Friday Favorites- Bye January

Another winter month (almost) gone! Woot woot!  Not that I'm a fan of wishing time away, but January is my most dreaded month. It's just so...gray. And LONG. And cold. Blech. But anyway- it's Friday and this weekend I'm going to see The Boss for the first time and eat tomato pie and basically love every minute of it. Let's kick it off right with Amanda and some favorites! 

Favorite Song: cool vibe, with an almost Indian sounding background. Kamikaze- Mo

Favorite Purchase: Well, I purchased this in December, but it finally arrived! I freaking love my Plum Paper planner. I updated it this week with birthdays and plans we already have, and can't wait to dive in further this weekend with meal plans, blog ideas, etc. 

Favorite Surprise: Snow love notes. We're gross, we know.

Favorite Reads:

• Sriracha packets! Seriously, what the hell took so long for these to become a reality??!
• Feeling sluggish from too many drinks or sweets? Here are a few easy ways to detox.
• I don't make annual resolutions, but I do like this list of things you shouldn't stop doing in the new year.

Favorite Quote: 

Favorite Funnies: 

Happy weekend! 

Brain Dump Confessions

It's Wednesday and we all know what that means! Here's what I'm 'fessin up to this week:

I love ordering stuff online. In fact, I don't remember the last time I went shopping, especially for clothes, in a brick and mortar store. I love coming home and finding presents to myself. Plus, I almost always find better deals online.

My only real drawback is that when I really really want something and finally pull the trigger on ordering it, and get that email telling me my order has shipped, I start tracking it like a crazy person, checking multiple times per day.

I hate when I place a fairly large order and the one thing that I really really wanted is suddenly out of stock and not in my package. Especially when I still get charged for it.

I think it's pretty ridiculous (not to mention rude) when you run out to get someone a birthday present when they are about to kickoff their birthday gathering. Particularly if you're the husband/kid. Hello? This is not a surprise. It comes annually. Get your shit together.

Remember when Lauren confessed that she didn't wash her hair until like, the third or fourth day? That's me on a regular basis. And you know back in the day when a girl's excuse to not hang out was "sorry, I gotta do my hair..."? That's real life for me. When I straighten my hair, it takes about two hours because it's thick. So I only do it like once a week. The rest of the time it's either up or wavy.

Sidenote confession: When I was little, my mom would straighten my hair regularly. As in, I never rocked my natural waves until I was a Junior in high school. I mean, I never had to do my own hair! I'd sit and watch TV while she went to work on it, which she loved and I didn't mind. I miss those days now.

Someone stole my Wanderlust Wednesday post. Being the vocal person I am, I wrote back to the person on their post. But I also tweeted about it, because I was pretty offended. I'm not a "big-time" blogger, and I completely understand gaining ideas and inspiration from other blogs for your posts (hello, I've definitely done it). But give credit where credit is due. And try to be original. As in, don't use my EXACT words in your post. Alyssa knows what I mean. Not cool, dude.

It's really weird when you post a picture or something online, and someone you used to date for like 2 minutes likes it. Especially when you completely forgot that they were following you.

I always find it super weird when I see parents/adult-aged family members kissing kids on the lips. I'm not sure why. I just always reserved kisses on the lips for significant others.

It bothers me when all of Blogland goes on and on about some amazing product/program/book/etc and then it dies down but then the "general public" catches on to it. Like, I've been seeing this for months and you're just now getting a clue? Also, I'm already over it. Just me? Ok then.

What are you confessing? 

Weekending: The Snowed In Edition

Hey hey! Happy Monday! Or maybe happy for me because thanks to Winter Storm Jonas, my job is closed today, so I get an extra snow day! Woot woot! This weekend I was camped out at Blue's apartment, but today I'm back home and ready to get alllll the organizing and purging and cleaning done. Or at east that's the plan,.. we'll see how much of that actually  gets done. Anyway, here are some other things from the weekend!

