Girl Friday

Happy Notary Public Day (Tomorrow)

Yeah, that's right. We get a day, too.

November 7th is Notary Public Day, so make sure to say what up to your favorite notary public.

So the day after I moved into my new apartment, I got swine flu. I finally left the house yesterday and worked and socialized like a normal human being, even though I'm not quite sure I feel normal yet. After three days of 101 to 103-degree fevers and four straight days of watching "Lost" on DVD, I'm not sure I'm fully immersed in reality.

I'd never seen this show before and now I've cleared the first three seasons. I was shocked, absolutely shocked, to learn that it's still on the air, concluding this spring. Seriously?! They are not off the island? And they still don't know why they're there? I don't know if I could even handle the frustration of watching three more seasons.

Birthday Henna Tattoos

After a week of transition, I'm finally moved into my new place, so blogging should resume at regular intervals once again. As an aside, Comcast can't come out until later this week so I linked up to the Minneapolis Citywide Wifi. It sucks.

Friday the 23rd was my birthday and, after a failed attempt to get an appointment for 4 manicures at the Aveda Institute after lunch at Brasa, I decided that we would all go get henna tattoos. There's that place in Eden Prairie Center that does henna and eyebrow threading, but it seemed like a long way to drive for such a little thing. Then Erik remembered that a girlfriend of his got henna done at the Somali mall. Google led us to 24th and Elliot, to a concrete structure more or less void of windows and certainly no henna shops. It turns out we were at the wrong Somali mall. (Yes, there are multiple Somali malls in South Minneapolis.)

Some nice ladies directed us to the Suuqa Karmel Somali mall at Lake and Pillsbury, where the henna tattooing can be found in suite #110. You'll recognize it by the complete lack of any indicators that henna tattooing is done there. You will, however, see a lot of long black dresses adorned with sequins.

So four of us walk in, two girls, two guys, without really giving it a second thought. My cousin Tony actually stops just short of the back room where the tattooing is done, since he wasn't really thrilled about the idea. But Cristina, Erik and I just stroll on in, to where at least four Somali ladies have their sleeves up around their elbows and their skirts pushed up to their knees. Erik was, of course, quickly ushered out -- "women only!" -- and joined my cousin in the front room to pout. No henna tattoos for boys. Modesty aside, no wonder they were pretty wide-eyed when a guy walked into their henna salon. According to Wikipedia: "Traditionally, only women apply this body art and it is absolutely strange for men to apply such art on their hands and feet."

Our henna tattooist, Sabrina (whom we later renamed Sabrina Fierce), was a master of multi-tasking. Not only did she complete both Cristina's and my tattoos in like 5 minutes, she did while texting.

Cristina's hand:

Waiting for my henna to dry:

Getting knifed (the fun part):

Note the six-year-old giving a henna tattoo in the background. She had a sucker in one hand and a squeeze-bag applicator in the other. Sabrina Fierce couldn't have been older than 20 and she said she'd been doing henna for at least 12 years.

The tattoos were $10 each and I'd totally go back for another one. We went right around 3-3:30pm when school got out so it was a little crowded with youngsters, but we probably only waited about 5 minutes for Sabrina Fierce to get started.

Happy 32

It's my birthday! I'd like to thank all the readers of Girl Friday over the last nearly five years for checking out this blog and making it a regular stop (and let's not forget those of you who were following me on LiveJournal before I moved the blog to Typepad).

Here are the last 4 posts from October 23rd on Girl Friday:

2008

2007

2006

2005

And here's a song that Pandora re-introduced to me today. I can't believe I'd forgotten all about it, since it's totally one of the best songs from my adult formative years. Download it, put it on your iPod, play it for some hottie and get lucky this weekend.

In honor of my birthday.

Lady-mustaches and Little Black Dresses

I was just brushing my teeth in the bathroom (you know, where most people do that) and I suddenly remembered an incident from almost two weeks ago that I'd obviously tried to forget. My friend Christian and I were walking around Eden Prairie Center on a quiet afternoon and he decided to get his eyebrows threaded. The lady made quick work of Christian's eyebrows (in her makeshift "salon" that was probably an Air Traffic store not three weeks earlier), then turned to me and offered to clean up my lady-mustache. Well, I never!

Anyway, I may or may not be making an appointment with my aesthetician later this week. Ooh and, speaking of, you should know something if you didn't already: the wonderful and talented Jessie May has left H Design Salon and opened up The Uptown Hair District. It's on Lake Street, right next to Bryant-Lake Bowl.

Now, moving from my upper lip on to the top of my head:

So, my hair's a bit on the nappy side. While keeping it a few shades darker than natural tends to help make it smoother and regular deep-conditioning help to keep it soft, I inevitably lose that wonderful sheen you get from a fresh color job. I can always go in and get a gloss treatment from Sarah (that's Sarah Buckley at Sassy Lu Salon, as long as we're stroking personal service provider egos) but let's face it: I'm really busy with all this Facebooking and Tweeting lately and it doesn't exactly pay the bills. I stopped in to Whole Foods a couple days ago for toothpaste and decided to try this Shikai Color Reflect Hot Oil Treatment. I have to say I'm pretty impressed. I've sporting softness and definite shine, all with the clear conscience of using a cruelty-free product. Recommended.

