Postcards From the Couch

Well, I finally finished The Collectors (David Baldacci). Wow, I was sad to close the book. I was so addicted, and it was like 1:30 am Sunday night. Finishing a really good book can be a bit bittersweet. I feel like I don’t ever want the story to end, yet, I can’t wait to get to the next page. Kinda like life too, right? I again, really recommend picking this treasure up. I have a feeling there will be another sequel to this novel, which was the continued story from The Camel Club.

(*Pictured above: Christophah, Tony, Pawlie "Walnuts", Silvio - the main freakin' charactah's on the groundbreaking and bone breaking drama now headed to A&E)

So I am wondering about how the heck A&E is going to air "The Sopranos"? (p.s. the cable channel paid a record cool $2.5 million per episode) I suppose they can get away with a lot more, since it IS cable (heck, the amount of graphic exposure shown on even network i.e. CSI, or any other crime show, is laden with bloody violent images) but seriously! The whole reason people are addicted to this HBO drama is BECAUSE of the graphic violence, language, nudity and sex. Isn’t that why it was created FOR HBO? ("It’s not TV. It’s HBO.") What is left? Carmela making coffee and Tony eating bacon/pasta/sausage/pasta/some sort of meat dish or smoking a cigar? And will they just “blur” out the nakedness? Will they change the vulgar words, and replace with “I’m gonna FREAKIN’ kill you, you little SHYSTER!” (One can only guess what words he really said on HBO.) Or will they just blank it out “I’m gonna SILENT kill you, you little SILENT!” If that happens, my goodness, ¾ of the show will be in quiet mode. You may think you hit the Mute button by accident. We'll miss the entire script.

Anyway, I think it will be quite entertaining to see how this airing happens. I thought about that when USA Network decided to air Sex and the City. I tried it watch it once, and got bored. Who wants to watch a show that has spoiled you with ZERO interruptions WITH stupid commercials and half the content taken out? I just used my remote to choose HBO On Demand and watched about 4 episodes uninterrupted, in a row, with pausing and rewind capability. Now that is great TV watching.

And how about that BCS Game last night. I'll never eat a Tostito again. I can’t even bear to think about that one. I started watching the bloodbath in hopes of a slaughter in the right direction (Penn State entered the Big 10 when I was a freshman there, ok, now you know how old I am, and why is it still Big 10 when there are now 11 in the conference?). Unfortunately for Ohio State, the 51 days to prepare, apparently only hurt them. I think I started cringing right around the 2nd quarter. Or was it the 1st quarter? Don’t remember, it was just all bad. 41-14 Gators over the Buckeyes. Ouch. Hurts to type that.

I was home to watch two of my favorite shows (Law & Order:CI and :SVU) brand new episodes tonight. I was thinking how I have pretty much seen every episode of those shows maybe twice because of my addiction to USA and how they play back to back episodes constantly. Someone is a marketing genius over there. You can’t even get up off the couch to get a drink of water before you are drawn in to the next show. Next thing you know, it is 4 hours later. I need an intervention. However, interestingly enough, a dear friend of mine’s friend was the head of the company who invented the split screen on network that allowed for scenes from “next week’s show” to be played while the ending credits of the current show played. Genius. That way, you kill two birds with one stone, AND you never get the viewer to change the channel. They are drawn into the show that follows what they were watching.

And America seems to have a sick fascination with doctors, lawyers and no, not Indian chiefs, but rather cops, or sexy detectives. I am sorry, but seriously, WHAT crime scene investigator looks like THAT (and you know who I am referring to)? And are there really doctors that look like Dr. McDreamy? (if so, I will change doctor’s RIGHT NOW) and why after nights of working hard on a case or surgery, is everyone’s hair perfect, makeup not smeared, lipstick still on, no bags under the eyes, clothing not wrinkled (for CSI: Miami fans, not much clothing is worn on the women), cleavage all up and at attention, and really, everyone looks, just so GREAT?

Oh, I remember now. It’s not real life. It’s TV.

Hungry? It's a Foodie's Paradise Out There!

Every year, the Washington, DC Convention and Tourism Corporation and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington bring our city the Winter Restaurant Week. This year, it is this week, January 8 – 14th. I have learned that 170 restaurants are participating, so talk about choices during this 10th annual event!

A bit about the week:
Participating Washington restaurants from every cuisine background offer a 3 course gourmet prix-fixe meal during lunch and dinner. The lunch menu is $20.07 (get it? 2007) and dinner menus are only $10 more for $30.07. (The prices do not include tax, beverage or gratuity.) Reservations are highly recommended and when you get to the restaurant, don’t just assume you will get any 3 course meal for that excellent price. The establishment should have a pre-printed menu specifically for this week’s special offering. If they don’t present to you right away, do make sure you ask for it!


