Baxter Bark Twice

Do as I say, never as I do

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My Fall Bucket List (!)

Posted by AllieB on October 8, 2015

True story: if I cancel plans or say I can’t do something because I’m “too busy”, I am lying. The real reason is some combination of the following: I am lazy; whatever activity you suggested sounds dumb; the weather sucks – really any other excuse you can think of, so long as it has nothing to do with being too busy. That is until life started to get in the way – the last several weeks have been filled with actual adult obligations, and if I flaked out on plans there is a 70% chance it was legit, which is a huge jump the usual 3-6%.

I guess saying all that makes this a weird time to be writing one of my increasingly rare posts… so rare one might call me elusive?? Just once I want to be described as mysterious: I imagine someone wondering, “Has anyone seen or heard from Allie lately? Who knows what she’s up to – probably something random yet not sketchy and also awesome…Allie, she’s so mysterious.” No? That’s fine, I will continue to dream my dreams. Honestly, BBT is an outlet, both creative and intellectual, and this week’s post is a selfish attempt to keep my levels at least somewhat level. It’s good to keep your levels level, btw.

Amid all of the busyness – there are 24 hours in a day! – I was able to take a minute and fill out a Fall Bucket List. I didn’t even know I was supposed to have an FBL til I stumbled upon the below via liketoknow.it; I was so inspired by her lofty goals I eschewed all other tasks and immediately put pen to paper to document my own.

Downloads

I can’t believe we BOTH have “bake a pie” on our FBLs – what are the chances?! Great minds for sure think alike

I just realized I am inadvertently plowing through her fall bucket list: wore my Hunters last week, I’m wearing this nail polish right now, and I gave thanks literally two days ago so done, done, and DONE

Please sense the tone. Also, does anyone know where can I sign up for Penmanship 101?

Another reason I’m back on the BBT bandwagon is that I have essays to write for school applications, and the words – they are not flowing. While the essays are more about how and why I am a strong leader and less on FBLs, I’m hoping that writing down the latter will free up space in the ole temple topper to focus on the former.

I am, however, open to other ideas.

Sunrise over Central Park this AM. Photo cred G Force Baxter – she came in town for a night to enjoy Italian food and an evening out at a jazz club with my aunt. I joined them for the food… #apartmentgoals

IMG_0701

RISE UP! Renderings of the new Falcons stadium continue to impress – especially with this large, snaky, awesome bridge. Another thing that’s cool is how the Atlanta Falcons stadium is located in the city of Atlanta. Bad move, Bravos – bad move. (Source)

falcons mercedes benz

Lastly, and I wish I didn’t even have to say it, but some of you need to think long and hard about what you did: 20 Annoying Facebook Status Updates.

10. The “I Post Everything From My Own Website on My Facebook Page”

Wait, I do do that. Hello, Pot, this is Kettle calling! Whatever, I post like once a month it clearly doesn’t apply to me

“Too busy” are ya?

TGIT! Caramel apples for everybody!

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You don’t know until you know

Posted by AllieB on March 12, 2015

Oh, hello readers. I know it’s been a minute, but up until very recently I’ve been completely miserable and amid the throes of a serious bout of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder is not a joke; it is real), and my inability to talk about anything but my misery mandated a brief BBT hiatus. But that’s all in the past, there’s no more sludge – I will literally (not literally) kill someone if the sludge comes back, and I learned I am my own hero and my super power is getting out of bed. Join me as we move on from actual hell on earth winter and embrace the joyful pleasures of spring.

It’s always hard for me to jump back in after a lengthy absence, so I’ll go the way of the listicle; I love a listicle with lots of links.

~ I do not love emails from non-humans and have spammed every daily or weekly or even monthly newsletter I’ve ever tried – with two exceptions: The Skimm and, as of last week, The Lead. We’ve discussed The Skimm 100x why do you never listen to me, and The Lead is like a Skimm but for sports only. I like these guys – here’s a partial shot of today’s email:

The Lead

it’s like zing! but also yeah – that is a fair question

Remember kids: knowing stuff is kewl.

