last name? Heide.

Cue Twilight Zone music.

PR5 ep. 2

More Project Runway! Aren't you the lucky one! :)

Episode 2 was something that I don't think they've ever done on the show before. That is, the clients that the designers had to work with were the models themselves. AND, the models were the ones who had to do the shopping for them! How scary that must have been for all of them. A few people were victims of too little fabric bought, and more than a few were victims of crappy fabric bought. The OTHER catch was that this was a green challenge, and all the fabric they used was supposed to be environmentally friendly. (It's funny, when Tim Gunn told them that the fabric had to be green, I thought he meant green, the color, at first. Maybe because he was standing in front of a display of all green accessories! D'oh!)

For some reason, many of the models ended up buying the same fabrics (maybe not a large choice in organics?), so the competition was heightened with everyone's efforts to create something different from those with the same materials. But other than difficulties with the fabric, and a rush to get things completed in time, (and an excess of criers in the bottom 3) there really wasn't much drama that happened this episode. They did get a surprise guest judge (Natalie Portman), which was kind of cool ... though I thought I remembered seeing her in one of the promos, so not much of a surprise for the viewers. Oh, and there was a hilarious montage of Stella reminding everyone how much she lurrrves working with leather, after which Blayne was mocking her in the sewing room. "My cat is leatha, my husband is leatha ..." Stella ended up overhearing him, but instead of getting angry, which would have been boring, she good-naturedly scolded him. Then they hugged and Blayne said "I love your leather face." Too cute.

As far as the designs go, they pretty much ran the gamut from really pretty to really butt-ugly. Some of my favorites weren't even in the top 3. For example, I really liked Keith's design. He had the same shiny champagne-colored fabric as many of them, but he made it look really different and very pretty. If it were longer, I would actually wear his dress. Blayne actually surprised me this episode, and I really liked his design as well. The pink was unexpected. But he has GOT TO STOP with all the "licious"ness. Makes me want to kick him in the face. Stella went from being in the bottom 3 last episode to the top 3 this episode. Go Stella! Though I must say, I didn't really care for her dress! As hopeful as I was for her, I didn't think she deserved top 3 for her design. I did like the other two of the 3 a lot (Kenley and Suede), though I thought Kenley should have won this one instead of Suede. Yes, what Suede did with his fabric was very innovative, but it just looked messy and bumpy to me. Daniel's dress was kind of pretty, and I liked the pockets and the black fabric. Emily's dress I would have really liked if it were about 6 inches longer. Waaaaay short, that one. Jerell's dress was kind of unusual, but I liked it. I wish they'd shown more of how he made it. Jennifer's weird orange and gray thing ... u-g-l-y. That's all I can even say. And I'm almost disappointed to say that I really didn't care for Kelly's design this week. It looked like I was going to like it while she was piecing it together, but the finished product just didn't float my boat for some reason. Terri's design, I was very impressed with. I loved the bodice part with the ruffles. But Joe's design was about as blah and boring as one can get. (I do give Joe props for being the only one using the brown shiny fabric who did NOT end up in the bottom 3.) Which brings me to the bottom 3. Poor Korto went from top 3 last week to bottom 3 this week, and she did not take it well. Girl's gotta grow a thicker skin if she plans on sticking around. But I agree with the judges that her dress was pretty awful. It gave her model no chest to speak of, yet made her hips ginormous. Putting the darts on the outside of the dress might have been a creative and interesting move if she hadn't added those horrible fins to the sides. The other two, Wesley and Leanne, were there for pretty much the same reasons. They had both used the brown shiny fabric, which is very unforgiving, so it showed how overworked their designs were. And both were too short. I guess I agree that Wesley's final product looked worse than Leanne's, but I think it was more due to the fabric than the actual design. If they had both used a different fabric, Wesley's would have come out looking much prettier, but Leanne's would still have been a muddled and cluttered design. Regardless, Wesley was eliminated, which made me sad. I was much more interested in seeing his work than Leanne's.

Runway Rundown: (most fave to least fave)
Kenley - She's my top pick now. Plus, I really like her personality and Bettie Page-like personal style.
Daniel - He had a harder time with this challenge, but I still see potential there. Plus, he's cute. ;)
Kelly - I still want to see what more she has to offer. She has a very believable confidence and I'd like to see where that comes from.
Keith - I really liked his design this week, but I hope it's not a fluke. Let's hope he continues to grow on me.
Suede - Challenge Winner - His design this week redeems him somewhat from the boringness of last week. Again, I hope it's not a fluke. Oh, and he really needs to just not talk. Ever. Unless it is followed immediately by people making fun of him.
Jerell - Interested to see where he's going.
Terri - I think I have an idea of her design aesthetic, but I also think she has to kick it up a few degrees.
Stella - Maybe she should have risen a bit farther in my ranking for having a dress in the top 3, but like I said, I didn't love it. Still think she's cool, though.
Emily - Still don't know what she's about.
Korto - She fell far this week. Whether or not the first challenge was a fluke remains to be seen.
Joe - He's gonna have to show some serious creativity in the weeks to come if he doesn't want to bore the judges to death.
Blayne - Rising a bit in the ranks, but he's still got a ways to go.
Jennifer - I don't know what it is about this girl (her teeth?), but I'm just really uninterested.
Leanne - Just bad. She needs to go home.
Wesley - Eliminated :( This surprised me because I really saw potential in Wesley. Oh well. Shows what I know.