Self Control is Overrated

I had the following conversation with my mom yesterday, via text message. For some context, I sent her a box of assorted chocolates from See's Candy and they arrived yesterday. I'm a great daughter, I know!

Me: Are you enjoying your candy? Don't be a piggy!
Mom: Yes, I am and too late.
Me: Your self control is not so great sometimes. lol
Mom: Yea, I know. For some things self control goes out the window
Me: lol. Like for peanut m&ms, christmas tree pretzels, and joe's mom's christmas cookies. lol
Mom: Yup. That's about right!

Pioneer Woman

You guys, I met Ree Drummond. Yes, I met Pioneer Woman. It was exciting, fleeting, and I pretty much already forgot what I said to her.

LIES!

I actually said the following:

Me: Hi! It's so nice to meet you! Your recipes have allowed me to convince my family and friends that I can actually cook and bake!
Ree: but that means you can cook and bake!

Really, I'm just good at following directions.

I found out Ree was going to be in town because I stalk my local independent bookstore's website for author signing. Originally, Ree was going to speak and take some questions in the bookstore's small outdoor plaza but this week we've gotten a lot of rain so the bookstore scratched that and made the event a signing only. Good thing I obsessively check their website because last night while browsing (after coming home from another author signing) I found out the new signing only thing required you to get a ticket. So while running errands this morning I stopped by the bookstore and secured a ticket in group B. When I arrived at the bookstore at around 4:45 (event started at 6 and they told us to be in line by 5:15) there were hundreds of people in line waiting. I found my group and set in for what would be a two hour wait to get my time with Ree.

I eventually learned that there were about 350 people in line waiting to meet Ree! I also observed that A LOT of people (and by A LOT I mean MOST) has multiple books for her to sign. From both cookbooks, to Charlie the Ranch Dog, to Black Heels! Come on people! Seriously Ree does not want to sign your 57 books when she has 300 more people waiting.

Anyway...

While standing in line I started chatting with a pair of lovely elderly sisters named Margie and Barbara. They were incredibly sweet and very fun to talk to. As we approached the door, I realized my cell phone was dying and I'd left my camera at home meaning no photo with Ree for me. Then Margie offered to let me use her iPhone and email the photo afterward! I quickly wrote down my email address and went up to meet Ree! I love kind strangers!

Behold! Photographic evidence that I spent a brief 30 seconds (probably less) with Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman! Let's ignore the fact that the lighting or whatever was going on in the bookstore makes me look like I have a spot on my teeth or some general discoloration whereas Ree's look like she just got them whitened. However, let's revel in how thin my face looks here! Ok, I'll stop now.

Anyway, if you want to meet cool authors and hang out in an awesome independent bookstore with a kickass coffee shop, come visit me in Pasadena. You know you want to!

And the Winner Isn't...

Let me underscore the obvious here: Reading fiction is important. It is a vital means of imagining a life other than our own, which in turn makes us more empathetic beings. Following complex story lines stretches our brains beyond the 140 characters of sound-bite thinking, and staying within the world of a novel gives us the ability to be quiet and alone, two skills that are disappearing faster than the polar icecaps.

Ann Patchett, And the Winner Isn't ... (April 17, 2012, The New York Times)  

**

This year the Pulitzer panel chose not to hand out an award in fiction. I find this very interesting largely because, as Ann Patchett pointed out in her piece today in The New York Times, their deliberative process is a mystery to us all. Why didn't they choose a winner? Were the finalist all deemed good but not good enough? Were they deadlocked? I'm the most people Patchett refers to in her article - I assumed the panel just decided none of the finalists were good enough to be given the honor.

Every year I follow the big book awards to see who the finalists and ultimate winners are as a way of finding those books I've missed after religiously perusing The New York Times' Book Review and my local independent bookstore. Patchett's piece raises an interesting point that I'd never really thought of, despite my personal use of these awards as a way to choose what to read, the announcement of a winner for an award that gets as much attention as the Pulitzer is exciting and draws attention to that book and author. I'm assuming the Pulitzer has this effect more so than awards like the Orange Prize and Man Booker Prize. With the state of publishing as it is and all the warnings about how people don't read, I'm not sure how much the excitement and hullabaloo actually translates into sales and a boost for bookstores and publishing, but I think the industry could use whatever it can get.

Anyway, this article provides me with even more questions to ask Ann Patchett when I go to her book signing in a few weeks!

Permit Hell

Just when I thought I had a handle on wedding planning and things were going well heading into the final  TWO months (eek!) I discovered a whole new set of issues to deal with.

Recently I started brainstorming locations in an attempt to figure out whether there are any locations I really have my heart set on for wedding photos, both portraits before and after the ceremony. Before the ceremony, I'm getting ready at a small hotel in a residential neighborhood near where I grew up in Queens. The area around the hotel is nothing to write home about aesthetically so I initially started thinking up nearby locations to take photos with my bridesmaids in the half hour or so before leaving for the ceremony. I immediately thought of a park by the waterfront. It is about a mile from the hotel and is conveniently located right next to the bridge  that will take us into Manhattan with a straight shot to our church.

So I did some searching on the website to get a feel for the renovations that have occurred since I moved out of the city. And you know, so I could start day dreaming about my amazing wedding photos with scenic views of the Manhattan skyline. To my surprise, I discovered that we need a permit which costs $130.

Have you picked your jaw up off the floor yet? It's ok I haven't either.

