Birthday Week(s) continue on!

The picture above is from Kaci and I's joint party at the Gramophone. Tomorrow night, it's her birthday proper so Justin and I are taking her to The Melting Pot for the fondue dinner of her dreams.

I'm still thinking about what I would like to do in Nashville this coming weekend...

How does the what relate to the what now?

From an earlier conversation with my Dad:

"Fuck, I really want White Castle. That means I have to go to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch."

Um... I don't comprehend. Hopefully, everyone reading this thinks that sentence is all kinds of incongruent logic... otherwise, it's me.

Tonight, we ate fushi.

Justin and I just came back from our first trip to Maplewood, MO ever. For some reason, I thought Maplewood was far away in the County. It turns out, it's maybe only 20 minutes away.

Lots of cute boutiques and the Schafly brewery (tours, holler) are there. We also saw the famous Jive & Wail, which I am looking forward to. In case you weren't aware, piano bars are a serious good time.

Specifically, we headed out to Fu Manchu.



We read a positive review in Saint Louis Magazine, specifically about how nice the patio dining is there. The weather today was absolutely beautiful, so we figured we would explore and check it out. The service wasn't great (only one server and one chef) but the patio was so relaxing ( cushioned benches, overhead lanterns, oddly enough... a disco ball) and the food was good and moderately priced so it's definitely a viable option when we want to get out of the neighborhood.

For appetizers, we had vegetarian soft spring rolls and Asian guacamole with wonton crisps. For dinner, we ordered one Philadelphia roll and one "fushi" roll: kobe steak, rice, cream cheese, mango and scallions wrapped in a spinach tortilla. Yum. And something we could probably make at home for friends too!

The men at the table next to us ordered Nutella wontons for dessert... will definitely save room for them next time!

I'm gonna stick it to the man.

I kind of want this Rebecca Minkoff tote bag...




... so I can break all the rules and stuff a bottle of wine in the bread pocket, and vice versa. Rock and roll!

Did you hear the news?

Rumors are floating around that Madonna is divorcing her husband. While I'm certain that the court in London won't be giving the husband primary custody of their son, maybe the judge will pity him and give him primary custody of his balls.

Justin and I skipped out on the Rush concert tonight, because we weren't all that enthusiastic about spending money to hang out with a large crowd of people... congregating to listen to Rush. Justin likes Rush for whatever reason. I don't particularly... because I have two ears.

Tonight we watched an older movie called Havoc, starring Anne Hathaway. She plays a privileged Los Angeles teen that decides to join an East L.A. gang because she's lonely. I definitely recommend it. Then we went to Qdoba.

Parachute Musical and Heypenny had a great show last night. I'm glad everyone had a good time... I'm tempted to say that I drank too many cucumber gimlets, which are made from cucumber infused vodka and lime juice. But really, you can't drink too many if it wards off scurvy...

I'm so happy to have discovered where on Vandeventer there's White Castle. And it's down the street from the Gramophone... perfect for post-concert feasting.

You know what else makes me happy? Friends, I'll be in Nashville for my birthday on the 6th. Maybe we can do something... special... like, go to a bar and celebrate? But do it differently because it'll be my birthday?

My Dad knows your handbag is last season's.

My birthday is coming up next week (July 6th- holler) and every year the men in my life kind of freak out about it. Because I'm prone to crying. I know it's bratty, but I don't handle surprises well... and if I don't particularly care for something, the tears they floweth. I'm pretty easy in theory though: shoes and handbags, unless it's something I specifically ask for. This year, Justin agreed to get me a new iPhone 3G. I've also asked for a more attractive stainless steel trash can for the kitchen. (Yes, I know asking for a trash can is mildly insane but I really want one.)

My Dad always makes it a point to try and "surprise" the girls in the family. I figure it's a good idea to tell him what I would like still, just to give him an idea of things. But usually, his idea of "surprising" us doesn't go over well... hence the saying that it isn't a "Catania (insert celebration here) unless someone is crying!"