~ I am a published photographer!! I never aspired to be a photographer, but now that I am, I’d like to thank my family and friends for all their support…and Camera Plus for their advanced filtering mechanism, and Instagram for allowing me to add filters on top of filters.

Tribeca Citizen

I posted this stunningly artistic and evocative cityscape on Instagram last week, and they asked if they could post on the site. So that’s how that happened.

The below is from a BBT draft that I’d been half-heartedly working on over the last days of Feb/first few of March, and you can see I was not joking about my fragile state – I think this is what they call “spiraling.” Sheesh.

Morale is low. I recall saying, I think it was early January, the following:

<sips wine, touches hair> “Y’all, I don’t think winter’s going to be that bad. I just don’t. It’s already January and it hasn’t snowed yet, plus last winter was beyond awful, and I read some article that said it’s only really bad every other year…so, right? It’s going to be fine!”

Oh really, Allie. REALLY. I need to leave weather to the professionals and stick with what I know, like watching tv or internet trolling (wanna hang out?) – instead I planted this ill-conceived notion of a balmy winter in my head, so when February hit and wound up being the coldest month since 1934, I didn’t handle it well. I’m not handling it well. I’m starting to lose it. Actually, I think it’s already been lost.

Silver lining: new winter boots for BBT!!

My new boots are already stained by the sludge. I hate everything. Send help.

I know it’s cold everywhere blah blah blah but it’s different up here and you don’t know until you know.

Girlfriend needed a chill pill and a trip to Mexi. DO NOT LET ME FORGET TO GO TO MEXICO NEXT YEAR.

death to the puffer jacket

Baxter, out.

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You can quote me on that

Posted by AllieB on February 5, 2015

Dryuary is a phenomenon wherein people, after a gluttonous holiday season, choose to abstain from all forms of alcohol for the month of January. I applaud this endeavor though don’t necessarily condone it. Me, I chose to participate in a different yet totally similar practice of not writing BBT for the month of January – I imagine it was equally beneficial to my health. So there was that, then the small issue of having nothing to say, and, of course: winter. Winter is the reason for everything.

garbage

 They never showed the slush and garbage on Sex and the City

I’ve recharged the batts, and I’m trying to get back in the groove – and not just re: ze blog, but life in general. I’m going to Flywheel; pasta and pizza are for Sundays only*; I am finally buying wine by the case instead of by the bottle; and I got a hair cut last night. I hate getting my hair cut and have put it off for months (next time I have ends like that please stage an intervention, or Buff, can you just say: “Allie, go get your hair cut toDAY – it looks awful have some self-respect”), and it occurred to me, as I reveled in the best scalp massage EVER, that if our world leaders had their scalps massaged daily by someone with hands like Irena, we’d all get along a whole lot better. You can quote me on that.

*Unless I feel like having pizza on a Friday, which I can do because I am a grown-up capable of making my own decisions, and I am not lactose intolerant nor do I have a gluten allergy. Pizza for everybody!

What was that about having nothing to say? Here is a selection of things that have struck my fancy lately – and, in keeping with my theme of no theme at all, this list is random AF.

~ WE WON!! To be honest, I was my own house divided watching the Superbowl – Marshawn Lynch is my new favorite person, and Gronk was starting to get on my nerves, but…in the end I stood by TB for the W.

tom and fam

Can I get arrested for this?

~ El Yucateca hot sauce. Thank you, MC, for introducing me to my new favorite condiment: try it on these nachos (I made them for the Superbowl and they were a hit – Tom’s not the only one who scores touchdowns!), maybe, or on your eggs. Or on your cheesy broccoli quinoa casserole. Win/Win/Win.

~ I’ve done the research; I did the legwork; I have a winner – the best mascara is: They’re Real! by Benefit. CC: ERock.

 

~ Empire. This show, described as a “red-hot hip-hop soap opera”, is somehow really good, and soon you’re going to be the only person not watching it, so you might as well give it a try. Except you, Mom, you can sit this one out. Also – Blacklist. I’m a little late to this party, but I am HERE and I’m all in.

