For the Love of Cheese!

**Disclaimer: This blog is dedicated to my love of dairy (and it's very apparent love of my bottom half).

I am a self-proclaimed Cheese Whore. There, I said it. Call me cheesy, but I will put it on the line for a slice (or chunk) of that fabulous blend of heaven and mold. So how does one properly categorize themselves as a "Lover of Cheese"? With this question in mind, I went to Google to see if there really is a proper name for people like me and came up with some surprising results. There are entire websites and cultures devoted to cheese! With over 3,000 varieties of cheese, I feel whey out of my league. ;) They have cheese vacation tours (this immediately went on my life list), cheese journals, cookbooks devoted to entirely to recipes with cheese, cheese websites, cheese of the month clubs (ahem, Christmas is only 8 months away), even cheese politics! But back to the topic of the proper title for a cheese lover. Among my fellow cheese comrades there are a few different titles:

-Cheeseheads

-Cheese-o-phile

-Artisians

-Cheese Pimp

-Pizza Hut cheese lovers

-Formage Ambassador

-Curds & Whey (for cheese lover duos)

-Fleur Cheese

-Cheese Monger

-Kraft Philly
-Cheese Doodle

-Tai Cheese

-Cheese Weasel

BUT, if you want to know the proper title of one who likes to believe that the moon is really made of their favorite food, it's Turophile. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines it as: "A person who fancies cheese." Turo is derived from tyro, that's Greek for cheese, and -phile means "lover of." Turophile?? I just feel like someone who just got sentenced to 30 to life! Cheese Whore evokes a much cleaner perception, I think. Anything with 'phile' on the end of it does not conjure up good images. And sidenote, if phile just means lover of, then why do pediphiles get such a bad rap? What if it's just someone who's a lover of pedicures (aka pedi's)? K, nevermind, just gona stop there and wrap this up. I would like to close by showing you all what is the premier collectors item of turophiles (shiver) everywhere, the ultimate cheese board, if you will: a formage end table. Nice dark wood finish, yes, I think it will go very nicely with my espresso wine tower, kinda of a Wine and Cheese furniture combo...I like it.

Going green or spending green?

There has been an explosion of organic, "going green" items available for those who are environmentally conscious and also on the richer side. Presently there is now a entire page every month in multiple magazines on fashion items for the 'going green' gals in the world. If you happen to look at the prices of some of these, well most of them, they are outrageous! I was reading InStyle last night and on their green page they had a bracelet in honor of "Save the Earth" day on April 22nd. See below and notice the price tag:

Save the Planet BraceletBuy a handcrafted Pono by Joan Goodman Save the Planet bangle made from recovered horn and 10 percent of proceeds will go to the Climate Project, which raises awareness about environmental change. BUY ONLINE NOW Honey bracelet, $200; at bloomingdales.com">bloomingdales.com

Two hundred dollars is more than my CAR payment!! Not only that, I can't help but think how many TREES one could plant for $200. Certainly if your really care about the environment you would put your money towards saving it, instead of buying a bracelet where only a measly 10% goes towards some bogus organization? You have to wonder where those people's priorities (and trust funds) are coming from. Because I would bet that the same people who are probably buying these bracelets drive expensive polluting cars, etc.

Call me a rebel but I think I'll just save my green and live a healthy lifestyle to the best of my ability than shell out my green for a bracelet telling people to "Save the Planet". Remember, paper, not plastic.

Dress to Impress

The other day I was explaining to my boyfriend that women dress for women...not men. This came up when we unexpectedly decided to drop by a place where I knew I might be seen by my fellow fashionistas and I said "But I look like a bum! I'm not dressed!" to which he answered "No you don't babe, you look fine to me" After explaining to him the reason behind these comments he immediately understood this having seen me call up my girlfriends on numerous occasions to ask "So what are you wearing to this thing tonight?" and get their opinion.

In New York, I worked in the finance industry with an office full of men, none of whom I cared to impress. I wasn't single and my boyfriend lived in Florida. There wasn't very many women, and there was definitely a shortfall of those who would know the difference between a cute outfit and a burlap sack (with the exception of about 3) so rarely did put in that extra effort. Now, here in Jacksonville, I work in an office full of women, pretty much all of whom have a sense of fashion. My boyfriend still doesn't live in the same city (although he will in 3 weeks), but now, I feel more purpose for suffering through a pair of fabulous (albeit painful) pair of shoes just because I know they make my outfit, and my fellow ladies will appreciate them. Yes there are days when I just don't feel like in spite of my gorgeous audience and I'll trade the contacts for the glasses, but I try not to do this too often.

Yes, I will concur that our peripheral audience is the opposite sex but lets be honest ladies, when you put the amount time and effort we do into the composition of an outfit, your hoping for your fellow female comrades to squeal in appreciation of that time and effort, "Your outfit is SOOO cute!" While this may seem shallow to some, to most of our gender population this will be the highlight of their day. Just like one would comment on the composition of a piece of art, so is the composition of an outfit. And a every women is an artist in some form of that respect, using herself as the canvas. Call me vain, but the high that I get from a great shoe sale and the compliment that follows from one of my girlfriends or co-workers, is what puts a smile on my face not a random guy saying "Daaaamn girl, you fine!" Although, I do love it when MY guy, greets me with a "Hi pretty!" every now and then ;)