 |
HELLO, I'm KARYN BOSNAK, author of the books SAVE KARYN and 20 TIMES A LADY. I live in BROOKLYN. |
     |
UPDATE: I'm home and I'm alive. I made this to scare you on Halloween:
I love Ryan Adams and want him to strum me like a guitar.
Ha ha... I've had one too many drinks and will probably delete this post by morning. If you've had the pleasure of reading it, you now know the kinds of things I say to my friends when I think no one else is listening.
I love Ryan Adams and want him to strum me like a guitar.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.
Beverly got a Halloween costume for the big Halloween parade in Connecticut last weekend, but she didn't get to wear it because the parade got rained out. When I woke up today, she was parading around the apartment in it, asking Elvis to take her picture so she could show everyone. Although he had some problems pushing the buttons, he did a stellar job:
Can't sleep. Watching Criss Angel on Larry King. I can't find a clip online, so I took a picture of the TV with my camera. (I'm ghetto like that.)
All I wanna know is why, why, why is he wearing his hat to the side like that? What gang is he in? The Vegas Performer Bloods? Like it's him, David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy? Wayne Newton is the leader? Does he know how moronic he looks? The only thing that would be worse is if he wore a visor like this:
Also, he just showed off his car collection and he's got a Rolls Royce. How much money do you think this dude makes? I need to be a magician.
Ooh! A random story... I wanted to be a magician's assistant when I was little. (I didn't think girls could be magicians. Sad, isn't it?) The bookmobile from the library used to come to my neighborhood every other week and I used to check out books on magic tricks. That's all for my story. Lame, I know.
About a year ago, I was at Mark and David's house in LA and, even though they have a maid, found myself cleaning like a mad woman. It's not that I like cleaning (in fact, I hate it), but they had all these Method products that smelled really pretty and I don't know... they made cleaning fun.
Anyway, when I got home from their place, I went to Method.com and wrote the folks over there a little note telling them how much I liked their products and, in the process, signed up to become a Method Advocate. Since then, I've been getting all kinds of free stuff in the mail. They've sent me cleaning products, microfiber cloths, t-shirts, body lotion and even some soap. Every time I get something I brag about it to all my friends but I've never written about it on this here blog until now. (Bad Karyn, bad!) I just got the coolest bag in the mail:
It's so pretty and so green and I love green! It's one of my favorite colors ever! It makes me feel like I'm twelve, seriously. Is that weird? It's just a happy color, I don't know...
Anyway, to find out how you can get your own "Plastic Bag Rehab" bag like the one above for FREE (and to find out how you can help fight plastic bag waste, which is really the purpose of the bag), visit givegreener.com.
If you haven't tried method products, I highly recommend that you do. They smell pretty, look pretty, and work pretty damn well. Yay Method!
PS - I'm not getting paid to write this. (But if anyone from Method is reading, thanks for all the free stuff and keep on sending!)
Two girls moved in to the apartment below me a few months ago. We've passed each other in the hallway a few times and have said hello, and they seemed nice enough, so when I saw that they were having problems receiving a package last week, I offered to help.
We live in a brownstone on a very busy street, so delivery people can't just leave packages for people in the building—even if you sign the little slip they leave for you. Someone needs to be home to accept it, which can be a problem if you have a job that requires you to go to an office every day. If you miss the three attempts most delivery people make, you have to go to the UPS or FedEx receiving place (which are far away and inconvenient) and pick it up there.
Anyway, last week I saw that my new neighbors were leaving notes for the UPS guy, trying to get a particular package, so I left a note on their door saying that I work from home and don't mind signing for packages if they need me to. I said, "If you know you are going to be receiving something, just pop up and let me know, and then put a note on the door for the delivery guy, asking him to ring my buzzer. If I'm not home, I'm usually in the neighborhood and will be happy to rearrange my schedule."
I never heard from them so I assumed they didn't need me to sign for this particular package (I thought maybe they picked it up or something), so when I woke up the next day, I made plans to run errands before going to my sister's house for the weekend. When I went downstairs to get coffee, however, I saw a note for the UPS guy from them that said, "Please ring Buzzer X. Neighbor will sign."
I thought it was kind of rude that no one popped up to 1) Thank me, and 2) Say, "Yes, we do need you to sign for a package tomorrow," but whatever. Maybe they were in a hurry leaving for work or something and didn't have time. The delivery guy ended up coming before I left anyway, so I signed for their package, brought it inside, and put it by their door. I then left for the weekend.
When I got home yesterday morning, there still wasn't a note on my door thanking me, or even one just telling me they received their package. I didn't do this to make friends, I was simply doing a neighborly thing, but I don't think it's too much to expect a thank you. They took time to write the UPS guy five notes last week, they could've taken two seconds to write "Thank you" on a post-it note and stick it on my door. Right?
