Goodbye 2010

Yes, It is at the end of the first month of 2011 and I am finally blogging this. What can I say? I have a love/hate relationship with my blog. I'll give it lots of attention before I get bored and stop calling it. So anyways without any further delay here are my top highlights of the year that was in no particular order and by no means deep...

1. I ate but didn't make it to Pray or Love

I had this great idea that I would have my own stay-cation style spiritual journey a la Eat, Pray, Love. The eating part was easy for a foodie like me but then as you noticed the blogging just stopped. What happen? Well, I got a yoga mate, a yoga DVD, and some prayer beads but not as much time as I wanted. So, maybe what I ended up proving was that sometimes you do have to get away from it all in order for these things to work. Bitch magazine, you've made your point!

I do have to mention though that I did see the movie and started (but not finished) the book. They are both really good. Also, I think that Richard Jenkins should have gotten a nomination for his turn as Richard from Texas...but the academy never asks my opinion:)

Anyways, I might get back on track with this in the future but for now it's on the back burner.

2. A Farewell to Music Television


2010 was the year that MTV finally stopped kidding itself and dropped the "music television" from it's title. It was sad to see the music die and I will always have fond memories of watching it as a kid while staying at my grandparent's apartment during summer break. Sadly the MTV of my youth that I loved so much has warped itself into a reality show nightmare. It makes sense for them to adapt their name. Fortunately I can now watch a random assortment of music videos on The Cool TV.

On an unrelated MTV note for the year...Daria finally made it to DVD. La,la,la,la,la!

3. Jen Goes Glam

Okay, that's an exaggeration. I did re-embrace my girly side though this year. I finally got myself a stylist and stopped doing the random Famous Sams/Cost Cutter trips during my lunch breaks. My hair looks great because I have someone who knows what works for me. Also getting my hair done now is something I make time for instead of doing out of necessity while I'm in a rush. In addition I started visiting East Village Spa every few months for massages and facials and pampering, hanging out at Ultra and Sephora, continued my addition to Eden, expanded the amount of jewelry and shoes I own, and accidentally purchased myself a pricey hairdryer.

4. I Heart iMAC

In 2010 my poor computer decided it had enough of this world and kicked it right before Christmas. I was a little bummed but I had gotten it used for $50.00 with the help from a friend three years ago and it was getting old. It was the perfect time for an upgrade and a perfect way for me to decide what I was going to get myself for Christmas. I am now a very happy owner of an iMAC. It takes up less space because there is no tower and it comes with a cordless keyboard and mouse. Plus (and most importantly) it has enough juice to play World of Warcraft.

5. I Do Not Heart Twillight

This is a two parter (both vampire related). The first Twillight in question is Stephenie Meyer's vampire/werewolf saga. I had watched the first film when it came out in the theaters to see what the excitement was all about. It was fun to watch but only because I laughed all the way through it. It gave me no desire to want to see the next in the series. Then someone talked me into watching the second movie. Turns out it's about a love triangle between a self-destructive young girl, a boy who switches back and forth from telling her that he wants to protect her and telling her that if she isn't careful around him he'll hurt her and another boy who switches back and forth from telling her that he wants to protect her and telling her that if she isn't careful around him he'll hurt her. One of the guys doesn't wear a shirt and the other one sparkles. For some reason, I just can't put my arms around this series...

The second Twillight in question is the "big bad" from the Buffy Season 8 comic book. I am a big fan of the series and enjoy comics but reading Season 8 was like watching Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko and then watching his Southland Tales. The big reveal of the main villain wasn't as much of a "wow" as a WTF...literally! I did like some of the tiny subplots (slayer's with pink mohawks are way cooler than crazy ex-boyfirends who talk to dogs) and one-shots though. The last issue was also enjoyable. Here's hoping Season 9 is better .

6. Books


This year I actually read a lot of books. I contribute this to joining a book club and Stieg Larsson. Higher education had made me sick of reading for many years so it was nice to get back into enjoying it again. I am reading at least one book a month now and loving every word of it. It's also fun to compare books to their movie adaptations:)

7. Ingersoll Avenue Went Through Some Changes

This year after much debate a bike lane was added onto Ingersoll Avenue. Now while a bike lane does sound like a great idea there is one problem. Nobody uses it. I've been keeping a tally all year of the number of bikers I have seen on Ingersoll. The total for the year was four. I'm not kidding.

