Montauk...the end. And the LI summer beach roundup

This summer I've done a nice lil' tour of Long Island beaches - first a week in Long Beach, then 4th of July on Fire Island and finally a weekend in Montauk. I can't decide which I like best! Each time I arrive at a new beach, I'm in awe all over again and immediately wish I lived there.

I don't know what it is, but I've been craving natural beauty lately. It's a strange feeling for a girl that left Pittsburgh for 'the big city' to have an exciting life. Right now all I seem to want is peace...space...and to be outside! I just get this sense of release when I'm in the fresh summer air, whether it be laying in the sun and walking through the park with Marlon or bobbing in the ocean and tackling waves covered in sand and seaweed. No rushing to get somewhere, no stress, no doing my hair or makeup, and most importantly - no staring at a computer screen all day.

I love being outside on a beautiful day no matter where I am, but for me, the beach takes the cake. I guess I've always been a beach girl - growing up I constantly teased my parents about wishing we would've stayed in Florida (the 3 rivers just didn't do it for me). Honestly, at the moment I think it's just that I'm sick of New York. NYC in the summer is hot, sticky, smelly, and empty. Everyone deserts the city on weekends via the LIRR or the Hamptons Jitney to hit the beaches...it was about time I joined in.

Here's my sum-up of my fave beach spots so far on Long Island:

Long Beach is great because I have a bunch of friends that live there, and it's one of the closest beaches from the city by car or train. Plus it sits on a strip of bars and restaurants that are fun every night of the week. I also like the community feel - you could live here year round (most people do!) and it wouldn't be strange.

Fire Island is fun because you take a ferry to get there and are on a literal island with no cars. On Davis Park where we went, there was one bar/restaurant for the whole beach - Casino (and it was a-maz-ing), one grocery store and snack shop (that ran out of eggs one morning - what??), and a boardwalk flanked by tree-shaded beach houses. Another plus? TOTALLY dog-friendly - Marlon's coming with me next time!!

And then, there's Montauk, the end of Long Island. Literally. I had fond memories of Montauk from a childhood vacation - my family came out to NY for a relative's wedding and then stayed in a little beach shack for a week. I loved it! We went sailing, saw the lighthouse, and my dad and I went on a deep sea fishing excursion. Actually, the deep sea fishing trip wasn't so awesome - the seas were rough that day and both my dad and I got seasick. First memory (and only I think/hope!) of watching my dad barf over me into the ship's port-o-potty. Good times. I felt like my body was rocking with the waves for 3 days afterwards. I digress.

I didn't really know what it would be like this time around...had it become more like an extension of the Hamptons? I mean, the Hamptons are tres mignon and all, but I like a laid-back, barefoot beach town. No shoes for me please. Montauk didn't disappoint. After 3 hours on the train, we stepped off and got into a cab painted like a surf board with a 40 year old driver blasting metal to head to the hotel. Our room's patio doors opened to the beautiful, simple beach. We drank on the deck that night, walked to all the bars on our block, and ordered pizza to be delivered to the pool the next afternoon hungover. Perfection. And let's not forget about our amazing dinner at the open air Crow's Nest restaurant, the 'Main St.' of boutiques and shops, and of course karaoke with Nanci and Jim (ha).

I wish I had a job that let me peace out for the summer months so I could get out of the city and into a cool and vibrant beach town. Sighhh wishful thinking I guess. Until then, at least I live in a city surrounded by beaches!

Makeup and the Morning Commute

I've lived in NY awhile now and I take the N train everyyy morning to work, and there's one thing that I'll never understand (actually there are lots of things I'll never understand on the subway, but that's besides the point) - the ladies who get a seat and immediately whip out their cosmetics bag and proceed to spend the rest of the stop n' go bumpy ride to apply tons of makeup.

Not just a little lip gloss mind you, I'm talking LOOSE powder, mascara and eyeliner - as in a SHARP pointed object aimed at your EYES.

I just don't get it! In my opinion, if you wrangle a seat it should be used in one of 3 productive ways:

1. reading a book

2. reading a trashy magazine

3. zoning to music/sleeping.

I can barely function on the morning train sitting still, let alone apply makeup coherently. I'd end up looking like a freak show with eyeliner streaked down my face! Not only that, but I don't really like to do my makeup in front of other people - it makes me feel like I rely on it too much and seems superficial. Maybe it's because I'm at the wise old age of 25, or maybe because I have some summer color, but I don't really care that much about having lots of makeup on for work.

