Burlesque

Last night I went to my first burlesque show at The Delancey down by the Williamsburg Bridge where every Wednesday starting at 9:30 p.m. Shaken & Stirred Burlesque (hosted by Miss Runaround Sue, art director of Sugar Shack Burlesque) treats guests to free performances, shots, silly contests, comedy shticks, and dance breaks through the night.

For those who think stripper poles, extreme raunchiness, and nudity are involved, think again. In burlesque, the story, costume, and how the dancer engages the audience are just as important as the strip tease itself (plus, dancers not allowed to go fully nude anyway). Yesterday's performers were sexy, campy, and just so fun to watch as some lured us in with a demure sex kitten act and others hit us with steamy and seductive right from the start. We'd cheer the dancers on as they teased us with their feather boas and corsets, high heels and booty shakes until they were finishing it all off with a pull of that final string and a twirl of their tasseled pasties.

I absolutely loved the attitude. They might not all be toned and model perfect, but those ladies worked the stage (and us) and that's what made it all so attractive. And after checking out the strippers in a midtown club a few months ago as they lazily strutted around a dark stage in some half-assed routine they called a performance ("I've seen hotter action on a dance floor!" I complained.), it was great to see women use comedy, sex appeal, and music to snatch our attention and put on a riot of a show. By the end of the night, I was all smiles and sweat - from all the dancing, of course.

Have you ever been to a burlesque show? Could you imagine yourself doing your own secret performance? If you're in NYC, Livingsocial has a deal for Burlesque Bikini Bootcamp that expires today!

Image: lonesomeghosts.tumblr.com

{Dry As Toast} 2012 Reader Survey

Hello, my little monkeybutts! I've just created this little survey that I'd love for you to complete. It'll help me get a better sense of what you guys are loving on Dry As Toast, what I could do without, where it could use some improvement, and help generate ideas for the future. I'm always thrilled that you keep coming back for more and I want to make sure you keep finding topics that interest you. So please let me know your thoughts by filling out the Dry As Toast 2012 Reader Survey. Thanks!

P.S. Did you have a good weekend?

Monday Inspiration

I can't tell you how many times I've thought on ideas from one, two, five years ago and wonder where they would be now if only I'd turned them into action. Every day lived without taking a step towards making those dreams come true is another wasted opportunity. It might not seem that way now when you're faced with options that provide quicker gratification, but one day you'll look back and realize just how little you chipped away at it in that entire span of time. So how badly do you want it?

Image: jessicatierney.com

Happy Friday!

Even though it means I won't get paid for a day, I am so glad it's a three-day weekend. This week was just draining for several personal reasons and I'm happy I can vegetate for a few days. And by vegetate I mean keep working on my side hustles and continue these four-hour long Pow Wow meetings I set aside for myself. I've also just signed on to contribute for a creative site next month that I'm excited to tell you more about soon. And next week I'll be picking your brain and asking about a couple things that have been on this blogger's mind. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what should come next for Dry As Toast!

In the meantime, some links from around the web:

1. Match a cocktail to your favorite music.
2. Make hot chocolate the French way.
3. A little trick for naming identical twins.
4. Sew up a macaron coin purse.
5. How to instantly dress up 99 cent mugs.
6. U is for United Nations. (Photographing these flags took two trips and a race against time!)
7. T is for Taxi Cabs. And look! I learned how to make colors show in a black-and-white pic.
8. Bonsai treehouses! (via Colossal)
9. "You are capable of wonderful things." It's true.
10. Four things to tell someone after a break-up.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, my little monkeybutts!

Images: howaboutorange.blogspot.com, blogmilk.com, joannagoddard.blogspot.com, craftpassion.com, ohhellofriendblog.com, flickr.com, flickr.com, tokyogoodidea.com, outcamethesun.tumblr.com, and joannagoddard.blogspot.com

Life Without Health Insurance

Right after I was laid off from my magazine position in 2009, I was given the option to remain on my employer's health insurance plan through COBRA, but because I had yet to figure out my finances and my knee jerk reaction to suddenly being unemployed was to trim any and all fat around my budget, health insurance just had to go. I didn't even think twice about it; I couldn't afford to pay full price for insurance when I would be living solely off of my benefits. Thus began a two-year stretch in which I had no health coverage, no preventative care, or even a means to procure prescription drugs if I needed them. If something hurt, I had to suck it up and hope it didn't get worse.

