Happy Mother's Day

To the best mama in the whole world:

(My mother and I, sans the brunette locks that would eventually make me a household name.)

Merry Christmas

Brought to you by Chris "Christmas" Rodriguez:

'Tis the season

I woke up this afternoon this morning to find the first snowfall of the year here in DC was out in full effect (or as full as it gets 'round these parts). Perfect timing since I'd been wanting J to head down to Pentagon Row shopping center with me to watch the "artificial snowfall" they do nightly at 7pm. The real stuff is just better.

Earlier today the snowflakes were giant and fluffy ("Like someone had blown up a bunch of poodles and their fluff was falling from the sky," J says) and there was just enough powder on the ground to elicit Charlie Brown eyes and Snoopy dances outside, con scarves.

Also in time for the season was our first holiday party of the month, thrown by J's professor. About 15 of us convened on the soiree last night and there was much eating and imbibing of spirits. Personally I was delighted at how many celebrity-look-alikes were there (I'm notoriously skilled at playing the celebrity-look-alike game, be warned if I ever meet you in person) and to my delight there were many to postulate on. My favorites included a spitting image of David Eggers (meets a dash of Rob Lowe) and an all-around Woody Allen (in facial resemblance, mannerisms and voice. It was incredible, and nearly twice I had to stop myself not to ask how it must have been directing Annie Hall). All in all we had a great time and I got to meet many interesting people. Who knew lawyers could be so down-to-earth and jovial?

Anyway, as much as I love the snow I'll have to get my fill of it today since I'm off to California tomorrow! I won't be back 'round these parts till mid-January. In the interim I look forward to spending time with my family and friends, partaking in truckloads of authentic Mexican food, possibly surfing with J and having many beach bonfires. (Yes, my life up until three years ago was more Gidget than Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde.)

I'll be taking Lola and J will be joining me 10 days later, Moneypenny in tow, after he's finished with finals. A huge thank you (again) goes out to "Jude" for the free airplane tickets he sent our way, easing our financial stress 10-fold. Big thanks also goes out to one of my readers, Maritzainca, who just UPS-ed me a bottle of Pinot Noir for the holidays from a winery where she works in Northern California.

Ooooh, sparkly!

Maritza's a fellow UCSB-er who I met through twitter/blogging not that long ago. She no longer has a blog, but is thinking about starting one (hopefully) soon. I love my readers! Thanks again Maritza!

Halloween in NYC, or How I spent more money than I should have and stopped worrying about it (at least for the weekend)

Did someone lose a button? Anyone?

Got back from Manhattan on Sunday night and had a fabulous time. Since I'm on a NaNoWriMo kick and don't have a lot of time to post, here's a rundown of what we saw/did:

• Times Square
• Empire State building - There was nothing more I wanted than to kiss J at the top of the Empire State building. So many countless movies and films have captured the top of this hallowed building so perfectly. Remember that I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ethel pretend to be aliens up there to scare tourists? Or An Affair to Remember when Deborah Kerr is supposed to meet Cary Grant at the top? I'm not even going to mention Sleepless in Seattle. Anyway, it turns out it's $40/person to enjoy the view. Pass! I kissed him in front of the entrance instead for free. There will be many more opportunities to go to the top when we aren't sacrificing grocery money to do so.
• Bryant Park
• Les Halles - The French restaurant Tony Bourdain was head chef at for years before his No Reservations fame. *Heart flutters* Love him. To me he will always bear an uncanny resemblance to Marcello Mastroianni. Well, a very tan Marcello. With many more wrinkles. And a former heroin addiction. Moving on ...
• Rockafeller Center
• Had a pumpkin spice latte at the giant Macy's on 34th Street
• Madison Avenue - No Don Draper sighting. Sigh. I'm such a tourist.
• New York Public Library - Me with camera in hand: "Suh-weeet. Do you remember the scene in The Day After Tomorrow where the wave came crashing down the street toward the front of this very marble lobby?" J: "No, but I'm sure once we get home you will find the DVD and show me." Me: "Wow, you know me all too well, my love. All too well..."
• Dinner at Momofuku in Greenwich Village on Friday night - Tres expensive -- dinner for five was over $200 and $12 cocktails did abound -- but the food was excellent. Have you ever had fried Brussels sprouts in fish sauce vinaigrette, mint and delfino? Didn't think so.
• World Trade Center ground zero - It goes without saying it was a sad 10 minutes we spent here, but on the upside a man with a Guatemalan flute was playing an instrumental rendition of the BeeGees' "More than a Woman" across the street. Score.
• Chinatown - We were looking for good Chinese food and Panda Express has just not been cutting it lately (I don't care how good their orange chicken is). We found what we were looking for in this little hole-in-the-wall noodle place just off Canal St. I had sweet and sour chicken with wantons in noodle soup. I don't think I need to even point out that it was amazing.
• Halloween in Soho - My friends and I went to three separate parties for a night of general debauchery.
  
