Hello dear blog-followers (Hi Ari! Hi Mal!):
I haven't forgotten about you, I promise. I've got half a dozen blog posts half-started in my "To Be Edited" folder, I swear. But I've been fighting a bad case of the Mean Reds this past month or so, and just couldn't bear to pull out another filler YouTube video, or some mediocre commentary on pop culture fads. I needed a break, I needed to regroup: do some Pilates, clean out the studio, drink some wine. No good blogging could come from these things, I think. And so it was for you, dear reader (Mal! Ari!) that I abstained from the drunken blog post, or the post-yoga meditation on the BP oil spill and Lady Gaga. Life's too short to read Bad Blogs, I reasoned.
And so consider this my solemn vow, dear ones, that I am going to return to the semi-regular posting quite soon, and that I have gathered quite the delicious array of fodder for your eagerly seeking creative non-fiction blogging needs (bad weddings! lover's quarrels! Facebook faux-pas!). I do think, however, that I needed to ease my way back into the conversation on neutral, if not positive terms, as I'm afraid that most of these topics lead me to chugging the Haterade (Bridezillas! Art reality shows! Creating-fake-practice-family-portraits-with-someone-else's-child-on-Facebook-like-a-psycho-asshole!) and I'm not too keen on alienating my dear readers on the pretense of bitching.
And so, I'd like to reopen the dialogue with a list of recent obsessions: things that make me happy, things that I cannot stop using/buying/consuming/thinking about/watching. This is, to say the least, MY Tiffany's, the only surefire cure for the Mean Reds.
1. Rompers.
I am totally obsessed. I have three of them, and the moment I come home I hop out of my clothes at a speed that would inspire Warner Bros. to reexamine the Road Runner, and slip into one of these cotton, full-bodied numbers that make me feel cozy, practical and sexy. Every time the Boogs comes home and finds me doing Pilates, reading, or cooking in one of these ingenious sartorial inventions, he calls out "Romper!" and I stop what I'm doing, and frolic. Just for a moment. They are so, so delicious.
2. Say Yes to Carrots Body Butter.
I found this in a mini travel size at Target and I cannot stop putting it on my hands and arms. It is creamy, light, and soft, everything a good dessert mousse should be, for your skin. The smell is subtle and clean, and if I can't control the fervor with which I rub it all over myself in public, I'm afraid I'm going to just have to start eating it.
3. PG Tips
I was introduced to this delicious tea last summer when the Boogs and I lived in the Catskills with two Brooklyn artists and their young son Jasper. (Check out their sites on the links provided!) At night, after the Jasper had been put (usually temporarily) to sleep and we all retired to our studios for late-night contemplation, Kirsten and I would make enormous mugs of PG tips with milk and raw sugar. I developed a bit of an obsessive craving for the stuff and was abruptly cut off when we were traveling shortly thereafter. Upon our return to the US we were so absurdly poor that it wasn't until this past month that I finally felt totally comfortable buying the whole damn 80 satchel box at Whole Foods. Tis heavenly at 10 o'clock at night, with a big hard back book and graham crackers.
4. Anthropologie dishware
All of which were purchased today with the help of my handy-dandy family discount card courtesy of the Boogs' job (he's the display artist at Urban). I cannot tell you how long I have coveted the latte bowls, nor can I fully express what joy it brings me to see them stacked now, next to a bottle of wine and a big white Anthro bag with those spartan, elegant red handles. I believe we've called this feeling "happiness," though it seems to fall devastatingly short of what I'm currently experiencing.
5. The World Cup. More specifically, the USA team in the World Cup.
I know this may seem like an unlikely transition, given all the beauty and food items listed before it, but I am equally obsessed (if not more so) with this year's World Cup. I came into it with what I thought was a very "realistic" approach: given the stats and my own instincts, I settled upon a rough Top Five of Germany, Ghana, Mexico, Chile and the US. While Ghana and Germany are definitely abreast my expectations, Chile and the US have far exceeded them, and I am happy to say that I am fully backing our dear country in the upcoming elimination round. I was skeptical, though unsurprised, by their performance against England and Slovenia (our defense was wild, if not pathetic) but the Algeria game that won us our group (first time since 1930!!!!!) makes them worthy not only of their spot against Ghana in the elimination round (a totally worthy team, a strong and surprising group) but also of my total, 100% undying support.
I saw on the ol' FB that many-a non-soccer fan (re: the vast majority of my American friends) were confused- nay- resentful of the sudden outpouring of support and soccer-love via status updates. "Where did all these soccer fans come from??" they queried, not without judgement, not without a tone that would imply that we futbol-watchers were Sunday-supporters, fair weather fans. To these skeptics I say this: I never hear you wondering "where did all these Olympics fans come from!?" during the games. The World Cup also occurs every 4 years, and thus, we are fully informed, fully saturated, fully satisfied. Deal with it.
And, USA v. GHANA, SATURDAY JUNE 26th, 2:30 ET. Be there.