On Thursday, Blue and I headed out to Caroline's in NYC to see Whitney Cummings. She is my favorite comedian, and I was absolutely thrilled to get the opportunity to see her, and at such a popular and well-established venue. Though I will say that it was CROWDED. We had to get there an hour early to get our will-call tickets, and they called out groups in the order you picked up your tickets. I was really happy to get a booth, but there was a table of 6 in front of us, and we spent at least half the night alternating between wanting to kill the couple closest to us and laughing at their awkwardness. They were definitely on a date, and the guy's laugh was over the top and annoying, and the canoodling was gross. #getaroom  Oh, and the waitress forgot to charge us for food, which was just as well since it was nasty. Cold chicken and onion rings that were more breading dripping in oil than anything. Ick. But Whitney was awesome, even though she was under the weather.

On Friday night, Blue and I met my friends Marissa and Deep to get our Star Wars movies back at an awesome speakeasy in the city. The place, The Ship NYC, had no sign, and was located down a flight of stairs on a really quiet street near Chinatown. It was small and intimate, and the drinks were perfectly mixed, though a tad pricey. But it was so worth it. I got the Baker's Dozen (or three), a cocktail with Bourbon, tawny port wine, brown sugar, chocolate bitters, stirred, served on the rocks. Amazeballs. But I'm not kidding when I say small- we got there at 6, and there was no seating by 7:05. We followed drinks up with a vegan dimsum place nearby. It was the perfect follow-up. 4 of us were completely full for only $40! 

Oh and Marissa forgot that they had already gotten me a birthday present, so I got more goodies! A catchall and a coaster with witty sayings, and a "can-dom" that rolls up to keep your can of beer cold. She knows me so well :)

As you may have have heard, the Northeast got ROCKED by Winter Storm Jonas. The flakes started snowing late on Friday night, and continued mercilessly for 24 hours. The below pic was taken around 10AM. In total, we got around 2 feet of snow. We were prepared though- we were fully stocked with coffee, frozen pizza, wine, and snacks. And what does one do when living in an apartment complex in a snow storm? Throw a party, natch. Blue's neighbors came over around 7 and we played Jerseyopoly (Jersey-centric Monopoly), and drank. A lot. And then someone got the bright idea to open the patio door and start making boob prints in the snow. I'm not kidding. FB post from Blue: "That awkward moment when the neighbors decide to press their boobs in the snow on your deck and a monstrous snowball fight ensues in your living room ‪#‎soggysocks‬ ‪#‎yourecutoff‬ ‪#‎savetheboobies‬"

Of course we forgot to get the shovel... which was on the other side of the deck

drinks, games, debauchery

That part about the indoor snowball fight was also true. I hid in the back room, because I hate being cold and wet. Blue was sooo mad. But then they shoveled her living room, and she threw the one who started it in the snow. There's a video, but I can't figure out how to upload it from FB, so pics will have to do. Just trust me that it was absolutely hilarious.

Blue assessing the damage from the indoor snowball fight

Sunday started with brunch at another neighbor's place with mimosas (hair of the dog), shoveling, cleaning, eating my weight in carbs, and watching Grey's Anatomy (from the beginning- I never watched it!) in my Paul Frank onesie with wine. And then around 8 I got the text about work being closed today. It was the perfect ending to the weekend. 

wine damage (6, 1/2 bottle of bourbon, and 1/2 bottle of vodka/
onesie and wine/ cat cuddles

Did your area get smacked down by Jonas? How was your weekend? Linking up with the lovely Biana! 

Confessions From A Member Of The IBTC

For as long as I've been alive, I've been a member of the IBTC. Don't know what that is? It's the "Itty Bitty Titty Committee." Genetics and puberty were not so kind to me. I was never the girl with the "big 'ole titties," and I imagine I never will be. I was a late bloomer. In fact, I even asked my mom WTF (this was around 5th grade, when we started sex ed classes and the other girls started "blossoming" while I was still in training bras). I was teased mercilessly. This became extremely evident when I hit 8th grade, and one (not so subtle) ex asked,"where are your boobs? Are they gonna come in soon?" No, dear boy, they would not for a long, long time. (But you're still single and looking and I'm not, so joke's on you, bro!)