Luckily that wasn't the only interesting thing that happened on Ingersoll though this year. In the fall, DART (the metro bus system) had a free bus that took you to the East Village every Friday night. The bus driver told me there would be a vote on whether they would continue. I haven't heard anything about it since but hopefully this is something they will do again in the future. Also Red China Bistro opened as well as Copa Cavana. I haven't tried the later yet but Red is enjoyable. There was another Ingersoll Live and Art Stop as well. Plus Chocolate Stam started serving alcohol and having live music on the weekends.

Eat part 3: Baru 66

After I finished my dinner at the recently opened restaurant Baru 66, the waitress came up to my table and asked how everything how was. My response was "I think I just found a new favorite restaurant." I'm not sure if the chef is single or not (or even what he looks like and if he has a nice personality) but I think I may be in love.

My first course was the potato leek soup and, before you start yawning, I must mention this was not your typical potato leek soup. The soup was a creamy bisque with salmon fillet in the middle circled by escargot and then topped with caviar. And yes, it was as good as it sounds. The second course was the Parisienne gnocchi which was wonderful. The gnocchi actually tasted like potatoes with a hint of chive making it kind of an upscale comfort food. The final course was a peach creme brulee. It had whole chunks of peach in it and was served in a long shallow dish which meant more sugar to crack on the top (if you've seen the movie Amelie, you know what I'm talking about.

This was my favorite Restaurant Week stop and I will checking it out again hopefully in the near future. You can check out some pictures at their facebook page.

EAT part 2 : Alba

First day of Des Moines Restaurant Week 2010! I started by trying the East Village restaurant Alba. My three courses were as follows - carrot and mint soup, pork cheeks, and apricot clafloutis. The highlight for me was the carrot and mint soup and I was lucky enough to get the last bowl. The carrot and mint complemanted each other and were a refreshing combination. Neither of the main ingredients overwhelmed the other. The pork cheek was quite yummy as well and came with a lovely succotash. The dessert was good but I wasn't wowed by it and the presentation wasn't as pretty as the other courses.

My guest had the salmon tartar with homemade crackers which was very enjoyable. The only downside was that the dish came with a small jar of pickled veggies which were apparently too sour and absolutely dreadful. I would recommend the dish as long as you don't eat you vegatables.

All in all though, I'd go back for the soup alone. I don't think this will be my favorite stop during restaurant week though.

EAT Part 1 : The Iowa State Fair

Ah, the Iowa State Fair - golden fried indulgence at its best. In fact if you asked anyone what there favorite part of the fair is they would probably start listing of forms of junk food of the fried on a stick persuasion. The worst/most life threatening thing I ate was the deep-fried candybar. I actually ate the whole thing this year. Most years I can only get through about a third before I have to stop. I'm crediting this to the fact that I had been fasting on cold cereal the two previous days in anticipation of my gluttony.

Other than the fried candybar of death, I also had a turkey wrap, lamb walking taco, pancakes, and chocolate milk. I also enjoyed an assortment of samples. I can't want for A&E's chocolate banana milk and sea salt cottage cheese to hit the stands.

I, of course, had to make several stops by the Butter Cow. Who could resist looking upon a cow sculpted entirely out of butter. Food as art!

Eat, Pray, Love for the Underprivileged

Unless you've been seriously not paying attention, you know that the new Julia Roberts film Eat, Pray, Love just opened in theaters. I have not seen the movie yet or read the best selling novel it is based on although I plan on at least doing one or the other. I have however read articles in Entertainment Weekly as well as online reviews and critiques. So that's basically where my expertise in this subject lies.

After being slammed with numerous ads, trailers, teasers, and promotions (and getting that awesome Florence + The Machine song stuck in my head), I decided to check out what others were saying about the phenomenon. This "journey" of mine lead me to an article from Bitch Magazine called Eat, Pray, Spend, Priv-lit and the new, enlightened American dream which criticizes the novel as being part of the costly enlightenment industry which for the most part seems to be focused towards women. Having of course not read the novel yet, I'm not sure if it does indeed deserve this criticism or not however I'm inclined to think that the Bitch does have a point. I would love to spend a year traveling to Italy, Indonesia, and India but alas I can't afford it.

