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In Case You’re Hungry this Week…

03/08/2010 in Buckhead, Events!, Inman Park, Restaurant Weeks, Where we're Eating by Lauren | 4 comments

Please do not forget that it is BUCKHEAD RESTAURANT WEEK. I can’t wait to eat at Anis tonight! I’m feeling very French already...

You know, in Paris they're just "fries"

I know it’s late notice, but the INMAN PARK SPRING RESTAURANT WEEK is also 03/08 (today!) through 03/14!

The Q+DD on IPRW: You know the drill. Great restaurants at a crazy discount. One week only! Although, as a good-karma extra, this Spring, the event will benefit the Believe In Me Foundation, which supports the education and welfare of children with autism and is led by Chef Shaun Doty.

Bonus: $1 raffle tickets will be sold and will go towards the charity.  The Winner will win an hors d’ouerves, beer and wine party for 30 people hosted by Kevin  Rathbun.  Each participating chef will create an appetizer, chooose beer and wine, and celebrate the evening  with thirty of the winner’s friends.  

As in IPRWs past (view my previous post here) the restaurant discounts are in tiers:

$15: Fritti, Pure Taqueria, The Albert, North Highland Pub (dinner for 2)

$25: Wisteria, Parish Food & Goods, Fritti, Park’s Edge, Rathbun’s, Sauced, Shaun’s, Zaya Mediterranean Cuisine

$35: Kevin Rathbun Steak, Sotto Sotto

I must admit: I am SHOCKED that I can even THINK about food after the amazing amount of homemade Pizza Rolls and Milk Duds I consumed at our friend Meredith’s fabulous Oscar party last night…

= LK on the red carpet

xx, L

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The Mane Event!

03/05/2010 in Hair, Maintenence, Product by Lauren | No comments

SO here’s the thing: I have a very specific idea of how I want my hair to look. The hair I WANT is like Cameron’s:
Or Jessica’s:
Or Reese’s:

The hair that grows out of my head, however? Something more like…

Sideshow Bob.

Over the years, I’ve learned how to beat my mane into submission, but between the straightening irons, curling irons, hot rollers, velcro rollers, blowdryers, highlights, lowlights, bi-yearly Keratin treatments and products, products, products… My poor hair takes a LOT of abuse.

Eventually, it starts looking and feeling well, a little like…

…you know what I mean.

Friends, I have FOUND A MIRACLE PRODUCT:

Redken Smooth Down Butter Treat

Here’s the Q+DD: You can use this product either as a leave-in conditioner OR a masque-type treatment. The instructions say that if you are using it as a leave-in, to apply a dime sized amount to towel dried hair before styling. If you’re using it as a treatment, apply liberally to your hair and leave in for 10-15 minutes before rinsing.

But being from the school of “More is Better”, I have been sleeping in gobs of this stuff for the last 3 nights and my hair did a 180!

No lie, I picked Linds up last night and she asked me if I had in extensions. My hair isn’t any longer, it’s just healthier and shinier and fuller.

If you are having haystack head problems, I am begging you to run out to your nearest CVS and pick some up. Just so you don’t have sticker shock, it’ll run you about $20, which seems like a lot for something you don’t get at a fancy-pants salon, but just do it, ok?

In short: Celebrity Hair, HERE I COME!

…and just in time for the Oscars!

xx, L

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Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

03/03/2010 in Events!, PSAs, Random Musings, What we're Doing, What we're Reading by Lauren | 3 comments

Did you know that yesterday was dear ol’ Dr. Seuss’s birthday? Well, it was.

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on 03/02/04!

Throughout my whole life, I have ALWAYS been a big Dr. Seuss fan, I’m sure we all were at one point or another, right?  I mean, whose childhood didn’t include The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who, or Green Eggs and Ham?

Usual Suspect.

Sidebar: remember when Season 5 Top Chef contender Carla made Green Eggs and Ham during a quickfire challenge?



Don’t you think she kinda looks a little like a resident of Whoville?:

Coincidence? I think not...

Hootie-hoo, Carla! (I love you.)

I digress.

As I was saying, somehow Dr. Seuss always finds his way into my life at every stage. Some of my earliest memories are of my superawesome dad making up tunes to the silly songs in The Cat in the Hat Songbook…

Plinker Plunker!

…and as a suddenly environmentally-conscious 5th grader, I wrote what I considered to be a very moving paper on The Lorax.  Sometimes, riiiiight around wine-time, DK will dig it up to embarrass the heck out of me.

