FOOD INC.

Has anyone seen the documentary Food Inc.? Well our family watched it last night and it totally reinforced to us to ONLY EAT ORGANIC!When you see scenes of dead chickens on top of sick ones, cows knee deep in poo, and farmers being sued for being real farmers, you will first barf up your last meal and then you will vow to never shop at an indoor food store again, unless it's TJ's or Whole Foods and even THEN you still have to be careful. For example Tom's toothpaste: now owned by Colgate. Burt's Bees: now owned by Chlorox. This was NOT a feel-good movie, folks. It will make you rethink what is on your fork. Please watch it and please feed yourself and family responsibly. It effects the whole world, not just your appetite.

THE DREAM

I woke up this morning from a dream that left me lonely. Kaitlyn, one of my best friends, is still gone on her (second!) almost month long tour of Europe and I’m pretty sad without her. It’s not that I don’t have other friends to do things with- I’m surrounded by lots of good friends, many whom I grew up with. Take for instance Christina, who I just had a Casablanca costume party with last weekend (don’t ask, but I was photographed in a turban), or Nicole Y. and her little girl who drove up with us this past summer to New York (sorry about that traffic violation), or Nicole F. who is my neighbor, Madrid travel partner and late-night bonfire buddy. So it’s not that I lack friends or don't enjoy the peace of being by myself sometimes, it’s just that I miss my “KayKay”. As she’s probably frolicking in slow motion in some vineyard in southern France living out her own version of “Eat, Love, Pray”, I’m dialing the last digit of her number before remembering she won’t pick up. (sigh…) So to add salt to wound, I had this dream that her and I were shopping at Father & Son vintage store downtown trying on cat-eye glasses and pink starched aprons from the era when women our age cooked casseroles and pie each evening. We were giggling at how silly the other looked in our 1950s get-up, only to hurry and try on another one. A weird dream, I know, but not too far from reality. We actually have shopped together at that store and tried on clothes, minus the cat-eyed glasses and giggles. Before she left she let me know in  no uncertain terms she better not be replaced in my Fave-Five. No way, never. Kaitlyn is the chick I call first when I want to get a group up for the Big Boss Brewery tours. (She’s also actually the one who’s taught me the most about beer). She’s the one to ask about the many wineries here in North Carolina. (I hope I’m not making her out to be a drunkard- she’s a nurse!) She’s the one who didn’t get on my nerves on a 76 hour road trip to Iowa (to see Death Cab for Cuties) and patiently put up with me when I kept belting out early Madonna hits after our Louisville, KY bourbon samplers. All this and she’s  gorgeous, empathetic, eclectic, charming, generous and never talks about anyone behind their back. Oh, and she decorates her house with mostly Anthropolgie. Sheeesh! Yes, she’s darn near perfect and I’m proud to call her one of my best friends. Why she likes me back? I don’t know. I ain’t got much to offer except maybe travel advice (I told her the highlights of Madrid, which she is also going). Maybe so she can say, “One of my best friends is  black”, which is also our little joke since I’m only half black, but I digress… Why dedicate a whole blog entry on Kay? Because I truly value her and I think every person should have a friend they would miss so hard if they left even just temporarily. And I’m actually blessed to have several of these kinds of pals, who are all part of my family. *sniff sniff*  Anyway, my dream ended with a slimy green alien that, after bathing in my tub, transformed his outer shell into the form of a deceitful and contrite politician. Yeah, like that could ever happen.

NEW and IMPROVED

Today I changed over my blog title from "Dining In" to "Chatting With Chelsea".  I did so because my blog was becoming so stinkin' random, "Dining In" made no more sense than "I'ma Gonna Kiss Me a Pig". I hope you still enjoy it although nothing but the title has changed. Enjoy the pic of Otavalo, Ecuador which is the town we lived in South America. The bottom left building with the colorful windows was one of my favorite pizza joints.

2011 TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT

Our "trip" for 2011 will actually be an extended stay of a month or more. Where?  Not sure quite yet, but since we used to live in South America, I'm assuming it will be back down that way simply due to the familiarity. Plus it  would be nice to see my friends there again. So I'll keep you posted. For some reason I'm  not in the mood to blog much about this. Probably because my details are next to nill and there's lots to work out before we leave like whether or not to take our dog, who will house-sit for us, yadda-yadda.

OK, I LIED

So...I thought I was done with this blog. I mean, with my crazy life, who has time to BLOG??!! I went over to Facebook, but...not for me. Even with my 499,986 "friends". No thanks. Meanwhile me and my "real" friends enjoyed our time together this lazy summer doing lots of cookouts in our too-huge backyard, hanging out downtown at our new fave restaurant, http://www.capitalclub16.com/, and  even catching a Broadway show here and there. And my bitter-sweet end to this wine & beer-filled summer? A weekend get-away with my hubby and chihuahua to Busch Gardens, Williamsbug. We also shoved in the itinterary Yorktown, Va. which was simply adorable. Also a highlight was a going to a cover-band concert that I'm almost ashamed to name. (johnny cash!!)  But with Fall on the brink and my two best friends out of town, (one in Napa and the other on a 3 week jaunt around Europe (i secretly hate her) ) what is a girl to do?? Buy some new skinney jeans and plan a camping trip to Asheville, of course! So yes, I lied. I'm back to blogging on here ever fast and furious. Can you keep up? ;)