There are 7 months, 18 days, 12 hours and oh about 22 seconds until Bush hands over the Presidency (who's counting anyway?) but it seems he already feels like celebrating. Check out this congratulatory chest bump with a graduating cadet of the Air Force Academy just yesterday. IMO, Bush is probably like, fuck it, I'm out of here in less than a year. I'm gonna act like a total douche and really ice this cake.
The setup:
And for the bump:
And back down, with the heavy exhale:
Hell, while we're at it, let's bust out the Heisman pose!
Young man, graduification has great importanance to the succesility of your career. Well, sort of. Look how far I got! Now show em your guns.
1. Reigning Female Vocalist of the Year Carrie Underwood opens the show with 'Last Name,' how very appropriate. She looks like a million in a white catsuit with a fat rhinestone belt and rhinestone platforms. Did I mention her mic is also encrusted in sparkle as well? Hair is straight, bangs are swoopy. This chick who weighs 92 pounds sopping wet is truly the only one who can pull off a white bedazzled catsuit. I seethe with jealousy.
2. Reba opens up the show. This is her 10th time hosting, the first time being in 1986, three years before Taylor Swift was even born. Gaaad that makes me a little ill, I just checked and the teenage crooner was actually born in 1989. Reba looks good in her sapphire blue sheath, but her accent still gets to me a bit.
3. Toby comes on and sings the new 'She's a Hottie.' I'm a little disappointed, he has zero energy while piping out this tune. It's my guess he probably got a little too tanked last night in Vegas, or he spent a little time on Willie's bus before the show. Durn, I really love this song too because it reminds me of some good ol' fashioned hick fun down on some Missouri float trips.
4. Lady Antebellum presents the award for best new female vocalist! (I think that was the one). I love this new group, they have a great rockabilly kind of sound. I also happen to know that they will be playing a super secret uber exclusive show at Swallow at the Hollow in Roswell on 6/23...... stay tuned here for details. Oh! And it just so happens that Lady A just won for top new duo or group! Cheers Lady, I hope good things are coming your way.
5. Blake Shelton introduces his little lady Miranda Lambert of Nashville Star fame. She rocks out her new single 'Gunpowder and Lead.' This is the best performance of the night so far. Finally a performance with some energy and soul, praise Jeezy.
6. Rodney Atkins. Cute dude, but he is flatter than Taylor Swift at age 14. Come on Rod, you're playin with the bigguns now, let's step it up a notch and sing in tune shall we?
7. Dick Clark comments on Garth Brooks' achievement award. Sadly, dude is finally starting to show his age as I mistook his voice for that of Don Imus. They both sound like they have a mouthful of cotton. Maybe they have been hanging with Willie?
8. Kenny Chesney steps up. He's up for Entertainer of the Year again, going for his 4th win in a row. Tonight he sings 'Better As A Memory.' I'm a fan of this one, it's a nice remorseful terribly depressing number that makes you think about MyStalking your ex-boyfriend for the 14th time. What? Nevermind.
9. George Strait. I have to admit, even as a country fan, I don't get this guy. Why? Ok, first of all, he is 56 and the women just swoon over him. I guess there's something hawt about 56-year old ass in Wranglers. Strangely enough, today is his 56th birthday and he is singing his 56th #1 hit for us tonight, 'I Saw God Today.' Srsly? I bet you're right George, you're not too far away from knockin' on the pearly gates. I should also mention that this 56th #1 for George officially makes him the country artist with the most #1 hits, surpassing Conway Twitty. Now get a load of this feller, ladies. 100% pure hawtness, no doubt. I heard Deb from Napoleon Dynamite actually snapped this Glamour Shot.
10. Let's bring it forward a few hundred years and welcome Sugarland to the stage. The swanky duo busts out their new tune 'All I Wanna Do,' which is stellar if you ask me. I love Jennifer Nettles' voice. Kristian Bush is bangin' some really ugly polka dottish suit though and it makes him look like a total Nancy. Here's the pair singing their new song at Atlanta's Fox Theatre:
11. 'Stay' just won for something else. I think I'm done with this song, in fact I think I was done with it about three months ago. As much as I love Jennifer Nettles, her fashion choice for this bit was abhorrent. I'll post pics as soon as they hit the internet.
12. Can someone please tell me why Taylor Swift is channeling the Grim Reaper in her crummy black hoodie? Oh wait, two dudes just came up to her and ripped her clothes off to reveal her in a skimpy black halter dress. That's more like it, 18 year old! And wait, there's more!! Just wearing a skimpy dress won't do it. I think she needs to be soaked Flashdance style. By the end of the song, 13 year old boys across our great nation had to retire to their bedrooms, I'm sure.
13. Ok so writing this post is pretty much the hardest I have worked in about 2 1/2 weeks, so I'm going to get another slug of wine and put a few cucumber slices on my eyes. Stay tuned!
I love 'em all, but I really think Brad Paisley deserves this year's Association of Country Music Entertainer of the Year award. If you haven't voted yet, go go go!