"I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues!"

The Good Doctor Seuss even followed me to college when DK gave me a copy of Oh, The Places You’ll Go as I settled into my dorm room at the University of Texas.

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose."

Oh, and let’s not forget about Seussical the Musical (!!!) which opened on Broadway in 2000!  (…just to be sure that eeeeeeeevery last one of my tender little heartstrings were played upon…)

"Just tell yourself, duckie, you're really quite lucky!"

Then, when I moved to NYC myself, I met a wonderful guy named Andrew who educated me on the lost art of Dr. Seuss:

From www.drseussart.com: “Dr. Seuss single-handedly forged a new genre of art that falls somewhere between the Surrealist Movement of the early 20th Century and the inspired nonsense of a precocious child’s classroom doodles.”

Andrew had a truly mesmerizing (not to mention enormous) landscape painting in his apartment and I came to learn that Seuss not only worked in illustrations and paint, but also bronze sculpture and “unorthodox taxidermy”

Even now, as a full-fledged adult (scary.), I often find myself considering the wise words of Dr. Seuss.  Check it:

“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is you-er than you.”

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

And finally, my favorite (my sister’s favorite too):

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

Bringing it all full-circle for me, next Saturday my very, very dear friends Jess and Adam will be celebrating the first birthday of THE MOST ADORABLE CHILDREN EVER, otherwise known as their kids, my pseudo niece and nephew, Eli and Alexa, with a Seuss-themed birthday party…where the twin guests of honor will appear as Thing 1 and Thing 2!

Precious!

But if you’d like to have your OWN Seuss celebration, you’re in luck.  On SUNDAY, MARCH 21st the Breman Jewish Heritage & Holocaust Museum, will be hosting a “Seussian” Birthday Party in conjunction with their fascinating exhibition, “Dr. Seuss Goes to War…and More!”, a collection of Ted Grisel’s WWII political cartoons.

showing now through 08/31/10

Click here for details.

So, HAPPY 106th BIRTHDAY, Dr. Seuss… from the Q+DD!

oh, and happy 1st birthday, A + E! Aunt LK loves you!

Oh, the places you'll go!

xx, L

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Cooking w/ L + L: {semi-} Homemade Cupcakes!

03/01/2010 in Guilty Pleasures, Tricks of the Trade, What we're Cooking by Lauren | 1 comment

You know the drill: I don’t cook. The best thing I make is reservations. I use my oven for storage. Yadda yadda yadda…

However, I recognize that there are times in which cooking is necessary and a smart girl always has a few tricks in her arsenal. For instance, last week was The Ginger’s birthday and and excellent excuse for my famous cupcakes!

Plus, making cupcakes is a RIOT:

Funfetti!

I’m hesitant to give away all my tricks of the trade, but doctoring up a cake mix is pretty darn simple. If I can do it, you can, too! (If you’re a super cook, you can just skip this post, because I’m going to write it r.e.a.l.l.y. simple for the culinarily challenged…like myself.)

Here’s what you need:

2 boxes yellow cake mix (I like Duncan Heins)
6 eggs
2 sticks (unsalted) butter
2 packages vanilla pudding mix
1 tub of milk chocolate frosting
1 tub of vanilla frosting
2c sour cream
Coarsely ground sea salt
Vanilla extract
Spatula
Muffin tins
Muffin cups
Hand-held mixer (I know, I couldn’t believe I had one, either!)

Suggested accoutrements:
Some type of round candy: I like the salted caramel balls by Choxie…found at Target…IF you can manage NOT to eat them all before you ice and decorate your cupcakes
Black and white sprinkles (separate)
Teeny tiny funnel

Ok, then it’s easy-squeezy. I do this in 2 batches.

1. Combine 1 box of cake mix, 1 stick of softened butter, 3 eggs, 1 package of pudding mix, 1c sour cream and a dash of vanilla extract, mix well and fill the muffin cups in your muffin tins about 3/4 full

(The box says it will make 24 cupcakes, but what they don’t mention that they will be weeny cupcakes. Fill ‘em fuller and each recipe will only make about 18 or so. Particularly if you, um, “taste” the batter. A lot. Don’t judge me.)

2. Bake according to the instructions on the box.

3. Repeat and let all cupcakes cool on cooking racks (I can’t believe I had these, either.) You’ll have about 32 nice, big cupcakes.

