Sweeter Lemon

I’m almost ashamed to admit it took me over FIVE YEARS to think of this, but I’ve been doing this for 2 weeks now and it’s the smartest thing I’ve ever done.

I started keeping a pint of milk in the fridge at work.

Here’s the thing – we have free coffee at work (yay!) but only powdered fake-creamer stuff (boo!). Since I don’t like the powdered fake-creamer stuff (ugh) I usually buy my coffee in the morning.

It never occurred to me to just buy myself a pint of milk, write my initials on it, and stick it in the common fridge. I guess because I’m very, very adamant about not leaving things in the workroom fridge – it’s stuffed full of other people’s leftovers and lunches, and when I bring something that needs refrigerated, I always make sure to use it that day so as not to add to the mess. It’s just how I am – I’m not the type to bring in a week’s worth of food and take up that much space. Weird, I know, but that’s how I roll.

But this idea is so ingenious! I hit the Walgreen’s across the street from work in the morning, choose the milk with the longest expiration date period (my current bottle of 2% will last me until next Wednesday, score!) and if I don’t use it all up in my coffee before it expires, I just drink the remains. Extra calcium and vitamin D! Perfect!

Needless to say, I don’t chug half-and-half. I usually get skim or 2%, which works just as well for me. I haven’t been to Starbucks in 2 weeks, all because of a $1 pint of milk. Awesome.

Oh, diet Wild Cherry Pepsi, where have you been all of my life?

I know, I know. Many people don’t appreciate you because you aren’t as carbonated as your distant cousin, diet Coke. And you know what? That’s OK with me. Your distant cousin, though tasty, makes me hiccup with each sip until the bubbles dissipate. That gets embarrassing, especially in a client meeting. Not that that’s ever happened to me.

But what’s more, oh diet Wild Cherry Pepsi, you taste so good! To this avid “regular” soda drinker, I can barely tell you’re diet. Your cherry flavor hides the aspartame aftertaste, much to my delight. You make it easier to drink sugar-free soda. For that, I will always be grateful.

I’m trying to limit how much soda I’m consuming, so we may not be seeing each other very often in the future. But today, when I needed a caffeine kick and I noticed that they sell bottles of you in my building cafeteria, today you really hit the spot. Thanks for that.

How excited am I that Top Chef is back? Very excited.

How excited am I that Top Chef is back and they are in Chicago? Very, very, very excited.

The premiere was last night, and it did not disappoint. Not only was there a deep-dish pizza challenge, but my favorite guest judge Anthony Bourdain was there. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Of course, after only one episode, there are still 15 chefs in the running, and I of course cannot keep them straight. By the end of the episode, Mr. Martini and were calling them by the shortcut names of “The Gnome” and “The Hobbit” and the like. I’m sure I’m going to have some real favorites before too long, and some people to whom I’ll be yelling “Why are you still on my TV?” in the coming weeks.

But for now, I’m just feeling the excitement of a new season. Now, bring on the Chicago style hot dogs!

Last year, everyone was raving about the movie Once. I missed it in the theaters, but figured I’d watch it when it came out on DVD.

Then I promptly forgot all about it.

Until the Oscars, that is, when it won the award for Best Original Song, and then Jon Stewart brought the girl back onstage to finish her speech that got cut off by the orchestra and I thought – oh, yeah, I need to see this movie.

Cut to a week later, it’s a Sunday afternoon, my latest knitting project is crumpled in my lap, forgotten, and I’m blubbering while the credits roll.

The story is simple and sweet, and the characters express themselves mostly through the songs they write and play throughout the movie. But it’s not your typical musical a la Chicago or Sweeney Todd – the characters are musicians, the music they write and perform is their form of expression, and the film documents the songs as they would appear in the musicians’ natural setting – on street corners and in music stores, not as a narrative device to drive the story.

Some folks have compared Once to Before Sunrise – the mid-90s Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy romance, and I can sort of see why – simple stories, no flashy effects, the focus on the characters. But Once feels more adult (due, no doubt, to the leads in Once being adults and not college-age students), and the music adds so much to the tale.

