Bland is the New Glam

Finally, my love for less-than-classy accomodations has been validated.

I'll say it again and again...I would much rather rest my head on a starched-out pillowcase at the Comfort Inn than deal with an assortment of 300-thread-count ones at a Ritz Carlton.


Apparently, the rest of the world is catching on to my sentiments as well! Trendwatching.com issued five trends to watch and one of them was BLANDTASTIC, a "a paradigm shift of potentially biblical proportions, that has ‘middle of the road' brands salivating, and sophisticated brands worried sick to their designer stomachs: a return to blandness."

Testifying this trend is the Howard Johnson LaGuardia Airport East, who says they're going to start advertising on The Coolhunter, Springwise and Josh Spear. Brian Pillsbury, manager of the Howard Johnson LaGuardia says they're seeing "well-heeled European visitors" and have an occupany rate of 85 percent. Maybe it's due to their inviting graphic to the left and their Web site's bold statement of amenities such as: Non Smoking/1Queen Bed/Work Desk/ Coffee Maker/Iron/Ironing Board/ Hairdryer/HBO.

LOVE IT!

I first noticed my distaste for overdone poshness when I stayed at the Hudson Hotel in New York for a business trip. Lovely, really, but not outfitted with all the comforts I'd been used to on my economic personal travels. I don't get a USA Today under my door and there's no Coffeemate. But I do have free toiletries branded by some bourgeoise spa and a plasma TV screen embedded into my bathroom mirror.

But on a second glance throughout the room, I wonder, where are the light switches? They are cleverly hidden into lighting gizmos that are more like art installations. Where's my comfy armchair covered in bronze damask fabric? Why is the closet the size of a medicine cabinet? And, why can't I order anything off the room service menu that doesn't come with "pommes frites" (Hi, you're just a French fry....), heirloom tomatoes or some sort of intense cheese?

The same experience befell me on another business trip to the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood. And the W Los Angeles...maybe it's that I feel uncomfortable and undeserving of people waiting on me hand and foot, or maybe I'm indignant about the $24 room service breakfast. Either way, I am interested in this backlash against overindulgence and am curious to see where marketers take this idea. I'm so not into backlash for backlash's sake, but this really appeals to my budget, so I'm going with it!

***Haha. Joke is on me. These apparently were fake trends. I'm still sticking by my love of the HoJo though!! :)

Music to Fly By

I logged some serious frequent flyer miles in October. As you can imagine, all this air travel made me and my iPod BFFs. To keep my sanity, I leaned on my music playlist to avoid crazy people and potentially look asleep at times. I'm sharing with you all in case you ever have a marathon flight and need some tunes. Enjoy!

So my first experience with the Long Beach Airport was laughable. Yes, it's just "Long Beach Airport," there's no "International" anywhere in there. Trust me, I looked. As you can see, the main terminal resembles a cross pollination of a navy ship and high schools I played water polo in throughout Orange County.

This was where I deigned to have sushi at 10:00 a.m. (I was hungry and it was that or muffins that look like they'd been previously fondled.) However, I didn't feel so bad because two plastic looking women were enjoying a nice glass of Chardonnay at about this time. The things that really killed me about this airport are:

a) They play Rod Stewart over the crackly intercom like it's going out of style

b) I can see my plane...but for some reason, I can't board it for two more hours

c) The parking structure is so small there is no rhyme or reason...no level names, no lot numbers. Just "hey I think I parked on level 2 about 5 days ago...let's trudge over to that spot and see."

But it really was worth flying out of this piss ant airport to fly jetBlue. Seriously, that airline is so much more superior to others. Me being the map dork I am, I forgo ed much-needed sleep in favor of watching the live Google Map on the back of my seat. We're over Denver! Now we're over Iowa! Chicago! Detroit! I took pictures to document this monumental occasion of flying 30,000 feet above areas that are flat and have nothing to show for themselves at that elevation. Sorry - great cities! Just not from a bird's eye view.

I am currently in New York and will be back in the OC for Halloween. Hopefully they'll be some carving of pumpkins and lazing on the sofa tomorrow. However, I will miss the hustle bustle of New York. My shoulders will not though...40 pound laptop bag + subway rides = I need a chiropractor.