4. While the cupcakes are baking/cooling, spoon your chocolate and vanilla icing into two separate bowls. To each: add a tablespoon or so vanilla extract and a few grinds of sea salt. Make sure you taste along the way, so it doesn’t get too vanilla-y or, yuck, too salty. But ton’t be shy, either. The salt is perfect for cutting the supersweet frosting (Thanks to Cari of Sugar Sugar for the tip!)

5. Once the cupcakes have cooled, ice 1/2 with chocolate and 1/2 with vanilla. Then I decorate like this:

  • 6 chocolate frosting with white chocolate round candy on top
  • 6 chocolate frosting with white sprinkles JUST in the middle of the cupcake (use the funnel)
  • 6 vanilla frosting with chocolate round candy on top
  • 6 vanilla frosting with chocolate sprinkles on top

Then I arranged them in my double-decker cupcake caddy (also found at Target) and voilà!

BONUS: You’ll have about 8 extra cupcakes. Throw a couple of those bad boys in some Tupperware and a nice little note and BAM! Perfect “just because” gifty-gift for doormen, fabulous coworkers, neighbors, etc. Luckily I had some hot pink sprinkles on hand, perfect for Kindredly’s birthday last week!

I may not be a domestic goddess…
…but, as DK says, “fake it till you make it!”

xx, LK

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Katie’s Pick!

02/27/2010 in Katie's Picks, Where we're Shopping by Lauren | 2 comments

"Shimmy" by Blowfish $39

Katie says,

“Shimmy into these adorable little Blowfish summer flats in either scarlet red, bronze, or pewter (pictured)
Or better yet, since these babies will only set you back $39, why not get all three?

Shimmy into Gus Mayer soon before they shimmy out the door!”

To get yours, call my seestah, Katie, at 205 877 8554 at or pop by Gus Mayer in Birmingham!

xx, L

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Coiffure and Canvas

02/26/2010 in Events! by Lauren | No comments

Y’all…there is an art gallery…INSIDE MY HAIR SALON.

Yes, it’s true. Since 2004, Studio Todd G has also been the home of the E•Weber Gallery, which showcases gorgeous artwork by local, regional and international artists.

I love it because it gives me something nice to look at instead of my Blackberry or the inside of a Cosmopolitan Magazine while I sit with 54lbs of foil on my head. Usually when I am there, I am laser-focused on my hair. Everything else is secondary. (Dead serious about my highlights; not apologizing for it.)

Tonight and Sunday, however, the artwork will take the lead!

The show is tonight, February 26th from 6:30-9:30p and Sunday, February 28th from 12:00-5:00p.

I’m not going to tell you what to do, but you know? I think you should go. Great art, great prices, great people.

You can visit the website here, the Facebook page here, and the blog here

Happy Friday, y’all!

xx, L

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Best of Atlanta: Our Night in Pictures

02/25/2010 in Camp Twin Lakes, Events!, What we're Watching, Where we're Eating by Lauren | 3 comments

Monday night was Atlanta Magazine’s BEST OF ATLANTA party and you better believe Christine, Lindsay and I were in attendance. The Q+DD on BoA is this: zillions of superawesome Atlanta restaurants serving miniature plates of signature dishes + wine, beer, and liquor companies with samples to share + silent auction + live music…and all the proceeds go to Camp Twin Lakes. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend.

Here is our night…in pictures!

First things first. We made a beeline for Holeman and Finch…duh. They were dishing up miniature versions of their FAMOUS burg! Of course, they weren’t quite as good as the full-sized version…but they were pretty darn close. After a cocktail at the Ciroc vodka stand we dashed over to the Infinity VIP lounge to fulfill our volunteer duties greeting VIP guests:

Brian: "we're here to welcome you to VIP. As less important people, we welcome you!"

We schmoozed and sipped wine and and were entertained by local magician, Joe Turner. (Who, incidentally, was not employed by Camp Twin Lakes, Room and Board, OR Infinity. Just a really nice magic dude!) After we were sprung, we proceeded to consume…121957249581 calories in both food and alcohol and made lots of new and interesting friends!

Witness:

"all night long! all night long!"

(we love bacon, too.)

Our favorites included tacos from Nuevo Laredo, cookies and crème cupcakes and peanut butter truffles from Highland Bakery, sushi from Nori Nori, bacon and maple popcorn from the Porter, experimental pizzas from Mellow Mushroom, and we all went back for seconds at Sublime Donuts. To. Die. For.
Buckhead Life, though? Fail. The emperor has no food!

Kyma Fail.

Fish Market Fail.

Buckhead Diner Fail.