Being in my 20s I was still riding on that "I'm invincible" delusion where nothing could truly put me out. I was young, healthy, and led a fairly cautious life. But as the years wore on and sicknesses, pains, stress, allergies, the flu came and went and came back again, I grew more worried. I started wondering what I'd do if I were ever hit by a car whenever I'd walk down the street, morbidly wondering if the more time ticked on and the more streets I crossed, the higher the chances that this Russian Roulette could do me in.

As a freelancer, I was earning a good amount to sustain my lifestyle, but still not nearly enough to tack on private health insurance. My employers offered coverage to contractors through a third party, but those were just as astronomically high ($1000+ per month!) because of the pay bracket I fell under. I also didn't qualify for state programs typically given to low-income earners because I wasn't bringing in peanuts each week either. Eventually I relented and joined the Freelancers Union solely for their group plan. Yes, I could have gone into a clinic for my yearly check-ups, but I was also seeking ongoing care from a specialist and I didn't want to keep playing with fire. Sad thing is, with the plan I could afford, there's still the potential of having my savings take a hit as the deductible I'd have to pay out-of-pocket is high and the company will only cover a certain percentage after that amount is met. So really what am I paying for each month here?

I came across Kevin Zelnio's post on Scientific American via Boing Boing last night and immediately connected with his fear of living without insurance and how it takes us longer to seek medical care when we need it. In fact, his plight is even more extreme as he has a family of four to maintain. He shows us that the uninsured are not all unemployed, poor, or irresponsible: approximately 49.1 million non-elderly Americans are uninsured and 41 percent of them are 100 percent above the federal poverty level. We work hard, but sometimes it's just not enough to pay the high price private companies have placed on keeping us alive. Why does my health and well-being have to rest in the hands of a company whose bottom line is turning a profit?

I finally signed up for insurance in December. In January, I lost half my income and once again am considering taking a risk with my health just to ease the financial burden. Perhaps now I'll qualify for something cheaper until either my self-employment kicks back up or I walk back into an office - and that's if my future employer offers insurance of their own.

Where do you lie with health insurance? Are you under your employer's or spouse's plan? Or are you self-employed/unemployed and wondering how you're going to make do?

P.S. Here are some options for the uninsured (here, too) and resources for New Yorkers.

Image: quizzle.com

DIY Pop-Up Love Box

I created this little pop-up heart-in-a-box yesterday afternoon right before I was supposed to go see A. I promise if I had whipped it up earlier I would've shared it here for those strapped for a quick Valentine's Day gift, but it's so simple and sweet that it would serve just as well on any other day of the year.

You'll need:

- a small box (I used a matchbox that's about three times longer than regular ones)
- scraps of paper for lining the box and creating little booklets and cards
- scissors and glue stick, pop-up dots, or double-sided tape
- a long strip of cardstock for the "spring"
- a paper heart or any design that you want to make pop out of the box (I used watercolored drawings)
- candy or any other trinkets you want to place inside the box
- twine or other packaging décor for the outside of the box

To line the inside of the box, take the bottom or inside portion and trace around a scrap of paper to get a good size. You might need to do some trimming, but once you have the right size, cut and paste it into the bottom of the box.

To create the spring piece that will cause your design to pop out of the box, take your strip of cardstock (mine was initially 1"x 10") and fold it back and forth accordion style. Glue your heart or design to one end and using trial and error, figure out how long your spring needs to be to make the heart bounce up and stay up when the box is opened. Mine was much too long and had the heart popping up and onto the table so I cut it down to 7.5". Yours will depend on the height of your box.

It also helps if you glue a couple of the accordion flaps on the bottom end together to give the spring a sturdier foundation. Once you have the size and positioning down, glue that end of the spring onto the bottom of the box.

Create little cards and booklets using folded scraps of paper. Don't forget to add a little note or doodle.

Make sure the tiny card fits into the space left in the box without obstructing the bouncing heart.

If you have enough space, you can add little trinkets and candy to go with your little note. I trimmed down a mini cupcake liner and filled it with hard candy! If your box is bigger, then how about adding a smaller box within?

Gently pack it all up, tuck in the heart, and then wrap a bit of twine around the gift. Add a tag and you're good to go! This is sure to bring a smile and childish delight to any recipient, don't you think?