I don't know why I posted this except that I wanted to comment on how rude people can be. I mean, it's simple manners. I'm not a doorman—I'm a neighbor who volunteered to rearrange my schedule to sign for a package that wasn't mine.
See if I do it again, bitches.
What happens when I'm left alone with the children...
(TTQ suggested I pull out the picture below of Jack in the red hat for his future prom date. I think this is the one I'll be pulling out.)
So I knit. I do. I don't know if you knew that about me.
I had this really great red yarn and decided to make my nephew Jack a hat. As I was knitting it (actually, it was crochet), my sister was like, "Um... it's really red. Can a boy wear a red hat like that?"
"Of course boys can wear red hats," I said. "Red is the color of fire trucks."
So anyway, I finished the hat and put it on him, and it does look kind of girly. I don't think it's so much the color of the yarn, but more the type of yarn and the design of the hat. It kind of looks like he's wearing a red wig with braids. What do you think?
Okay, the whole blogging while baking thing... not possible when cooking with two-year-olds. It was so fun though! Here's the lowdown on how everything went.
After our morning shopping trip, my sister, Nora, Jack and I arrived home around 9:45 AM. It took us forever to find a pumpkin cookie cutter (yes, I realize I shouldn't have waited to get this until the morning of the big bake-off), but we got lucky and ended up finding a set of 101 cookie cutters at Kohl's. (If you ever need a cookie cutter in the shape of a cowboy boot, I'm your girl.)
With 15 minutes to prepare for our guests, Nora and I got the kitchen ready:
I got the apron she's wearing at Williams-Sonoma.
(Nora and I wore matching aprons)
Okay! First, thanks for all the fabulous recipe suggestions. However, I decided to stick with what I originally thought would be easiest and most fun for 2-year-olds: Sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles.
I know, I know... sugar cookies are kinda boring—especially since I got such good suggestions—but I didn't want to make anything ghoulish like this or this or this or this (the last thing I wanna be is the aunt who came in from Brooklyn and scared the bejesus out of the children) and a lot of the super-cute stuff (like this and this) either didn't seem like it would be too fun for kids to decorate or was too complicated.
Anyway, after looking at a gazillion sugar cookie recipes, I decided to use this one because the dough only needs to be refrigerated for 20 minutes before rolling it out (as opposed to an hour or two.)
Nora putting her shoes on, getting ready to go.
Nora helping in the cart.
Okay, I'm off to Connecticut for the big bake-off!
My sister had a play date scheduled at her house tomorrow morning, so instead of just Nora and I baking, there will be five two-year-olds helping me!
This should be fun.
You have to watch this video I found via Curbed. It totally seems like something you'd see on SNL, like the guy in it would be played by Will Ferrell.
in·ter·lop·er (ĭn'tər-lō'pər)
noun
I had so much fun cooking dinner at Mark and David's house in LA and blogging about it (read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4) that I've decided to do the same thing again this Friday but with Halloween treats of some kind.
I'll be at my sister's house in Connecticut for the big Halloween parade on Saturday (Nora's going to be a princess, and Jack, a dragon), so I'll have a normal kitchen to cook in, unlike the tiny one in my apartment.
Right now I'm thinking of making frosted sugar cookies in the shape of pumpkins and cats, but that's not very exciting, so if anyone has any other ideas, let me know! I'm looking for treats that a two-year-old can help make. (Things with sprinkles and frosting!)
Anyway, please send me your suggestions and then tune in on Friday! I'll document the process again, from shopping to eating, but this time it will be more fun because this two-year-old will be helping:
Nora at the Minnesota State Fair
I took this picture in Brooklyn Heights yesterday. I thought the pumpkins were carved, but they weren't.
Okay, don't lash out at me...
but I just watched Georgia Rule...
and it wasn't that bad.
I mean, something was definitely very off about it, but I can't figure out what it was. The writing was pretty good... so maybe it was the acting. Or it could've just been the timing, which might mean it was directing.
I guess the reason I'm writing this is because I'm learning something about myself. As soon as someone becomes the underdog and has the cards stacked against them, I go soft and begin to root for them. With regards to this movie, I'm talking about Lindsay Lohan. She was pretty much blamed for this flop, but two other actresses were standing right beside her (Academy Award-winning, nonetheless) and they should be held just as responsible. (And let's not forget a director with a great track record.)
I'm not saying Lindsay Lohan's performance was amazing by any means. If you imagine a young Julia Roberts spewing out her lines, with all of her red-headed attitude and genuine vulnerability, you can envision how great it could've been. But I also didn't buy any of Jane Fonda's "Georgia rule-Jesus" crap. It just wasn't believable, not coming from her. As for Felicity Huffman, she had one or two good scenes, but the rest were forgettable. In fact, the cheesiest scene in this movie (in my opinion) was one at the end with her and her husband, a scene in which neither Lindsay Lohan or Jane Fonda appeared.