It wasn't always easy being a member of such a club. I mean, I've never had cleavage. Ever. And when girls' joke about having a place to stash their phone,money, etc.? Yeah, I have no idea what that's like. But ya know what? There are some "perks" of being part of this club. For example:

- I don't need to pay as much for bras: bigger boobies? Bigger $$.
- I don't need separate workout bras: I'm not going to wear underwire, but my T-shirt bra will work just fine.
- I can exercise without getting attacked by my own bosom.

- More styles of tops and bras: built- in tank tops actually work, as do racerback, halter, and even some strapless.
- No back pain: No boulders to holder(s), no pain.

- No bra? No problem! I can wear allll the backless styles/options. Even those those sticky things from Vickies. Yeah, they actually work! 

\

- Don't have to dig through my bra to find food: I've heard it's a real treasure chest in there
- Laying on my stomach is not an issue: digging boob holes in sand? Never heard of it until doing research on this post
- Laying on my back doesn't obscure the TV (unless my big feet get in the way)

- I don't get boob sweat: I actually hadn't even heard of it until college. But I never missed it.
- No one asks if they're real: Haha. Obviously.
- No extra math when standing on a scale: I don't really do scales, but this still applies.

- People look me in the eye because there's nothing else distracting them: Does this need an explanation?! 

- I have other "attributes" that I focus on: We all have our "things." The point of this post is not really about chest size- it's about being happy with what you have! It's taken me a bit too long to actually have a positive body image, but now I do, and I encourage everyone to embrace whatever it is that makes them love their body!

Do and accentuate whatever makes you feel beautiful! 

Friday Favorites

Who's excited for a 3 day weekend?! Got any big plans?  This weekend I'm hoping to do a few things that I meant to do over the holiday break (oops) but mostly just relax. Nothing big, but I'm more than okay with that because next week I'm going to see Whitney Cummings and I cannot WAIT. I'm also excited to finally go to Caroline's (where the show is being held). It's such a famous venue, but I've never been before. Anyway, let's kick this weekend off with Amanda and some favorites! 

Favorite Song: I have no idea what this song is actually saying, but it's so upbeat that i can't help but do a little dance in my chair when it comes on at work. DNCE- Cake By The Ocean

Favorite Reads:
I found this list of secret codes for Netflix and fell into the movie rabbit hole.

Don't want to be buried in a casket or cremated? How about turning into a tree after you die?

"Pretty in Pink" is returning to theaters for its 30th anniversary! Who's getting tickets? 

People's stupidity continues to baffle my mind. Why would you spend all your money on Powerball tickets when you literally have 1 in a 292M chance of winning? And then this chick started a GoFundMe page to raise money. I can't. 

This "nurse" cat is the cutest. He snuggles his sick friends in the shelter until they get better.

Speaking of snuggling,... this week a story broke about Taye Diggs cheating on his gf with a "Professional Snuggler." Can we back up a minute... I didn't even know that was a thing! 

Favorite Purchase(s): Target was offering not one, but two different beauty boxes for $5 each, and they arrived this week. I love these boxes because they're cheap, they introduce me to new products, and the full-size "samples" are awesome.                   
                                     

Favorite Pic: I forgot to do a weekend update this week, so these are the highlights. Dinner with my friend who I haven't seen in a year and who didn't want her picture taken, cat cuddles with Keebler, rice balls and risotto for me and Blue's anniversary dinner. 

Favorite Funnies: 

Happy 3 Day Weekend Friends! 

Wanderlust Wednesday: The Kentucky Bourbon Trail

If you've been reading my blog for a bit, you know I like my drinks, particularly bourbon. So back in December, Blue and I decided to go on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail for my birthday. If you're unfamiliar, The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is a "trail" of 9 bourbon distilleries in Kentucky, the bourbon capital of the world. To be clear, they are not next to each other, or even that close to one another- they are spread throughout the state. And these 9 are certainly not the only distilleries in KY; there are MANY other, smaller ones, but these are the ones that are members of the official trail. Being that we were only able to spend about 2 1/2 days there, we weren't able to visit them all, but we did see a few of the biggies! (For overall stats, scroll down to the bottom.) 

