Jugband Blues

I haven't updated in so long! I just really haven't had much to say. Living with my parents for two months made me boring and reclusive. Also, I read a ton of books. But now I am back in the city and back to my old ways of wasting time and telling people about it. So let's do this.

This past weekend I was in Mississippi visiting a friend who goes to Ole Miss. It was my first time in the South (apparently Florida isn't the South?). Wow! It's a different world. I felt like I stood out like a pale, sore, short thumb. Usually I stick out because of my platinum blonde hair. Not here. Everyone was blonde! Shouldn't I love this? No. I didn't feel special. But I stuck out because I couldn't say mam without giggling, couldn't sing one lyric of any country song I heard, and wore flip flops past September (It's cowboy boot season!).

What I absolutely loved about my southern experience was the food, the weather, the kindness of strangers, and the non-hectic atmosphere. Of course I can't forget my trip to Graceland Too.

When my friend first picked me up from Memphis I asked her if Graceland was something to see. She said it was $60 a ticket so that ended my curiosity. Then she told me about Graceland Too, which was only $5. We drove 45 minutes to go walk around this guy's house who hoards Elvis paraphernalia. So worth it. We went at like 11:00 pm. I was worried it would be closed, but then I was told that Paul Mcleod, the man behind Graceland too, never sleeps. I read that he drinks 24 cans of coke a day. We actually stopped at a gas station of the way there to get a bottle for him.

I was warned that Paul Mcleod said really inappropriate things and that I would leave the house smelling. Both were true. Don't worry Mom, we had boys with us. I couldn't really understand anything Paul Mcleod was saying during the tour but at one point I started screaming because he was reaching into a bag and for some reason (basically every northerners stereotype of southerners) I thought he was going to pull out a gun or a dead animal. It was actually a microphone and he sang to me.

Paul is open about the fact that when given and ultimatum from his wife asking him to choose between his shrine to Elvis or her, he chose his shrine to Elvis. 

Me on an electric chair (aka a chair with a colander and Christmas lights attached to it, aka Jail House Rock).

What's funny is that I actually heard about this place in a book I read in college. I had the best major!

It's located in a normal residential neighborhood. Would you want to be his neighbor?

  

The Dogs of War

So get this. Kraft Foods (Oscar Meyer Weiners) and Sara Lee (Ball Park Franks) have been in a legal brawl over who is Top Dog of the industry. A trial began this August in Chicago (I love this town) federal court, but Sara Lee filed suit back in 2009. Kraft countersued, and both companies claimed that the other exaggerated being America's best.

On Thursday, the companies announced that they settled outside of court, but the terms of the agreement are not disclosed (major bummer).

Read more here.

So who wins the dogfight in my heart? I hate to say it (because I grew up just a few miles from Kraft headquarters) but Ball Park Franks are my pick. Now, if all lawsuits were like this, I'd still be on my way to being legally blonde.

In other hot dog news, my Mom told me that today, September 10, is National Hot Dog Day. I have no idea if there's any truth to this because  I see a lot online that says that National Hot Dog Day is July 23. Maybe I dreamt her telling me this? More likely, she told me that it was Hot Dog Day so that I'd choose to eat hot dogs over brats today (unfortunately its either one or the other for me... I really need to work on that). She's just looking out for my health!

Whether it's National Hot Dog Day or not, I'd thought I'd celebrate. Here's my salute to hotdogs: the good, the bad, and the interesting:

The Good:

The Chicago Dog:

Poppy seed bun, white onions, pickle relish (neon green, kind of scary at first but you get used to it), yellow mustard, pickle, tomato, sport peppers, celery salt

Hot Dog Toaster:

I definitely need one of these for my new apartment.

Perry Como's #1 Hit in 1956 "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)":

Not sure if this song is about hot dogs, but there are few times I eat a dog without this singing this song in my head. Thanks, Mom.

The Bad:

Lunchable All Star Hot Dogs:

I now really appreciate that my Mom would never buy these for me.

Hot Dog Eating Contests:

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Baby Hot Dog Costume:

I can't decide if this is a good thing or not.

The Interesting:

$80 Hot Dog:

Most expensive hot dog, made by the Brockton Rox baseball team. 

McHot Dog:

Ray Kroc, who was CEO of McDonald's, apparently prohibited the company from selling hot dogs because he said they were "unhygienic." For years I've been haunted by this crazy memory of seeing hot dogs sold at a McDonald's in Springfield, IL on a family vacation the summer after first grade. I researched it, and found out that in 1995 McDonald's introduced hot dogs in some Midwestern franchises. I'm so happy that I did not hallucinate hot dogs at a McDonald's. That would just be weird. Oh and Tokyo had the "McHot Dog."

