Baxter Bark Twice

Do as I say, never as I do

Posts Tagged ‘Kate for the win’

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Let’s do this

Posted by AllieB on January 9, 2014

We’ll start things off on a high note: Monday, January 6, was Blue Monday. According to some somewhat reliable sources, Blue Monday is the most depressing day of the year. Today is Thursday, January 9, which means you not only survived Blue Monday, but that you’ve already had your worst day of the year and every day hereafter will be better than the last. This is great news!! 2014 is going to be awesome!

Coming at you on a low, albeit obvious, note: my process of thought is seriously flawed.

I have many intentions for this year, and I’m writing them down. An “intention” is less scary and not as annoying as a “resolution,” but it more or less means the same thing. I know – again with the flawed thought process.

1. I will use my passport. A&K..!

where to go in 2014

I do not know where Latvia is or how one might go about getting there, but I am IN! Jetsetter is my new favorite site.

2. Be physically active for 30 minutes each day. (Confession: this one started off as “Leave the apartment every day” but that sounds really pathetic, so I changed it. There’s a chance it will change back – February up here is the worst, and there is literally nothing I cannot get delivered to my apartment. Literally, in the literal sense.)

3. Continue to be a non-presence on this list: The 30 Dumbest Things Drunk Women Have Ever Done.

4. Read less. I read so much crap – like legitimate, good-thing-it’s-on-my-Kindle-so-people-can’t-see-the-cover CRAP – and I need to stop indulging in these “books” which are probably making me dumber and work on my own stuff. If you’re not living you’re dying, right? Bao Bao, the panda cub at the Washington Zoo, probably has a shot at a book deal if this fluff is any indication of publishing standards.

Bao Bao whoops

5. Sign up for zero marathons.

I am reaching for the stars in Twenty-Fourteen!

Newsflash: this week was really cold. It was very cold here, it was very cold in Atlanta, and people in Chicago should really consider moving. However, Optimistic Allie is here to enlighten you as to some perks of the frigid weather. Optimistic Allie can always find the silver lining.

-you can hunker down indoors all day and not feel bad about it. I love a winter Saturday in a cozy, dark tavern.

-a blast of cold air to the face will snap you right of whatever catatonic state you’re in: hangover, lack of sleep, office-eyes (you know, when you’re indoors all day you get office eyes), etc….

-children swaddled within an inch of their lives, waddling around with scarecrow arms. I get a real kick out of swaddled kids.

–all of your TV shows are back with brand new episodes!! Me, I am excited about: Cougartown (yep), House of Lies, Downton, Scandal, and the second season of House of Cards on Feb 14. BRING IT, FRANCIS.

-The Winter Olympics. 40 Harry will be hosting an Olympics party, so start gathering your red, white, and blue spandex and BOLO for an invitation 3-4 days before the party. Speaking of the Winter Olympics, it is the 20th Anniversary of the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan scandal. That whole thing was seriously insane…gah, amateur sports are totally boring these days.

-you burn more calories running in cold weather than in hot.

-I have a deep and abiding love for my puffer jacket, which I get to wear every day.

-winter selfies…! And the obligatory weather app screen-grab to prove that you are colder than everyone else. Except Chicago – Chicago wins.

winter collageTemp on Tues PM; stick ’em up!; Greenwich Street last Fri; my 5-borough running gloves being put to use

Did I miss my calling as a motivational speaker?

2014 is the Year of the Horse, and it is also the Year of BBT. Happy Thursday and Happy Weekend and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the DUCHESS! Here are 32 GIFs of her and her hair being perfect.

407761-the-duke-and-duchess-of-cambridge-attend-the-awards-ceremony-for-the-a

 Here’s to another year of this.

P.S. I’ve had (Do It On My) Twin Bed stuck in my head since before Christmas.

Posted in Arbitrary, Princess Kate | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Yesteryear

Posted by AllieB on August 20, 2013

Remember back in the day when I would write 4x/week about all kinds of interesting, newsworthy stuff? Let’s take a page out of that book.

