the ultimate night chez vous.

"life is a party"
- unknown

now that summer is here and we're spending more time socializing and less time running away from the cold (aka sit on my ass at home.com), there are plenty of opportunities to bust out your favorite party tricks. here are a few of *~*'s well classiks for any occasion:

1.) murder mystery

with the right mix of people, this game will light a fire under your ass. for $30, you purchase a box kit of characters, decoration ideas, and recipes to conduct the perfect themed evening. no one knows who each other is at the beginning, and i'm telling you, after nine bottles of wine no one remembers much by the end (please see photographic evidence above). a guaranteed shit storm, leave anyone you care about at home and come ready to play hard.

2.) never have i ever

they say mo' money, mo' problems, so this is a divine freebie for those awkward turtle moments when you've reached a rough patch with a group. basically, everyone puts up five fingers and gets called out on all the things they've done. while it can be an innocent tale of "i've never skydived" or "i've never had a full beer," the game often turns to what gets hot and heavy between two (or more) folks. and for the record, never have i ever had sex in my parent's bed -- that's just nasty.

3.) apples to apples

a mastermind personality game! more than anything, this is a test of if you can read what makes your opponents tick. at heart, it's a non-traditional card game involving nouns and adjectives. ultimately, it can be riot, but again, you need a good group dynamic. aka anyone overly cynical or outwardly rude can bring the morale to an all time low. but i guess that's true in all situations in life.

4.) twister

this is a perfect game to ease sexual tension. you are allowed to lay on top of and touch body parts of your competitors and it's not considered harassment. note: this is not a good for babysitting when you're with two pre-pubescent boys and wearing a mini-skirt. i do not speak from experience.

dia del dia

first of all, happy memorial day.

second of all, happy staycation.

even though we are such world travelers, sometimes staying in nyc for a 3 day weekend is the thing to do. while there were many activities done (see drunk brunch, bronx zoo, free hot dogs, naked cowboy) by far the best day spent was among friends at dia: beacon.

someone (i want to have US with you SF), planned a lovely day taking advantage of the metro north deals up the hudson. $27.50 got you a round trip train ticket, entrance to the museum and endless giggles with friends. there was also sunshine, mozzarella balls and ducklings. not a bad deal considering that money could be spent on a mediocre lunch in the city (which probably wouldnt include lounging on an oversized couch with the "gang" and breaking into nostalgic songs).

oh, and the art was fun. we highly recommend.

to be balanced, the cons:

-a fart smell (although that's just cause someone was gassy- read too many mozzarella balls/cajun mix)
-rexi hipsters from the city with the same idea
-NO PHOTOGRAPHY, DIA HOW DARE YOU? we brought our cameras and were looking fierce and you had so much open space and bright art IT IS A CRIME TO NOT LET US REVEAL THE FULL POTENTIAL OF OUR FIERCENESS FOR THE WORLD TO SEE


photo: maytal + cajun mix + the hudson river + youthbeautylove

friday night eating and drinking.

in honor of summer fridays, here's a throw back to two weeks ago when a few of us managed to get out of manhattan to dine in queens. the occasion was hot pot and the result was...well...let's just say be sure to bring some pepto w you.

queen of queens

in honor of the upcoming long weekend, we bring you a post from beckysaysthat. we always represent the bk, so in honor of everything holy aka this 3 day weekend, we are branching out to other boroughs...

The lovely ladiez of *~* have reached out to me, and asked me to contribute to their blog. WHAT an honor. I might have previously said that I was in a rut, or complained to you about something relating to: the subway, my job, construction on my street, how expensive things are (I’m Jewish)…but instead let me focus on something that I hold very dear to my heart (besides *~*, LOL Catz, H&M and Red Mango):

Queens.

It’s true, Queens is where I rest my hat and the end-o-a-long day. But why live in Queens when there are so many other places I could live (read: BK, BX, Staten Island…am I forgetting something?)?.

1) Cheap
a) rent. That’s right. CHEAPER than BK…and I have my own bathroom!
b) drinks. Top shelf for $5 anyone?
c) food. Still more than anyone else outside of NYC would pay, but still cheaper than anyone else in NYC IS paying.
d) clothes. Tar-get anyone?
e) did you really expect there to be a new thing here? Rent, drinks, food, clothes-what else do you need?!