Hamburger Bed:

Okay, so not a hot dog. I just think this thing looks so cool. 

Happy Hot Dog Day!

One Slip

Just realized that I lied again (this time not on purpose).

It looks like Rick Bayless, wasn't the first Bravo celebrity I met after all. I was going through my facebook profile pics and found this gem:

I guess I met Christian Siriano winner of the fourth season of Project Runway my junior year of college when he came to do a talk at school. I love how I chose the day I met a Project Runway winner to not take the time to put on makeup, or even brush my hair. Oh yeah, and that shirt is from Target, and it's definitely not a GO designer. 

But let me tell you the day I meet this guy (Daniel Vosovic, finalist Season 2)  I will be ready and looking really good:

I was devastated when Daniel casually mentioned at the end of his season that he didn't like girls (romantically), and would therefore never want to date me. It really wasn't obvious to me. 

Just realized that he makes a cameo in the video of my favorite rap cover, Anya Marina's "Whatever You Like." I just LOVE when white girls cover rap songs (I'm dead serious). Sorry Mom, this video is a bit racy:

http://www.youtube.com/user/anyamarinamusic#p/u/2/6INLzQaWask

My other fav rap covers:

Nina Gordon (remember that girl who sang "Tonight and the Rest of My Life?)-"Straight Outta Compton"

Milow- "Ayo Technology"

Green Is the Colour

Okay, so I lied. The big thing that happened to my family last week was not meeting Rick Bayless, (though that was awesome) but was celebrating my oldest sister's wedding!


Her wedding was seriously, the most fun I've had in my entire life. I know, that sounds insane, I mean I went to college, I went to Notre Dame! I once spent 72 hours straight in costume! But this event really took the [wedding] cake.


My overall happiness at events where I don't know everyone in the room is based solely on the amount of  people who tell me I look like Reese Witherspoon.

What do you guys think??

I actually don't really see the resemblance myself, but welcome it whenever someone tells me I look like her! I had plenty of people I hadn't met before the wedding say that I looked like Reese. Now, my first instinct was to tell them that I usually don't look like this (when I got into the make-up chair, I told the girl I was going for an "unnatural look"). But I decided that they didn't need to know that!


It sure beats what my friends used to say I looked like in high school:

Okay, so I lied again (not about my friends saying I looked like Dobby the house elf that's completely true, kind of an inside joke I guess). This weekend wasn't the most fun I ever had because people said I looked like Reese Witherspoon. This weekend was the best because it combined my two favorite pastimes: dancing and seeing the people I love ridiculously happy!


Couldn't be happier for those two!

Vegetable Man

Something HUGE happened for my family last week.....

We met our first Bravo celebrity!!!

That my friends is chef Rick Bayless, winner of the first season of Top Chef Masters! He has restaurants in Chicago, and I was lucky enough to kick off my sister's wedding weekend with a dinner in Frontera Grill's test kitchen.

The food was delicious.

There are flowers in that dish, and yes I ate them. I learned that most flowers are actually edible. I asked one of the chefs if you could take a bite out of a sunflower sandwich, he didn't see why not.

We got to watch them cook everything!

This part really made me wish I knew how to cook and didn't eat so many Lean Cusines. I sure didn't see a microwave in that kitchen, but maybe I was just too busy stuffing my face.

I'm obnoxious

What was special about meeting this Bravo star, was that it came with a great meal. All I could really say to him was, "This is delicious!" But I have this great feeling that this is not the last Bravo star I am going to meet in my life (and yes, I know that Rick Bayless is so much more than a Bravo star, I'm just obsessed with that channel). Here is my bucket list of Bravo stars I want to meet someday and what I want to say to them:

Patti Stanger: The Millionaire Matchmaker
"Why do I believe absolutely everything you say about how to find 'the one' even though you are single? How do you do that? P.S. You looking amazing for 50. How do you do that?"

Danielle Staub: Real Housewives of New Jersey
"Engaged 19 times?! Really?"

Andy Cohen: Watch What Happens Live (Also, produces most of the shows)
"No one on earth loves their job as much as you do, own it!"

Bethenny Frankel: Bethenny Ever After
"I want to be you!"

Tim Gunn: Project Runway
"What if I can't make it work???"

The cast of NYC Prep
"You guys want to go out some time? You seem like you know what's up... I want to be you!"