I emailed my photographer about this and she said she went there once to photograph a couple and as soon as she stepped in to the park, two park employees zoomed up to them in a golf cart and asked that they produce a permit. When they couldn't, they were asked to leave the park. A friend who took wedding photos there (she had a permit) also told me park employee's came up to them and asked for a permit. In short, this permit thing is serious.

As I'm writing this post I just got an email from the State Parks Department with all the necessary paperwork for obtaining a permit for wedding photography in this park. I shot off an email to my photographer so she can get started on collecting the necessary insurance information. Luckily, it seems like the paperwork is really just a formality (as long as the photographer has the necessary insurance) and a way for the park's department to generate some revenue.

Well, this discovery led me to think of places I wanted to take photos after the ceremony like Central Park, The Plaza at Fordham University's Lincoln Center Campus, and the Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center. Do I need permits to use these locations as well!? Would the process be long, tiring, and expensive?!

So I started doing some research and made some phone calls. Here are my findings:

• Central Park requires you to get a permit. It took a lot of digging around and sorting through conflicting information from actual Parks Department Employees and the Parks Department Website but a permit is needed. Is anyone else really surprised by this? I most definitely am. Am I seriously supposed to believe the every wedding party and huge quinceanera party I've seen in that park taking photos over the last twenty eight years had a permit? I doubt it. But better safe than sorry I suppose. Luckily a permit only costs $25 and the paperwork is really easy. In all likelihood I'll be submitting it tomorrow. 
• Lincoln Center does not allow you to take photos on the plaza. Um boo! As the PR woman said "We get a lot of inquires and we don't allow photos. For weddings, Lincoln Center charges a hefty fee and I mean really high." Apparently you only get photo privileges if you are super rich Daddy Warbucks style can afford to rent Avery Fischer Hall or Alice Tully Hall as the venue for your wedding. You know, the places I used to go see the ballet on school trips. Argh. Anyway, she was helpful and told me that they usually recommended taking photos in the small park across the street from the plaza to get views of the plaza and the opera house in your shots.
• Fordham's Public Relations guy (who I finally got in touch with seven connections after my initial call) was super nice and is looking into the approval process for me. He also alerted me to the fact that there is construction going on at their campus (they're building a new law school! ha! everyone is getting a new law school these day!) but not all views are obstructed so I have to go there on my next visit and check out how it looks. This location would be nice to get photos at considering my parents took their wedding photos there (30 years ago this August!). The Plaza is above the law school, has great views and is very scenic.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the last of the random mysteriously appearing wedding tasks. For now I hope I can sit back and watch the RSVP's roll in while making the usual and expected follow up phone calls with vendors while placing orders for our candy buffet.

did you read?

Have you guys seen Portlandia?

We stumbled upon it on Netflix a few weeks ago and it is hilarious. Portlandia airs on IFC and is short based. While the show is set and filmed in Portland, and refers to places in Portland it is absolutely funny even if you've never been there. I've never been to Portland (although I hear it is a bit weird. No offense Portland) and consistently laugh out loud at this show. Its humor comes entirely from the fact that it while based in Portland, the shorts involve characters similar to people we all know.

This clip in particular made me laugh out loud all three times I watched it. Mostly because I know people like this and also because sometimes I'm one of those people.

Zou Bisou Bisou

Do you guys watch Mad Men? I feel we've been over this before. If you don't start watching now. I'll even lend you the first 4 season on DVD as long as you swear not to harm them.

Last night after a seventeen month hiatus, the show launched its fifth season with a 2 hour premiere. I spent most of the episode thinking/feeling "I can't believe Mad Men is finally back. My life makes sense again!" "What is happening!?" "Wait, how many months have passed. All I know is that it's 1966 now." "O.M.G. Stop doing that! This is awkward."

There were several awkward moments in last night's episode but the first incident to evoke that reaction happened in the first hour. Megan, Don's new wife, not only decided to throw Don a surprise birthday party but also thought it would be a good idea to perform a little song and dance in front of ALL THE GUESTS. Yes, awkward for so many reasons.

Even more awkward is that despite having cringed through her entire performance the song is now stuck in my head. Thankfully, Vulture offered this little history of the song. 

And for reference here is Megan's performance. Awkward...

why yes, that is a huge plastic ring around my neck!

So there was a bridal shower this weekend. It made me realize this Friday marks 3 months until our wedding and it was all I could do to not hyperventilate. Seriously, THREE MONTHS?! Where did the last two years of my engaged life go and why is there still SO MUCH left to be done?!

::deep breaths::

This particular photo features my wonderfully intelligent and spunky goddaughter. We met when she was two years old and on our first interaction she was too busy watching Spongebob Square Pants to even bother talking to me. I forgive her. Now she talks to me all the time and is seven years old. I feel old.

Anyway, I am going through pictures from several cameras. This task consists of trying to find photos that don't feature me making some really weird face that would suggest opening gifts is a challenging and deeply thought provoking task. I'll probably end up posting the ones that make my legs look really good in this skirt. jk.

But seriously, this skirt - LOVE IT. Except for the part where it needs to be dry cleaned (bummer). It is hot pink and has pockets. What more could you need out of a skirt?

Back to the shower - it was a great weekend, full of great people, and I had more fun than I imagined I would. Also, the food was killer, as was the cake. Thanks has to go, in part, to a wonderfully lovely friend who attended and whose presence totally calmed me down.

As soon as I get all the photos sorted and cleaned up a little (one of the cameras wasn't so great) I'll show you all the lovely party Joe's mom and sister put together.