Fried chicken and waffles/ birthday cake/ selfie

The drive from NJ to KY is about 12 hours, so we decided to break up the trip by staying at our friend's place the first night, who lives right over the border in Ohio. We went out to dinner where I had my first ever chicken and waffles, and it was MAGICAL. I honestly don't know why I never tried it before. Then we went back to her place and she surprised me with ice cream cake for my birthday!

road trippin

A stop at Louisville Slugger Museum/ Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig plates outside

The next day was my actual birthday. We left Ohio early and made it to Louisville, KY by 10AM. Our first stop was... well, actually it was the Louisville Slugger Museum, which we passed by accident. We didn't get a chance to go in, but of course we took a pic before heading to our destination- Evan Williams. We had tickets for the Speakeasy Tour, which was really cool. We've done distillery tours before, so I didn't want to choose the generic ones. In this one, there were only 8 of us, and we got a code and a special knock on the "speakeasy," where we were ushered in to a gorgeous bar area and a guy in the old dress where we sipped the finest bourbon Evan Williams made as the "tour guide" told us all about speakeasies and laws and stuff during Prohibition.

Evan Williams

Our next stop was Bulleit, a mere 5 min away. This is Blue's favorite whiskey, so we were definitely going to do a tasting, but you couldn't do a tasting without the tour, so we did that too. The cool thing about their tour was that they were the only ones that actually had a cooperage/repair shop on site, and though he wasn't there on that particular day, we got to tour Thomas E. Bulleit, Jr's office area. (A cooperage is the craft of making and charring the white oak barrels that the bourbon is stored in.)

Bulleit Distillery

Our next stop was Jim Beam. We didn't do a tour here because it was too late, and the tours literally took 2 hours, as opposed to the regular 30 min most distillery tours take. This was the biggest distillery we went to. We went here specifically for their first ever "Light Up The Holidays" event, a free event that had fresh apple cider, live ice sculpting, tastings, carolers, and a 3D light show. They said there were bottles you could get custom engraved, but I didn't see them. It was obvious that this was the first time they held this event, because it was a chaotic, disorganized mess. But hey, at least everything was free!

A note on the tasting: unlike the other ones, they didn't explain anything. They opened the doors, instructed you to take a tasting glass and a plastic card that was "preloaded" with two tastings. There were a bunch of machines with all different kinds/flavors/years aged whiskey in them, and you out your card in the machine, selected which one you wanted and pushed the button, and a shot size of whiskey came out, much like a coffee machine. It was really weird and impersonal.

Jim Beam Distillery

the ad for the event

ice sculpting, tasting machines, and Jim Beam statue

After Jim Beam, we experienced our biggest fail of the trip. So,... I had heard that there was going to be a meteor shower. (I'm not sure how or where, but I found it while I was doing research for the trip.) And I was all, "A meteor shower on my birthday?! We MUST see it!" I found a forest that was offering a special program for the event, where people would talk to you about what you were seeing, and they had all this special equipment that we could use to see it even better, and I signed us up. Except that night it was cloudy, so they moved the event indoors. We entered (late, mind you) a pitch black forest and found the parking area, and then some guy came out of the darkness and scared the crap out of us, but directed us towards the rest of the group- inside a building, where they sat in a U-shape around some guy talking about the stars and black holes and white holes and OMG it was like being in an unfunny version of Big Bang Theory. We had no idea what they were talking about, it was SO boring, and there was no escape, because the group was small and had moved tables around to accommodate us. Luckily the speaker offered a "short break" to use the bathroom, grab snacks, etc and we made a beeline for the exit.

