My mom has a theory that men don’t mature past the age of 12. I choose to disagree, because some of my favorite minds are of the male persuasion. That said, even they have their quirks.

I am beginning to think though that the few defy this categorization are just lucky, and the the majority are, well, pretty damn damaged.

Case in point: A friend texted me last night while I was out to dinner. She was devastated.

Apparently, her boyfriend of about two years invited her over Wednesday night, where they shared a bottle of champagne, made dinner together, and she spent the night. It was romantic, they had a great time, (for the record, they had a great time *twice*), and then in the morning they said their goodbyes and went to work.

By about lunch time, she received a text from him (a text!) that he needed to experience “being alone” for a while and wanted space, and they could arrange some time this weekend for her to collect the stuff she had at his place. No warning, no argument, he just “wants to be alone”.

Apparently, his best friend recently became single, and thus he now had the option for them to be single guys together. For some reason, this seems to motivate men - positively and negativity - we’ve noticed before in our own crowd. Men love to be coupled when their friends are coupled, but the vice-versa is just as true.

So, the message here? If you have one of the good ones, hold on to him. But be careful, sometimes the good ones can suddenly jump up and bite you in the ass as well. (And not in the good way…alas.)

The only thing more fun than buying panties?

Bloomers!

(No, that is not me in that picture.)

And turns out, Victoria’s Secret has a bunch of great vintage-style ones in their new collection!

If any company has any they feel like sharing, I”m an XS…

Update:

It appears that friend drama from yesterday may have been exaggerated. Or, she is backpedaling.

Further update: I have perhaps decided I do not care. My friend Amy Zalneraiti, author of Room for Improvement, emailed me after reading my blog yesterday and told me about an upcoming interview she did with the New York Post where she gives a host of reasons why friends should not attempt to live together. (In short, they eventually tend to become non-friends.)

This left me thinking, and I last night discussed the issue with some of my nearest and dearest. Perhaps this “tragedy” is actually an opening to an even better opportunity, and “friend 2″ has done me a tremendous favor!

Shall keep you posted!

Clearly, I am destined to be real-estate stagnated for the remainder of my existence.

For about two years, I went through the process of searching for an apartment with an old, close friend of mine. We searched in two states, several boroughs, and eventually realized we were not only incompatible as room mates, but probably as best friends. She decided she was over the concept of living with room mates, at all, hated the mere idea of Brooklyn (most of her friends have their own places on the Upper East Side…the shame!), and pretty much saw me, and all my closest friends, as immature derelict slummers in fashionable shoes.

We’re not best friends anymore.

After that didn’t work out, I attempted to hook up with another old, good friend of mine. A friend who I’d sit over with martinis with at regular intervals and discuss how while friend A and I were having all these problems, we would be perfect together. We’d wistfully plot our perfect co-dwelling post-friend-1 breakup, and one day, our dream finally came true.

Excitedly, she met me for brunch in Park Slope. It was raining, she was sick. She was sort of quiet the rest of the day, but swore to be excited. She programmed agent numbers into her Blackberry. This, I maintain, is commitment. Over the period of the next few months, I would email and research brokers. I’d send her all the exciting Craigslist ads I found. I was psyched. She said she was too.

This morning, after forwarding her an email I had written a broker that had been referred to us, she emailed back that “Brooklyn was no longer an option”. I replied I was saddened and confused that I wasted all this time (that I do not have) when we were clearly not on the same page. I was told to drop the attitude, and that if it was an option for me, it was not a time waste.

Apparently, she’s very familiar with the “I” in Team concept.

It appears I may be “single” again. This thought petrified me. (Will I hit thirty and still be …. living with my parents…?)

And thus, the book that was sent to me was perfectly timed. Room for Improvement, by Amy Zalneraitis, is a great guide to the dark side of splitting rent.

In the book, Amy discusses the whole range of psycho room mate squabbles. It’s a total real and pretty-funny guide to roommate living for the young-adult not-so-financially-secure-to-have-her-own-place woman.

It essentially explains how cooperation can lead to smoother cohabitation. (Something I thus far have not been lucky enough to experience.) Totally based on the experiences of herself and her best friends, Amy delivers essential roommate dos and don’ts, hilarious (and often horrifying) anecdotes, and invaluable tips from experts, and covers such sanity-saving topics as:

* Checks and Imbalances: Keeping Financial Friction at Bay
* Idiosyncrasies or Idiosyncrazies? There’s Eccentric, and Then There’s Psychotic
* Dust Bunnies Are Not Real Pets: What to Do with a Filthy Roommate
* Is That My Underwear You’re Wearing? Sharing Clothes Without Exchanging Blows

This is a book I highly recommend everyone run right out and buy. That is, after giving ME some advice before I go postal on the entire real estate market.

Or just my two friends. Perhaps being “single” is the best plan of all…

This is the coolest thing I’ve seen all day.

Check out the crave reader!

