Alan's Doppelganger In Buca Di Beppo

Foods in Atlanta...Tapas Edition!

I've made friends through salsa dancing and boy howdy, those people sure like some unique eats.

Eclipse Di Luna
-Squid Ink Paella, also known as Paella Negra

...like seriously...it was black because of all of the squid ink

 

Hummus
Black Bean Hummus with Naan & Crudité

Calamares Fritos
Lightly Fried Calamari & Pico de Gallo

Ceviche 'Sangrita'
Shrimp, Bay Scallops & Grouper Ceviche with Chili Peppers, Ginger & Tomatoes

Brochetta de Chorizo y Datiles
Chorizo, Dates and Bacon Skewered & Grilled with Bleu Cheese Crumbles

P a e l l a N e g r a
Black Squid Ink Paella with Fresh Fish, Shrimp, Squid, Mussels, Peas & ArtichokesCooked with Calaspara Rice    

Creeps If I've Ever Seen 'Em

www.spokeo.com 

Go there. Search yourself. Go to privacy. Remove yourself. For reals.

Dancing in the 'A

Club: The Sanctuary
"Happenin' Night": Friday Night
Great club, free lessons, and free entry before 10! Anddd free parking! My favorite club, thus far.
My rating: A+

Club: Wild Bill's
"Happenin' Night": Wednesday Night
OK, it was totally dead...not at all what the below picture shows. I was, however, able to sharpen my west-coast swing skills. They aren't kidding when they call it "Line Dance Night." The 10 other people there were all just line dancing. Meph well. It was free too---yay!
My rating: B-

Club: The Havana Club
"Happenin' Night": Thursday Night 
Beautiful club with three separate rooms: One with live music, one with techno, and one with salsa dancing. HOWEVER: All the girls there needed more clothes on and less to drink. It was not an enjoyable experience. Entry was free but you have to use their valet parking, which was ridiculously busy. Boo.
My rating: C

CUTEST. THING. EVER.

I want a kitty. Mawww. Maybe for Christmas??? :)

Where'd you go??

Eternal Sunshine of All Hallows Eve

I've got the wig and the dress, are the white boots really necessary? 

Do you swing? (Is that appropriate?)

(Notable moment: 1:27)

I'm trying my hand at swing dancing/lindy hop/charleston 

(The people that dance one seem to combine all of them) 

The Shrunken Head (Don't make the same mistake I did and Google "shrunken head" as a solo item)

Near downtown Columbus is a really fun place on Tuesday Nights for swing dancing!

Yay, I hope to get a lot better within a month's time, perhaps even go to Columbus' Rocktober!

Was it hard to do?!?

Mom: "...you could go work at Disneyworld. Then you'd get your prince."

Come back to Texas?

If only I could describe how much I want these boots... removable harness and all.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

Camp:
It was a good deal harder than I had anticipated. I was usually running on very little sleep and dealing with a lot of stress (i.e. postcards, campers, counselors, writing the daily newsletter, life guarding, etc.)  during the day. It was strange to see the working side of camp that I had never thought about during my seven years as a camper. A LOT goes into pretty much everything that ever happens at camp.With that being said: I'm glad I did it and feel like that was what I was supposed to be doing. I learned a lot about myself and of what I am capable.

HUGE, HUGE thank you to anyone that sent me anything while I was at camp! It was so uplifting to get a letter or a package while working away! Thank you all, very much!

Current Situation:
Back home! Yayyy!
I've finished my laundry and have been enjoying some time to relax with hanging out with Mammy and friends. It's been excellent. I've been doing a bit of shopping (looking) around and here are some items I'm considering.

Salsa Shoes: Style 2707

I started wearing a watch at camp and it's pretty much addicting so I'm looking for a less dorky looking watch to wear all the time. God bless you, ten dollar Wal-Mart watch that got me through the summer.

I'll post more later. Good to be home..."It's good to be king?"

"And somehow I know it'll all turn out."

