I MOVED!

Hi All,

I moved ... you can now catch up with my semi-weekly musings at:

AshUnabashed.com

P.S. Be sure to tell me how darling my new blog is!

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Monday Night Dinner

And by night, I actually mean, night. No "evening" about it.

Monday night dinner: Pulled Pork Sandwich with Crunchy Coleslaw on a Brioche Bun
The I used too much dressing with the coleslaw so it came out a little too "slaw-y," but it was still pretty tasty. Although I loose 2 points for not eating dinner until 9pm, and another 2 points for eating while watching Kim Kardashian parade around in a nurse outfit for my future husband, Reggie Bush.

Tomorrow I’m going out to lunch with M and Mel, and I can hardly wait. And my gut will thank me because we’re going out for sushi! Mmmmm. Here I come Okinawa roll!

Current Obsessions

Fortunately, I've been very busy at work writing press releases galore and studying the Chambers US Law Dictionary and the AP StyleGuide. (I know, I know, this doesn't sound like much fun, but I'm learning so much ... and everyone knows I'm actually cheesy enough that I love learning about new things, even law dictionaries.) This is *fortunate* for me so I can take my mind off other, (uh, hum) personal, messy and complicated matters.

I found that I am still occupying my time with my preferred fixations. I have no idea why these things are so prevalent right now, they just are. (Umm, if there's something out there--- please give me a sign before I jump out the window. And if you see fit, more guidance than my current sign of a choice ... a mojito. Thanks.)

A bit of humor in the dark: Current Obsessions

1. Pistachio: the nut, the color & Jell-O pudding.
2. Anyone who calls me Dazzle Pants. Swoon.
3. Chelsea Lately. (All I can say is, "Hi Vodka, are you there? It's me, Chelsea.") Honey, I feel you. My book is titled, "Hi Self-Destruction, are you there? It's me, Ash."
4. Spending obscene amounts of time Googling Travis. I've found out he bought a house in Tualatin. All I can ask is, "Yikes. Why???"
5. My new patent yellow bag.
6. Beef Pho. I'm going to whip up Stephanie's crock pot version that she made last week and I've been dying to try!)
7. Keeping Up With The Kardashians. (Does anyone see a theme here? A cocktail habit + too much E! channel = bad news.)
8. Shopping and cooking. (Yes, I'm going to post dinner pictures again. What has this blog come too? A cooking blog! What? No!)
9. Death Cab for Cutie. (My sister bought us tickets for their upcoming concert at Edgefield and I can't get enough lately.)
10. Peonies & Gladiolas
11. Crying jags. Not depression crying jags. Believe me people, there's a good reason. Like everyone says, "It just takes time." I'll be fine. (But I'm seriously annoying Nordy with my choked up messages requesting a shoulder to cry on.)
12. The Sex and the City movie and the soundtrack. I love it. It has become the soundtrack of my week.
13. Not reading. I can't wrap my mind anything that isn't music ... or apparently the E! channel. (If I start watching Denise Richards, It's Complicated, please someone help. I mean it.)

Friday Night Bites

I've decided to steal from Rhi and post an overview for next week, cause really ... I got nothing right now.

