31 July 2011

happy birthday christine!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTINE!!!!




do you have a sister?
mine pinches my cheeks and squishes my face when she adores me.
she also sits on me and strongly grabs my limbs leaving her fingerprints when she's mad.

we like to sing together. for example, she'll sing the rap part of Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass" and I'll sing the chorus.
(maybe we'll show you one day in a youtube video..!!)

so.. yes we have a weird yet unbreakable sisterly bond, to say the least.
she's moving up to NYC next month to pursue her cobbler aspirations.
canNOT.wait

<3

29 July 2011

i wish i could tell you...

I'm going somewhere tonight. But I can't tell you where ... yet ... because it's a surprise.

But I'm super duper excited about it!!!

ps- don't you hate it when people say that they know something really cool and that they can't tell you.

those people are such bitches. :)



stay cool lovers.



28 July 2011

RHONYC Reunion, part 1

You guys, I am OBSESSED with the Real Housewives of New York City. Cannot.stop.watching.these.bitches.

With that said, this season has been a little disappointing for me. It fluctuated between me sitting on the edge of my seat and tweeting every 5 seconds to listening to music and surfing the web with the show on in the background in case I don't miss anything. However, the reunion show (that aired Monday night) was most excellent. So good that I had to blog about it. Seven middle-aged upper class ladies dressed to the nines engaging in what can only be described as verbal hair-pulling. Amaze-balls.



Here's my breakdown:

First is the worst. Cindy Barshop. She is my least favorite housewife of NY. No personality. No affinity for life or people. I noticed immediately at the beginning of the show that she kept twitching her face to show disdain at every comment one of the girls was making. Too much botox, or too much hate? At first, I thought to myself "I wish she'd smile more." But then she did and I immediately regretted thinking that. I don't even know why she even does the show because she clearly stated several times, more or less in these words, that she hates the type of relationship that girlfriends have. In fact, the only relationship she knows is a business relationship. Oh yes, that also applies to her brother and her kids. Alex McCord hit the nail on the head when she told Cindy that "she was a sourpuss and needs to get laid." BEST.LINE.OF.THE.NIGHT. For me, there is a fine line between drama-seeking and just plain hateful. And for that, I think Cindy needs to go. Who wants to help me start the campaign?

Poor Alex, I feel bad for her. Not because she was sorta ganged up on by the brunettes... she instigated and deserved all of those taunts. But because she seems very bored. So bored that she makes it her place to get involved in other people's issues (read Ramona and Bethenney). I guess I would be too if my husband were gay. Speaking of Simon, Alex must live in some kind of dismissive 50s household. She seems very unsure of herself, gets very flustered easily and speaks with little conviction. She also thinks it's OK for men to yell at their wife's friends WHEN THEY DESERVE IT. There was some weird underlying tone that I felt when she said it. It was whatever men do to women, it's because they deserve it. Don't get me wrong. Men are allowed to yell at women. But what Simon did at the gay marriage event was more than just yelling, he also used his body language to threaten Sonja. And mean-tweeting was not designed for grown men. I do not think Simon's behavior is/was appropriate at all. Alex just set women back 50 years. So thanks for that bitch.

Kelly is the Cosmo and self- proclaimed "5th Nicest Celebrity." (LOL!) She announced her new title at the beginning of the episode and then chose to spend the entire rest of the night proving that she was not. She hypocritically criticized Sonja for living beyond her means and not having a "real" job like Cindy and called everyone weird. Don't believe everything you read Kelly. I'm also mad at her for simmering Cindy down after Alex's "need to get laid" line. Way to go Kelly.

In my opinion, Jill has grown up a lot. Is she a better person? I wouldn't go that far. But she really has tried to keep the peace or at least play nice, albeit you can tell it was all an act. And I deeply respect anyone that tells it like it is. Because Alex has shown her true colors and really is a bitch. However, I do not believe for one nanosecond that Jill is scared of Bethenney. And I refuse to believe that Mario is cheating on Ramona. All LIES.

Ramona used to be my favorite character. But she kinda rubbed me the wrong way this season. Though she did handle herself very well with Cindy, Ramona's dig at Luann and her kids was low and put a sour taste in my mouth. Otherwise, she was really uncharacteristically quiet for most of the episode. I think she's going through something. Her marriage? Menopause? Whatever is stirring inside of her, I hope she lets it out soon. I have an inkling that a quiet Ramona is a deadly Ramona. Hm, I always liked red wine anyway.

Luann was most interesting. She was neutral and didn't really take sides. Which would have been fine, if she didn't carry around her an air of haughtiness. Unsolicited etiquette advice is the worst. Didn't she ever learn that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all? Wherever she got her etiquette lessons, she needs to get a refund pronto. Also, did the makeup artist skip her? She looked like she had just walked 10 blocks in the 96 degree humid NYC weather.

