Grace In Small Things - 5/365

Today has been a rough one and since I'm all emotional disheveled, I figure I should take stock of the good things.

1. Homemade pizza. I've found that it tastes so much better than take-out.

2. My cute new scarf from Forever 21.



3. 500 Days of Summer. Honest, funny, sharp and well-written with an incredible soundtrack, it's the best movie I've seen this year and it makes me want to move to Los Angeles so, so badly...



4. Boots Mint, Melon and Sugar Body Scrub - It smells like candy and results in smooth, seriously moisturized skin. Best of all, it's available at Target! God, I love that store.

5. Why Georgia by John Mayer feat. Brad Paisley -- Love the original, but love the cover even more.

John Mayer and Brad Paisley - Why Georgia (Live)


It makes me feel safe, if that makes any sense at all.

1095 Days of Love

The perfect anniversary is spent wandering around the Philadelphia Art Museum -- falling in love with the paintings, the architecture and your guy, all over again. It's little moments that make your day - singing together in the car - kinda off-key, Illy coffee in 85 degree heat, an Edward Hopper print, sitting on the steps, looking out at Old City and not wanting to be anywhere else in the world.

It's Turkish food in a secluded oasis - cold mezes, rich olive oil, flaky baskets of phyllo and the best falafel in the city. It's being with a guy who indulges your culinary whims, despite being a meat and potatoes man.



It's 500 Days of Summer in the popcorn-scented darkness, the taste of real Coca-Coca, holding hands and developing respective crushes on Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon Levitt. It's parking garage kisses and heat lightning. It's summer storms, giggling in the car and running in from the rain.

It's 1095 days of love and knowing that there are so many more to come.

Happy anniversary, pookie. I love you. Always will.

My sister and I should be in charge of programming at MTV

Sarika: Oh Christ. How are birthers getting so much airtime?!
Jaime: I don't know -- I mean, why are we even legitimizing their bullshit? I'm just going to start making up baseless rumors.
Sarika: Seriously, you'll get on cable news in minutes
Jaime: Sean Hannity was born a black woman in antebellum Mississippi

Sarika: Nah, stick with unknown repubs, get them some airtime. That dude who was on the Real World is running for the house as a conservative republican that's actually true
Jaime: NO WAY!
Sarika: yep, the one from boston season. the guy who was a lumberjack
Jaime: Oh! Sean!
Sarika: http://3pts.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/ashland-county-district-attorney-sean-duffy-likely-to-run-for-congress/
Jaime: He married Rachel from RW 3 -- the Cuban Republican
Sarika: oh geez, well, he's running against a popular republican so he'll probably lose
Jaime: I don't know -- people are stupid and easily lead
Sarika: popular democrat* sorry
Jaime: Especially young people
Sarika: also, apparently, a lot of people in DC are pissed about the real world cast being there
Jaime: Although that season was a while ago, so who knows? They might not even know him!
Sarika: Probably, considering that he didn't have a three way in a hot tub while trying to further his rap career
Jaime: Career? Please! You know how much money those idiots make on the lecture circuit?
Sarika: Wait, seriously? Why the hell would anyone want them to lecture about ANYTHING?
Jaime: Go on real world and then, bum around for the next ten years doing club appearances and lectures

Sarika: Part of me wants to go on the show and just ruin things
Jaime: Yep -- they visit colleges all over the place and talk about their experiences. How so?
Sarika: like when people are having an argument go into the room and start singing or yelling loudly. that'll piss not only the roommates off, but the editors too.
Jaime: Start stumping for some insane political ideal -- "WHIG PARTY FOREVER!"
Sarika: so they can't use the footage
Jaime: Or just use a bunch of copyrighted terms -- "Oh Coca-Cola! You ARE the real thing!""Nike, you Just Do It better than the rest!"
Sarika: And paint things on the walls, like arbitrary political slogans -"Tippecanoe and Tyler too!""McGovern 72!"
Jaime: I Like Ike!
Sarika: Now you're getting it!
Jaime: God, that would be my favorite season ever
Sarika: I want to make it impossible to use any of my footage. And then ruin others' on air time
Jaime: Also, you should ask the blindingly obvious questions that the audience is screaming at the television - "So, hooked up with a married guy, huh? How's that being a whore thing treating you?"
Sarika: "Why are you yelling about a Snapple? is it because the camera is there?"
Jaime: "It's a good thing they're blurring your genitals because they're embarrassingly small."
Sarika: "do you really think your rap career will succeed? you're not very good.""no, NOT using a condom is the number one contributor to pregnancy"
Jaime: "You're just kissing that girl to get back at your father for not being around..."
Sarika: "why are you talking about gay marriage? you're completely politically uninformed. do you even know who your congressman is?"

Sarika: have you noticed that people's names on that show are getting more and more strange?
Jaime: Oh sweet Jesus, they're SO bad
Sarika: Khymmberlie. I made that up, but it is possible
Jaime: Ayiiaa. I didn't make that one up
Sarika: This season, i saw a commercial for it, there's a girl named Aiyaa. Yeah! Something like that, I knew it. TOO MANY VOWELS
Jaime: Cohutta. I KNOW!
Sarika: Brawny! That's an adjective!
Jaime: The quilted quicker picker upper or Connecticut WASP? You decide!
Sarika: I want there to be people who are in school on that show or working
Jaime: Kaia -- whose real name was Margaret. Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret. God, I'm tired of being a chubby outcast. Can you turn me into a pseudo-intellectual bulimic hipster with a ridiculous name?
Sarika: prayer answered
Jaime: I want that show to return to its roots -- first season, they lived in a cool loft, actually talked about things besides sex and had some diversity. Now? Generic hot people all vying for STDs and camera time
Sarika: I am going to go on now. i won't smoke, drink, or cause any drama. i will be non confrontational, but will paint copyrighted slogans everywhere and will play mind games with everyone by being entirely normal. i will find a job and ruin this show.
Jaime: Also, you can sing Prince songs EVERY time you're on camera. He's a litigious little leprechaun. They'll never be able to air that footage.

