City Sweet City

Money Poor, Word Rich.

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:56:31 -0500

Whilst showering this morning, something compelled me to write…so much so that I forget if I had shampooed already or not. I shampooed again just for good measure.

Maybe it’s the recent discovery that until I receive my next round of financial aid (oh right—since last posting, I left my job, am getting an MBA, moved apartments, have many small travels of note to retro-blog, and am occupying my 30th year of life), I have $10 a day to live on. In and of itself, this is both awful and totally fine. The horizon between when I’ll be dirt broke (poor is I suppose not the correct word, what with all its implications) and earning again is quite short. That said, it will be peculiar to keep up appearances that I am in fact an adult who does grownup things, like going to happy hours and paying parking meters and buying high protein yogurts, when I really have no business buying anything but the bare minimum.

Other things…let’s see…things in life have re-aligned but definitely for the best, minus the whole cashflow situation. I (we) live in a bizarre apartment with things I thought were most important, like a backsplash and crown molding, but also with other things I would never wish on my greatest enemy. A) Nonstop neverending noise from the neighbors above, in the form of screaming fights alternating with stomping and a daily doorslam or two. B) We can afford said backsplash because of concessions made to our rent due to ongoing construction outside. As in, a few feet away from the place is the perhaps largest most aggravating collection of sounds possible, expanding the most troublesome freeway in California, if not the entire U.S. Yes, the 405 Expansion Project is here to stay, and the lullaby of pile drivers and yelling has unfortunately become par for the course. But hey—I got that backsplash!

I’d also add that I’ve turned into a pretty bipolar specimen of “spreadsheets by day; domestic research by night.” That is, I fill (and painstakingly stretch) my brain space every day at school, becoming the most prepared I can for this summer’s marketing internship at the world’s largest toy company. Pivot tables? Yes we can!

Night time for me is an experiment at perhaps acting my age—I try to cook, and I stare at clothing combinations, dream houses, and one million and five creative wedding ideas on Pinterest and blogs.

It’s time for me to depart for class now but I have a feeling I’ll be back soon…

Well Darnit

Thu, 10 May 2012 15:14:20 -0400

It’s been over two months since I last blogged here…I am feeling a little “overconnected” these days via the two blogs (this one and Team in Training one), Facebook, two personal Twitters and one for work, work Facebook and social media, Instagram, Pinterest…and I never even had a chance to try out that drawing game with friends. Don’t even remember what it’s called.

I saw a meme the other day—Sudden Clarity Clarence—that reasoned the internet is full of cat people because dog people go outside. So true! Not that I have a dog. Anyway.

Am hoping to pull together some cohesive topics that I can write about soon that DON’T involve my wetsuit, or my running shoelaces, or electrolytes, or my bike cadence…there are actually lots, and lots is going on these days. Will probably also get back to longer blogs with upcoming travel and weddings (hello, summer).

In any case, life is good, and full, and blessed. I am so lucky and a bigger picture is starting to form for the path ahead of me.

Friday Thoughts

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:41:42 -0500

I have a stupid crush on someone at work. How does that even happen if we’ve barely ever spoken? Sure—allllll is well until I see that person and drop things or trip over my own shoe. And my voice gets weird. What? No. Not helping. And sometimes I stare in his general direction, just to see if he’s there and being attractive as usual. I probably look like I’m perusing something interesting in the ether. And in the most strange of reactions to him, I am pretty sure I frown, look down, and appear to be focused on something whenever he passes by (as opposed to smiling or saying hi, as normal humans might do). But then in an even worse choice, I speak all animated-like to other people when I’m near but not super close, in an effort to appear wildly interesting and witty. Of course I usually garble my words and don’t make sense, prompting those around me to question my employment in general.

What’s further helpful to the situation and state of me crushing on this person is that I’ve seen him out—TWICE—with his adorable girlfriend. So actually this is not helpful.

IN OTHER NEWS I am training hard for my race in July and some great things are going on at work. Lots of upcoming weddings and showers and small trips, and the summer is filling up. I have been saving some writing topics to focus on once I’m past more of my fundraising for this race, as I am putting time and wordiness into that for the given time. Topics so far: Productivity, Advanced Topics in Nutrition, and the Wide Wide World of Specialized Dating Sites. Also on deck is a collaboration with one of my favorite bloggers and greatest friends. Travel has been on hold but I’m dying to take a trip just for the sake of fun. I think that’s called vacation; I’m not sure.