Sonja won favorite housewife! And rightfully so. She was the most well-behaved and definitely the most human of all of them that night. Any conflict that headed her way, she gracefully deterred. She is also nice and opens her arms to each and every Housewife, even Cindy. I also love her zest for life. I'm going to go ahead and nominate Sonja to be the Ambassador of all the Housewives. Or is that Andy Cohen's job?

What did you guys think?! I would love to hear it all!!

And don't worry kids, it's not over yet. That was just part 1. There's a part 2 that airs next week. HOORAY!

26 July 2011

Hi Hi!

Does anyone still read this? I sure hope so!



And I love you lots if you still do.
I've been working on a bunch of different things ...



and unfortunately, my beloved blog has taken a backseat.
BUT NO MORE, i say. NO MORE!!



I'm making my way back to the blogging world, so watch out world!






in case you forget what I look like :)


lots of blog love,



jp

23 March 2011

flower shoot

Remember these flowers?

My friend Julie and I decided to have a photo shoot with them.

Because she loves photography, and I love having my photo taken. We are great friends.





22 March 2011

The Four Chord Song

Hey ya'll!

I've got a case of the Tuesdays and I need a good singalong.

Check out this funny video of this band that proves that all you need is to learn how to play four chords to make a good pop song. They're called The Axis of Awesome, and they are indeed awesome.



via Huffington Post

18 February 2011

(almost) spring flowers

It's almost 60 degrees today and it is feeling like spring! After the blizzard(s) that NYC has been hit with, the warm weather is providing me with lots of hope and possibility. Like these giant flowers coming out of the snow!


Happy happy Friday and have a fabulous weekend!


10 February 2011

Check out my Bûche (de Noël)!

This post is a little belated but the pictures are so super cute, I know you'll forgive me.

Over Christmas, I was in charge of making our Yule Log... because if we're going to be honest, the phamily isn't very fond of my "hippie" food.

Ta-da!


I used Jacques Torres' recipe, and it was delicious! I followed the recipe exactly except for the coffee liquer part for the Coffee Buttercream. Instead, I replaced the water with 1/3 cup of coffee. The phamily drinks Cafe Du Monde, so that is what I used. This took about 4 hours total, and was totally worth it.

And what is Christmas without a Christmas Tree? Well, I made my own little forest because I was really in the spirit.



Aren't they so adorable? I love them. I love how the wax paper looks like a snowy background. Unfortunately, I can't take credit for this. I found the idea/recipe here. It took me about 6 hours for 60-ish cookies, so it is a big project but fun when you're visiting home and have hours to do NOTHING. Oh vacation, how I miss thee.
I kinda miss Christmas, but am so ready for summer! Let's do it.

03 February 2011

How to be a 20-something

What are you supposed to do when you're in your 20s?
Are we supposed to make a certain amount of money by x age?
Is the bullshit supposed to stop?
What type of adult should we be?
We have to have it all figured out, right?

All I know is that I'm just trying to live as happily as I can, and I hope you are too!

I read this great article about "How to be a 20-something" that basically states that you should enjoy your prime years and forget the naysayers.

My favorite lines:

“Date people who you know you’ll never be able to love.”

"Remember that you’re young and that the world is your oyster. Everything
is possible, you still have so much to see and hear. You went to a good school
and did good things. Figure if you’re not going to be successful, who the hell
is?"

Read motivational article here.

20 January 2011

A Spectacular Moment

Do you ever feel like you're just going through the motions?

I feel like that today. Nothing special is happening. Nothing out of the ordinary differentiates this day from the previous. Like I am waiting for a spectacular moment. And then it makes me a little sad- that life can be a little boring.

And then a coworker/friend told me that if every moment of my life were a spectacular moment, I wouldn't be able to handle it. And if every moment of my life were a spectacular moment, then I would want a spectacular spectacular moment and wish for one of those for every moment of my life. (Ah, such a vicious cycle life can be sometimes).


And then I take a deep breath, and happily wait for my next spectacular moment.

05 January 2011

Ted Williams

Have you guys heard of Ted Williams? If not, don't worry too much about being "in the know" because he literally has only been in the public eye for about a day.

He is our most recent, most literal example of an overnight sensation. Just yesterday he was just a homeless man on the side of the highway and today he has offers from across the nation of job offers to be the next big voice over talent. He even got offered a house!

Ted is a trained radio announcer that lost himself to drugs and alcohol which consequently left him homeless. In the video below, he talks about being clean for two years and his supreme gratitude for everything.

It really is so inspiring and humbling to me how quickly his life changed and had his dreams come true. And all he had to do was to keep doing what he was doing... by standing on the side of the road as a homeless man with a sign that said he had an amazing voice... he showed the world around him what he could do and someone saw. Amazing.



What did I learn from this? I will continue to [learn to] be the exceptional person that I am and do what I do because when someone sees me, I want to be prepared for what is to come!