guilty pleasures

Yesterday was a super busy day for me and matt. We checked out a wedding venue and ran a crazy number of errands (which included a trip to target...if I can get out of target in under an hour, it's a miracle). On friday night we went to our friend's birthday bbq and didn't get a lot of sleep, so Matt totally passed out on the couch after the errands. It was super early so I decided to preoccupy myself with some guilty pleasures.

1) It was definitely time to get clean up around the house. Being someone who can't work in silence, guilty pleasure #1 is singing/dancing to hidden musical gems while cleaning. In order to make my house shine like the top of the Chrysler building (oh Annie, how I love you) I have a fabulous playlist. Some song selections:

"Poison" - Bel Biv Devoe. That song will always get me moving. Never trust a big butt and a smile? Good advice BBD.

"Knocking Da Boots" - Candyman. Tiffany and I may be the only people on the face of the planet who love this song, but it's great. I particularly love the part where he says he'll "melt in your mouth, not in your hand." M&Ms as a sexual reference. Nice.

"Buttons" - Pussycat Dolls. While I love the idea of the Pussycat Dolls in Vegas, I'm not really a fan of the group. But there's something about this song that just gets me. It's one of those "sing and dance in front of the mirror and pretend that you're in a music video" songs. If I could lift my leg as high as those chicks, I'd be quite a catch.

2) Facebook stalking. I do it and you do it too.

3) Remember when you're little and you think about what it would be like to be rich and you could buy anything you wanted? Yea, I still do that. Guilty pleasure #2 is eating popcorn and flipping through fashion magazines at the ridiculously expensive clothes/jewelry/purses that I could only afford if I was a regular cast member on Gossip Girl. I have a vision of what I want to look like as a smart successful lawyer. However, seeing that I'm going the public interest route this won't happen. But it's lovely to dream.

4) "Adventures in Babysitting". I don't know how many people have seen this movie, but it's one of my favorites and something that I usually watch alone so I can fully enjoy it. It's about this girl in Chicago named Chris who is suppose to go to a super fancy dinner with her boyfriend, but he cancels on her because "his sister is sick." So she gets a call to babysit for this family and she decides to go. Turns out her best friend is stranded at the train station and when Chris and the 3 kids she's babysitting go to get her, craziness ensues.

5) World's Longest Shower ever. Being a girlie girl, I'm really into bath products and there's nothing I enjoy more than pampering myself. Deep conditioner and a sugar scrub may be the best way to end a day.

There are many more which I'm sure I'll discuss one day.

What are your guilty pleasures???

sherbet and fluff...

So apparently watching Kingpin, even though you've seen it at least 50 times, makes you laugh so much that you suddenly feel very awake. After Woody Harrelson left the Amish village with that chick from USA's "Weird Science", a commercial for ice cream came on and I started thinking about my favorite treat when I was little - a scoop of rainbow sherbet on a sugar cone from Baskin Robbins. That along with bubble gum ice cream (which I never really liked, but there was something so great about bubble gum in ice cream. It was almost as good as bubble gum in a lollipop) reminds me of humid july days and trips to the park with my family. To this day it's still my go to when I hit up Baskin Robbins. So of course, I thought of it so I wanted it. I was too lazy to drive there so I decided I would just hit up Safeway and grab some there.

I walked into the ice cream aisle and some guy was trying to select his ice cream treat for the night. Now, what I love about the ice cream/frozen foods section of the grocery store is that everything is behind a clear door. This allows you to clearly see the food available and after making a selection, you can quickly open the door and grab what you want. Smart. This guy didn't seem to get the memo. He proceeded to open each door for a good minute, look around, decide he didn't like anything and close the door. There are two problems with this: 1) Freezers = cold. Obviously. So when you leave the doors open this long, the person standing next to you in the aisle also gets cold. Not ok. 2) When you leave the door open this long, it fogs up after you shut it. This completely defeats the entire purpose of the clear door. Because of this, I had to open each door and freeze while I stared at the options. One person leaving the door open leads to a cycle of people being forced to open the door. Not ok.

