oh god...oh god. if you only know sinbad from such CLASSIC movies as "houseguest", "jingle all the way", and "first kid", you're missing out. in middle school, my dad and i were watching tv one saturday afternoon and happened upon an old sinbad stand-up special that was on comedy central, and proceeded to ROFLOAO for the next hour and a half. i was introduced to a brand new world of hilarity that i never knew....the genius that is sinbad.
so clearly, when i was trying desperately to come up with a great christmas present idea for mi padre this year and saw that the man/the myth/the legend was on tour and coming to the wilbur theatre, i knew it was the perfect idea.
seriously, i had tears rolling down my cheeks and my face was in PAIN from howling with laughter. the entire audience was just dying the entire 2+ hours (!!!) the man was on stage last night, talking about everything from boston drivers to online dating to sending a ragtag army of serial killers overseas. and, as i knew from seeing his previous material, the man is FUNNY AS HELL without using any word worse than "damn" - i'm no prude, but it's just refreshing and totally awesome that he's so hilar on his own that he doesn't even need to pepper anything extra in. seriously, see him if he comes to your town. check out some of my two fave clips - one from that special that started it all, and one from his most recent special, "sinbad where u been?" LOVE.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
slow it down...
totally crushing taylor-hanson-style on this man right now and would pretty much do anything for him:
who is he, you ask? his name is jaren johnston and he's the lead singer of southern rock outfit american bang. it doesn't hurt that their music is totally better than kings of leon (as a brilliant youtuber said, "this is what happens when the black crowes, tom petty, and kings of leon have a threesome and don't use protection. awesome band." more beauty/awesome below!! ok i'll stop now.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
100 things to do in 2011: month in review
12. finish the crossword every day for a month: COMPLETED.
i'm currently completing today's usa today puzzle, and am shocked that i actually knocked this one off in the first month. full disclosure...while i didn't have time to do a puzzle every single day, i made sure to make up for any missed ones in the following days. commitment!!
14. dine at 50 new restaurants: STARTED.
slightly disappointed at my pathetic showing of eateries in the first month, but i guess i was too busy focusing on my fast food avoidance (see below). however, i had an amazing breakfast at blue moon grill, a nommy pre-bowling cheeseburger at kings, and killed 1.5 birds with 1 stone at the beehive.
19. win a contest: COMPLETED.
i enter contests like it's my job, so i'm not incredibly shocked about this one. when white castle announced a twitter giveaway for telling them what you'd do if you were stuck in a white castle restaurant for 24 hours, i was all over it. clearly, i'd pretend i was the queen of white castle, decorate the restaurant in regal fashion, and sit on my throne and eat sliders all day. bam. the next week, i get a cardboard crave case filled with a white castle baseball cap (STYLIN'), a scented candle (literallysmellslikeburgerswtf), a coffee table book, a car magnet that reads "craver on board", a t-shirt and a bunch of other awesome junk. what makes it even more amazing is that i've only actually been to white castle once in my life.
25. try 5 new foods: STARTED.
can you believe i'd never tried veal? me neither. i think it had something to do with being told it was cow tongue when i was like 8, and never bothering/caring to actually find out if that was true. but i finally did it...in the form of a veal parm sub. MEH.
32. try one new recipe a month: STARTED.
i made an absolutely godawful crock pot meatloaf during a snowstorm. i was all excited to eat it after a horrible shoveling experience, and couldn't even get through a slice. lesson learned: meatloaves belong in the oven.
47. spend a day in newburyport: COMPLETEDISH.
okay, so basically what i meant by this is that i just wanted to go to newburyport because i'd never been. emily and i wandered around for a little bit and went into some cute shops while digesting our cupcakes from eat cake!, so that was sufficent for me. semantics...
75. go to a jazz brunch: COMPLETED.
i met up with an old roommate for brunch at the beehive in boston, a cute lil' bistro with live jazz on saturdays and sundays. we wolfed down delicious omelettes while some soft sax played in the background. just lovely, really!
81. whiten my teeth: COMPLETED.
i found a package of crest whitestrips that i'd abandoned and have been surprisingly diligent about remembering to use them. i'm almost done, but i can see a difference already!
