Benefit friends and family

It's a month away, but if you're a fan of Benetint or Dr. Feelgood or any other Benefit product, it'll be worth the wait. Enter the code: BENEFIT2 between November 10-25 to get 20% off http://www.benefitcosmetics.com, including free shipping! Go ahead and be a BADgal.

Flower girl does the robot

I went to Kirstin's wedding last weekend, and this was the flower girl's pre-ceremony contribution to keeping the bride entertained before the ceremony.

Southern comfort eatin' with famous friends

I forgot to share the other reason I was so gym-obsessed yesterday: I ate Low Country Fried Chicken and other deliciously less-than-healthy delights at Georgia Brown's! It was damn good food, but I remained full for days. I STILL don't think I've fully digested. I have problems. Anyway, I'd definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting DC who isn't afraid of some yummy food from the South. Go for the Jazz Sunday Brunch, but know that you'll inevitably be walking away with a bag to take home.

Taer and I always get into it when we talk about whether or not DC/Maryland/Virgina is considered "the South." He's agrees that VA is southern; if you go deep into the state, people have a twang. We even had some guy drive by us in his pickup and yell out something about "Chink" after we pissed him off on the road. I swear that guy looked like he might've had a shotgun in his car, right next to some animal with horns he just hunted down.

Don't get me wrong; we have nothing against the South! I think Taer and I just enjoy debating for the sake of the banter. Anyway, he doesn't buy into the "south of the Mason-Dixon line" argument for Maryland and DC. Even my company puts our DC office in the Southern division. We're not part of the Northeast division. T feels that's because it would be too imbalanced to stick DC with NYC and Boston, etc. His main argument is: Look at how we vote! Maryland is a blue state!

Whatever. I'm just glad we're close enough to the real South to have food like this:
Oh, so I'm not just inundating you with photos of me and T and food, here's one more picture of our new celebrity friend. Fans of O.A.R. (of a revolution) might recognize their lead guitarist, Richard On. He and T have a lot of mutual friends in the area, so we all had dinner together. I met him briefly in a bar before, but this was the first time we actually all hung out and talked. I was totally expecting a too cool for school, rock star type, but Rich ended up being a complete sweetheart! I might even say he's a little on the shy side. If you haven't discovered O.A.R. yet, check out their site and listen to some of their music. "Love and Memories" is getting a lot of play right now, but that's not actually my favorite song on their current album. Let me know what you think!And I apparently can't make a normal face when I take pictures. I DO have problems.

OCD and ADD

I've always been a little crazy (ya think?), but with so much STUFF going on in my life right now, I'm feeling a little nuttier than usual, in a lot of different ways. My self-diagnosed ADD is kicking into high gear, and between jumping amongst all my thoughts, I'm also finding that I'm getting absolutely fixed on issues until I get them resolved.

First it was house hunting. Check.

Next it was getting the 'rents on board with T and me. Check.

Then it was settling the wedding venue and date. Check.

And now? I'm determined to find a gym. I've been looking for one since we lost the fitness room in our condo when we moved a month ago, but for some reason, I'm absolutely OBSESSED today. Maybe it's because I finally have a set date when I know I want to be looking my best. Maybe it's because I'm feeling the coolness of fall creeping in, and I know I won't be able to go running when winter blasts in. Maybe it's because I just watched a Style special on Jennifer Aniston, and my muffin top (along with T's cliff hanger) isn't looking so "cute" anymore.

Anyway, I really wanted to write about something a little more interesting than my debate between Washington Sports Club or Gold's Gym today, but since I'm consumed, this seemed like the most natural thing to share. If anyone has any opinions on gyms in DC, please share!

Good news and good gifts

I cannot believe I haven't blogged in over two weeks. What's wrong with me? Well, this is the busiest time of year for me at work, but thankfully it all ends when September ends. Maybe Green Day had my job at one point. That song has been my mantra.

So, I come bearing a few goodies to make up for me being so MIA. First, for my fellow fans of Grey's Anatomy: Did you know the writers keep a blog? I discovered it after last season's finale, so my withdrawal from the show wasn't TOO awful. I only had minor shakes. The writing on the blog is almost as satisfying as watching the show itself. It's kinda like when you rent a movie and then get to indulge in the DVD extras afterwards. I love doing that! Anyway, I kept telling myself that I would share, but other news in my life kept me putting this on the backburner. And now, apparently, the New York Times has apparently beat me to the punch. Well, for anyone who hasn't caught it yet, check out GreysWriters (called GreyMatter). My doctor friends refuse to immerse themselves in any more doctor stuff, but I keep trying to convince them that this is more human stuff. Maybe the site will convince them.

The next gift is ONE DOLLAR MAKEUP! I've gotten the email about the new line being launched at Bloomingdale's twice already, but for anyone who doesn't yet know: eyeslipsface.com is offering a bunch of stuff for a mere buck - including makeup brushes - that's even better than the dollar deals at Micky D's! Super Sizing your cosmetics won't affect your waist line. Do it. Oh, and if you order enough, the code "shipit" should also get you free shipping.

If you're a magazine junky, I already shared my favorite site for good deals, budgetmags.com. Titles like Vogue and Marie Claire are a mere $4-7 per year! They don't carry every title, but you might be able to find your wanted subscription at Time Warner's Friends and Family Program. Time and Entertainment Weekly are $20 and $10, respectively. Order before this expires November 15th!

And one final piece of news: We set our wedding date! It'll be April 21st at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. I was debating whether or not to post the deets, but I finally decided that if Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn really want to crash, then why the heck not? I'm sure no one else would really care, and a lot of future posts will be about planning (and house renovating and just living in general - what did I get myself into?), so there was no point worrying about others knowing. So that's that.