Leaving for camp tomorrow. I could just throw up.


Smileyface.

Why is this so hilarious to me?

Incomparable?

This Thursday: My last day of work! I'll be leaving the world of lingerie...possibly forever!

Friday the 7th: Fly (standby) to Columbus, OH and:
1.) Drop off all of my business/winter clothes
2.) Pack up all of my summer clothes/camp necessities
3.) Say "hello" and then "goodbye" to any available Columbus friends (!!!)
4.) Kiss my parents and dog

Wednesday the 13th: Fly (standby again) back to Dallas and then:
1.) Add any additional camp clothes/necessities to Henry the Hyundai
2.) Hug and kiss the kids, Ryan (maybe just a side hug?), and Karin goodbye :(
3.) Hit the road and drive on up to Mt. Ida, Arkansas
4.) Arrive at camp by 7pm!

My summer plans:

-I will be working on Top Staff at Camp Ozark, which pretty much means I'll be in charge of overseeing a certain area of camp. (However, as of right now I still don't know which area I'll be (semi) in charge of.)
-I don't think I'll really be able to use my phone at all while at camp though I will be able to send and receive copious amounts of snail mail!

Please direct all letters to:
Lesley Files
155 Camp Ozark Dr.
Mt. Ida, AR 71957

-I will be working at camp until late August. 

-Plans for after camp are completely TBD. Let's all pray for a little bit of clarity on that matter. 

General Feelings:

-I'm very excited to be wrapping up my time at Nordstrom. It's been a good run but seriously...I'm working on a legit bra overload. 

-I'm a little stressed out about packing for camp. I'm hoping that all of that stress will dissipate once I arrive in Columbus and get everything alllllll together. 

-I'm feeling quite nervous about camp. I know I'll have a great time and meet a lot of really great people but I'm just a bit squeamish about having to make all new friends in a new place where I won't know anyone. Meep! 

So, there you go. Write me! :) 

On love and marriage...

"I saw this girl at McDonald's that I kinda wanted to marry...
...but nahhhh."

"She had a pretty voice. She was four."

-Larson, Age 5

The Only Decent Planet in the Solar System

(Stolen from Groupon.com, which BTW, is a hilarious site)

Today is Earth Day, but if you still don't feel the need to take care of the planet, remember: it's the only one we've got. Here are the reasons we can't live on the other planets:

• Mercury: Too hot
• Venus: Smells like paint drying
• Sun: Wouldn't be able to carry candy bars around in our pockets
• Mars: Major borefest
• Jupiter: Major boar-fest
• Bolbanex: Populated by evil duplicates of Earth's population
• Saturn: Beautiful rings actually just old McDonald's wrappers
• Uranus: Fertile surface not worth barrage of puns
• Neptune: Is the Planet of the Apes
• Pluto: It's not even a planet

Recent Happenings.

-I over-mixed the banana bread I just baked and it turned out quite chewy. Gross.
-I wish baby Jane was awake so I could play with her.
-I shouldn't have eaten the Cheesecake factory leftovers I found in the back room at work. I think I might have a sore throat now.

Right now:
-I'm about to find the vitamins to rid myself of this sore throat sadness.
-I'm going to take a bath then faux tan in hopes of feeling less guilty about eating so much tonight. (Leftover pasta, microwave caramel popcorn, banana bread batter and finished product, etc.)

Tomorrow:
-Day off!
-Roast up the turkey I bought on manager's special at Kroger's!
-Try to not talk about bras all day.
-Perhaps drive to Arlington to country dance at Cowboy's. Perhaps.

Chasin' these dreams down the interstate.

Try to think back and remember Lonestar:
"I'm Amazed" 
"My Front Porch Looking In" 
And my personal favorite, "I'm Already There." 


Here's another goodie :: "What About Now"

Or maybe make a little magic in the moonlight?