A New Machine (Part 1)

I decided to dedicate this post to informing readers on what's going on in my life rather than my usual random thoughts and commentaries. A lot is changing in my life, which is great because I love change. I choose to live my life as if it were a reality show, and I see change and conflict as really interesting episodes. People probably think I hate change because I'm always dwelling on things, talking it out, analyzing, and repeating myself. Oh yeah, and I can't forget my constant looking for reassurance that I made the right choice. But really that's just me trying to be like the Queen of Reality herself, Lauren "LC" Conrad. So here's what's new:


This season on The Burbs...

A New Job...

No, I'm not a full-time blogger. I recently started working for a new company. The dress code is untraditional (today I wore shorts!) and my hours are very untraditional. I work Monday through Friday from 12:00 pm-8:00 pm. I love it! It's not for everyone but the hours work really well for me. When I get home from work, all I want to do is eat (brats), drink (beer), and watch TV (Storage Wars). With my new schedule, I only do that for about an hour, while I used to do that for like five hours when I worked 9-5. So far, I've been good about using my mornings to write, read, and run errands. Also, my schedule allows for the opportunity for the occasional weekday bar night that doesn't get cut off early.

A New Home...

I like to tell people that I didn't move home, but that I'm "in between leases." The lease in my apartment ended at the end of July and I'm just hanging out at home in the suburbs until I get all the details set for my next bachelor pad. Obviously living with parents has it's pros and cons. I love saving money, but I definitely feel like I'm missing out on a ton. Of course, I'm going to look on the bright side and I choose to see this as a vacation and I am allowing myself to eat anything my mom is willing to buy or make me.

There's a farm in my town.

A New Family...

Four more days until my oldest sister's wedding! She's the first of my siblings to get married and I can't wait! It will be very strange to not share a last name with her anymore.

Sneak peek.

 

Childhood's End

Last week, I saw the most recent, and sadly, the last Harry Potter movie. I've heard a lot of people my age say that the ending of the series feels like the end of childhood. I'll stay a kid forever, but I definitely can relate to this feeling. I grew up with the Harry Potter books and movies. The end of it all does make me feel old. I decided to take a look back on the series, and tried to remember what was going on in my life the month when each of the movies were released. Let's see how Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Emily have grown...

**SPOILER ALERT**
If you haven't read the books/seen the movies 1) You may not want to continue reading. 2) Just give up now, you're never going to read them, stop telling yourself you will.

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone-November 2001

• Harry finds out he is a wizard! Hagrid explains to him that he will spend the next seven years at Hogwarts learning magic! 
• At this point in my life, I am in 8th grade. My parents have just informed me that I will spend the next four years of my life at an all-girl high school! The boys in my grade school class begin purposely pronouncing the name of my high school, Regina, wrong. I don't think I need to elaborate.

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets-November 2002

• A deadly monster is unleashed at Hogwarts. Harry saves the day by defeating Tom Riddle and the basilisk (big snake)!
• I am a freshman in high school. I'm obsessed with this song:

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban- June 2004

• Harry is reunited with his godfather, Sirius Black!
• I am reunited with my favorite Disney channel original movie character-Zenon! Zenon: Z3 premiered on the Disney channel. It is a major disappointment. Proto Zoa failed to deliver another hit.

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire-November 2005

• Harry becomes a champion in the Triwizard Tournament.... without even applying.
• I work my butt off on SATs and applying to college. I eat, sleep, breathe higher education. I get into some schools...wait-listed at a few...rejected at others...

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix-July 2007

• Harry gets his first kiss from hottie, Cho Chang. He mourns the death of Sirius Black
• I decide to transfer to Notre Dame. I'm sorted into the house of Turtle Creek Apartments. I still mourn the cancellation of Gilmore Girls.

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- July 2009

• Snape finally gets to be Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Then he ruins everything...but he has a good reason.
• I finally get a to bring a car to school (summer school), but get pulled over for the first time for speeding...but I had a good reason. Actually, no I didn't. 

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 1- November 2010

Emma Watson is not the only one
who blossomed into a fashion icon.

• Harry, Ron, and Hermione don't return to Hogwarts for their final year, but spend all their time looking for Horcruxes.
• I've now graduated, but return to Notre Dame every football weekend, and spend all my time looking for free beer.

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 2-July 2011

• Harry defeats Lord Voldemort and restores peace and harmony to the wizarding and mortal worlds!
• I move back in with my parents and bring all the fun and happiness back into their lives!

I encourage you all to try to remember what you were up to at all these different times. It's amazing how much time has gone by!