I finally got into the checkout line and the two guys in front of me kept laughing and talking about how messed up they were. I looked at their cart and what did I see? Firewood, marshmallows, chocolate bars, graham crackers, and fluff. 'Smores baby. I'm not going to lie, I was a little concerned about their desire to start a fire in their current state. But the best part was listening to their debate about whether or not to go with the fluff. One guy kept saying that they needed to be "authentic" while the other guy kept insisting that the fluff was to eat after the 'smores. Genius.

law school makes me sleepy

first week of school...i'm so tired...law school sucks.

Will update soon.

Right now, I'm off to lay on the couch and watch this.

Jewel + Everclear + Fiona Apple = Me Freaking Out

So here I am posting at 2 a.m. again. Surprise surprise. Only this time it's not a result of me getting wrapped up in a "What Not to Wear" marathon (which I do quite often because I'm a massive fan of Stacey and Clinton) or because I spent most of the day in bed (which I did today, but I was awake and chilling with Matt and Brodie so it doesn't count), but because I was working on my reading for my first week of classes. Whenever I'm trying to get into the "work zone", I always pop in my headphones and turn on Rhapsody (which I adore) and pick an album or random playlist to set the mood and keep me focused. Tonight I picked a playlist titled "Straight Outta the 90's" and suddenly I was transported back. I had flashbacks to the summer between 7th and 8th grade where I sat in my parents basement listening to Q101 and signing on to AOL version 3.0 thinking about how I should really finish that last book on my summer reading list but promise myself that I would finish it after I watched MTV's "Singled Out". My biggest concern was putting on a trendy outfit from Contempo Casuals (which I really shouldn't have worn back then) and convincing my dad to drive me to the mall to meet my friends and give me $5 so I could buy super cute earrings at Claire's and a slice of pizza at Sbarro. And snap back to reality...I'm 25 years old and a day away from starting my last year of law school. Oh, and I'm getting married in a year. Holy Crap...

How did I get here?

because this is how you play guitar...

While attempting to start my homework (and yes, I have homework a entire week before classes start. It's ridiculous), this lovely commercial came on:

What??? Really??? I'm all about playing guitar. I have a lovely one sitting in my living room that I attempt to play but the 16 years of piano lessons with a strict teacher who told me I would ruin all of my training if I played guitar make it a bit difficult. I'm also a fan of fake guitars, aka, guitar hero/rock band. It's nice to feel like you're a rock star when you only have to focus on 5 buttons and the strumming thing (though that game gets super hard, particularly after a night of "battle of the rock bands", also known as drinking and playing the game at my house). I'll even give you air guitar, though I lack any talent in this area. But this "guitar idol" stuff...well I don't get it. And definitely not for $19.99. It's like a weird combination of guitar hero and air guitar. Although I have to say, if I saw someone whip it out at work/class/the train, it would be quite a sight to see and may cause me to rethink this opinion.

survey says...

Today has been a lovely, lazy day. Matt gets to work from home on mondays and so I've spent the entire day sitting on the couch with random tv playing in the background. We've watched "The View" (yes, it's like I'm a 30 year old mom of 4, but I watch for the occassional drama), "Revenge of the Nerds", and the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget (how many Mary Kate and Ashley jokes can you fit into a 90 minute show? Surprisingly, a lot). There is absolutely nothing on right now so I put on family feud. Watching this show reminds me of staying home sick from school and watching this, Cosby Show reruns, and The Price is Right. I like to think I'm pretty good at the game and feel pretty confident that I could put a killer team together. So Matt and I are sitting here yelling answers at the screen and I'm shocked by some answers that receive no points. Here's an example: "Name a food that has melted cheese on top". My answer - Pizza. LOTS of melted cheese on pizza. Pizza received 8 points. I always wondered how the Family Feud peeps survey people: Do they call random phone numbers? Do they stand in front of Starbucks with a clipboard? Perhaps I'll do a wikipedia search and figure it out...

