random

This has absolutely nothing to do with anything.

But I saw it and I thought of you. And that is meaningful, right?

I may now have my costume idea. It would be the scariest costume I've worn in years. Maybe ever. Spooky Snooki has quite a ring to it.

Thoughts on this brilliance?

Doppelganger

Ok so - as if you didn't already know this - a Facebook status and pic game has been spreading like wildfire:
"It's celebrity look alike week. Make your profile pic a celebrity you have been told you look like............Copy and paste in your status message."

Tech, I didn't paste the message in my status. I can't be bothered to update FB statii and blogstalk you all in one day. I did change my pic though because A: it's fun and B: it's easy.

This is the pic I posted. Ginnifer Goodwin is my latest look alike. The more I see her face as my profile picture the more I feel like I'm looking in the mirror.I've tried to get my friends to post pics of their lucky celeb look alikes too ... ahem, you know who you are, Lovey, ahem... but not everybody is biting. Such is life.

It makes me wonder, do we all have look alikes running around out there? How many? Is there a celeb that people say looks like you? Or a random really really good-looking person?

I've gotten Ginnifer Goodwin, Reese Witherspoon, Belinda Carlisle, and Jennifer Hudson. I mean Jennifer Garner, not Hudson, oops. Now that would be quite the Doppelganger wouldn't it?

In honor of Celebrity Look Alike Week on FB, I took the game face-to-face and told someone I met at work that he looks just like Ralph Macchio. Apparently he gets that all the time. With hair as voluminous as Ralph Macchio I couldn't help but wonder... "I wonder if I can get away with running my fingers thru this dude's hair right now (in the office) even though we just met?". Yes, I think with parentheses, thank you for noticing my punctuation.

And for the record, I mustered all my strength and refrained from pretending this man was Ralph Macchio and touching his beautiful locks. I'm uber proud. Yet, sort of regretful. Just saying.

Uptown Girl here.

Uptown Girl here.
Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite.
I know you've been lost without me. It's only natural.

So, you want to know what I've been up to these postless weeks? You want to know where I've been?

S-T-R-A-N-D-E-D

That's right, it spells stranded. My major daily internet addiction resources have been significantly depleted. Obvi, I'm no longer using the world wide web to blog and read blogs and comment on blogs and email and gchat while I work. You'd be amazed at how many work related tasks I've accomplished. And in record breaking time. Quite thrilling and depressing at the same time. Also, I don't own a computer (read: my laptop died tragically in February and I can't quite move on. Mourning period and all).

Anywho. You've missed me and that is the reason that I'm holed up in my room late at night secretly borrowing my roomie's epically slower than an upside down turtle in a race against time sorry excuse for a laptop (sorry Lovey, but you know I blog the truth, like Lightman would if he started a blog in his fictitious existence). And I'm extremely grateful to be using said laptop to clear my head slash post this post.

Where was I? Right. You've missed me, and you're dying to know what I've been up to. A crap ton... I'll make a list.

Uptown Girl Happenings During Excruciating Internet Absence

1. Travelled via bus to and from Virginia to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and the 3 cutest children that exist (since I am now grown).
2. While sitting with my niece (still in VA), she told me "Aunt Uptown Girl, you have beautiful eyebrows". Obvi. What a smart and observant child.
   
3. Attended a Chili Cook-off (in VA) among countless married couples and their myriad of children (most of the kids were in the basement with the babysitters, where I prob belonged). Yummy chili, interesting insights into the world of family life. When we piled into the minivan at the end of the night I thought it was at least 10pm. It was 7:29. And my niece said "can we go to the party now? that wasn't a party."
   
4. Started feeling like my head might explode on the bus ride back to NY. It did not explode. It did however brew a home-concoction I like to call sinusitis. As this is still lingering I finally started antibiotics today.
5. I've tried to rest as much as possible. I've watched way too much tv, fallen further in love with the DVR, and discovered a Peruvian cold remedy that knocks me out for hours on end.
6. skipping some steps due to passing my bedtime.
7. Celebrated Lovey's bday. Multiple times. Cake, beer, fairy wings, beer, cake, ice cream, love. I love birthdays. I love Lovey. Tons O' celebratory goodness. Partied like the rockstars we are. Ain't no thang.
8. Haven't run in 2 weeks. 2. weeks. Part bc I was travelling. Then part sinusitis/head-cold/sore throat stuff. And part laziness. Yes, I've let myself go. Did you read the part about the beer, cake, and ice cream?
9. At least I have beautiful eyebrows.
10. Getting ready for India. I leave next Wednesday. Can you believe it? Visa- check. Some of my travel meds- check. Knowing what I will pack- ? eeeeeek no no no.
11. Work happy (3) hour party with dancing and unprofessional behavior. But not from me.
    
