McSilliness.

Chris is so sweet. Because I sat (aghast) through Shoot 'Em Up, he's agreed to go with me to see ... Enchanted.

I'd like to say I want to see it because it's been getting such great reviews, but ... the truth is ... I've secretly wanted to see it since the previews. The reviews only gave me the courage to bring it up.

Chris says he doesn't mind going to see it at all, because he thinks Amy Adams is such a good actress, especially in Junebug.

I think Patrick Dempsey is such a good actor, too. Yessiree. Especially in that one episode of Grey's Anatomy where you can almost see his butt. Oscar-worthy stuff, right there!

Even the Beatles are annoying when someone has "Ticket to Ride" on interminable repeat in a crowded subway.

Had a nice Thanksgiving seeing family and eating a LOT. Not just turkey and stuffing--lasagna on Friday, Irish stew on Saturday, Middle Eastern on Sunday. Luckily this weekend corresponded with my newfound addiction to hot green tea, which I'm currently sipping and feeling refreshed and detoxy.

I'm excited for this holiday season. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not a good gift shopper. I think this has been hard for me to realize in years past because I know perfectly well I could be a GREAT gift shopper.

If I had unlimited daytime hours and unlimited funding.

So I've done a couple large batches of Internet ordering and while unimaginative I think most items are at least not totally out of the ballpark and I also hope to be done by, like, this Saturday so I can concentrate on tree-decorating and cookie baking (wait, no cookie sheets yet. Um, eggnog-drinking) (yes, I know this directly contradicts paragraph 1) and office holiday parties and a weekend trip to Boston for Derek & Tara's "Festivus" party and ice skating in the park and all those city things one does so one feels like one got the most out of this go-go-go city when one is looking back from one's country porch to which one has finally been able to peacefully retire.

Monday Monday.

Ha ha! Just kidding! No, I was really grouchy on Friday but I think everyone who reads this is familiar with my dumb mood swings, so forgive the melodrama and let's get back to regular programming.

Liz, Chris, Austin, and the bun in the oven came to visit this weekend. We saw the Rockettes, whose Busby Berkeley-esque routines were mesmerically soothing, and ate a LOT and just generally enjoyed hanging out, even when sleeping. (Everyone took a communal two hour nap on Saturday, waking up from which was like being wrenched from the womb.) Austin says "Waura" now which is pretty much the cutest thing ever. I think I used the word "cute" way too many times this weekend but it's hard when you're confronted with that much adorableness.

Last night I went to visit my former roommate, who is on her seventeenth day straight (not counting four and a half days last month) in the hospital for internal problems. If everyone could pray or send good thoughts with the goal of getting her released before Thanksgiving, that would be great. She's on the verge of losing it, and I'm really worried about her mental state.

This is going to be a short week at work--I'm excited! My boss (who, I just found out, edited and is the dedicatee of one of my favorite Reading Rainbow books EVER) is letting me leave early on Wednesday, hurrah! Because we waited too long to get transportation tickets to Virginia, everything is either sold out or $600, so my mom is sweetly driving up Tuesday night to fetch us all home on Wednesday. It's going to be a whirlwind trip, with lots of people crammed into a short time, but I'm starting to get used to that. It'll just have to do until I pull off my master plan of a gigantic commune.

Plummet.

I'm really down and angry today and I hate this blog. It might be awhile.

Let's talk about clothes, bay-bee.

I think the Fug girls are hilarious and witty and generally right on target, but today I found myself disagreeing wholeheartedly with one call and halfheartedly with another. I love, love, love Kate Bosworth's outfit here; and I don't know, I'm sort of enamored with this anonymous person's ballgown. It looks like Anthropologie run amok. (I used to think the word "amok" was separate from the, it turns out, imaginary word "amuck," but no, I just had my pronunciation wrong.)

Speaking of Anthropologie, today I am wearing the one and only piece of clothing I own from Anthropologie, bought on the clearance-clearance rack because that store is just too expensive, but I love my outfit today so I'm going to tell you about it: navy silk Anthro skirt with its pale blue embroidery and its navy velvet and navy and pale blue tulle hem; a navy knit top with a waist sash; black ribbed tights; and my black Oxford bootie what I like to call "governess shoes." I feel very Victorian and Alice Temperley and have been feeling dinkily chipper about my outfit all day. I considered adding seed pearls but the white seemed out of place with the darkness of the outfit so instead I'm wearing a black plastic headband with a sort of wrought iron pattern that I think my grandma gave me.

Listen, I would never want to be a fashion editor (um, except for the free clothes) because I can't imagine having my life be that devoid of meaning--on my lunch break I was looking through a Lucky someone gave me and I couldn't help but snort at the seriousness with which these women take in what is essentially exclaiming over overpriced handbags.* But there is no shame in liking clothes. A cute outfit can really lift your spirits, and as abashed as I sometimes feel admitting to my fondness for style, at the end of the day I don't think there's any harm in it.

So to celebrate the return of Project Runway, which I have actually never watched but which everyone seems to be talking about today, here are my recent style musings, compiled on the subway this morning:

Patent leather. I always associated patent leather with tap shoes growing up, but I do kind of like this trend. I've seen a lot of beautiful patent leather handbags, in black, cherry red, and a jewel green, but if you're on a budget I think that's a foolish investment to make. It's going to be out of fashion next year and it's such a NOTICEABLE fashion statement. Also, if it's not done classily it can look really trashy. (Um, as opposed to what, I don't know.) Instead I have two pairs of patent leather shoes--black heels and red flats, one from Payless and one from Ann Taylor's clearance rack (I swear, the only thing saving me from financial devastation is my inherited inability to buy anything not 75% off)--and I plan to trim up my ratty black winter coat with a patent leather belt, but other than that I prefer to sit back and admire this trend in others.

