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Showing posts from August, 2019

For a Lunch With a Side of Real Housewife: “Pizza Love”

The big news in the Bravo-sphere this week has been that tickets have finally gone on sale for BravoCon, AKA the field of dreams for anyone who loves Southern Charm, Shahs of Sunset, Below Deck, and the Real Housewives franchise. It is going to be a three day festival where you are bound to run into one person or another who you are already friends with in your head.  As for me, I already had such an experience and the best news was that not only did I not have to share it with anyone else, but it also came with a side of pizza.  Last week, on #pizzafriday, I had the honor of meeting a former Real Housewife of New Jersey; Mrs. Kathy Wakile.  After spending two seasons as a full time Real Housewife and a couple other seasons making appearances on the show, Kathy (along with her husband Richie and their business partner Darryl Dueltgen) went into the restaurant business.  As displayed on TV, Kathy has a talent for making desserts that make you drool. Her cookboo

For Find Out Friday - Is Prednisone a Miracle Drug?

Prednisone.  Everybody has been on it at some-point in their life.  It seems to be a miracle drug. I have taken it when I had a rash from an allergic reaction and even a few times to break a migraine that lasted days on end.  I know that it is used to treat/manage kidney disease and bells palsy as well.  So what’s its deal??  How can one drug seeming cure anything that ails you? The only other drug that I know of, that has ever worked for me and been able to treat more than one problem is Botox ( https://bit.ly/2ZKz7ng ).  Is prednisone just as magical? Apparently the short answer is yes.  Prednisone is a kind of anti-inflammatory medication, meaning it suppress our immune system. The fancy name is glucocorticoid (corticosteroid) medication. Its sole job is to suppress the immune system and decrease inflammation in the body. While artificial, it is made to mimimic the function of our adrenal glands.  The compounds that would become Prednisone

For a Brunch with a Built In Sanctuary: “Haven Rooftop”

I have been here before.  It was Restaurant Week in NYC February 2018. I wasn’t feeling great so I reluctantly followed through with my plans to meet one of my cousins for dinner. It ended up being one of the best meals I have ever had and on my way home I made a discovery.  The building where I had just dined, The Sanctuary Hotel, not only housed Tender Steak & Sushi ( https://bit.ly/2BURUTe ) but also Haven Rooftop! Both had long been on my annual to do list ( https://bit.ly/2WatoF2 ). Ever since that day I have longed to return to cross this remaining item off my to do list.  Now my mission has been completed.   On the morning of the day I was set to see “To Kill A Mockingbird” (see previous post) I decided to have brunch at Haven Rooftop.  I first read about this place a few years ago when I was looking for a place to grab a few drinks to celebrate my birthday. I ended up staying in Brooklyn and visiting Le Boudoir ( https://bit.ly/2Kmir0j ) instead. 

For the Broadway Version of the Greatest Book of All Time: “To Kill A Mockingbird”

It is a sin to kill a mockingbird.  Have more profound words even been written?  I think not.  If you need proof all you have to do is read Harper Lee’s infamous novel, watch the movie featuring Gregory Peck, or see the new play on Broadway - as I recently did.  Each incarnation of this story has their own merits but I do believe it is a rare instance when a film manages to capture the same range of motions as the written word. I plan to rewatch it within the next couple of days. I love “To Kill A Mockingbird” so much I listed it as part of the books that have impacted my life ( https://bit.ly/2KLP4DN ). I believe great theater has the ability to do just that, this story, in this setting, with these people, is Broadway at its finest. There have been mixed reviews about how this story would transfer to the stage but as soon as I heard the screenplay was written by Aaron Sorkin and Atticus Finch would be portrayed by Jeff Daniels, I was sold. As any

For the Fourteen Year Old Girl Inside of Me: “Mixtape Tour”

Best concert ever. If I never wrote any other words these three would be enough to explain how I felt about seeing the “Mixtape Tour” this summer.  Though it was the name of the tour, it also holds perfect symbolism about why I felt compelled to see it in the first place.  I firmly believe I grew up in the last great generation of our time. I was born in 1981 and during my formative years there was no social media or internet of any kind. In fact, in junior high I learned how to type on a typewriter and didn’t have my own computer until my sophomore year of college.  When I wanted to listen to my favorite music I had to have a cassette tape at the ready, queued up to the right place, in my double deck stereo, and spend hours listening to the radio (commercials too) before I hit record and stop at just the right moments. It rarely worked out perfectly but each time still felt like victory. If that didn’t work I had to wait for a cassette single to be ninety-