Happy Friday and Spring Break and OH LOOK SOMEONE IS BRINGING ME A CUPCAKE GOTTA GO.

One Small Rant

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:46:48 -0500

Rant: Not every statement is worthy of being ended with “LOL.” Done. STOP USING LOL.

TnT Takeover!

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:47:33 -0500

Dedicating blog for a while to my Team in Training efforts…read more here!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/VineHIrn12/amccart5f5

Acceptance

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:33:26 -0500

Please God help me to accept things.

[text removed; self pity isn’t a good look on anyone.]

I LOVE CUPCAKE

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:35:39 -0500

I volunteered to bring dessert to a dinner party on Sunday. The result was these little monsters. They were very, very easy.

Place a Reese’s Cup (mini size) in each baking cup.
Make cupcake mix according to box; pour into cups; bake. Taste cake batter.
Stir one can of whipped buttercream frosting with some semisweet mini choco morsels AND a couple tablespoons of peanut butter; put in fridge while you wait.
Let baked cupcakes sit about 45min to cool; frost; add ANOTHER Reese’s on top. Et voila. Oh wait—if you’re me, you’re not done yet…
Bring to friends’ home; act coy and bashful when people ooo and ahh over the fat, fat cupcakes. Then slice one in half to take anatomically correct Instagram of cupcake innards. Then perhaps stage the remainder of them on someone else’s pretty dining room table and take more Instagram. THEN you can serve them.

What I enjoy most about cupcakes is that everyone loves to look at them. So while I have you captivated with:

I would like to turn your attention to my fundraising page for the South Maui Triathlon, which I am raising money for on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you donate, I’ll post more cupcake pictures! And also I will train for and complete a triathlon. And everyone wins.

Donate here and everyone wins —> http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/kingtri12/amccart5f5

Thanks for stopping by!

xo Alanna

P.S. Tomorrow I’m New York-bound for the quickest trip in history. Today I am going home after work—no joke—to pick out which TSA-approved mini liquid items to bring and to overplan as usual. Does anyone else find joy in doing this??

Enough!

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:45:50 -0500

So this morning at the gym as I watched myself in the mirror, doing hammer curls atop a Bosu ball along with my cohorts, I had a simple thought:

“Hey you! You sure do put a lot of work into this body—there is a super hot physique under that one layer of a few pounds you don’t HAVE to lose but could…it’s those damn last few pounds.”

Now I’m not and never will be a fan of starving; it’s not possible for me. I do not advocate messing significantly with your metabolism as it will come back to bite you in the fat. I am actually a big fan of doing the calorie counting though, because it’s math and it keeps me accountable, and allows for a cupcake or glass of wine here and there (several times a week) if you balance out with a light dinner at the end of the day. Weight loss is creating a calorie deficit and nothing more. If you build muscle from working out, you will burn marginally more calories per day but you must must care about your munchies. If you are on a restrictive diet, you will probably lessen the calories because you are eating unappetizing crud all day and just keep dreaming of the day your diet is over. And then you will blow it and then you will feel bad and wonder why it’s so frustrating.

I love breakfast (which is a great time to get energy in the form of whatever your body wants) but my weakness is dinner. I don’t like eating too much at work because we all know that leads to dreaming and naps. Nothing like thinking about a nap when you’re one-thirtieth through a spreadsheet. So it’s me versus dinner, and I am determined to do this. By do this I mean stop rewarding myself for a hard day’s work with truffle pizza. The real reward is that hot bod underneath….THE LAYER.

So sure, there will be slip ups and foods that are just so freakin’ good they’re worth tasting. For some reason, I have FINALLY found the statement that works for ME (the one above where I tell myself what’s just waiting to emerge) and it’s making every food choice more impactful. I don’t want to think about food all day long, and that’s the point. My goal is to fill up with the sort of calories that leave me full of variety, vitamins, protein, whole grains, and the occasional cupcake.