I just got back from another wedding, so I'm still recovering. I'll post about that later. Til then? I sleep. A lot.

Our brush with Project Runway

I spent the weekend in New York for Camilla's birthday. As we were strolling around Nolita, we saw a long ling of people waiting outside a store, with a sign in the window warning that Bravo TV was filming. Turned out to be Emmett McCarthy's new store, EMc2 and guess who we ran into?...

Alison from the current season of Project Runway was hanging around outside! Though I didn't want to "bother" her, I decided it might be ok in the end. She is JUST as adorable and beautiful as she looks on the show, and I have a girl crush on her (and her mom, who is in the background of this photo). Darling Alison, we told you that you got kicked of WAY too early, and it was unfair; and you simply smiled and told us it was ok. Cute AND sweet too? Yes, I'm in love!Malan was our next victim. Though you was a bit pretentious on the show, you won me over with your final, "I never really had a lot of friends before" speech when you got kicked off. You were a total sweetheart in person (but I still can't tell what kind of accent you have). Did you study under Madonna?Tim Gunn! We heart you! You seemed totally sincere as you apologized to the masses that you had to leave because you were late for filming. We forgive you for not taking a picture with us. Your bodyguard looks like he could use a little LESS grooming. Please be a friend and tell him so.Chloe, go on and represent for the Asian American women out there! Tell Emmett that I'm sorry I cut his head off in this picture. He's too damn tall! I wish we caught you before you rushed into the store!Nick, dearest Nick. You are a sweetheart and a half. You were drinking wine when we interrupted you, which made me love you more. You didn't seem to care that I approached you with a stalker-like admiration when I broke into your literal circle of friends. You graciously posed for this shot and let me blabber on about your cute top in the store. OMG, your hand is on my neck - I may NEVER wash that part of my body again! We've got nothing but love for you, honey! This is the store. Check it out! Goodbye, Tim. Good from the front AND from the back! You still have that same bodyguard, though. I think I can take him. Let me know if you want a tough, petite Korean chick to take his place.If you don't love Project Runway, then I must stop for a minute and mourn for you. It's THAT good.

Did you know?

I've been trying to figure out whether Taer is my fiance or my fiancee.

WELL, I finally looked it up. It turns out that fiance (with one "e") is used when referring to a man. Fianee (with two "e's") is used for a woman.

Who knew?!?? Maybe everyone but me. Now I've won half the battle.

So... that makes Taer my fiance. That is, unless there's something I don't know about!

Remembering again

On this day, I will remember.
http://jennipah.blogspot.com/2005/09/remember.html

Bicoastal

I went back home for the long weekend for a number of reasons:

• Our dearest LWC is the first among us girls to have a baby bump! I couldn't miss the celebratory shower of the bump (and eventual baby).
• I got a call that Cisco Systems wanted me on the cover of some print ad of theirs. Turned out to be their annual report. How funny is it that? It helped pay for my trip, so I was happy to strike a pose.
• I visited possible wedding venues.
• The girls and my family fed me and made me feel very loved at early birthday dinners.
• Got to hang out and just enjoy being San Franciscan again.

My days were busier than I expected them to be. In many ways, I felt like I never left. It was so easy to slip back into the old routine of eating and coffee catching and shopping and eating and hanging out - and did I mention eating? My mom often talked my ear off; and when I thought she was finished, she simply moved on over to the other ear. If God thought about the fact that I was being born to this mother of mine, He should've equipped me with five ears.

There were some differences too. People moved away, so I didn't get to see them (Chenja). People lived in new places in the city and owned new things like cars (Lee). New restaurants popped up; I wasn't used to not knowing the latest and greatest happenings of my city.

But is it still my city?

I thought San Francisco would always be home to me. I didn't feel out of place. Not yet. But I could sense, for the first time, that there may very well be a visit down the road where I'll actually feel like a visitor there. While it still felt like I was going "back home" to San Francisco, returning to D.C. also felt like "coming home" too. Can I have two homes? Don't I have to pick? If my friends and family moved away from San Francisco, would it still feel like home then?

I've come to realize that home isn't necessarily defined by a physical location. If I could gather all my loved ones together somewhere - anywhere - THAT would be home. Heck, stick them in a big, white box and throw in Taboo and Scattergories! (Oh, and maybe Scrabble too. And the Food Network. And Project Runway while we're at it. You know what I mean.)

But without that white box? I consider myself officially bicoastal!

A Picture Share!

A little piece of san francisco ferry building goodness, right here in dc. Yay!

Korean men are sensitve and totally ripped

This Washington Post article is too funny. There's apparently a 'Korean Wave' blazing its way through Asia. I was feeling the wave of my people becoming hot lately, largely due to the popularity of Korean movies among non-Koreans. Taer's Vietnamese hair cutting lady talks his ear off about the latest K-flick every time she trims his locks lately. Tina's Chinese grandma recently asked me if I knew where she could get Chinese-dubbed Korean movies. This story, interestingly, focuses only on the men:

"Entertainment industry leaders in Seoul credit the phenomenon to good marketing coupled with an uncanny response throughout Asia to the expressive nature of the South Koreans -- long dubbed the Italians of Asia. A hearty diet and two years of forced military duty, industry leaders and fans insist, have also made young South Korean men among the buffest in Asia. Most important, however, has been the South Korean entertainment industry's perfection of the strong, silent type on screen -- typically rich, kind men with coincidentally striking looks and a tendency to shower women with unconditional love."

Of course my buff 'Italian' Stallion Taer, out of the kindness of his unconditionally loving heart, felt that he needed to forward this important piece of news to me. I don't know if he read the quote:

"But to tell you the truth, I still haven't met a real one who fits that description."