The Life of Riley

My blog is moving!

2011-02-15T10:33:00.001-08:00

Hey, 5 people who read this blog (Thanks, mom)

I'm moving this blog to rileyhall.net

It's got a fun, new look. See you there.

The Gaither's are my New Kids on the Block

2011-02-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

Much like most 70-year-olds, I love southern gospel music. Seriously, some of the best conversations I've had with the blue-haired have been about southern gospel music. I see no shame in it either. There's no shame in having blue hair either. (You rock it, Ethel. Wha what!) I mean, you'll never hear tighter harmonies than in southern gospel music. But give it a chance. Here...watch this. It's the Gaither Vocal Band. My favorite gospel group singing my favorite song.

Ok, yeah, the set is a little TBNey, but come on. Pretty good, huh?

A friend of mine got some friends and I tickets to the see the Gaither's in Ontario last weekend. I couldn't sleep the night before I was so excited. THEN, while we were driving up there he said that we were meeting one of the guys in the band for dinner.

What?!

Was my childhood dream of meeting a living, breathing Gaither going to come true!?

I tried to stay calm and said, "That's cool." While inside I had just wet my pants.

We drove to the arena and around back to the tour busses and standing on the curb waiting for us was the Gaither baritone and funny man, Mark Lowry. I've listened to this guy since I was a kid. This guy is one of the funniest people I've ever met. Such a fun dinner.

I won't go into huge detail about the night but we got incredible seats, backstage passes, and got to hang out with the Gaither's after the concert. It was a super special night for me.

Ok, so here's a little-known fact about me. Growing up I wanted to be a christian recording artist. Yeah, like a singer who sings songs about God like Carman or Michael W. Smith or Michael English. Michael English has always been my all-time favorite christian singer. So, yeah, I wanted to be a christian singer. If I went home and looked hard enough I could probably find the list I made when I was 12 years old listing the Dove awards (aka God's Grammy's) I wanted to win and at what age I wanted to win them. Someone once told me that if I wrote down my goals they were more likely to happen, which is a heaping load of crap given my empty Dove award shelf and unmaterialized marriage to Carrie Underwood.

Squirrel!

Ok, back to the story.

So I got to meet Mark Lowry AND Michael English that night. They were both in the video above.

Ok, so one last video. Thank your stars that I only included 2 videos because I whittled it down to these 2 from about 50.

If you want to get a feeling for a what Gaither's concert is like watch the whole video, but if you just want to hear one of the most incredible a'cappella start playing this at 3:14.

So as I'm moving to Laguna Woods in my 40s, you better believe I'll be jamming out to my Gaither's.

Swoon-worthy

2011-02-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

From time to time I like to write about the things I am swooning over. These 3 things will make your life better. Guaranteed.

This American Life
I've developed an unhealthy addiction to This American Life. I get it any way I can. The podcast...Netflix...from the shady dealer behind Staples on Aliso Creek Road. I can't get enough. This American Life is primarily a weekly hour-long radio program produced by Chicago Public Radio and hosted by Ira Glass. It's also a series on Current TV. But I watch it on Netflix. I can't speak highly enough about this show (radio and TV). It's up there with Buffalo Wild Wings and southern gospel music. Each week's show loosely centers on a particular theme. The theme is expanded upon in several first-person narrative "acts." The stories range from following a Marxist, former-Mormom "Jesus"-model and his internal conflict with posing as "Jesus" for a local artist to a troupe of people living in an old folks home writing, acting and producing an independent movie. It's brilliant!

Hercules Hooks
My mom introduced me to these. They're totally a "As Seen on TV" product but it's got the Billy Mays, God rest his soul, stamp of approval. These little wire hooks will hold anything. You could hang a bear or a car hood on these things. Not that you would ever need to hang a car hood on your wall, but a bear you might want to sometime if you were like a hunter or something or if you wanted to take "Pin the Tail On" to the next level. I hung some mirrors and a picture with them. They make a tiny hole in the wall and you don't need a hammer or anything. They're the coolest.

Mocc Socks - They are socks that you can't see. I have unusually sweaty feet so I'm not a sockless kinda guy. But the cool kids don't wear socks, so instead of having swampy feet I found these. Mocc Socks are basically really short socks. I mean, I could probably make these myself, but what fun is that. I'd rather pay $30 for 5 pairs and know I'm supporting a fellow swampy-footed business.

