Not So Shear Genius

Bravo's Shear Genius is kinda like Top Chef. They take the top hairstylists from across the nation and make them compete. They have all kinds of exciting hair challenges--"take this girl from black to blond in 60 minutes!" and "do a hairdo based on a cartoon character!" You get the idea.

I was up in SF yesterday with the girlies, and this kinda artsy-but-not-creepy guy starts looking like he wants to talk to us. I went to school in SF, so I am magically able to ignore these people without looking rude.

He asks if I can talk to him for a minute, and I don't argue with him, but I'm also not overly nice. He says he is from a local salon, and they are looking for hair models. I would get a high-end, pricey haircut for free if I came along for the ride.

My heart started beating...I've seen this on Shear Genius before--it's the "find local people on the street and give them amazing haircuts" episode. I looked left, I peered right...then I asked him if I was on Shear Genius. He looked at me like I was the opposite of any kind of genius. No 15 minutes of hair fame for me, but I was feeling rather proud that he had asked me...I must have amazing hair!

Dexter working his free hair magic:


After Dexter's magic:

An hour and a free cut later, I realized he probably asked me because my hair look like crap-ola. Ego blow. But what a funny story--I mean, how often do any of you get stopped on the street to be hair models?? Exactly.

Other less notable happenings from the day:

I was so wrapped up in the Twilight books over the weekend that I unwittingly snuggled up with (and possibly made out with, from the looks of it) a brick of chocolate on my couch. I found the choco on my couch the next day--didn't quite realize it was also ALL over my jeans until I was up in SF. I'm not quite sure what to say to this, but I think Lance would say something along the lines of "you're incorrigible."


Had breakfast at a DELISH cafe with the girlies, but I'm not allowed to say where because they don't want you getting a table there instead of them. This was an actual request.


Hit LV, where I tried on some dashing glasses:


Had lunch with Jo-Jo:
Many fun and tasty adventures, but the hair modeling was certainly tops. At five-five and a little chubby these days...this was my first and last chance to swing my hair around like I own the world. I think that should happen at least once in my every girl's life.

Turning Japanese

I went to a sushi-making party last night. My friend Ashley got serious about her sushi-making last year, and her dad surprised her with a real sushi making set, including the quasi-Japanese headband you see her sporting. It's good to know her dad has a sense of humor.

This knife was shaaaarp. I had to make sure I didn'tcut off the tip of my finger. Again.


As always, Ashley set an icredible table!


On the menu: Edamame, miso soup, hand rolls, assorted sushi rolls and pistachio ice-cream topped with Marie's famous homemade chocolate sauce. De-lish. Here's our impressive platter of handmade sushi:


After dinner, we played a few rounds of super scrabble, and I won a round with the following configuration:


Luckily, we live in the Bay Area, and there are so many Japanese grocery stores that carry sushi-grade fish, seaweed and rice. We also have a ton of Japanese discount stores--they always have cheapie sushi dishes and sushi sets. I may invest $10 and get a set for future sushi parties @ our house--anyone game?

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Our friends threw our good friend April a baby shower. It was her 3rd kid (she looks amazing, yes??) but her first little boy, Baby E. He's *so* cute. Alie chose a cute and fitting Tiffany blue and brown theme for the party, and did a fondue buffet for dessert. Yum--though I feel like I need to go for a jog:

One of my favorite things was my cute little set of vintage milk bottles filled to the rim with ice-cold milk:

April answered questions, and then opened a ton of cute boy things. I'm always torn on shower gift--deep down, I want to do something cute and special, like an amazing baby cashmere sweater. Then I thought of my poor friend April ferrying it out the the dry-cleaners, and I choose something cute and practical instead.




Three cheers for Baby E!

Puppy Love

As you all know, I was a little Twilight resistant, though I think it's the way the series was initially explained. I'm not really the 'romance' type, and I wasn't really sold on the vampire bit either. I just finished book 2, and I'm truly excited about book 3. As I was reading it, I realized why I love the series...it perfectly captures first love. Not true love, not lasting love, not even necessarily good love...but first love in all of its desperate, awkward, new, innocent, naive, exciting and all-consuming glory.

