Happy Australia Day!

This is the closest holiday to the American July Fourth, although they commemorate different things. Who cares, there are free meat pies sausage rolls, and Lamington in the company pantry. Since it is a holiday, and no-carb diet rules are suspended on holidays, I'm going to dig in, maybe have a Tim-Tam while I'm at it...

Restaurant Week - Take 1

It's the most wonderful time of the year! What beats eating three-course meals at swanky restaurants for the price of an entree?

This week I managed to hit three places:

Hudson Cafeteria: very Goth university dining hall serving haute comfort food. Yum!
Estiatorio Milos: expensive but yummy Greek food; I still like Uncle George's or Mythos better
The Water Club: quite possibly the WASPiest restaurant ever. Unadventurous food, neat view of the East River and the heliport.

Next week I have a few more lunches, and I'm trying to find somewhere more exotic than TWC to surprise J...

Progress!

My manicure lasted over a week without noticeable chipping, I only broke (well, picked at and broke) two nails, and my manicurist did not yell at me for having shredded cuticles this week. Can I keep this up and have scratchworthy talons?

A Brief Reprieve from Winter

For the first time since high school, I have Martin Luther King, Jr. Day off. My aunt has been harassing me to come visit her and my uncle at their newly-renovated condo in Palm Beach (as if she needed to twist my arm), so I did. The weather was absolutely perfect - not overly sunny, breezy, 70's. I broke my Phase 1 induction by drinking some wine and having the combo platter at John G's in Lake Worth, but it was totally worth it. The pool was a bit breezy for reading my back issues of the NYT, and there were dead Portguese man-o-war all over the beach, but otherwise, it was a nice recharge.

I wish I could retire right now, preferably somewhere that has an average yearly temperature of 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit. But then I might get bored. Maybe I will shoot for retirement at 45...

Nuptial Fever

This year it looks like I will be attending at least five weddings, possibly more. The festivities kicked off with my friend Chris and Heidi's weekend, perfectly timed to fall on the warmest January day ever last Saturday.

Some of my friends who are in the thick of planning have recommended eloping. If and when the time comes for me, let's see how things are. I think my mother would kill me for not taking her dress shopping but my father would be thrilled he didn't have to pay. Tough choices...

Attention lushes!

This list of things for drunks to do before they die is fantastic. Who even knew there was a "Modern Drunkard" magazine? What's next, The Smack Addict Review?

Danke shoen

For New Years Eve, J and I ventured to Chicago to hang out with his frat brother. He is the chef/restaurant consultant that made the feast for us in October. Unfortunately, some of our friends were unable to join us, so the three of us consumed 11 courses of food meant for 5 people over 3 days. It was very enjoyable; I passed out on the couch after the main course and the midnight champagne.

The boys wanted to go see the Bears-Packers game at nearby Soldier Field, but I vetoed that on the grounds that a) I was still recovering from bronchitis, which is aggravated by cold weather (although it was relatively balmy in Chi-town this past weekend); and b) I loathe football. Being a nice girlfriend, I allowed them to watch it on TV. Given the Bears' horrific loss, it appears that they were beter off saving money on the ticket price and watching from the creature comfort of A's swank loft.

We also went for dim sum before heading back to Newark. Luckily, we were not delayed as much as Continental's website indicated.

I am now low-carbing it a la South Beach Phase 1. My main resolution this year is to drop all the weight I gained last year (argh!) and then some. I will motivate myself with a massive shopping spree in early spring if I drop a size or two.

Happy 2007 everyone, and thanks for reading my drivel for the past three years :).