Girl Friday

Unsolicited Pimping: Rituals Bath & Skin Care Products

This blog post is long overdue. Not only because just now have I been able to log into my Typepad account for the first time in weeks, but because Rituals lotions are the best I've ever found and I think you should know about them.

I first tried one of these lotions at a bridal shower that my Auntie Honey threw at her house. She had stuffed a handful of the purse-size versions in gift bags for us to take home. I loved the scent -- Calypso Sunrise, holla -- but after applying it to my hands and washing them once or twice that afternoon, I noticed that my skin was still soft. The lotions and body butters are incredibly emollient without being greasy at all. And both the softness and the scent lasts longer than any other products I've found anywhere near this price point.

When I pull the purse-size lotions out in public, the awesome scents attract immediate attention; all my friends must try it and, once they've worked it into the skin, they must know where I buy it. You can find these wonderful lotions, body butters, balms, soaps, candles, oils and incense -- which come in literally dozens of scents, so be prepared to spend some time picking your favorites -- only at Midtown Global Market. The shop is located almost dead center of the market, adjacent to the large seating area where there is occasionally music and dance performances, and across from Midtown Produce Exchange and La Sirena Gorda.

I have my favorite lotion scents (Cedar Saffron, Bitter Orange and aforementioned Calypso Sunrise) and my favorite lip balm (Brown Sugar), which I love. I recently tried the soy candles, too, which burn long and give a mellow but lasting fragrance. Pick up some goodies for yourself or give some as gifts for Christmas and let me know what you think.

Rituals website

 

 

Pepsi and Pakora

I've been a little off the grid lately, my apologies for that. Sometimes life just presents you with so many more fun things to do than sit down at your laptop for more than a few hours a week. Perhaps there's something going on in my life that may be of interest to you? Let's see:

What I'm wearing:

MAC Opulash mascara is awesome. In addition to adding more volume and length than Diorshow and being clump-free, it also comes off sooo easily. It almost slides off your lashes in pieces; no raccoon eyes when using remover, not even in the morning if you forget to take it off before bed.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On eye pencil. Holy crap, you cannot bust this stuff. It has way more staying power than MAC pencils, not to mention any drug store brands, even on the waterline. Somehow it still magically comes off easily with remover towelettes.

I've gotten so many compliments on the green Red by Ecko handbag I bought at Macy's this winter that I decided to explore the line a little bit more. Who knew this company made such cute and affordable bags, and that they're all leather-free? I bought this black handbag this week at DSW with my latest Rewards certificate. I don't think the photos do them much justice; they are super adorable.

What I'm eating:

The sweet and spicy burger at Mac's Industrial (with a veggie patty, of course). I can't get enough of this thing. It's the ultimate indulgence, with melted cheddar, barbecue sauce, pickles (key to anything covered in barbecue sauce) and a pile of spicy onion straws. Served with your choice of Mac's 19 different sides. I'm currently stuck on the cucumber salad, which is fat chunks of cucumber and tomato tossed in a tangy and sweet vinegar-based dressing. If you've never thought to stop in and grab a bite to eat here, do it. Not only is the full menu available 'til 2:00am every night, but there are a ton of options and everything is good. Well, nearly everything. They put the shredded lettuce inside the quesadilla before they grill it, which results in warm, soggy strings of lettuce, which kind of grosses me out.

Gandhi Mahal continues to make sweet love to my mouth and belly every delicious time I visit. I don't know what they do as far as meat but, for vegetarians, this is the best Indian restaurant in the Twin Cities. If you don't agree with me, I challenge you to a sitar-off. Also, for those who complain that local ethnic restaurants tone down the spice for the Midwestern American palate, try Gandhi Mahal. Start with "medium" and don't say I didn't warn you. I was there with my friend Ben earlier this week and had my favorite, aloo begun, as well as the mushroom paneer on the seasonal menu (I've been trying to replicate the aloo begun for a while now with little success and it's really starting to frustrate me). Both were spicy, fragrant, slightly creamy perfection.

Throwback is back! Pepsi, Mountain Dew and my beloved Dr. Pepper. Last week, all three were $2.98 per 12-pack at Cub Foods. Hopefully that throwback price sticks for a while.

What I'm doing:

Still bartending 1-2 shifts a week at Burger Moe's over in Shelbyville. If you haven't checked it out yet, come on down. There have been no major paper reviews of the food yet, but it's been getting high marks on Chowhound. Tom Horgen also gave props to the big and beautiful patio at Moe's in his recent article on the best patios in the TC.