{He Says/She Says} On Valentine's Day

We all have our opinions on Valentine's Day. I myself flip flop between "it's a contrived excuse to spend money" and "Awww, but let's do something sweet!" Meanwhile, men are feeling the pressure to show their devotion in adequate fashion and re-woo their ladies. So I've pulled in my boyfriend A. to share his thoughts on the matter along with me for another installment of {He Says/She Says}. Feel free to chime in with your own!

{He says} Everybody knows Valentine's Day is a manufactured holiday to get people to buy crap and spend money they normally wouldn't, and to express feelings explicitly without real cause. They still "celebrate" it anyways and it sucks. It sucks for a number of reasons, but the main one I can think of is that even though we're supposed to be celebrating love between two people, the responsibility is all on the guy to show the woman how much he feels for her. The man is supposed to make the dinner plans. The man is supposed to buy her flowers. The man is expected to propose with the engagement ring that cost him a month's salary worth of useless minerals whose value is artificially inflated by market collusion.

Listen up, women. You fought for equality and I want you to have it. But that also means you have to do some work around here, too. Actually, I have a better idea. Forget having one day a year to celebrate your love - do it every day. Why spend money on command when you can work your celebration of love into everything you do? I have a notion that Valentine's Day causes more grief than pleasure; with all of the worry involved with single people acquiring a date and taken men scrambling to appear smitten as if he never learned how bad her farts could smell. It's sort of like how "pro-family" values split up more families than they hold together. If we stop trying to force it, we might find a peaceful and pleasurable equilibrium waiting for us.

{She says} Listen, I completely acknowledge the pressure men must feel on Valentine's Day. There are all these expectations and requests to make this the best day ever and if you let her down when all of her friends are getting flowers, jewelry, and boxes of dark chocolate, then you could be in for a bitter treat of your own when she comes home. I'm not going to lie; last year I was immediately surprised and just as quickly disappointed when a delivery girl walked up to my cubicle carrying a huge bouquet of flowers - only to ask where so-and-so sat.

When I was younger, this was just a lame holiday that made me feel bad for never having a boyfriend while pretending that I didn't care about all that mushiness anyway. But now? Now I don't think there's anything bad about having a day devoted to loving one another. If we remember what truly counts - not the lavish dinners, the shiny presents, or forced sentiments - then would it kill anyone to shower someone with a little more affection today? Yes, this should be a regular occurrence, but having a day for that purpose is just a nice bonus on top of what you should be doing the rest of the year.

Besides, after a few years with a person it's nice to get off the hamster wheel and find fun ways to express just how much the other person means to you - and this goes both ways. We do want to be wooed and fawned over, but we also know how to give it right back.

Oh, and baby? Please don't propose to me on a Valentine's Day, okay? Love you!

Image: downtownfrombehind.tumblr.com

Journelle's Tips for Picking Out Lingerie

When I was getting ready to surprise A. in Bangkok for New Year's Eve, I knew I needed something special to wear that night. I already knew what dress I'd greet him in, but I also wanted something new to wear underneath because sexy lingerie always adds a little extra oomph to your attitude and any man's happiness once he sees you in it.

As a petite woman, finding lingerie that fits well can be a challenge, but during a fun trip to Journelle I tried on piece after piece that actually made it really hard to choose just a couple! (I eventually decided on this charcoal and pink Elle Macpherson Gentle Jade bra and thong set.) So I've pulled in Karen LaPorte and Jennifer Klick, manager and assistant manager of Journelle's Union Square location, to answer a few questions about picking out lingerie and share some tips for the guys who are planning to surprise their woman with a new set for Valentine's Day.

Whether you love to show off that body, would rather play it sweet and comfy, or are trying to break through the shyness, there's really an option for every one and every mood.

Hi Karen and Jennifer! Thanks for popping in to share some lingerie 101 with us. So to start off what's the difference, if any, between lingerie and underwear?

Lingerie is something we choose to wear, that is worn with intention, and speaks to who we are as women. Underwear is a layer purchased simply because it's a necessity.

Why should every woman invest in some good quality lingerie?