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person

I love you, Nala girl. You were my stinky little princess and I'm going to miss you like crazy.

And honestly, how heartbreaking is that turtles live for 100 years and dogs only live for 15?

Rest in peace, girl. I'll be seein' ya...

Grace in Small Things - 4/365

1. Cute new green and silver flip flops
2. Making anniversary plans -- Turkish food, the Art Museum....
3. The public library. I cannot stress how much I love the public library. I was there for two hours yesterday and picked up two Bourdain books (No Reservations and The Nasty Bits), The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Don't You Forget About Me by Jancee Dunn (I have a crush on pretty much every Rolling Stone writer), The Best Food Writing - 2007, Not Remotely Controlled by Lee Siegel and The Sharper The Knife, The Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn. I've already finished the last one. Good times.
4. Momiji Dolls



They're ridiculously cute.
5. Lunch for one -- sitting in the sunshine, reading and munching on Cosi's flatbread hummus sandwiches. I need to do this more often.
6. Watching Goodfellas with Dan and talking about the mob and its culture of violence.

Why don't you come up and see me sometime...?

excuse me, miss? i'll have another., originally uploaded by JKönig.

Hello lover...

Grace in Small Things - 3/365

1. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip on DVD
2. Jordan McDeere as a style icon.



3. Breakfast and a movie -- More fun and less trite than dinner and a movie. Also, way more recession-friendly.
4. Justin Bartha and Bradley Cooper all suited-up in The Hangover. Yes please!
5. New episodes of No Reservations on the Travel Channel starting tonight.

Grace in Small Things - 2/365

1. Good Girls Go Bad by Cobra Starship

Cobra Starship - New Music - More Music Videos

2. Food blogs -- especially Lottie + Doof and Homesick Texan
3. The prospect of making mini quiches for dinner
4. Goodreads.com -- have an account? Let me know about it!
5. Seedless green grapes straight out of the fridge

I can't stop drinking the coffee, I stop drinking the coffee, I stop doing the standing and walking and the words putting into sentence doing.

Every summer, I designate a cocktail for the season. Summer 2008, it was Absolut Pears and Sprite and this year, I'm kicking it old-school by ordering Tom Collins' at pretty much every bar I hit. Yes, I am an old man.

However, my non-alcoholic sponsor for summer since 2004 has been iced coffee. I got addicted to it in London where I'd slug down iced mochas and then, spend the day running around the city with my sister and my best friend. It was awesome.

My iced coffee needs are simple -- I don't need Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts (I'm not really a fan of either, anyway). Nothing cold-dripped or made Vietnamese style (although that does sound delicious), just regular coffee brewed up and dropped in the fridge overnight to chill.

So, last Thursday, I made myself a tumbler to take into work. It was perfect - rich and strong with a little sugar and vanilla. Add a couple of ice cubes and some half-and-half and I'm in love.

I drank about half the tumbler and left the rest in the fridge, figuring I could grab some when I came into the office on Tuesday.

I get in this morning, looking forward to my jolt of caffeine and sugar. I fling open the fridge door, reach in and grab....nothing.

My coffee is gone. Tumbler and all. Dub tee eff.

The GD Scale: Office Edition

1. Using tired cliches like, "Working hard or hardly working?" Really, dude? Really?
2. Using the last of the paper in the copier/fax machine and not replacing it. It takes all of three seconds and makes life easier for the next five people who use the machine.
3. Not using the Outlook calendar. It makes your life so easy. Why wouldn't you use it?
4. Making stinky food in the communal microwave and having the entire office reek of substandard beef lo mein for hours afterwards. I'm not judging. I love stinky food -- onions, garlic, gorgonzola... -- but there's a time and a place. And that place is not the office.
5. Swiping the cute assistant's coffee from the fridge. The cute assistant needs her iced coffee. It keeps her cheerful and perky and totally able to deal with people who call and ask point blank, "Is she there yet?" (Ummm, who?)

Sp tonight, I'm making a new batch and if it gets swiped this time, heads will roll...and by heads will roll, I mean I'll gripe to anyone who will listen, make that crinkly nose face I make and close the book on the thing by blogging.

I'm not very hardcore.

Grace In Small Things - 1/365

1. Making travel plans with my sister -- Seattle, Chicago, New York....

2. Open windows and warm summer breezes.

3. Crusty bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

4. Organix Soft and Silky Vanilla Silk Serum

5. True Blood on HBO

He's got enough self-esteem issues being a Chihuahua, Mom.

Dan and I were discussing Mark Sanford this morning:

Dan: Did you hear he said this Argentinian woman is his soul mate?
Me: He's a douche. He claims that marriage is sacred and was yelling for Clinton's blood and it turns out, he's doing the exact same thing. There's something very wrong with him.
Dan: I believe him.
Me: You do? You really think this woman is his soul mate?
Dan: Yeah. I mean, what if I had met someone who was nice and pretty and that I got along with just fine...
(At this point, I start thinking, "Oh God! He's talking about me! I'm the nice girl!")
Dan: ....and then, I met you. I couldn't stay with that woman knowing I belong with you.

This proves several things:

A) I have pitiful self-esteem. Seriously.
B) Dan is a lot more diplomatic than I am.
C) Dan is the sweetest guy ever. He wasn't being obsequious or saying this to get brownie points (which are insanely easy to earn with me because I am so damn susceptible to flattery). It was a simple statement of fact akin to water is wet...and that's why it meant so much.