So, I'm going to do this staycation style and over a shorter time frame...

EAT

My new journey to enlightenment will begin of course with Eat and I have have to say this is all perfect timing for the Iowa State Fair and Des Moines Restaurant Week are upon us. Last night I made my first stop at Stam Chocolaterie on Ingersoll. For those who don't know, this European candy store does have a hidden night life on the weekends. The patio/garden on the side on the shop has a stage for live music which is played every Friday and Saturday and there is a full wine menu which features Sangria's and wine and chocolate flights (samples of four different wines paired with four different types of chocolate). I tried the Chocolaty Dutchman - wine with Picket Fence Creamery chocolate milk garnished with a dark chocolate medallion. This sexy drink is as good as it sounds. I paired it with a small bag of chocolates. Not the best dinner but I not ashamed to say that it was very satisfying:)

To Be Continued...

My Top Movies of 2009 (in no particular order)

Yes, like many bloggers before me, I am blogging about my favorite movies of 2009. I usually try not to do this not because of the "movie blogger cliche" but because I can only watch so many movies in the theater during the year because unfortunately I don't get paid to watch movies and by the time January comes along and all the critics are sharing their top ten lists and I am looking through these lists thinking to myself "that's not on video yet but I really want to see that" and...I'll just stop my rambling now. Long story short with some help from Blockbuster and a month delay, here is my list of favorite films for 2009. Hope you enjoy!

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox - "Here, put this bandit hat on." I love stop motion animation and the book Fantastic Mr. Fox and this movie is a wonderful representation of both. It is adorable, humorous, fun, and a cussing good time. Anyone other than Wes Anderson would have cussed it up.

2. Is Anybody There? - "I remember looking up at the stars and thinking what a great big universe this is. Now it's very very small." A movie about death set in a retirement home doesn't seem like something that would be appealing. But the story of the friendship that develops between an old magician and death-obsessed 10 year old is touching and uplifting.

3. (500) Days of Summer - "This is a story of boy meets girl. But you should know up front, this is not a love story." This quirky non-love story made me both laugh and cry (damn Regina Spektor song). Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zoey Deschanel are perfect as anti-Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan. And props for best use of a split screen since Carrie.

4. Inglourous Basterds - "You know somethin', Utivich? I think this might just be my masterpiece." How could one not love a spaghetti western revenge flick set in World War II? The tense opening scene is cinematic genius. Tarantino's dialog gets a little wording during the bar scene in the middle but I can forgive him for that.

5. The Proposal - "Do you prefer Margaret or "Satan's Mistress?' " This was just a fun movie to watch. Unlike a lot of recent romantic comedies, the cast is actually funny.

6. Sunshine Cleaning - "Um, we come into people's lives when they have experienced something profound - and sad. And they've lost somebody, you know? And um, the circumstances, they're always different. But that's the same. And we help. In some small way we, um, we help." There's nothing like finding a job that you are truly good at and can take pride in. And if that dream job happens to be cleaning up crime scenes, then so be it.

7. An Education - "I feel old. But not very wise." The young girl/older man plot has been done before and I thought this movie would fit into what has become the same basic plot. But this movie is different. The title actually refers to an education (the one with school books), the girl isn't naive or misunderstood (she's just young), and the man is charming without the creepy under tone that makes you wonder why nobody has mace him yet.

Eggs Benedict on a Budget

The McDonald's Egg McMuffin is essentially a variation of eggs benedict. It was created by Herb Peterson, a McDonald's franchisee, in 1972 as a "poor man's version" by replacing the hollandaise with a slice of American cheese. So if you are having a craving for eggs benedict, munching on the McMuffin in it's "natural" state is perfectly acceptable. However if you want a more traditional version of eggs benedict, just follow these easy steps.

1. Order the Egg McMuffin.
2. Ask for a small container of breakfast sauce (the sauce that they put on the bagel sandwiches - it's hollandaise) and a knife and fork
3. Find a booth and start assembling
4. Take the top off the sandwich
5. Pour/scoop the breakfast sauce onto the sandwich
6. Dash a little black pepper on top if desire
7. Eat and enjoy!

I love Eggs Benedict, I hate every other kind. - Maggie Carpenter (Julia Roberts) from Runaway Bride