There is a really strong connection with what we wear and how we feel on the inside to how we look on the outside. It's the first thing we put on in the morning and even if only we know about it, it will effect how we feel throughout the day. Properly fitting lingerie is the foundation for your daily outfits. No one is in a good mood if they are adjusting their ill-fitting bras and panties all day long. With a proper fitting bra, you can look younger and five pounds lighter.

What should a woman look out for when selecting the right fit and style?

It's always good to remember that we are all a shape and a size. It's important to learn the styles and shapes that will fit and flatter your body the best. Don't be afraid to try on lots of different styles to find what works for you. Just like jeans, it's not about the number on the label, it's about what fits you the best.

I can attest to that! A size in one brand doesn't necessarily mean it's your size in another so it's important to try them all out. Besides, it's fun to try on all those pieces in the dressing room. The salesperson is a huge help to finding what fits, but how else can we make sure that we're wearing the correct size?

We recommend getting fitted every two years, or if you lose or gain 10 or more pounds. The band should be parallel around your body to the floor - not riding up the back. Cups should also lay flat against the body, not gap or create the dreaded "four-boob." The bra should be comfortably snug. There should be no need to adjust it throughout the day.

On average, how many pieces of lingerie should a woman own at a time and for what different purposes?

It's really important to have enough of the everyday pieces to be able to rotate and give at least one to two days off in between. Two to three t-shirt bras in black and nude, one to two strapless bras, one to two everyday lacy bras. For sexy and special occasion sets, we say as many as your heart desires!

Now I'm sure there are lots of guys out there who'd love to surprise their woman with something sexy for Valentine's Day, but are completely clueless when it comes to buying lingerie. Do you have any tips for them?

Yes! At Journelle, we love to help gentlemen find special items for their ladies. On our blog we have The Discerning Gentleman's Guide to Lingerie. It's a wonderful four-part course that explains the differences between a bikini and a thong, a demi bra and a balconette, etc, and how to select for his lady's personality. A must-read for anyone before they go to a lingerie store for the first time. [Check out courses one, two, three, and four here!]

For guys buying lingerie as gifts for their ladies:

1. Know her size. With that piece of information a sales girl can steer you him in the right direction.
2. Buy something you both will like. Showing up with something that she won't wear or the he doesn't want to see her in helps no one. This is a mutual gift.
3. Buy a matching set- girls like to have the complete set and often two pairs of matching underwear to the bra. Often a thong and a shorty are available, why not get both?
4. Splurge on something she would love but wouldn't necessarily get for herself. Isn't that what gift giving is all about? It doesn't have to be expensive, but say if she always buys practical, get her something feminine that she would only dream of buying.

In addition to lingerie, we carry lots of fun accessories such as Jimmyjane massage oil candles, Maison Close Plumeau Caresse feather ticklers and satin-and-lace cuffs, and Bijoux Indiscrets burlesque feather pasties.

Thanks for the advice, ladies! And for readers who'd like the chance to win $1000 worth of fine lingerie, enter Journelle's Valentine's Day contest and submit up to five photos illustrating what love means to you. Submissions must be made by tonight at 11:59 p.m. EST. Good luck!

Images: Mimi Holliday Fondant Rouched Suspender With Corset, $68; Mimi Holliday Nonnettes Padded Super Plunge Bra, $90, Chantelle Saint Germain Demi Bra, $84, and Chantelle Saint Germain Shorty, $36; all from Journelle.com

Monday Inspiration

What are you bubbling over these days? Me, I'm happy for longer days and secret projects.

Image: handdrawnquotes.tumblr.com

This Weekend

I went to Friday's Knicks vs Lakers game at Madison Square Garden with A. and we got to see first-hand what all this Jeremy Lin hype was about. Wow and to think that this talent was just sitting around waiting to be noticed.

Letters M, N, W, and Y were added to the Souvenir Foto School project.

I washed practically every textile in my house (clothes, bed sheets, couch covers, curtains, carpets) out of fear of having bed bugs. It took nearly four hours and too many trips up and down a fourth floor walk-up.

Two days later, I realized that I probably don't have bed bugs. I get one more mysterious bite though and I'm out of here.

The Painted Veil so did not end as I thought it would...

I started taking advantage of NY Sports Club's 30 Days for $30 deal along with Anonymous. Painful but fun.

Whitney Houston passed away at the age of 48. My sister sent along this video of the Dubai Fountains synchronized to "I Will Always Love You" today and yes, I cried a bit.