In other news, I have 6 more days of summer vacation left. How should I spend these final days of summer? Suggestions are welcomed.

i'm totally glad i dipped in your ink

Last night I had the pleasure of going to the San Mateo County state fair. I know some of you are thinking "um, lame..." but I love stuff like this. When I was little I was obsessed with carnivals. I would go on every ride over and over again, especially the zipper, and stuff my face with every food imagineable. Now that I'm older I'm a little skeptical of the rides mostly because I watch those horrible specials on discovery channel where a little kid falls of the ferris wheel. However, yesterday was particularly nutty because Weird Al was performing. Yes, I had a friday night of "Amish Paradise" and funnel cake. Quality.

The remainder of last night consisted of me watching 6 episodes of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air because I couldn't fall asleep on Nick at Night (which, btw, I still can't get over. I remember when Nick at Night showed episodes of Mary Tyler Moore and the Patty Duke Show which seemed ancient when I was 6 years old), I finally fell asleep around 4 a.m. and woke up at noon. I absolutely love sleeping in on a Saturday morning. It reminds me of college when Matt and I used to spend the entire day in bed watching movies on our school's movie channel until we finally stumbled outside to eat grilled cheese sandwiches from the cafeteria. Memories...


After rolling out of bed we decided to see Pineapple Express. I was really worried that I wouldn't like it simply because it was hyped up by so many people as being absolutely hilarious. But I totally loved it. Total ridiculousness, but that's exactly what I wanted to see. All night Matt and I have been randomly saying quotes from the movie. That's how I know I love a movie. And it was so great to see Seth Rogan and James Franco acting together again.
It made me crave a marathon of Freaks and Geeks. That show was so quality and I often think about how tragic it was that it got pulled so early. Never seen it? You must check it out.

a moment to talk about my puppy

I adore my puppy. He's unbelievably adorable and sweet. He's also the biggest attention whore (I say that lovingly) that I've ever met. Here's how our day has gone so far:

8 a.m.: Woken up by Brodie jumping on my bed/face, immediately followed by tons of licking. Matt and I call this "eating my face" because it's like he thinks my face is a tootsie pop. How many licks does it take to eat my face off? 1, 2, 3...nope, still have a face.

8:30 a.m.: Matt leaves for work and Brodie crawls into my bed and curls under the covers. Ahh, adorable puppy, take a nap.

8:35 a.m.: Brodie's had enough of a nap and is now sitting at the front of my bedroom door barking until I finally get out of bed.

After leaving for a few hours to buy text books and such ($500 on books...ridiculous), I come back home and proceed to play fetch. Brodie cannot get enough of his tennis ball. If we let him play with it all day he would. And if we don't throw the ball to him, he sits in front of it with a really sad look on his face. I'm sure he's thinking "if I can look sad enough, they will play with me". Sadly, he's right.

3:00 p.m.: Cable guy shows up to fix some problem. Brodie stays in the kitchen and is whining because he hates being in there. Cable man asks if he can take him out. Brodie then proceeds to jump in cable man's lap. Spoiled brat.

3:30 p.m.: I decide to check my email. Brodie gets jealous and sits on my laptop.

I think I need to set up some doggie play dates.

i *almost* miss the humidity...

Last night I returned to San Francisco. The past week in Chicago was possibly the shortest vacation ever. But I do feel like I accomplished a lot on the trip: 1) I ate more than anyone should. But in a city with such great food, I think it's acceptable. 2) Spent lots of time with Tiffany. We always joke that when we decide to have kids, we'll have to buy houses next to eachother so we can raise them together. Every time I come home and see her I'm reminded of how wonderful that would be. 3) Saw my mom and brother which is always a great thing. 4) Covered some wedding stuff with my mom, including looking at some dresses. It's going to be an insane process, but I'm getting kinda excited about it. 5) Didn't even think about school - always a bonus.