You already know I'm co-hosting R-rated Trivia every Monday night at Nomad World Pub. As of this week, I've also started hosting BINGO every Tuesday at Lyndale Tap House. Winners get a free tee shirt that brags a bingo win, plus a round of shots for your table. Tuesday is also service industry night, so shots of Grand Marnier, Rumpleminze and Patron are just $4 from 9:00pm to midnight. Party!

Speaking of the service industry, my latest cover story for Vita.mn came out yesterday. Check it out for tips on how to get the best possible service at a restaurant or bar. Yes, it's pathetic that people actually need to be taught such simple lessons but, believe me, there are a lot of clueless and inconsiderate a**holes out there.

Vita.mn's 4th Annual Poolside Fashion Show

I interrupt this writing of anagrams and trivia games for my girl Janelle's bachelorette party this Saturday to bring you this important reminder:

Vita.mn's 4th Annual Poolside Fashion Show is today (Thursday)!

Rain or shine. If it does rain -- it was supposed to rain the last 3 years, as well, but we lucked out every time -- the show just moves into the Calhoun Beach Club Arboretum.

I'll be co-emceeing the show this year with Christian, Vita.mn's illustrious Events Manager.

         

A video from last year's show (see if you can spot me reaching for my drink twice):

Aaand back to the bachelorette party planning. Though I should probably be outfit planning. I still have no idea what I'm gonna wear tomorrow.

Happy ART-A-WHIRL Weekend!

Maybe it's the crappy weather of the last two weeks or maybe it's because May is an extra long month this year, but man, did ART-A-WHIRL creep up on me this year.

Spend today through Sunday in lovely Northeast Minneapolis for the city's most celebrated weekend. Every gallery and artist's studio is open to the public, with tons of great art, jewelry and clothing for sale, plus food, drinks, and live music at all your favorite Northeast hangouts.

What's already officially the coolest neighborhood ever (and not just because I live here) gets even more fun this weekend. Come on down and buy me a Strongbow.

Weekend highlights in Vita.mn: Art-A-Whirl 2010: Whirl pool

Local Man Up For Esquire's Best Dressed

Check this out:

Local boy Kurt Schmidt is a finalist for Esquire's Best Dressed Real Man Contest.

Kurt is arguably always the best dressed man in the room; he even makes his own bow ties! He's also a regular contributor to Summer of Dapper, a local effort of the Twitter community to encourage better dressing in our fair Twin Cities.

Vote for Kurt here! No registration required, just click and click.

Inbox Cleaning: Spring Sales, Dining Out and Doing Good

It's Début Dollars time at Second Début, the Goodwill boutique where all the better brand clothes, shoes and accessories go. For every $50.00 you spend April 18th-May 1st at Second Début (St. Louis Park) and Second Début2 (St. Paul), receive a $5.00 Début Dollar card. Those Début Dollar cards can be redeemed the week of May 9th-15th toward purchases at either store.

This Saturday the 24th is the Northeast Icebreaker Shop Crawl, with discounts at Bibelot, Belle Reve Boutique, Melrose Antiques, Look + See Eye Care, Aveda Institute,  Parc Boutique, Surdyk's Liquor & Cheese Shop, Red Stag Supperclub and more. Saturday only, 10:00am-6:00pm.

Going on today and Saturday is the 2010 Greed Gone Wild Spring Sale in the Patina Props space at 2014 Central Ave NE. 10 vendors selling vintage garden items, antique furniture + lighting, vintage and contemporary clothing, shoes, belts, purses, hats, jewelry, LPs, books, pottery, pillows and dishes. Bring a non-perishable food item and receive 10% off one item, up to $50.00.

Next Thursday April 29th is the Macy's Fashionista Party in the Macy’s Minneapolis Impulse Department (3rd floor). Starting at 5:30pm, get 20% off of your purchase made at the event, a free copy of Metro Magazine, free samples of Hansen's SELF Beauty Elixir and free samples and touch-ups at the Dior beauty and fragrance bar. This same event will also be at Macy's Southdale Impulse department (1st floor) on Saturday May 1st at 1:00pm. 

