The importance of a mani/pedi

Whoa it's been a while since I've posted one of these, but here is another thing I recommend: getting mani/pedis. Especially for the ladies.

I'm awful at regularly getting them (especially on the toesies) but I do try because I always feel better whenever I go. It's like therapy in a non-retail sense. 

And this weekend, I got my inaugural manicure of the summer season and it was like heaven. My finger nails are buffed and perfectly polished in OPI's color - Feeling Hot-Hot-Hot. It's a perfect hot pink. Subtle yet loud, just like me!

I used to never get manicures and pedicures because it was "too girly" but those doubts melted away the minute I got a leg/hand massage during my first visit. I was total mush because it felt so nice. The ladies had me at "cuticle." Speaking of cuticles, I have the worst ones ever. They grow like trees and are notoriously uncomfortable to trim. But it needs to be done so rather than have me butcher them, I'll leave it to the professionals.

My first manicure was about three years ago (yes, I know, so tragic that I waited that long), same with a pedicure too. And the pedicure reminded me how ticklish I am on my feet, especially because I nearly kicked the woman in the face. Oops. Fortunately, that only happened once...or twice. Now, to curb the need to squirm and giggle, I bite on a stick or leather strap (kidding!)

And when I'm between appointments, I do try to keep up the polish on my toes. Unfortunately, it usually comes out looking like this:

Yes, that's polish on my foot. I have no idea how that happened.

I even bought some new colors for spring to keep at home for my own touch ups. I just hope my Cirque du Soleil bathroom moves for that "professional-looking polish" don't turn out like the above paint job. I'm not very talented at applying my own nail polish.

But while I love the mani/pedi, if the girl nicks me or makes me bleed, that tip disappears. Only fair.

Is anyone else a big mani/pedi fan? Do you go regularly, even in winter? A few friends have said this ritual is "recession proof" but I don't know if it's like that for everyone else.

Weekend recap: food, shopping and manual labor

Oh Memorial Day, the "unofficial" kick off for summer. And to celebrate this long weekend, I was back in Wisconsin, where it was a balmy 50 degrees by the lake and I was left with one coat, one pair of closed-toed shoes and a plethora of short sleeved tops. FAIL. It was like my packing fail for last year's BlogHer in San Francisco.

Despite the not-very-warm weather, I dialed the "relaxation" up to 11, stopped wearing make up and did a whole lotta nothing but bonding with my parents.

In fact, we bonded over four things: food, manual labor, shopping and television.

So let's recap the bonding that occurred this magical weekend.

Television/Movies

Due to my power outage last week, I missed Fox's Glee pilot, but thanks to iTunes, I downloaded it for free and enjoyed it this weekend. And OMG I'm obsessed with this show. I cannot WAIT for it to start up in fall.

First, Jane Lynch is one of the funniest people on TV right now. Woman steals every scene she's in. And along with my serious crush on Finn, here is my favorite part of the show:

I love Journey and I love the glee club version of Journey even more. It makes me want to rock out. If you haven't see this show yet, go download it right now from iTunes and enjoy. 

I also started watching The Fashion Show on Bravo. It's my short-term Project Runway-knock off fix. Kelly Rowland is tragic, Isaac Mizrahi works but I'm really shocked by the lack of talent from most of the contestants. Half of them can't sew? WTF? But I like that they focus on sell-ability, which PR doesn't do. 

Oh we also rented Taken with Liam Neeson. Damn that movie was intense. It make me want to kick someone's a** much like Liam did. Watch the unrated version, it's heavy but good. 

Shopping

My stepmom is the DEVIL to shop with because she is the biggest enabler I know. I learn from her! 

So we went to the outlet malls on Saturday and I got a little too close to sales of at least 40 percent off and a JCrew outlet store. It wasn't pretty. But here is a picture of my favorite new item, a gold scarf, which looks awesome with my new blue shirt and of course, the Coach sunglasses.

Manual labor

Nothing says "I love you," like manual labor. And that's what I got roped into doing this weekend. After we shopped and watched TV, it was time to work! The hardest job was bringing inside this new cabinet from the car. The thing is massive and weighs as much as I do. Fortunately I don't have to bring it upstairs. That will SUCK.

