skip to main |
skip to sidebar
today is the day.
today is the much anticipated premiere of sex and the city: the movie. later tonight, my friends and i are getting dressed up, going to the movie, and ending the night in carrie bradshaw style– a drag show and dancing at the 90s.
in honor of this momentous occasion, i am posting some favorite sex and the city moments of myself and my friends.
wherever you are tonight, raise a cosmopolitan for the ladies!
jackie–
“the real me. this entire episode is quite inspiring for me in so many ways. throughout the episode, carrie wonders why we can see our friends perfectly but we can’t seem to see ourselves clearly. it gives me goosebumps to think about how incredible and important our friends are. no matter if we are having a fat day, a sad day, a lonely day, they can say just the right thing to make us realize how fabulous we are and everything will work out and be just perfect.
then the episode ends with the fashion show....
i mean if this scene doesn’t make you gasp, or think about what you would do in the same situation... you want to die for carrie and then stand and applaud when she gets up, looks amazing and continues on her way down the runway giving heidi klum a high five and striking a fierce pose while her friends cheer and beam with how proud they are of their friend... i don’t even know what to say!
this moment gives me courage and the knowledge that everyone makes mistakes, everyone has embarrassing moments and life can be difficult, but it is possible to get up from any situation and only carry on with more charisma, strength, and with one more experience under your belt, with the comfort that your friends will love and support you no matter what...
carrie starts her walk down the runway only to fall flat on her face. faced with a choice, carrie gets back up and finishes her catwalk to cheers. her act of bravery inspires the girls....”
angie-
"the scene in 'the agony and the ex-tasy' where they're all having dinner or something. charlotte says, 'samantha, your skin looks amazing.'
sam: 'thanks, i masturbated all afternoon.' and then she does this subtle smile, kind of shrugs her shoulders, and looks up as if she's recalling the wondrous event.
i love this scene because, well, it's awesome, and it is the essence of samantha. she's not afraid of sexuality and totally open about it. i'm like this myself, and i've gone so far as to give 'girl's first vibrator' for birthday gifts, and i also brought my own along as show and tell in a psychology of women course in college.
i simply refuse to act like sexuality is something to be ashamed of or kept secret, and i'd like to think that kim catrall's character helped other women see this too. plus, masturbating is awesome and one of the finer things in life. :)"
ashley-
"the episode when charlotte figures out that miranda is pregnant, sees her on the street and tries to avoid her. but when miranda sees her and calls her out, she tells charlotte that she will be walking right behind her in case charlotte needs her... charlotte says that she never turned around but she knew miranda was behind her the whole time.
it just shows to me that even though sometimes you don't agree with everyone that you love, you know that they will always be there for you through the good times and the bad."
carrie–
"for me, the most memorable scene takes place in season four during the funeral for miranda's mother. at the end of the funeral, miranda is walking up the aisle alone, until carrie joins her and takes her hand and kisses it. as they proceed out, their eyes fall upon steve and aiden, who have traveled from NYC to philadelphia to show their support. even though each of the four women grieve this sudden death very differently, their friendship has never come together in a more steadfast and powerful way."
me–
“for me, the epitome of my love for sex and the city was the scene at the plaza hotel fountain at the end of the season two finale. carrie meets big after his engagement party and says goodbye to him in her own way....
‘i don’t get it.’
‘and ya never did.’
it was that scene that i realized, it’s okay to be complicated, it’s okay to be crazy, it’s okay to be ME!, and the men that don’t get that are the ones you simply have to turn and walk away from. i fell in love with carrie bradshaw and sex and the city at that moment and haven’t looked back!
‘maybe some women aren’t meant to be tamed. maybe they just need to run free till they find someone just as wild to run with them.’”
today i feel like i'm torturing myself.
transitions are happening all around me. the feeling is one of uncertainty.... the only certain thing is that it's all changing.
one friend dealing with a devastating breakup, another excitedly and nervously preparing for the birth of her first child. one friend taking the big step and moving in with her boyfriend, one planning her wedding, and one struggling to raise a little boy as a single mother. most everyone contemplating their careers, wondering how to best climb that corporate ladder to the job of their dreams while being stuck in one that reeks of reality.
marriages, births, breakups, career changes, moves to foreign cities.... life never really does stop. nothing is at a standstill. it seems like we spent our teenage years waiting in line, and now we finally get to experience the big freakin rollercoaster that is our twenties.
a few christmases ago, my mom gave me a book titled "quarter-life crisis." my first instinct was to be deeply offended– what, did i look like i was the midst of a full-blown crisis? i was 21, a senior in college, preparing to graduate and enter "the real world."
four years later and knee deep in this "real world," i understand where she was coming from when she picked that book out for me. not only is everyone around me seemingly leading chaotic, uncertain lives, but i too am really just trying to figure it all out. i don't have the job i want, i rent an apartment instead of owning a home, i don't have a boyfriend, and my mom still calls about four times a day. (bless her sweet heart.)
but what i do i have, i love. what is yet to come is still unknown. and you know– that's okay. because i'm confident in my ability to find beauty in the midst of all of this chaos, enjoy the ride while i'm on it, and look back at it fondly when i'm finally able to stop moving and see things clearly....
if that ever happens.