The runners up...
• Mach 3 razors
• Bandera restaurant in Corona del Mar
• Netflix
• Trader Joe's Gummy Tummies
• Mathis Brothers furniture

Hey...Sweet Ax

2011-01-30T22:48:00.000-08:00

So, my birthday is just around the corner and there is really nothing that I need. I mean, I would love an new iPhone since mine got stolen at church. Seriously, Saddleback Church. In addition to "worship" and "fellowship," we should add a 6th purpose and call it "leave crap where you find it." I would love some new shoes. The ones I currently wear every day were $30 at Nordstrom and have so many holes that if I walk in a parking lot, they get filled with rocks. But it's ok, because I can shake the rocks out the huge holes in the back of the shoe, it's just a nuisance. I could use pots and pans. I don't foresee a wedding anytime soon so acquiring a pot that has an attached handle would be a nice treat.

But after many hours of thinking of what I really want for my birthday, I arrived on one gift.

a Best Made ® Ax

I want one really bad.

Come on, how cool are they? I haven't decide which one I want because they are on backorder and there site only offers the "do it yourself kit" ax which I couldn't be less interested in. I want my ax delivered to me fully painted and in this bitchin box

So I'm throwing practicality and frugality to the wind and requesting the most frivolous gift I've ever asked for. iPhones will come and go and pots and pans will only get used, let's be honest, 2-3 times a year, but a sweet ax will last forever.

See you later Urban Outffiters!

2011-01-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

I won't claim the stereotype of hating to shop. I mean I like shopping for furniture. I love going to Whole Foods and Trader Joes to prepare for the 2 times a year that I cook. I like car shopping.

I don't much enjoy clothes shopping. Maybe it's because I'm 6'3" and skinny.

"Yes, do you have size 31x36 jeans? No? You've never heard of a jean that ill-proportioned? Cool. Thank you."

When I buy a shirt I have to mentally add on $30 to cover alterations.

It's annoying.

My go-to is a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. If I'm feeling like dressing up, I'll throw on 4-year-old flannel.

Sometimes I'll go to the mall with a little motivation to buy some cool, trendy clothes. So I'll go in Urban Outfitters and try on something, but let's be honest, red floppy high tops, a teal deep-V, and skinny jeans don't belong on a me. Have you met me? So then I'll go all bipolar and head over to Banana Republic and go straight back to the sale section where clothes go to die. And there I'll find a sweater that kinda fits. I'll try it on and notice that in the light it's strange metallic blue and then I realize why it's on clearance but I buy it anyway because I believe I can pull it off. I'm wrong....and I kinda know it and it just sits in my closet getting hid behind t-shirts and jeans.

So, all that to say. Shopping. Clothes. No bueno.

So on my flight home to Texas, I read this article about this new service called Trunk Club. You sign up online and a personal shopper calls you. They ask you questions to find out of what you do for a job, what you typically wear to work, what you wear on the weekend...pretty basic stuff. Then a week later a giant box is delivered to you with a ton of intentionally-selected clothes. You keep what you want and send the rest back free-of-charge with the included return FedEx sticker. When they get the box back, they see what you kept and charge your card for that. Wham. Bam. Done.

Its like Christmas when you get a gift you love that you didn't even think to ask for. Plus, 5 minutes after I signed for the package, my style consultant contacted me to see what I thought of the stuff she sent.

She had everything already matched for me. She idiot-proofed it for me by wrapping a pant, 2 shirts, and a sweater together and bundled them together. Then she thew in a sweet wool overcoat to top it all off.

Here is what was in included in my "trunk":

Joe's Jeans - Rocker slim fit bootcut jeans
Lacoste - Pima Cotton 1/2 Zip Sweater
Jeremy Argyle - Dress shirt pink/white checked

AG Jeans - Protege MMR
Ben Sherman - Shawl Collar Sweater
Jeremy Argyle - Dress shirt blue-white checked
Jeremy Argyle - Dress shirt red/navy check

Bonobos - Khakistan khaki mid-weight corduroy
J.A.C.H.S. - plaid long sleeve button down
J.A.C.H.S. - blue long sleeve button down
Life After Denim - Tournament Crew Sweater

Schott NYC - Wool Carcoat

So now, I know what you're wondering is how much all of this cost. It's not cheap. The clothes are not sale clothes so you are paying full price which I am find with if it means I don't have to battle the gaggles of high schoolers at the Spectrum. The pants range from $110-$195. The button down shirts range from $70 to $142. The sweaters range from $78 to $158. And the coat, which I really like but don't have a huge use for in CA, was $285.

