Baxter Bark Twice

Do as I say, never as I do

Posts Tagged ‘red face Allie’

Stuff No One Thinks About Except Me

Posted by AllieB on September 3, 2015

*barked while my Sweet Corn and Zucchini Pie bakes

Oh hello. How was your summer?

Mine was uneventful – I took night classes at a depressing Kaplan center in Midtown West to brush up on quadratics and other maths, and I have no tanlines to speak of, but we did hike Machu Picchu in May! Make sure that’s on your bucket list – it’s as amazing as all the pictures suggest. And, while you can do it in one day by taking a train up, it is quickly turning into an overrun tourist madhouse and we actually preferred the hiking part over the site itself – you know what they say about the journey vis a vis the destination. Should you opt for the train you will still get your scenery shots, but your experience will undoubtedly be marred by tourists. People, it turns out, are generally the worst. We did a three night hike to get there, and it was not easy, but it was awesome, and everything about the way REI organized and executed all that goes into taking a group of 9 silly Americans on a treacherous hike through the Inca Trail was amazingly well done. BBT gives it all the stars. If you would like to know more…I wrote a review on the REI website because of course I did – posted here (it’s the first one by “notahiker1”).

peru

Clockwise from top left: dancing with my new non-scary clown friend; Christmas Card 2k15; there she is – notahiker1; dawn’s filtered light over Mt Salcantay; day 5 in a row for those clothes/that hair; MP from the Sun Gate; not from the trip – that is the aforementioned Corn & Zucchini Pie, it’s delicious and there’s no pie crust or mayo so it’s basically kale

Insider Tip: if you’re packing for a camping trip in the Andes when you’ve never been on a camping trip in the Andes, it’s smart to pay special attention to what the packing list suggests. Also, when the forecast calls for freezing temps at night, it’s wise not to assume you’ll “be fine” with whatever you “tossed in” and tell those who warn against this sound reasoning that “it’s never as cold as they say it’s going to be” ALLIE BAXTER DID YOU LEARN NOTHING FROM LAST WINTER anyway… I was a little chilly.

Stuff No One Thinks About Except Me:

I heart Spotify. I pay $9.99/month for the premium subscription, and it’s by far my favorite music app. I signed up for the three month trial of Apple Music and did not like it one bit – it’s confusing and not user friendly and I need to cancel that before I start getting charged. Sometimes, after I’ve reached the end of the internet, I will check out my Recently Played List – both mine and other people’s; if someone has a list of 10 EDM artists, you know they had a slightly different weekend than the person who’s been tuning into Soothing Study Songs…it’s sort of a Peeping Tom of tunes. And that’s #notcreepyatall. Let’s see what mine says about me, according to me.

spotify

I feel like I just invited you to rifle through the drawers of my bedside table…whatever - judge away, GlassHouseDwellingStoneThrowers.

Should I get an Apple Watch?

Decision pending further research.

I’m doing ClassPass. 

The neat thing about ClassPass is how you can really have some fun with your fitness…did I just say “fun with fitness”? I’ve gone now to two boot camp classes at Evolve Fitness. Evolve Fitness is on the 3rd floor of a pre-school school on 52nd and 3rd, but don’t let the makeshift appearance fool you because Kenny and Norberto are not messing around. You’re there to work, and, in my case, wow people with my brute strength. Last week Kenny had us do a rigorous segment of push-ups, of which I can do zero. I tried to explain this to him, that I wasn’t being lazy but I honestly can’t do full push-ups…

Me: Kenny, I think it’s best if I start with the knees, I can’t do them the real way

Kenny: You’re new here, so I won’t yell at you, but NO. ALL THE WAY DOWN and ALL THE WAY UP

Me: What about injuries?

Kenny: You’re gonna hurt yourself doing a push-up?

Me: Kenny, I really might. I’ll do extra kettle swings!

Kenny: Let me see you try at least one. <He watched in what was first amazed then what I inferred to be disgusted silence> Go do kettle swings.

I think I lost some of his respect, but when I showed up to class a second time this week Kenny gave me a nod of recognition and nicely averted his eyes and left me alone during the push-up segments, so I assume we reached a truce to agree to disagree.

Sidebar: the whole push-up/gym teacher judgment exchange was sounding a little familiar, so I did a little past-post-perusing and….this is embarrassing – I had almost the exact same conversation with Rico, my cardio-sculpt instructor, in February 2013. How sad.

Football is BACK

Nick Chubb for Heisman!!!

This video is amazing; what a beast. How many push-ups do you think Chubbatron can do?

The End.

**Don’t get too excited – it still looks like a hot mess – but I updated my book list. Traveling this weekend? Take a look and find a book!