This morning, he surprised the hell out of me by bragging that this year... he knows I'm going to love my birthday present. How? Because he did his research on The Purse Forum.

http://www.forum.purseblog.com

He was so funny this morning... He knows that I carry Botkier bags in the Trigger and Bianca styles, respectively. He asked if my mother carries the Louis Vuitton Speedy in a 30 or a 25 and what this Balenciaga Le Dix bag looks like. Apparently, he spent a lot of time on there, "researching", because my mother told him he was spending "too much time on there."

Eventually, he decided on a Botkier medium sized Bianca satchel in Cherry, since he knows I like the style and all of the posters were fond of the color:



Now I'm looking forward to my birthday, instead of dreading it!

My Mom is unaware that my dad told me, but I feel confident blogging about it since I'm pretty sure she doesn't go on the Internet by herself.

Boycott time.

A friend of mine wrote this letter to The Consumerist:
"Last night we were out with friends and went to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory at Bella Terra/Huntington Beach. We were eating outside as my 5 year old daughter got an uncontrollable urge to use the bathroom and began crying and screaming 'diarrhea, diarrhea.' I ran into the store with her in my arms, begging to use the bathroom and they refused multiple times."

I explained she had diarrhea and couldn't hold it and told them she was about to go on the floor. They refused again and never offered me any alternatives. I begged them to have a heart and that she was 5 but by that time she had lost it all over herself and me. I ran with her in my arms to the movie theater that let me use their bathroom. I cleaned her up, threw out some of her clothes and went back to the Chocolate Factory - asking for names and number of management. I again pleaded with them to use their heart in situations like this.

I called the manager today and she finally called me back. She supports the employees and tells me that it is an insurance decision. She told me to sue if it makes me feel happy. She laughed at me when I told her I would be using my extensive contacts to begin a viral campaign to boycott her store and the entire chain and told me that she was "sure that would make my daughter very proud." My daughter was humiliated, forced to defecate on herself due to the lack of compassion exhibited by the store - which the owner continued to support on the phone with me. I don't want anything, I just want them to have a bit of compassion in the future."

I'm a bit disappointed in humanity... Because first off, the daughter really had no control over herself. She wasn't sick that day and the mother had no clue she was having diarrhea until the minute she started crying. My sister is diagnosed with Crohn's disease and growing up, if she needed to use the bathroom... she had to go to the fucking bathroom. When she in the 6th grade, she was sent to the principal's office because she had to go to the bathroom. The teacher thought she was playing hooky or diddle-daddling (by the way, I'm 90) in the bathroom because she went so often. So my sister pooped her pants at her desk, in class, because she couldn't go. I'm not saying my friend's daughter has Crohn's disease but the people at the "Bella Terra Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory" do not know that. And it's hard to diagnose kids with these types of diseases because all kids can have problems with bladder/bowel control.

I'm also somewhat disappointed in some of the comments by posters on The Consumerist website... claiming that the RMFC was in the right because my friend must be one of those entitled stay at home mothers that can't control her kid... Um, she's a full time PR professional working on getting a degree on helping kids with special needs. She and her daughter are awesome, but I guess haters are gonna hate.

At the very least, the franchisee's response is deplorable. So, boycott time. Thanks, Fudge Factory!

Riddle me this.

Why is it impossible to go into Target and not spend over $100?

I read the news today.

George Carlin passed away yesterday in California. I know death happens, but it is sad because he contributed so much to our world. You know, preaching common sense and whatnot.

Just in case you're reading this from under a rock and are unfamiliar with his humor, I'm posting a YouTube video on his thoughts about death:



George Carlin, rest in peace.

Shooties, will you be mine?

I've got a fever... and the only prescription is some patent leather and quilted lambskin Chanel shooties (shoe-booties hybrid) on eBay. Why no link, Nikki? Well, because if anyone outbids me... it won't be pretty. Consider yourself dead. And your children dead.

