Mini Get Away

I visited Knowledge last weekend and it made me want to go more places. I love DC, the architecture is so different from Boston. So is the food. The people. The neighborhoods. (I didn't like the Metro though, nearly threw up from motion sickness :( bleck)
I want my next trip to be to NYC, its so close but I've never really been. Mr and Mrs Smith has some amazing hotels there:

The Smyth Tribeca Hotel

The Smyth Tribeca Hotel looks warm and sumptuous, but the prices aren't exorbitant.

Royalton Hotel

The Royalton Hotel has a bathroom that I could go to NYC and spend the weekend in... not that I would of course, but just look at those clean lines and light colors! That looks so calming after a long day of shopping...

Gramercy Park Hotel

But if I was going to go for it and stay in a boutique hotel, I'd probably want to try Gramercy Park Hotel... those colors! The styling on the furniture looks so sumptuous and old fashioned but the colors are so vibrant in that room! I love it. I don't know that it would be relaxing, but it does seem like it would be an experience...

and isn't that why I'd go to NYC in the first place?

I'm Movin Out... eventually

Tallman and I have decided to move in together and start looking for an apartment. Boston has a very limited selection that slightly increases if you're looking for June or September move in dates (because its such a college town).
Its really exciting, because lately I've been chomping at the bit to have my own space, with my own things, and my own food in the cabinets. (Oh god my own food in the cabinets, that will be the biggest joy in the world!)
But right now we're just in wait and look and save mode, which is satiating my need for my own space... because now I have steps I can take to be proactive and accomplish the goal (dual goals really: move in with Tallman, move out of parents house).
Those steps are: SAVE SAVE SAVE and LOOK LOOK LOOK.
Wish me luck!

Book Review: Fiction Ruined My Family

I read this book over the New Years Eve weekend, while relaxing, and it was really amusing to read of such dysfunction.
That might sound odd. This woman's childhood is so messed up you should feel bad, but she tells it so lovingly and with such a good sense of humor you find yourself laughing with her.

The way fiction ruined her family is that her father never had a job because he was too focused on his goal of being a writer but never really focusing enough on it to accomplish it.

To top off a bad childhood the author is an alcoholic who reaches rock bottom AFTER pooping in a paper bag in her apartment... apparently there is further to go after that!

Despite the terrible life circumstances you can tell the author loves her parents (when she can stand them) and has gotten her life together after quitting the booze. The sentences sometimes don't make sense, but the laughs are plentiful despite the somewhat sad stories. (Her parents divorce doesn't stick because they end up living together and dating on and off, she is mad at her mother for being more of a mess than she is because its really taking the attention off her own self destruction, she gives her sister crabs for Christmas... etc).
I'd recommend this book if you want to feel better about your own terrible upbringing, your drinking problem, or you have a lazy weekend where you can focus on someone else's traumatic childhood and eventual redemption. But because the writing isn't that spectacular and the theme of "my life is terrible because no one has their shit together since they're so focused on ideals rather than reality" this wouldn't be the first book I'd recommend.

WEEKEND IN DC!!!!!!!!

I"M VISITING KNOWLEDGE THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!

WOOT!

I'm so excited to see her new place, and meet her new friends (though at this point some might be old friends) and hang out with her!!!!!

(I lived in DC for a semester during college and I've visited Knowledge before so I've done most of the tourist stuff (love the first lady dresses) so I love to visit just to see Knowledge and the cool stuff she has discovered and wants to show me (or sit in her apartment and drink tea and talk, whatever, its cool, because...

I GET TO HANG OUT WITH KNOWLEDGE!!!!

Book Review: Season to Taste

I got Season to Taste from my friend Al for Christmas... She says she saw it in a bookstore and thought I'd like it. MAN WAS SHE RIGHT! It was a really good book!
The premise was a young woman who decides she wants to be a chef. To prepare, she works at a restaurant (in Cambridge that is REALLY GOOD) where she learns the importance of smell and identifying spices by flavor... At one point she says her boss even smells his knives to determine sharpness. But then she gets into a horrible car accident and she loses her sense of smell!

This is a huge problem for her... Not only does it destroy her dreams of becoming a chef, but more importantly she can't enjoy a cup of tea, a meal, the smell of her father's study. Her descriptions of eating with out tasting are incredible! You'll never take your sense of smell for granted again.... (Until next summer trash day) :p

The book is mostly about her quest to learn more about smell as she deals with her injuries and figures out what she is going to do with her life now that she cannot smell. Its a really good story. I cant recommend it enough! Even if you're into smell it's a really interesting read. And the imagery is great. Thanks Al for the great book!

New Year, New Budgets...and Mint.com

I don't know if any of you read Corporette, but I do and she frequently recommends Mint.com as a useful budgeting tool. I must say I agree. I have been using it since Thanksgiving when I was thinking about Christmas presents, how much I make, and how much I've been spending.

Tallman and I are pretty good with money, in that we talk about it. I think I could be better about saving and having a better idea of what I spend. So I signed up for Mint. It didn't take long to add all my accounts and set up a budget.

It really helped to set a budget and I'm trying hard to stick to it. It really helps that they send texts to your phone and I can check my goals/budget on my phone at any time. I like having the ability to see whats going on.

If one of your New Years Resolutions was to save more or be more fiscally responsible this year I really recommend Mint.com!

What did I wear New Years Eve?

I hear you guys are wondering what I ended up wearing for New Years Eve...

Glitter Platforms from Payless

These shoes were shockingly comfortable, and I could walk in them... not far... and not on brick sidewalks... but still! Progress!

Jcrew Darlene Silk Satin Dress

And the little black dress was on sale and simple so I'll be able to wear it again!

My evening was good, Tallman and I went out to dinner and the food was delicious and the time was romantic (except when the manager came over and asked why I wasn't eating my food as quickly as Tallman, and was everything ok... what am I supposed to say to that! My options are: the food sucks, my boyfriend is a pig, or I am watching my weight... it was so awkward, I can't even tell you.)
Then we went to a friends house for a party, which was a good party and rung in the New Year with old friends and champagne.

How did you spend NYE... and what did you wear?