A LONG LONG TIME

So, it has been forever...months, and I have completely neglected this...I wanted it to be a lighthearted view of dating, being single...but lets be honest....in the midst of it it can be tough to be lighthearted.

So let's see...I date G-man for what I felt like was forever...he moved south and things fell apart. I was flying down there under the guise of seeing my family, while secretly hoping he would want to see me...well shocker- and news flash ladies- they call if they want to see you.

So that took me a stupid long time to get over and here I am...back on eharmony and dating....a couple of things about that

1. I am not a complete troll and every guy that I have sent questions to...has not responded...REALLY, are you serious? Why the fuck are you on there then....and we are not just talking one guy, we are talking like 10....anyways

2. It is just soooo AWKWARD...you hope to hell they look like their photo and no one who walks through the door bears a similar resemblance/you look like your photo-so you surreptitiously glance at every person a second too long who walks in the door.

ugh ugh ugh. I will admit that I am a somewhat complicated woman...big, complex family, very independent and oh side note, I suck at dating...I am awkward and don't make a great first impression. By the time they do get to know by I have been relegated to that horrible "friend"place and we know the short attention span of men, once you make it to friend, it is hard to go back.

So now what...I am rapidly approaching 32 and while that is young, yes yes I know...to be honest, I am just damn sick and tired of doing it alone. I had a horrible day and yet there is no one (within the same time zone) that I can call....ugh ugh guh

Best Wedding Video

A Cup of Joe is a fabulous blog (that most of you are likely familiar with) that is written by Joanna Goddard. It is a perfect mixture of clothing, food, whimsy and trinkets. She posted this wedding video today and even for a wedding pessimist like me, it was completely touching.

Hair Extenstion...yes Hair Extensions

So....I am not one of those women blessed with fabulous hair...don't get me wrong, it has its moments...mostly when I am right next to water, with just the right level of humidity and a tropical environment where I can get away with a flower off a bush in my hair from the way to dinner.

When I moved to San Francisco I found a fabulous new guy to do my hair. I have a friend here who has extensions. I have never even considered them, but when I got here my friends kept trying to talk me into it. My hair simply does not grow much past my shoulders. Still, with my fine hair there was no way that it would survive the tough process of hair extensions.

Enter the new type of extensions ( I wish I could tell you the name, but I will have to get that at my next appointment). They are placed in your hair with a clear adhesive strip that binds and can be easily removed. THEY ARE FABULOUS. I will admit that it took a week or two to get used to them, but they are so great, and I have hair!

I am not a hair person, I only recently learned to blow dry my hair with a round-brush, and am still not fabulous at it, let alone mastered the use of a flat iron or curling iron. These extensions are not that high maintenance. If I let them air dry- they have a nice natural wave, and then if I sleep with my hair in a braid at night, it has a great wave.

Finally, they can be colored! My guy put them in Friday, and I went back Saturday and had them color matched to my hair....they are also SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive than traditional extensions....

They really are great and if you want more information, let me know! If this low maintenance girl can be a convert, you have to try it!

MIA

Yes yes yes, I know, it has been almost two month since I was posted...what can I say, I got dumped. I had been dating this guy for forever...it was complicated and there was distance involved...you don't need all the gory details, but I have been dealing with the slow disintegration of what turned out to be nothing. I am still working on getting this ball going...someone comment please! But I have been keeping up with all of the other blogs I read and will upload some of the wonderful things I have seen in a bit!

xoxo

M

Delicious Roasted Beets

Image via Southern Living This image is slightly different from what I describe below, I used green onions instead of red onion!

I have always loved beets, but until recently I had never tried to make them myself. After a quick search at my "go to" foodnetwork, I realized that it was actually quite easy. While its not great for a weeknight dinner, because they need to cook for 45 min to an hour, then rest for 10-15 minutes before you peel them. I don't know about you, but I usually don't get home till almost 7, and eating dinner at 8:30 doesn't work for me, but if you make them ahead they are just as good cold.

The first time I made them, I had them simply with goat cheese, a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. It was quite tasty and very easy. Then, Thursday night I went to Bar Jules, a fabulous restaurant in Hayes Valley. It is a small restaurant and the menu changes daily according to fresh local foods. I have been there twice and each time it has been DELICIOUS! Thursday, I started with a butter lettuce salad with green onions, golden beets and avocado. It was so good, I decided I had to make it myself.

I bought golden and red beets. To roast them, pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly coat the beets in olive oil, and a little bit of salt and pepper. Wrap them in tinfoil and place them on a baking sheet. Roast them for 45-60 minutes. Pull them out and check if a knife goes easily through, they are done. Be sure to check smaller ones after 45 minutes. Once you remove them from the oven, let them rest for 10-15 minutes, as this makes them easier to handle and remove the skin. I use a spoon to peel the skin off and then slice then into wedges.

I bought a spring mix, and next time I would definitely stick with the butter lettuce. I made a quick sherry vinegar- olive oil, sherry vinegar, dijon, salt and pepper, and tossed it with the lettuce, avocado and green onions, then placed the beets around. It was delicious, I quickly grilled a center cut boneless pork chop and dinner was served!

Shopping

Hello! Yes, it has been forever, I am sorry, I have been traveling every weekend this month, I am finally home and am spending my weekend catching up on all the things I have missed. So there will likely be several posts this weekend! First though, I want to talk about all of the great websites I receive emails from that have the best shopping. While I can't indulge on a regular basis, I have found some great deals!

1. Rue La La

2. Gilt Group

3. Swirl by Daily Candy

I have bought things from Gilt and Rue Lala, and they are great, the shipping time tends to be a little longer with Gilt Group, but all three have great sales.

I also love Daily Candy- each day they send a great snippet about a new boutique, restaurant or store opening. They also have a weekly travel edition and "what to do this weekend." They have different editions for different cities, when I found it when I was living in Boston and switched my edition to San Francisco when I moved here.

I am sure these sites are familiar to most of you, but just in case someone missed one, I had to share!

I have several more post ideas so I will be returning soon....happy weekend!

xoxo

Mother's Day

Hello! I have been MIA, I have been fighting the same flu for almost two weeks, ugh. I am also still working on figuring out the photo thing. There have been several things I wanted to post on, my fabulous new white VINCE jeans (couldn't find a photo), the sequin tunic I bought to go over the top and the newest thing I am looking for- the perfect pair of nude pumps. Alas, I haven't yet mastered finding photos on the web and transferring them here. I likely could read directions somewhere, but that would be too easy. I also am in dire need of new camera ( I could at least then take some of my own photos) and the iphone camera just doesn't quite cut it.

I digress....the original point of this post was Mother's Day! I am thrilled to be able to fly home to see my Mom, my grandma and my step-mom ( you have no idea how many cards I need to get). Being a mother is a challenging, amazing and sometimes thankless job. I am so lucky to have all of the wonderful women in my life who have supported, prodded, laughed, cried and grown with me. To all the Mom's and Grandma's- you are amazing and loved!

Happy Mother's Day

xoxo