12. You should also know that I had a great hair day today.
13. MISSING BLOGGING. I've realized how much I rely on blogging to get out my thoughts and feelings and ideas. And how much you need me. I'm so sorry for your loss in these last days and weeks. I will do my best to beg, borrow, and steal (prob steal) my way onto computers to post for you. Because that's the kind of Uptown Girl I am.

{threading. one day I'll share my secret with my nieces. and if you know this pretty girl from google images, please share with her the secret called "eye makeup remover". kthanxbye.}

I hope this post addressed your concerns and satisfied your curiosity for now. And remember, curiosity killed the cat.

xoxo,
Uptown Girl

2nd post of the day

[out at a crowded firetrap of a sake bar on friday night. not drinking sake, but having a blast. new color, old 'do in a ponytail.]
[friday night cont'd. with Lovely Ladies. on a break from dancing.]

[sunday afternoon lounging on the sundeck with my entourage. doing a crossword and dozing. very mellow.]

[happy with both color and cut.]

[owning it. owning my hair color, owning my haircut, owning my city.]

If you don't see me on the regular you may not know the difference so I will enlighten you. My hair is way way darker than usual, and my new cut is a little different as well. It is darker than expected and I love it!

Which celeb most resembles me with my new look?

new 'do

Hair Weekend turned out to be fabulous! Liza dyed my hair on Friday after work... you will have to wait until I can get a picture on here to be surprised by the hue. Let's just say I looked very mod when we went to the 50s&60s dance party downtown.

On Saturday, I was pleasantly impressed by my stylist at Aveda. I'm in love with my new haircut. My stylist did exactly what I wanted her to do to my 'do and I left the salon barely able to recognize myself. Every time I see my reflection in the mirror (which happens to happen quite often) I do a double take and say to myself "self, are you wearing a wig? I like".

To top off my excitement surrounding my new look, I am also happy to announce that other New Yorkers followed suit in celebrating Hair Weekend... as I knew they would. Four friends that I saw on Saturday were either on their way to or returning from a hair appt. Okay so one of these friends was my sister Liza and we got our haircuts together, but she still counts as a follower since she has been copying me for circa 25 years. Although somewhere along the way I realized that my little sister's sense of style had surpassed my own and I bestowed upon her the honor of becoming my all-encompassing stylist (hair, make-up, clothing, bags, interior design, business cards.... et al). She takes it as the compliment that it so obviously is.

So, if Liza gets a chance she will send me the pics from our photoshoot and I will relieve the suspense you are feeling by displaying my glam headshot. But until then you will just have to wait and salivate.

Hair Weekend

Here comes the weekend. Will I miss being at my workplace for 2 whole days you ask? No. I will not.

To kick the weekend off right, I start tonight with my kickin Book Club mtg on the Upper Westside to discuss Sophie's Choice, after which we will go out to a 50s & 60s dance party downtown. Yes, I am venturing both crosstown and downtown in the very same night, I'm glad you picked up on that. It is hard to fathom isn't it?

Tomorrow I will practice being a Lady-who-Lunches so that I will be ready and highly skilled if when the opportunity to fill that role presents itself. How will I practice? I'll be meeting a couple of other girls for... wait for it... lunch.

I may dub this Hair Weekend, fyi. By the end of Hair Weekend, my hair will be dyed (by Liza, hairdresser to the stars) and cut into some new and soon to be determined 'do. Liza and I are both trying a new stylist at Aveda for our haircuts. It is a small tiny bitty bit scary to me. I loved my last stylist so much and trusted her for miles... until this hair-dye debacle. And after she basically blamed the problems on me, and knowing that the customer is always right, and being said customer, I decided it was time to move on. On to the unknown.