It's a bit on a pricy side for me who thinks $20 for a t-shirt is unreasonable, but I am keeping several things from my first trunk. I contacted my consultant and let her know that even though the $142 button downs fit great with no alterations needed, I couldn't justify spending that much on a shirt I would only wear occasionally. So I am sending my trunk back and she'll send a new one in a few weeks with new stuff.

So far I am really impressed and love the service. I see it as something I will probably do a couple times a year.

So, see you later Urban Outfitters. I wish I was going to miss you, but honestly I won't.

Back like the McRib

2011-01-12T18:13:00.000-08:00

Well fancy running into you here.

I know I have been distant for a while. Quite a long while actually.

Much like the McRib to OC McDonalds, I hope that my return to blogging is met with similar excitement.

Over the past few months I have:

• purchased my first home
• been back home to Texas twice
• become the last remaining single member of my team at work
• inherited the most kick ass computer at work
• joined a new church
• expired the warranty on my car
• furnished said home with furniture
• spent too many hours at Panera
• started watching Mad Men
• discovered the coolest new service that allows me to never shop for clothes in a store again

So what would you like to hear about first? How my new place.

My first decision was decided on what city I wanted to live in. I narrowed it down to Rancho Santa Margarita, Ladera Ranch, and Aliso Viejo. Here is the breakdown.

So, after months and month and looking all kinds of condos, one of which was a pot grow house. That was an interesting one. I ended up landing on Aliso Viejo. I liked the young community, location, proximity to the beach, freeway/toll road access, and it seemed a bit out of the busyness of Orange County. There are ton a running and hiking trails. I loved it. So, I found a place and here it is:

I am so thankful for it. Come over anytime! The door's always open unless it's closed. Then just ring the doorbell.

Flying Solo

2010-10-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

As I was reading through my blog reel this morning, I ran across this interesting article on AdAge on how marketing and advertising to singles has shifted in the past few years. It really got me thinking how drastically the number of married people in this age range has decreased since 2000...not since the 60s...but the year 2000! Wonder why that is? I'm not saying it's bad or negative, in a lot of ways I think it's great. I mean, I am contributing to this drastic shift myself.

What I learned at my 10-year reunion

2010-09-26T00:56:00.001-07:00

About a 3 months ago I had my 10-year high school reunion back in Hereford, TX.

Hereford's cool. It's the most relaxing place for me to go. When I go back, all I do is hang with my family, eat at Sonic, and walk my parent's dog. That's about it.

The reunion was fun. I mean how can a rodeo arena with beer-filled livestock feeding troughs and about 80 classmates trying to figure out how to impress people they see every ten years not be fun?! Seriously.

I had a ton of fun catching up with people I hadn't seen in a decade.

If I had a scanner I would have scanned picture of what I looked like in high school. But just for your imagination, picture an acne-stricken face, about 30 pounds lighter, Tommy Hilfiger from head to toe, and a rad braided leather belt at all times.

So here's what I learned/noticed from my reunion weekend:

• 10 years goes by really quick when you think about it. Really fast. I hope life slows down a bit.

• Everyone is "best friends" after 10 years. I mean, there were people I don't know if I ever talked to in high school and all of the sudden we were chumming it up like old pals.

• Tommy Hilfiger and Doc Martin's aren't timeless.

• You can get a lot better looking in ten years.

• You can get a lot worse looking in ten years.

• Thanks to Accutane, my looks dramatically changed since my senior year of high school.

• It's quickly evident who has faced their high school insecurities and dealt with them...and even more obvious who hasn't.

• It's way better to not peak in high school. WAY better. i would go as far as to say it's better to not be popular in high school. It gives you a false sense of reality.

• Why did I care so much about impressing people in high school or hanging out with cool people? Sucks I didn't realize it then.

• Ten years of unresolved bitterness doesn't look good on anyone.

• After high school, it's important to surround yourself with quick-witted people in life. They rub off on you and make you sharper.

• Having kids makes you a more joyful and content person. I was like 1 or 3 people at the reunion without kids. It was really cool to see friends interact with their kids...and curiously, some of them had a lot of kids! A lot more than I thought was physically possible in ten years for sure.