The biggest laugh I had all night was we walked by the GA Aquarium booth and Lindsay said she hoped they weren’t serving fish…

Sushi?

We had a BLAST, everyone did! Can’t wait for next year!

xx, L

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Buckhead Restaurant Week: 03/06 – 03/14

02/24/2010 in Buckhead, Deals + Steals, Events!, Restaurant Weeks, Where we're Eating by Lauren | 1 comment

I am ALL ABOUT various neighborhood restaurant weeks. It’s a combination of my favorite things: restaurants, good deals, and hype.

That said, you should know that the inaugural Buckhead Restaurant week is right around the corner! 3 courses for $25? Yes, please!

Here are a few of my favorite participants:

Anis
Anis is such a perfect little date spot! It’s this amazing little French resto in a charming little house off Grandview. They have an outside patio (and allow pups!) as well as cozy inside seating. Love!

Aria
(Or Aria’s as my mom calls it.) If you have never been, you are seriously missing out. Aria is one of my favorite restaurants in the city – it’s romantic, the food is amazing, and it’s very glam in an understated sort of way.

Bistro Niko
You know a restaurant is cool when EZ elects to celebrate her birthday there!In the bottom of the Soverign building, this chic little French bistro is the newest addition to the Buckhead Life restaurant group. The bar area is especially cool.

Capital Grille
Two words: Stoli Doli. When l lived in the Eclipse (located just behind the restaurant) this was my go-to happy hour spot. It’s a higher-end steak joint, and everything on the menu is delish, but the lobster mac + cheese will change your life and the calamari is out of this world. Their signature cocktail is the “Stoli Doli” – a martini made with pineapple infused vodka. DELISH. Plus, it has the whole country club chic thing going on and I love that.

Kyma
Another Buckhead Life participant, and Lindsay’s favorite big fat Greek restaurant. Go get your taramasalata on, yo.

Nava
I celebrated a landmark birthday here and will always have a special place in my heart for blue cornbread, prickly pear margaritas, and lobster tacos…

Other participating restaurants are Aja (it’s pronounced like Asia, FYI, not Ah-zjh-ah- I asked!), Aqua Bistro, Atlanta Fish Market, Blue Pointe, Cantina (where Lola used to be), Craftbar, Gordon Biersch, Home, Market, Paces 88, The Palm, Pricci, Prime, Ruth’s Chris, Shula’s 347, and The Grape.

You can make reservations by calling the restaurants (duh) or on Opentable.com, a sponsor of the event.

Please note that alcohol and gratuity are not included in the $25.

Happy fine dining on a dime!

xx, L

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“Things I Want…

02/22/2010 in PSAs by Lauren | No comments

…But Do Not Need.”

Alternate title:

“An Open Letter to Anyone Who Wants to Buy Me a Present”

Or:

“Irresponsible Purchases I am Seriously Contemplating”

1. I ADORE my “play” watch. It’s the gold menswear Michael Kors:

Boss.

BUT: since I purchased it, he’s come out with one I want a little more:

I had been eying the tortoise shell version for a little while, but the deal was sealed for me on Saturday night: I developed a somewhat serious girl crush on one of The Ginger’s superchic and fabulous girlfriends visiting from Nashville.

f.a.b.

When she mentioned this watch, I decided it was love. Peer pressure works every time…

So, yesterday, I went to go visit the watch in the MK store with my mom and almost convinced her to buy it for herself (with the old bait-and-switch in mind) but, alas, she was on to me. So with a stick of the MK Leg Shine in my bag……and the watch still in the case, I made my way out the door. Ssssssigh.

2. As you may remember, I wear 2 perfumes. Either Ralph Lauren Blue or Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom and Honey. I have big bottles at home and small bottles in my purse and honestly? That’s more than anyone needs to be spending on fragrance, in my opinion. However, I am seriously considering the following as an addition:

Vintage Gardenia

It goes great WITH my current two, or alone, as Jo Malone is designed to do. It’s floral but not sickly sweet and I WANT IT.

3. Louis Vuitton Doctor Bag (the Speedy 30)
I officially covet this classic bag. Before my mother starts hyperventilating while reading this post, I need to mention that I WAS once in possession of one. DK had one in the late 80’s – early 90’s (as many stylish suburban housewives did) and generously (and, as it turns out, foolishly) bequeathed it on to me while I was in college.

Since I am an idiot and and since I was overly concerned with ridiculous teeny tiny baguettes at the time, when I moved to Manhattan, the bag somehow stayed in Austin. (Sidebar: To whatever Hill Country Hippie or Spoiled Sorority Girl who is currently sporting my….well, DK’s… Doctor Bag – YOU’RE WELCOME.)