I had Kaci bid on them for me, and the auction effectively went from $3 to $60. I'm planning on spending more than $60, but damn if that is not a healthy increase in price. There's six more days left for the auction. So we'll see... hopefully, none of you will outbid me. (Because of the aforementioned "dead" thing... it would quite unfortunate.)

Kaci asked if I wanted to go to the Rush concert on Thursday. Fortunately, I have other plans that don't involve the band Rush. The store won Saint Louis Magazine's "Best Place To Buy Designer Jeans" and I'm attending their A-List party to represent the brand. I haven't decided on what I'm wearing yet, but I'm rather excited for the free valet at Lumen as well as the open bar. Open bar is always choice.

On a off note, I think that the advertising agency that represents Culver's does an excellent job. Because I saw two of their commercials today and actually drove out of the city in order to purchase a butter burger and frozen custard shake. And you know what? It was worth it.

My current sin: Envy

Yesterday, my friend Kaci called the store to tell me that she scored the deal of a lifetime: $600 Missoni sling back platform pumps for only $200. She was shopping at Perchelle on Washington Ave. and was able to buy the shoes used by the boutique for one of their runway promotions. Ultimate score:



When she told me about the shoes, my first response was "OMG DO THEY HAVE ANY MORE I AM GRABBING MY AMEX RIGHT NOW." But lucky bitch got the only pair...

I saw them last night at Rue 13 on Washington and they are fabulous. Between the shoe porn at Melissa's wedding and Kaci's new Missoni soles... I need a pair of fabulous shoes STAT or else I explode.

I'm contemplating maybe a pair from Barbara Bui or Pedro Garcia... Or some fabulous designer boots on sale (since it's off-season) because I know I'll be rocking the new AG-ed denim in the skinny Premiere fit this fall.

Leave Mary Mack Alone!

I'm going to be honest, I don't watch very much television... while not at work. At work, I usually catch a bit of Tyra because she's insane and I'm impressed by her different hair style each show. Outside of that, I turn on the E! network because it's somewhat relevant to my job what the celebrities and well, Kardashians and Denise Richards are wearing. And if I'm feeling kind of mentally stagnant because all I do is talk about skinny jeans and pima cotton leggings all day... well, then I turn on Jeopardy! for a refresher course. And my strong hatred for Alex Trebec is so intense that my heart rate increases so it's a nice no calorie midday pick me up.

So imagine my surprise when I'm watching 4 minutes of Last Comic Standing and I see that Mary Mack is a semi-finalist! It genuinely made my day, because back in the day when I used to do comedy myself regularly we did some performances together. I've always thought she had a distinctive point of view and as a comic, I think it's amazing that she is a clean act. She's funny to everyone.



Not to mention, she's also a genuinely nice person. That's saying something... With actors, sometimes when their careers get bigger so do their egos. With comics, they usually have egos before they even have a career.

So imagine my seething anger when I Googled Last Comic Standing and read reviews comparing her to Maria Bamford. Yes, she's got a child-like voice. But Mary Mack's comedy has a much more clean and innocent quality to it. It's two different attitudes, really. She doesn't rely on impersonations, but rather has a more folk-artist tradition to her act. So to all the angry comedy nerds clogging up the Internet pipes, leave Mary Mack alone!

(And I encourage all others to vote for her!)

...Or... it could just be bullshit.

I don't know why I watch the paranormal documentaries on PBS. But I do.

Tonight, I watched one on past lives and re-incarnation. Plenty of parents claiming that their three or four year olds came to them and claimed to be a soldier from a past war, full of historical details. It could be reincarnation... or it could be a case of Mom wanting attention and she knows that if she just poisons the kid's soup, the hospital will catch on.

Two people stood out to me though. First guy: had recurring dreams that he was hiding from the Nazis. Nazis found him and sent him to a death camp. He remembers an old clock in the cellar that he's hiding in... and a year later, stumbles on the clock in an antique shop. The shop owner confirms that he purchased it in Holland from an elderly German major. So, he's convinced that in a past life that he was a Holocaust victim. So what does this guy do about it all the present? He now works for a Jewish bagel maker and sports a Star of David to show how proud he is of his Jewish heritage.