As I sit in the Tea Lounge, my gourd and Yerba Mate beside me, I am facing one of life’s quintessential dilemmas:

Should I or should I not have that vegan raspberry chocolate chip loaf?

On one side, I have the knowledge that it will be quite yummy. On the other, I have the awareness that my ass is quickly expanding.

And thus, I shalt not. Alas. I will live by the credo long ago taught me: “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.”

Does anyone have any credos of their own that they wish to share? You must help me preserve my progress!

Reminder: For all my New York area friends, come hang with me tomorrow night at Southpaw - Spiraling on stage at 8 pm! Details at www.spsounds.com and www.spiraling.net 

My new site design! What does everyone think?

Alert:

I have lost 1 pound!

The day is shiny and new.

This weekend, Larry, my very anti-whole-grain brother, tried Mr. Krispers for the first time.

This is a guy who refers, generally, to white bread as “real bread” and shuns brown rice on matter of principle.

A few minutes later, I got an IM…

“This is damned good stuff!”

High praise, indeed.

Mr. Krispers and Steaz energy drinks are part of a very big (and very important) movement toward organic, healthy snacks. In fact, BevNet named Steaz Energy as the best energy drink of 2007. Steaz is built on the idea that energy drinks shouldn’t be loaded with corn syrup and preservatives. Instead, the boost comes from four quality ingredients: organic Fair Trade Certified Ceylon green tea, organic Guayaki yerba mate, organic Sambazon Acai, and organic Guarana.

Mr. Krispers is rooted in the same healthy premise - based on a traditional rice cracker technology from Japan (Usuyaki), made from heart healthy whole grains and other all-natural ingredients, they have 60% less fat than traditional chips, and are a low fat, low sugar, and gluten free alternative to traditional fried snacks.

Both are a great part of the “better for you” trend in the snack industry, and part of a new standard in snacking. Steaz and Mr. Krispers believe so much in helping us all be smarter snackers that they are awarding a gift basket packed with goodies to five lucky readers! Each basket will contain:

Each prize will consist of one each of the following:

• Mr. Krispers Baked Rice Krisps – Sour Cream & Onion
• Mr. Krispers Baked Rice Krisps – Sea Salt & Pepper
• Mr. Krispers Baked Nut Chips – Toasted Almond
• Steaz® Energy™ - Berry
• Steaz® Energy™ - Orange
• Steaz® Diet Sparkling Green Tea – Black Cherry

To have your chance to be a winner, please tell me your own snacking high and low - do you have a halo of fruits and veggies? Or devil horns of chips and cake? Tell me your angel and your devil - and how this gift will fit into it, and you may win! Extra credit if you read back a few days and catch some of the snacking no-nos that have befallen me! Deadline February 29th.

Perhaps as important as the gowns were the hair choices…Suave’s celebrity hair stylist Luke O’Connor was kind enough to offer his thoughts on last night’s hits and misses, and his own advice on how to create them for our own special events.

Listen to the Weatherman

·         Even though rain held off for last night’s red carpet, A-listers chose hairstyles that held up to the humidity.  Cameron Diaz and Ann Hathaway both chose ponytails to keep hair classic and ready to fight whatever weather the evening had in store.  Hathaway kept the front of her ponytail sleek, while Cameron let curled sections fall loose in front. 

o        Luke’s Tip:  Need a quick way to fancy up your ponytail? Twirl a small section of hair around your ponytail’s rubber band and pin in place to conceal.  Keep hair shining and fly-aways at bay with Suave Professionals Vibrant Shine Mist. 

Take a Hint from the Academy’s Best Actress

·         You can’t go wrong with loose, shining waves similar to that of last night’s Best Actress Winner, Marion Cotillard.  Other starlets that evoked vintage Hollywood glam were presenter Katherine Hiegel and performer Amy Adams.  Hiegel channeled her inner-Marilyn Monroe with waves worn in a shorter, more structured style, while Adams wore her long wavy red locks in a side part.

o        Luke’s Tip:  Pick up the tools of the trade to create celebrity-inspired waves.  Use a 1″ - 1 1/4″ curling iron to spiral wrap 2″ sections of hair to create soft, loose waves.  Finish with Suave Professionals Vibrant Shine Hairspray to keep waves shimmering and staying in place.

Keep it Simple

·         Classic hairstyles let last night’s high-glam fashions bask in the spotlight.  Penelope Cruz and Kate Blanchet kept their hairstyles simple and soft with half-up/half-down looks. Similarly, low chignons and classic French twists worn by Nicole Kidman and Hilary Swank were the updo craze. 

o        Luke’s Tip:  Want to up the drama level of this hairstyle staple?  Make like Jessica Alba and wear hair in a middle part with small braids incorporated into your updo.  Need a way to keep every last strand of your updo locked in place?  Give hair a quick spritz with Suave Professionals Freeze Hold Hairspray for superior hold.