I won’t say that this movie will have everyone blubbering in their living rooms after watching it. But if you’re looking for a sweet, simple romance to wile away a Sunday afternoon, I definitely recommend this movie.

On my way to meet Mr. Martini for dinner with a friend the other night, I stopped by Walgreen’s to grab some lip balm.

It’s winter in Chicago. That right there explains why I should have 15 tubes of lip balm attached by string to every piece of clothing I own. Or something more clever than that, but you get the idea.

Anyway, I ran into Walgreen’s for some lip balm, and went straight to the front counter, figuring I’d just buy whatever they had up there.

They had the cheap-o store brand, unflavored chap-aid or whatever, which…no. Ick. The only other item within reach was Burt’s Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with pomegranate oil. Italics shown exactly as on label.

I hesitated for a moment, worried about the potential tint issue (which I didn’t want) or a fake-fruity flavor. But I was in a hurry, so I grabbed it and ran. (I should clarify that I didn’t pull a Bai Ling and I did stop at the counter before running out the door.)

As it turns out, this stuff is awesome. It’s pink in the tube, but it doesn’t add tint to my lips. You can taste a little fruity-flavor, but it’s mild and fairly natural tasting compared to the cherry Chap-Stick of my youth. It lasts a long, long time, and unlike my previous beloved Burt’s Bee’s Honey Lip Balm, it doesn’t make my lips flaky. Score!

I know that pomegranates are the current rage, but who knew they’d make a good lip balm? I guess I’ll credit my smooth, hydrated lips as being “antioxidant-ed.”

Congratulations, Christian!

The Project Runway finale was last night, and I must say, having the collections photographed and on the web for weeks, coupled with having three supremely talented finalists made for kind of a boring ending.

For real – there was no drama. At all. No “what were they thinking” designs, no potential cheating allegations (see: Seasons 1 and 3). The judging was incredible even-handed and yawn-inducing. Everyone loved everything with just a few well-placed criticisms.

I loved all three collections, and would have been happy with any of them winning. They all had their strengths, they all had their flaws – even Christian’s got a tad monotonous with the all-black, skinny pants/puffy top thing over and over (the photo on the left is one of the few outfits that didn’t fit that description). But the win was well-earned.

I also have to admit something. I’ve somehow managed to avoid being overexposed to Victoria Beckham since her arrival in the States. Seeing her on this show last night made me kind of like her. She was enthusiastic about all three designers, and to me it seemed like she knew that they were all talented and she was there to help one of them achieve something huge. She seemed nice enough, really. I think she was a great choice for the final panel, and helped me forget about some of the other final judges of yore (Parker Posey? Love your movies, but don’t remember you showing up in the pages of any fashion magazines.).

At the end of the show, they mentioned auditions are coming up for a new season. Fingers crossed that they’ll film over the spring and summer, so they finale show will be at this Fall’s fashion week, meaning it will air sooner than later. What can I say, I need my Tim Gunn fix.

Auf Wiedersehn!

I haven’t talked about Lost since the season started, mostly because Mr. Martini and I can never keep up with the episodes.

Sunday night, we realized we had 3 episodes stored on the TiFaux. We sat down to watch 1 episode, and ended up watching all three back to back.

This, my friends, is how I recommend watching this program. Especially this season. It was fantastic.

Lost fell out of favor with me a little in the last season with the slow, grinding pace with very little payout, but this season is much more fun. Maybe it’s the switch from the flashbacks to flashforwards – now, instead of pondering the crazy ways everyone flitted in and out of each others lives before the island, we’re treated with snippets of life after the island, the Lostaways reintroduction to real life, and how they’re adjusting. We still don’t know how they made it off the island, so the mystery is still intriguing enough to keep me coming back.

Our three-episode mini-marathon ended with what had to be the most “feel good” episode of the show I can remember, with a lovelorn character making contact with their emotional anchor in a way that was touching and moving. For a show that (to me) is based on its desire to confuse and befuddle and frustrate the viewer (in a good way), it was so nice to end an episode feeling a small sense of joy and happiness for one of its characters finally, finally, finally achieving something they’ve wanted for so long. Awesome.