Next guy, he looks like Dwight Schrute from The Office. He talks like Dwight Schrute from The Office. Except, he's got really really long hair and dresses in Renaissance clothing and harasses patients during hypnosis sessions about the most insane things so as to discredit them. "Really? Who was King in 1674? Oh yes, and WHO was the town crier? And WHO owned the most horses?" That would be a fun job, but I don't think I know enough useless information to do it. Unless I was quizzing someone who claimed they were someone from 1996 in a past life. I'm not good at math--- would that even work?

I think that if someone was a reincarnation of Oscar Wilde, that person would be the coolest person alive. Even better if he came in the form of a burly straight man. One that knew the perils of terrible wallpaper.

Time for me to have dreams of my own...

Upcoming Concerts.

I'm excited to see Papa Grows Funk will be playing in Saint Louis. Because that reminds me of New Orleans, and New Orleans makes me happy.

Fastball from the 90s? They're coming to town, people. I'm almost tempted to go to the show, just to see who goes to see Fastball.

The Ting Tings are going to be playing the Bluebird. Awesome. I will be there.

Parachute Musical for Kaci and I's joint 24th birthday celebration (early of course, because yours fabulous will be either spending her birthday in Nashville or Chicago).

And finally, thanks to PollStar.com, I see that the band getting the most gigs here in STL is a "Boss" cover band. Amazing. They have a different gig at a different venue at least once a week. You know who can't get enough Bruce? Politicians. It seems like that "come on up for the riiiiiising" song has been used in everyone's campaign. Edwards, Clinton and Obama... you would suspect that they share an iPod or something. Maybe they dedicated the song to each other on Facebook. I don't know.

Will the pepper make you sneeze?

Since I was working at the store on Saturday and flew in for the wedding later that evening, I missed Melissa's bridal tea. Justin's mother was kind enough to save me one of the ladies' gifts. I received a bottle of Bvlgari's white tea cologne:



I was never a perfume person until a few years ago. But all I need to remind myself to wear it more often is meeting someone that naturally carries it off. You notice it, but it seems to come naturally. You can't imagine them not having that scent.

While I sometimes switch my scents depending on my mood, I can definitely see myself wearing this in heavy rotation. It's a clean, soft scent and I like that it's unisex as well. It smells like white tee, white pepper, amber and cotton. I've been using Bvlgari's green tea scented bath products this summer and I'll be curious tomorrow to see if the two can blend together well.

I'm back!

I got into Saint Louis this morning. My morning was pretty painful, but it was nothing that a nap couldn't fix. I caught up on my news items. Apparently, a mummified dinosaur was found (skin intact), Jessica Simpson took a jab at perceived rival Carrie Underwood (I say perceived because you kind of have to be the same status to be rivals, you know) by wearing a tee shirt that says Real Girls Eat Meat, and Botkier's line for Target has been leaked:



Judging from the pictures, I'm pretty disappointed. I regularly rotate my Botkier bags and I'm pretty disappointed in the choice of materials. The normal pleather is expected for Target, but the metallics are incredibly ugly. The designer's line has gorgeous muted metallics... My favorite feature with Botkier handbags is the hardware. The hardware is usually really sturdy and while I don't expect brushed brass on the Target collection, thicker nickel would keep the designer aesthetic better.

My trip was exhausting, but wonderful. I got into Manhattan at around 1am. Technically, we could have gone out for a bit... but I was so exhausted having worked and dealt with airline drama. Storms caused cancelled flights into LaGuardia and delays in Newark. The airline told us we were either leaving early or not at all (cancelled flight). Once I got my town car worked out and arrived at the Hotel, I basically changed into one of the Ritz plush robes and scarfed down a room-service cheeseburger.

