Girl Talk Blog

With just four more days to go before Girls and the City heads to New Orleans for weekend two of the annual Jazz Festival, and when my husband suggested going out to grab a bite to eat for breakfast this morning, I suddenly remembered having heard of this new (well, new to me) bakery in Columbia. When I suggested it, he was game.

They say, in marketing, that it usually takes around seven exposures to a business’ name before it’s actually imprinted on the brain. Well, I think that’s what happened in this case especially, because for the life of me I can’t remember all the places I’ve seen mention of the name. I can however remember the last exposure, that I saw on the HoCoBlogs.com web site (which I try to pull up at least once in a day, and if you are from around Howard Co. you should too). At the top of the Community section was a new post on the Hometown Columbia blog about yet another blog, the new Columbia Dog Talk blog. And, also links to the latter blog author’s meetup group and her web site featuring a list of local dog-friendly places (which I have sent in my contributions to, by the way).

And, there it was mentioned again… Touché Touchet Bakery, 10400 Shaker Drive, Columbia, MD 21066. It’s part of the Macgill’s Common neighborhood in the King’s Contrivance village, with a Columbia address, although just two doors down from the Simpsonville U.S. Post Office. Have you even ever heard of Simpsonville before? Must be an out-parcel in the Rouse-developed portions of Columbia…

With the sky a little ugly, the tables and chairs were locked up in front of the bakery. So, we left the pooch in the Jeep. But, we went inside to try it out. OMG, we’re we in heaven?! This place is so quaint, but it brought back memories of New Orleans from the decor down to the pasteries. I asked this nice gentleman behind the counter, who I’m certainly guessing is the (co)-owner of the bakery, if it was New Orleans-inspired. We get into this long discussion on the city. He’s from there. And, sorry folks, no beignets yet because of the grease-factor and permits. But, there were croissants, muffins, cakes, cookies, scones, and other fabulous looking (and I’m sure tasting) pastries galore!

Maximizing the space in the two refrigerated cabinets, it’s sure to see that this “mom-and-pop”-feeling bakery may have to be looking at expansion in the future! While we were there, we tried an assorment of fine delights and coffee, and even took some desserts to go.

We learned that this man behind the counter used to work at a fine Brennan’s restaurant in the French Quarter and hasn’t been back to New Orleans in three years (same thing with me - my last visit was three months before Hurricane Katrina hit) and he’s going in less than two weeks. So, we talked and talked about the city…and some of our favorite eateries “off the beaten path.” He even gave me a couple of recommendations on places I’ve never been. But, we both shared a love for Croissant d’Or Patisserie, which was amazing, since I’ve never met anyone else in this area that’s ever heard of the place. Everyone always has to go to Cafe du Monde (famous for their beignets and cafe’ au lait), that no one ventures out into the nooks and crannies of the FQ. I first learned of it from the Zagat Guide back in 2002. I’ve been hitting it on every trip since.

What we did learn by trying out Touché Touchet, is that we will be going back. I’m so glad to hear of it’s start in 2006 and will continue to be a patron as long as it reminds me of my favorite vacation town. If you are ever in the area, check it out, hours are on its web site.

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Know of other great eateries or businesses in the Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC metropolitan areas? Suggest them on the “Services” or “Places to Go” forums of the GATC Members Area Message Board.

Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda on the HBO hit TV series and upcoming movie: ‘Sex and the City,’ let a portion of the movie plot slip while on the Creation Nation comedy show at the Zipper Theater on Apr. 15 with host Billy Eichner.

With the mixed buzz on the upcoming movie release, some that may have already decided to skip the flick just might be changing their minds. The slip was regarding something serious that happens to one of the main characters in the movie. And, now people want to watch just to see what happens.

Well, I don’t want to be the one who told you… So, if you want to hear what she said, you can read more at the MSNBC.com scoop article.

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Did you know about the upcoming seven-event weekend of fun with Girls and the City? We have it set to overlap the release of the movie. Whether you are a fan of SATC or not, we have a variety of events that weekend that at least one of them is sure to interest you. See our ‘Sex and the City’ weekend of fun, where you can learn more about our seven fantastic events and register as a GATC-member or non-member. ‘Sex and the City’ here we come…

Do you remember how much Blockbuster pushed the “No More Late Fees” campaign? Well, I do, and thought it was a brilliant idea for those of us too busy to watch rented movies by the time we think we will. And, so I have been a little late returning movies since the start of the campaign. Usually, a couple of days after the movie is late, you’ll get an automated call to your phone to remind you to return it. Or, Blockbuster will charge you for the full price of the movie, until it is returned, when you are then refunded your money.