Brace yourselves bloggers. By the time you see me on Monday (virtually) I will be both rested and hopefully looking completely and unquestionably glam. That said, there is this off chance that I may be crying uncontrollably with a frightening mushroom bowl cut, blue hair, and a nose ring come next week. As per usual, time will tell. I hope you can contain your excitement this wknd, and if you simply cannot, feel free to leave me a zillion comments and blog about me. I'll understand.

tell me why...

Why does coffee taste better when I pay $1.25 and get it at the street cart (from the guy who tells me I have nice eyes) than when I make it myself or buy it at a gourmet cafe?



Why does my hair have a mind of its own?



Why do I remember to call people back when I'm in the middle of something already and then forget completely when I have free time?



Why is Monday part of the work week when it should so obviously be part of the weekend?

Why does ice cream taste best straight out of the carton?

Why do I remember some dreams so vividly but forget others even before I open my eyes?



Why do certain foods get caught in my teeth?



Why is Kanye West such an arse? And why didn't Taylor Swift show him her mean left hook?



Why don't I have a cool accent?



Why doesn't my chauffeur ever arrive in time?



Why doesn't Ryan Reynolds get the hint that I'm not interested (he is a married man after all; plus there is a line... obvi)?



Why can't the summer last forever? And why can't I spend all my time at an all-inclusive resort on a tropical beach?
Soooo... who can answer these oh-so-important life questions? I know I'm getting philosophical on you and it is only Monday morning, but this is what I have on my mind today, so you will just have to deal with it. What are you wondering?

time for a change

It is that time again... the time that I decide to change my most prominent accessory... time for a new hairstyle.

My hair is so long it is hitting my collar bone and I'm looking a bit shaggy. Not sure whether it is more of a Shaggy of Scooby-Doo or Shaggy of Reggae music, but that is sort of besides the point bc thankfully I don't resemble either.

After some deep thought and google image searches I think I'll get a bob, just below my chin or even a little longer. And I'm debating the endless bang possibilities. Bangs straight across covering my forehead? Swooping bangs? Grow my bangs out? Feathered? Ok not feathered, I tried that one in fifth grade and its so played out and lamespice no matter what my mom tells you. Obvi.

Ok well time to say Toodles bc that is the extent of my deep thoughts for the day. Now I'm off to pick up my number and t-shirt for a race I'll be run/walking on Saturday. Yeah, I'm so out of the running habit that I have to stop and walk the stinking hills. This is why I decide to sign up for races: #1 bc I always win, and #2 bc it forces me to get back into running when if I get lazy like this summer!

Random post, I know, but please feel free to weigh in on the hair and offer your ideas, opinions, suggestions, and of course praise!

Dear Reese,

Dear Reese,

I know we haven't socialized in quite awhile... I've been too busy to fly out to L.A. this year. And I know you do come to NYC from time to time, but it has just been that kind of a year. You know how it is. With so many benefits and charity events to attend, beauty treatments galore, donating time posing for designers as their muse, etc etc, it can be oh so difficult to find time for myself and my old friends. We'll have to catch up soon though.

I did want to write to just keep you abreast of this topic. As you know, our previous misunderstanding continues to bother me. A thorn in my side, if you will. From time to time I have been compared to you. "You look like Reese Witherspoon". "You really do resemble that actress from Legally Blonde". And on and on.

Now, obviously these misguided commoners remain unfamiliar with our circle, our crowd, our level in society. I'm sure you would agree that it is a bit declasse, bordering on crass.

It is an embarrassing mistake for both of us and I think the best remedy is for you to continue to correct such mistaken comparisons. Perhaps let the press run an article on the differences between the life of an actress versus the life of an uptown socialite? Remind these plebeians that it is you that resembles me. And not the other way around.

And please keep up with your blonde hair so as to set yourself apart as much as possible. You know how complicated things get when you go dark...

Hope to see you soon, of course. And send my regards to Jake, Ava, and Deacon.

xoxo,

Uptown Girl

DRUM ROLL PLEASE........

I did it. I went to the salon after work on Friday with my friend (and roomie) Lovey.

I told Petra, my hairdresser to the stars, to do whatever she wanted. All I knew was that I wanted my greys to go away, to a land far far away to live greyly ever after.

Petra suggested red highlights throughout my hair. I heart red hair in general. On men. On women. Ask anyone. But maybe not on me?