I'm not judging because I remember a time when I thought I needed a full face of makeup to be seen in public (basically late middle school through high school), but that me has come and gone. Unless I have an awful breakout, I'm meeting with clients at work or I'm going out at night, I have a 5 minute makeup routine. A little tinted moisturizer, concealer, mascara and cheek/lip stain and I'm good to go.

What do you think? How much makeup do you wear in the morning and are you one of those girls that does it on the train? If you are, HOW do you manage?? You have a skill I have never acquired - props to you!

My BFF Becky Bloomwood...and other ways of learning French

Last week I watched Confessions of a Shopaholic with Isla Fisher, and though it got pretty terrible reviews, I have to admit, I thought it was sorta cute. Sure there were a lot of hare-brained schemes that wouldn't pan out in real life (Pretending that you can speak Finnish? Knowing nothing about finance and becoming a popular finance writer? Getting out of massive amounts of debt through a garage sale?), but I have a soft spot for Rebecca Bloomwood.

See, me and the main character of this book series-turned-movie have a special bond - she helps me practice French.

Please don't laugh, but I've found the best way for me to practice French is to read French editions of cheesy chick lit novels, and L'accro de shopping dit oui (Shopaholic Ties the Knot) was the first full French novel I ever read. It happened to be the third book in the series, but in a series of books about a girl that shops too much, it doesn't really spoil the thrilling plot to work backwards. I was amazed when I understood it and finished all 300-some pages of it!

It makes sense - when you first began reading, you stuck to simplistic books with easy to understand plot lines. Even if you were unsure of the meaning of a word, you could guess through pictures and context clues, and gradually learn more and more vocabulary. My simplistic books just happen to be chick lit.

When I started L'accro de shopping dit oui, reading in French finally clicked. In college I took so many French Literature classes, and reading even excerpts of classic French novels made me want to rip my hair out. I couldn't understand the archaic language, I would get bored from working so hard to comprehend it, and I would fall asleep. Or I would attempt to skim and understand the story through my intuition and street smarts, only to fail miserably during the class discussions the next day.

Reading comprehension of a foreign language is one of the quickest things you pick up, and one the skills you tend to retain the longest - but if you hate what you're reading and the language isn't modern, it won't help you in day-to-day life if you ever visit that country. I learned so many commonly used phrases and new vocabulary from reading the French Shopaholic series. How to say 'blow dryer' in French? Learned it from Becky Bloomwood!!

We're so secluded over here in North America and I feel like foreign language and international travel are often pushed to the back burner. Our schools generally don't begin teaching foreign languages until high school, roughly two thirds of the population has never gotten a passport (about 200 million people - via nodebtworldtravel.com), and we don't have easy access (aka cheap puddle jumpers and trains) to as many foreign countries as Europeans do. So unfair.

While we can't change the location of our country, I do wish we could change our attitude about the importance of other languages and cultures. Even though French isn't the most useful foreign language to know (Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin anyone?), I realized when I first set foot in Charles de Gaulle Airport that there's a whole other world out there where those vocabulary and reading comprehension lessons suddenly mattered.

When it comes to language - the way we communicate just about everything in life, full of nuances, slang, dialects, changing vocabulary and difficult grammar (where there's an exception to every rule) - you need to practice daily. I've always had such a strong desire to "get it" when it came to the French language, but I realize now after all those classes and my 2 month immersion escape in '08 that gripping the ins and outs of French will always be a challenge and every little bit helps.

Entertainment is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to maintain language skills but I wish things like this were more accessible in the US. At FNAC shops in Paris (a French version of Barnes & Noble), you could buy English or French translations of most popular books. I stocked up on the Gossip Girl series in French, the Shopaholic series and some books by Marc Levy (a well-known French author that's supposed to be easier to read). Here it's a lot harder to find popular novels in foreign language editions (it's all mostly textbooks and classics - blahh). You can try ordering books through Amazon.fr (or whatever other country you're interested in), but navigating the site in another language and with foreign currency can be complicated. I also recently found this site, French Bookworld where I saw French editions of Harry Potter and other recognizable titles.

If you're not a huge reader, watching DVDs with the foreign subtitles is also interesting. Anchorman with French subtitles is pretty hilarious (as if it wasn't already). Actual foreign DVDs are even better, but you'll need to invest in a zone-free DVD player...yet another annoyance of trying to immerse yourself in a different country's culture without leaving the States. Due to copyrights and other things I'll never fully understand, there are certain coded DVD zones throughout the world and our DVD players and laptops will not play DVDs made in a different zone. Sighhh.