So, recently, I rented a movie at the Columbia, MD location, and got the message on my voicemail, just one day after the due date. So, I returned that movie the next day. By then, Blockbuster had charged my account for the full price of the movie. But, on return, they removed that charge.

In its place, they charged me a $1.50 restocking fee. Now, what I want to know is does it really cost Blockbuster additional money to have a clerk walk a movie back over to the shelf one day late as it does by the due date?

I found out about the fee when I went to rent two movies at the Annapolis, MD location. I said “I didn’t think Blockbuster had any late fees anymore?” The clerk said, “it’s not a late fee.” And, I said “yes it is.” He ended with saying “we’re not allowed to call them late fees anymore, but that is what it is.” And, it really is…no matter what term the big chain decides to disguise it with. So, I bit my tongue and paid the damn fee. But, I am a little perturbed that the campaign said “no more late fees,” when in fact that’s really false advertising. And, it’s not like I kept the movie - I did give it back. So, I basically got charged a small fee for being late…

Anyone have recommendations on well-stocked mom-and-pop movie rental stores? What do you know, if anything, about Hollywood Video? I’m considering making the switch…

With a little over 50 days to go until Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda catwalk their way to the big screen in the feature-film continuation of the hit HBO-show that fans all over have been clamoring for, Girls and the City (GATC) announces its lineup of events for the weekend of the movie release. Kathy Lomosbog, an active GATC member and event planner, and I have been busy planning a weekend of fun for women in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD metropolitan areas! We have partnered with fabulous companies, including: Nail Taxi, TERRA, and The Limo Lady, and are working on getting other businesses on board.

To learn more about all seven of the events we’ve got planned, visit our page devoted to Sex and the City: the Movie! Or click the individual events listed below for more information:

Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD - Friday, May 30

Sex and the City Weekend Kick Off Party
Elkridge, 7 PM

Washington, D.C. - Saturday, May 31

What to Wear Fashion Shopping & Lunch
Dupont Circle Neighborhood, 11:30 AM

Sex and the City: the Movie
Chevy Chase, 5 PM

Girls Night Out Dinner
Chevy Chase, 8 PM

Baltimore, MD - Sunday, June 1

Breakfast with the Girls
Little Italy Neighborhood, 10:30 AM

Sex and the City: the Movie
Harbor East Neighborhood, 12 PM

Limousine-Chauffeured Maryland Wine Tour & Lunch
North Central Maryland, 2:30 PM

All seven of these events, in addition to our regular events, are open to any women over the age of 18 (no upper age limit) regardless of their location in the U.S. There are also a limited number of non-GATC member (and guest) spots open for most of these events. Register early, these spots may fill quickly.

And, please let your friends know about them!

More from the Girl Talk blog on the Sex and the City movie:

• Yeah! Mr. Big set to appear in upcoming Sex and the City movie…
• Sex and the City - the movie?!?!

Some of you have been wondering where I’ve been the past few weeks and/or why the events for GATC have temporarily thinned out on the web site.

Well, its actually because I’m right smack in the middle of house hunting. We’ve been looking at homes so much in the month of March, they are all starting to blend together in my mind. We’ve nearly exhausted all possibilities in our price range in the areas we’re looking (and it’s a large enough area it spans two counties). I’m certainly keeping it in the back of my head to find a place with plenty of entertaining space to host GATC events moving foward. One thing I’m noticing is that there are two reasons homes are sitting on the market for months (while others are not):

1) Right now, the market is still a buyer’s market and BEST for first time home buyers, since they don’t have a current property to unload to make the next purchase. As such, first-time home buyers, for the most part, are all looking in the same price range and for the same perks (location, location, location) and if a home is priced outside of a first-time home buyers range, it will sit, and sit, and sit…

2) The location sucks (or the schools it goes to aren’t the greatest), the floorplan or yard is not hip to today’s lifestyle or growing family, or the places are absolute dumps and need a lot of help…more than a first-time home buyer has the patience or funds for…

Because people are not getting the over-inflated asking price they might have gotten a few years ago, no one wants to list their house unless they absolutely have to. But, let me tell you, homes are still selling for what they are worth in Central Md, as long as they are in a desireable location and in good shape (I’m not talking cosmetics here). Because there is slight competition on the buyer’s end of things, the good homes are still moving. There just isn’t a good inventory of them in the lower price range. It’s been somewhat depressing, as a result. Part of me wants to put a message on CraigsList.org begging people to list their homes sooner rather than trying to wait this out. There are people ready to buy, believe me!