Here are some links to learn more about it:

Washington, DC Tourism and Convention Corporation

OpenTable

AOL City Guide

Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington

Do your best to come into the District (there are some restaurants in NoVa also participating) to taste some of the country’s best chefs in their beautifully designed restaurants, try a new place you have been reading about, or even that little place you’ve always been wondering about. It will be worth it – and at those prices, you can’t lose!

I welcome your comments on where you went, your reviews and suggestions.

Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Week ...

Remember those classic lines from the hilarious movie “Airplane!” when Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges) says, “Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop drinking/smoking/sniffing glue/amphetamines.”? Well, it appears that I picked the wrong week to START my diet/yoga/getting more sleep/amphetamines. Ok, that last one was ajoke. With the whirlwind of activities from the NYE weekend over, I had a fresh outlook in mind and a well rested soul from hiding away during the week. That meant of course, I was itching to have fun again Friday night.

(*Pictured: Me, Dina, Victoria, Anna, Paola, Kimberly at the Verizon Center)

I met a group of friends pre-Wizards vs. Clippers game at Rosa Mexicano. I really love that place, and talk about perfect location: right across the street from the Verizon Center. Fortunately for Rosa, the prime location, awesome pomegranate margaritas and fantastically tableside prepared guacamole means a packed house at all times ESPECIALLY, pre- and post-game. Great for them, bad for those of us who arrive and have no place to sit, who are constantly being bumped around, and who have to wait 4 deep at the bar to order from the already swamped bartenders. Still, I do love that place. Warning: as great as those famous pomegranate marg’s are, I suggest a limit of two in one sitting. There is something in that secret recipe that kicks in later. I hear from people that strange activities have occurred later after having more than two of these delicious concoctions (i.e. dancing in the street, making bad decisions when choosing who to talk to from the opposite sex, making bad decisions when choosing who to give a phone number to from the opposite sex, making loud comments to no one in particular that could be construed as asinine, calling radio stations, calling ex-'s, howling at the moon, etc.).

The group was Scottie, Paola, Anna, Dina, Jimmy, Rupert, and Gal. Victoria was already at the suite ordering the food and drinks, so we headed over. Philippe showed up later. What I enjoy about sitting in the suites, it that it is a great atmosphere to converse, socialize, drink, eat, and enjoy oneself comfortably, however, sometimes I personally feel as if I am in a living room having a party, not at an actual game. So next thing you know, as I talk and laugh and get into major discussions with the folks in the room, I start wondering “Is there a game going on? What quarter is it? Who is winning? Who is playing? Is it over ALREADY?” and yes, it was over – The Wizards won!Congratulations to the birthday boy, Gilbert Arenas, who was certainly having the best pre-birthday party game of his life.

As I glanced down in my handbag at the black heavy unique invitation from Love with the Black Arenas Card tucked within, (take off of the Black AmEx) with my very own name on the card, with the guest number of 4613 (Gilbert and I are very close, he promised I would not be the invited group of 5000, RIGHT!) I thought to myself, There is NO WAY we are going to that party, on the other end of the world, and join, last I heard, 5000 + invited guests. However, I have to hand it to whoever created these invitations. They are extremely cool, and must have been a fortune to create. Gilbert’s face is imprinted where the face of the Roman is on real AmEx card. They are very clever and extremely well done.

The consensus was, and we all had card invites, to skip the party. We felt it would be too much of a hassle to get to, the open bar was now closed, and getting back to “mid-town” from Love on Okie Ave NE, could present a challenge. So, we decided to run across the street to another favorite, IndeBleu. There we made our way up the stairs to the bar across from the dining room, where I saw Saeed Bennani, of IndeBleu management. He is such a gracious host and he happily opened his arms to us (6 women – Scott and Philippe were eating in the dining room and the Jimmy and Gal had not joined us) and started us out with champagne. Saeed then became “Sir Mix A Lot” and spent his time working on some tasty creations that were eagerly sipped up by this group. Time to move on, we thanked Saeed, and jumped in a cab (we were starting to lose people now) and headed to Fly to go dancing. I guess that is the only way I have been keeping in some sort of shape, dancing and walking to the next venue.