94. go a month without fast food: COMPLETED.
ooooh, this was a doozy. towards the end of the month, i started having dreams about being stalked by 1/3 pound angus burgers and swimming in vats of ketchup with french fries. but folks, i did it. and you can too! but for real, if it wasn't for being ridiculously snowed in right now, i'd be parked at some mcdonald's with 5 bags in the passenger seat. :)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
"a red apple in a pile of green apples, y'know?"
weirdo 16 year-old redheaded floridian child auditioning for american idol? naturally he has won my heart. also....he seriously sounds like a soulful black woman. i can't get over it. you go, brett loewenstern!
p.s. steven tyler is making me LOL so much this season. "to my melodic sensibilities....that was delicious." WHO SAYS THAT?!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
let's go on a cupcake crawl!
i loooove me some cupcakes. and earlier this week, my friend emily & i decided to go on a veritable cupcake tour of boston's north shore this weekend (or a "cupcake crawl", as one of my twitter pals so ingeniously dubbed it)....just for fun and because we're that cool. all in all, we hit up 3 different cupcakeries -- and in truth, that was far more than enough, based on the cupcake coma that followed. when the day was done, we decided that we should rate each place in a hiiiighly scientific manner with respect to 4 different criterion: ambiance, selection, presentation, and of course, taste. drumroll please...the results!
1. cupcake cafe & bakery, beverly
our first stop was a little shop in beverly that had gotten rave yelp reviews, and we were excited to see what the fuss was about. we almost drove by the unassuming storefront, tucked in between a couple other businesses, and were quite underwhelmed upon walking in. while we were greeted warmly by the girl behind the counter, the atmosphere seemed cold, uninspired and uninviting.
given that it was just about a half-hour before closing time, we were quite impressed with the selection of cupcakes in the display case: vanilla buttercream, chocolate mousse, and chocolate peanut butter cup, if i remember correctly. we also grabbed a menu that listed all of the cafe's cupcake flavors - there were probably 15-20, which is also worth noting. emily & i ordered the vanilla buttercream and chocolate peanut butter cup to split, and they were both very adorably decorated, with cute frosting flourishes and multicolored sprinkles on the buttercream and a chunk of peanut butter cup dotting the top of the second cupcake. we had to stop the counter girl from bagging our cupcakes as we planned on eating there. as we had surmised from the lack of ambiance, this seems like a takeout kind of place!
continuing with the underwhelming trend, the buttercream cupcake was truly not much better than your standard grocery store variety. the chocolate peanut butter cup was tastier, and very rich, but the frosting was still subpar. i'd be willing to give this place another try at another time, but am not too optimistic.
ambiance: 2
selection: 7
presentation: 8
taste: 5
2. eat cake!, newburyport
i think i'm in love! i have emily to thank for suggesting this place, as she used them for her wedding, but it is a little off the beaten path in downtown newburyport, so i likely would have never been here otherwise. while the owner, hilary, does most of her business through weddings and private events -- in other words, not really a sit-down-and-snack type place -- the open-kitchen atmosphere was cozy, adorable and inspiring. in fact, she was working in the kitchen as we wandered in, and came right over to tell us enthusiastically about the cupcake flavors of the day. even more bonus points for creativity: the flavors change every day, but we got to choose between:
- a chocolate-dipped cupcake with a snickers bar in the middle, topped with vanilla buttercream frosting that's covered in honey-roasted peanuts (YES, that's just one cupcake)
- a chocolate-chip, chocolate-dipped poundcake cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting & chocolate sprinkles
- a coconut cupcake with lemon curd filling and vanilla buttercream frosting topped with fresh coconut
- red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting
- key lime pie cupcake
is this real life?! i really wanted to try them all, i really did....but i went classic and chose the red velvet, while emily got the coconut.
cute packaging too, huh? as we dug into the box in the car, we felt like we were on an episode of "true life: i'm addicted to cupcakes", complete with awkward food moans and all. this was legit one of the best (if not the best) cupcakes i've ever had the pleasure of eating. frosting was perfect, texture was perfect. just fabulous all around.
ambiance: 8
selection: 10
presentation: 10
taste: 10
3. coven, salem
as some of you may remember, emily & i visited this place back when it first opened in may of last year and were less than impressed. she'd been back since, though, and encouraged me to give it another try. i'm so glad i did!