Until I can get myself back to France (and with the look of my current bank account, it's gonna be awhile!), I can always pretend through books and movies, and make sure I don't forget all the vocab I worked so hard to learn over the years.

PS - Happy Early Bastille Day! :)

Newsies and their Influence on Boy Bands

Today we were talking about Newsies at work. Don't ask me how the 1992 Disney movie about newspaper boys in New York came up, but regardless, any convo about Newsies is a convo I want to be a part of.

I feel like the movie was a little under the radar for anyone my age or younger - I was only in 2nd grade when it came out. You need to be more of a preteen girl to properly appreciate the awesomeness of Newsies, and when I was 13 and was part of a dance recital number to a song from the movie, my friends and I become obsessed. Like OBSESSED. My fave character was Spot...you know "never fear, Brooklyn is here!" My thirteen year old self is swooning.

Let's also not forget that Christian Bale was the lead character - he's done more than just Batman and An American Psycho people!

Annnnyway, I'm getting off topic. After a thorough discussion of our favorite scenes and characters, we decided that watching the musical numbers from the movie was a necessary part of our work day. Just as amazing as I remember! However, I noticed something that I never caught before....Newsies is totally the precursor to the boy band movement of the late 90s/early 2000s!!! Check out these sweet moves from the Seize the Day video:

And now, for your viewing and comparing pleasure, let's go back to 2000 and check out 'NSync's Bye Bye Bye video. Ummmm do their dance moves during the chorus look familiar?

Love it.

Yes We Can - vote Histoires de Parfums!

So, if you read this blog, or know me personally, you probably know about my love of all things French (reference my posts from August - October 2008!). Well, lucky for me, my agency began working with Parisian fragrance collection Histoires de Parfums last December.

The collection of 16 fragrances has the coolest backstory - for those with zero knowledge of the French language, "Histoires de Parfums" translates to "Perfume Stories" and each scent tells a story - of a historic figure, legendary place, revered plant or idyllic year. It's fun to learn about the muse behind the fragrance - even the boxes are shaped like an old book to complete the theme.

I have a tough time with fragrance - anything too strong tends to give me a headache - and these are some potent traditional French eau de parfums... But as I've worked with the collection I've learned so much about the power of scent and how to properly appreciate it. My favorites so far? Vert Pivoine: a fresh and watery peony scent, 1889 Moulin Rouge: a unique scent with notes of absinthe and lipstick, 1969: a spicy unisex scent with citrus and chocolate notes, and Tuberose 3: a warm unisex scent with plum and dried grasses.

Speakingggg of Tuberose 3, I have a favor to ask. Histoires de Parfums's new Tuberose Trilogy has received the incredible honor of being named a Top 5 Nominee for the 2010 FiFi Fragrance Foundation Awards. This is HUGE! We're so proud to have made it this far - but now it's up to you!

Everyone is invited to vote for their favorites in each category through this link. If you want to support us, we'd be ever so grateful! Voting is open from today, Wednesday 4/28 - Wednesday 5/19 and the Tuberose Trilogy is nominated under the Unique Boutique category.

Here's some more info about the nominated Tuberose Trilogy, a trio of distinctly different scents all based around the tuberose flower:

• Tuberose 1, Capricieuse: a powdery floral with top notes of bergamot and saffron, middle notes of ylang ylang and iris, and a dry-down of suede and cocoa. A little sweet, a little salty.
• Tuberose 2, Virginale: a floral oriental that opens with mandarin and cherries, leading to middle notes of jasmine and frangipani, and base notes of vanilla and patchouli. Cheery and fruity, and the most feminine of the bunch.
• Tuberose 3, Animale: a leathery floral with top notes of neroli and kumquat, strong middle notes of plum, herbs and dried grasses, and a dry-down of immortelle flower and blond tobacco. The most masculine of the three, but the ladies like it, too!

Not sure if you'd like the scents? I'm happy to send you a sample of your choice (I'm capping this at 10 people though, sorry folks)! Just send me a note or a comment below with your fave of the trio and your address.

Don't forget to vote - Yes We Can, or Oui Nous Pouvons!

my first 5k!

I ran my first 5k this weekend. No stopping, no walking....BOOYAH it felt good.

See, I've always felt kind of pathetic when it came to running. My dad - a runner. My brother - any sport comes naturally to him so he's running a 1/2 marathon in two weeks. Sighh, me - not so much. I was always more into dance and cheerleading growing up. I'm extremely petite (to put it nicely) and my face tends to turn tomato red after running about 10 minutes.