Well, it’s happened. My love for Kate Middleton has soared to heretofore unknown, unreachable heights. What is it about motherhood?? Everything about the first Royal Portrait is so amazing I nearly cried. Look at it: her, the babe, the Prince, her again, the PUP…plus Grandpa Middleton snapped the pic! The general population should just forego their own family portraits moving forward – I’ll be comparing every Christmas card I receive to this, and I don’t think any of you are going to come out with a W. No offense…y’all have some really cute babies and puppies, but this is literally perfect.

I DIEShe could be holding a baby goblin and it wouldn’t matter. I might make this my screensaver.

This week in New York Life: commuting via foot and rail, as is the norm for NYC residents who do not have their own drivers, requires some accommodating. Those snazzy peep-toe pumps are not ideal footwear for navigating the grossness that is the subway and city streets. I’ve actually foregone most all of my pumps since moving here because I can’t handle walking around in that nonsense. Well, correction, I wear them in the workplace, but they stay here. There’s no place for those stompers in my weekend attire. NYMag did a feature on the desk shoes of working women in the city – see here. I’m guessing 98% of you have no interest in the shoes strangers keep at their desks, so I will just share with you my own desk shoes:

desk shoes

I wear the Toms to and fro l’office and today am sporting those monsters second from the right. I took them off for the picture.

This was less interesting than I thought it might be….

Online dating is something I have not yet explored, and I’m sure I will have to at some point, but these ‘shortcuts’ people keep coming up with are insulting. The latest rage in finding your match is a silicon bracelet – like LIVESTRONG or something – which shouts to all that you are SINGLE, thereby making it easier to spot potential soulmates. According to the website, My Single Band is  “…something that identifies your single status whilst at the gym, at a cafe, at the station, at work, an evening out or on holiday.”

20-single-bandsYou can choose one of three words for your personalized look: FATE, FUTURE, or DESTINY. What about BARF?

If you haven’t already seen it, you must rent The Impossible with Naomi Watts and Ewan MacGregor about the 2004 tsunami in southeast Asia. I have been having a real Naomi moment – she is just so talented. Also, when I was traveling in Thailand in 2006, I saw many areas that were still in total ruin because of the tsunami. In fact, it was in Phuket where we happened upon a homemade DVD of the wave coming in over the very hostel in which we were staying. That was weird and eerie…we didn’t linger long in Phuket. Anyway, the movie is excellent, and even Sister enjoyed it which is the only testimony you need. Sister and I don’t usually agree on movies.

The Justin Timberlake + N’Sync reunion has been confirmed for this Sunday at the VMA’s. Caro…take a chill pill.

This was fun, right? As I always say, something > nothing. May all your Tuesdays be not too terribly terrible. I’ll be back on Thursday with pictures of the lobster rolls I’m enjoying tomorrow with Laureo and EmDon.

Posted in Arbitrary, Princess Kate, Really? | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

The arsonist has oddly shaped feet

Posted by AllieB on August 6, 2013

Happy August 6th! Do you feel as I do, that 2k13 is going by super fast? This summer especially – it’s been a big one: I turned 30…went to Africa…I joined Snapchat…Georgia football kicks off in 24 days…things just keep happening! The mind reels.

To segue from my African adventures to just good ole normal weekly BBT posts, here is a bunch of random stuff – pop culture and what have you.

Watching: Orange is the New Black (exclusively on Netflix). I guess I should say “watched” instead of implying it’s something I’m still doing…I’m already finished. It’s definitely not for everyone, but it’s good – something to note is that it’s created by Jenji Kohan, who brought us the cluster that was Weeds. Do keep in mind that I’m not always right about things and that I often retract my opinions – hey, I’m flaky. But today, right now: BBT says to tune in. Also, look at this list of 23 Surprising Facts about OitNB – I think it might sell it even more.