:)
summers in the midwest are incredibly brief. blink an eye and you may just miss the fun in the sun you've been waiting for all winter long. however, with this brevity comes complete, unadulterated appreciation. there is not one day above 60 degrees that i take for granted. and although we've had a smattering of 60 plus days here and there, summer officially started for me this weekend.
friday night found me enjoying a lovely, lazy, extended dinner on a patio with two of my close girlfriends. we chatted about everything under the sun as it set in the background, seizing the first opportunity we've had in a couple of months to really catch each other up on our crazy busy lives.
i took my first trip of the season to the minneapolis farmer's market on saturday morning... with the scent of brats, kettle corn, fresh flowers and incense filling the air, i knew summer had begun. after picking up fresh fruit and veggies, i headed over to meet my girlfriends at the pool, where we again chatted the day away under the sun.
a little sunburned but incredibly happy and refreshed, i made my way home to shower and prepare for the evening's festivities– dinner with another girlfriend followed by a wine and cheese party.
still feeling the effects of saturday night, i once again met up with girlfriends on sunday morning to begin the process of accomplishing one of my summer goals– mastering the bloody mary. i've never been a huge tomato juice fan (though i love the actual vegetable), but everyone always talks about how wonderful a good bloody mary can be after an even better night out, and i'm determined to stop missing out on these declarations of affection.
i think i got a good start. my spicy bloody mary and yet more girl talk (seemingly the theme of the weekend!) was just the right way to end my first summer weekend.
one down, 14 to go. i can hardly wait!
last night was happy hour at redstone with the girls, and i must say– this city girl fell head over heels for the little suburban oasis.
though we had to wait upwards of 25 minutes just to get a table on the patio, it was well worth it. (and the wait was expected on a nice may day in minnesota.... urbanites, suburbanites, and everyone in between flock to the patios like the proverbial moths to a flame.)
for a patio whose neighbor is one of those godforsaken shopping malls, the atmosphere was one unlike any i've experienced before. with tables pushed closely together and nestled among trees sheltering patrons from a view of the sears parking lot, the intimate setting was perfect for happy conversation and cocktails.
over a blue moon and jerk chicken fondue with smoked gouda cheese (the most flavorful dish i've ordered in a long time from any restaurant– and for a mere $12, you better believe i'll be back again soon to partake!), my girlfriends and i caught up on our daily lives, our careers, and the next party i'm busy planning. i was so busy conversing and enjoying my surroundings and delicious food, i nearly forgot i had ventured outside city limits and was in fact in the– gasp!– suburbs.
perhaps i need to venture outside the city a bit more often.....
last night was my monthly restaurant club meeting with my girlfriends, my mom, and her best girlfriend.
each month, we take turns picking a restaurant we've never been to before, and try it out. there are so many great places in this city to experience, and what better way to do so than with a few of your closest girlfriends?
lisa's pick for may was alaska eatery, a seafood/steakhouse in st. louis park. it had the atmosphere and feel of something like a timberlodge or outback, but was much smaller and more intimate than the chains.
i'm not a huge meat eater, but i have been getting into seafood more and more, so i chose the somewhat safe choice of a walleye sandwich with parmesan truffle fries. (i was all about those naughty little fries.)
the food itself was a little blah, forgettable, though my walleye did have good texture and taste. (and my stella on tap was absolutely flawless.) after dinner, a few of us decided to split baked alaska for dessert.... gelato surrounded by a marshmallow-ey cover, dowsed in alcohol and lit on fire, left for you to decide how long to let it "cook." we might have let ours cook a little too long, and i wasn't sure how i felt about the gelato/alcohol combination (a weird pairing of flavors, that's for sure), but it's something i would dare to try again.
it's not a place i would necessarily go back to; but then again, that's what restaurant club is all about. trying new things. and, really– it's a night out with my girls. how could i go wrong?
who is now a college graduate.