You demand more about Chicago...well, okay.

So my adoring public demands more Chicago blog posts. Who am I to deny such a privilege as to read my random thoughts on traveling? Ha! So here goes.

However, I am a horrible blogger because I only have one lonely photo documenting my trip, and this a very blurry one taken from my rental car of Wrigley Field that you see to your left. Enjoy.

I was thinking a lot the other day of trade offs, pros and cons and the "grass in greener" effect when it comes to traveling and moving. I don't think there is one idyllic place to live, even though many would say that's Southern California. Yes, but we definitely pay the Sunshine Tax and go through mild heart attacks on the 405 daily.

So in the winter in Chicago you may never see the light of day and your face can crack open and bleed because it's so cold. But you have really fun bars, a great sports atmosphere, museums, Lake Michigan and lots of red meat! I think it's all what you choose to make of your situation. Like my good (newly) Chicagoan friend Jenn said, "what you feed will grow." So if you have a bad attitude about where you're at in life, you're going to hate wherever you are.

That being said, I think I need to visit this city during the wintertime to fully understand Chicagoland. I found myself duly unprepared for my dinner outing with my sweater dress...and no tights or leggings. Jenn and I went to Mambo Grill for dinner which was hilarious. I'm in Chicago to order a mojito and guacamole? And we definitely took a cab to go one block because it was raining and cold.

Other places I've frequented are Halligan Bar in Lincoln Park for some football and great bloody marys (note to self though - scary New York Giants fans are everywhere) and a bar across the street where we instantly met other another Mission Viejo native. Wow - OC transplants are everywhere, too! My favorite areas by far are Southport and Old Town...that I've been able to see. The houses in these areas are adorable and already decked out for Halloween with Martha Stewart-esque pumpkins and cobwebs.

My lovely friend Jenn manages the Anthropologie on Southport so I was able to drool for an extended amount of time over $300 jackets and dresses. After her shift we went over to this little cute bar, Messners Wrigley Grille, which was decorated so cute for Halloween, similar to how you see it here.

I also ventured out to Evanston, Skokie and a scary part of Chicago as well so I feel very well rounded. I must come back, however, to do things that do not involve the following:

- Eating

- Drinking

- ......

However my Chicago friends insist that I got the true taste of Chicago by skulking in a dark bar all Sunday, shouting at the TVs over a $2 burger and a $2 Miller Lite. My kind of town! Except...they really could have had a $2 Bud Light, I mean come on.

Ruminations on The Windy City

I don't usually post personal thoughts, but I figured since I'm on the road, it might be a little interesting at least. So here goes.

Here I am, my first night ever in Chicago and I'm blogging on my friend's Mac laptop at 12:30 a.m. Her boyfriend and his friend have left for other exciting things (a.k.a. Jameson on the rocks and bars) and my friend has gone to bed for work, so I'm left with ESPN and Blogger.

Although I do have to say there are a few intriguing things I must note about this city. First and foremost, I am in shock about how easy this city is to drive around. I was fully expecting a near breakdown when I took my rental car on I-90 into the city...but seriously, this place feels like Orange County with skyscrapers in terms of the traffic.

Secondly, this city smells GOOD. I smell barbeque and chocolate everywhere. Apparently there is a chocolate factory around here. That would seriously drive me to eat boxes of chocolate every day, so good thing I don't live here. Jen and her BF Dave actually made a really funny joke. You gain a bunch of weight from bar food here in Chicago. But what about the factor of walking everywhere?, I asked. Ah. Yes. You have very buff calves, but still have a beer belly. Ha.

The girls here dress up so much that I feel like a bum. It's this style I am not used to - very put together, very prissy, with TONS of cleavage and clubwear. Very matchy matchy. I couldn't compete with that. Maybe it's the neighborhood we're in? Kind of reminds me of the crowd in the Marina in San Francisco, but a little less douchey.

Also of note is the "Kiss 'n' Fly" lot at Chicago O'Hare Airport. How cute! I tend to just put my car into park and force my passenger out as quickly as possible, but in Chicago there's also some affection involved when you drop off a loved one at the airport.

Tomorrow there is talk of brunch and watching football. This city is SO sports-oriented it's not even funny...I can tell that in less than one day of being here.