OK. Other than an appointment with local Atlanta Dog-Whisperer, Ian and a standing blow-out appointment with Wael at Jamison Shaw, that is it for today.

“If wishes and buts were clusters of nuts, we’d all have a bowl of granola.”
- Strangers with Candy


xx, L

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A Couplea Things

02/19/2010 in Events!, Midtown, PSAs, Random Musings, Where we're Eating by Lauren | 3 comments

Listen. It’s Friday. And while my body may be here at the office, my brain is already out for the weekend. The forecast is spectacular and I just want to leave you with a few notable things before I peace out of here in favor of finding a nice patio on which to drink cocktails:

1. Last night Doc Hollywood and I FINALLY saw the Da Vinci exhibit at the High. It’s closing weekend, and I am officially suggesting you rush over there to view it before it’s gone.

In the interest of full disclosure, the collection is small and the Good Doctor was expecting a bit more sculpture, but I was absolutely fascinated by the early drawings and sketches. Even the teeny tiny ones were drawn with such meticulous detail, it really was, well, genius. DH’s favorite was a spectacular silver piece but I suspect his real favorite part was his entertaining creative narration:

"I am telling you! The red M&Ms taste much better than the brown ones!"

We were only slightly more mature than my last visit to the High. If you haven’t seen this post, I am begging you to do so.

We finished our night at One Midtown Kitchen: mussels, duck, ravioli and a fantastic SUPER TUSCAN (which is so much cooler than meritage just by name alone, yeah?). Now that? Is a perfect LK kind of night.

2. I know I am always looking for creative excuses for my punctuality problem, but last night, I didn’t need to fabricate anything because 85 was a nightmare due to Zebra Traffic. That’s right: a ZEBRA on the loose in downtown Atlanta. A ZEBRA, y’all.
3. Slick informed Linds and me that that today is the anniversary of the first day Mr. Rogers was nationally televised.
As you know, it is also Slick’s birthday. That is a truly remarkable coincidence. Happy birthday, Slick!

4. LuckyFest is right around the corner. 03/13/10.

More details to come, but use promo code “kraselsky” (no caps) for 20% off your ticket. They are $10 right now, but you know the drill. They increase leading up to the event and will eventually be $30.

ShamROCK it out, yo.

5. Atlanta Magazine’s Best of Atlanta Party (Benefiting Camp Twin Lakes!) is MONDAY. Um, It’s only my 2nd favorite CTL event of the year! Lindsay, Christine, and I will be hostessing the VIP lounge from 7-8p, but before and after we will be swilling delicious wine and cocktails, checking out the silent auction, and sampling the tasty vittles offered by Holeman and Finch, Sublime Donuts, Craft + Craftbar, BLT Steak, and other fabulous restaurants (for a complete list of participating bars and restaurants click here.)

Atlanta Magazine’s Best of Atlanta Party
Monday, February 22
6:00 p.m. VIP/Early Admission
$125 per person online
7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. General Admission
$60 per person online, $70 per person at the door

Click here for tickets.

OK! That’s about it. Happy Friday, everyone! I hope we all get out early!
xx, L

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…and I don’t eat meat because I’m a veterinarian…

02/18/2010 in Cabbagetown, Where we're Eating by Lauren | 2 comments

So, I had been DYING to try Dynamic Dish since I heard about the all organic, all vegetarian restaurant and yesterday at lunch, Christine made my veggie dreams come true!

Though I consider myself a carnivore, truthfully, my diet is largely vegetarian. I’ll often opt for the meat-free option on the menu and my protein of choice is definitely fish. I love soy, I love vegetables, and I can be very, very weird about chicken.

Additionally, I spent two years of my life dating a strict vegetarian and I can tell you first-hand how difficult it is to find a satisfying, delicious vegetarian restaurant.

I kid, I kid!

So obviously I was amped about DD. Every time I turn around someone (vegetarian or otherwise) is talking about how amazing it is and I am here to tell you that it’s worth the hype.