~ Wrangler, the Today Show puppy, is cuter than your average puppy. He might be the cutest puppy ever.

WRANGLER

COME HERE TO ME. Join Wrangler and me on Insta: @wranglertoday

The End. TGIT!

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Interview of the Week: Me

Posted by AllieB on November 6, 2014

This is the one where I couldn’t think of my own material so I copied something I’ve seen on another site…

Today’s post is borrowed from The New Potato and follows the list of questions they give to the actors/designers/foodies featured on their blog. Have they featured me? They have not. But now I will be prepared if/WHEN such an event occurs. I didn’t like some of their questions, so I made up a few of my own. I call this “Interview of the Week” – my first ever! – and my first guest is me because who else.

From start to finish, what would be your ideal food day?

Breaky: 2 cups of earl grey tea and a cranberry scone from the bakery dude who comes to the Tribeca Farmer’s Market every Saturday…I’d probably also toss in pancakes from Bubby’s and brown sugar-glazed bacon.

For lunch: Shake Shack – Shack Burger & cheese fries.

Dinner: pizza, pasta, steak…pizza from Keste* or Spunto; pasta from Bianca or Max; steak by moi – a ribeye or similar coated in salt n pepper cooked in my cast iron skillet with sauteed spinach and the pepper jack mac n cheese from Whole Foods on the side.

Snacks: cheese dip from Jalisco, burrata from John Dory Oyster Bar, choc chip cookie from Levain; veggie slice from Fellini’s with Italian dressing for dipping…

I’m hungry.

*ATLiens: Don Antonio by Sarita is a Neopolitan pizza place on W Paces Ferry in Buckhead where STG Trattoria used to be – it is operated by the same owners who run Don Antonio in New York, who also own Keste. In other words: GO TO HERE. Go now and get the Burrata Roberto pizza.

How do you always start your day on a good note?

I’ve started making smoothies every morning and they are GOOD, like, get-me-out-of-bed-on-cold-and-rainy-mornings good. Also, sometimes I wake up and lie in my bed for a little while, looking at the river and just contemplating life/my outfit for the day, and I’ll see a big cruise ship go by – I have two thoughts: 1. How cool that I can see this from my bed and 2. SUCKAS

What’s your drink?

Actually, I was at The Standard East Village a couple weekends ago and my eye automatically went to the spicy marg – I saw ‘tequila’ and ‘jalapeno’ and ordered it w/o further thought, then K pointed out it was also “topped with red wine.” What. These are not two drinks I would normally think to have together – in succession, sure, but not simultaneously – and turns out it is delicious.

Hey AllieIt’s now called “The Allie” they just have to reprint the  menus

What are your vices?

I eat too much kale.

What’s always in your bag?

Vaseline and Rohto drops.

Words to act by…

I’ll defer to Pinterest on this one

Three words to describe social media…

I love/hate/love social media.

Do you Tweet?

Yes, I am on Twitter, but I only use it to share a new link to BBT (as many as one person has clicked thru – I have a massive and devoted following), and to retweet stuff I like. I have not had an original tweet since October 9, 2012, and I think we can all agree I really went out with a bang:

twitter

wow is right.

If you’re a Twitter-er you should follow Samir from Buzzfeed – he will make you laugh.

Million Dollar Idea? 

So, we all use Snapchat, right? I want Snapchat to have a function where it links to your Spotify and shows the name of whatever song you’re listening to onto the snap. I need it to access what’s going on INSIDE my phone instead of only picking up ambient noise. Por ejemplo:

wiz khalifaSee? Not just a selfie in the elevator bank (embarrassing), it’s like, “hey guys I’m here and I’m listening to Wiz Khalifa what are y’all listening to?” For the record, this went to only like 5 ppl in my Snap contacts…well, and now the millions of BBT readers. Either way, I am not trying to steal Snapchat or copy it, I just want to build on top of its gazillion dollar platform, is all. Everybody wins!