Product Reviews (Part 1)

Product: Tressemme Dry Shampoo

Cost: Approx. $5.50
Likes: Makes hair look slightly less oily and adds volume to hair
Dislikes: Smells like old lady/dirt mixture and causes hair to feel a little gunky
Rating: 3/10

Product: L'Oreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara 

Cost: Approx. $6.50
Likes: Creates very pretty, fanned out lashes and allows you to get to the fine eyelash hairs
Dislikes: Mascara became very clumpy after about a month of use
Rating: 7.6/10

Product: L'Oreal Extra Volume Collagen Mascara

Cost: Approx. $6.50

Likes: It did add a little bit of volume

Dislikes: I feel like the brush is too big and holds a bit too much product. This makes the application a little bit messy and I'll usually have to remove some mascara from my eyelid. 

Rating: 6/10, very average mascara

Product: Aldi's Fit and Active Cinna-Swirl Drizzled Mini Crisps

Cost: $1.99

Likes: Super delicious "cinnamon icing" coats the tops of each cinnamon flavored rice crisp. There is plenty of "drizzle" on each crisp and there seem to be an ample amount of crisps per pack. 

Dislikes: These little babies only have 90 calories per pack though each pack carries a deceptive 10% of your daily fat allowance. 

Rating: 10/10, who cares about a little saturated fat content??

So Baby, why don't we just dance?

Country Dancing

Wednesday: Cowboys Arlington
Thursday and Saturday: Cowboys Red River


Salsa Dancing

Thursday: Sting 
Friday: Gloria's Addison
Sunday: Al Amir 


Clubs yet to try:
Electric Cowboy


Sunday: La Joya (6450 N. Macarthur Blvd, Irving)

Monday: Zubar (2012 Greenville Avenue)

Tuesday: Inca Cafe (2662 North Josey Lane, Carrollton)

Thursday: Sting (15240 Dallas Parkway)

                 Trece

Friday: La Joya 

Saturday: La Joya

                Trece

                Isla Mia (1837 W. Frankford Carrolton)
                Glorias (usually too packed to be fun)
                Inca Cafe
                Mambo Cafe (2020 North Lamar Street, Dallas)

If she's lonely now, she won't be lonely long.

Here are a couple of my new found favorite country/western songs...idea for country/western dancing!

Well, I never seem to do it like anybody else...

Setting free the anchor and looking past the shore.

Esta vida es una ruleta que tira sin parar.

Today's song: "Yo No Se Manana (Salsa Version)" by Luis Enrique. I love this song! Translation can be found here. 

Ah, that's a spicy stiletto.

Homemade Ingredients.

Most helpful blog post I've read in a long time right here.

Yum, all of those pictures are making me hungryyy.

Spring's Biggest Colors

Both the "French Countryside Blue" and "Lemon Cream" colors are sure to be huge from spring. Garments in the "Freshly Cut Lavender" color have also been selling like hotcakes. (Which garment? Well, Hanky Pankys, of course.)

Additionally good to note, Pantone named Turquoise the color of the year. And Pantone knows color.

All in a day's work.

"...You can sing Jesus."

Oh Ralph/Baby Jane??

A few less things to do before I die.

Today was an interesting day because I:

-Met world famous west coast swing dancer, Brent Key, who just so happens to be our next door neighbor...His wife is Benji Schwimmer's (of So You Think You Can Dance fame) partner. Umm, what??

-Had a go at First Baptist Frisco's handbell choir.
Here I am, front row, lovingly showcasing one of my bells. I believe that is the F sharp I am holding.

-Spent too much time studying strategy for Agricola. I mean, it's an amazing game. It also won a 2007 Meeples' Choice Award. All I have to say to you BGGers (boardgamegeek.com) is that I wish I was with you in Essen to first taste the sweet nectar of Agri-Cola with you all!

Secily: "Who's that boy?"

Boot Scootin'

I bought myself cowboy boots today. Happy graduation/moving to Texas/getting a job, Lesley! Yeehaw!!! (Thank you, Karin, for your shopping support.)

