As I wandered near the site of New York City’s Sex and the City premiere yesterday, dodging small bands of women united by a common interest in over-accessorizing for daytime (and being in my way), I found myself compiling a list of people and things that owe much of their current popularity to said show:

Manolo Blahnik
The concept of brunch
Cosmopolitans
Clubs Bungalow 8 and Bed
Cupcakes
The Rabbit
The word fabulous
Retardedly over-thought outfits

Next on my list was “bitching about men”, and I stopped myself short. SATC, I’ll give you credit for the context (brunch, obvs) but you don’t get credit for this one. I should know, I’m a woman, and I’ve been gabbing about men since long before Sex was a twinkle in HBO’s eye.

I’ve been thinking about this phenomenon more recently, as romantic relationships take a more prominent and permanent place in the lives of my friends. Casual dating, serious dating, sleeping around, moving in together, some crazy folks getting married, yadda yadda yadda. Whatever the situation, women have a need (which sometimes borders on the obsessive and pathological) to compare notes and share war stories. Read More »

Mmmm, brunch. Hands-down, this is the best part of my weekend. I love a diner as much as the next New Yorker, but I was raised in the Midwest on the kind of French toast that will have you longing for lazy Sunday afternoons in your kitchen. This is what I usually make for one person… but feel free to double if you’ve got company…

You’ll need:

3 slices of bread (switch up as you prefer, but it can be done with wheat, white, multigrain… up to you. Rye may not be the best choice here)

1 egg

milk (I prefer skim, but use whatever floats your boat)

ground cinnamon Read More »

The Big Apple, overflowing with culture, history, the best food in the world, theater, museums and galleries, is also overflowing with; tourist traps. Double decker buses line street corners, and are indeed a tempting ride to take (and actually, if you get a good guide, they’re pretty fun.)

Though there are definite must see’s; Central Park, Times Square, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ellis Island and a Broadway show, the city has hidden gems around each corner that you may not notice if you’re too busy trying to find the windows of TRL at the MTV building, or listening to a tired tour guide give you the same surface speech he’s given twenty times that day.

First, you must know: THE FOOD IN NYC IS OUTSTANDING. You could hop into most “hole in the walls” and have an incredible dinner, so I’ll give you some of my personal favorites: Read More »

It’s still Fall, pumpkin-flavored anything is still awesome, and there’s basically nothing better than waking up and making yourself pancakes on a blustery morning, afternoon, or night.

This recipe is slightly complicated, but it’s nothing a relatively cheap trip the neighborhood grocery store and 30 minutes in the kitchen won’t fix.

Besides, what’s better than being the cool chef girl who’s always whipping up new meals? Just tell people you made this up yourself.

I won’t tell.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3/4 teaspoon salt Read More »

What do you do on a Sunday morning when you’re seriously hungover and jonesing to dish on last night’s juicy gossip from the Kiss on the Lips party?You brunch.

And, obvs, when the elite mix brunch with alcohol with DRAMA shit goes down. And, oh did it go down.

With the Serena and Dan monumental hand holding last week, there were sure to be some significant hand moments in episode 2. And oh, did they deliver.

There was the wave that Dan gave Serena at the end of their date. I KNOW. A wave? Come on, Dan!

Serena was perplexed as well. And Dan felt he had blown all chances so he ends up at the Palace waiting for Serena to explain why he was so nervous and waved instead of totally sucking her face.

Meanwhile, Serena goes over to Blair’s for their requisite Sunday morning caps, croissants and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Blair lets Serena in on the news that she knows about Serena and Nate totally DOING IT on a bar at a wedding a year ago. (Classy, Serena!) Read More »

The other day I had brunch all by myself for the first time ever. One-hundred percent on my own. Without a book or a magazine, no laptop, no iPod, and certainly no friends in sight.

It wasn’t planned, exactly. I’d left the apartment with plans to meet a guy pal at our favorite cafe, until he frantically called me explaining that his dog had swallowed a tube of BenGay.

Of course I understood the dire need to rush his pooch to the nearest vet, but my growling stomach didn’t seem to share that same feeling of empathy. Knowing I’d have to order my usual strawberry pancakes on my own, I wondered if my fake could pull through and reward me with a mimosa or two. After all, look how independent I was being!

Sitting there at my table-for-one, having to stifle my urge to make conversation, (“So I got completely hammered last night and gave the bouncer my phone number…”) and repetitively forgetting there’s no one sitting across from me this cloudy Sunday, I realized how important it is to learn independence at a young age.

Sure, moving out and living life away from home for four (or five!) brilliant college years provide everyone with a fair lesson in self-sufficiency, but how independent are you really? Could you go out by yourself if you had to? I know I personally get antsy even having to meet someone at a party. Walking through a crowded dance floor trying to locate a friend or the keg (whichever one first) launches me into mini-panic attacks. Read More »