On Saturday the 24th at 7:00pm, the Bell Museum of Natural History will host an evening with "Hungry Planet: What the World Eats" authors Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio. The pair will discuss why global food knowledge is so important, as well as preview their next book. $12.00 general public, $10.00 members, $5.00 U of M students. Reservation required: 612-624-4112.

Next Thursday the 29th is Dining Out for Life! Have breakfast, lunch and dinner at your favorite participating restaurants and they'll donate anywhere from 10% to 100% of the proceeds to The Aliveness Project, a local organization dedicated to providing education, advocacy, empowerment, wellness services, daily meals and a food shelf for individuals living with HIV/AIDS. I'm volunteering at LUSH Food Bar in Northeast, so grab a friend, come by and have something to eat. LUSH is generously donating 100% of every dinner check to The Aliveness Project. First-come, first-served, LUSH's food menu is available 5:00pm-11:00pm. Booze doesn't count towards the cause, but you can have a charitable dinner and still enjoy $5.00 martinis all night.

New Shoes, New Wu

I'm glad I held out on buying the giraffe shoes, because I happened to find two pairs of completely adorable while simultaneously hot sneakers the past couple weeks:

Can't. Even. Stand how cute the Vans are. I had a vision: I wanted a new pair of sneakers that looked like Topsiders, but were Vans. Lo and behold, I walked into the Vans store at the MOA and walked right up to these. Slipped on a pair of 8.5s and the rest is history.

The double-tongue strawberry Converse must have been a return to the MOA DSW store, because there was only one pair on the shelf. They're totally adorable, comfortable, of course, and will replace my very worn Chucks that Rex bought for me so many years ago. I loved the hell out of those sneakers (and still managed to keep them clean, even as seams began splitting and rubber began cracking) but their time is officially up.

In with the new!

If you don't have the new Ghostface Killah/Method Man/Raekwon album, "Wu-Massacre", then you best pull up your iTunes and BUY IT. I can't stop listening to it. Talk about the joint.

I'm in love with the Ghost all over again.

For the Crafty, Mark Your Calendars

10th Annual Textile Garage Sale At Textile Center

The biggest textile garage sale ever is back again! April 17 from 9am–4pm. Admission is just $1 per person. Hours of textile shopping fun! Hundreds of square feet piled high with fabric, yarn, threads, notions, kits, patterns, magazines, tools, beads, buttons, equipment, and books!

For more information contact 612–436–0464 or visit www.textilecentermn.org.

The Textile Center is located at 3000 University Avenue SE in Minneapolis.

A note to those who regularly send out press releases: If you're going to attach pretty ads, banners, etc. to the emails, make sure they're not read-only files. They make an already crabby girl even crabbier since she can't share the visual with her readers.

Candy Nails

I love the Lana Turner effect, courtesy of my cousin.


(Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polish in "Rockstar Pink" over Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polish in "White On")

I really don't know how this fingernail painting thing started. I've always been a little piggy painter -- nary a naked toenail since I had the dexterity to hold the brush -- and I attribute that to my mother always having painted toenails. But lately, like since late last year maybe, I've started playing around with multiple colors on my fingernails. Layering over one another, or just accenting with designs.

It's just so darn fun.

http://twitpic.com/12q064

(Savina polish in "Dream" over Savina polish in "You're My Sunshine")

Giraffe Shoes

I want these:

I stopped in at Von Maur yesterday and fell hard for these Simple ecoSNEAKS. The same shoe in the sand/sea foam green color is even cuter, but a little harder to find.

I also meandered into Target to look for some of the L'Oreal EverPure Smooth conditioning mask that I love so much, only to find it missing from the shelves for the 4th consecutive time. I'm getting a little paranoid that this (affordable!) magic potion for my nappy hair has been discontinued. It's still on the product website and it looks like Ulta is still stocking it, so I guess I'll just keep looking.

Somewhere between haircare and the checkout lanes at Eden Prairie Target Greatland lies women's clothing, with 3 racks packed with clearance merchandise. Like this adorable, comfortable, lined, yellow cotton dress with a twistneck marked down to $9.98.

How could I resist? The teeny photo on Target's website doesn't do this dress justice -- oh, and that poor girl, with half her head missing -- but you can click here to zoom in. And actually, those other photos don't even quite sell the dress. You just have to see it or wear it to fully comprehend its cuteness.

I have every intention of skipping town sometime in the next two weeks (this close to jetting to Vegas on Sunday) and this little yellow number is coming with me.