• NY Marathon in Central Park - Hot damn, those people (to quote the unnamed man in the cafe who sees Forrest Gump run by after his leg brace falls off) were "running fools." I was highly impressed. We had a prime view near the 24-mile mark. If I ever made it to 24 miles (I'm laughing out loud at the hilarious absurdity of that scenario) I would definitely be puking up a lung. Or two.
• The Met

Oh and I took a picture or a hundred:

Me in Times Square. I felt like I was in the opening credits of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, except there was no twirling or hat throwing.

"I'm a little concerned but...make it work."

My friends' adorable dog Frank. And his lip.

"Exits are located on either end of the aircraft."

Ah, there's my pilot.

Me, J and my good friend Sedona riding the subway. The whole time I was in NYC I didn't touch one subway pole. Instead, I clinged to J's arm as he held on the for the both of us.

This cup. No words except where I can buy a lifetime supply?

Being all artsy at the Met.

J at the Dupont Circle metro stop on our way back home.

For only being there a total of 2 days and 2 nights I would say we saw the bulk of what NYC had to offer. Wish we had more time (and more money!) but we'll definitely visit many times in our life. It is the inspiration for Mad Men, after all. I mean, c'mon.

Stewardesses and scribes

This year J and I decided we're going to be a Pan Am airline pilot and stewardess from the 1960s for Halloween. Very Catch Me If You Can. At first I was going to buy my costume, but after doing some research I balked at the prices I saw online -- 50 bones for a shiny and ill-fitting polyester sheath?! Please. I'd rather spend that $50 on something I've wanted forever but couldn't justify the purchase of, say this.

Anyway, I went to the fabric store, spent a whopping $13 total on materials and set to work making my costume. I used some artistic license in terms of the costume's conception (i.e., though the Pan Am stewardess of yore were much more stylish than today's flight attendants, they still wore conservative electric blue pencil suits).


Cute, but such is life in Technicolor. Unfortunately we have to deal with modern-day lighting here, people.

So I decided my kind of Pan Am stewardess would wear a white cap-sleeved blouse tucked into a high-waisted electric blue mini skirt, complete with blue pillbox hat, neckerchief, and signature logo patch pinned to chest. Here are my finished pieces:

I can't take credit for the belt (from an old shirt I bought at Forever 21), but the skirt (above) turned out better than I expected.

This is the best I could do with the patch. Kept super-gluing my fingers together by accident so finally just stopped fussing over it.

I'm most happy about the pillbox hat I made from felt (above).Yes, the last time I worked with felt was 1st grade when I ended up eating half my film roll container of paste. But that was another time. I followed Humble Bumble B's video tutorial on ThreadBanger for this design, then added the three white buttons as a detail to tie the whole costume together.

For J's costume he'll be wearing his navy blue suit that he already owns (tricky, tricky, we know), and pilot's hat and pin that we bought for about $10 total at the Halloween store.

We're going up to Manhattan for the weekend to visit one of my good friends and her husband. They just moved into a new apartment very near Central Park and we can't wait to see them. Apparently I've been told we'll be attending a "Liquor Treat" party on Saturday night (costumes required), which already sounds fun. Revelry will undoubtedly ensue. J's never been to NYC, so let's also hope he doesn't get any ideas about finding a legal job there after our weekend jaunt up north.

In other news the animals will be staying here, but I couldn't resist taking hilarious pictures of them in costume:

A disgruntled Lola.

An oblivious Moneypenny.

Spooky.

And finally, NaNoWriMo is almost upon us! Are any of you kiddies going to partake in November's thirty days and nights of literary abandon? If you have no clue what I'm talking about go here, but if you're a participant you can find me under the username "TildonKatz". (As a Mad Men fan you should get that reference. Period.)

I'm pretty much done with the outline for the book I plan to write in November. It's about an ex-Nazi doctor who flees to Buenos Aires after WWII to start a new life as a cab driver under an assumed identity. Riveting, isn't it? Will he overcome his prejudices? Find redemption? Be caught and extradited? Can we ever really "start all over" in our lives, or do our pasts eternally haunt us? All will come to fruition in November in what I've tentatively titled "In the Hall of the Mountain King." Obviously I'll probably be blogging less next month (50,000 words in 30 days scares even me), but I'll keep you updated. The nearly finished manuscript for my first book will be going into a drawer and not looked at till Dec. 1st.

What are you dressing up as for Halloween?

Travel for cheap this summer

I'm obsessed with the Travel Channel. For the last three months, I've lived vicariously through Anthony Bourdain and Samantha Brown, following them around as they traipse to the far reaches of the earth in search of the best foods and cultures.