• The people you most want to be around are the ones who don't care what others think.

• Post reunion, you remember who seemed the happiest, not who looked the best.

• Not being the most popular in high school makes it really easy to exceed everyone's expectation after 10 years

• I would 100% go back and do high school all over again.

Random Video Monday

2010-08-23T22:12:00.000-07:00

My new favorite summer TV show. I would pay good money for all my friends to be on an episode of this show.

Random Picture Monday/Wednesday

2010-08-18T08:47:00.001-07:00

My favorite house in Hereford during Christmas. Go big or go home.

"Everything Ages Fast" Faux Vintage Tech Ads

2010-08-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

Things like this make me happy.

Read the whole article here from unplggd

Random Picture Monday

2010-08-02T10:30:00.001-07:00

Shawn vs. Wild Birthday Party

I want a kid

2010-07-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

So I can buy one of these and put it in his nursery.

Some friends of mine in Oklahoma are having a baby and for the first time in my life I have found myself scouring the Internet for a gift. I have followed this British illustrator's blog, Paul Thurlby, for several years now and I remembered these sweet alphabet illustrations he sells. As I sit in my condo tonight and peruse the night away looking at baby shiz, I'm tempted to buy one or more of his prints and then think of a boy's name that starts with the letter on the prints that I like the most. Kinda works, eh? S, F, A, and H are my favorites.

Pretty sweet, huh?

I supposed I could name my son SHAF and buy all of them! Hmmm. I better talk that over with the future Mrs..

R: Hey future Mrs., wanna name our kid SHAF?

FM: Who are you?

R: I'm your future husband.

FM: Huh? Ok. Cool.

R: Cool!? Like you're cool naming our kid SHAF? (note, always spelled in ALL CAPS)

FM: No. I don't want kids. I'm alternative and natural like that. I do stuff like yoga and shop at Mother's. Kids will negatively affect my qi.

R: ...

FM: What's that look for?

R: Nevermind.

FM: You don't care about my qi?

R: We wouldn't be having this conversation if I still lived in Texas.

Random Picture Monday

2010-07-19T00:20:00.001-07:00

I copying my friend Ryanne's blog 100%...but I think this is a great idea. Every Monday I'll post a random picture from the arsenal in my iPhoto library. Enjoy!

Red Whitetrash and Blue 4th of July Party 2008.

Summer, My New Favorite Season

2010-07-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

Summer used to be my least favorite season. Winter was my favorite. Not sure why. I think it may have been that I preferred coats and jeans to swim trunks and thongs....excuse me, flip flops. (That sure has taken on a new meaning the past decade.) But over the past 5 years or so summer has far surpassed every other season. I love sitting on my patio with a book in the evenings with a cold glass of water with a fresh-squeezed lime in it looking across the the horizon at the mountains. Ok, so last night was the first time I have ever read a book on my patio and I kinda have to imagine the mountains from my patio. And I use the patio loosely. It more like a front porch where a table and 2 chairs barely fit because my air conditioner. Oh the joys of condo rentals in the slums of Lake Forest.

All this to say, summer is my new favorite season. Here are my favorite places to be. I'll call them Riley's Super Summer Hotspots.

Montage Beach for relaxing and swimming
This was the first beach I ever went to in California and it's still my favorite. Easy access, relatively close parking, clean Montage bathrooms, grocery store nearby for last-minute snacks, courteous tourists.

Gypsy Den @ The Lab for eating
The Lab is mecca for post-tween posers who have run up daddy's American Express Black card at Urban Outfitters and American Apparel...but it's one of my favorite places. And the waldorf chicken salad sandwich and vegetarian chili and cornbread rivals the best.

Fashion Island for relaxing
By far the best place to shop, browse, dog watch, people watch, dog-looking people watch, people-looking dog watch.

Coliseum at Pelican Hill for eating
Swanky hotel + mid-priced poolside restaurant = dust off your fancy clothes and grab a few dollars to tip the valet

Lake Mission Viejo for running
Yeah, it's man made and small but it's got a stellar running track around it that is exactly 3.14 miles (ironically that is also π...coincidence? Doubt it.)

and Disneyland of course. But that goes without saying. Happy summer!

