30 January 2011

The CHOOS! I mean SHOOO-ZUH!

I spent a lot of time thinking about this one, until I ultimately decided that the esoteric "IT Crowd" reference makes a much better title than a pedestrian PikaCHOO reference. But more importantly, there are shoes to discuss.

A long, long time ago, back in October, I fell in love with a gorgeous pair of Chanel stilettos.


If these came in white, I'd have bought them on the spot.


Unfortunately, my evil (non)stepmother refused to allow her only daughter to walk down the aisle in black shoes. EVEN THOUGH NO ONE WOULD SEE THEM. But if no one can see them, why does it matter what shoes you wear? BECAUSE, MOM. BECAUSE. Needless to say, that conversation quickly degraded into tongue-fart noises.

Fast forward a few months, and I found myself in the Saks shoe department with Black Mamba, Icepop, and Nonstep Mother. I tried on many shoes, most of which were significantly less than the aforementioned Chanel beauties. But none came close in style, fit, or perfection. There was nothing to do but head across the street to Jimmy Choo. Actually, we needed to wait for my mom to finish trying on shoes. Wait what? You heard me. The Queen of the $12 Dress was trying on Jimmy Choo's! While smiling! Ah, let the gloating begin!

While we sauntered towards more shoes, a certain mother finally admitted that Jimmy Choo makes the most comfortable heels she'd ever tried on. Sadly, it couldn't have been my mothner since she was clearly replaced by an alien clone while I was in the bathroom.

About fifteen seconds after walking into the store, one of the employees mentioned that she remembered me and how happy I was about the shoes. Apparently the combination of legitimately excited and not a stuck up bitch was enough to permanently etch me in the minds of those purveying foot godliness.

I found the perfect pair of non-black/mom-approved shoes. Except the only pair in my size, which happens to be 38, was black. That simply wouldn't do, even with mom distracted by her own shoe-induced rapture. But wait! A store in New York had the magical size and color combination! One please! Some how I wasn't heart-broken at the thought of having to return in a week.

At the same time, my mom was busy falling in love with an incredibly shiny pair of platform heels. Since they are her shoes to share with the world, you'll have to get the full details from her. In other words, she actually bought the shoes!

There's nothing quite like obscenely expensive shoes to bring a mother and daughter together.

P.S. I didn't feel like exerting the effort to pixelate a picture of my amazing shoes, so use your imagination.

24 January 2011

It's bubble tea, dagnabbit!

Not boba, not pearl tea, BUBBLE TEA. Got that? Good, now we may continue.

I love bubble tea. Matt merely enjoys it, but what does he know? He apparently knows enough to spend over an hour driving us six miles from my office in Santa Monica to visit The Boba Truck at UCLA last Thursday. Sadly, his genius ended just short of knowing that there was a basketball game that evening. While I did get to see the truck as we drove by, the expedition was a giant pile of fail. Alas! Swoon! OWIE MY HEAD!

While eating lunch in Westwood today, it occurred to me to check the truck's location. Hey! It's by our house! For another ten minutes! Useless! We decided that we would just have to wait until dinner time and attend its regularly scheduled appearance at UCLA.

This trip was significantly more fruitful. Not only was a parking space (eventually) secured directly behind the truck, but I finally got to bask in its glorious aura. And stare dumbfounded at the giant menu as I tried to figure out how to relay the options to Matt, who was still looking for a parking spot at that time.



Truck! Options! Crappy lighting that did not get along with my iPhone camera!



Apparently I was the only one who remembered my esteemed fiance's taste for oolong, since it took him some time to decide on rose oolong milk tea. I was tempted to try something weird, but I decided to just get a passion fruit green tea, my favorite, which would allow a more direct comparison with the other available options in Los Angeles.

Most bubble tea is very sugary and not particularly tea-esque. The Boba Truck most certainly didn't suffer from this common delusion. In fact, it was probably the best bubble tea we'd ever had. Certainly the best on the west coast.



nom nom nom

12 January 2011

Pigs can fly, hell froze over, and the sky is falling

This past weekend my parents and my two out-of-town bridesmaids descended upon my house. What about the third bridesmaid who actually lives in town? Well, she is incorrigible and decided to get sent on a last minute business trip to the other side of the country. Luckily she was measured before leaving me in tears, so I will eventually forgive her.

Prior to shopping, my dutiful darlings joined me for lunch at work. In between bites, the aforementioned darlings were assigned codenames: Black Mamba and Icepop. Bridesmaid #3 was not there, and thus not renamed. For now...

Icepop and #3 had already tried on the chosen dress and absolutely loved it. Black Mamba, who had merely seen a picture of the dress, was a bit apprehensive. In fact, she was less than thrilled when she first tried it on. After a bit of cajoling and unveiled threats, she realized that it is the best dress ever.

My mom, who also had a dress picked out from prior trips to the dress store, was similarly thwarted. Her dress's sample had magically been sold and, while still available to be ordered, couldn't be properly admired. She did find, however, a similar dress by the same designer. This sample happened to be in the correct color and come with a solid-fabric jacket, as opposed to a nearly useless gauzey jacket. If you are my mom and get cold while looking at a picture of an icecube, heavier jackets are always better.

The end result of this trip to Lili Bridal? Four out of four dresses ordered! Huzzah!

Epilogue

I received this missive from Black Mamba yesterday:
"As the days go by, I get more and more excited about our dresses. I think you made, perhaps, the best decision ever with the bridesmaid dress. I've seen a lot of photos of dresses lately, and I think this one is just stellar in terms of shape, cut, and texture."