What's recently began happening, though, is I'll flip through my DVR (chalk full of Travel Channel shows at the moment), settle in excitedly to watch Anthony immerse himself in Provence, and an hour later I'll be whimsically depressed, cursing the day I ever decided to not be a host for a Travel Channel show. (Not like that was ever a clear-cut option, but you get the point.)

These days my budget doesn't allot for the wayward three-day weekend in Spain, or the month-long vacation-on-a-whim in the heart of Tuscany, but if I tone down my excessive tastes, I may yet be able to squeeze in a trip or two this year. Women's Day recently published a fabulous article, "Can You Afford to Go on Vacation", that has excellent pointers in planning a vacation on a budget. Among my favorite tips:

• Stay close to home and still have a great time (plus save on travel expenses) by opting for a summer getaway that you can reach with one tank of gas or less. Check out TripAdvisor.com/TankOfGas for destination options, then research sights and activities online. If a local bed-and-breakfast stay is on your agenda, look for one that’s part of the Free Gas promotion: Guests get a gas rebate or a gas card for refueling. Find participating B&Bs under “Special Packages” at BedandBreakfast.com.
• “It’s usually cheaper for families to rent a vacation home for a week than to spend seven nights in a hotel,” Gregory Karp, author of Living Rich by Spending Smart, tells WD. “You’ll get more space for the money and will save on food by cooking meals.” Go to HomeAway.com, VacationHomes.com or VacationHomeRentals.com
• Trading houses with another vacationing family is a growing trend. To make it work, take precautions: Get references. Agree on house rules. Have several phone chats to make sure you’re comfortable with them. Request home photos or videos. Lock valuables in a safe, or leave them with a friend. Have a neighbor check your home while you’re away. Learn more at HomeExchange.com.

Remember what happened in The Holiday? Yeah, that could be you. Hopefully Jude Law would somehow be a part of that package, too.

For the complete article and to learn more frugal travel tips, visit WomensDay.com.

The token Valentine's Day post

Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday of the year, narrowly beating Thanksgiving. I know, I know: “Brunnie, how can you love V-Day? It’s a Hallmark holiday driven completely by consumerism!” Whatever. It’s so trendy to hate Valentine’s Day that I have to retort: “Be original!” Yes, you should tell people you love them every day of the year, but Valentine’s Day not only reminds you to love those around you (wow, I sound like Delilah), it also sets the perfect stage, what with red and pink paper mache hearts hung in every store window and your tummy full of conversation hearts...cinnamon hearts...sour gummy hearts. Four words: Get in my belly.

Love it or hate it, Feb. 14th is a fact of life. You don’t need to buy into it and drop money on flowers, candy or cards if you don’t want to (although Love just had a bouquet of flowers and balloon delivered to my office, which made my day!), but your 1-800-Flowers purchase may be just what the economy needs.

According to the Washington Post, the National Retail Federation's spending survey found that Americans plan to put up a total of $15 billion in the name of Cupid this year, or $103 per person. Granted, that's $20 less than last year, but it's still a far cry from macaroni-necklace territory, the paper says.

But if you’d rather take your left eye out with the nearest ballpoint then spend a lot of money on anything even remotely related to Pink Paper Heart Day, here are some of my favorite low-key, budget friendly ideas from MSNBC:

Stay in and relax. Valentine’s Day conveniently falls on a Saturday this year — and that means you could put your heads together and dream up the most ideal day at home ever. This Thursday or Friday, you could stock up on your favorite foods and drinks and rent movies that you both want to see. Tidy up the house ahead of time so you’ll be able to resist the urge to wipe down countertops and fold laundry all day long. If you have children, make baby-sitting arrangements for at least part of the day if at all possible.

Dinner doesn’t have to cost a bundle. There’s really no need to drop $90 to $250 on a romantic dinner at a restaurant. In fact, with some advance planning, you could have a fabulous candlelit dinner at home — and, heck, you could even get all dressed up for it! Again, be sure you have every single food item on hand before Saturday. You don’t want to be bothered with having to run out to the store to pick up lemons or onions.

Get all gussied up for a low-budget night out. If the two of you really want to hit the town on Saturday night, you could simply have coffee or a drink and dessert at a dark, romantic bistro or an expensive cafe or restaurant. At any time of the year, this avoid-the-entrée trick is a surefire way to savor the atmosphere — and your date — without busting your budget.