Weekend Getaway

2010-06-27T00:24:00.001-07:00

So, a few weeks ago I went to Napa Valley for the first time. Actually, it was the first time I had been north of Bakersfield since I've lived in California. And holy crap, I don't know why I haven't been up there yet. The best way to describe it is like a California farmland. It's a perfect blend of California and Texas. You've got the open space and agriculture like Texas, with the climate and personality of California. It quickly became one of my favorite places I have ever visited.

This trip included myself, Allie, Jake and Tim.

Allie's grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Bircher, own an incredible vineyard in Napa where we stayed called Meadowbrook Farm.

I could try to describe this place, but I couldn't do it justice.

In downtown Yountville we went to this great french bistro, Bouchon.

I had the Croque Madame.
(for this Texas boy, is was described to me as a ham and cheese sandwich with a fried egg)

Mr. Bircher was able to get a private tour of the Robert Mondavi vineyard. We got the up front and personal look at how wine is made. It blew my mind!

The trip ended with a charity lobster boil that Allie's grandparents hosted. We could not have planned a better weekend getaway. Great people. Great food. Great wine.

Wedding

2010-06-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago I went to Dallas to be the best man in my buddy Geoffrey's wedding.

Sidenote, his name is pronounced the British way. He should spell his name "Joffrey." It would simplify his life so much more, but whatever. I have a girl's/dog's name, so who am I to talk.

The first night the guys went out to The Butcher Shop in the West End for dinner and then spent the rest of the night at the West End Pub catching up. I hadn't seen most of these guys in about 5 years.

The wedding was great too. I have never been so hot in my life. Seriously. Never. Except maybe that one time I was in Cairo, Egypt in the DESERT!

These photos are by Indie Jane Photography

Congrats Jessica and Geoffrey.

Where Animals Come to Die

2010-05-25T22:53:00.000-07:00

Like I said in my last post, my family is crap with pets. The official death toll is at 10, but I'm sure there were a few other unlucky souls who I forgot.

• Psalty the parakeet (1988) - Dad forgot to feed him while we went to Dallas on vacation. He just fell off his little perch and died.

• Hermit crab (1988) - I never named it because I never liked it. It was a gift. It just died in it's shell of natural causes I'm sure due to an emotionally-distant caretaker.

• 2 baby chicks (1989) - I don't know what happened for sure, they just disappeared. Probably ran away together after my sister threw one of them up in the air after it pooped in her hand.

• cat (the name slips my mind) (1992) - It was a cold January night when we gave it a bath and put it in the garage. Well, wet cat + freezing temperatures = dead cat, fried-to-death trying to stay warm under the refrigerator in the garage.

• Spanky the lab/pit bull mix (1993) - taken to the dad's feedyard to be a "cow dog"...the feedyard is where our pets go to die

• Snuffy the rabbit (1993) - Accidently left him in the front yard and the next door neighbor's dog bit his head off. The psychological effects of finding that headless rabbit still affects my sister to this day.

• Andre and Peter the rabbits (1994) - Our second-go at rabbits. We left them in our side backyard in their cage and forgot about them. Peter ended up being pregnant. Finding them a week later was a bit traumatizing for me.

• No Name the cat (1995) - Yep. That was his name. After Milli's second litter, we were fresh-out of names so that's what he got stuck with. He was squashed as mom was backing the suburban out of the garage. She felt pretty bad about it.

My sweet mom...and her camera phone.

2010-05-15T23:55:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's because there are no kids in the house or what, but my mom got a dog. Let me rephrase. She adopted a dog from the Deaf Smith County pound. I guess it belongs to both my parents, but my mom talks about it the most. Except my dad talked about it a lot when it fell out of his pickup window when he let it sit on his lap as he was driving his pickup to get it washed. I'm super glad it lived, because most of our pets die. I'll address this in my next post.

Ruthie is her name. She is some kind of mutt. She's cute though. I actually like her which is more than I can say more most animals. See...

I know I don't look very excited, but I am. I love this dog. It doesn't bark or jump. It just eats and like attention. I can handle that. That's my dad in the background. I know he's thinking, "I wonder how long this dog's gonna last..."

So my mom just got a phone with a camera for Christmas. And she loves it (and you're about to find out why). These are the last few texts I've gotten from her:

Text from mom: "Good morning! Yes this is my life."

Text from mom: "Ruthie just came home from the beauty shop with major electricity!"

Text from mom: "Ruthie taking a nap while you and dad are on the phone."