just yesterday, we were playing with barbies, running through the sprinkler and eating root beer popsicles on a hot summer day, giggling over boys, fighting over clothes, and driving mom and dad absolutely crazy with all of our dramatic teenage girl antics.
and now, as of saturday, she is officially a big, big girl, in a big, big world. off to blaze her own trail, find her own way. and, as a spunky, fiery redhead, i have no doubt in her ability to stand out and make herself known in this world. even though she is my little sister, she inspires me in a big way. i can't wait to see what she'll do next.
congratulations, ashley! i love you!
i've always heard that scents have the ability to bring you right back to a certain place in time, the memories rushing in like it was yesterday. but for me, it's not scents that flood my mind with memories; it's cars.
whenever i see a blue ford ranger pickup truck, i think of my high school crush. i think of the time we went to the movies, and on the way home got so engrossed in conversation, we completely missed our exit and ended up in the middle of nowhere. we laughed about it, and though there had been sparks on my end for awhile, as i looked at him across the truck that rainy saturday night, i felt sparks from him for the first time.
a blue toyota camry brings back the memory of my first date with my college sweetheart. he picked me up and took me to the one unique restaurant in fargo that played live music during dinner. it was the first time i remember feeling like a true adult. before him, my life was all about keggers, frat parties and dates at the closest chain restaurant. after dinner, as we drove to the grocery store to get ice cream for dessert, i made fun of him for having north dakota plates, and joked that i may have to duck and hide in order to save my reputation. he looked at me, laughed, and tousled my hair. though i've never believed in love at first sight, i started falling hard for him right then and there, in that old camry.
there's bittersweet emotion every time i see a grey saturn vue, as i remember how my fiance's looked in his parking lot, as i drove away after breaking his heart. lincoln continentals make me cringe, as i remember how many times i watched one screech away in anger after yet another fight. i'll always look at an '88 plymouth voyager minivan with great affection and humor, as i had the pleasure of driving one throughout high school. black honda civics make me hopeful that perhaps my long-distance friend has made a surprise appearance in the city, and beige luminas bring me back to the day my best friend picked me up 30 minutes after getting her drivers license, how we drove around our neighborhood and screamed with happiness at being all on our own for the first time.
good, bad and ugly memories, but none i regret. none i would ever take back.
(the rearview mirror has rendered itself useless on my trip down memory lane.)
happy friday from my front stoop! (well, okay, technically this is the view from the side stoop....)
cream cheese wontons
quite possibly the cheapest, easiest recipe i've ever made, and the one that gets the absolute most praise. (however, i'm still working on perfecting my guacamole recipe, and i have high hopes that it will give this one a run for its money!) a less fattening version of the appetizer you can get in asian restaurants everywhere.
in the produce section at the grocery store, pick up a pack of wonton wrappers.... usually by the pre-packaged salads. what you put in them is up to you. i usually do cream cheese/jalapeno, or a cream cheese/herb mix. my cousin likes to make them with crabmeat, and my aunt likes to make them a sweet treat with brown sugar, cinnamon and butter.
whatever mix you decide to do (get creative, that's the fun part!), put a small spoonful into the center of the wonton wrapper. fold up the corners, and put in a muffin tin. after that, i bake them at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
they are tasty, delicious little pieces of heaven that i could eat every day. (and sometimes, i do.)
chelsea lately
i have a delusional fantasy that in my next life, chelsea handler and i are best friends. i just feel like we're such an obvious pair. (okay angie, i take it back. we're all an obvious threesome. he he.) clearly, we mesh. and can you imagine the raunchy dating stories that would be told among us? priceless.
the only time i ever get to see my BFF is at 5:30 on weeknights on E! (i've got to catch the reruns, as i'm far too old to stay up for the 10:30pm broadcast), and if i miss her, my world just isn't right. her humor, while a bit crass for some, often leaves me cracking up on the floor, leaving my cat to wonder what's in that glass i'm drinking out of. (it's wine, leo.)
my front stoop
i get oddly and exceptionally giddy when the weather turns warm. if i'm at work, i'll excitedly look out the window every 10 minutes or so, making sure it's still nice out and counting down the minutes until 4pm when i can high tail it out of my office and onto my front stoop.
being the city girl that i am, i don't really have an excluded porch surrounded by trees.... what you see is what you get with me! and what i got, i love. i love inviting a couple of friends over, making some cocktails, sitting on my stoop, admiring the crazies and unwinding from the workday. neither my friends nor the crazies (sometimes they're one in the same) ever fail to amuse me.
ah, the joys of summer.......