I read about The Uniform Project in Glamour and intended to write about her here, but life got in the way. Thanks to Mark for sending me the video link and reminding me. Sheena Matheiken is wearing the same black dress for 365 days (don't worry, she has duplicates) in an effort to raise money to clothe and send kids to school in India. All contributions to The Uniform Project will go directly to The Akanksha Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to education reform for the country's underprivileged children.

The philanthropist in you will love the concept and want to donate to the cause. The sartorialist in you will love the fact that Sheena posts photos of each outfit every day. She's a fashion whiz, putting together amazingly creative ensembles using recycled, re-purposed and donated accessories. She's just passed the halfway mark of her project and created a video to celebrate The Uniform Project's success so far and encourage more people to donate.

Time Out

G-F is taking a little T-O.

I'm having a bit of a rough time with some stuff right now so, for the first time in Girl Friday history, I'm taking a short break from blogging. My goal is to return to some regularly scheduled recipes, bar and restaurant reviews and cruelty-free shopping tips on my birthday, which is next Friday (Amazon Wish List being updated accordingly.)

Since I'm under a contractual obligation to do so, you will still see me blogging on vita.mn. And, for those that can handle my dirty mouth, I'll still be all up in Twitter.

Pimp

IMPORTANT: My friend and part-time literary mentor Mark Pritchard has just published another book and you should read it. It's called How They Scored, and it's about "how straight men think and talk to each other about sex." 

From the book's website:

Set among a group of friends as they meet at the remote vacation lodge of a software tycoon to talk about a new business idea, the book also explores issues of privacy and surveillance in the 21st century.

Hap, who works in the periphery of the software industry as a technical writer, has a gorgeous girlfriend and a great apartment in San Francisco, but he's just learned that the owner of the building plans to sell, and it's unlikely he would be able to afford another apartment in the city. He's afraid that moving out of the city will mean the end of his love affair.

Called to a gathering of friends he's known from college and from jobs in Silicon Valley, he has to decide whether saving his apartment and his love affair is worth mortgaging his soul as the newest employee of Dreedle, a fiendish corporation devoted to selling out the privacy of every individual to the highest bidder. In the meantime, the seven men who convene in a posh mountain retreat fill the days trying to outdo each other's stories of sexual adventure.

How They Scored mixes speculation about the loss of privacy in the 21st century with a journey through the beds of the bohemians of San Francisco and Austin, Serbian fashion models, Las Vegas wheeler-dealers, and a "landscape artist" whose life work is a hole in the ground in the middle of the desert.

As Mark says, it's funny, it's sexy and you're probably in it. I might be in it. A couple of these people might be in it. Just read it.

Know what else is really awesome? My pal Robin is writing a book right now, with the help of his friends and collaborative blog readers. Check out the link below to get the gist of Robin's book and how he's funding the project with KickStarter.

From Robin's website:

The basic setup is: Imagine a Sherlock Holmes for the 21st century. All the really good cases are on the internet. And Holmes is a woman, and Watson is an A.I., and San Francisco... oh, poor San Francisco...

To get a feel for the style and setting, check out a short story I published recently, Mr. Penumbra's Twenty-Four-Hour Book Store. Basically, if you enjoy it, and think "hmm, yes, I'd read more like this," this project is the way to make it happen.

Now, the goal of this project is to put a book in your hands. And the cool thing about books is that they enjoy tremendous economies of scale. So here's the opportunity: as more people reserve books, everybody's book gets better, because a bigger print run means everything is cheaper.

If I can get 300 backers, the book will be really nice: perfect-bound with a crisp color cover. If I can get 600 backers, suddenly we're talking better materials, more colors... maybe even hardcover?

And more than 600...? Why, it'll be made of PURE GOLD.

Very, very cool. (I mean, I realize the "pure gold" part is probably a slight exaggeration, but still-- how cool would that be?)

Just Sayin'

Study: Alcohol Abstainers at Higher Risk of Depression (TIME Magazine)

The most powerful explanation seems to be that abstainers have fewer close friends than drinkers, even though they tend to participate more often in organized social activities. Abstainers seem to have a harder time making strong friendship bonds, perhaps because they don't have alcohol to lubricate their social interactions. After all, it's easier to reveal your worst fears and greatest hopes to a potential friend after a Negroni or two.

OM: You Should Go Here

Cristina celebrated her birthday last Friday and a bunch of us headed to OM, the new Indian contemporary restaurant downtown, to celebrate.