Text from mom: "This is the last one I'll send tonight. You might want to use this as your desktop wallpaper."

Text from mom: "She looks like she misses you."

Text from mom: "It's snowing again!"

Text from mom: "Ruthie likes to look out the window and watch cars go by in the morning."

I warned my mom that I was going to feature her texts on my blog so she sent me this:

Text from mom: "Since Ruthie is going to be a blog topic soon, I thought I'd get serious about my photography. :)"

So, I know I'm a little late. Mother's day was last like a week and half ago, but I want to say I love my mom. I love her so much more than I can express on this blog entry. And I love when she texts me with her new highfalutin camera phone. Happy super-late mother's day, mom. I love you...and I want you to move to California as soon as possible! Texas is too far away.

Photo courtesy of Josh Elliott. One of the best photographers I know.

I love my parents so much. This is my favorite picture of them ever. (again, courtesy of Josh.)

Filet Mignon

2010-04-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

If I was in on death row, filet mignon and potatoes would be my final meal, hands down. I've only have filet mignon at restaurants, so I was a little more than skeptical to try cooking one myself on the stove.

It didn't disappoint. I mean it was no Ruth's Chris, but it was good. We made a goat cheese and fig jam appetizer. The main course was a bacon-wrapped filet with roasted fingerling potatoes and green beans, garlic focaccia bread, goat cheese and dried cranberry spinach salad, followed by bananas foster for dessert. All of the ingredients for tonight's meal were from Trader Joe's. I didn't take pics of everything, but here's the main course and salad.

I'm finally getting to the point where I feel comfortable in the kitchen. If I see a recipe, I'm confident that I can pull it off. My next step is to make a meal for myself BY myself during the week. We'll see how that goes.

The last 5 things I have bought...

2010-04-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

I'm 100% sure that you couldn't care less about what the last 5 things I bought were but here they are...not including fast food purchases which seriously make up 90% of my purchases. (In case you're wondering, my most recent purchases were: Chick-fil-A, Elephant Bar, Chick-fil-A, Pick Up Stix, Angels Stadium, Henrys, Chick-fil-A)

RileyHallDesign.com: $10.49
I'm finally getting serious about getting some of the work I have slaved over the past few year online. Buying the domain was the first of many steps in getting my work online. There's nothing up at this point so don't waste your time going there yet. I'll keep you posted.

Haircut: $30.00
I got 75% of my hair cut off tonight. Courtney (at Salon One on Lake Mission Viejo...she's great) gave me a trim tonight. With summer around the corner, it was time for the shag to go. I tossed around the idea of buzzing it all off, but I don't want Courtney to go without my $30 a month so I decided to keep a little on the top.

Cooking Tongs and mixing bowls: $24.73

Allie, my personal cooking coach, and I went to World Market because I needed kitchen stuff badly. She was tired of having to flip pork chops with those crappy little spatula spoon things. They really suck and they melt, which REALLY sucks. Who wants melted rubber in their pork chops? So a good pair of OXO tongs were in order as well as a nice set of white mixing bowls, which will nicely double as a bowl to catch the leaking water under my bathroom sink if need be. (Don't tell Allie though)

Flight to Napa Valley: $21.40

Here's the deal. When I flew back to California from Texas at Christmas I took a later flight and got a flight voucher. That's why this trip only cost be 20 bucks. Several friends and I are flying to Napa for a few days next month to get away and relax. Allie, the aforementioned personal cooking coach, has grandparents who own a a vineyard in Napa so that is where we are headed for a weekend of relaxation. I haven't been north of Bakersfield, which is a hole, so I'm stoked.

Hoodie: $36.81

I'm not a fan of shopping for clothes, but I when I do buy clothes it's usually some kind of jacket. Ask my mom. She refuses to buy me anything that resembles a jacket or hoodie or anything like that. That's all I seem to buy. Well, this is an oxford shirt with a hood. It's the perfect blend of preppy Southern boy and lazy Laguna Beach Saturdays. I think I'll wear it come summer. We'll see. You might see it on e-Bay.

Tapenade and Pork Chops

2010-04-19T22:57:00.000-07:00

It was meal #3 with Allie. I couldn't even pronounce most of the ingredients we used this week. Roquefort cheese? Kalamata olives? I'm sure these are foods that most people know, but not this guy. Velveeta? Yes. Roquefort? Huh?