The flights back weren't too bad. O'Hare is probably my favorite aiport in the world. Not only is it in my home city and my flights are almost always on time out of there, but they have the BEST bathrooms in the entire world. Yes, it's weird to love an airport for the bathrooms. But they have amazing automated toilet seat covers. Other people must love them because I actually found a youtube clip of them in case you're interested:



Genius.

So now that I'm back in SF I have a zillion things to do. Matt and I are going to visit a potential wedding venue tonight and then I think I'm going to a bridal show on Saturday. Tomorrow I also have to buy books, turn in my law student certification paperwork, and argue with the cable man that they actually need to fix the problem.

I guess summer vacation is really over.

Has Everyone Seen This Movie???

I was sitting around my house flipping through the channels tonight when I flipped to E! and "Showgirls" was starting. This got me thinking to how I've watched it on cable tv a few times, namely on VH-1 with Jessica. It's hilarious because there are so many words that they dubb in (because Jesse Spano has a filthy mouth in that movie) and there are classy drawn on bikinis that they put on the girls. Really, everyone should check it out.

I remember the movie bombed when it came out...yet I've talked to a bunch of people who have seen it on late night tv. Which got me thinking...has everyone seen it??? It's such a guilty pleasure that surely there must be a lot of us who have watched it.

Ooo Baby I Love Your Way

I have been listening to a ridiculous amount of Frampton Comes Alive. You may be thinking "wow Bianca, it's not 1976". Yes,but it's quality and it makes me happy.

Friday night I went out to celebrate Tiffany's birthday. It was totally fabulous. I picked up a mini dress from Forever 21 (that I'm sure I'll never wear again) for the occassion and we hit up the town. Started the night at Y bar where I had a pricy (though pretty tasty) cosmopolitan. Believe it or not that one little drink made me kinda tipsy. Thank you Grey Goose. After a few hours at Y bar we headed over to Sound bar for a little dancing. My feet were throbbing so I took off my shoes for a bit. Not even 2 seconds later, Mr. Security Man was like "tsk tsk, you can't do that". I don't think guys understand the pain that girls go through when hitting up the town. 4 inch heels look fabulous, and I don't care how comfortable they may be, after 5 hours of drinking and dancing they will kill your feet. I have 2 cute little blisters to prove it. A little after 2 a.m. I was wiped, so I cabbed it home. It was a lovely evening and a great way to celebrate Tiff's first quarter of a century.

Yesterday was super mellow. My lazy butt stayed in bed until 1 p.m. (which I justify because I'm on vacation) and watched really bad reality tv, aka, the Keeping Up with the Kardashian's marathon. Decided to chill with my mom and took her to see Mamma Mia which was super cheesy but kinda cute. Certain scenes were soo bad that they were good, but who doesn't love seeing sequins and platform boots accompanied by "Dancing Queen" on the big screen.

Also, I ended my evening with this:




I'm a happy girl.

Thank You "So You Think You Can Dance"

Tonight my faith in competition reality television was restored. Not only did I fully support the winner (who I won't disclose in case you haven't had time to plop down in front of your TIVO), but the finale totally delivered. At first I was pissy that they didn't show the finale in Chicago until 11 p.m. because of some programming confict. I was sure that I'd be too tired to stay awake and would get sick of the fluff that they usually put in finale show. But now - I was completely captivated for the whole 2 hours.

In other news, I'm still having a fabulous time in Chicago. I spent the day laying out by the pool with Tiffany. We laughed, we smiled, we tanned. Fantastic. Tomorrow I am car-less, so I think I may make my first attempt with the CTA since high school. Game plan - go to the beach, back home for lunch, then do minimal damage to my credit card downtown. And the finale - hitting up Y Bar to celebrate Tiff's bday. I'm sure a post about the insanity of the evening will be coming shortly...