We all had a really fun time there, it seemed like a lot who came FROM the birthday party were ending up there. I still haven’t heard the real LOWDOWN (not including what was in the papers, of course) on the party, just little bits, here and there. If anyone has the REAL scoop on what really happened, feel free to comment. I was sorry to have missed it, but our group had a fabulous time just playing locally in our old stomping grounds, dancing, taking tons of pictures, and cheering in the weekend. Happy Belated Birthday Gilbert. Til Next Year!

A 10 Year Celebration Not to Miss!

Wow, does time fly by. I think it has always moved quickly for me because I have always been in corporate sales. The “End of the Month” or “End of the Quarter” was this scary looming date that seemed to move faster than a locomotive and speeding bullet put together. Even though I am now out of sales, by doing marketing and promotional activities, upcoming deadlines and dates to finalize projects still keep the timeline tick tocking away.

I think back to 10 years ago. Wow, a DECADE ago, and wonder, what was I DOING? How have I progressed? How have I digressed? (ok, don't answer that) Do I look any differently? (ok, don’t answer that one either) If I try hard enough to see 10 years ago in my mind, I recall I was a crazy kid, a few years out of school, working, dating, going to Dewey Beach, enjoying life and I would venture to say, the term “adult responsibility” had not yet fully sunk in to my beer drenched, apartment sharing, dented car driving young self. And what were OTHER people doing 10 years ago?

If we got into a time machine, and set if for 1996, and asked it to take us to Susie Kay’s life, we’d see a school teacher who decided to leave her job to start a non-profit to make a difference in the lives of high school students, whom she believed in, and knew they had the ability to go to college, but didn’t have the means. Susie Kay risked everything in order to help better the lives of hundreds of students. She is the Founder and President of the local philanthropy “Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund” and on February 27th, 2007, the HDSF proudly will celebrate its 10th Anniversary at the downtown Ritz Carlton.

Wow Susie Kay – you should be SO proud of yourself, because everyone else is. Susie has been a friend and someone I have looked up to (well not physically, she is a tiny little thing, and I look like the Jolly Green Giant next to her) in every way. She is the hardest working, most dedicated leader for her cause I have ever met. Everyone who meets her loves her and has such respect for her. And on top of this, the girl KNOWS how to have fun. Trust me, she is not ALL business. She knows how to dance and parties like the best of us.

Many folks have been along to help with the HDSF for years, including George Newstrom (who was at EDS at the time and the first big donor, great story, now with Lee Technolgies), Jimmy Lynn (AOL Sports), Ted Leonsis (AOL Vice Chair and majority partner of Lincoln Holdings, LLC, who own the Caps, Mystics, and part of the Wizards), Tien Wong (Opus 8), Miriam Pollin (PwC), Jan Rosen (TeleSave Solutions), Shelia Johnson (Salamander Hospitality), the Kimsey Foundation, and so many others. These people have given dollars, time, dedication and most of all BELIEF in Susie, the Mentoring Program, the students, and the true results of the Fund.

I congratulate everyone who has been involved, Susie for her perseverance, the students who have gone to college and graduated and those who are now in the program.

Please help these fine folks in celebrating AND have a blast (remember, Susie hangs with FUN people!) on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH, 2007. The dress is cocktail, it starts at 6:30, tickets and tables are still available! (Hosts: Ted Leonsis, Sheila Johnson and the Honorable William T. Newman, presented by the Freddie Mac Foundation with the MC being Jim Vance from NBC4!) See you there!

Last night I met Victoria at Café Milano for dinner with Jason Binn. He was in town back from hosting Heidi Klum, Seal, and Mariah Carey in Aspen for NYE. He had hilarious stories about the holiday’s events. Of course, I was sorry I missed THAT party, and also the party that a friend told me about in South Beach. 1000 people, live alligators, jaguars, gorgeous women serving cocktails in all body paint (well, I could have dealt without that part) but still, the crazy life OUTSIDE of DC that exists! And I am still working on my trip to the SuperBowl this year. In any case, I was pleasantly surprised as I waited at the bar (now non-smoking, thank you DC Council!) sipping my martini, that a special guest would be gracing our presence during dinner: Arianna Huffington. Now, I had never met Arianna, but I had seen her sophisticated image in Gotham, Capitol File, LA Confidential, and Vanity Fair to name a few publications. I knew she had just finished a book On Becoming Fearless (which I still need to read and once I do, you know I will give a review!), was very influential (named 1 of Time Magazine's 2006 most influential people), smart, ran The Huffington Post and had been in DC briefly for the screening of my friend John Scheinfeld’s film, “The U.S. vs. John Lennon” several months ago. And as someone who really loves to write, having the opportunity to meet those who really CAN write and who are PUBLISHED many times over, is a wonderful honor. (John is an accomplished screenwriter, producer and director, so you know I eat up what he has to say.)