I'm finding out that the hardest thing about cooking is making sure that everything for the meal is ready at the same time. If you cook vegetables, you have to make sure that they are ready to be served when the meat is ready. Ugh...that's when I'm like, "Screw it. Throw it in the microwave."

This was the most challenging of all the meals Allie and I had attempted, but it was also the best overall meal.

The photos are courtesy of Tim Moore.

I'll post pics from this past weekend's meal very soon...filet mignon!

My 2nd Cooking Lesson

2010-04-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

It's week #2 of my cooking lessons with Allie. I'll admit I was little less involved in the prep of this meal. I kept getting distracted and would wander out of the kitchen. Nonetheless, the meal got main with about 20% of my involvement and 80% from Allie. (photos courtesy of my roommate, Tim Moore.)

We did our shopping for this meal at Henry's. I love Henry's. It's healthy and oatsy and their produce is good, but it's tough to find some ingredients because it's such a small grocery. I think we are going to stick with Whole Foods from here on out.

MENU

Appetizer:
Guacamole
Pico de Gallo

Main dish:
Chicken Tacos

Dessert:
Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola Bar

Confession: The peanut butter chocolate granola bars were completely inedible! We put one on a plate just to take a picture of it, but the peanut butter I had expired 2 years ago. We didn't realize it until we started cutting it. We couldn't get rid of the fast enough.

Top 5 shows filling up my TiVo...

2010-03-31T22:05:00.001-07:00

I am rarely home in the evenings which has really cramped my TV-watching addiction. So usually on Saturday mornings this is what is what I am catching up on:

• Modern Family
Dare I say it? This is the best comedy to ever be on TV. You know on most shows there are characters that you could do without or you kinda ignore their story line? Not the case with MF. Once of the subtly smartest shows ever. Favorite characters: Cameron and Phil

• Lost
It's the last season. I can't say it's the best season, but it's the last season. I have a consistent group of people I watch it that constantly have to explain to me what the crap is going on in this show, but I am still hooked on it and can't wait for Tuesday nights to roll around. Favorite characters: Kate and Sawyer

The Soup
The highlight to my week is watching Joel McHale mock VH1 reality idiots, LA morning show and Laguna Beach pricks. Favorite character: Joel closely followed by the chihuahua

Parks & Recreation
• Amy Poehler is brilliant. Diverse cast which makes the show appeal to a wide audience. I love style of the opening credits too. Favorite character: April and Andy

24
• Sure, this show has been on forever and every season it's basically the same plot, but it's still good. It's the last season and, like a dying dog, even though I'm fine to see it go, I'll stick with it till the end. Favorite character: Cloe

I (really) cooked for the first time

2010-03-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

For real. I mean I've cooked a grilled cheese here and there. I've even thrown a few patties on my George Foreman, but REALLY cook? I don't know the first thing about it.

The kitchen is the place that I go to microwave things. I know it has many other uses, but like I use my bedroom to sleep in, my bathroom to shower in, my laundry room to clean clothes in, I use my kitchen to microwave in.

My friend and self-taught chef, Allie, agree to trade Photoshop lessons for cooking classes. So last Friday we spent a few hours at Whole Foods getting everything we needed to make my first 3-course meal. She taught me that using the best ingredients is key. We smelled all the cheeses, sifted through the stacks of vegetables, and conversed with the butcher about the best choice in chicken. It was the best 2 hours I've spent in a grocery store and I didn't even leave with bags full of Eggo waffles, Coke, little smokies, and tortilla chips.

The menu included an appetizer of an green apple & brie bruschetta on pumpernickel. The main course was homemade fettucine alfredo with grilled asparagus. For dessert, we had an baked apple crisp thing. It had a fancy name but I can't remember it. We shared the meal with Tim and Jake and it was a hit! I mean they have had my specialty "Pigs in a Blanket" but this blew that out of the water.

Here are the top things I learned after my first night of cooking with Allie.

• The most important item you should have when cooking is a great knife and a great cutting board.
• Always taste every ingredient before using it.
• Clean up as you go.
• People eat with their eyes before they eat with their mouths. Presentation is everything.
• Everything looks better on a white plate.
• Great food requires great ingredients. Don't be a tightwad.
• When it comes to cheese, the stinkier the better.
• When possible, use chicken with the bone in and the skin still on it. Not quite as healthy, but the taste is so much better.
• Cook for and with fun people.