Ummm, yum.

So, insider tip: Special K's "Chocolatey Delight" cereal is really pretty amazing. However, it is good to note that all of the delicious chocolately pieces do seem to settle down to the bottom of the box, thus resulting in a gloomy, unchocolately situation when the box is first opened and and concluding in a delightfully, chocolate-filled final bowl.

Go get you some, Hungry Girl. (Each serving is just 2 Weight Watchers points!)

Church-Week Two "It's Texas, Baby!"

The Village Church- Flower Mound, TX

Shockingly, it was nothing like Shyamalan's 'The Village,' movie. The church was huge and quite awesome. The pastor, Matt Chandler is an incredible guy and delivered one of the funniest and most jam-packed sermons I'd ever heard. Memorable quotes:

"We're not all about singing romantic love songs to God. We're not singing, "I love you, Jesus, and want to sit in your lap and stroke your beard," type of songs."

And on a more serious note:

"The commands of God shouldn't be burdensome to us."

Also, he called himself "sassy," during the sermon....hilarious.

The Village Church, you get two thumbs up from me.

For Lent this year...

...The Dallas family is going vegetarian.

To celebrate/help us through this monumental attempt, I would like to try this "Twenty for Twenty" that I found on allrecipes.com.

Naturally, whenever I want meat I will try to instead spend some time with God instead of caving into my animal-eating ways.

gChat

Uhh...

me: hi dad

glenn: whassup

This really just happened.

Oh.MyWow. (Life Updates)

First and foremost: I got the job working on Top Staff at Camp Ozark this summer! Ahhh, so excited! (And sorta nervous...actually quite nervous. ) Oh well, yayyyy!!

Further updates will be bulleted for ease:

-I moved to Dallas. I mean, I have about 1.5 laundry baskets full of clothes and shoes here. So, I pretty much have moved here. My new car is also here.

-Which brings me to my next update: I got a new car! It is a 2008 Hyundai Elantra. It's pretty much everything I ever wanted in a car and I'm very, very blessed to be able to drive it. Love you, Henry the Hyundai.

-I started my new job about 5 days ago selling bras and sleepwear for Nordstrom. Yay! The job has been good. I'm working full time and will be very pleased to receive my first official "full time check."

-With the move has come a lot of stress. Sooo...Mr. Remo and I decided it would be best to not continue dating long distant. The distance, with no immediate end in sight, was taxing on the both of us. All of that being said: I enjoyed the time I spent with him and still think he is a really good man.

As the French would say, "C'est la vie."

And as the Germans would say, "So ist das Leben."

Additional news:

-I'm really enjoying having no snow, no salt of my car/jeans, and no icy roads even though this has been one of the coldest Texas winters.

-I've loved living with Ryan and Karin (and of course the kids too.) Great times at the 'ment (Read: A two bedroom crazyhouse apartment sleeping six people. Loves it.)

-I've been doing WeightWatchers with Karin. All is going well. I think it's a good, solid program and having an app on your phone makes it very easy to follow.

-I need good songs to download. Please keep me up to date with what all the cool kids are listening to these days!

-I miss sitting in "the chair" with Mammy and Saffron. Mawww.

-I cooking leeks tomorrow. Yum yum yum.

Poor unemployed super fans...

How very interesting...check out this article about Burger King.

Mmm, makes me want a Whopper REAL bad.

Elevensies...I love it.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I'm calling it.

Fashion-wise, neutral colors are what you should be shooting for.

Think::Putty, Taupe, and Clay.

Andd, I really love how this bedroom looks, you know, for inspirational purposes and all.

Epic, Indeed.

Kids these days...

I was just beaten at Carcassonne...through Gmail Chat.

It. Was Awesome.

Just So You Know What Vermillion Looks Like

February 11-18, 2010

http://www.fashionweekdaily.com/

New York City Fashion Week
Showing Fall 2010 Fashions

Sign a homegirl up.