The crowd was nice and low-key for the Wed after NYE, and I ran into my old friends Rick Rickertsen and Mark Ein who were dining with Susan McCaw (U.S. Ambassador to Austria, and wife of Craig McCaw). It was pleasant to catch up with them.

We chatted until Arianna arrived and then her Political Editor, Melinda Henneberger, joined us with her daughter. Nancy Pelosi’s tea was yesterday, plus there were tons of events going on, as with the rest of this week, for the new administration locally and of course as the 110th Congress is sworn in. (which is why Arianna was in town) It is an exciting energetic time in Washington DC! For those of you who are into political celeb spotting and eavesdropping, this would be the week to be on the prowl. (check out Café Milano, anywhere on the Hill, the Oval Room, the Palm, the Capital Grill, places along Penn Ave - there are tons of parties tonight.)

We had a really nice time and conversation, dinner was delicious as usual, and as we were saying our Bon Soir’s, Victoria and I decided to meet some friends real quickly at IndeBleu for a night cap, then head home. The great news coming from that side of town, is that the Wizards won in the LAST SECOND! Gilbert Arenas, the Birthday Boy of the Year, was the hero of the game scoring the winning 3 pointer to make the final score 108 – 105 against the Bucks… he will have much to celebrate this Friday night at Love (I hear there may still be some tickets still available - You too could be one of the 1000's celebrating his 25th birthday!)

All Dressed Up and Don't Know Where to Go?

I think it was around August when I wandered into the Georgetown Barnes & Noble and settled into the Daytimer/Calendar section. There it was, a beautiful soft cover, red, leather (ette) B&N Weekly Desk Calendar for 2007. It was perfect for taking with me to meetings and pulling out in front of present company. My current daytimer was so embarrassing to look at, I usually left it at home and was constantly writing dates on cocktail napkins. Ok, some of my meetings are in places where one would find a cocktail napkin. Or I was unable to commit to dates because my handy ripped up, dog eared, well loved calendar wasn’t right at my fingers, so I had to guess if I was available for a future event. And no, I don’t use my Blackberry for its calendar capabilities. That would be way too modern for me. Well, in saying good-bye to 2006, I said hello to my new pretty red calendar, that I shall haul around with me to most occasions (as long as it fits into the handbag I bring, of course).

The best part of a new calendar (it's the little things in life) is the collection of fresh empty pages, just waiting to become black and blue with words, scribbles, numbers and cross outs. It reminds me of an artist's blank canvas, just waiting to be covered with colorful paint strokes, til the naked eye can see no more white space. Yes, I eagerly whipped out the red book, my pen and giddily, I started filling in space after space with event after event.

Below are a few that I am helping to promote for friends. They are fun, will have a fabulous crowd, and benefit worthy, wonderful causes.

Friday, January 19th: The Washington Ballet’s Jete’ Society is holding their Dance Party at the gorgeous Italian Embassy this year. Tickets are only $75 each, the event starts at 9 pm and you will be able to shake your booty and dance into the night until 1 am. This year’s chairs are the beautiful Ashley Taylor and the handsome, charming Winston Bao Lord. Expect a fun time with the young hip movers and shakers (literally) of Washington DC – bring your dancing shoes, and drink a few Red Bulls prior!

Tuesday, January 23rd: The Potomac Officers Club Luncheon will be held at the Fairview Park Marriott from 11:30 am – 1:15 pm. This exclusive executive event is for POC members and their invited guests only and marks the beginning of this non-profit speaker series’ 5th year. Special guest speaker: Washington Post Sports Columnist and Pardon The Interruption Co-Host, Michael Wilbon. Wilbon was a huge hit last January with his candid comments and his SuperBowl prediction. We look forward to another great event AND prediction! Registration is $75 for members and $95 for invited guests.

Tuesday, January 23rd: The Washington Humane Society is hosting their 5th Annual “Sugar & Champagne Affair” at the sexy new Hotel Palomar. The event, which was created by Todd and Ellen Gray of Equinox, will start at 7 pm and will feature excellent sparkling wines, champagnes, and desserts. Bring your pups too! Tickets are $75 a person, proceeds benefit the WHS and if you want to upgrade - the VIP reception and dinner at the hotel’s Urbana (which is fabulous) is only $300. To buy tickets please call 202.723.5730 x 206.