Heidi Klum, You Need to Step It Up

A skort. A SKORT!!! Are you freaking kidding me?! And a white skort with U S A on it. There was a point in time when I rocked a skort. I believe I was in 5th grade. And I even had a white one. But I didn't say USA and it was from the Gap. The task was to make a modern Olympic outfit that the US team could wear during the opening ceremony. I get that it needs to be red, white, and blue. I get that it needs to be sporty. But I don't think there's anything modern about a skort, let alone anything to place it in the top 3.

Am I the only one who thinks that Project Runway hasn't been delivering this season? I live for the fashion...I live for the drama...I'm not getting it this season. As a crazy busy law student, there are few shows that I insist on watching live. Project Runway is one of them. Now I'm not so sure...

Ok, I'm a little bitter.

Plane Rides and Hot Dogs

So I've been back in Chicago for less than 24 hours. I had the pleasure of sitting in front of 3 loud and crazy kids. They spent the majority of the flight throwing goldfish crackers on the floor and stomping on them and then placing crushed crackers in my hair. When I turned to the mom she was simply like "oh, they're just trying to be cute." My response - no, you're kids are not cute, they are _____. Fill in the blank as you see fit. I shouldn't really blame the kids, seeing that they were all under 7 years old and super bored on our tv-less flight. But really mom, shape up.

Within minutes of getting off the plane, I had the pleasure of eating this:



From this wonderful place:



It was messy and made me feel like I was going to explode, but it was absolutely delish and exacly what I wanted.

It's funny how certain foods really make me feel like home. Today I ran errands with my mom and went to Jewel Osco (oh how I miss you when I'm in SF) and I was super stoked to pick up Home Run Inn frozen pizza. I mean really, who gets excited about frozen pizza??? It's totally silly, but it brought a smile to my face. I also like to make lists of what food I want to eat while I'm in town so as to take full advantage of my visit. Any suggestions for chow would be greatly appreciated.

Also, it looks like there's going to be a thunderstorm tonight...soo excited!

me vs. the iphone

I think I've lost my fiance to this:



Here's a little list: me vs. iphone:

1) If Matt's ever bored at work, he can pull out the iphone from his pocket and have endless procrastination possibilities (games, websites, etc.). I'm not tiny and portable so I can't go to work with him. 1 point, iphone.

2) You can play movies on the iphone. But I can get off the couch, put in a dvd/change the channel/drive to the movies and keep Matt entertained with a million comments. 1 point, bianca.

3) If something on his phone is not working, Matt can get pissed and the phone won't say anything. If we're fighting, we all know I'm gonna say something. 1 point, iphone.

4) The iphone has a pretty touch screen which makes it easy to do stuff. But asking me to do something doesn't require him lifting a finger. 1 point, bianca

5) The iphone has a swanky scientific calculator application. I can't do math. 1 point, iphone.

6) I'm a human being. 1 point, bianca.

7) In a few years I'm sure the phone will break...and I'll still be here. 1 point, bianca

So here's the score: iphone - 3 points; bianca - 4 points.

Now I feel better.

1 a.m. on a Monday and I'm Not Sleeping? Craziness...

3 bits of randomness:

1) Earlier today I said "blah, I really don't want to go to work tomorrow." And then I realized that I don't have work. The 10 weeks of my summer internship absolutely flew by. While it was a little slow at first, I became really great friends with the other interns, found that I really loved the work I was doing, and felt super comfy in the office. The experience reminded me why I went to law school in the first place. I actually felt like I was helping people and making a difference. I really hope it's enough to keep me going through this last year of law school.

2) In less than 48 hours, I will be here:

Usually I only make it home twice a year, and those trips are full of so many appointments and "I have to get ____ done while I'm in Chicago" that it's not as enjoyable as it could be. But since I was home 2 months ago, there's really not a lot of things I "have" to do, which means I can really relax and just enjoy being there. I'm super stoked.

3) I'm watching "House Hunters - International" on HGTV. Did you know you could buy an amazing condo in Buenos Aires for $150,000? Who wants to move with me?