I happened upon this last night on my yog along the Hudson River…

I saw this exactly as you see it - no enhancement. How?! Sometimes Mother Nature really nails it

I saw this then exactly as you see it now – no enhancement. How?! Sometimes Mother Nature really nails it

Reading: Suffice it to say, I’ve had some time on my hands recently to get through a few books. God bless the wonder that is the Kindle. Here, I even ranked them.

1. Where’d You Go Bernadette – I lol’ed a lot; it’s not your typical novel format, but I LOVED it

2. Beautiful Ruins – modern day movie business combined with 1960’s Italy – it works, I liked this

3. The Engagements – really like J. Courtney Sullivan, this one tracks intertwining stories over several decades

4. The Silent Wife – the dissolution of a relationship handled in a rather interesting way…this, along with many other books, has been heralded as the “next Gone Girl” – I’m not saying that it is, but the comparison didn’t bother as much as it usually does

5. The Cuckoo’s Calling – this crime mystery penned under J.K. Rowling’s pseudonym is really good – I’m always skeptical of authors writing under different names, but this is a page-turner

6. War Brides  – WWII-era historical fiction

What not to read: Revenge Wears Prada. I wanted to quit after like 8 pages, but I forced myself to stick it out for 60 more before I gave it up altogether. Andy is the least likable character ever, and I found myself wanting to go find her and yell at her, and then maybe shove her around a little. Skip it. Fortunately it has not affected my undying devotion to Devil Wears Prada, the movie. That’s all.

Also, I’m going to do a better job managing my Goodreads account – I just downloaded the app! – so if you’re interested in more suggestions you can go here instead of writing me emails (Caro, you’re not the only one). Bookmark it or something. I am interested in reading some more non-fiction and biographies/memoirs, so you may send me emails with suggestions for those.

News from my alter-ego, Alessandra: the discovery of this mascara, VOLUMINOUS by L’Oreal (grey tube w gold cap), is the best thing that’s happened to me in my 15 or so years of wearing makeup. It’s better than Diorshow, 1/4 of the price…pizza for everybody!

SPOTTED: Hugh Jackman and I were at Equinox last Wednesday at 545 am, getting our days started off right. We made eye contact and he smiled – he was smiling at everyone, and my goodness but is he handsome. Then, a couple of hours later as I sat on my desk and ate Fage yogurt with granola, I looked up, and – whaddya know – it’s Hugh on Good Morning America. The following evening K and I (K was in town!!!) saw Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) from Modern Family and his new husband at Commerce. We considered taking a pic with them until we saw some podunk tourists doing it, so we instead engaged his sweet husband in a convo while he waited for Jesse to finish up with silly people who wanted a photo with the famous person. I hope you’ll note that both of these celeb encounters occurred without me doing anything bone-headed. With age does come maturity??

Blindsided by: I am still recovering from the shock that Kate gave birth to a boy. It hadn’t even occurred to me that this was a possibility: Kate would have a princess and she would have hair just as glorious as her mum’s. After some thought, I realized how it was totally typical of classy, level-headed Kate to go ahead and get the heir-to-the-throne out of the way, thereby eradicating any potential pressure or undue criticism from the Royal Fam or the brutal UK tabloids. Well done you, Duchess, on controlling your own biological settings.

dang

this, them, her..

I wish I wrote this: fellow FOMO victim Will Welch offers step-by-step treatment for curing FOMO in this month’s GQ. Spoiler Alert: there’s no cure, but there are coping mechanisms.

Shack Attack: you peeps in ATL are really lucky – Shake Shack is headed to Buckhead in mid-2014. It is hard for me to talk about Shake Shack without going overboard, but it’s…it’s amazing. Yeah, Bocado and HF are great, but Shake Shack is different. And it’s cheap and easy and it’s like heaven in your mouth. So…y’all have got that going for you, which is nice.

