CONFESSIONS OF A FAT GIRL

Roommates Needed!

I had no intention of moving but when I saw THIS place was for sale, I said "sign me UP!"

I'm in a bidding war with Angelyne but I'm confident I will beat her out...

Someone's Been Having Too Much Fun Lately...!

I have no cause for complaint these days. Oh sure, I'm sunburnt and recovering from a sinus and throat infection but that was a small price to pay, if you ask me.

My trip to New York was glorious. It was best frieneds and booze and museums and bookstores and walks. The park, diners, 5th Avenue, shopping, baseball and family. Everything from the Japanese marketplace in Edgewater to Aces & Eights in the east village... The Natural History Museum was astounding - I'd never been before - and I really loved the Hayden Planetarium and the show there. One night was a cooking night with Casey and her sister, Delia and we made beer and cheddar soup you could die from- it was so good. I met my NY co-workers for lunch one day and it was delicious (Tratorria Del Arte). At Rockefeller Center, I took pictures for tourists and bought some chocolate for my parents at Teuscher and then I wandered into Saks across the street and pretended I could afford the Laboutins or a fancy watch. I met up with beer club, had pancakes for lunch, read four books, spent time with Josh, saw Wolverine, saw the Yankees beat the Angels, stood in Brian Cashman's office...

This is making me wiggle in my seat. I wanna go baaaaack...

My 30th birthday was at the end of the week that followed my trip and it made me realize, even more, how lucky I am. After being in New York with my best friend for a long period of time, I was riding pretty high on life so coming home to a few additional celebrations was overwhelming and I still feel like this all happened just yesterday, not over a week ago.

I did have to spend a sick day at home and some nights on antibiotics and cough medicine. I spent my most recent Saturday night in bed when everything had come to a screeching hault all over me and I found myself mentally exhausted.

One of my neighbors asked me what was wrong with me and I said "too much fun. It's a clinical problem everyone should have to suffer."

Quote of the Day

Beckett: What is it with men and boobs?

Castle: It's biological

Beckett: Doesn't it bother you that they are so obviously fake?

Caslte: So is Santa but we still enjoy opening his presents.

 

Quote of the Day

"I'm sick of chasing my dreams. I'm just gonna ask them where they're going, and hook up with them later." -Mitch Hedberg

So I'm 30...?

It was a littles strange, on Thursday night, when all of a sudden, this depression sort of hit me. I haven't been too upset about turning 30 up il now, laughing off jokes and shurgging off teasing. But then maybe as a side effect of just returning from a fabulous vacation... I was gloomy.

It's not really about the number itself. Frankly, I don't feel any differently turning 30 than I did 29 and I'll probably feel the same at 31. But I guess it's really more about ANOTHER year gone, ANOTHER year in which I failed to accomplish everything on my to-do list. Another year in which I was unable to pay off debt, further my career, redecorate the apartment, make a dent in the stack of books I wanna read, drop weight and so on.

In the last year, it is widely know, I went to a record-breaking amount of weddings. And there are more this year... It was a shocking reminder of my loneliness. There were many moments when I thought perhaps getting married was not such a bad idea (previously I was very anti-marriage for myself).

Well, anyway, I wouldn't say I feel OLD, I'd just say I feel stagnant.

But regardless, everyone keeps telling me your thirties are far more fab than your twenties. My teenagers say "20 is the new 10!" I'm clinging to that stuff.

Dum-Dum-Da-Dum...

When (IF) I get married, Casey and I have decided there will have to be ridiculous hats for the bridesmaids...

This is probably not ridiculous enough.

However, I have also decided this will be my cake topper:

Fashion Stretches

Thanks to Melissa for this link... It makes me happy to see it.

 

Fashion stretches to fit plus-size teens

By Lola Ogunnaike
CNN's American Morning

NEW YORK

(CNN) -- While companies across the country are downsizing, some in the fashion world have decided that it's time for a bit of upsizing. This spring, the cheap chic emporiums, Target and Forever 21, will launch plus-size lines for teenagers.

Forever 21's line, Faith 21, will have sizes ranging from XL-2X, while Target's Pure Energy line will go up to a size 30.

It's about time, said several shoppers scouring the crowded racks of a Forever 21 branch in downtown Manhattan,  New York, one recent afternoon.

"I would love to be able to shop in one store with my friends that are all different sizes," said one young petite college student, who was eyeing the $2.50 tank tops. "I think it's great that they're expanding."

Another shopper, a full-figured teen in a stylish baby doll dress, was also excited. "I tried on something earlier that was totally cute and it did not fit my breast size, which is really frustrating, because I liked it."

Faith 21 will feature of-the-moment pieces like sheer peasant blouses, denim leggings and curve-hugging mini dresses. Pure Energy will have skinny jeans, maxi dresses and sleeveless party tops.

"In the past we've had XL sizes and we would sell out of them so quickly," said Heidi Canalizo, a regional manager at Forever 21. "Our customers have been asking for this for so long and in the past few years we've really decided it's time to get into it. Not everyone is a size 2."

Apparently not. In the last 20 years, the rate of obesity among adolescents age 12-19 has more than tripled, increasing from 5 percent to 17.6 percent, according to a National Health and Nutrition Examination survey. Catering to bigger teens could potentially mean bigger bucks for the fashion industry, which has been adversely affected by the recession.

"You're looking at an under $2 billion business that could easily grow to a $4 billion, $5 billion business within a relatively short period of time, like within a year or two," said Marshal Cohen, an analyst for the NPD Group, which studies the clothing market.

"Not only are the [fashion companies] leaving money on the table, they're not even looking at the table. It is a huge opportunity."

Historically, there has been a stigma attached to plus-size clothing, experts said. Many designers don't produce beyond a size 10, even though the average women is a size 14.

"These brands don't want the consumer to aspire to be a plus-size," Cohen said, "they want them to aspire to be that mini-consumer, that slim model that walks down the runway, that's a size 0."

But curvy girls want to be trendy too, said Emme, a popular plus-size super model.

"If you're squishing yourself into clothes that are a couple sizes too small or you're wearing men's clothes, how are you going to go out on a date? How are you going to go to parties with your friends and feel like you fit in? That all has to do with self-esteem and body image," she said.

"Could you imagine taking away all of the clothes for thinner women and saying, 'Sorry, you're too thin. You can't have that.' It doesn't make sense."

Not all are pleased with the supersizing of teen clothing.

"Yeah, as capitalists they have the right to address a growing marketplace and it's a smart business decision," said MeMe Roth, president of the organization National Action Against Obesity.

"However, when you look at the human cost, what we're doing is we're on the Titanic and rather than forcing our children into the lifeboat, we're telling them to join the band. Worrying about fashion rather than worrying about the food is a horrible message that we're sending these kids," Roth said.

The critics have got it all wrong, said Emme.

"I completely disagree that these lines are promoting obesity," she said. "You need to wear clothes to look cool at school. You need to wear clothes to be present in life. And when everybody else has fashion, you should, too."

source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/homestyle/04/29/plus.size.teens/

Cake is King

New York? Well, it was amazing. Actually, I think it really ranks as one of the best weeks of my life among the last decade. I'm not even kidding.

I love you all, LA friends and family, but I am sure I will spend the rest of this week wishing I was not here.

And I will write more about this later but for now, a very pressing issue. CAKE.

My favorite? Red velvet wit cream cheese icing. If there is some chocolate sprinkled over the top, that's okay with me. And I am curious what YOUR favorite cake is- all of you. I am rather fixated on it, as I watch some food shows on Tivo.

I might be better off with salad shows, but so be it.

What is your favorite kind of cake?