***I just inadvertently quoted Reading Rainbow…now THAT is sad.

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The skies are angry

Posted by AllieB on May 22, 2012

Summer has arrived. Not the wet, hot blanket heat that we can look forward to in a month or so, but the totally insane, violent storms that come in out of nowhere, like the one last night. I was cruising down Peachtree, noticing how weird it was that it was raining in the Northbound lanes but not the Southbound ones (hmm strange), when all of a sudden I was blindsided by walnut-sized hail. What the hail!?* Anyway, I’m just glad Whole Foods has that underground parking option, and I never thought I’d say anything positive about a parking deck.

I’ve been getting around recently: here, read about one of Atlanta’s newest restaurants, Campagnolo in Midtown.

Located at the corner of 10th and Piedmont, Campagnolo is a festive hub of a restaurant with a chill yet “we’re new and hip” vibe. It’s longer than it is wide, but the patio and main dining area are pleasantly spacious and open. I felt a bit claustie as I made my way back to the bathroom, but that could also have something to do with the wall-to-wall humans packed in for a birthday party. In the grand tradition of myself, I arrived 30 minutes late and missed the apps, but I understand there was a homemade focaccia with baked goat cheese that was excellent. What I thought was excellent was the rose, the Le Cengle from France, and I also enjoyed my Zucchini Piccata. I didn’t take pictures because it hsa been requested that I not do that, but it was good. It had capers, and I love capers. Sissy and Dani split an orecchiette dish with spicy homemade sausage and cherry tomatoes, the portions of which were quite large, especially since they split the $10 small size. One of the highlights of my night was hearing Dani order this.

We had a lot of fun. There’s free valet parking, which is good because this little block of Midtown gets real saucy on Friday evenings….

everyone say, 'goat cheeese'

If I want to be a restaurant food critic, I’m going to have start eating the restaurant’s food…

Speaking of cheese, this past weekend someone – I believe it was Boda, and I apologize if I am misappropriating credit where it’s due – posed the question, “why can’t cheese be a power food?” Honestly, why can’t it? I see no reason why a bowl of queso can’t have the same perks as a big bushel of broccoli, except for the obvious fact that it’s impossible. I just wish things had gone differently from the get-go re: allocation of nutrition. Thanks a lot, science.

I love you Liz Lemon: click here for a very funny photographic timeline that chronicles the tumultuous history of Liz’s locks. Remember when she studied abroad in Germany?? It’s like a quick review of all the best episodes.

OH! The power of social media has finally paid off for me, personally: I bought the $34 year subscription to UsWeekly yesterday, and then went about sharing my personal link via various social media channels (The Twitter, FB), and if three people clicked thru on my link and purchased it then I got my deal at no charge…well, and this surprises no one, it worked and now I can look forward to the weekly gift of celebrity smut for a full 52 weeks for free. Sometimes I really am my mother’s daughter.

*HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CARO!! And thank you for allowing me to filch your words for today’s title. I will repay you in pizza tonight. XOXO.

Have a great day – hopefully one that has more direction and focus than this here blog post. I’m off to Flywheel…hayulp.

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Nothing nefarious here

Posted by AllieB on August 25, 2011

If I was hooked up to some kind of heart monitor or similar right now, there’d be flat line – flat line -flat line – teeny tiny blip – flat line…and so on. I did BLAST 900, which I’ve always thought was something of a cult. Honestly, I think this about all exercise trends, from yoga to boot camp to core fusion to jump roping – it’s all a load of BS; if you want to get in shape, go for a run. Well, be that as it may, I’ve had a hard time getting my act together in this suffocating heat. I may as well put a sopping wet comforter in the dryer for 15 minutes, take it out, wrap it around my face, then go running – it’s the exact same thing.

Anyway, so Blast: it was hard. I feel pretty good now, but I’ve been done for over an hour. I think I blacked out – I remember lying on my mat after the last segment and then suddenly I was in my apartment gchatting. So…I guess I got home safely. If I can scrounge up the cash monay I’ll for sure go back – given my tendency towards laziness and a markedly short attention span, it’s definitely up my alley.

I wish I could say, “up my alley” without feeling like a pervert.

Candles are nice for both scent and ambiance and I have a new found obsession with having one going in every room of my house. It’s a fire hazard, mayhaps, but damn if my place doesn’t smell divine. I just got this Lucia candle from Scout for the Home, the store my BFF Nancy Duffey owns and my go-to for gifts, knick knacks, and just general hanging out when I wish to be surrounded by pretty things. I highly recommend:

It’s just lovely.

I got some other random kind of candle on clearance at Target earlier – sea salt or something…it is decidedly less lovely.

Blast 900…candles…sheesh, what have I become??

That’s better I’m terribly sorry….

TGIT!!!

I leave you with this new(ish) song from Florence + The Machine…LIKE:

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