So I gave her the go-ahead and this is the result:

I'm not in love with it. And my greys are still naked. And more noticeable than before. What now? Don't worry because I'm going back next week to try to get them camouflaged. You know it. Also, it was so $$ that I just got the color done and skipped the haircut. Obvi.

I'm still trying to give the color time to grow on me and I'm already up to the "sort of like it" level. But, in the meantime I'm a little out of it and not feeling 100% like blogging. It is making me wonder if this is simply a brunette blog?

I know I should own it, but I'm not. Feel free to call seCURity on me. I deserve it. I'm a complicated order.

uptown girl's life plans

1- get my hair-did. Tomorrow is my appointment with the ever-famous Petra. I'm getting the new 'do done and will post pics asap to show you the fantabulous results. Get excited. Get pumped. Get ready for awesomeness.

2- celebrate my friend's life. Melissa is having a special birthday and we're celebrating on a cool pier with an outdoor bar on the upper westside tomorrow night. I'm crossing the park for her, so you know I love Melissa. And then we are celebrating in NJ on Saturday night. I'm a Jersey Girl at heart... did I ever tell you that? Please wipe the image of Real Housewives of NJ from your mind imediamente bc it is so not like that. Although, I admit that just like Caroline, I am short and I am scrappy.

3- running. I'm running another 4-mile race on Saturday morning. I generally think it is a sin to get up early on the weekend, but for some reason I keep signing myself up to race. que serra serra.

4- moving my mom. My mom and 2 youngest sibs are relocating 2 blocks away from their current diggs in NJ. Downsizing to a smaller space. This Saturday (post race) and Sunday should be a doozy. Packing, lifting, moving, unpacking. yippee!

5- going OOT. OUT OF TOWN. That spells V-A-C-A-Y!!!! 1 week from today I fly to Augusta, Georgia. To eat peaches and hang with my peeps. You know who you are... Helena & Mary. Fo shizzle my nizzle lemon drizzle. They are the bomb (as my mom would say). Helena and I have been besties since the summer of 2001 when we did a volunteer summer in Harlem/SouthBronx together. We share a love of all things cherry. She is precious and her sister Mary is presh as well. And their whole family is presh. And the state of Georgia. And the whole South. I love you South!

6- there is no 6. that is the plan for my life so far.

the votes are in. all in.

I'm scared.


What?! You like to think I'm brave and bold and a risk-taking Queen of NYC?? Sadly, I'm not as brave as you think. I've been really proud of my prowess in the last year. Trying new things from sports like ping-pong and mattress-riding to attending parties in Brooklyn. Tasting new foods like dark chocolate chipotle hazelnuts and new beers like Shock Top (which I recommend). I even branched out from minimal blog-lurking and random commenting on my sister-in-law's blog to writing and then starting my own adorable blogizzle. My fearless adventurer mentality has served me well. I even now own and wear skinny jeans, and I went from long to short hair. I mean, obvi I've been delving into new territory. New, bold, beautiful, and exciting. Who am I?? Uptown Girl. Thank you for asking.


coming to a crashing halt. stop... stop... STOP!


The one thing that I'm deathly afraid of is hair dye. serio??? I mean I tell myself all the logical logic there is: hair is an accessory. dye will not last forever. most women dye their hair and it ain't no thang. ain't no thang but a chicken wing. I'm 28, no fear. You are only young once. Not to mention- Claire Danes. I would've died to have dyed at the age of 13, 14, or 15 yrs old. I wanted to look exactly like Claire Danes on "My So-Called Life". It was k-i-l-l-i-n-g me that my mean mom wouldn't let me dye my hair! The rule was that at 18 yrs old I could dye my hair, get a tattoo, or more piercings. But. not. until. 18. 18. 18. I thought I was so deprived.



How was Jared Leto supposed to find me and fall in love with me unless I had maroon hair?? HOW?!




By the time I turned 18 I did get a piercing in my cartilage that lasted 6 months, but no hair dye, and the tattoo? Well, you will have to guess.



So, here I am. 28 years old. Grey hairs. Annoying obnoxious rood grey hairs that just drive me insane for about 5 minutes on the daily. I want them gone but I a scaredy cat about the process!


And, I asked you to give me your opinion. You voted. The results are in. And I'm a bit paralyzed.


But
I
will
persevere
in
my
mission
.



Calling Petra now for an appt.