2) Diversity. Queens County, I heard somewhere…actually…I might have been drunk during that conversation.

3) Royalty. Do I need to explain this?

4) Beer Garden. Astoria had the original beer garden, before Brooklyn had to be all sneaky and get one too (like you don’t already have EVERYTHING Brooklyn. Really. REALLY?!). Well, now we have another one (that’s right, come to Queens and you can double fist beer gardens now…as opposed to just double fisting beers or martinis).

5) Fashion. Oh, don’t be fooled by what you read, or see, or hear…Queens is pretty fashionable. Who do you think gave birth to styles like sweat pants with heels, jeans that are five sizes too small, and track suits with ten pounds of make up? Queens townies, fool!

6) Music. There’s a vibrant music scene in Queens. Not in clubs or anything, but if you walk down the street you’re likely to hear jams coming from monstrously big SUV’s, salsa streaming down from apartment windows, and hot rock from the various pubs that line the blocks. If that’s not a scene, then I don’t know what a scene is!

7) Shopping. Just take a stroll down Steinway St. in Astoria, won’t you? In a three block stretch there are roughly: 20 Payless stores, 1 Claires, 5 Dollar stores, 1 Modells, 1 New York & Company, 1 Express…and that’s just on Steinway street! Queens is so much more than Steinway St.

8) M-E-T-S Mets! Out in Flushing, you know, Citi Field? You might have heard of it…

In conclusion, you know that movie ‘Say Anything’? Well it was based on me and Queens (in particular, that whole ‘holding the stereo above your head thing’).

(if you want to know more about queens, lists and cornify, check out becky's own ramblings here!)

featured friend: phil chan

we asked, you answered. prima ballerina extraordinaire and dimsum afficianado, phil chan. welcome to your 15 minutes of fame.

2.) who is your thinspiration? Myself when I was 17.
22.) would you rather have two noses or one eye? Two noses - enhanced sense of smell + depth perception would be a blessing from the Gods.
48.) does the week begin on sunday or monday? Technically, Sunday. Mentally, Sunday. Professionally, Monday.
55.) do you believe in vampires? Energy vampires, emotional vampires, yes.
47.) are you addicted to anything? Yes.
33.) has anyone yelled at you on an airplane? I have received catcalls on an airplane, but I doubt that is what you meant.
62.) if you had to choose three colors to dress in for the rest of your life, what would they be? Black, White, and Blue. Oh wait, those are the only colors I own already.
13.) who is your winspiration? Probably the photo of Brandy Chastain when she won the game, and she is on her knees, covered in mud, making a fierce face.
40.) if you could choose between a hairy back or a hairy chest, which would you choose? Chest. I would could pass as "Mediterranean" as opposed to "Neolithic"
10.) if you had a lot of money, what would you do? Probably the act same thing I am doing now, but with less time spent working and better lighting.

stay tuned for more from phil...

the moment we've all been waiting for.

caitlin and i at fleet week 2008

as a huge fan of all things nautical, oceanic, wavy, and h20 induced, i am happy to announce the beginning of my favorite time of year: fleet week!!!!! it's time for everyone to strip down to their most shameless tankinis, skinny dip wildly in mccaren pool park, and let the men of the sea inundate them completely. if you're not doing all of the above at some point over the next five days, then you're really missing out on a true new york tradition. aka FAIL.

aside from public acts of nautical adoration, living fleet week day-to-day is also the biggest trend coming from the depths of the hudson. to keep the spirit alive all year round, i recommend taking a look at design sponge's "ships ahoy special" with an authentic brooklyn take on how to life your life at sea.

fleet week, we welcome you with open arms!

joyeaux anniversaire!

la tour eiffel turns 120 today!

it's the tallest building in *~*paris*~* and totes obvi a huge icon of france (even though some parisiens continue to call it an eyesore).

NEWAYZ to the haters. as one time parisian beauties we used to have many a photo shoot by the tower, with cigarettes, baguettes, and overall fierceness.

le sigh.



there are millions of great pics of it, but in celebration of the birth, here is the baby growing up right before our very eyes.

p.s. dear tower, you share your bday with ho chi minh.

i lined up to see him all pickled in vietnam, i tried to stop but the guards smacked me with a stick, so here is someone else's pic.