Food

In our house, Memorial Day = lots of cooking out. And because I don't have a grill in Chicago, I was ready for some grilled goodness.

Join me on my Memorial Day culinary journey.....

Friday: Swiss and mushroom cheeseburger (mushroom and cheese is stuffed inside the patty) with a pretzel bun, ketchup and mustard. 

Kettle corn from the outlet mall shops. I know, sounds crazy, but it was really good. Sea salt and sugar on kettle popped popcorn. Healthier than movie theater popcorn and just as good

Sunday: Sirloin steak on the grill with cooked mushroom and au jus sauce plus Yukon Gold potatoes with light butter, salt and sour cream. Truly amazing. Num.

Dessert: Brownie mix with Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips and nuts. I must stay away from this pan.

And after all that eating and activity, I basically laid around like a beached whale on a chaise lounge, couch, bed, chair, really any surface that allowed me to spread out. Heaven.

How was everyone else's Memorial Day weekend? Do anything or fun or grill out? Or did you go see any good movies?

Randomness: fashion, movies, pop culture and food

I cannot believe it's Memorial Day. Seriously. Time is literally flying by. Eeeek!

I'm back in Wisconsin right now, indulging on a gluttonous mushroom Swiss cheeseburger on pretzel roll, washed down with beer. It's like heaven, but not.

So in honor of a much needed long weekend, I'm keeping it kind of light tonight with lots of bullets, links and pictures!

• I found a blog dedicated to Michelle Obama's fashion and I'm completely obsessed with it. I check it daily and follow it on Twitter too. I am totally in love with her fashion sense, well most of them (the below is not an example of that exception)

• Now that my office has moved to a "tastefully casual" dress code, I'm in need of new summer shoes. I went to Nordstrom Rack last weekend and bought these shoes, what do you think? Bedazzled gladiator sandals, somewhat
  
  
• I watched the 60 Minutes interview with Vogue editor Anna Wintour last weekend. She's rumored to have a $200,000 yearly clothing allowance. What would I do with that? Chanel for everyone! After some damage at JCrew

• Last week I also went to a sneak preview tour of the new Whole Foods in Lincoln Park. And it is MASSIVE. My mind was totally spinning while I walked around on my tour. It's such a great representation of Chicago's various neighborhoods. I cannot wait to go visit and eat my way around. Oh and it has a cheese/wine bar inside! Anyone in Chicago interested in joining me for a wine/cheese flight?

• The New Moon poster for Twilight saga is out. Personally, I liked New Moon and Eclipse a lot so I'm all for more Jacob, especially without that dead animal of a wig on his head. Oh and Rob said in Cannes that they will be making a movie out of Breaking Dawn. I cannot wait to see how they do that. Yeah if you've read it, you know what I mean
  
  
• I bought a necklace from the Gap (it just started carrying jewelry) and the tag made it clear it's not for kids. So I guess that means I shouldn't try to eat it and I should probably keep it away from me while intoxicated too

• I fully plan on grilling out with my dad this weekend. Fish, beef, chicken, you name it and we'll grill it. Everything tastes better on the grill!

• When I went shopping for my bedazzled gladiator sandals I caught this fashion fail at Nordstrom Rack. It's Rock & Republic, with an "e" at the front. Ouch.

Finally, I'm thinking of "sexing up" my little blog and moving from Blogger to Wordpress, but I'm a little scared. But that may mean my reader's need to update their feeds. It's not settled just yet, but if the feeds were to change, would you guys follow me? Bueller? Lie to me?

Well, I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend! Anyone have big plans or is anyone traveling? Safe travels to everyone!!

Oh and if any readers happen to live in the Southeastern Wisconsin area and will be around this weekend, let me know because I would LOVE to hang out with someone other than my parents for a little bit. Dad doesn't keep up with pop culture or fashion like me :)

Boy phone conversation fail

Here's a tip for guys of what not to do when talking to a woman you've met on Match.com for the first time: Pay attention and turn the sports off.

Trust me, I can tell when you're not actually listening to the conversation.

