AAN Conference in DC

The weekend before last, I again attended the AAN East conference in DC; I caught up with some old friends, attended all the seminars, learned a whole lot and reviewed what I already knew, and so on and so on. But I also did a couple more notable things--I went and toured the International Spy Museum, which was wonderful and fascinating, and I could have spent all day in there, but we were able to spend the morning there before we needed to get back to the hotel for the afternoon seminars. Also, I had some superb meals while I was there. Really, every night we had fabulous food. But the staff and I went to eat at a restaurant called Tenpenh on Pennsylvania Avenue on our last night there, and it was so delicious--the meal was probably on my Top 10 list of favorite meals ever. I had the five-spice chili tea rubbed beef tenderloin with a kimchee-noodle cake and Korean chili Hollandaise sauce. And that was just the entree! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Here, for your viewing enjoyment, is a pic of our pre-dinner cocktails.

. . . and here's dessert--spicy peanut and hot fudge sundae with flourless chocolate cake, ice cream and peanut butter cream. Mmmmm.

Valentine's Day Snowstorm

I know it's a little late to be blogging about this, but this is what the Valentine's Day snowstorm did to my poor car:

It's Important to Note. . .

That I have a bat stuck in my window at the moment (yes, the type with wings, not the type used in a baseball game).

The Perfect Bag

As many of my readers (read: friends and family) know, I have been on a continuous, extensive, far-reaching search for what I would consider the Perfect Bag for years and years. I have bought a bag or two here and there, but I have yet to find the Perfect One. Far from it, in fact. As I was pondering this dilemma yesterday, I reasoned that I should probably put together a list of things I want (and don’t want) out of a handbag. So here’s what I’ve come up with so far. . .

The Color
Colors I like in a bag: black, silver, pale pink. Colors I don’t like in a bag: Green, yellow, violet, blue. . . . Yeah, basically, anything else. NO BROWN. I can handle a print as long as it’s not a brandname—those Louis Vuitton and Coach bags are completely and utterly obnoxious.

The Texture/Material
I love leather, but it’s so heavy! Soft, smooth leather is ideal since it’s so light. I’m not anti-fabric, though, and I dig vinyl now and then. So I’m keeping an open mind about the material. But I would prefer to stay away from nylon. I don’t mind some hardware on the bag, but full-on chain straps and whatnot are a no-no.

The Look
The most important thing is that the bag must look classy, sleek, elegant and neat—and it MUST be appropriate for evening as well as day, kind of like this:

The Body
I want a slim bag with a rectangle/square-ish shape. A framed body is ideal—that way there’s shape and structure to the bag. However, I’m not married to the idea of a framed bag. The ugly green bag I’ve been toting around lately is not structured, and it fits everything perfectly. But it’s a bit chaotic in there. Though a framed bag tends to be heavier, I feel like my stuff is safer in it because it doesn’t get so jostled while I walk or toss the bag on my bed, etc.

The Size
Big enough to carry around my essentials: my wallet (luckily I found the perfect wallet a few years ago at Anne Taylor, and I will cry when it finally dies), my small digital camera, my phone, my keys, and basic makeup pieces (mascara, lipgloss, powder), and most of the time, my iPod (which I don’t carry when I’m going out on the town)—but small enough that I feel comfortable carrying it out at a bar, kind of like this:The Strap
The strap might be the most important part of the bag, in my opinion. For the strap, I prefer a single strap as opposed to a double, and it must be the perfect length for me to easily sling it over my shoulder, but also, for it to rest neatly under my arm, like this:

The Closure
I would love for my bag to be able to be zipped close. I don’t like snaps, magnets, buttons, ties, flaps, latches, etc. THERE MUST BE NO FRINGE OF ANY KIND—that means no zipper fringe too.

The Weight
Very simply: lighter = better.

So. Now that my bag requirements are written out for the world to see, if anyone knows where to find this “perfect” bag, please, for Pete’s sake, let me know. I’d be very grateful.

I Told You

. . . Teens are evil.

The Unfortunate Corruption of Language

A terrifying side effect of text messaging:

Teens Use IM-Lingo in Essays