Write your feelings down. With the help of a package of inexpensive Valentines from the drugstore or grocery store — or, for that matter, any kind of paper — you could write out dozens of reasons why you love your mate. Leave the messages all over the house, in both noticeable and hidden-away places. This is another one of those gifts that could keep on giving for several weeks, if not months, down the road. [MSNBC]

And if you’re feeling the love but single, the International Falls Daily Journal has some fabulous ways to show someone you care:

• Donate some time at a retirement home. Plan some type of entertainment for the residents, center on love.
• Invite someone on your block over, someone who really can’t afford anything right now. This will give them the chance to forget about their problems — at least for a day.
• Shovel a neighbor’s sidewalk. If you have some feeble neighbors, or ones that work all the time or care for children and really don’t have the time to shovel, do this good deed. Offer rides to those who need them — to the grocery store, the pharmacy, or the clinic. Help carry things. It will be remembered.
• Help someone find a job. If you have a depressed friend, sit with them and help them with a job search. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to look for a job because it’s so easy to become discouraged. [Internationational Falls Daily Journal]

It's (not) beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Everyone in the blogosphere (especially the personal finance blogosphere) seems to have a post by now dedicated to Christmas shopping and how to harness fabulous deals. I usually love money-saving tips -- bring them on!

Lately, though, I'm tired of scanning these gift-giving pointers -- perhaps because most are inanely obvious and repetitive in nature. Yes, I know that if I make the presents myself I can save more money, or if I shop deals online versus in-store or wait to give gifts a day after Christmas, I can save big. Sigh. I think there's a bigger picture issue that's apparent this year aside from finding the cheapest Wii or flat-screen TV. Maybe it's that so many of us are unemployed this year, or maybe it's that those of us who still have jobs are struggling financially, but to paraphrase Love from the other day, "It just doesn't really feel like Christmas this year."

This sentiment truly hit me when I stood en masse on a crowded escalator yesterday, nothing but a small pin prick on a nameless mall map, peering over the revolving handrail at the mall Santa below (spitting image of the real thing, by the way). I felt ... numb ... and had an epiphany. Had I become a modern-day Ebeneezer Scrooge?

Yes, it's 2008 and times are tough, maybe not as tough as a Dickens novel, but the joie de vivre that usually encircles mall Santas and excessive amounts of eggnog thus far is completely lost on me. This holiday season, I've felt an encroaching sense of acerbity about the whole affair, and if you can believe it, it's not the "gift giving" aspect that bothers me. After all, it's usually what conjures up a bitter tang on most people's palettes.

I'm not exactly sure why this year feels so different, but my guess is that for many there isn't that much to be cheerful about. It's one thing to read daily statistics about those who have been laid off across the country or have lost homes, but it's quite another to be able to count those close to you who barely have enough money to pay their cell phone bills.

The fear and uncertainty in the air is palpable. Many are hanging on by a frayed thread, thankful just to get by these days, much less to replicate a Normal Rockwell painting set around a cozy Christmas tree buttressed by piles of beautifully wrapped presents.

In recent years past, those that struggled were in the minority. Since the early '90s, the United States has seen enormous gains based on mortgage-backed securities -- our finances expanded by people packaging and selling them to other countries. Now, there's a fear that all those gains we've built in that last 20 years will simply vanish. The giant strides in growth we've seen are crumbling as I lament about the very problem, and just when we think we've hit a bottom, that things have to bounce back, they in fact get worse.

And forget it only affecting the finance sector. Sure, hedge fund managers, investment bankers and the Gordon Gekkos of the world may have had their 15 minutes of fame nancing down Wall Street in private towncars and Armani suits, but they're just the first domino to topple the rest in this scheme. Now thousands, in all sectors, are feeling the heat. Tourism, hotels, automobiles, manufacturing, education, anything related to real estate (including construction), leisure, restaurants, marketing/PR firms, publishing. There isn't one entity that hasn't been touched on one level or another by the crash of dominoes as they continue to fall across the country.

Sure, we'll eventually pick up the pieces as a nation and begin back where we started, before we enjoyed and expected lives based on unrealistic illusions. But the reality is oppressive and heavy, and it's unsettling that we're on the precipice of a possible deflationary cycle -- that all the money many have put into homes as equity will disappear, and that just when we think things will turn around, they don't.

I guess it's the Scrooge in me that's unable to accept this holiday season. Surprisingly,
this motivates me more to buy gifts for all the people I care about. In the past I always bought more for myself than others. I know, it's selfish, and while I did buy people things, it was always a one-for-them,-three-for-me scenario. "Christmas isn't about giving gifts, that's so materialistic," I would pontificate between episodes of Sex and the City. Riiiiiiight. . .

Now that I've found myself in a better financial position than most, it makes me happy to be able to brighten someone's day with a present that they wouldn't (or couldn't) otherwise buy. In fact, I get ten times more happiness doing this than buying anything for myself. I guess that's what it takes to find the true spirit of the holiday season. Yes, it's about giving -- within your means, of course -- and making others happy, even if you can't give a lot. Cheesy? Maybe. But it's interesting that it takes a collapse of fantastic extremes to be able to truly evaluate the state of things and cut away all the muck and static that usually blinds so many of us at the end of every year.