The next morning, we were pretty slow moving. We still managed to walk through Battery Park. It was humid and murky, but it was still a change of scenery. The last time I've been to Battery Park was in middle school. This time, I wasn't lured by cheap goods sold on the street.

The wedding was beautiful and very sweet. There apparently was a lot of tension among guests, but overall it was a very nice wedding. The flower girl was absolutely adorable. I met a few different people, but for the most part... Justin and I only spoke to immediate family. The guest list was pretty intimidating... granted, pretty much everyone else was ten years older and more settled in their careers... but there's nothing like being the only girl not in Manolos or Jimmy Choo shoes. Next wedding, I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a pair.

A lot of drinking and sugar. Didn't make it to the UWS for shopping like I had hoped. And as full and drunk as we were after the reception, we still took a cab out to DUMBO in Brooklyn for more eating and drinking. Jason's condo is amazing. I'm going to have to convince my building into utilizing our roof top. His is gorgeous... tall planters with lemon grass, chartreuse outdoor foam chairs, steel and pine picnic tables.

We went to JOYA in Cobble Hill. Great atmosphere, good food and it's reasonably priced... hell, for outside NYC even! We shared shrimp spring rolls and I had a great mango salad. I mean, I did finish gorging on reception food a mere hour earlier. Hanging out with Jason was so awesome... and now we're back in Saint Louis, and we miss him so much already. I keep joking with Justin that he should get a job in New York, so the three of us can live together again. We could film a sitcom of our crazy adventures as young professionals in the City. It'll be so original and groundbreaking.

We returned to the hotel and relaxed for the rest of the night. We had the front desk give us an early morning wake up call and it was funny being referred to as Mrs. (partner's last name) all weekend. Funny as in, we aren't married. We left the hotel a bit before 7am... wanting to beat traffic to LaGuardia. We succeeded, and thought we would have breakfast in the terminal. Wouldn't you know, there were NO food options. There was one stand that had potato chips and tuna salad and then there was a pastry stand. When you are hung over, the last thing you want is sugar. I'm so over sugar.

When I came home, the apartment was insanely warm (we turned the A/C off while gone) and I just passed out for a nap anyways. I love my bed. Even if it's not perfect right now, I love my apartment. I genuinely love just being home. (Though we might be flying to Chicago for my birthday.)

I want to be in.

Text message from my significant other, Justin:

"I'm currently in the epicenter of the universe."

Sucks that I have to put in another day of work before I'm in New York. Though Willie Nelson's band is supposed to be coming in... that's kind of exciting. I dressed the mannequins today with Willie as my inspiration. Tonight, I just stayed in and had a spa-night. And bleached surfaces so I won't come home to infestation. Not that we have any bugs in our building... it's just that I'm paranoid and don't want to encourage a potential problem.

My parents are still in New Orleans. I'm guessing that they went to Shoefty on my recommendation, because I received a text message from my father stating that he wanted to buy my mother a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes and well, my mother didn't go for it. I sometimes question my DNA...

Besides having Justin ahead of me, today was kind of full of win. Why you ask? I found out that Charley's Cheesesteaks in the Galleria offer wheat wraps instead of bread. I wanted to head over there anyways because I needed to return a blouse from Anthropologie. I liked the colors in the silk, but upon closer inspection the pattern reminded me of an old lady's guest bathroom in her retirement home in Florida. Sea shells and ribbons. I don't have enough closet space for that.

Won't update until I'm back from New York.

Damn, I'm hot stuff.

Saint Louis is reaching the 90s with high humidity. I have no clue why Saint Louis is more miserable than New Orleans. No clue. I thought that Nola weather was perfect, most of the time. What Saint Louis needs are more liberal open container laws and walk-up/drive-through frozen daiquiri stands. Cheap, frozen alcohol drinks. New Orleans got that right.

My parents are spending a few days down in Nola. I'm so jealous... I don't think they are going to mail me a shrimp po'boy. And for that, they are dead to me.