Chasing nail polish trends. My motto is, why not? Navy nail polish is supposed to be the next thing and although I couldn't find any in the drugstore I bought a bottle of a dark royal blue for 99 cents, and now every time I take my socks off I feel quite pleased with myself. BUT I don't think you should be slavish about it; if there's a color you like that's "so last season" who cares? Wear what you think looks good! And just remember, a dark muted red is always classic.

Colored tights. I love this. I have electric red, cobalt blue, grey blue, and grey patterned (and a lot of black). I saw a girl this morning with bright purple and it looked fabulous. Tights are like $6. Oh, but speaking of tights, obviously you can only really wear them with

Skirts and dresses. Let me back up. I have a hard time finding jeans (all pants really) to fit me. There's the length issue, and the fact that my waist size does not really correspond to my hip and thigh size. So I always felt unhappily dissatisfied in each and every pair of pants I'd wear, whether on the weekends or at work, and then I realized that

IF YOU WEAR A SKIRT OR A DRESS no one can SEE what your thighs look like or that the waistband of your pants is doing that ugly bulgy thing underneath the belt you have to wear to keep them up.

LIGHTBULB!!

If you watch The Devil Wears Prada, you'll see that the fashionistas wear skirts in almost every scene. There's a reason for this. It's not just that skirts are cute--it's that they are more flattering. I'm not trying to send women back to the dark ages, but now that I wear skirts to work four days out of five I've really taken a lot more pleasure in getting dressed in the morning.

Obviously if you're running around a lot or if you're playing ball in the park or if you're traveling, pants are more comfortable (and I'd like to restate my fondness for the wide-legged trend), but I'm encouraging you to consider the humble skirt.

Big long sweaters. I LOVE THESE AND HOPE THEY STAY IN STYLE FOREVER.

Finally, I'd like to discuss in one sentence or less the ongoing lawsuits to protect designers' copyrights on their pieces. And that one sentence is: f*&# off, designers. You charge $400 for a knit T-SHIRT. You charge $2,000 for a PURSE. Maybe what Forever 21 and H&M are doing is regrettable from a creative property standpoint, but I think it's admirable in a bringing-fashion-to-the-masses standpoint. (Well, except for the sweatshop thing, which I do NOT approve of.) I just get really annoyed hearing these incredibly wealthy people whine that their designs are getting ripped off when they rose to fame for copying Poiret in the first place. Shut up.

That was more than one sentence, but whatever.

* It is not hypocritical for me to say that before talking at length about clothes, because I ... am not taking it seriously. ...
** What I mean is, I'm talking about this as a HOBBY. It's not my JOB. Which is VERY IMPORTANT. Books about puppies and kittens are VERY IMPORTANT in this world.

New Yawk City.

It's Friday! And TGIF, as usual. I took a long, hot shower after work to beat out the week. Then Shelby came over, and we three walked up the street to sample a reasonably-priced neighborhood French restaurant, planning to return afterwards to our apartment to a Flight of the Conchords fest on DVD.

We had an amazing dinner. I had tender, succulent chicken flavored with rosemary atop savory mushroom risotto in a red wine and truffle oil sauce; Shelby had a juicy turkey burger on a perfectly toasted bun; Chris had one of the best mesclun salads I've ever tasted and a deliciously chewy, lean hangar steak with carmelized onions and some crispy frites.

As we were finishing up our meal, second only in recent months to the Lincoln Cafe in quality, I glanced over at the table next to us and

saw one of the biggest cockroaches in MY LIFE climbing up the tabletop toward one woman's plate.

I couldn't even scream, or cry out, or point. I was paralyzed with shock. Then the woman saw it and shrieked; the table jostled and wine glasses toppled; everyone around gasped and stood up, flailing.

Chris said sternly, "Everyone stay calm" and swooped in with a napkin for the kill. "My hero!" the woman actually said (hmph. He's MINE actually). The table on the other side of the afflicted one applauded.

I don't have a point to this story, except that as delicious as dinner was I don't think I can eat at that restaurant again, or at least I'm going to want to sit in the middle of the floor and not in a booth. The bug was the size of a poodle, I swear to God.

I'm still squirming!!!!!

PREPARE FOR WONTON.

Chris was gone for a week and during that time I mostly stayed in my living room and read books and watched videos and reruns of Pirates of the Caribbean on USA so that's why I don't have any news to report. Oh, I'm trying to take up running again. I ran two miles on Monday, which for me is like a half marathon. So that's my news.

In conclusion, there is a certain blog that is linked on Sarah's blog that I used to read pretty regularly even though I've never met this person but I stopped because I got tired of her unceasing negativity, especially where the NY Yankees are concerned holy crap it's baseball there's just no call to spew that kind of venom woman you're going to give yourself a hernia; but anyway her most recent gripe is that when she visits NYC she can't smoke in the bars,

and to that I say it is one of my FAVORITE things about this city; I LOVE that you can go out here and not come home reeking of cigarettes; and lung cancer is a lot more inconvenient than having to step outside to smoke, the end!

I really have to stop yielding to the temptation to click on that link.