Mr. Snap: have your people call my people.

Favorite kind of workout?

The kind of workout I hate least is Flywheel. I did a new class on Tuesday: SLT (Strengthen-Lengthen-Tone). I’ve never been so sore: I’m walking like Frankenstein and every time I stand or sit or cough I cry a little. It’s like Pilates Reformer, I think – I’ve never done Pilates – but there’s a cardio aspect, as well. I don’t know, if you’re really interested read about it here. Bottom line: it was HARD.

SLT Soho“50 shades of fitness” LOL but 4 real those contraptions look like gurneys. Each class costs a month’s rent so not sure how often I’ll go, but it’s nice to pretend.

How have you contributed to the Greater Good this week? (BBT is not a place for political discussion, so voting does not count.)

I just made a donation to Atlanta Lab Rescue. And, unless you’re Mother Teresa, I’m guessing your karmic balance could use some padding, so please go to the Atlanta Lab Rescue site and donate $5 – literally, $5. You can all afford $5. It links right up with your Paypal so you don’t even have to register, and you can help save this dog’s life. (I can’t read the story again or I’ll lose it, but he needs your help!)

ALR is a 501c3 nonprofit and 100% of all donations are used for the rescue and care of these dogs. 

*PS none of you are Mother Teresa so let’s get going on the link clicking.

—

Ok. The End. Happy Thursday and hellooooooo to the Weekend. Goodbye, however, to Fall. It was nice while it lasted :(

foliage_best library in the worldFall foliage at my favorite library in the best city

Oh yeah – TGIT!

Posted in Arbitrary, Food & Drink | Tagged: , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Your coworkers hate you.

Posted by AllieB on October 24, 2014

At approximately 4PM on Tuesday afternoon I was at my desk, working or whatever, when I heard what sounded like someone clipping their nails. Surely not – this is an office with an open-plan layout and there’s no such thing as personal space; anyone within a 20 foot radius is privy to everything you say or do. The sound continued; I had to investigate. I stood up and honed in on a man sitting the next row over. He was CLIPPING HIS NAILS. He was at his desk clipping his nails and then nonchalantly brushing the remnants into his trashcan. I was/am/will forever be appalled.

Amid my disgust, I realized there was probably a good BBT in here, so I emailed a group of people inquiring as to their workplace pet peeves, and some of you might need to look for new jobs. I am saddened by how uncommon common sense is.

Herewith, 19 things you can do to make your coworkers hate you.

1. Mayonnaise-based salads have a shelf-life one day. As in, do not bring a tub of tuna salad on a Monday and plan to eat out of it thru Friday. You are the worst and everyone hates you.

And if you didn’t put it in the fridge, it’s not yours.

ross's sandwich

2. When people shoot nerf guns around me while I’m trying to be productive. This is not to be confused with when people shoot nerf guns when I’d like to be distracted.

3. I want to reiterate this one more time: no nail clipping at your desk or anywhere that’s not your own bathroom in your own home.

nail clipping

It IS crazy.

4. People who are RUDE. It won’t kill you to say THANK YOU.

5. The guy that speaks loudly and mispronounces everything by putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable.

Previously, it has been the guy that said “deuces” to me every day when I left. Or when you someone goes on vacation for two weeks and when you ask how it was responds by saying “it’s not a vacation when you have kids”. And you’ve been covering their work. (“Deuces” –> nerd chills)

6. People talking loudly on the phone. (Preach! I think people who have zero regard for other people/their surroundings are sociopaths.)

7. I can’t stand it when I have literally just walked in for the day or from grabbing lunch and someone races or hovers over my desk to ask me a question. Especially if I am mid-bite, and they want to ask me 10 questions. Like give me 1 minute to get lettuce out of my teeth, and then I can help you.

8. When you sign an email with your name “Gregg” and someone will respond back “Hey Jack”…..grinds my gears man (By Jack he means Jack Donnelly, name of the best khaki brand in the biz. Check out story and link at the end of the post)

9. Captain Unfriendlies. Those who do not make eye contact, speak or acknowledge that another human is also present when you’re in an enclosed common area.