I bring this up because I had my first phone call with a guy I met on Match.com last week. The guy, Mr. Cubs, is a few years younger than me, but he was nice by e-mail, so I was okay with chatting with him on the phone. What could it hurt? It's part of me "getting back out there!"

Anyhow, we get to talking and after a few awkward pauses, I notice that I'm answering all the questions. Well, I don't want to sound controlling so I back off and let him contribute. Then I realize there are changes in his voice, as if he's, well not paying attention. Okay, that's definitely not cool. Strike one.

So after he confirms that he's flipping between sports games while we're on the phone, I decide to move the conversation to things we may have in common.

Let's join our conversation:

Me: So yeah do you watch a lot of television? What are your favorite shows?

Mr. Cubs: Yeah I don't really watch a lot of television. I think it's dumb. I do like HIMYM though

Me: Yeah I hear that's a great show. Television is something I kind of splurge on, but I don't watch it all the time. I love LOST and Friday Night Lights, the Office....

Mr. Cubs: Yeah I don't really watch any of those. I just think TV is dumb if you're not watching sports

Me: Um, okay, did you see Star Trek at all? Do you like going to see movies? I love going to movies

Mr. Cubs: No not really. I would never go see something like that. Movies are dumb too. I would rather be caddying for extra money on the weekend then spend the day at the theater with some girl [note: he caddy's to make extra money while working toward his teaching certification]

Me: Even if you're dating that girl?

Mr. Cubs: Yeah, total waste of time

I think you can tell from this exchange how the rest of this call went. More awkward and dramatic pauses and pretty much me trying to get off the phone as soon as possible.

So he didn't work out, time for the next one!! And there is the possibility of a promising one on the horizon, one who likes movies and the same TV shows as me!

What are your "phone" pet peeves? People not paying attention? Calling from a loud public place? Call waiting?

Reader note: O-M-G. I really enjoyed everyone's comments yesterday about the soda vs. pop and accents post. I was truly shocked by the response and appreciate everyone weighing in. Some of the seriously cracked me up and it was so nice to hear where everyone is from too! 

I have to say, Jade, you are my girl for acknowledging the crap we get from WI about our "a" pronunciation. Thank you for that. 

And butnoteveryday, I say "p-ill-ow." Boy I hope I'm not alone in that either. 

Rebecca - You are right, it is Eeeeerrrrrrreeeee. JiT is wrong

My Midwest accent and the pop/soda debate

Hello. My name is Jess, I'm from Wisconsin and I allegedly "talk funny."

Why? Because I have a Midwest accent. Or so I'm told.

According to my friends who tease me about this,  I say weird things like "soda" versus "pop," "bubbler" versus "water fountain" and "Tyme machine" instead of "ATM." Personally, I don't think those words are out of the ordinary.

Or maybe my accent is just more subtle than others. I do know that my friends love to point out my exaggerated pronunciation of the letter "a" thus making the word "bag" come out as a multi-syllable word.  I'm now self-conscious about it.

But the most common terminology people correct me on is the whole "pop" versus "soda" debate, because that can be a dead ringer about what part of the country you're from.

When I lived in Minnesota, it was "pop" and people immediately pegged me as a Wisconsin-er because I said "soda." Sadly, after two years in Minnie, I did start saying "pop," but I broke that habit quickly.

A few weeks ago, co-workers and I even started debating and teasing each other about our preferred terminology for this heavenly, carbonated beverage.

I even saw a map on Google to help explain what different parts of the country call it.

So what do you say, pop or soda? And do you get teased for an "accent" as well?

Reader note: Thank you everyone for your hilarious comments on the key learnings. I'm glad everyone agrees that the phrase "fanny packs" are a dirty word (even if it's $445 by Prada) and that there are other X-Men/Wolverine fans. Who doesn't love a hot man with his shirt off...or more.

Key learnings, fanny packs and hot men doing battle

Happy Sunday everyone! I am super excited because we had two consecutive days of no rain in Chicago. It makes me forget about running to the cab in a downpour on Friday.

And this is my last full week of work before I begin taking the insane amount of vacation time I've hoarded. Yes, that was not a good idea, but hey, let's hit the key learnings!