Usually I have a full itinerary for trips and for Sunday, I had allowed a day of rest, or to explore the town we were staying in, Bardstown, which won the award for Most Beautiful Small Town in America and is located in the heart of Bourbon Country. One thing I failed to realize however, is that everything is closed on Sundays in Bardstown. So we did the next best thing... went to more distilleries! Our first stop was Heaven Hill. What was cool about this place was that they are actually the owners of Evan Williams and Elijah Craig whiskeys, among many others. And they don't just do whiskey, they also have vodkas and scotches. We did the Whiskey Connoisseur tasting, in which we got to taste 4 of their limited edition whiskeys, and got the glass.

tasting in style

Next stop was a craft distillery that wasn't on the official Bourbon Trail, called Willet. The most interesting part of this tour was that because they are so small, they do everything by hand, included moving the barrels with an old-school pulley system. They also store/freeze meats in their rack-house, which I thought was odd, but kind of cool too. Also, the SMELL in this place was so...pungent. This was probably due to the small size and lack of airflow, but wow.

Willet, mash, and hanging meats

the rackhouse and old-school pulley system

We had a few hours to kill before dinner, so we checked out Old Talbott Tavern. It is said to be the oldest western stagecoach stop in America as the westward expansion brought explorers from the east into Kentucky." It is also famous for its visitors; Daniel Boone, the Beams, the Maker's Mark owners, among others. We had a few drinks in the Bourbon Bar, where the bartender was telling us a bunch of ghost stories which I found absolutely fascinating. (I wanted to do a ghost tour, but they don't offer them in December.)

silly pics, a hot brown, and roast beef/mash potatoes

Whenever I go on a trip, I like to eat the food of the region, and I learned that in this area, that would be the Kentucky hot brown. A hot brown is "an open-faced sandwich of turkey and bacon, covered in Mornay sauce and baked or broiled until the bread is crisp and the sauce begins to brown" (thanks Wikipedia!). And the best place to get one of these hot browns, and a famous "thing to do" in Bardstown was a meal on My Old Kentucky Dinner Train. We got a special treat because they were in their "holiday schedule" which included a visit from Santa and Mrs. Clause!

Manhattans, the Clauses, birthday dinner selfie

On the last day, before a 12 hour drive home, we went to our last distillery, Maker's Mark. I wanted to do the "Beyond the Mark" tour, which is only available on Mondays and Fridays. This was my favorite tour because the guide was extremely knowledgeable, I got to see the process while the employees were actually doing it and was able to ask them questions about their jobs (like the chemists in the testing lab, or the guys on the bottling line). Usually in tours, you see the stuff, but not in motion. We got to sip the white dog, or un-aged whiskey, straight out of the stills, and we got to go everywhere- the bottling line, where they filled the barrels, the chemist lab, even the building where they produced the labels! And then, we got to dip our own bottles in the wax! It's harder than it looks, and I did it wrong (I forgot to spin the bottle in my hand directly after dipping...oops), but it was still awesome. (FUN FACT: Each bottle of Maker's Mark is hand-dipped in wax.) The only thing taht was not awesome was the tasting, because they only make 2 products: Maker's Mark, and Maker's 46. That's it. So the tasting was those two, one whiskey that was pulled prematurely (not in barrels long enough), and one that was overdone. Gross on both counts. But it was still a great tour and I'm really glad we went.

bourbon coffee (which we purchased), glass art in the ceiling of one
of the rackhouses, and the main entrance/house.

filling,hand-dipping, and bottling in action

dipping our own bottles at Maker's Mark

Signs from God alive and well in the Bible Belt

outtakes

Road Trip In Numbers: 

1400: miles traveled 

140: pics taken 

89: roadkill 

32: years celebrated 

27: songs sung/shazamed 

~18: Cracker Barrel restaurants seen 

15: bourbon samples

6: distilleries visited

5: states traveled through

4: signs from God

3: awesome meals devoured 

2: confederate flags hanging 

1: shooting star witnessed 

Countless: memories made

What was your favorite road trip? 

Linking up with these lovely ladies!