• Last night my Mom and I went to Toro Bravo. Yu-hum. And the ambiance is beautiful. Get the Toro Manhattan for a cocktail. Then the Sangria, grilled dates, Oregon strawberries, and melt-in-your-mouth Drunken Pork with Giant White Beans. OMG. I thought I was in heaven.
• This morning my Mom and I went to the Sex and the City movie. The critics are blasphemous! The movie was good. It could be I thought so highly o f it because I started watching this show when I was 19 and immediately fell in love with Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte. But still, I was crying, gasping and laughing for the entire two hours. (And the clothes, accessories and SHOES were amazing!) And, I love Jennifer Hudson, she's the best!
• I discovered a movie on Lifetime tonight, Normal Adolescent Behavior, that is appalling, scary and lovely at the same time.
• Since I got paid today, and in honor of the SATC movie, I went shoe shopping online and bought two pairs. What do you think? Here's Pair #1 and Pair #2.
• I called an made an appt. today for a facial at Kanani Pearl Spa. Read here about the Kanani Pearl Signature Facial. Doesn't that sound enlightening? (And just for the record ... I normally would never pay that much for a facial, but I received it as a gift from a special friend and I'm WAY excited about the pampering that will be on.)
• Tuesday I'll be dining with my two most talented and fabulous mentor friends, Monica and Melissa. I'm salivating over the advice I'll glean and the conversation I get to participate in. YAY!
• Rhi and I are trying to figure out some time this week to squeeze in bowling and wings. Apparently I'm craving beer and wayward behavior. What's next? NASCAR? Yikes!
• It's my friend, Jeremy's birthday. I think it's a surprise party put on by his finance, Sara, so don't say anything! If you want to know where I'll be tomorrow night--- see you at Mint! I'll be the girl drunkenly singing, "May you live a thousand years, may you drink a thousand beers . . . get plastered you BAD BOY, happy birthday to you!"
• Wednesday I'll be in a private event room at a posh eatery in SW from 4pm until 9pm. My company is hosting a Women's Event on (paraphrasing here!) working/handling/dealing with "Difficult People." This is ironic because the nationally recognized famous speaker who we've hired speak at this event is difficult to deal with. Frustrating and funny at the same time.
• I gave myself THE CUTEST pedicure and matching manicure. How can you go wrong with the color: I'm India Mood For Love?
• Tomorrow morning I'm going swimming in my Aunt J's pool. It's heated and in a pool house. Lucky me.
• I spoke with Nordy today and fun news ensued. He bought a new SUV and had a hilarious story about the STP concert in Columbus, OH that him and his buddies attended. It started normally and ended up with 30 packs and jumping over barbed-wire fences (um, yes, we're actually in our twenties, not 17, so I don't know what to say), and 2 girls and 1 Madame from an escort service. Yep, that good. He'd kill me if I spilled on this blog. So I can't go any further.
• On Thursday my aunt and I are hosting a Drinks, Dinner and Dialogue event with 5 special women that we love. In case you want to stalk 7 beautiful women, we'll be at Lucca. Please feel free to stalk us if you're single, handsome and free of "issues." (Basically it's just an excuse to drink well-made cocktails, eat authentic Italian food, all the while gossiping with our favorite friends.) Sounds fun, huh. Don't you wish you were invited?!!!

That's it. Going to bed. Have a good weekend!

On the side: Ash Unabashed's Red Bliss Potato Salad

Potato Love: A picture of my delectable dinner tonight. Yum, yim, yum!

I got home from work a tab bit late tonight (around 7pm). I had been planning to make my famous Red Bliss Potato Salad, but was so tired ... so I told myself, "Buck up!" I had just gone to the grocery store yesterday and bought my little menagerie of fresh ingredients and wanted to create my masterpiece while everything was crisp and new ... and while I was still craving the mouthwatering combination of Danish bleu cheese, bacon, potatoes, chives and secret ingredients!

By the time I sat down to dinner tonight it was 9pm, but it didn't matter because I was in heaven! I made extra for lunch tomorrow too. Lucky me.

I recently re-read the one of my favorite books, Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant. It reminded me that instead of returning home, plopping myself down and eating a bowl of cereal and Ben & Jerry's frozen yogurt, I need to remember how much pleasure I get from making something I love to eat. Even if it's just one weird item. Or roasted asparagus with a Dijon vinaigrette. Or tequila-grilled shrimp with spicy rice and cayenne pepper mango slices. Or ... my famous Red Bliss Potato Salad. It doesn't need to be an entire meal (i.e. protein, carb, sugar, etc.) to derive enjoyment or fulfill me with satisfaction and validation. Does that sound crazy? Validation from a potato???Actually, it has more to do with acceptance, gratification and relishing what is important to you!

