My boss just came into my office and closed the door. I kinda freaked out for a second until a mischievous smile spread across his face.
“I’ve got a dark sense of humor… I’ll pay you $5 if you walk up to Joey Fatone when he’s leaving the office and tell him that he’s your favorite Backstreet Boy.”
“Joey Fatone’s here?! I have to call my sister!” I immediately start giggling hysterically, my face turns a deep red, and I break into a flop sweat.
I never even liked N*Sync, but my sister was so infatuated with them that I guess I was able to channel her for a few seconds.
Date Taken: 1993ish Age: roughly 11 Notes: Yes, I’m naked, but my old cat Mayday is doing a good job of covering up the skeeter bites. There are just so many awesome things about this photo:
The look on my face.
The corded phone!
The fact that whoever was on the other line was so important I didn’t even get dressed after my shower to answer the call.
Mayday was a raging bitch, so any picture where she’s being held, let alone kissed (by an equally naked, but modestly toweled Daniela) is a treasure to behold.
Date taken: December 25, 1985 Age: 3 Notes: This was my little sis’s first Christmas (she was just over one month old at this point), and thus my last big score before I had to start with the whole “sharing” thing. And what a score it was: Alphie II, Glo Worm, Talk ‘N Play, a Care Bear book, a Hello Kitty lunchbox and various other “growing up 80s” paraphernalia. Not pictured: sister.
A few weeks ago, I found this stuff while I was looking through the CoverGirl section on drugstore.com, trying to tip my order total into the free-shipping zone.
Usually, the only thing I wear on my lips is SoftLips lip balm with maybe a touch of lipstick thrown in for color. After trying this product, I was ready to toss every tube of lipstick I own and replace them with every shade of this stuff available.
I went so far as to write my sister a semi-evangelical email about the stuff, partly because she might be interested, but mostly to show her that I’m progressing when it comes to this kind of girly stuff.
I’m not a big fan of lipstick. It goops, it runs, it looks heavy. I’ve tried high-end brands and low-end brands. Some are okay, but I’ve never fallen in love.
But, it’s a quandary: how do you get great, rich color without lipstick? Gloss doesn’t have near the staying power.
The solution is a really amazing lip stain, and I’ve found it: Cover Girl’s Outlast Lipstain. It’s about $8-9 and comes in a bevy of really gorgeous colors.
I’m partial to Teasing Blush: the perfect shade of red/pink that stays on my lips for hours. I applied the stain yesterday at 4 p.m. and it was still going strong at 11 p.m.
The biggest complaint about lip stains is that they are too drying, but after the stain sets on your lips, simply touch them up with a bit of Carmex for moisture.
P.S. One note about lipstains: they’ll appear much, much darker on your lips than the color you see on the packaging/samples.
I love how this one is pretty much a felt tip marker you can use on your face. It’s nice how these give you color a little more naturally than the various longwear liquid lipsticks.
My mother’s cousin got married in Staten Island, NY last weekend.
Friday Sept 25 Woke up at the very ass-crack of dawn in order to catch our 7:50am flight. It was on time and there were no screaming babies.
We landed in Philadelphia a little too early for lunch, but that didn’t stop me from demanding a Philly Cheesesteak at 10:45am. I rationalized that we had breakfast at like 5:30am or some ungodly hour, and Adam watched in horror as I pressed the CheezWhiz button on the really cool automated ordering kiosk.
Our connecting flight to Newark was also on time and devoid of screaming babies, but the fact that we were on a Dash 8 and I was in the window seat next to the propeller made me want to scream like a baby.
After a flight that felt like a ride on Space Mountain, we landed in Newark and took our free shuttle to the hotel in New Jersey. We were the first people in our party, so we got a free room upgrade. Score. We had a few hours before we had to go to the rehearsal dinner, so I took my time getting ready and admired the view from the hotel room window.
Me & Sis at the rehearsal dinner
The rehearsal dinner was nice. If you’re looking for some good Penne Ala Vodka on Staten Island, I highly recommend Cielo on Hylan Blvd.
Saturday Sept 26 Had a decent breakfast at the hotel and drove into the next town over to do some last-minute shopping at Target and Marshalls. I found a suitable clutch purse at the former and my grandma found a nice shawl at the latter. We had some really good pizza in the Polish area of Linden, NJ.
My sister and her boyfriend met us at the hotel and we all drove to the wedding together.
Look at how freaking cute they are!!!
The wedding was at the Richmond County Country Club and it was absolutely beautiful. Since the bride is Jewish and the groom is Catholic, they had a priest and a rabbi to do the ceremony. Afterward, I saw them walking to the bar together. Just kidding, that was a bad joke (that I’ve told about a thousand times since then). But seriously, they did have both and it almost seemed like they were trying to upstage each other throughout the service.
The hors d’œuvres course was so good that we were almost too full to eat dinner. Luckily, we had some downtime while we listened to some toasts. My mom, the matron of honor, gave a pretty good one. But the star of the evening was the bride’s best friend. Very quickly, it became clear that this woman was infatuated with her. I never thought I would hear the phrase “my blood is exploding in my veins” at a wedding, and yet, there it was; coated in a thick Russian accent and making me bite my tongue to keep from cracking up at the table.
At one point, my sis leaned over to me and asked “Are you keeping your head down so you won’t laugh?” I stifled a giggle and nodded my head vigorously. Dinner was great, as was the band/dj.
Sunday Sept 27 Piled the whole family into the rented van and drove into NYC for a delightful brunch at Stanton Social. It was just as good as I remembered it from last year. I do feel like I may have over-hyped the french onion soup dumplings, but everything was delicious and we all stuffed ourselves silly because that’s what you do when you’re on vacation.
We walked around the lower east side until my mom, dad, aunt, and uncle had to leave to catch their flights. We got dropped off at our hotel—The Marriott Marquis in Times Square. It was pretty pimp.
Our room didn’t face Times Square, but we still had a sweet view
At night, Adam had his year-old wish to eat at WD50 granted. The appetizers were really good, as were the desserts. I was not impressed with the main courses.
Deconstructed Eggs Benedict
Sis’s boyf had an early morning, so they joined us for a single drink at Elizabeth. The Karma Chameleon cocktail was awesome. Then it was off to meet up with Pete for a second drink. But the wine at dinner and the cocktail made me sleepy, so I skipped that round and we left shortly after.
Sibling relationships - outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust.
My sis and I had some rocky times when we were younger. I still embarrass her—usually unintentionally—from time to time, and I sometimes feel rejected by her (I’m sure this is also unintentional on her part). Still, one of my favorite things in life is getting to watch her grow and mature.
Of course I think about what it’s going to be like when Adam & I are old and gray, but I’m extra excited to hang out with 65-year-old Daniela. I just know she’s going to be a laugh riot.
