Food for thought

As I consider potentially shifting topics for this blog, I'd like to talk about (you guessed it) food.

My boyfriend and I ate at Pei Wei tonight.

That's not terribly exciting, nor is it uncommon. We eat there a couple of times a year. It's college food.

I tried the honey seared dish with vegetables and tofu.

"Gee," I thought to myself as I scanned the menu for interesting vegetarian food. "I haven't had that one there in a while."

I've eaten the blazing noodles every time we went to Pei Wei for the last year. I've never tried any of the other vegetarian dishes. Why? Because I ate the honey seared every time we went before that, since I moved into my dorm in August 2004 and my uncle took me to lunch at Pei Wei for the first time ever.

It hit me after I'd finished what I decided was an overly sweet and filling meal.

I've only tried something new there once.

And I do this everywhere. I find something I like and stick with it. I decide to try something new, and if I like it, I stick with it; if I don't like it, I go back to what I was eating before. Eventually, I switch back to the original favorite, and on it goes. Example: ate ONLY fettuccine alfredo at Olive Garden for 16 years. Started eating only the cannelloni. Became a vegetarian a year later, now only eat the fettuccine again.

It's not because I fear trying new things. In fact, I love trying new foods--provided they taste good and are actually vegetarian, of course (you can't fool me by saying it's vegetarian and smirking as you secretly drench the meal in chicken stock before cooking it--I'll vomit for two days, and I'll know why).

I know I'm not the only person who does this. Many of my high school and undergrad girlfriends did the same thing.

What is this strange comfort zone we fall into, and how do we get there? How do we let ourselves become content with the mundane?

From now on, I'm going to force myself to try new things at restaurants I frequent. You should do the same--I dare you.

Thinking about change

Lately my posts on here have been food-centric. That shouldn't be surprising--I like to cook, I like to eat, and my days at work this summer have revolved around breakfast, lunch and dinner breaks.

But I've also been trying some new restaurants and trying to invent recipes.

So basically, I've had food on the brain.

It's probably not going to subside any time soon.

With that in mind, I'm thinking perhaps it's time to shift the focus of this blog again.

I don't post about fashion much--just occasionally. I don't have many great stories about attacking bread knives this summer (thank god!). I haven't had much to criticize lately--though I'm sure that'll come when school starts again.

Basically, I've been thinking of making this a food blog. Not a strict food blog, but a food blog in the sense that I talk mostly about food, cooking, restaurants and food-related things, and post about fashion, criticism and 20-something adventures whenever the mood (or bread knife) strikes.

Anyone have any thoughts on that one?

A well-dressed man

There's nothing better than a well-dressed man (except for a well-dressed man who's also really sweet and consequently dating you).

To celebrate this idea (which is, sadly, unachievable for many men--especially those on college campuses), I found some nice men's shirts that aren't t-shirts. Because believe me, boys, t-shirts aren't the only kind of shirt available for your sex.

You could do a long-sleeved t-shirt. Sure, they're not your typical screen-printed t, but they're the same material and look nicer. There's nothing wrong with solids.

And you can't go wrong with polo shirts--unless of course they don't fit or you wear them with khakis. The person who first decided a polo shirt paired with khakis looks professional was an idiot.

Argyle can be preppy, but it doesn't have to be. And it also doesn't have to mean sweater vests (which aren't necessarily a bad thing).

Another type of non-t-shirt you can't go wrong with? The long-sleeved button-up shirt. Wear it untucked, tucked-in, layered, with jeans, shorts or dress pants, flip flops, sneakers or dress shoes. This piece is versatile, and you should have many of these. And I don't care what my guy friends say, rolling up your sleeves is not just for gay guys. Straight ones should do it, too.

A polo shirt can be short- or long-sleeved. It doesn't have to always be a warm weather sort of thing.

Most of the shirts I picked were in solid colors. There are several reasons for this: a) they're simple and classy; (b) it's easier to find solid colors that "go" than trying to match patterns and prints; (c) you can dress them up or down; (d) they're easier to layer.

And just because a shirt isn't a regular old t-shirt doesn't mean it won't be comfortable. Everyone complains about comfort--men and women alike--and it's just a reason to make excuses. If clothing fits, it will be comfortable. And that's that.

Career Quiz

I already know what I want to be when I grow up--and yes, I'm practically grown up--but I decided to take a career quiz this morning, anyway.