Is Tuesday the new Thursday on BBT?? I hope not, I hate Tuesdays.

*re today’s title – I couldn’t come up with anything on my own and Anchorman happened to be on this weekend…really looking forward to #2. Plus, the arsonist really does have oddly shaped feet.

Posted in Arbitrary, Imparting Wisdom, Princess Kate | Tagged: , , , , , | 13 Comments »

Despicable Me

Posted by AllieB on February 21, 2013

I lost my iPhone. It happened two weeks ago, and I am not doing well. Most of the time I have no idea where I am, how I got there, or how I’m going to get where I want to go; I have no soundtrack for my daily commute; and…no Instagram. On top of all that there’s the whole behavioral issue: losing one’s phone does not purport mature, competent, adult conduct. It just doesn’t.  And, while it wasn’t a situation of me being totally blotto, it was my own careless oversight that allowed it to happen – I’ve no one to blame but myself. For this reason, instead of getting a new phone right away, I am sentencing myself to cellpiece purgatory for a few weeks with an archaic Blackberry Curve v 1.0 – pretty sure it was the clunkier predecessor to Zach Morris’s portable phone in Saved by the Bell. At its best it sends one out of every three text messages, and at its worst it freezes for hours, or maybe minutes, at a time. I’m calling this an exercise in character building. Also, torture.

I don’t have anyone’s numbers, I don’t have voicemail…if you need to get in touch with me send a text identifying yourself and I’ll respond. If you text me and hear back nothing but radio silence, you can assume that the text didn’t go through…or that it did and I’m ignoring you. XOXO! Actually, having a malfunctioning cellular device can be kind of convenient re: contact I’d rather not have, and, come to think of it, I’ve really missed that red LED light – “Allie! Someone has contacted you!” – and it’s nice having a keyboard again…plus, the lack of access to Google Maps has done wonders for my sense of direction around the nonsensical cluster that is the West Village.

This is one of my favorite things about BBT: I start off bitching and moaning about something, but by the end of the post I’m like, wait, this isn’t so bad, and I’m back to my usual cheerful self.

The camera doesn’t totally suck? I was all the way downtown by the WTC this morning for a meeting and took this…the Financial District on a weekday morning is like a different country.

#nofilter #blackberrysdonthave filters #WTC

#nofilter #thatsbecauseblackberrysdonthavefilters #WTC

How or why I rambled for three paragraphs about my cell phone situation I know not. But there you have it. I was brainstorming some preventative measures to ensure I never lose my mobile again, and I might rig up some sort of apparatus so it is affixed to my person at all times. No? Yes? I’ll keep you posted.

HUGE NEWS: the minivan is gone for good. Some other very, very lucky person (I hope it is person-singular and not a whole family) is driving around in that party wagon safety mobile. Note I said “sold” and not “given away” – true to form G-Force got some decent cash for the thing. I think removing me from the equation upped the value significantly.

Go see it: Side Effects. It’s GOOD! That Rooney Mara (she was Lisbeth Salander in Girl with a Dragon Tattoo) is a real piece of work – the word diabolical comes to mind. Also, Channing Tatum’s in it and I have a an unabashed, no-holds-barred crush on that guy. Is that sleazy?? Whatever – he’s a babe. Huge bonus: it’s under two hours long.

Watch it on the tube: The Following. It’s screwy and gory, but I’m hooked (Mondays on Fox). Credit: Caro

Read/Download: The Dinner by Herman Koch. People are going to be talking about this one, and you will all forget you heard it here first (but you did – you heard it here first), and BBT highly recommends. I saw one review calling it a “European Gone Girl” which I don’t necessarily agree with –  not in a bad way, just in a that-is-not-correct kind of way. Credit: Mom

The Duchess revealed her baby bump…bravo, Catherine. Bravo.

good god her hair is even more glorious than before

good god her hair is even more glorious than before

Meanwhile Jessica Simpson seems to be doing an okay job not turning into The Monster Who Ate Literally Everything, but she also has taken to dining at The Cheesecake Factory, according to some article I saw recently – that’s not wise. And the “sexy” pursed-lip duck face is illegal on pregnant women, so that’s gotta go. She’s also decided that if she has a son, she wants to name him Ace. The over-under on Ace not being a total d-bag is about zero. Screen Captures1

I figure this - sorry - they speak for themselves.