I don't know... maybe the story is the reason it flopped. It's kinda screwed up. It has to do with incest but it's also kind of a comedy, which is weird.
All I'm saying is that, in all fairness, it's wrong to blame this failure alone on LiLo alone. I mean, you always hear about this movie, and the one thing people seem to say about it is that she's the one who fucked it up. To repeat what I mentioned above, maybe the reason I'm going soft on her is because people are ripping on her now and saying her career is over, but I can see see glimpses of greatness in this movie that were never fully actualized on screen and I don't think it's entirely her fault.
If you've seen this movie, I'm interested to hear your thoughts. If you haven't, spend the $4 to rent it and let me know what you think.
PS - Two favorite lines...
"For a smart girl, you're good at dumb."
"I'm gonna go buy booze, busy budy."
My friend Tracy has a dog that's a Pekingese/Chihuahua mix named Edgar. I like to call Edgar "Special Eddie" because he looks... well...
Special.
Tracy doesn't like the nickname "Special Eddie," however, so for the purposes of this post I'm going to call Edgar by his other nickname, "Fast Eddie."Special Fast Eddie happens to have the same birthday as Beverly, so Tracy had a little party for him at work. In addition to pulling out the ole chocolate fountain for her co-workers...
...she got a cake and candle for Fast Eddie.
When I saw the pictures from Fast Eddie's celebration, I had to laugh because Beverly got something a little different for her birthday.
For Bev's big day I let her pick out a treat from a cute little place in the hood called Monster Mutt.
Of all the things in the store, of all the treats and toys, do you wanna know what she picked?
A bully stick.
My sister had no idea what a bully stick was when I told her, and was horrified to find out. If you don't know what one is and are curious, click here for a brief explanation.
Now regain your composure.
Breathe.
It'll be okay, really.
And back to the story...
I don't let Beverly have bully sticks very often because, in addition to them being plain gross, they REEK. She gets muck all over her face when she eats them and the only way to get rid of it and the smell that accompanies it is to give her a bath. So it's kind of a pain-in-the-arse treat. She really enjoyed it though...
Anyway, that's my story. Before I go, though, a message to Tracy:
Tracy, I know you're sensitive about people making fun of the Ed, so I'd like to take this time to say... You know I love you. And you know I love the Ed. And you know I love the Ed's buggy eyes. And crooked teeth. And big ears.
Ed's like the fox and rose in The Little Prince. The little prince thought the fox and rose were like every other fox and rose until he tamed and cared for them. Once he got to know them, he realized they were unique in all the world. He learned...
I was at the doctor's office yesterday thumbing through magazines (I'm all healthy, thanks) when I stumbled upon the March 2007 issue of Architectural Digest which featured pictures of Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher's Beverly Hills home.
Um... can you say gorgeous?
I've posted a couple pictures from the issue below, but to see the rest, visit Architectural Digest's website. Once you register (it's free), log in and click this link:
My friend made this video. I told him I'd link to it.
I'm trying to decide what to be for Halloween.
I haven't dressed up in the past few years, but this year I'm going to the Ryan Adams show at Hammerstein Ballroom and I'll probably go out afterwards so I kind of want to. But since the concert will most likely be mellow, I don't want to go crazy or anything. I mean, I'm not going to a Scissor Sisters concert, you know what I mean? Singing along to lyrics like, "I taught myself how to grow, and now I'm crooked on the outside and the inside's broke..." while dressed up as Wonder Woman would be kinda weird.
I suppose I could get all glammed up, wear a sassy outfit of some kind, big fake eye lashes and some glittery shadow. Or I could go all hippie, wear a bunch of beads and put braids and sh*t in my hair.
Any suggestions?
Someone very special just called and sang "Happy Birthday" to Beverly.
Jennifer Connelly at Elle magazine's Women In Hollywood tribute.
It reminds me of a lovely brand named Milly that a fabulous lil boutique in my neighborhood carries. (Diane T. - If you're ever in Cobble Hill, you must go.) Every time I swoon over something there, it's usually Milly.
Some good Milly...
I'm watching Meredith Viera interview Jake Gyllenhaal on the Today show right now.
Jake said he likes to be in movies that have a heart, which prompted Meredith to say, "Talk about movies with a heart... Brokeback Mountain. Did you have any idea when you were making that what you were sitting on?"
Today is Beverly's birthday! She's five years old.
I feel like a bad mommy because I never announced Elvis' birthday, but I don't really know when it is because he's a bush cat. Maybe in August sometime? He's twelve.
Anyway, please wish Beverly a happy birthday and please wish Elvis a happy belated birthday. I tried to get them to sit next to each other to take a picture. Didn't work so well.
