Okay, I admit it: Today I registered online at Happy Paws Doggie Daycare SO not only can I drop by the windows on Crosby Street on lunch breaks, but NOW I can view their play room webcams as well...

My favorite dog there is this really cute Miniature Australian Shepherd.

I wish I could have a dog so bad.

'Tis the Season for holiday parties...

Friday night was Katie's annual party.



It's always fun to get gussied up when you have an excuse to. I also love any excuse to rock the bright red lipstick...



...which always makes me feel a little saucier...







Saturday was Latke Fest 2006 at Pat and Joe's.



It is traditional to eat fried foods on Hanukkah because of the significance of oil.



Latkes are fried potato pancakes.



I am a Shiksa, but growing up in West Bloomfield pretty much makes me an honorary Jew so I was pretty well versed at the prayer part...



...but Meredith's a good teacher and made packets for everyone with the Hannukah story- which we read aloud- the second time this week we have had a reading around Pat's dining table...





Then we chowed down. Yum! (yeah, that's the soccer trophy on the table)



Followed by a rousing game of driedel...









Because I am a geek and love it so much, I made T-Shirts for the occasion. I was a "Gelt Digger."



AND Finally, tonight I had some folks over for a lasagna dinner so we could show off our Christmas tree.

I made my lasagna with a mix of hot and sweet sausage- tasty. Not so much healthy, but tasty.





I was a good little Holly Homemaker and made gingersnaps from scratch. Also unhealthy and also tasty.



But don't worry, there was salad too.



I am going to sleep well tonight.

Get excited - True Hollywood Story: David Hasselhoff will premiere Saturday at 6 PM on E!

I had the treat of having Haley (aka coat rack) visiting me in NYC this weekend.



We had a great time, and I think she now realizes why I've never been able to leave this town. Saturday, I got another visitor: Emily (of Tennessee Tack Tour fame) came in and we went to the Brooklyn Museum to see the Annie Liebowitz exhibit. It was very crowded but good, and there were a few other really great exhibits going on. Go, people, go! Then we went to see Wanda Jackson at Knitting Factory (my fourth time seeing her) and she was amazing as usual. I was really nervous that Haley and her friend wouldn't like it, but they totally dug her (as all great people do).



We went up to a party up by Columbia and were absolutely exhausted on the way to Brooklyn. This is almost how I looked on my way home:



After a nice time catching up with my Columbia gals this afternoon, Andy and I went out and picked out our Christmas tree. It was a tough choice this year. Last year our tree seemed to scream our name immediately. This year we made the guy show us about 45 trees before we picked a winner, but I think we made the right choise-- it's nice and plump. We got a good start on decorating, but then went off for some Sunday Night Supper Club action at Pat's house. Scotch, cigars, good food, good conversation...a great ending to a great weekend.

For all you ANTM viewers…I know MELROSE!

Melissa Rose went to my high school and was two years behind me. This is funny because I actually watched the entire season without realizing that she was someone I knew- AND especially ironic because when Naima was on the show I was convinced she went to my high school and would, in fact, declare this every minute of every episode…so much, in fact, that any time I’m watching a reality show with my friend Jenn and someone is from Detroit she says (mockingly), “Did she go to your high school, Sam.” Now that someone actually DID go to my high school I totally didn’t even recognize her. Weird, but I got my old yearbook out, and, sure enough, there she was.

This fact was pointed out to me by my dear friend Haley, who is in visiting from Miami for the week. I won super huge host points yesterday by scoring us VIP tickets to The Colbert Report (a show we both love)- during which, we actually got to meet Steven Colbert (one of my heroes). I’ve been to lots of tapings having been a Page, but they never really lose their excitement factor for me. Good times, good times. Steven Colbert also introduced me to the term “meat hammer”- which I plan to use daily in a sentence, because it is hilarious…

I don't know about you, but I get calls on my cell phone from random numbers all the time. Most of the time I don't answer and they don't leave a message, but i'm always a little curious who it was and why they were calling.

WELL, I just found this site where you can look up those numbers and find out who else got called by them too- AND what they were calling about. It then compiles a cool Google map of all the people who have been called by that number AND has a summary of who's making the most calls.

