Update and thoughts about skiing

1. My pants are done. Gone. Buh-bye. Grrr.

2. However, my wrist is just bruised, not sprained. AND I'm about to go on vacation for a week - hee!

My plan for the week is a little of this:

...with a dash of that:

Plenty of this:

And definitely some of that:

Have a great week everyone. I'll be back on March 10!

RIP, perfect brown work pants

So I'm having a bad day and need to vent. Pardon me.

I was wearing my favorite pair of brown pants - thick brown and tan herringbone wool trousers with a cuff from J.Crew.

I *heart* them.

So you can imagine the heartbreak when my stiletto caught on the cuff, ripped through the cuff in two places, and sent me falling down half of a looong flight of concrete steps. When I managed to pick myself up, was I worried about the throbbing pain in my wrist? No. Was I concerned about the sharp pain in my ankle when I put weight on it? No.

I was concerned that the fabric on my gorgeous pants was fraying too much to be mended. Nooooooooo!

So now I'm grumpy, and my left wrist and ankle are in pain. This is no good considering DH and I are going to Tahoe for nine days this weekend. DH even asked if I was trying to hurt myself so I wouldn't have to snowboard the entire time. Nooooo, my darling husband. No.

So now I'm sitting on my butt waiting for Lost. I hope it's a good one because I need a pick-me-up. :(

Frank Chimero State Prints

Cuteness via Apartment Therapy. Frank Chimero's prints are only $20! I only wish there were ones for Virginia and Maryland. :(

His n' Hers in Oklahoma

Hootie in Illinois

Truckin' through Idaho.

Post-mod interpretation of Cali's anti-smoking laws? Mehbe not...

Typewriter ring

Charming, no?

Camille Hempel ID ring

Score!

Farylrobin makes beautiful, fun, buttery soft leather shoes. I cannot afford them. Unless I find them marked down from $178 to $15 at Nordstrom Rack.

Have I mentioned that Farylrobins are also really comfortable? Crazy, I know. I can't wait to wear these tomorrow on casual Friday!

Here are some other FRs that I'm waiting to drop under $100.

Utterly charming

More fabulous prints from Matte Stephens:

URBN

Why did no one tell me that Urban Outfitters, of all places, has great furniture and housewares?

Modern Velvet Headboard - $300

Smoke and Mirrors side table - $110

Lana Velvet Poof - $98

Marquee Light - $178

I totally swoon for the NYC Pillow by Matte Stephens - only $32!

Bowling Pin Light - $29.99
(Perfect for our Big Lebowski party!)

L7 Low bookcase - $250

Nice Shades pillowcase set - $24
C'mon, you have to admit these gave you a giggle. How cute would they be on a guest bed?

Pod Table - $110

5x7 Printed Cotton Rug - $68

Recycled Magazine Mirror - $52

Things I'm digging right now

Animal trophy hangers - I LOVE the grumpy hippo. Sold in sets of two.

I stumbled onto a site that makes these great pop culture tshirts. I ordered the *perfect* one for one of my friends. The Ghostbusters one is for me. :)
Slatkin's limited edition scent at Bath and Body Works is Island Nectar. It. is. delish. Vanilla, rum, and a whole lot of pineapple with a dash of musk. And I think the cute pineapple on the wall mount is adorable. FYI - All wallflowers are $6 this weekend.

This is so goofy, but I kind of love it. It's a heated blanket that plugs into your USB port. If only ours were enabled, I would TOTALLy get this for my office AKA the meat locker.

An ode to Trader Joe's...

1, 2, 3...Awww

An Australian firefighter gives a toasty koala a bottle of water. OMG. This makes my heart hurt, it's so precious. Yay Mr. Firefighter!

Hello lover...

Dream bookshelves. That's all I'm sayin'.

OMG. Yum!

Cooking Light's Curried Couscous with Broccoli and Feta

Yield - 5 servings (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups)

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked couscous
• 1 1/2 cups small broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/3 cup shredded carrot
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup dry-roasted cashews, chopped
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon bottled minced fresh ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

Bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

While couscous stands, steam broccoli florets, covered, for 3 minutes or until tender.

Combine couscous, broccoli, onion, and next 10 ingredients (onion through chickpeas), tossing gently. Sprinkle with cheese.

Elliott notes: Use whole wheat cous-cous. Omit salt and add half teaspoon of Veggie Better than Bouillon to cous-cous water. Omit nuts. Replace fresh ginger with powdered.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

402 (27% from fat)

Fat:

12.2g (sat 3.8g,mono 5.8g,poly 1.6g)

Protein:

13.4g

Carbohydrate:

61.4g

Fiber:

7.4g

Cholesterol:

15mg

Iron:

2.7mg

Sodium:

827mg

Calcium:

145mg

Busy weekend

Woof. What a weekend.

Friday I was in a terrific funk. Lemme 'splain - I've been running 4x a week since November. I feel better, I look better. I fit really well into my jeans when they come straight out of the dryer. But I have not lost much weight. I weighed myself at the end of Thanksgiving and for all of my OUTSTANDING eating these past two months, and 50+ miles on the road, I have lost seven pounds. 7. ARGH!! I'm glad I don't weigh myself on a regular basis or I would be distraught.