The Q+DD on DD (wow.) can be summed up in their mission statement:

Our mission is to provide fresh, nutritious meals for the modern/urban lifestyle. We offer food made of natural and organic ingredients, obtained from local and multi-cultural, natural resources and create tasty, imaginative meals that have a positive result on the well being of all ages.
~ David Sweeney

It’s this teeny little restaurant off Edgewood, and very simple in it’s décor. Currently, the art on the wall is that of local artist Jeff Hyde:
The menu changes daily and consists of only handful of choices which they broadcast via Twitter. Yesterday, C got the crimini mushroom soup with croutons + chervil and the salad which was mixed Georgia greens with pear, red onion, radicchio, and spiced pumpkin seeds. Both were DELICIOUS. I opted for the smoked trout salad sandwich with avocado and cucumber on “forbidden rice loaf with a side of dandelion, apple + pumpkin seed salad. AMAZING. Our server educated us on “forbidden rice loaf,” even showed us a little piece of literature but since I left that there, I can’t remember a thing. What I can tell you is this: it was fabulous and hearty and its made by some kind of short grain rice at Georgia’s first certified organic bakery, Magnolia Bread Company.

We were feeling so virtuous about our choices that we decided to reward ourselves and split a lemon cupcake and an almond coconut cookie dipped in chocolate. YUM.

It should probably be noted that the hours are a little quirky:

Tuesday 11-3
Wednesday 11-3
Thursday 11-3, 6-10
Friday 11-3, 6-10
Saturday 11-3, 6-10
(saturday is organic pizza night!)
sunday + monday = closed

But the verdict? I loved Dynamic Dish. I can’t wait to go back. It’s so good that even the biggest carnivore would appreciate. Oh, and its BYOB! You know how I love that.

xx, L

P.S. Please do not be overly concerned about my iron intake. I rounded my day out with a cheeseburger and fresh garlic fries at Bocado that evening. More on that later…

Dynamic Dish
www.dynamicdish.net
427 Edgewood Avenue Southeast
Atlanta, GA 30312
(404) 688-4344
Dynamic Dish on Urbanspoon

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That Boom Boom Pow

02/17/2010 in Events!, Parties, What we're Listening To by Lauren | 4 comments

So, I missed the Black Eyed Peas in Atlanta. But lucky for me, my friend JC (of Trendsetting Productions) invited me along as his +1 to the Birmingham show and to the after-party he produced at Club 1120 and it…was…AWESOME.
First of all, they put on a GREAT show. They’re each incredible performers, of course, but I also thought it was pretty interesting that the whole show was very futuristic. We didn’t get a great pic, unfortch, but Fergie’s opening costume looked a lot like EZ’s Halloween costume:

Always ahead of the trend...

The show had a heavy focus on technology. For instance, the tour was sponsored by Blackberry and you could BBM Will.I.Am and your message would appear on a screen during his set list. And they had dancing robots. That’s right. Dancing. Robots.
Witness:

see?

more robots

It was a great concert. Each of the Peas had their own solo time. Fergie was, of course, my favorite. I love her.

Check it out, it’s like she was singing right to me:

So pretty.

We had a BLAST. The icing on the cake was the after-party, though. JC produced the event, and as his +1, I got to accompany him not only to the party, but to the VIP section where all 4 Peas were hanging out. (!!!)

Appl breaking it down

It should be noted that I am NOT COOL around celebrities. In fact, when I lived in NYC, I worked at a high-end retailer on Madison Ave and eventually got banned from waiting on the celebrities after several awkward stammering incidences and a near meltdown over Liza Minelli. True story.
Anyway. Luckily, pictures were not permitted in VIP (otherwise you KNOW I would be plastering 283471242 pictures of my cheesy mug with Appl, Tabu, Will.i.Am AND Fergie all over the Q+DD.) JC and I tried to be sneaky and get them in the background. Unsuccessfully.

Who's that in the background? Oh, just my friend Tabu. Whatevs.

All I knew for sure was that I wanted to chat with Fergie. Bad. Luckily, JC was aware of my celebrity “problem” and was careful to spend what he thought was adequate time coaching me on my opening line. We eventually came up with:

“Hi, Fergie. My name is Lauren. My friend set up this party and we both live in Atlanta but I grew up in Birmingham and it’s great to see such a big name come through here. The show was great!”

We practiced several times. I felt prepared. I put my game face on, headed over to Fergie and….

“Hi. Um, HI. I’m Lauren. The show was…um…I’m obsessed with you.” <grin>

At which point, Jonathan saved me and I was eventually able to make a full recovery and act like a normal person with the rest of the BEPs and the crew.
Even though I was a bit of an idiot to Fergie, it was still “A Good, Good Night.” …In retrospect, perhaps I should have taken Mer’s advice and limited my conversation with Fergie to strictly discussing Kids, Inc…
…sssssssigh.

xx, L

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