I am a control freak. I planned my meals this morning on an app I love and have used for a while (check out Lose It! here) and I think I will see some real changes by summer, or Coachella, or heck by some meetings I have coming up in the next few weeks (pantsuits, gross). That said, because this is in public domain, IANAD (I am not a doctor). This is not medical advice or recommendation. But it sure as heck is about owning up to what’s keeping you back from your goals. I know about at what point I need to keep my calorie intake in order to keep the metabolism going but allowing for calorie deficit via that exercise that brought me to this conclusion in the first place.

And with a triathlon and training coming up, it will need to be about eating for function, not eating to fill my fat girl emotional boredom. I figure also if I keep my fingers busy writing more, they’ll have less time to eat Peachy-O’s. So tonight I made something great and really easy. I give you…the Warm Spinach Strawberry Salad.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice one cup of fresh strawberries over fresh baby spinach leaves (about half a bag, really as much as you like because it’ll shrink a little). Drizzle a couple tablespoons of red wine vinegar over the mix and sprinkle with black pepper. Put in the oven for 8-10 minutes and you’ve got this combo of nice warm spinach and the awesomeness of strawberries. It sort of tastes like pie.

I think for most this would be a good side salad and would be best with your preferred form of protein. My daily calorie count allows for a glass of wine so cheers to defeating The Layer, one night at a time!

I love nothing more sometimes than peer-reviewed articles and...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:03:35 -0500

I love nothing more sometimes than peer-reviewed articles and sound data sets.

Swoon.

I need a copy.

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:02:16 -0500

I need a copy.

to the max

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:35:46 -0500

Hi! Happy New Year. Pause whichever “Sh*t ____ Say” video you’re watching. Let’s recap. It’s January 21st. I have just now removed my Christmas songs from my iPod in anticipation of today’s workout, and with that changing of the guards, I am ready for a new season. It is hard to let go of [EEEK must interject here mid-sentence that someone is walking on my roof…this is strange. Sorry where was I…] that comfortable feeling of hiding away by the fireplace, knowing that your only responsibility is to bake cookies and give people gifts, and play with your new toys…I guess I usually give myself the month to get back in the swing.

Holiday was perfect - home for Thanksgiving, back for birthday(s) [yes, multiple, somehow], Texas Christmas, Nashville New Year’s. No drama; all awesome.

This year has so far meant maximizing every day. That USED to mean exhausting myself, running all over the place in some show of “I’m Busy” that—I dare say—I maybe didn’t care about. Whether it was work-related apathy, or going through the motions at a social outing, or boring workouts, it was once about crossing a day off the calendar. Terrible idea! Things have been so much more fun this year. Why? Because I have begun to accept that life is weird, temporary, amazing, and full of grace.

As I sit here catching up on this week’s Revenge and drinking my coffee, I have seen like seven teasers for the nightly news, all of which remind me that, earlier this week, two women found a human head while hiking near the Hollywood sign. Oh but now they’ve found hands and legs too, or something like that. It’s really awful and grisly and I will take a short hiatus from hiking those trails, which I will mention I have gotten lost in, so that’s creepy. So yes, there are all sorts of uncertainties out there, and one neither expects to find a severed head during leisure activities nor have one’s head be found by unsuspecting hikers…but life can go all sorts of ways. And it’s also not all about you, or me, but can sometimes be about figuring out why there are body parts hidden all over the Hollywood Hills like Easter eggs.

Making the most has lately meant having some fun and taking some risks. Impulsively I have signed up to complete a triathlon in June and will be fundraising to proceed the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS):

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/kingtri12/amccart5f5

It’s all I want to talk about until I reach my goal, so I might. Or I can also talk about how I do love Pinterest. Pinterest is the best. Pinterest is an adult bed-time story with lots of pictures. I can literally point at pictures and move them onto my boards and just like them. I have absolutely no clue how people can take time away from Pinteresting to actually make any DIY stuff or put together unexpected spring fashion ensembles. Maybe you’ve gotta start small and make one goat cheese recipe per week…

Time to go clean my sock drawer and do other simple and satisfying things. Oh, also, thanks Adare for sharing my blog with your med school buddies…shout out to TAMU Med School first years and now I’m a little self-conscious that my posts might sometimes be lame and/or cliche or both. Will do very best to deliver! And good luck on Monday’s test, y’all.

bbook: Following a battle with leukemia, singing legend Etta...