What's your favorite meal to make when you're eating solo and cooking for yourself? Tell me, what does your mouth love?

Generation X vs. Generation Y (Seriously? Is there even a fight? Umm, we have iPods, the internet and gourmet happy hours. We win.)

I'm sure you all heard about the story of Kevin Colvin a few months ago? If not, quick recap--- Kevin was a twenty-something Gen Y'er who worked at a bank, wrote his boss an email declaring a family emergency and stating he must return home, and lo and behold, his lame boss trolls the internet (and more specifically his Facebook page), finds pictures of him partying in Fairy suit at a Halloween party instead of mourning the "family emergency" and writes a response to his email, attaching the incriminating pic, adding the text, "Cool wand.", and then BCC's the entire company. What an asshat. I remember telling one of my friends about this a couple months back and he said, "What a loser," and I responded in harmony with, "I know! He sounds like Bitter Boss, how lame of him to stalk his Facebook page." Silence. Then my friend said, "I was talking about the kid who lied, ditched work to party, and wore a fucking fairy costume." Oops. Need I mention this "friend" is a guy, and about 6 years older than me? Touche.

Back to the reason of this post! A Generation Xer, Robert Lanham (ugh, even his name sounds old! It doesn't hold a light to Generation Y names like, Ryan, Justin & Drew), responded to this expose' with a funny (although somewhat whiny, bitter and pathetic) article about the unsung virtues of Generation X, and how Generation Y is overly entitled, spoiled, coddled . . . and they basically suck. I'll admit, some of his words ring true, but the writing seems more targeted at the Baby Boomers who didn't give Generation X their due, less about why Generation Y doesn't deserve the praise their receiving, and reads a lot like good 'ole green-eyed jealousy. Read the article here.

The only reason I knew about the aforementioned article is because I was doing my due diligence on Radar (one of my favorite sarcastic websites) and came across this article by Alex Pareene. Hello? Rhi? Are you out there? Just so you know ... I have a new hero and new add to my Do Boy List. I HEART ALEX PAREENE! He totally whipped Robert's asshat article with biting honesty, cheekiness and best of all ... brand new, one-liner ironic statements that are usually reserved for trendy tshirts modeled by celebutards in Hollywood. Classic.

My favorite quote from Alex Pareene's article. (This pretty much sums up everything.)

I'm sorry Time made fun of your generation. But, guys, it's Time. Don't worry
about it—we Millennials made it irrelevant. We're killing print! You think we
want Morley Safer calling us the Next Greatest Generation? We don't know who
Morley Safer is!

(And just so you all know . . . . I'm Generation Y. Does that kill you!)

Crafts, cupcakes and me

I've been a good little dew and haven't spent money on things I don't need. But after not being able to sleep early this morning and perusing all sorts of crafty websites, I must admit, I'm tempted. See below:

Ivey Handcrafted ::: Ivey Handcrafted is from Chattanooga, TN and has darling felted items, like custom baby blankets, petite leaf hair clips and personalized onesies. She's basically sold-out of everything, so I'm waiting in anticipation for her to restock those brooches and barrettes. Happy days for my pocketbook, sad times for my coat and hair.

Chet and Dot ::: Chet and Dot are LOCAL! They are Portland, Oregon greols and so-so-so indescribably cute. Every new baby that comes along will be receiving either a Flannel Cupcake Zip-up or a Sleepy Bunny Plush to match the Fuzzy Bunny Booties from Rhi In Pink.

While I'm waiting for Michelle and our Bend adventure to begin, I think I'll whip up some chocolate cupcakes with white frosting. It's that kind of day. I'm very excited for Death Cab and The Decemberists, but I'm also excited to come home and "nest." I have the overwhelming urge to stay home, color-code my closet, make Smash's Famous Macaroni & Cheese, write cute letters to friends, embroider, mop my floors, organize my make-up and watch Lifetime while re-reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. Yipee! I just realized I have an extra day to do it all! :)

Wish me luck over those mountains! I'm happy for my fun weekend to begin! xoxo