N's Project 365: Week 8

May 22, 2011: It was tough to choose which one of the tons of "typical NC" photos from the Got to be NC festival to post.

May 23, 2011: I can't begin to describe how excited I get the first time I see this each year.

May 24, 2011: Pretty shiny things at Target that I can't buy since I'm moving soon.

May 25, 2011: My attempt at copying a design idea I saw online involving wallpaper/wrapping paper on a bookshelf. Kind of a fail.

May 26, 2011: Market analyses of my house from 3 different realtors. One gave me a whole binder, one a booklet, and one a few sheets of paper. Guess which one I'm working with.

May 27, 2011: Mmmm, pizza.

May 28, 2011: My nail polish flavor of the week (a gift from R), called Parlez-vous OPI?

P.S. The 3 people who regularly read this blog already know this, but let me announce that life-a-roni will no longer span the country since I'm moving to the Bay Area! So my photos through the end of June will probs continue to revolve around my house-selling crap. Get used to it.

R's Friday Food Porn

In honor of National Burger Weekend, I couldn't help myself.  Here's a snapshot of a burger from Spruce in SF known for their burger at their bar menu.

N's Friday Food Porn

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Mildly Obsessed...

...with Pinterest. It's like food for the eyes. This week, it's entertaining me even more than facebook. There's something pathetically gratifying about people repinning things that I've pinned.

Anyone need an invite?

N's Project 365: Week 7

May 15, 2011: Who comes up with these speed limits?

May 16, 2011: The painting I brought back from Greece. It makes me want to go on vacation every day.

May 17, 2011: Emma is one of my fave (and underrated, IMO) characters on Glee.

May 18, 2011: My stuffed animals, some of which are now looking for new homes with needy children. Goodbye old friends.

May 19, 2011: The individual TV ellipticals were taken and the cardio cinema movie sucked, so of course I got stuck in front of Fox News.

May 20, 2011: The sky was ridiculously blue that day, but it didn't really translate to the photo.

May 21, 2011: Yeah I gots nothin.

Perplexing Things

• Why has the fashion industry started referring to things that come in pairs as though they are singular? When I hear "a smoky eye," "a pink lip," or "a nude shoe," I imagine being terribly off-balance in appearance.
• I've been contacted by a few dudes from NYC through the world of online dating. They all immediately rave about how much they looooove the city and would never live elsewhere. Well then why are they emailing girls who live nowhere near NYC? I have no problems with long-distance relationships, but it seems presumptuous to tell someone right off the bat that they'll have to move to your city - and to assume they heart NY as much as you do and would jump at the chance.
• Why do some people immediately respond to facebook messages or posts but take days to reply to emails?
• How come women become sweet little old ladies when they age, while men become curmudgeons? Is it a chemical thing, or do they just figure they can stop pretending to be pleasant after a certain age?
  
• How come everyone interviewed on reality competition shows says "I'm here to win, I really want to be first place?" Uh, isn't that kind of the whole point for anyone in a competition? Do they really think the other contestants are like "Yeah I've been a loser all my life and really want to keep up the trend?
• Why do some restaurants offer vegetables as a side dish for a vegetarian main course while the carnivores get french fries? I, for one, would at least like to be offered the unhealthy option.
  

R's Food Porn

Assorted Sliders

N's Friday Food Porn

Frozen Banana Bites

N's Project 365: Week 6

May 8, 2011: Exciting Sunday.

May 9, 2011: I obsessed for months about finding the right cheval mirror, and this one finally fit the bill. Oh and that's little ole me in my PJs.

May 10, 2011: Tom Higgenson of the Plain White T's singing "Hey There Delilah" at Lincoln Theatre, right before he walked by and high-fived me.

May 11, 2011: A cute suburban image.

May 12, 2011: Dessert and a drink at Coquette.

May 13, 2011: The family of geese outside my cubicle window.

May 14, 2011: The Rodan garden lily pond at the NC Museum of Art.

R's Friday Food Porn

Sorry I was MIA last week, I was in the dirrrrrrty south. 

N's Friday Food Porn

Oh man, remember eating these at Taco Bell back in the day?!

Mexican Tortilla Pizza

N's Project 365: Week 5

May 1, 2011: Wow.

May 2, 2011: I only got myself 2 souvenirs - chocolate (surprise surprise) and a 10 peso bookmark from a man who approached us at dinner.

May 3, 2011: I promise I'll try to post things other than food at some point...but who can resist a bouquet of fruits dipped in peanut butter chocolate?!