10. Captain Toofriendlies. Those who loiter in your area when you are clearly done with the conversation at hand. Bye Felecia.

case of the mondays

11. When people eat delicious food – chicken fingers, pizza, french fries, etc – sending yummy smells wafting through the air when it’s not even a Friday. (Totes agree – get your fried mess away from me may I please have a french fry)

12. The guy who is flicking boogers on the wall over the urinal.  This isn’t Kindergarten, and there will be some kind of hell to pay if I ever catch the culprit. (That is gross. Boys are GROSS)

Also, people who schedule calls/meetings past 5pm on a Friday. Hell, past noon. (Or really just on Friday, period.)

13. People who are idiots

people are idiots

14. When you ask someone to send something ASAP and they say “I’m right on top of that, Rose!” and it takes 17 more tries before they actually get it to you. WERE YOU NOT A PART OF THE CONVERSATION WHEN YOU SAID YOU WOULD SEND IT? Because you were, and you lied, and now I hate you.

15. The girl in the office next door to me plays Second Life (online virtual world) pretty much all day at work.  She wears a headset and speaks aloud to other avatars.  I think she may “own” a boot store because she’s always talking about how she doesn’t like this set of boots or that set of boots.  I also think her avatar must have a really dominant personality because she says “f you motherf’er” 2-4 times/hour. (Um. What.)

16. I 100% clip my nails at work and don’t give a $*&%.  I hate the assistant that leaves at 4:59:59 every day regardless of how much she knows everyone has going on. (Aren’t you a delight.)

17. People talking over or down to you.  Work hard and be nice to each other.  Rude is never an excuse. (Words to live by!)

18. Co-workers sharing too much personal information.We work together I don’t need to know your birthing plan. (EW.)

Also, millennials (even though we technically are in that group). Spotlight on a convo I had with Frank our new Government Affairs Coordinator.

F: When were you born?

J: 1984

F: Ew.

J: When were you born?

F:1992

J. Oh.

(Tell Frank he used EW wrong.)

19. Women in sales that dress like sl*ts. Yes. I am being hypocritical. I should be supporting other women in my field. But they are all fake and obnoxious. (I’m with you on this – it’s obvious what you’re doing and you make the rest of us look bad.)

This is where you should pause and ask yourself, do I do any of these things? Check yourself before you wreck yourself, y’all.

As previously mentioned, I want to do a quick plug for Jack Donnelly khakis. Gregg, the owner, launched a Kickstarter campaign and is killing it – he’s at over 300% of his goal, and there are still three days to go. Read this note and check out the video, and join the movement! Be a part of something bigger than yourself.

An open letter to our loyal customers and supporters:

In June 2010, I launched Jack Donnelly from my parents’ basement. Disappointed with the way khakis were being made (mass produced and ill-fitting), I set out to create a better khaki – one that fit great, was highly constructed, and made to last.  It was important to me to do it the best way an American based company can – sourcing and manufacturing in the USA.

It’s been an awesome journey thus far, and all your feedback has been amazing. We’ve spent the last four years carefully building out and improving our product line.  We made sure to take it slowly because we wanted to build a business that lasts, to always deliver a top quality product, and to cultivate a brand that you can trust.

Today we set out on our newest and biggest journey, a Kickstarter campaign to help fund new product development and expanded operations with a mission to take our brand to the next level.  The more people who visit our Kickstarter page, the more successful we can be, and the more great pants we can make.

I ask you to please watch and share our Kickstarter video with your friends, family, and colleagues.  If you feel that we deserve your financial support to help fund our future growth, please contribute (and get some great pants).  I sincerely appreciate your support and business.  It means more than you know.  With your help we can make this into something special…the great khaki comeback starts here!

If there is anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Sincerely,

Gregg Donnelly

Founder

I know this is information overload, especially on a Friday (see #12), but really – what else are you going to do today? TGIF!

Living footloose & ebola-free in NYC,

BBT

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