Again, I know there are tons of events going on out there (whew, I barely caught my breath from my 4 night streak) so if I hear of some “must attends!” I’ll make sure to mention. For now, I must brush off my cocktail attire, dust off a business suit, perhaps find a dog to borrow (anyone need to puppy sitter on the 23rd?) and fill up my bubbly flute. 2007 is off to a fabulous start!

I hear the key to life is Moderation...

Scott Stephens, this one’s for you.

*(Pictured: Me, John, Victoria, Josh, Kim at the Redskins game - taken by Melissa Hall)

I’d be lying to you (and myself) if I said that doing “nothing” for 5 days/nights didn’t give me a LITTLE bit of pent up energy. And what does one do with all of that pent up energy, when one returns from the country to the grand city? I am thinking that the City Mouse did something similar when he came back from switching places with Country Mouse: Make up for lost time out as soon as possible.

The following is an account of the whirlwind action that took place during the evenings of December 28th through the wee-hours of welcoming in 2007. Warning: Some material may not be suitable for children.

Thursday the 28th 7:47 pm left house
Met my dear friend Philippe at the neighborhood destination, Sette Bello for drinks/dinner. Sette Bello (Beautiful Seven) in Clarendon is the 3rd of Franco Nuschese’s (Café Milano, Sette Osteria) sumptuous Italian establishments. Enjoyed great catching up time, my favorite oven baked pizza with the arugala and shaved parm on top, and a great wine. Headed downtown to meet friends at Blue Duck Tavern. Nazy from Niche Media was in town with some of our buddies, Pirooz (Grooming Lounge) and Arash (Deep Dish Productions). Had a blast, laughing, drinking bubbly, catching up, celebrating being back in town – probably had the staff there wanting to kick us out, but they were really professional and gracious, even at midnight. The Park Hyatt DC is so gorgeous, and the service is always spot on. Called it a night …started to turn into a pumpkin.

Friday the 29th 7:05 pm left house
Ouch, should have left before I turned into a pumpkin last night. Headed to OYA for Paige’s holiday say good-bye to 2006 party in the private room for about 40 of her closest friends. Sushi, wine, delicious cuisine galore. Great conversation. Topics included: What the hell are you doing for NYE? Are you going to Gilbert Arenas’ 25th birthday party next weekend? (please note, he has rented out all of Love, invited about 5000 of HIS closest friends and fans, attendees must have the mailed Black Arenas Express card invitation, which is numbered, by the way, with their ID’s, and I hear it is open bar.) What did you do for Christmas? Typical conversation. Oh, and What are we doing after this party? Paige, Philippe, Victoria and I jumped in a cab (heaven forbid we only go to one place in a night) and made our way to Fly Lounge. There, we drank bubbly, danced and enjoyed the crowd, until a few SDG’s (read: Stupid Drunk Girls) with attitudes decided elbow me numerous times and laugh about it. Sigh. How to ruin a great night. I have a Zero Tolerance for SDG’s and SDI’s (read: Idiots that are of the Male Species). Gave myself the hook, just in time. Another late evening. Yikes!

Saturday the 30th 5:45 pm left house
Ugh. This was getting tough. Redskins game. Victoria had booked 5 tickets from a friend on the Owner’s Suite Level (my favorite) for the Giants game. Took John T (Cloud Dining), Josh (Nage) and his wife Kim. Had a blast, the suite was crowded with friends and I was really getting a headache. Little engine that could was going through my mind. Went to 5th Quarter for a split second. Keri’s last Redskins game – she is going to RedPeg Marketing. Wish her the best of luck! She is awesome!

Left game, stopped back in the city to dance at Fly. Now I really had a headache. Gave myself the hook again. One more night to go …

Sunday the 31st, New Year’s Eve 7:46 pm left house
Dear Lord, I can make it though. I know I can. It was the Home Stretch. Saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Saw the Finish Line. Just a few more hours. Were those bags under my eyes? Or was the lighting bad? And how could I gain 10 lbs in 3 nights? Never mind, stop staring in the mirror and get going. Headed to Nage for dinner with friends. It was a nice crowd, as usual, the food there was wonderful. Love that place. Champagne anyone? Left there and in the rain, went to IndeBleu. Was there by 11ish, stayed to ring in the New Year – NO KISS. Sigh. Went to Fly to end the night. Oh, did kiss someone there, but he was with our party all night. Then left and did a “drive by” with a group to a house party. Oh, it was time to call it. Unfortunately, missed the party at Napoleon, but only b/c logistically, it became impossible to fit in.

WOW, made it through the 4 Night Party Tunnel alive. Have to say the best times were dinner at Sette Bello (probably because I was so fresh) and the last night at Fly (probably because I got a kiss!).