Shortly after I got there, I chatted with Chef/Culineer Raghavan Iyer a little bit and we bonded in our vegetarianism. I asked him what the best snacks were on the menu and he recommended I get the Mumbai Crackers (crackers with mango, potato, red onion topped with two chutneys) and the Patiala Cakes (potato crisps stuffed with fresh mint, chiles, red onion with tamarind-date sauce and mint-cilantro chutney). But here's the tragic part: I had no appetite that night so I ended up not ordering any food. I did have a couple bites of the Palak Paneer Parantha, a grilled flatbread stuffed with spinach and fresh cheese and spiced with crushed chiles and, I believe, mango powder. It was cold by the time I got around to it, so fresh from the grill would've been better, but it had a pleasantly high spice level and I'd definitely try it again. (Actually, I would totally take some of that right now.)

Tell you what I did try, though: the cocktails. The Agni was a crowd favorite, so much so that I had to order a second one 5 minutes after I got the first one because two other people wouldn't stop sampling it. Fresh muddled limes and dried chiles are shaken with Grey Goose Citron and strained into a martini glass (my least favorite drinking vehicle, but folks seem to like it). A fresh Thai chile floats on top of the drink and the result is simple and delicious. Spicy enough to knock you back a little, with the heat balanced out by the tang of the lime and a dash of simple syrup.

I also tried The Slumdog, a spiked up lemonade with Grey Goose Citron, ginger, lime and fresh cilantro. Points for being served in a lowball on the rocks, but I was having issues with the tiny pieces of cilantro. The bits kept sticking to my lip gloss and were sort of messing with my game. My advice to the OM bar is to invest in some cute, short drinking straws or maybe just shake the drink with a couple whole sprigs of cilantro, strain them out, then garnish with a fresh, unbruised one.

Prices are completely reasonable. If you judged OM solely on its fancy looks, you wouldn't guess that select cocktails are just $2 during happy hour (4:30-6:30 pm daily), specialty cocktails are $7-8, small plates start at $6 and entrees start at $14. (Valet parking is a whopping $10 but hey, it was raining, I was wearing heels and I had a birthday gift in one hand and a silk handbag in the other.)

I'd take a small tweak in the restaurant's temperature (up just 2 degrees would be perfect) but otherwise I was totally comfortable in the upstairs bar and lounge. The elevated seating overlooks the corner of 1st Avenue and 4th Street so, if you feel the need to tune out your friends for a minute, you can gaze outside and watch the people go by. OM's lounge was built for mingling; our group moved effortlessly through the room, changing seats and visiting with other tables. I highly recommend the space for small events.

Overall, OM really isn't that large, certainly not as huge as r. Norman's or Bellanotte, and Randy Norman went the subdued route with his latest venture. The decor has its share of glamour (the grand staircase to the dining room encircles a giant, illuminated, crystal spiral chandelier that drops down to a reflecting pool below) but the space is almost cozy, with warm woods, soft metal finishes and muted lavender, teal and yellow gold touches throughout. The style in which OM was decorated actually reminds me of some parts in my apartment; namely the bedroom and my own dining room.

The staff consists of a bunch of rockstars. Our wait assistant (whose name is on the tip of my tongue because he worked at Azia for years), server (Jesse), manager (Kari), Randy and even Raghavan took the time to stop and make sure we were having a great time.

Love OM. Can't wait to actually eat there. I think I may do that soon, as they're currently offering a 4-course, $30 tasting menu every Sunday.

Wild Rice Soup (Vegetarian)

I was thinking I wouldn't bother to post the recipe for the wild rice soup I made today because it's wild rice soup and doesn't every Minnesotan have a good recipe for this, our unofficial state dish?

But then I realized that a lot of people make it with chicken and ham, or at least chicken stock, and my version is vegetarian. I made this at my mom's today, so also I thickened it with Tom Sawyer's gluten-free flour mix since she can't hang with the wheat.

Wild Rice Soup (Vegetarian, Gluten-free)
© 2009 by Alexis McKinnis
Yields: A metric assload

1 pound uncooked wild rice
6 cups + 2 cups hot water
2 Tablespoons butter
1 large onion, diced
1 bunch celery, cleaned and diced
1 garlic clove, minced
8 cups mock chicken broth (strongly recommend Edward & Sons Not-Chick'n)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon ground marjoram
2 bay leaves (optional)
10 ounces fresh white mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons flour or gluten-free flour mix
1 pint heavy cream
salt to taste

Boil 6 cups salted water in large saucepan. Add wild rice, bring back to boil, then simmer, covered 40 minutes or until tender. Drain wild rice and set aside. In very large soup pot, saute onion and celery in butter over medium-high heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another 3-4 minutes. Add wild rice, mock chicken broth, 2 cups water, thyme, sage, marjoram and bay leaves (if using). Bring soup to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Add mushrooms and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Whisk in flour to thicken. Turn off heat and stir in cream. Salt, ladle, serve (preferably with saltines).

Don't eat the bay leaves, of course. Also, if I haven't mentioned it before, I'm pretty salt-sensitive, so I don't like to list measurements for the salt. Your own taste buds will be the best meter there.

And the nominees are...