As a result, I started to build out a new page in the Members Area of the web site, with links to tools and resources for those that wish to be homeowners. It’s called Homeowner’s Tips, and is alongside the Wedding Tips page, also with links to tools and resources - but for the thrifty bride. I’m saving all the helpful things that people are sending me, to help others.

I’m also extremely thankful that everyone’s been bearing with me as the calendar has thinned out a bit due to my spare time going into the biggest purchase of my life. And, I can’t thank the members who have stepped up to organize, plan, and host events in the meantime enough, while I am overloaded.

The good news is, we’re exactly two months away from the release of the Sex and the City movie, which I know there’s been much talk about in the group for the past year or so. Yes, its nearly here. And, a few members and I are in the planning stage (hopefully to be wrapped up within the week) for a whirlwind of a weekend when the movie comes out. There will be seven separate (but completely doable as a whole) fun events to choose from that weekend. As soon as the events are ready to share, I will post it all over the site and send out a member e-newsletter.

If you are not yet a member, there’s never been a better time to join GATC than now, believe me. You won’t want to miss out on our unbelievable weekend of fun. The memories will certainly last you a lifetime.

And, please know that the calendar will be back in full swing in no time…

So a couple of weeks ago, my husband and I were on the topic of Valentine’s Day and I remember saying that I preferred “low key” this year. No gifts or anything. I’m more of a spontaneous kind of girl than I am looking for something on a certain day, when it comes to romance. He held true on most of the bargain.

He made reservations at Tersiguel’s in Ellicott City. It’s a former house converted into a French country fine dining establishment on Main St. in Ellicott City, MD. It wasn’t as low key as I was originally thinking, but I know he wanted to do something nice and special for me, so I was cool with that. Neither of us had been there before, and I had vaguely heard about it. So, why not try something new.

Our reservations were for 8 PM. When we arrived, at about 7:55 PM, we couldn’t even get inside the second set of double doors because the former downstairs hallway, converted to lobby, was packed. And, when I say packed, I mean like sardines…to the point if a waiter came by with a tray of food to take to one of the dining rooms, we all had to do this little “dance” to get out of one another’s way. We did make it into the sea of people in the lobby, but it was a big mistake.

Then, we waited at least 10 minutes before the maître d had stopped from running around to see a mashup of people waiting to check in (everyone already had reservations). He had so much difficulty understanding me, I’m guessing an accent or language difference between us didn’t help, that he had a lot of trouble finding our name on the printed out sheet from OpenTable.com (we had booked over the phone). He finally found it and then proceeded to say in a snotty voice that our reservation was really for 8:15 PM. I asked my husband if he remembered that from when he called and he didn’t.

As each couple checked in, he proceeded to cross the names off the printed out list and then formed a scribbled out list on a notepad, in the order in which couples actually arrived. What?! So, now I’m upset thinking that the original reservations don’t really matter to them and we’ll be lucky if we get seated in a reasonable time.

Now, it’s even more packed in the lobby as the chaos grew. The staff had overbooked the place and could not keep up.

We waited half an hour, all the time giving each other that look of understanding. Understanding that we both were not happy and immediately should leave and find something much more low key. Which we were both fine with. Then, I got grossed out…

Stefan, my husband, looked at me really closely and leaned in and said, “I think there is a cockroach on the back of one of the waiters shirts.” I laughed it off thinking he was joking. He goes “no, there is a really big bug on the back of one of the waiters that keeps coming in and out of the kitchen.” When the waiter walked by, I saw it. It was far from a cockroach, but it was a really nasty looking big black bug. It was easy to see since this waiter was only wearing a white shirt and no vest. Each time he passed us, in the sea of people, the bug had slid a little further down his shirt. But, now I’m really grossed out thinking if there’s one, there’s probably more. And, if it was this easy for it to get on him, then they must be out in the open somewhere.

And, now mind you that I think most restaurants probably have some problem similar to this, this is not how I envisioned spending our dinner. I know I would not have enjoyed the meal.

So, we looked at each other and said “let’s get out of here.” Stefan went to pull our names off the list and when he did, the now hostess said “Oh, your table is almost ready, are you sure?” obviously thinking it was the timing that was the real problem. And, we looked at each other again and said “yes” we are sure we want to leave. So, stunned, she looked at me puzzled. So, I proceeded to tell her what we saw.

She looked at me with a blank expression and didn’t know what to say. So, either she knew they had a problem with bugs or that’s just the kind of service we all should expect to receive from fine dining establishments these days.