But, in January, when it was freezing cold and I was miserable and feeling the weight of eating too much junk over the holidays, I decided to run a 5k this year. If old men can run marathons, surely I could at least manage to run 3 miles in front of other people without stopping.

So how'd I do it? A cool little training schedule I found online called C25k or 'couch to 5k'. It's technically made for extremely inactive people with zero running experience, so I figured there would be no way for me to fail. The program is 9 weeks long with 3 short runs a week. Week 1 began by alternating 1 minute of running and 1.5 minutes of walking for 20 minutes (easy peasy!) and slowly built up to running 20 minutes straight after 6 weeks, 25 after 7, 28 at 8, and a final week of three 30 minute runs. And voila - 30 minutes is (give or take) about how long a 5k run should take. I felt so good at week 7, I skipped week 8 and went straight to running 30 minutes. My biggest problem ended up being boredom! Running on the treadmill in my apartment facing the wall got pretty boring. I even tried to spice up my wall decor by adding a fake naked picture of Johnny Depp I cut from Cosmo, haha.

I chose a small race in Astoria Park this past weekend for my 5k debut. Just in case I ended up being super slow, I didn't want to get pummeled by a bunch of NYC Road Runners! The race benefitted QSAC - Quality Services for the Autism Community of NYC and LI. That's another cool thing about races - the proceeds always go to good causes, so you feel like you're contributing to something bigger than yourself.

And how'd I do? My finishing time was 33:40 - not so bad for a first time!! I even ended up passing up some guys which made me feel pretty good about myself. I won't lie and say it was easy...I was tired, and I wanted to stop during that last mile, but i didn't need to stop. I knew I could do it. And it was kinda fun having people cheer you on on the sidelines - I liked being cheered for instead of being the cheerleader for once!

In summation, if you need a kick in the pants when it comes to fitness, set a goal for yourself. I do so much better when I have a standard to hold myself to. Things can get boring when you do the same jog, or the same yoga workout every week. If you want to check out the program I used, here's the site: www.c25k.com. Summer is around the corner - so get your butt on the treadmill! ;)

Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper

Recommended to me by a friend, I recently read Diablo Cody's memoir Candy Girl. What a quirky and fun story!

Somewhere along the line I learned that the writer of Juno had a background in stripping and that she was funny, but reading this drove the point home. You can easily read this book in 3-4 days - I mean, obviously the subject matter (stripping in all its glory) is intriguing, but the way she brings you into that world widens your eyes, cracks you up and makes you not want to put it down.

Candy Girl chronicles Diablo Cody's one illustrious year as a stripper. Working at a dead end office job in Minnesota, she randomly decided to try out for an amateur night at a seedy townie strip club for curiosity's sake, but the curiosity didn't stop. Pulled into the crazy nightclub, cash rich, boobs=power lifestyle, she kept stripping on the side and eventually did it full time, with a stint as a peep show doll and a phone sex operator thrown in there, too. Her candid, honest take on the sex industry combined with her absolute normalcy and blatant sense of humor made this a great read. I realize why I liked the movie Juno so much now (And on a side note, I really should check out Jennifer's Body and the United States of Tara).

Aside from the entertaining subject matter, her voice is what really got to me. I saw a bit of myself in there. As the subtitle states, for her it was "A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper." As she developed into a stripper - buying the wigs, cheap bikinis and platform heels, becoming friends with her fellow workers, and grinding on strangers for tips night after night - she kept the perspective of someone on the outside looking in. Never quite sure if she fit the part and was indeed a "stripper" with all the stigmas and stereotypes attached.

I have the habit of trying out new personas - kind of like an actress going through life and trying out new roles every few years. In junior high, I set a goal to become a cheerleader. I played the role well but I was never sure if I fit in or had the right character for the job. At 18, I decided to become a New Yorker. I've lived here 7 years now, but I still don't embody the typical "New Yorker" attitude and I'm not sure I ever will. At 20, I became a bartender. I love the power, fun and cash that come with the title (and this may be the happiest and best fit I've found for myself so far), but I still doubt myself and my ability to blend in at times. At 23, I decided to travel to France and throughout Europe by myself. I don't know if I fit the mold of a true "world traveler," but I did have the time of my life...

This book almost made me consider taking a spin around the ol' stripper pole, butttt not quite. I already know that cash heavy, boobs=power world full of quirky middle-aged regulars and hopeful college boys, and I'm happy I just have to serve them drinks and nothing more (ha).

So, if you're curious about the world of stripping but can't see yourself hitting the next amateur night in your town, try this instead. Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper