Pastels Not Optional

This past weekend we had our 25th Annual Easter Park Day Celebration Gathering Event Day.

Tagline: Wear pastels or feel Easter's wrath.

(Bonnets optional but encouraged.)

Guests were politely asked/required to don their Easter finery, join us for a day of fun and egg-related activities in the park, and to bring us candy. Most did not comply.

As always, there was Easter frisbee.

(the pastel shirt qualifies it as Easter, obviously)

There was picnicking.

Somehow Heather managed to discover our location and crash the party. At least she stayed her distance. And wore a peach polyester frock. That can make up for almost anything.

And there was face painting. Oh, the face painting! Give me any excuse, no matter how weak or far-fetched, to paint my face and I'm in. I'm really looking forward to Mother's Day.

Jordan was an Easter egg. Velvet is our current in-house face painter and she is a master. Some of her past works include:

Seriously, quit your job and become my personal face painter already, Velvet. We'll discuss this further at home.

Velvet requested that I paint her face as a tiger/Easter parrot mix. I could not have failed her more and I think that is aptly reflected in her expression. My bad.

Zak was the Easter bunny. Not creepy at all with that moustache. Nope.

I presented my face as a blank canvas to Velvet and the result was her piece de resistance (her piece of resistance, to help out my non-francophones). I terrified little children everywhere and startled myself every time I looked in a mirror. And that, dear readers, is what Easter is all about.

"What? You wanna be our friend?! Great, let's get some face paint on you and we'll find you some pastels and then...oh. Not talking to us? Oh. That makes more sense."

After realizing that we would make no new friends in the park that day (don't tell me that people don't judge you by your exterior; it's all lies! They do! And face paint scares them!), we shook off our deep inner pain and partnered up for the THREE (3)-LEGGED RACE!

And that's when things got real.

We flew through the park legs abound, some of us faster than others.



Like I said, some of us faster than others. In case you can't tell, that's me and Eric way ahead in the distance. It's a little blurry because we were so fast, coordinated and athletic.



Amy and Rob didn't win, but it looks like they had a good time. That's nice, guys, but you don't get any trophies for having a good time. You don't get any trophies if you win either, but that's not really the point here. I think the point is that it was Easter and on Easter you wear pastels and do three (3)-legged races....right? Was that my point?



The champions laugh at the pitiful efforts of our competitors, marvelling at their lack of speed and agility, despite having three (3) legs to work with.

And by "champions," I mean that Eric and I won the three (3)-legged race. No doubt about that, just the honest truth.

The games continued into the day...



Velvet, Lazy and William all placed in the Easter Egg-on-Spoon relay race. I trust that this achievement has already been added to their resumes.

I know what you're thinking. You're wondering why I didn't place--well, I was photographing the entire event. Glad to clear that mystery up. Heather didn't place because she is not coordinated and peach polyester frocks were not made for running.

The non-winners of the Easter Egg-on-Spoon relay race. Non-winners is a nicer way of saying losers, because on Easter no one really loses. Except all of these people.

Time for the traditional Easter Egg Toss. From our many, many years of playing this sport, we have learned that it results in two (2) ways.




This is the most common ending.



...and this is the more amusing ending.

Egg yolk on your Easter finest--it had to happen to someone. Of course that someone wasn't me, as I believe I won the Easter Egg Toss as well. There is no photographic evidence of this but you can trust me.

Unlike past years, we did not include a deviled egg speed-eating contest. I will finally concede that it's just really not a great idea. SIGH.



Still delicious after eating 30? I don't see why not. If someone could please confirm this to me, it would be much appreciated!

We DID however hold our Extreme Easter Egg Hunt, where chocolate eggs were hidden everywhere in our house, no holds barred. And I do mean everywhere, from within a jar of curry powder, to inside a bag of cat food, to tucked into a tub of Vaseline (what? that's not gross), to the depths of our vacuum cleaner (again, not gross. EXTREME). It's my dream to one (1) day have an Easter egg hunt so extreme that participants will actually have to ply up floorboards and search deep within jars of peanut butter.

One day.



Not so extreme? Our Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Creepy-Easter-Bunny game. I didn't even feel excited winning it. But I did win.

For me, the most glorious part of our Easter celebration was that I completed four (4) kip-ups, a task which I've been trying to master for almost a year! It was captured by Eric's phone but the quality is poor since it was night and outdoors. All you can see are my eyes and face paint glowing as they fly through the air. I deemed it too scary to post, but if you've ever seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer, know that it was exactly like that.



Exactly. like. this.

I hope you all had lovely Easters as well. How many deviled eggs did YOU eat? Did you win any relay races? Do you think hiding an egg in a Vaseline jar is gross? (nah.) Hit me with your thoughts.

Happy Easter Tuesday, everyone!

P.S.--Lent is over; let's all eat chocolate until we puke!

Cut it Out, Vegan March!

It is with a slight sense of relief that I'd like to announce that Vegan March has officially come to an end. For those not in the know, my roommate Heather and I decided to go vegan for the month of March, giving up all animal products (meat, dairy, eggs, gelatin, etc.).

Now, I had every intention of thoroughly blogging Vegan March. I really did. I wanted to share the ups, the downs (oh so many downs), recipes, tips and maybe even some vegan-themed jokes (everyone loves those, right?). A careful review of my blog will reveal that I accomplished none of that, nary a single vegan blog post in March. I blame the weather and low iron.

So instead of an extensive, behind-the-scenes look at Vegan March, a few highlights and lowlights will have to suffice. And maybe one (1) vegan joke. It's probably better this way. Let's begin with the lowlights and get 'em out of the way.

Lowlights of Vegan March

1.) I attempt vegan baking.

Now, I'm not saying that vegan baking can't be fun, delicious or nutritious. Vegan baking can indeed be all of those things. Just not when I did it.

My baking partner in crime, Daniel, and I decided our first attempt at vegan baking would be S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies. We found the recipe and inspiration at The Chubby Vegan, a new blog I'm digging (all of the delicious looking pictures come directly from his site; give it a look!).



This is the picture that enticed us into trying the recipe. Makes you forget dairy and eggs even exist, huh? You bet your bippy!

I had to do a few minor variations on the recipe, as I bravely (foolishly?) gave up all chocolate for Lent. So instead of dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips which would normally be fine to use in a vegan recipe, I had to try unsweetened carob chips for the first time. And because we couldn't track down any vegan marshmallows, I had to go without. Dan, on the other hand, was free to pile his cookies high with both delicious chocolate chips and marshmallows. Did I resent him for that? Yes, of course I did. For the entire night and some of the next day.



Here's what the finished product was supposed to look like. A massive, soft, chewy cookie with a s'more hidden inside. WOW! Just imagine the air of excited anticipation in the house to see our cookies come out of the oven. It was something else.

...and then these emerged from the oven.



Hmm. See the oversized cookies on the left and right, the ones exploding with chocolate chips and marshmallows? Those were Dan's. See the shrunken, dried-up looking pieces of crap in the middle? Yeah, those were allll mine. It was the first time that when I offered baked goods to my roommates, they politely declined. Dan and I also attempted peanut butter & carob chip cookies which were so dismal that we didn't bother photographing them. After a week of sitting untouched on my kitchen counter, they somehow found their way into the organic waste bin. At least the earth shall benefit from them.

We learned a few important lessons from our adventures in vegan baking:

a.) Substitutions can make or break your baking recipe, so think carefully before going wild.
b.) Unsweetened carob chips are not the same as chocolate chips. I'm bolding this because it is very important. They are bitter, absolutely disgusting and I never want to try them again unless I am baking for someone I hate.
c.) Food glamour shots are really hard to take. See above for evidence.

So all in all, our vegan baking was a disaster. Oh well, things get better, right? Not quite yet. Onto more lowlights!

2.) Heather and I are stricken with the flu.

In the middle of Vegan March, I came down with the flu and had a luxurious three (3) day vacation of lying miserable on the couch, struggling to eat Saltines, feeling all hot'n cold (just like Katy Perry!) and alternating all of that with some puking. The flu came just in time to miss my dodgeball team's championship game. Oh well, who wants to play the game you worked all season for, right? Gah. The good news is that Heather caught the flu a day later and then I had company on the couch. This was a fun week for our non-vegan roommate, Velvet.



You can see Heather and I at our lowest low here, bravely yet futilely trying to fight the flu virus that had mercilessly ravaged us. You certainly don't need Photoshop to see our honest, real, unaltered pain here.

(*Since we did not actually document our bouts with the flu, these are professional actors hired to reenact this event. Their fees cost me about $500 so you better appreciate it. )
Oh dear, there I go again.

3.) Social outings become complicated/veggie burgers become a staple.

I found the most challenging parts of Vegan March were going out to eat with friends. Now, I'm very lucky that I live in Toronto, where vegan/vegetarian options are usually plentiful. Still, at many restaurants and pubs I found myself often resorting to ordering the veggie burger for fear of hidden dairy ingredients. In a particularly social week, I ate four (4) veggie burgers. I've got nothing against veggie burgers, but there's gotta be a limit. And that limit is four (4).



We need a break.

Bring on the veggie burger cake, though. Seriously. I like the idea of getting a meat fix from a sugar and icing-based source.

Being a vegan at the movies was also a new experience for me. Everyone knows that movie snacks are like, only the most fun part of going to the movies (if you don't believe that I take movie snacks seriously, read this letter to Peanut M&M's). Gone were the days of eating Junior Mints, buttered popcorn and rib-eye steaks. My new life path led me to eating dried prunes and mangoes whilst trying to ignore the mocking from my friends.

Lesson learned? Being a vegan is much easier when you're preparing the meals yourself or when you have time to properly plan ahead.

(Another lesson learned is that there is a time and place to scrimp and buy the generic brand, but that time is not when purchasing dried prunes and mangoes. [Mergeler, you can back me up on this, right?])



Trust me on this this. I totally got Life-branded.

4.) I start to hate people.

By far, the most annoying thing about Vegan March, way more annoying than any food restrictions, was having to deal with people's reactions when they found out we were going vegan. Common reactions included "Are you insane? Seriously, what's wrong with you?" "Uhhh...why would you EVER do that?" and my favorite response, a long and uninvited lecture on the virtues of eating meat. As well, many people enjoyed explaining the terms "protein" and "calcium" to me, as if they were new concepts that I'd never heard of. I liked explaining the terms "tolerance" and "this is none of your business anyway."


If it's good enough for Weird Al, Natalie Portman and Andre 3000 (all reported vegans), it's good enough for me (...if only for a month).

But enough with the negative! Let's hear the many, many highlights of VM.

Highlights of Vegan March

1.) My birthday celebration continues.

Perhaps my favorite part of the month was receiving a belated birthday gift. A very important belated birthday gift. Anyone recognize this beaut?

That's right! I now own my very own Sweet Valley High 250 piece puzzle, featuring the cover of SVH #49, Playing for Keeps! See, everyone? It pays to blatantly and publicly beg for whatever you want (thank you very much for the present, boo).

The puzzle has been very well received in our house.

Everyone loves it, even the spawn of Satan.

And yes. I realize that this highlight has nothing to do with going vegan. Don't rain on my Sweet Valley High parade, aight?


These two could probably be vegan if they stopped stuffing their faces at the Dairi Burger everyday after school, am I right?

2.) Eating healthy food can make you feel really good.

Though you can definitely still eat an unhealthy diet while being vegan, it DOES force you to cut out a lot of the crap. Taking out pizza, chocolate, chips, candy, ice cream, cheese, etc. and replacing those foods with fruit, vegetables, beans (lots and lots of beans), brown rice, etc. means you're going to feel a positive difference in your body. And there's definitely a small sense of satisfaction when non-vegan people try to tempt you with forbidden goods and you're just all like "naw man, I'm good."

Some of our favorite vegan foods included:
-Natura Rice Milk
-Fried tofu (if you fry a healthy food, it's still healthy, right? ...right?? Don't answer that.)
-Organic vegan berry muffins from Organic Oven Bakery
-Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer (great for breakfast smoothies, an easy way to get some protein and essential fatty acids without meat)
-Happy Planet organic soups (especially the Moroccan Chick Pea and the Thai Coconut Curry, good lord I love soup)

Foods I Consumed Record Amounts of: Spinach and dark leafy greens, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds, hummus, tofu and freaking veggie burgers.

Food I Sadly Did Not Consume Any of: Great Grains (damn you once again, modified milk ingredients!)


(Hey, did you know if you Google Image "Great Grains Canada" I'm currently the 9th picture to be displayed?! Another life goal accomplished!)

3.) Heather and I finally receive public accolades.

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Heather and I were declared "Canada's Sexiest Vegans" by a very acclaimed and influential magazine, read by millions of extremely important people. Unexpected for sure, but appreciated. We of course turned down the award, because we're not in this for the fame. That ain't us. We're in it for the money.

4.) We expand our worlds, one animal product-free item at a time.

Though I wish we had had the time to do this to a greater extent, Heather and I did manage to sample a bunch of new and exciting vegan foods. Over the course of the month, we tried vegan pizza, vegan burritos, seitan and tempeh-based meals, cooking with coconut oil, vegan refried beans, vegan Indonesian food and vegan carrot cake. For the most part, there were definitely enough vegan options out there to make us feel like we were never going without. And did you know you can still eat Oreos as a vegan? Surprising but true.



Mmm, seconds please.

Despite all of these wondrous highlights, I think Heather and I were both ready to move on by the end of March. On March 31st, we picked out our first non-vegan foods to eat after the clock struck midnight. We prepared to rejoice with much revelry and energy.



VEGAN MARCH HAS OFFICIALLY COME TO AN END.
April 1st, 12:01 a.m.
Heather, Money and I rejoice with much revelry and energy.

Now, I don't want this post to come off as anti-vegan. I really, really don't, because I'm not. I would definitely try veganism again and would recommend others trying it as well. I think if done properly, it can do great things for your body. Veganism forces you to pay close attention to everything you're consuming instead of mindlessly grabbing something on-the-go or eating whatever's easiest. There's also a great community of vegan blogs to consult for advice or recipes (I've spent hours at Finding Vegan staring at the beautiful food pics and then feeling depressed because I will never be able to make anything that beautiful).



SIGH.

(To attempt to make this, go here. And good luck with that.)

My advice for anyone interested in trying veganism is to do some research and educate yourself beforehand to make sure you'll still get the proper nutrients in your diet. Once you've done that, go nuts! And by go nuts, I mean eat lots of spinach.



Seriously, I ate so much spinach. Oh, and as promised, I leave you with one (1) vegan joke.

-How many vegans does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
-I don't know, but where do you get your protein?!

(I would laugh but it's all too fresh for me. I never want to discuss protein again.)

Sooooo, who's in for Meatless May? Holla at me! And special thanks to Heather for creating a gif of me throwing up and for going on this special journey with me; we now have a bond that can never be broken, unless you're late with the phone bill again.

Cut it Out, Lucky Charms!

GUEST BLOGGER: Carla K. Thasman

I often wonder if it is possible for a cereal to bring you luck.

Hello, everyone! It has been quite some time but I am so pleased to be back on the "blogger scene" and able to share with you a letter about one of my favorite activities: cereal!

As you all know, I do love writing letters, lists and yes, even books! My early book 600 Ways to Eat a Spaghetti Squash That Don't Involve an Oven or Cooking used to be on Amazon but I can't seem to find it anymore. Please message me if you have a copy to share.

(Here is one way to eat spaghetti squash without an oven--roast in the sun for 3 days, sprinkle with olive oil and cumin, then enjoy! Serves 1.)

It is both delicious and convenient. The funny thing about this letter is that it also involves a food that you don't usually need an oven to make--a cereal called Lucky Charms. I tried this cereal and oh my, it perplexed me.

Lucky Charms is a cereal made by General Mills, a company that I spend a good deal of time thinking about. Now, I'm not very familiar with Lucky Charms but from what I can tell, it involves boring pieces that taste like oat and fun shapes that taste like marshmallows. And these marshmallows are in the form of talismans and objects meant to be lucky, which is most likely where the cereal gets its name, I suppose.

These are the things that are lucky:

Now, I honestly don't believe that any of these oddly-shaped charms could bring me any sort of luck.

And the more I stared at my bowl of Lucky Charms and thought about it, the more it just didn't make any sense. Red balloons that look like clots of blood aren't lucky. And some of these "lucky" charms were just downright exclusive. Pots of gold? Well, if I'm not Irish then it doesn't mean very much to me. I wish it did.

I thought about these charms so much that day that I was very distracted and got on the wrong bus. And then I bought the wrong kind of horse feed. I'm certain that in fact these charms brought me BAD luck! I was so distressed that I went home and wrote General Mills a letter.

I believe that I was simply voicing everyone's opinion here and stating the obvious. I don't know many people who carry around a shooting star in their pocket, but I do know plenty who have a lucky rusted nail (myself included).

Shooting stars can be the size of a boulder and would likely cause damage if placed in a cereal bowl.

I was very excited to hear back from General Mills, a company known throughout the land for their superior customer service. Just imagine a cereal bowl filled with all of your favorite talismans! What a wonderful start to your morning that would be! I was sure General Mills wouldn't disappoint me with their response. Corporate responses rarely do.

Wow! I just knew they would come through! I was so pleased that Mary White appreciated the time it took to share my comments. I knew that Mary would understand what it's like to be a working woman who just wants a few multicultural marshmallows in her cereal. I was also glad that she would be reviewing my ideas with the appropriate personnel. They sound like the right type of people to handle this situation.

Though I haven't heard back from Mary or the appropriate personnel in about two years, I suppose I will just keep couriering my sketches to them. I have used my time wisely and have since come up with 34 new charm ideas for General Mills. One of them is a beehive with golden honey slowly dripping out of it and the honey is as gold as a brand new coin. And let me tell you, if I knew how to make a twelve-grain-loaf-of-bread-with-a-single-penny-hidden-inside-of-it-shaped marshmallow, well then, I would just do it myself and make everyone happy!

(I also think that each box of Lucky Charms should have one lucky penny or rabbit foot hidden inside of it so it could actually be certified as lucky. I haven't shared this idea with Mary yet, though--one step at a time.)

But alas, we all know that change can take a very long time and this would be quite the change. I suspect that April 2011 will be a very productive month for General Mills though--so keep your eyes out for brand new multicultural marshmallow charms that will truly make every consumer feel as if everyday is their lucky day. Readers, what charms would YOU like to see in your bowl of Lucky Charms? Do you think the idea of "luck" even truly exists or are we the masters of our own destinies? And can anyone please provide me with a detailed sketch of a pure white calf under the Aries sky so I may send it to Mary? Urgent!

(I am picturing something like this but with a calf and on a marshmallow. Thank you!)

OMG Bday GG!

Can it be? Can it really be?!

Yes, everyone: the rumors are true.

GREAT GRAINS ARE OFFICIALLY FOR SALE IN CANADA.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obviously I will be doing a mega blogpost ASAP with an in-depth look at this miraculous event, complete with (imagined) interviews with Post, a Great Grains photoshoot and a previously unseen monologue (/diatribe) that I had penned to Post urging the fair sale of Great Grains. It is 45 pages long and has been described (possibly by myself) as "THE must read for 2011."

I know, I know. I should have had this mega blogpost done by now. My mission in life has been accomplished; why the hell haven't I written about it yet?! I hope you don't think I've grown lazy and self-satisfied now that I have my Great Grains, lounging on the couch drizzling crunchy pecan clusters over myself whilst singing victory hymns. This happened only once (1 time) before my roommates made me stop. Whatever. In my heart, I know that I'm not "creepy."

In defense of my late blogging, I will say that today is my birthday. So that's obviously been keeping me busy the entire month of February. I've also been busy winning $750.00 in a Dodgeball Nation tournament with my sexy team, the Devil Bats.


(NSFW)




2 hott 2 handle.

I'm also wearing a party dress and birthday hat at work today, but that's a whole other mega blogpost. Let us all celebrate this momentous occasion by eating at least three (3) bowls of Canadian Great Grains! I've already had five (5)! SO MANY GRAINS!

This is truly the happiest day of my life, never to be topped.*


*until Joss Whedon and Charmian Carr finally reply to my goddamn fan mail.

I Might Have a Problem: A Super Special Magna Thriller Blog Post

Lately I've been noticing something about myself, and I'm not really sure if it's a good thing or not.

I can't stop reading young adult novels. Cannot stop.

And slowly, slowly, they are taking over my bookshelves and becoming the only books that I read. Oh dear.

What kind of young adult novels am I referring to?

I'm talking old school Sweet Valley High.

I'm talking classic Baby-sitters Club.



I'm talking Anastasia Krupnik.

I'm talking about the Making Out series.



And yes, maybe even a little bit of Fear Street thrown in there.

So much racier than Goosebumps!

Everyone likes a little nostalgia in their lives now and then. So why is this a problem? I think I'm slowly regressing to the point where the only books that hold my interest now are of the young adult category. Which is slightly embarrassing/troubling.

In the past year or so, I've picked up the annoying habit of reading one (1) book in the daytime and a different book at night. My current daytime book? David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, a collection of essays/arguments that, once upon a time, I had been pretty excited to read.

"Essays and Arguments"

...and my current evening book? I'm so glad you asked. I'm reading Kidnapped!, Sweet Valley High number 13.

"Elizabeth's nightmare is about to begin..."

Two (2) wildly different books. Both respectable in their own ways (that sentence was halfway believable, right?). But the thing is, I've been trying to get through my David Foster Wallace book for a good two (2) weeks and I'm still stuck in the second essay about television. I just can't push through. I can't. I pick it up, start to read and almost instantly my mind is pulled elsewhere. Like staring at people on the subway and trying to pick their celebrity doppelgangers. Or thinking about how next week will definitely be the week I start putting effort into my general appearance/hygiene. Or drafting potential "Missed Connection" ads for craigslist. Doing pretty much anything but reading this book.

Next week will be the week I do not allow myself to go out in public dressed like this. Click on that picture only if you feel like making yourself ill.

But when I'm home at night lying in bed with my Sweet Valley High book, it's a completely different story. I read late into the night, turning page after page, often ripping them because my hands are too fast. I have to force myself to stop reading at around 1:00 a.m. and even after I stop, I lie in bed wondering how Elizabeth Wakefield will ever possibly get out of this pesky kidnapping situation (considering there are about 100 more Sweet Valley High books in the series, I'm pretty sure she escapes, but just how is the question. HOW?!)

Life in Sweet Valley is just a whirlwind! (except if you're Enid Rollins.)

I really do want to read David Foster Wallace and many other adult novels as well. But I find when I start reading them, my mind wanders. I've become spoiled by the juiciness of the young adult world where anything can happen, logical plot line be damned. Where are the ghost cats, the inappropriate crushes on way older lifeguards, the secret werewolf boyfriends, the personality-changing brief comas, the evil cheerleaders and all of the super special DATES?! Am I asking for too much here?

I mean, which book would you rather dive into?

vs.


I'm gonna have to go with the one where a sexy, nightshirt-clad blond is dancing around a seafoam room hoisting a tabby cat in the air while laughing maniacally under a full moon.

(PS--they just don't make covers like they used to.)

Now, I've blogged about my affection for Sweet Valley High books before but since then, my love/obsession has grown to an embarrassing level. I have a laser-like focus on rebuilding my collection of SVH books. I'm allowing myself to buy one (1) book per week to keep the habit under control. My roommates still think it's a problem.

This love/obsession is also spreading to SVH memorabilia. I really, really want this board game and puzzle, both conveniently found on amazon.com. And you know what's weird? My birthday's just around the corner. Hurry guys, only one (1) in stock!

"Can you find your boyfriend in time for the big date?"

Sounds like the most exciting/feminist adventure ever! SIGN ME UP. The Amazon seller described the game as a"rare game from a bygone era." Like the Wakefield twins could ever be considered bygones. Someone sure sounds a little jealous to me...

Aw, it's A.J. Morgan and Jessica Wakefield, immortalized in puzzle form. They were in love for a good three (3) or four (4) books, which means it was like, really deep and real. I'm not a puzzle kind of person but I NEED this puzzle.

I don't have a problem. Those are both normal items for a 25 year old girl to desire. I don't have a problem.

What I find comforting is that there are other people in this situation. I've been trolling the Internet lately in the hopes of finding like-minded people and I think I found some blogging soulmates. Apparently the SVH, BSC & young adult world is a thriving universe! I just KNEW I wasn't a freak! Check 'em out:

What Winston Saw has fast become one of my favorite sites. First of all, I love that there's a blog written mostly from the perspective of Winston Egbert, Sweet Valley High's under-appreciated class clown. And b, not only are there SVH book recaps but this blog goes the extra mile and does outfit recaps with photos, bringing Elizabeth's sensible polo shirts, Jessica's slutty suede miniskirts and Bruce Patman's cashmere tennis shorts to life. It also contains the most awesome Baby-sitters Club/Sweet Valley High crossover fanfiction I have ever read. It makes me want to quit my job and become a full-time BSC/SVH fanfiction writer. Livin' the dream!

Oh Bruce, you tennis-playin', date-rapin', Club X'ing cad, you!

And speaking of fashion, a blog dedicated purely to the fashion styling of Claudia Kishi of the Baby-sitters Club is not only genius but completely necessary. What Claudia Wore takes a lovingly snarky look at the BSC books and dissects them for their usually awful/awesome outfits. Anyone who ever read a BSC book knows that Claudia was a fashion queen, daring to wear neon leggings, homemade fruit jewelry, different colored socks and men's overalls, usually all in the same outfit.

Claudia Kishi and Clarissa Darling = my childhood fashion icons. I even wrote a story when I was ten (10) or so about a set of identical twins named Claudia and Clarissa. If published today, I would surely be sued for plagiarism by Francine Pascal, Ann M. Martin and Nickelodeon.

Other blogs of note: The Dairi Burger and Shannon's Sweet Valley High Blog. Both great sites where you can definitely waste a day's time reading about everything Sweet Valley. Are we in heaven?

These blogs mean serious trouble for me as now I just spend wayyyy too much time on them, making notes of the books I want to read next and continuing my vicious cycle of young adult novel obsession. I fear it will never stop. And I guess that's okay, but just know that if you want to talk to me these days, you best be name dropping some Sweet Valley High characters or Baby-Sitters Club tidbits or you might find my eyes glazing over as I slowly back away, clutching my copy of Kidnapped! Sorry. :(

PS--Any readers interested in starting a young adult/teen romance book club with me? I'm thinking we'll read books and eat candy. Holla at me!