May 4, 2011: I was still catching up on the royal wedding photos, and this is one of my faves. I wonder if people will embarrass that little girl with it when she gets married.

May 5, 2011: Happy Cinco de Mayo!

May 6, 2011: Ah, bubble bath.

May 7, 2011: Organizing bangles during spring cleaning is much more fun than scrubbing the sink.

Like A Chanel Suit

Love this: 50 Reasons to Love George Clooney at 50

N's Friday Food Porn

Pad Se Ew with Tofu

Good for the Soul

If I were Catholic, I think I'd feel really uncomfortable going to confessional for 2 reasons:

1. Obviously, telling someone your deepest, darkest secrets is nervewracking.
2. I don't live on the edge. I'm the most boring person to play Truth or Dare or Never Have I Ever with. This embarrasses me. I'd feel the need to make up stories to tell the priest so that he/she doesn't think I'm a total snoozefest.

More power to you, devout confessors.

If I look back on my life, here are the things I remember doing "wrong":

• In high school, 2 friends and I would each complete 1 page of our anatomy exams and then copy each other's answers to the other pages. Naturally, I assigned myself the toughest page since I didn't trust the other girls' intelligence. It was easier when R and I paired up since we had equal smarts.
• When co-oping in college, I spilled solvent on a coworker's expensive graphing calculator and just feigned sympathy when he freaked out about it.
• At R's bachelorette party in Vegas, I (with prodding from R) kept texting some random dude we met and telling him to have the champagne ready because I was on my way to his room. He believed me.
• The confession above is an exception. I generally give out a fake name and number to guys, even if they seem perfectly nice.
  
• Last year, a friend and I slipped out after a spa day without tipping anyone.
• A couple of weeks ago, I refused to give up my window seat on a plane for a middle seat so that a woman could sit with her kid.
  
• I have no qualms about lying to people if I don't want to hang out with them.
• I never correct cashiers if they undercharge me.
• I wrote this post (and most of my other posts) while I should have been working.

Still awake? Maybe I'll go do something horrible now, just so that I can say I did...or maybe I'll just sit on my couch all evening. Stay tuned.

N's Project 365: Week 4 + Puerto Vallarta

April 24, 2011: This was my bouquet for Ree's wedding. I'm amazed that faux peacock feathers survived hours of travel and being tossed about.

April 25, 2011: A girl is never too old to wear a Hello Kitty t-shirt to sleep.

April 26, 2011: Some people think I'm crazy for leaving my thermostat at 80º all summer. I think it's juuust right.

April 27, 2011: Now there's a man who really wears a lot of hats.

April 28, 2011: The main church in Puerto Vallarta, a sand sculpture of The Last Supper on the beach, and the sunset (a well-deserved view after a looong trek) from Vista Grill.

April 29, 2011: Ahhhh.

April 30, 2011: A nice imitation of Paradise Island, followed by mango and coconut margaritas at Victor's. Can you spot the colorful parrots in the second photo?

R's Review of Various Eye Creams

I remember the day I started using eye cream.  I was at not-so-great job that kept my stress level so high that I started developing ulcer-like symptoms.  One day, someone approached me and said "you look really tired."  I stared in shock, because I had actually gotten 10 hours of sleep that night (rare).  So I took myself to the nearest Nordstroms and bought some eye cream.  Below, please find my reviews of all eye creams I've used in the past few years.

Estee Lauder Re-Nutriv Ultimate Lift Age Correcting Eye Cream:  This is a great eye cream, it comes with a gold spoon which makes it ultra fancy.  Apparently it also has ground up pearls in it.  All things that made it fabulous and an easy sale to me :)  As much as I loved it, I think I'm a wee bit too young to be spending $100 on eye cream.

Jo Malone Green Tea and Honey Eye Cream  So this was right after the Estee, so it wasn't as great in comparison.  I couldn't honestly tell that I had been using it.

Olay Total Effect Eye Transforming Creme:  So I love the price point of this eye cream.  However, it isn't rich enough for my skin and sometimes causes irritation (which I think my skin is just changing overall).

Olay Definity Illuminating Eye Cream:  This is an eye cream I would use at night.  It doens't do well with concealer on top - it causes the concealer to flake off.  But use it at night, its fantastic.  It cools the eye and feels great.

Clinique All About Eyes Rich:  WINNER! Feels as good as the Estee Lauder, but with a better price point!

Which eye creams have you used and liked?