Key Learnings:

• "You can dress it up and slap a designer label on it, but it's still a fanny pack," you're right Cheryl, fanny packs are just wrong. Too bad we see so many of them downtown in summer

• Do not watch TV shows about home break ins at night when you are...home alone

• When random guys (including Frenchmen) hit on my friends, I get free things like drinks and food by association. Woo!

• Raspberry vodka is much better than pineapple vodka, especially on an empty stomach

• Putting a fried egg on just about any piece of food makes it better

• Crack is whack. Remember that when you bend over while wearing low-rise jeans

• Not collapsing a stroller on the bus is more obnoxious than tourists downtown

• I hate paying taxes and the smell of cigarette smoke, more than anything

• It's still satisfying to hear your parent's say "you were right"

• There is someone else who is actually deader inside than me

Hot men doing battle

I must be going into heat because right now, watching action movies on the weekend gets me all flustered. I just imagine they're fighting over me. Boys, there's plenty of me to go around, stop! Chris Pine, Hugh Jackman, let's all get along.

As a follow up to the Star Trek hotness from last weekend, my newly retired bloggy friend Cheryl and I went to see Wolverine today and my man Hugh Jackman didn't disappoint. 

There was even a sequence of him running nude. HELLO! I think my heart stopped for a minute. I had several minutes of quick flashes of his butt and lower torso. I almost blacked out from joy from the image too. Fortunately, I was fine, but him resuscitating me would have been helpful.

But since hot men don't travel alone, he had his merry cast of hot to semi-hot male back-ups, including Ryan Reynolds (whose "gun show" had major fire power, Scarlett you're so lucky) and Taylor Kistch from Friday Night Lights. Riggins! He's not as boozed up and man-whorey dirty in this movie, but still, I'd roll around in the dirt with him. Oh and of course, Liev Schreiber, who is still nice to look at, minus the mutton chops. Chops are meant to be eaten, not grow like a rash on your face.

I can't lie, there were some hammy parts and painfully obvious CGI, but it was good, mindless fun. And as the weather continues to get nice, I'll quote my friend Teresa who said, "I don't like to see movies that make me think." Right now, I concur.

Did everyone else have a great weekend?

Reader note: For everyone asking about Project Runway on Lifetime, it doesn't start until August 20 :( I thought it was supposed to start in June! Well I guess Top Chef Masters will have to do in the meantime.

Reality show guilty pleasures

I love watching the news and TODAY show, but lately, it's been kind of a downer. Recession, storms, murder, etc. Not exactly something pleasant to start the morning. Oh and the good television is going on hiatus now for the summer, so that's a double FAIL.

So I'm finding comfort and fun in total fluff television, aka reality shows.

And lately, the ones I cannot seem to stop watching are The Real Housewives of [insert city], Millionaire Matchmaker and Make Me A Supermodel. I blame the last one on the lack of Project Runway in my life. Fortunately that will be fixed soon.

So why do I love these shows, it's simple. Pure 100 percent entertainment without an ounce of thought.

I don't have to think about why Kelly is crazy or what lead her to be as absentminded as she is. I can just bask in the fact that she enjoys jogging in the middle of NYC traffic and dressing like a hippie when she should be wearing a bra.

And I don't want to know more about Simon and Alex, I enjoy watching them tactlessly decorate their brownstone like a bordello or vampire lair and laugh as their children remain unparented and running amok. It's great!

Now the Real Housewives of New Jersey has started and I'm sure I'll seamlessly move right to that series too. And those women are k-r-a-z-e-e too. I've never heard the word "bubbies" used so frequently in one period of time.

Oh and Patti from Millionaire Matchmaker is my total hero. I always enjoy watching her sass some woman "auditioning" for the Millionaire's Club or telling some spoiled man he's white trash. Sure it's harsh, but when it's not targeted at you, it's just fun!

So while I'm reality TV obsessed, I refuse to start watching the new VH-1 show, New York Gets a Job. That's just a gimme for teasing and I don't think I could stomach it.

What reality shows are you obsessed with right now? Or what shows are your guilty pleasures? Is anyone else looking forward to Project Runway coming back?