We pushed our way back out of the sea of people…and had the most fun, quiet dinner at La Palapa next door. I’m so glad we kept it low key.

I didn’t have to go far this morning to vote in the Primary Election (taking place in Md., Va., and D.C. today). As a matter of fact, had it not been so cold outside, I could have walked. My voting location was at the end of my street.

I was expecting some supporters out trying to talk you into changing your vote at the last minute, but all was dead quiet. There were a few signs representing the different candidates outside of the chalk “line.”

I was maybe 2nd in a line of two people inside. So, I was in and out in a jiff.

I voted in every category except Board of Education seats. That doesn’t quite effect me just yet, and I didn’t know any of those candidates and didn’t want my uneducated vote to contribute to swayed results.

To vote today, you need to be registered and know where your voting location is. You also need to have decided on a party affiliation at the time you registered or last updated your registration. If you are eligible you really need to consider voting today. Here are two great reasons:

1) If you are worried that the candidate you back won’t get enough delegate votes, you need to vote.

2) If you think your candidate is in the clear - well, then you still need to vote. That’s when everyone gets cocky and ultimately there is an upset.

3) Yeah, I know I said two good reasons…but, the third is silly…if you wear your “I Voted” sticker you’ll also score a FREE taco at any area California Tortilla location today. And, hey, what’s wrong with that little incentive?

Now, go vote! Polls are open until 8 PM in Maryland and D.C. and 7 PM in Virginia.

The Go Red for Women movement kicks off its month of heart health awareness among women with National Wear Red Day. The Go Red for Women movement is working towards a near-term goal of nothing less than a 25% reduction in coronary heart disease and stroke risk by the year 2010. As the movement works toward that goal, it’s working hard to change the perception that heart disease is a “man’s disease.” By teaching more and more women how to talk to their doctors about heart disease, Go Red for Women is saving thousands of lives every year. Because the good news is that heart disease is often preventable!

Don’t for a second think that heart disease is only a concern for older women. It can occur in young women too. The time for you, your sisters, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, friends, neighbors, and coworkers to get and stay healthy is NOW! Go Red For Women celebrates the energy, passion and power we have as women to band together to wipe out heart disease and stroke.

You have no reason not to wear red and promote this movement tomorrow…

For more: American Heart Association

I remember growing up, being a teen, enjoying the freedom of a driver’s license, wandering the mall on my own or with friends, and even working there for a brief stint (in Frederick, Md). As an adult, today, I rarely even think about going to the malls anymore. Is it just me?

The teens today wander around in packs, as if they are dropped off by parents too consumed by work. It’s hard to find parking. It’s sometimes even worse just dealing with the traffic to get to the mall. And, with the store rent continuing to be on an upward climb, the prices are often outrageous. I haven’t even mentioned the crime yet. Malls that used to be favorites of mine, I’m giving up to online shopping and strip mall stores.

What you hear in the news is just a select few of the stories that happen daily at the malls in our area. I heard first-hand this past Spring as my then finance and I exited a popular local mall and ran into a former schoolmate/now police officer that he knows. I was surprised to hear the number of incidents and the type of crime. And, yes, that was at a popular area mall.

I’m not affraid to go to the mall, but I’m not motivated anymore. I just don’t find much fun in them, like I used to. Dodging the foot traffic, being rudely abrupted by kiosk employees in the middle of the mall, playing chicken for parking spaces. It’s like too much to handle in today’s fast-paced and busy world. I don’t want to be bothered.

In talking to other girlfriends of mine recently, I realized I’m not the only one feeling this way. I’m so curious to hear your thoughts too.

Originally posted to Girls and the City as an event, and now solely being held by another local organization, the Maryland Outdoor Club, I wanted to take a moment to remind you to attend the Indoor Community Yard Sale I am hosting in conjunction with fellow GATC-member Rebecca Frankenberger this Saturday. Doors open at 1 PM to the public, and remain open until 5 PM, at the Owen Brown Community Center. No early birds please. Please tell your friends to come shop!

We will have 10 vendors selling lightly-used wedding supplies, housewares, CDs, movies, books, clothing, outdoor sporting goods, computer parts, and so much more! Everything is priced to move.

We will also be accepting donations to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation that day in exchange for anything you want to take from the box marked “Free Stuff.”

The Owen Brown Community Center is located at 6800 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, MD 21045. Plenty of free parking in the parking lot or on the street.

There are still spaces left if you would like to sell your wares, as well. Book a space to sell.

Hope to see you there!