As I read book one, I couldn't help but think back to my first real love, and how it felt *exactly* like the book described it. In book 2, it accurately portrayed the horrible, empty feeling of losing that love, and the dark and empty void left behind in the wake of a breakup...and the surge of feeling whole again when you got back together (or at least had the hint of a reconciliation) right before breaking up again. Enter the void...again. But then you move on, you grow up, you learn life lessons, you fall in love again...you know the drill. The person you wind up with in the end is usually very different than the person you imagined when you were a silly teenager. This is usually a good thing.

First love and loss is universal. We've all been there, as the dumper and dumpee. We've all felt the highs, and we've all felt the lows. Ms. Meyer has an easy audience to win over--it's every single woman reading the series. It's been kind of fun to walk down memory lane reading the books--what a funny little stroll indeed.

Bug-B-Gone

Hallelujah! My nasty Korean bug is gone and my laptop is, once again, mine all mine. This was certainly a reminder to do all of the annoying little things we all put off. My current list includes going to the dentist, fixing the lock on my car door, filing paperwork, etc. It used to include updating my antivirus software, but I learned my lesson the hard way. Blech. Here's all the fun-fun I've been up to:

Got on a cooking streak (per my promise to Lance if he ponied up for the D & D spice rack) and made some incredible chicken noodle soup, and then a tasty sage meatloaf. Yum.


Went to a delightful party for Jo-Jo the Child Bride, and picked out out bridesmaids dresses...for the most part:

Went to Dave and Busters with Tinger:



Went to a tea party for our friend's little cutie, Sierra, in honor of her 1st birthday:


Dobbie helped me fold laundry:

And, in return, he got a new soft blankie for his little doggie den:

Helped set up a Sugar Rush Bar in SF:

Saw Lancer try on the fugly MBT shoes:

Ta-da...that's the junk I would have been blogging about if a Korean bug hadn't eaten my laptop and ruined my life. Enjoy.

Jo-Jo's Bday!

Our fave lil' sis had a birthday last night, so we headed up to the city to party with her. As usual, Joe dished up some tasty fare for us to nosh on all night. On the way in, we saw this great view, and Husbie whipped out his camera to grab some night pics. Funny, some dude was already in the same spot taking pictures. Two artists, same vision!

After the pics we headed to the par-tay

Amy, Kaari & Jo-Jo

Amy & Kaari

Amy giving slightly evil eye :)

Amy, Kaari, Claudette & Jo-Jo

Happy Birthday Jo-Baby!

The Right Stuff

So...I was watching VH1 last night and I saw the greatest thing ever. Apparently, the man upstairs heard my fervent request to meet NKOTB, and he helped VH1 craft a contest for me to do it. You send in your pictures of your NKOTB craziness--old or new--and then write a 50 word essay on the craziest thing you ever did as a fan.

I can't tell you everything about my essay, but you better believe it had to do with the 1-900 NKOTB chat line, the desperate hope that Donnie would be on the other end of the line, a $300 phone bill, and a summer's worth of babysitting/grounding because of said bill. If I get to meet them, it will certainly help me feel better about the wasted summer. And, rudely, Donnie never answered the phone, so I really need to chat with him about that...in person.


I am pulling out the remnants of my NKOTB altar, and making Lance take pictures of me today with my old posters once I get hot. I will let you know how I fare contest-wise.

Also--by a stroke of bad luck for Heather Dearest, I have an extra ticket for the concert on the 10th in San Jose. Killer seats, $70 for the ticket. Any takers? To qualify, please answer the following:

1. Which New Kid you liked in your youth.
2. When/how you found out Donnie was the only one worth loving.
3. What vintage memorabilia will you be bringing to the concert--posters, pictures, Teen Beat, buttons, etc.
4. What crazy antics you will do with me so we get pulled onstage for a spotlight dedication of "I'll be Loving You Forever?"

Thanks for applying, best of luck to each of you. Hayley...you should TOTALLY apply.