Sunday, December 15, 2013

People will like you more (scene from Skins)

Another scene from the British show "Skins" that I particularly enjoyed. It was in season five, episode "2."


Friday, December 13, 2013

Breakdancing Street Performance in Dublin (video)

This video is of the breakdancing crew "Sons of God" performing on the street in Dublin July 8, 2013. We were shopping and stumbled upon the performance.


Thursday, December 12, 2013

Obi-Wan Kenobi is like God (scene from Skins)

Timmy and I have been marathoning the British TV show "Skins." There was a particularly funny moment from the first episode of the fourth season that I wanted to share.

One of the characters, Thomas, moved to Britain from the Republic of Congo. In this episode, Thomas' mom takes him and his siblings to a church that is presumably made up only of immigrants from Africa. After the service, his family approaches the father ("father" in the religious sense) on their way out; Thomas' mother expresses her concern about Thomas' British friends and how he has been behaving. The father basically tells Thomas that his British friends won't be there for him when he really needs them, and then this conversation occurs:


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Clothes that I'm selling on ebay

I put six items up for sale on ebay. Everything is brand new, except for the Cubs' shirts (which were only worn once).

I based their prices on a percentage of their value, rather than awesome-deal prices. Basically, if the prices seem high to you, it is because if I can't get close to what they are worth, I'd rather keep them. The Stop Staring dress, for example, I gave a starting price of $99, but the dress sells for $154 on Stop Staring's web-site. The dress is made with such amazing quality (it is even made in the United States) that I wish I could fit it right now; the material is this amazing thick, stretchy fabric that is really flattering to curves.



Click here for ebay auction



Click here for ebay auction



Click here for ebay auction



Click here for ebay auction



Click here for ebay auction for size Medium
Click here for ebay auction for size Extra Large

Friday, December 6, 2013

Our surly Christmas tree

Timmy and I have not had a Christmas tree in years because we do not have the space for one (and I'm not a fan of miniature trees). This year I had the idea to create a non-traditional "tree" that would amuse us both: decorate my beloved surly hippo, Viola, up as a Christmas tree. Bonus: it will keep her from juggling flaming knives over Timmy's head while he sleeps.






I was going to top Viola with our star tree topper, but it was too heavy. I went off in search of something we already owned to top her with and decided that my bow bracelet would work. I love the bracelet so much so that it received its own blog entry earlier this year.




Viola sits atop our SkyBox (a personal vending machine), so, she can be the center of attention.








The ornaments just happened to match our wreath that we already owned.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Forno Rosso Pizzeria Napoletana

I have a bookmark folder on my browser called "Chicago Places to Try" that I am constantly adding places to; however, I am such a creature of habit, especially when it comes to food, that we rarely actually visit the places I have saved. Yesterday I decided that Timmy and I should visit one of those places today. The decision to visit Forno Rosso Pizzeria Napoletana was an easy choice after I revisited their photos on Yelp. In truth, the photos "called to me" so much so, that I contemplated heading out there at 10:00 pm (thankfully I didn't, because our waiter said that the kitchen usually closes at 10:30).

Forno Rosso means "red oven" in Italian; all the pizzas are cooked in a bright red wood-fired oven. It is located just a half mile south of The HIP (Harlem Irving Plaza) which makes it a convenient stop on a shopping trip.

When I looked at Forno Rosso's menu, the first thing I noticed was that the pizzas did not come in varying sizes. Since each of the pizzas cost around $13, I assumed that they were a small, personal-sized pizza, so, Timmy and I ordered a focaccia and two pizzas to split. Turns out the pizzas are actually large enough that two normal people (IE, not Timmy and me) would be happy just splitting one, or maybe one pizza with an appetizer if they were particularly hungry. So, two people could easily get their fill for $20 (before tax and tip). For those curious, I would estimate the pizzas to be about 12 inches wide, or about the size of a typical frozen pizza.

We ordered the Locale and the Affumicata. The Locale is described as "tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, sausage made by local butcher for Forno Rosso, organic mushrooms," although we left the mushrooms off. The Affumicata is "imported smoked mozzarella, hot sopressata, bell peppers, basil." Both were really good, however, I was in love with the Affumicata; I especially loved that it didn't have tomato sauce (I have a tomato allergy/intolerance).




The service we received was exceptional. Our waiter was very friendly and attentive. The owner stopped by our table on his way in and introduced himself; when we mentioned we found Forno Rosso on Yelp, he let us know that we could save 5% on our menu by "checking in" to Forno Rosso on Yelp.

Two other random notes: 1) Free refills on pop! This may seem like a given, but in Chicago it is not, 2) About half the pizzas do not have meat, which makes Forno Rosso a nice choice for vegetarians as well.