My plans for the evening are described on that invite below. I’m thinking Luda and I can Act a Fool while Representin‘ tha Dirty – I hope to see How Low he can go…and I fully intend to do some shaking of my Money Maker.

Doc1 - Microsoft Word 2202013 91324 PM.bmp

I didn’t black out the location because I’m too cool, I just don’t want to get in trouble…

TGIT! Make good decisions and never end sentences in prepositions,

BBT

Posted in Arbitrary, Princess Kate | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 10 Comments »

Not only is your fly open, there’s a pencil sticking out of it

Posted by AllieB on January 30, 2013

I don’t know what it is, but I feel like I am skipping around in a field of daises full of leaping puppies with cheesesteaks and red wine as faaaaar as the eye can see. And it’s not just today – lately I’ve found myself seeking out interaction with pretty much any and everyone – I never realized how much more interesting the day is if you talk to the guy at the bodega, or whomever. (NOTE: I would never - even if I’d just won the lottery and found out J Simps is giving birth to triplets - EVER initiate conversation with strangers  on the subway or train. That’s like the public transportation equivalent of a sanctuary.) On Friday, for instance, I talked to a guy in the elevator. He was wearing a suit, and he told me he didn’t know why he wore suits on Friday, but that it probably had something to do with his Catholic school upbringing. I agreed and then suggested that perhaps that explained a lot of other things as well – oh, but did we laugh!

There are myriad reasons as to why I am Animated (Annoying?) Allie today:

1. I’m going to AUSTIN on Friday!! Not only have I never been there, but I’ve never even been to Texas! Plus, I did some thinking, and this is my first non-wedding-related, non-family trip that I’ve taken since 2007, the occasional random lake/mountain/beach weekend notwithstanding. I guess I mean the first trip I’ve taken that required flight and days off. We’re staying here, dining here, and doing whatever else we please. BOLO for Insta-overload.

Four Seasons Austin. Looks alright

Four Seasons Austin. Looks alright

*Oops. This is a rendering and not a picture. Thanks, Hilary – I guess this is what it feels like when someone corrects your grammar. The website is much cooler, you can go to the link above if you want to see it in all its splendor. Looks like I got schooled by the internet.

2. I move into my apartment tomorrow. I am the world’s WORST mover and I seem to be continuing my streak. At least I’m not slinging furniture down several flights of stairs and doing twelve – TWELVE – trips between my apartment and parents’ home to move all my crap. That was last summer, and that was the worst. This move is pretty much all clothes, and I’m shipping most of it. Assuming UPS picks up my boxes and they can be delivered to my apartment without me being there. I fear this could be a flawed system and it’s possible I’ll be wearing the same clothes for a week while I figure out what they’ve done with my items.

totally under control

My room on Monday – totally under control

3. These are back:

kate for the win

4. Amazon is sending me new sunglasses AND giving me credit for the order they messed up…twice.

Jabroni - nope; Bug Eyed - who knew there were shades too big for my dome?

Jabroni – eek; Bug Eyed – nope, but who knew there were shades too big for my dome?

The ones I want are a combo of those two…normal lens, normal size. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – I love Amazon.

5. This Jack Donaghy insult generator – also credit for today’s title. We’re gonna miss you Liz Lemon.

6. Truf.

i-heart-ny

 Oh yeah. Happy Birthdays to Kara & Courtney! Remember when we all went to Trois like six years ago? Memories…

Posted in Arbitrary, Princess Kate | Tagged: , , , , | 5 Comments »

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