Anywho, what's the cure for a funk? Wine! DH and I went out with our friends C and M (celebrating their third anniversary, woo hoo!) to Cask Room. It is an absolutely *adorable* wine bar a couple blocks east of us. That means a lot, in San Diego real estate. It's just on the edge of really sketchy. However, they serve great wine at a fabu price, lots of delicious tapas, and the room is muy adorable.

The Cask Room employees are very attentive, and very wine knowledgeable. I also really appreciate that they'll let you try as many wine as you want before you get a glass or bottle. I found a really tasty Malbec that way. One bottle down!

I could totally see DH and I settling in for a rainy night (yes, we do have them here in paradise) for scrabble and sauvignon. Yes, Cask Room provides board games. And they have live jazz twice a week. I definitely see us heading back next week.

Saturday I went for a really good run that made me feel much better about the massive amount of food I knew that DH and I would eat at our friend D's party later that night. D hosted a cake walk. Have you heard of it? I hadn't. Basically it's like musical chairs with cake for each winner.

DH was incredibly amusing. He was the first person out in round two because he wouldn't fight for a chair. He's British and practically said "Oh dear me, please have this chair." Ha! He came back, though, and ended up winning the whole shabang. He chose an absolutely delicious rum cake. Mmm.

I offered to make a Peanut Butter Fudge Cake for D and I'm proud to say that it was the first to be cut. These images are from Bakerella but it's exactly what my cake looked like, I'm proud to say:

Yum-freaking-Oh

Sunday DH and I went to the climbing gym with C and M. They were newbies and it was really fun to show them how to belay and get up on the wall. They're already excited about going back with us next week!

I'm still stuck on one route where I have to muscle up a ginormous overhang. BAH! I'm hoping that if I do it the third or fourth route next week, I'll have enough power in my arms to pull up enough to get my foot into a hold. I felt terrible but I have to tell you about my little oops moment while I was trying to get up this ridiculous overhang. Imagine poor little Elliott is hanging upside down, on the underside of the overhang, trying to pull herself up over the edge except that the hold is just two inches two far away:

DH: C'mon! You can do it! Just a little further!
Elliott: SHUT! UP! I'm dyin'!
DH: It's not that bad. Get up there!
Elliott: (doing a massive pull-up) ARGH!! Mutherfucker! ARGH!
DH: E, there are children around.
Elliott: I! Don't! Care! AIYYYEEE! (More pulling up. I have now been supporting my entire bodyweight on my arms for 30 seconds in a really awkward position.)
DH: Don't cuss. C'mon, muscle up there.
Elliott: I don't have children so bite me! Shit, damn, fuck! (This would be where I fall off and swing ten feet.

So to all the parents at the gym yesterday, I apologize. The guy who was climbing next to me was cracking up at my choice use of words. *chuckle* When I got down, M said to me "That's the first time I've ever heard you cuss!" Ha! Oh hon', you've never worked out with me before. :)

To finish off the fun weekend, DH took me out to our favorite little French bistro for mussels. I loooove mussels. I spent a month in Brussels and have *hearted* them ever since. We walked home through East Village, picked up some limoncello sorbetto at Mondo Gelato (yum!), and then watched the new episode of Grand Design, my favorite design show from England.

A busy, but great weekend. So now I'm off to the gym to work off the 8000 calories I consummed. Ta!

He Doesn't Have a Head! No lips, no vocal chords...HE DOESN'T HAVE A HEAD!

This is a shout out to my 8th grade best friend, L, and the funniest movie ever penned:
You probably haven't heard of it but back in the early 90s, L and I watched this at every sleep-over. In 8th grade that really means: every weekend. We knew all of the script and would laugh ourselves into hysterics in the school cafeteria. We were popular, letmetellya.

The movie can be summed up as: movie about the cast and crew of a soap opera. The writers spare no one.

Get a load of this cast list: Sally Field (with noooo ego), Kevin Klein, Whoopie Goldberg, Robert Downey Jr, Elisabeth Shue, Cathy Moriarty, Carrie Fisher, Garry Marshall, Kathy Najimi, and Teri Hatcher.

"They froze the head?"

"Ugh!"


"We were never naked." "Well, we could have been!"

NSFW: This is rather crude, you have been warned.

To the asshole who decided it was hilarious to write "Fist Fuck" in the dirt on my car:

1. That is sexually aggressive and therefore scary.
2. You aren't funny or clever. Asshole.


That is all.
Elliott

I am obsessed with lists. I make lists for the day, for the week, for work, for the grocery, etc... I have a standing order with my office's supply room for three sizes of post-its (itty-bitty, regular, and humungo) whenever they re-order (which is a lot with 200+ employees). Obsessed I tell you.

Which is why I am SO excited to check the mail this week for these babies:


It's hard to see on this list but the bottom corner has an area that says "If all else fails, takeout from here:" HAHA
I am SO excited about a packing list. I make one for every trip (OCD) and this one will make it a snap.

All are $9.95 from Lobotome