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:39:44 -0500

bbook:

Following a battle with leukemia, singing legend Etta James has died at the age of 73. Known for iconic songs like “At Last” and “Spoonful,” James was a throwback to an older, more glamorous era of singing stardom, a diva who built the model for Aretha and countless others. She was an enduring figure, one who struggled with drugs and weight but never lost her stature in the canon nor her recognizable voice. Remaining active with a new album released in November 2011, she announced just a month later that she was terminally ill. “This is a tremendous loss for the family, her friends and fans around the world,” her longtime manager Lupe De Leon said. “She was a true original who could sing it all — her music defied category.”

Etta James Dies at 73

Fave show. I want to live in the show.

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:39:18 -0500

Fave show. I want to live in the show.

Martin Luther King Jr Quotes: 12 Inspirational Excerpts on Tumblr

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:51:27 -0500

Martin Luther King Jr Quotes: 12 Inspirational Excerpts on Tumblr:

Many in the United States got the day off work Monday in celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights leader and minister credited with bringing equal rights to African Americans, and tangentially, many other minority groups. Even after his assassination in 1968, his …

5 Travel Brands Inspiring Wanderlust on YouTube

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:41:02 -0500

5 Travel Brands Inspiring Wanderlust on YouTube:

The Digital Marketing Series is supported by HubSpot, an inbound marketing software company based in Cambridge, MA, that makes a full platform of marketing software, including lead generation tools. As German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once noted, “A man’s delight in looking forward to an…

Eaux Neaux! On Remaining Classy in the Face of Disgrace

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:53:28 -0500

This morning I received this email from my father:

“The Tigers did not play well or respond and make adjustments last night, and neither did the coaches. The following football truisms were validated:

1. A great defense will win championships (your opponent can’t score to win and the defense stays on the field too long and gets tired)

2. You cannot make mistakes against a good team throughout the game and win

3. It is hard to beat a good team twice in the same year (especially in the SEC )

4. Your quarterback needs to play a good, smart game – Alabama’s did, LSU’s did not”

So true, good sir! The game really was awfully hard to sit through, but I miss being there with family nonetheless. Part of me will always bleed purple, gold, and honey badger.

Oh crud I’ve gotta pack up now at the office and thereby end this post…just needed to give the blog a little southern love reminder. ‘Twas it not for Louisiana State University, my parents would not have fraternized way back in the collegiate times, and neither I nor my blog would be here to spend the last ten minutes of work slapping this entry up.

Happy Friday! This is cake.

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:18:19 -0500

Happy Friday! This is cake.

Duck Fat Fries, Upright Citizens, and Bourbon in a Milkshake

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:31:46 -0500

Anyone been to Franklin & Company? This is the newest spot on the Franklin/Bronson strip of nightlife and eateries…as I understand it, the menu includes a milkshake containing an Old Fashioned, which caught my attention initially in the UrbanDaddy notice I received about it. UrbanDaddy is like the Ryan Gosling of Groupons, really.

I am planning out—scheming—some “LA Experience” nights for a guest list that up until now includes myself and my iPad but I’m sure I can convince others to join. I am restoring my love for this place via things like gourmet fries (a la Duck Fat) and proximity to activities that broaden the spectrum of activities I do. Right now those activities are mainly confined to “things on the schedule at Equinox gym.” What better way to balance that out than with alcohol-infused ice cream shakes, french fries dripping with oil, and laughter? I have, as I’m sure is the case with those who frequent it, always wanted to witness the next big SNL star at Upright Citizens Brigade (which is next door to this and the other fine establishments on what I believe to be one of the best blocks in the city) and I’d like to be properly fattened when I do, thanks very much.

Here’s another picture of the interior…I love a good solid oak barrel.

Franklin & Company
5923 Franklin Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90028
323-463-1552
official website

Want for wall. mini-mal-me: SMART over SWAG!

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:57:33 -0500

Want for wall.

mini-mal-me:

SMART over SWAG!

Me to a tee.

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:54:37 -0500

Me to a tee.