Great idea.

As Queen once said...

We are the champions, my friend!





FC Kitchen Sink became league champions with an amazing victory Friday night. And we got trophies!!! I've not been this excited in a really long time- is that sad?

We took our trophy to the bar and drank out of it like the Stanley Cup (a much much smaller version).







All that celebrating left me feeling pooped on Saturday. I went out for breakfast, came back and immediately hopped back into bed. Because I love my bed. Because it's cozy and this is the lovely view from my bed.



Not too many people in New York have a nice tree outside their window. There's nothing more pleasant than cuddling up in bed with a teen novel, basking in sunbeams and listening to the sounds of rustling leaves outside your window...ahhhhh.

Don't worry, I eventually made it out of bed to go eat wings, drink beer and watch football (suck it, USC, but boo, Florida-- BOO!)

This morning I got up bright and early, borrowed the sister and bro-in-law's car, and picked up the girls to go to Woodbury Commons. I've lived in NYC over 7 years and never gone, but it was actually surprisingly pleasant. I got some nice goodies and didn't spend too much money. As a group we walked out with a lot of bags...





...only to find the car's battery was dead BECAUSE I am dumb and didn't realize I had left the lights on all day. The stud muffin 19-year-old security guy gave a us a jump, though, and we managed to make it home. Huzzah!

Tattoed Sisters (So Classy):
My sister and I after the wedding as photographed by Kim


In the papers:

Hershey's is going to introduce an Elvis Banana Creme Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Will it be a hunka-hunka tasty chocolate or all shook up?


One of my favorite things to do in NYC, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater opened its fall season at City Center in NYC. I will definitely be going to a few nights using the City Center student rush ticket system (yes, I still use my Columbia ID).

SAM & EMILY'S TENNESSEE TACK TOUR- DAY 8- AUGUST 10TH, 2006- DOLLYWOOD



For Emily and I, Dollywood is pretty much Mecca. Dolly Parton is my idol.



Dollywood totally didn't disappoint. It's definitely one of the tackier places on the planet, but in an absolutely fantastic way. Did you know that Dollywood houses a large bald eagle sanctuary? Yeah, neither did I.



There were also a lot of Bible verses posted all over the place AND unhealthy food to eat like everywhere else.





Emily and I wore the tour T-shirts I made and got a lot of funny looks, but we didn't really care. We were just getting in the Dolly spirit.

Here we are in front of a model of her "Tennesse Mountain Home"- Crikey that thing was small!



We went on a lot of fun rides and the lines weren't bad at all because it was the first week back in school for a lot of school districts. There were roller coasters and even a train ride.







Then we went to a screening of "Heartsong"- a hilarious multi-sensory movie wherein Dolly sings songs inspired by Tennessee. It "rained" inside the theater, there were animatronic butterflies flapping around and we even got splashed by water when a kid jumped into a swimming hole on the screen. Cheese-tastic.





After Heartsong, we paid a visit to the Dolly museum, which, for us was really the coolest part. We weren't allowed to take pictures in there, but it was full of really neat artifacts from Dolly's career, including costumes from one of my favorite movies ever: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (If you haven't seen it, rent it!). They had all sorts of awesome clothes from her closet (my GOD that woman is TINY) and even her Grammy awards (so shiny!).

Each part of Dollywood had a different theme. These pictures were from the "Country Fair" section...giant pickles and potatoes...Okay, Dolly, sure...







Before we left, we made a trip to the Dollywood Emporium (that's seriously what it's called)- which might be the second best thing about Dollywood. We got a bunch of great souvenirs, including a travel mug I use to carry my coffee every morning that says "I will always love you, Dolly." Awesome.





We will always love YOU, Dolly.



On the way home we picked up a pack of hot dogs and cooked them up for dinner and even purchased some VEGGIES!





Then it started raining. Thank goodness we had purchased a tarp, but we still got a bit wet due to the small tent/no rain fly problem. But, we couldn't be mad because it was so beautiful at our Tennessee Mountain Home.