For anyone who's planning to enroll in a degree program, the Princeton Review Web site has some nifty tools. Not only does the Review offer test-taking help for the GRE, MCAT, LSAT, etc., it also offers tools to find the best colleges, career paths and majors--just in case you're not sure.

Usually when I take these career tests, the results are mediocre and don't describe me all that well--I mean, how can they? They're just tests with set answers.

This one from the Review did quite well.

It said my interest color and usual style are blue, meaning I like to work quietly with as little human contact as possible, but still be supportive to others, and that I'm creative, humanistic and thoughtful. In the real world, that means I'd make a good journalist, editor, professor, writer or PR lady--all of which I've either done (PR and journalism) or want to do in the future (professor and writer). A lot of the other careers in the list also appealed to me in a big way.

You can click on each career to learn more about it. While the descriptions aren't exhaustive, they're fairly clear-cut.

So if I'd come across this list five years ago when I was a scrappy young high schooler (OK, not so scrappy. Read: preppy), my head probably would have exploded from the possibilities. And that's OK. Because I didn't know what I wanted to do, other than something that involved writing.

So yeah, the Princeton Review is a useful tool for anyone preparing for a Bachelor's/Master's/PhD in the near future.

Oh, and this stuff online is free.

Country excursion

I took a few German friends to my hometown today for an rural Southwestern experience. We went to the peach festival in Willcox at Apple Annie's Orchard. It wasn't much of a festival, really.

But we picked some peaches--some of the few good ones leftover from the freeze that destroyed 90 percent of the orchard's harvest.

And we bought some pluots they had shipped in from California.

After pining over the apple bread, cheese, pie, cider and fudge in the orchard's country grocery shop and sweating profusely in the buggy, muggy orchard, we decided to have apple smoked burgers at the orchard's Burger Barn.

The price turned me off immediately: $8.99 for a burger, cowboy beans, chips, a drink and pie a la mode. It's just not worth that much to me--the burgers aren't even that big.

But the Germans wanted to give it a try, so we did.

Me being the vegetarian, I had a veggie burger--something they haven't had in previous years.

Although it was thin and very wide, the burger was good. It tasted like it was locally made--I hope it was.

I wasn't able to eat the cowboy beans, since there was pork in them. I got Cheetos instead of chips. And the drink selection wasn't that fantastic--sugary sodas or tiny water bottles. Whatever happened to Apple Annie's fresh apple cider? It was one of the orchard's trademarks in my youth--we went there explicitly to get apple bread and apple cider. And now? No cider.

The pie, of course, was tasty. I got the apple raspberry. Steffi got peach raspberry, though there wasn't much raspberry in it, and Ingo got pecan. Everyone enjoyed their pie, and the huge slab of ice cream a la mode (except Steffi, who forewent the a la mode).

Although there wasn't too much to complain about, I still feel like $8.99 (or $9.94 including tax) is a bit of a ripoff.

I guess that's what you get for eating local foods, though. Not only was the meal expensive, but the produce on the farm is always very expensive.

Which brings us to today's big question: why is locally farmed produce always more expensive than the stuff at the grocery store? It doesn't make any sense, and it defies logic. If you can explain it, be my guest.

An amazing food blog!

A few weeks ago I went through Technorati's Reader's Choice Award list and found a few blogs that looked interesting. I subscribed to the blogs' RSS feeds and the posts have been nestled safely in my Feeds folder on Mozilla ever since.

Since I'm a serious foodie, one of the blogs I subscribed to is Aapplemint, a food blog written by a lady named Kajal who lives in Ghana. Kajal posts the most scrumptious looking food--and most of the time it seems she's come up with the recipes herself!

Not only that, but her food photography is beautiful. Just in case you didn't know, food photography is really difficult.

I went through last night and read all of Kajal's posts since December. She posts recipes, food and travel photos, and anecdotes that make you feel as if you've met her in person. I didn't find a single post that didn't have something interesting in it.

I especially enjoyed her post about a visit to Mumbai--complete with beautiful photos, it really gave a sense of the place to someone who's never been there.

Most of Kajal's recipes are desserts, and they certainly made my mouth water.

Her blogroll also lists a variety of other food blogs. I haven't checked any of them out yet, but I'm sure there are some goodies in there.

All things in moderation

It started as a morning thing. Then an afternoon thing. I said I was done after that.

But there was the next day. And again, a week later. And now, this morning.

You know what I'm talking about. Yeah. Doughnuts.

I'm going to blame my boyfriend for leading me astray on this one--suggesting we have doughnuts for breakfast twice in one week, and then being a sweetheart the next week and surprising me with doughnuts again.

I figured I ate too many doughnuts this week, that I was over them. But then I found one in the kitchen at work this morning. I glanced out the door, grabbed a napkin and took that doughnut and ran. It wasn't like it was someone's doughnut--it was on the table with some cookies, waiting for a digestive system to call home.

No big deal, right?

Well, if you're trying to loose a few pounds it is.

I had four doughnuts on Tuesday. One bavarian cream filled, one lemon-filled, one raspberry-filled and one glazed cake with sprinkles. One was for breakfast, three for lunch. Woman can't live on sugar alone, you know.

But we all splurge a little, right?

That's true. If you deprive yourself of things that aren't as healthy for you, like cakes, cookies or chips (and doughnuts), you end up craving those things more and eventually gorging yourself on them. I don't believe this is the first time I've written that on this blog.

There does come a point, though, when you have to learn a tiny word that can save you the agony of extra pounds and a sugar headache. That word is no.

Of course, I can't say no to a doughnut. But that doesn't mean I couldn't say no to the extra three doughnuts I had for lunch. I only have myself to blame.

Today's moral? All things in moderation. (Just say no!)

But those Donut Wheel doughnuts were damn good!

A good sports story? Ridiculous!

I'm not a huge fan of sports journalism.

Unless the reporter is talking or writing about an athlete I've heard of and care about (of which there are few), I tend not to pay much attention to sports stories.

But one story I heard on NPR last weekend definitely caught my ear.

It was a great take on sports, although I thought at first it was just a piece of ridiculous fluff.

The story is about the Tampa Bay Rays, who've just changed their name from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The columnist starts out by telling the reader the Rays are one of the worst teams in baseball, and that suddenly they've been winning--playing great games.

The story evolves. Rather than going into the ways the team has pulled the rug out from under their competitors, the columnist interviews a Lutheran minister and the head of the Church of Satan to talk about the implications of removing the word "Devil" from the team's name.

Sure, mixing religion and sports in this way can be seen as no-news cotton candy airtime filler. But the more I think about it, the better my outlook on this story becomes.

Not only did it catch my attention, but it kept my attention--and I probably would have switched to another radio station if the story had been a more traditional take on baseball. I've been thinking about the story for a few days--so it was memorable. Plus I've been telling people about the story and sending them the link.

If you're looking to grab listeners/readers, this is a great way to do it.

Give the story a listen if you get a chance.

Passing the torch

I have discovered that it's sometimes difficult to pass the torch to your successor.

Because I'm starting a graduate program in August, I have to leave my job as communications assistant. As my team prepares for this sad event, we are faced with the challenge of hiring a replacement.

Seems easy enough, right?

Well, I've worked here for three years. So I know a lot. And I do a lot. And I've done pretty well, if I do say so myself.

All of the applicants are getting ready to graduate soon, made numerous grammatical mistakes in their resumes, boast about things I doubt are true ("I have an expansive knowledge of...") and just don't seem as fantastic as I do. Aw, shucks.

Maybe it's because I don't really want to leave this job that it's so hard for me to find someone who looks worthy of filling my big shoes. If I wanted to get out of here stat, I might not care so much what my successor is like.

But I have no choice, so we've got to find someone. Luckily my boss makes that decision.

But I do get the opportunity to giggle gleefully at the writing test results when they come in. I designed the test, and I giggle thinking of the mistakes hidden throughout it.

If all the applicants flail around while figuring out how to cut the text from 445 words to 190 and find all the fact, capitalization and grammatical errors, I can't help but continue feeling like whoever succeeds me can't succeed.

But if someone really nails that thing, well, that person can have this job--and I'll feel good about passing the torch.

The classy t-shirt?

When I think of t-shirts, two things come to mind.

A) T-shirts sold in tourist traps, with cheesy sayings and colorful depictions of local architecture
B) Scruffy-looking UA students schlepping to class in their sweats and flip flops (or ugg boots), hair disheveled and the UA or Juicy logo splashed across their rears.

I hate t-shirts with logos or name brands on them. I just don't wear them. Why should I pay to advertise for some company? It's stupid. They should be paying me if they want me wearing their logos so badly.

And it's not about the label, either. Who cares if you're wearing a DKNY shirt? If you have to show off that you're wearing designer, you're begging for attention. And if you ask me, it's the wrong kind of attention. It's like walking into a crowded room with a megaphone and saying, "Hey, I've got money!"

That doesn't mean I don't ever wear t-shirts, or that I only wear plain-colored ones.

I like to wear t-shirts in different plain colors, yes. But they're not all black or gray. I try to have a whole color palette in my closet, and different variations of every shade. Ann Taylor Loft is a great place to get good quality t-shirts in different colors and sleeve lengths. Some of them are also awesome for layering.



Anthropologie also offers good t's, some with nice designs that don't scream anything like, "This shirt was designed by Ralph Lauren for his Polo Line."




If you're slender and have a walletful of cash to spend, Banana Republic also sells really nice t-shirts in plain colors. They're so soft you won't care if there aren't any logos splashed across them.

Today's moral?

There is such a thing as a classy t-shirt.
And the logo is printed on the inside of it.

The early bird gets up early

A momentous event happened this morning.

I got up early.

Indeed: I was up before 8 a.m. I was even awake before 7 a.m. I got out of bed at precisely 7 a.m.

Of course, I couldn't do it alone.

My mom called at 6:07 a.m. My alarm went off at 6:30. My mom called again at 6:32, and stayed on the phone until I could prove I was out of bed. Of course, I promptly got back into bed and cuddled with my dog. But I stayed awake the whole time, decided I'd cuddle Bijou until 6:59, and then I got up.

I was out of the shower by 7:30, when Bijou went nuts because there was knocking at the door. And lo, Ian was there with a box of doughnuts and a nutritious morning Dr. Pepper (his soda, doughnutty goodness for both of us). Mom called again around 8 a.m. to see if I had fallen back to sleep somehow, and I was out walking Bijou when she called. Imagine her surprise when I called back and didn't sound sleepy.

This wouldn't be such a big deal if I hadn't been trying to get up early on a regular basis all summer--and been failing miserably.

I have been chronically late to work this summer, except for maybe one or two days in May. Yesterday I was almost a whole hour late, and it wasn't the first time.

It's not like I want to get up late. I'm actually a morning person--there's something so enjoyable about being up when the day is new. But I also enjoy sleeping. It's not a good combination.

Hopefully I can train myself to get up at 6 a.m. every weekday before the end of the summer. I have no choice--there's a graduate orientation session I have to be at by 8 a.m. the week before classes start. I was still sound asleep in bed at that time yesterday!

Here's to hoping. Wish me luck!

Pros and cons of eating out

As I sit at work, freezing in the Arizona summer air conditioning, I ponder venturing into the squinty, sweaty heat and finding something to eat at a restaurant. Sushi, maybe. Or something from the B-Line.

But I brought a peanut butter and honey to work with me, and cherries and a nectarine.

But sushi...

Just in case you're suffering a similar dilemma, and mostly to give myself reasons to keep my butt in this groovy swivel chair, I'm offering a list of the "pros and cons of eating out." Enjoy.

PROS
1. Don't have to make it yourself
2. Tasty
3. Gets you away from the office
4. Option to try something new
5. Helps the economy

Cons
1. You don't know if the person making it washed his hands first
2. Might not be tasty today as you'd hoped
3. Takes you out into crappy lunch hour traffic
4. Don't really know if the food is vegetarian/kosher/etc.
5. Costs money you should be saving
6. Restaurants are busy at lunchtime
7. Not necessarily healthy

Can't think of anything else. But there are more cons than pros. So stay in the office and eat that sandwich you slaved away making this morning even though you were an hour late to work.

Change is in the air

NPR did a story on "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" on Friday. It's a musical comedy made specially for the Internet.

The show is pretty funny. I'm not big on musicals, but the humor was great and Ian and I watched all three acts.

It was available free on Hulu until last night, but starting today you have to pay $1.99 to download the acts from iTunes.

I think this is a great idea, a step in the right direction for mainstream entertainment. The show went into production around the time of the Hollywood writers' strike. Dr. Horrible is proof the writers don't need Hollywood, along the same vein as Radiohead's latest album and the slew of musicians who are showing the recording industry it's not necessary for success.

I love the smell of media convergence in the morning. Don't you?

Good Deals at Borders

Ian dragged me to Borders last night. I didn't want to go (because I knew I'd spend money--it never fails), but I went willingly. Ok, so he didn't drag me there.

There were some excellent bargains. Not only are there a bunch of mediocre books in boxes at the front for $3.99 each (I found a good crossword puzzle book in there--you just have to be patient and dig), but some of the books in their clearance section are (as always) great finds.

I got a really nice art book for $10. It's about 300 pages of full-color reproductions of some major art works, something that would normally cost closer to $40 full-price. I've definitely gotten some good deals in the Borders clearance section before.

So if you're in the mood for some cheap summer reading, hit up the clearance section at Borders. There's a pretty good chance you'll find something.

You should also hit up the Web site--they redid it a few months ago and there are some nice social media features in it. An improvement from only using Amazon as their Web site, I'll say.

Black and White

My mom sent me an article about a couple who had twins recently. One twin came out dark-skinned and the other light-skinned. One parent was a white German, the other from Ghana.

It's wild when things like that happen.

It makes me feel like someday soon racism won't be an issue. But I think it's still going to be a while before that happens.

Fast fajitas

I have perfected the art of five-minute fajitas.

I'm not sure if it actually takes me five minutes to make them, but that's the name and I'm sticking with it.

Here's how you do it to make two fajitas. Change the recipe to make more or fewer.

Cut up a green bell pepper, small tomato, two white mushrooms (I don't know what they're called--the generic, little ones at the grocery store) and a small red onion.

Fry those in a pan with some olive oil until they look done--it's up to you how done that is. I like to let the mushrooms brown and wait for the green bell peppers to start charring.

While you cook the vegetables, thaw some vegetarian (or non-vegetarian, if that's how you roll) steak strips. I tried the Morning Star Farms meal starters--excellent seasoning.

When the veggies are done, lay them out on the tortillas. If you like, you can warm the tortillas in the microwave before putting anything on them.

Start sauteeing the steak strips in a little olive oil while you put sour cream, cheese and whatever else you like onto the veggies.

When the steak is hot, lay it on top of the mound of other goodies in the fajitas, and enjoy.

I don't have a photo, but you can imagine they look real good. Mm-hm.

Ratatat hits the spot

Being the German that I am, I have a soft spot for electronic music, techno, dance, etc. Sadly, there's not a whole lot of that kind of music in the American mainstream, and I have a hard time finding new, good stuff on my own.

So you can imagine how pleased I was when I discovered Ratatat the other day.

Ratatat creates soft, electronic songs that make the perfect background music for work. There are a few vocal moments strewn in, but the bulk of the music is pleasantly non-vocal. Not distracting. Envigorating.

My favorite song so far is Shiller, but I haven't found a Ratatat song yet that I disliked.

Run a search for "Ratatat" on Seeqpod and check them out.

Foodies unite!

I was doing some social media research at work the other day (as I do every day), and I came across some neat options for people who love to cook.

Here are a few social networking sites for people to exchange recipes, food and cooking tips, restaurant information, etc. They're basically meccas for the food-minded. When I opened them up and started looking through the sites, the pictures accompanying recipes on Open Source Food struck me instantly as yummy. I vote that site for winner of the Best Initial Visual Impact Award.

I haven't tried these yet. Let me know if you have, and what you think.

Open Source Food
BakeSpace

FriendSeat
DueSpaghi
Garlicoon
Group Recipes
FoodTube
Eat Drink or Die
Vinix

If you know of any other social networking sites for foodies, or cool food sites in general, let me know. I'm always on the hunt for such gems.

Waist encirclers

Talking to my friend Steffi this morning got me in the mood for shopping (it's not hard these days, since I don't have any money to go shopping with).

She wants to get a belt.

When I got home, I noticed a hoard of belts hanging from hooks in the back of my closet. I don't wear any of them. Ever.

I used to wear belts frequently--back in my senior year of high school (when everyone was wearing belts, really--even some with ginormous buckles since Willcox is a country town), and a lot during my freshman year of undergrad.

That was when I was pretty thin. I lost 20 pounds my senior year of high school and 15 pounds my freshman year of college.

Now I've gained part of that weight back and I don't wear belts anymore. I sense a correlation.

I think I wore belts when I was thinner mostly to keep my pants up. As an added bonus, some of those belts were fashionable.

Now I have a ton of gorgeous belts and I don't wear them. I buy them usually when I'm with my mom because she tells me they'll be slenderizing. And then I get home and try pairing them with things, decide they all make me look thicker in the middle, and hang them up to become breeding grounds for dust.

This is probably a mindset I should change. And if you have similar neuroses, you should think about changing them, too.

I don't think I'm going to buy a belt next time I go shopping, but I should probably think about buying things I can wear with the belts I have. I guess that would be the smart thing to do.

Spotty sprinkling

I've been interested in the weather since I was flipping through a magazine for kids and read an article about the different kinds of clouds.

That interest hasn't gone anywhere. It's just gotten more developed, speculative and superstitious.

For example, I check the weather report every day. In a place with as wild of weather as Tucson, I want to have some idea of what I face outdoors each day.

I try to guess whether or not those dark clouds mean rain or shade, whether or not that fuzzy horizon is rain or just low-lying clouds, and whether or not the wind is coming from the south or the east.

But the superstition part is the best. If I take an umbrella with me on a cloudy day, the clouds are gone in 15 minutes. If I leave my umbrella at home, I end up walking to my car in a downpour. If it's November and looks cold out, I wear a sweater, I end up sweating profusely. If it's November and looks warm out, I wear a t-shirt and find my teeth chattering everywhere I go. And when I try to circumvent said instances, the weather circumvents me.

Ridiculous, right?

So there were massive patches of clouds hovering around Tucson for the past week and a half. They promised rain, they even rained all over the mountains and the foothills. And then they disappeared, just when it looked like the storm was ready to hit Tucson.

They teased me with sprinkling--five minutes, it starts to like like all hell's going to break loose, and then the sun comes out and the clouds float away.

Whatever happened to the glorious monsoon season of my youth, when the clouds would descend every afternoon, pour heavy rains for at least half an hour, and then hover for a few hours before drifting off until the next day.

Even last summer those mountain storms were bound to head straight for my apartment complex, flooding the parking lot and leaving a trail of sticky humidity in their stead.

Instead, all I'm getting this summer is seductive sprinkling that leaves me sweaty in the sunny humidity.

And yet, I still look at the weather report, hoping that 20 percent chance of showers is really going to amount to something.

I should know better by now. In Tucson, it's a fat chance.

You know you're out of shape when...

You know you're out of shape when you do pilates once and wake up the next day unable to move your back.

Note to self: exercise more frequently...

Cool new tool

As someone who's always looking for the best way to get (and stay organized), I've tried many things that have come along in the social media world.

I've tried Google Calendar, Remember the Milk and Mozilla Lightning.

I have a PDA, cell phone calendar, paper agenda, wall calendar, post-it collection and numerous to-do lists.

And sometimes things get messy.

So when I discovered Sandy today, I was intrigued.

Sandy is an e-mail personal assistant that sends you reminders, compiles lists and goals for you, and tries to help you be organized.

It's really easy to use. Once you get set up, you can have reminders e-mailed or texted to you, and you can even use Twitter and Jott, too.

For example, my first task for Sandy was an e-mail that said "Remind me to wash that peach in 1 minute". In one minute, I got an e-mail from Sandy reminding me to wash that peach. I could snooze the reminder, change it to a later time, mark it as done or delete it without washing the peach.

Sandy sends you a daily digest of things you need to do and remember, so that kills the need for writing it all out yourself. Unless you want to.

It's a useful little tool I recommend.

Communications blogger Shel Holtz compiled a list of a few social media tools he found useful, including Sandy.

Good eatin' at the Hacienda

A few times a year, Ian and I go for Sunday brunch at The Grill at the Hacienda del Sol resort in Tucson.

It's a little expensive ($80 for two people, including tip), especially if you're on a college-student budget.

But you don't have to eat again for the day, so it's a good deal in that sense.

Basically, The Grill hosts a large buffet spread for Sunday brunch. It isn't as big as it used to be, but it's still impressive.

Even though I'm a vegetarian, there was still plenty for me to eat: blueberry blintzes, cheese, croissants, fruit pastries, fried (lightly, not too much) potatoes, waffles, omelet, fresh fruit and a fruit salad. I tried all of those things except the waffles and omelet, and I liked everything except the fruit salad. There was also plenty of meat for carnivorous types like Ian--turkey, bacon, sausage, sushi, eggs Benedict, various salads and more.