When I heard Richard Blais would be taking over the kitchen at Posh, I made a reservation within the same minute. I thought it would be the perfect place to celebrate my birthday. It was announced that the name of the restaurant would be changing to Home and that it would be a modern, southern farm to table concept... which is quite popular these days if you ask me. I have been a Top Chef addict this season and have had Richard on my list of favorites since episode one, so needless to say I was very excited to go. Our fab neighbor Holly came with us to celebrate the occasion.
In all my excitement I forgot my camera, so if you would like to see some great pictures of Richard's fare, please go here.
The ambiance of the restaurant was surprising. Nestled in a cute little house, I was expecting a bit more of a casual cozy environment. Instead, I kind of felt like I was sitting in someone's rich aunt's dining room. I will say the draperies were beautiful and the lighting was very well done. Just not quite what I was expecting. Most of the diners were much older than us, kind of the Buckhead Baby Boomer see-and-be-seen set. They stuck us younguns in a corner though, as not to disturb the other diners. ;)
Service was a little slow at first. It seems they have a beverage steward as well as a regular waiter for each table. I'm pretty sure the GM was our waiter that night. Holly and I each had a blackberry vodka lemonade to begin and hubster had a mint julep. Not usually the whiskey fan, I will say that this mint julep was delicious. I totally had drink envy at this point.
We began our meal with two starters: the fried green tomatoes and the pimento cheese on crackers. Much to my surprise, our dining companion was born and raised in Atlanta and had never had FGT's or pimento cheese. She's played it pretty safe in the food arena, so of course we could not leave without sampling these two southern specialties. I love fried green tomatoes and was expecting the best from Richard. Sadly I was very disappointed, as was our first time FGT eater. The tomatoes were small pieces or chunks really, not the nice slices I normally like. The breading was very thick and not very crispy, although the color was a nice golden brown. The 'maters were served with a light creamy sauce and also a cool chive ice cream which was a nice change. Overall though, the dish was a big let down. The pimento cheese was a delight though. Perfectly punchy and topped with thinly sliced celery, I truly enjoyed this dish.
For my second course, hubs and I both had a butter lettuce salad with green apple, black walnuts and blue cheese. This is a fairly standard restaurant salad and is difficult to screw up. The salad was light and refreshing and I liked the sweetened nuts along with the pungent blue cheese. If we do go back, I'll probably opt for the tomato soup and grilled cheese course... it looked very good. I was just worried about having too much heavy food.
I was very excited about the main course being that fried chicken is pretty much on my top 3 list of favorite foods. Holly and I both ordered the fried chicken with macaroni and cheese and honey vinaigrette. Mason had the brisket. Vegetables are served family style, with each table receiving small portions of four kinds of veggies. Ours were carrots in a creamy thyme-ish/oregano sauce, brussels sprouts, collard greens, and creamy mashed potatoes. I loved all of the veggies except for the collards... those are just too bitter for me and I can't get myself to like them no matter how they are prepared. The mashers were perfectly velvety and quite delicious. Entree wise, I had very high hopes for my chicken...all of which were crushed by the end of the first bite. The honey vinaigrette made the chicken entirely too sweet and ruined the dish in my opinion. I don't mind a bit of sweet with my savory, but this was over the top. Needless to say, I was quite bummed. The macaroni and cheese had a lovely bechamel sauce and the bread crumbs on top were toasty and crisp. The chef was just a bit heavy handed with the truffle oil though. I know many of you are probably thinking that this is a physical impossibility, but I'm just a traditionalist like that... I'd rather taste the cheese in mac and cheese rather than mushrooms.
On to dessert. Red velvet cake with cream cheese icing AND cream cheese ice cream. Hello gorgeous.....or so I thought. One bite into the cake and we were looking at a dry, crumbly mess. At first glance the cake looked nice and dense and perfectly moist, but unfortunately the bite revealed something entirely different. Definitely a less than satisfying way to end our meal.
I heard from the valet that Richard had not even been at the restaurant for more than a week, so maybe some of these shortcomings were just sous chef oversights. Some other friends paid Home a visit a few weeks back, and said that the celebrity chef actually came out and sat with them for 15 minutes or so. Had that happened to us, I probably would have forgotten about how let down I was by our meal. Maybe next time.
Today is my 29th birthday for the first time. (In all seriousness though, I am looking forward to turning 30. I think I might start to feel like an adult then.) To mark the occasion, I left work early, treated myself to a slice of Johnny's pizza, an Amstel Light, and a massage at Massage Envy. I was greatly in need of some zen/namaste/quietude due to dealing with impending change in our lives. More on that later. This place is a massage factory of sorts; they have locations all over town and across the nation. But, for $39 bucks for the first visit, I couldn't resist. Moreover, they have a membership club where you get one massage per month for $49. Actually you can have as many massages as you want at that price, but if you don't use one in any given month, it rolls over. I like.
My therapist was little heavy on the pressure at first, but after a few winces she got it right. I hold all of my tension and stress in my neck and shoulders and let me tell you, right now I'm so loose I feel like my head is just about to roll off. Yessss baby. Plus the fact that I had just a teensy amount of alcohol coursing through my veins during the massage - well that was nice.
So tonight we're heading to Richard Blais' new digs at Home. I will definitely post a review later.
And for the bump:
God Bless America, land that I love!