as i mentioned in my previous post, the atmosphere is SO FUN. weird fairy tale reenactments playing on the tvs, board games stocked on the shelves, and strange toys and dolls everywhere. so it was just as cool-looking as i remembered it. and far from just being a bakery, coven has sandwiches, salads, and soups as well, making it a great place to just hang for a late lunch on a lazy afternoon...or for cupcake-saturated 20-somethings to detox before going in for round #3. we both ordered the turkey chili (which, sidenote, was very good), and a vanilla buttercream cupcake as it was the only variety available. i'm giving them a little leeway with that since it was late in the day, and they're not strictly a bakery. plus, they at least had four different colored sprinkles on the cupcakes. and who doesn't love sprinkles?!
the cupcakes were quite good, if not a bit too sickly-sweet for my taste in terms of the frosting. the cake itself, was moist and delicious, though, and honestly i was just happy to try one of their cupcakes after being let down last time around. i'll definitely be back!
ambiance: 9
selection: 5
presentation: 8
taste: 7
as you can see, the official winner was definitely eat cake! we plan to hit some of the other cupcakeries in boston proper at some point, too. any suggestions for must-visit places? also, anyone wanna hire us to do this full-time? :)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
i hate myself for lovin' you
for some reason, i've noticed a pattern in my life: i tend to like people that the general public hates/strongly dislikes. not purposely....it just happens, somehow. especially with celebrities that notoriously annoy people. i like to think i have a pretty good perception of people in general, so i can spot a good egg under some grease and douchiness. are there any celebs/people you love that anyone else hates? here are some of my examples:
1. david spade
talk all the ish you want, this man is hilarious. ever since i saw him on the tonight show describing how he saved a drowning gardener from his pool in hysterical detail, i've been a fan. so good!
2. kevin federline
i've always had a soft spot for k-fed...especially after he split from britney and went on celebrity fit club all fat 'n' bloated. i think he's a slightly misguided, slightly trashy, nice man who needs a second chance. oh. i was also the only person to like his "song", popozao, and would blast it in my suite sophomore year of college. po-po-po-po!
3. vienna girardi
moving down the list in terms of fame, i loved this "bachelor" winner from the first episode when everyone was talking trash and calling her fake. okay, her boobs were clearly surgically enhanced, but chicky kept it real until the end. i hate most girls too, so i can't blame her for doing her thing and letting haters hate. and remember months later, when she and jake the snake were on tv? HE was the crazy one, not her.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
whoaaa rock & roll!
keeping it simple this week. i've been in a down 'n' dirty rock & roll mood and have been discovering & rediscovering some great tunes. get yo' grit on!
rock 'n' roll soldiers - "anthem"
the parlor mob - "can't keep no good boy down"
i first heard these dudes the other night while looking at some of the bands that are lined up for this year's sxsw, and kind of wondered where they've been all my life. love it!
bona roba - "the slip"
this was one of one of my favorite songs way back in '06, when i was turned onto rockstar inxs contestant neal carlson. turns out he had a great rolling stones-y band called bona roba, which coincidentally included lady gaga's current boyfriend luc carl. RANDOM!
rock 'n' roll soldiers - "anthem"
unfortunately, the memory i associate with this song is feeling badass and happy as i listened to it in the car, leaving my morning shift at dunkin' donuts when i was 19. still good though!
injected - faithless
a good 1/8 of my sophomore year of high school was spent trying to convince everyone that these guys were good. i still believe it!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
100 things to do in 2011.
who's ready for 2011? THIS GIRL! 2k10 was a fab year, for sure, but as a huuuuge list junkie, i relish the chance to figure out the fun stuff i want to do in the upcoming year.
besides my bucket list, and my 30 before 30 list (a subset of the bucket list - yes, i'm crazy), i bypass that whole "new year's resolutions" business and make an annual list of 100 things i want to accomplish/do. some i've done before and just think would be fun to do again, some i've never done, some are pulled from my bucket list. and a select few i'm not sharing :). but i plan to keep track of all of the following on this blog as i go throughout 2011. i crossed off about 40 on my 2010 list, which i'm a little disappointed about, but now i'm even more motivated to get crackin' on this one. what do you want to do in the new year? to new beginnings!
100 things to do in 2011
1. go to south by southwest
2. visit chicago
3. meet andrew jenks
4. get my passport
5. dance on stage
6. host a dinner party
7. take a cooking class
8. go on a picnic
9. complete my book proposal
10. party with celebrities
11. go on a cruise
12. finish the crossword every day for a month
13. see 50 new movies
14. dine at 50 new restaurants
15. sell something on ebay
16. do volunteer work
17. sleep under the stars
18.visit 1 new state
19. win a contest
20. get a tattoo
21. perfect a dish
22. go to the cape
23. visit providence and newport, r.i.
24.see 10 bands live
25.try 5 new foods
26. go to a celtics game
27. skinny dip
28.go hiking
29.take a dance class
30. kiss in the rain
31. go to a drive-in movie
32. try one new recipe a month
33. take a duck tour
34.drink an egg cream
35. bake cupcakes
36.see a stand-up comedian
37.cultivate a great new friendship
38. get 100 blog subscribers
39. get a spray tan
40. visit a local winery/vineyard
41. take a guided tour
42. learn the "single ladies" dance
43. go swimming at night
44. go fruit picking
45. audition/try out for something
46. go out for fondue
47.spend a day in newburyport
48. reconnect with an old friend
49. get a psychic reading
50.yelp about 10 places i've been
51. go to a strip club
52. be on tv
53. win at trivia
54.tailgate
55. eat at pinkberry
56. learn to parallel park
57. lower my cholesterol
58. read one book per month
59.make my bedroom a cozy sanctuary
60. sing karaoke
61.make $1,000 in freelance
62. tone my stomach
63.floss once a week
64. eat at ruth's chris for free
65. hit 4,000 twitter followers
66. improve my posture
67. get a mani/pedi
68. go to a book signing
69. nurture a plant
70.go to a farmer's market
71. go out for tapas
72. visit the isabella stewart gardner museum
73.assume a fake identity for one night
74.play a board game
75.go to a jazz brunch
76.perform a random act of kindness
77.eat breakfast daily
78. take up a new hobby
79. watch an entire tv series on dvd
80. go backstage at a concert
81. whiten my teeth
82. ride in a limo
83. smoke a cigar
84. eat fried pickles
85. hang out around a bonfire
86. go to an art gallery opening
87. organize my itunes
88. write a fan letterand get a response
89. participate in a flashmob
90. kiss a foreigner
91. go on 2 dates with the same person
92. visit a historic landmark
93. donate money to a charity
94. go a month without fast food
95. see a sunrise and sunset in the same day
96. balance my checkbook
97. win money at a slot machine
98. learn the "thriller" dance
99. request a song on the radio
100. make a toast
Monday, December 27, 2010
bake, bake, bake, senora
tomato-bacon quiche:
INGREDIENTS
1
frozen deep dish pie crust
6
slices bacon, cooked, crumbled
4
medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)
3
medium plum (Roma) tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1/4
teaspoon salt
1/4
teaspoon pepper
1
cup half-and-half
2
tablespoons all-purpose flour
2
eggs
1/2
cup shredded Swiss cheese (2 oz)
1/2
cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)
DIRECTIONS
1. Place cookie sheet on oven rack. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove crust from freezer; let stand 1 minute. Prick crust with fork. Bake on cookie sheet 9 to 11 minutes or until very light golden brown.
2. Sprinkle bacon, green onions, tomatoes, salt and pepper in crust. In medium bowl, stir together half-and-half, flour and eggs. Stir in cheeses. Pour over tomato mixture.
3. Bake on cookie sheet 25 to 30 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
sweet cheese delights
INGREDIENTS
2
packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1
cup sugar
1
egg yolk
1
teaspoon vanilla
2
cans (8 oz each) crescent dinner rolls
1
cup chopped pecans
1/2
cup packed brown sugar
2
tablespoons butter, melted
2
teaspoons ground cinnamon
Powdered sugar, if desired
DIRECTIONS
1. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla; beat on low speed until blended.
2. Unroll 1 can of dough into 1 large rectangle; press seams and perforations to seal. Press onto bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Spread with cream cheese mixture.
3. In small bowl, mix pecans, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Sprinkle half the pecan mixture over the cream cheese layer. On lightly floured surface, press or roll out remaining dough into 13x9-inch rectangle. Place over filling. Sprinkle remaining pecan mixture over top.
4. Bake at 375°F 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly on cooling rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.
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