If you are seated in the right place, the view is fantastic. Even though I felt squinty because the sun is so bright, I had a lovely view of the mountains as the storm clouds gathered around them and drifted away. The scenery is also fairly green and overlooks Tucson as the resort is nestled in the Foothills.

I'm going there with some friends on Tuesday for a wine tasting--$5 a person for the tasting and $5 off entrees for the evening. It will be the first time I visit the Grill in the evening, so it'll be a change. If it's anywhere near as good as the brunch, I'll let you know.

Independence Day

Call me anti-American all you want, but I've never been terribly excited about Independence Day, other than getting a day off from work and having an excuse to barbecue with family and friends.

I've always abhorred the garish combination of red, white and blue on clothing, foods and decorations. It reminds me of patriotism, and patriotism reminds me of Nazi Germany. (I study German history, I can't help it.)

So while I skip the gaudy "Proud to be an American" t-shirts, themed napkins and flag cakes, I hope you have a great holiday. Ponder the things that make it good to be American and dwell on the things that aren't so great about it. Because it's not all butterflies and unicorns in this country, and the more you can question things, complain and find reasons to be appalled with the government, the better off everyone will be.

Vacation Photos

I promised photos of my vacation would come. Rather than spend hours uploading them to blogger, here's a link to the public album on Facebook.

Enjoy.

Shoes, shoes, shoes!

I haven't done anything with shoes in a while. So here are my "Fourth of July Week 15" (favorite finds).


Emilio Pucci galoshes, $879 on Zappos





Franco Sarto flats, $83 on Zappos







Giuseppe Zanotti Design pumps, $854 on Zappos





Givenchy pumps, $514 on Zappos










RSVP pumps, $65 on Zappos








Colin Stuart espadrilles, $36 at Victoria's Secret





Sigerson Morrison flats, $429 on Zappos








Ralph Lauren espadrilles, $149




Ralph Lauren flats, $229





BC Footwear wedges, $55 at Nordstrom







Tory Burch wedges, $295 at Nordstrom







Anthropologie wedges, $68





Anthropologie flats, $36




Ann Taylor Loft thongs, $29




Ann Taylor Loft thongs, $34

Craving killers

As an American, when you get a craving for something edible, will the standard serving size do it for you?

Probably not.

Growing up I didn't know anyone who would be satisfied eating two chocolate chip cookies. I think my friends and I could eat at least a box and still be thinking about food when we were in middle school.

Even though the serving size won't cut it, most of us *I hope* are still smart enough to know that the more you eat, the more weight you gain--unless you're one of those lucky people with an amazing metabolism (I hate you).

So I thought it was funny reading this article my mom sent me about curbing food cravings without needing to go up a pant size.

I know my cravings usually result from boredom. So I drink something--usually water, milk or orange juice. Or those great Vita Rain (Talking Rain) drinks sold at Costco that aren't glutted with corn syrup, much unlike those horrid Vitamin Water drinks that purport to be so healthy for you.

The suggestion that eating a small piece of chocolate will hold you over...not gonna cut it. There's a fine line between teasing yourself and pleasing yourself in this case. If you think, "OK, I'm just going to eat one square of chocolate because I'm going to drop dead if I don't," you'll probably open the packaging, inhale that heavenly scent, and devour the whole thing before you know it. At the same time, if you decide to with hold and just drink a gallon of water to force yourself to be full, the craving's just going to grow and you'll end up feeling entitled to much more than you should eat.

The safest way to approach the munchies, I think, is to drink something first. Then think about it. Find something to do that's involved and not just busy work. Then, if you're still hungry for, say, Cheetos, drink something else and eat some Cheetos--but not the whole bag. If that still doesn't work, go somewhere else (run errands, go to the mall, anything!) and find something new to occupy you. And if that doesn't work, it's probably time for a meal. And if you don't want to go through the whole try-this-then-that ordeal, just fix a meal and thwart the craving.

And no, don't snack while you're cooking. That defeats the purpose.

Another option: try eating something healthy that's like what you crave. So for sugary candy, try fruit--and fruit that you like, not just fruit you'll force yourself to eat because it's healthy and you feel like you have to. And if you don't like fruit, well, there's no help for you.

And dangit, this post just gave the munchies.