One and half more work days and I'm in Manhattan for a few days. I'm getting kind of anxious though... because I'm leaving for the airport straight from work Saturday night, I figured I would pack ahead and share a suitcase with my S.O. Trust me, I have plenty of clothes... I don't need them for a few days. And damn it to hell, I basically have room for one dress. The silk dress that I just ironed tonight that I'm supposed to wear to the wedding. To crumple up on the top of his suitcase.

I have one suitcase. It's huge because it was purchased under the assumption that I would be packing, well... like one would assume. I don't travel without my Havianas, my Tory Burch flats and several options of party-fun-time shoes because when I'm on "vacay" I never know what I'll be doing (but I will look pretty fucking fabulous while doing it).

One thing to look forward to: I'm finally off of South Beach's phase I. That means I can modest amounts of whole grains and fruits. The best part is, I've weaned myself significantly off of refined sugar. I like how sugar-free candy tastes.

A nice two days, indeed.

First off, I love hearing about weddings. Because either the people are absolutely lovely and it's great to share in on their joy... or it's a very, very expensive train wreck. With free food. And usually an open bar... My case in point: I just love hearing about weddings in general.

I'm actually really excited for Melissa's wedding this weekend. I've got my dress, some new shoes, and an idea of a few things to do while in Manhattan.





I finally got my forever back-ordered watch, and I am currently obsessed with it. While I was at the Saint Louis Galleria to get some links taken out, I ended up wandering into Anthropologie. Picked up the red trapeze dress I saw in the catalogue and swore I wasn't going to order (but to quote a client of mine,"It's necessary!"), a silk blouse and a small bowl to feng shui my apartment's money corner. I was lucky that they happened to have my size still left in the dress--- the website is sold out completely.

Cheated on my South Beach phase I today. Justin brought home goodies from Corner Bakery in Chicago and I just could not resist. I'm terrible like that. I did do a fair amount of exploring today by walking around the Barnes Jewish hospital campus (we have a full Barnes & Noble, sweet!) to find the Metro-Link and I did both some cardio and weight-lifting in our gym.

The new iPhone 3G starts at $199. Come to Butthead. Justin already called dibs on getting me one for my birthday. Though I learned my lesson with last holiday's Marc by Marc Jacobs clutch that sold out, and I will be placing the order for him to make sure I get one. Anyone have an idea when you can pre-order?

Don't worry, be happening.

I'm going to start phasing out my MySpace blog. While everyone kept up with it, I was getting really annoyed with MySpace. It seems like the only friends that regularly update and whatnot, are those in bands. And while I dearly love them, I'm sure most of their efforts were geared towards annoying people they don't know... asking them to listen to their band. God, how I hated those messages.

Last night was pretty nice... we went out to Terrene. It's 2 minutes away from us on Sarah St. in the Central West End. It's a really cool restaurant: recycled goods, organic food, sustainability. The food was excellent, so it's definitely worth the price. Also, the other diners were dressed as casually as we were... which we like, because we like good food without having to dress for it. Huge rave.

Here's their website: http://www.terrene-stlouis.com

Though on a cheaper budget, Pickles Deli also tries to be as green as they can. Their carryout containers are made not from plastic, but corn sugar... so they can decompose, unlike plastic. They also have the best macaroni and potato salad ever. Not that I'm going to be gorging on it, given that I'm trying to cut unnecessary carbs and starches from my diet.

I'm pretty excited. Two months ago, I ordered a men's Michael Kors watch from the W Hotel Store.



And for two months, I heard nothing. A friend called about her watch and was told that they are back-ordered. Bummer, right? Well, I finally got annoyed and threatened to do an Amex charge back for the inflated shipping they charged me (I ordered more than one item, the first transaction was charged the total shipping) and now I have an email stating that it'll be on my little wrist on Monday. Excellent.

New goal this weekend: practice taking the Metro-Link and see if I'll be able to take it for my twice weekly jaunts to the tanning bed. And I'm going to the tanning bed this week--- next weekend, I'll be in Manhattan.