welcome to elaney!

Dear Chelsea,

The staff at elaney has not yet received our invites to your wedding!  We are sure there was a mistake; however, there are no hard feelings.  We assume you would like for us to show up anyway.  See ya in Rhinebeck. Muah!

Love,
e

We are completely caught up in Chelsea’s wedding plans!  A $2 million affair?!?  It’s too good for a blogger to be true.  We found some deets about where the money is going:

• The rumored location for the high-profile event (Astor Courts), could cost between $125,000 to $200,000 alone.
• The catering, being done by Blue Ribbon Restaurants, St. Regis and Olivier Cheng Catering and Events, is estimated to cost $750,000. One company might be doing the cocktail hour with another taking care of the main meal and the third one doing late-night snacks.
• Wedding planner Claudia Hanlin told ABC News that each company may charge around $500 a head, given the remote nature of the wedding site, along with having to share the kitchen and coordinate with two other caterers. That works out to $1,500 per guest (there’s rumored to be 500 of them) for food alone.
• $250,000 for the flowers
• $40,000 for the music
• $35,000 for photography
• $30,000 for security

It’s still a mystery whether she is wearing Oscar or Vera…Oprah and Whoopi are both expected to be there… Is $2 million disgustingly ridiculous for a wedding?  Of course!  Are we so excited we can hardly wait to see the photos?  YES!  You go girl.  You’ve come a long way since our study abroad group used to snap photos of you making out with your old BF Ian at Blackwell’s book store at Oxford University.

Many of you know that we are O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D with the Bert Show.  Well, yesterday they did a bit on their favorite outfit for women, and guess what…it looks the Umbro lovin’ elaney male reader was right (let’s call him the UmBRO).  According to a study the Bert Show found, 67% of men think women in gym clothes is the s-e-x-i-e-s-t style.  While this is G-R-E-A-T for elaney, this is pretty much anti everything emum has ever said…And here’s the thing:  we see ourselves in workout clothes, and we just don’t think we look cute.  Can someone please explain?

From YourTango:

1. The sexiest style: the gym look. 67 percent of guys polled said there’s nothing sexier than athletic clothes and minimal makeup. We won’t be trading our skinny jeans for baggy sweats anytime soon, but we’ll admit, it’s nice to hear that men like the ultra-relaxed look.

2. A close second: sexy secretary style. Mad Men-fashion devotees, you’re on to something. The guys polled confessed to going gaga for a no-nonsense, getting-down-to-business style: professional clothing, heels and natural makeup.

3. He hates high fashion. Only 15 percent of men said they dig a heavily-styled look, and almost two-thirds said they’re not into it. The reason they gave? Simple: it looks stupid. But another survey by My Celebrity Fashion put jeggings, Uggs and neon clothing at the top of the list of fashion trends men hate, so we’re not entirely convinced they’re grasping the concept of high fashion.

4. Less is not always more. Much to our surprise, not all guys love our sexy night-out style. In fact, about half of men think we overdress (is this because you have to wait for us while we get ready, guys?) And a fourth of guys claim they think the “night out” look is too revealing. We blame Gaga—we haven’t worn pants since “Poker Face.”

5. He loves you without makeup: The top-ranking looks (gym style and the professional look) both go easy on the makeup (even third place, the girly-girl look, required “natural hair and makeup”), and a full third of guys polled said they prefer you without any makeup at all, explaining that they thought it looked fake. Two-thirds of guys don’t mind a swipe of mascara here and there, but made it clear that heavy makeup looks trashy. So go ahead and bat your natural lashes at him!

Once upon a time, this blog started out as mostly a celebrity blog.  We know.  It’s hard to believe now that elaney is filled with such cutting edge breaking journalism, but it’s true.  Long ago, there was a whole lot of Shiloh and Suri up in here. Oh how times have changed, but even a few years later, our girls have just celebrated their fourth b’days, and they still just slay our hearts.  So, how about it, for old time’s sake, who is your favorite?  Suri or Shiloh?

The universe wants us to share this dip with you.  What had happened was:  a few months ago, we had this dip at a party and loved it.  Hadn’t thought about it since.  Then randomly decided to make it for a cookout last Saturday and intended to email the chef (who we don’t even know that well) for the recipe.  Then, coincidentally on Saturday morning, Reader g-love mentioned that she had been going through our cookbooks to find some dip that some different girl from Columbus (who neither of us know) made.  Lo and behold, it’s the same dip.  Then if that wasn’t random enough, Darby of Fly Through Our Window posted it Sunday, so we decided, there is someone out there that just needs this recipe (tweaked a little, per elaney):

Feta Black Bean Dip
Serves 10
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 {15 oz} cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 {15 oz} cans of Shoepeg corn, drained and rinsed
1 bunch of scallions, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 {4 oz} block feta cheese, crumbled

Whisk sugar, vinegar and oil in a large bowl. Add the black beans, corn, scallions, cilantro, and feta and mix well. Chill until serving time. Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips.

“I like your blog, but I’m more into girls that wear Umbros.” – Male Reader (unprovoked)

We always think it’s interesting when men describe these “natural girls” they love, because wearing Umbros for most girls does not the natural look make.  Sure, you may think Jessica Alba looks good in Umbros, but the average girl walking around does not need to be Granola-Girl-of-the-80s’d out in Umbros and Tevas.  Does Jennifer Anniston look gorgeous in her white button downs and khakis, sure…but she also has a stylist, millions of dollars, and Botox.  We get that no one wants to see drawn on eyebrows and women that can’t leave the house without a 2 hour overhaul, but careful what you wish for, because we haven’t seen a woman that should be wearing Umbros since gym class in the 90s.  However, here’s your chance, fellas.  It’s been well documented that elaney’s eparents have STRONGLY encouraged her to avoid black nail polish and certainly clothing items that “men don’t understand,” but we wanna know…what is it that you Umbro loving folks feel pushes the high maintenance women over the line?  In other words, what are the clothes that “men don’t understand?”

We’re finishing up Restaurant Week / Things We Like in ATL (and the random Bachelorette non sequitur) with The New Deal that you need to FDR (find and download rapidly).  Scout Mob!  Have you heard?! It is like a bargain hunter (who wants to be in the know)’s dream!  Get it as an iphone app or as email alerts, Scout Mob hooks you up with great deals at cool spots that locals love.  No 20% off at Brio up in here.   See ya later 2 for 1 apps at The Palm.  Hasta La Vista free Spinach dip at Houston’s.  50% off at Carroll Street Cafe, Wasabi, Paul’s, and the Tap?!  Don’t mind if we do!

Scout Mob started in ATL and is now in NYC too.  It is awesome!  Enjoy.

Once upon a Columbus, GA, it only took night out a Carrabbas and some Raisinets from Carmike for a happy elaney to make.  Nowadays, we have so much more to choose from and there are so many fun things to do!  Just a few we are looking forward to over the next few weeks:

• Boutique Bargains Clearance Sale:  This weekend July 23-24 is the 2xs a year warehouse sale from boutiques all over ATL.  Featuring merchandise from Lena La Rose, Tulipano, Fab’rik, and Lexie + Jane, the sale takes place in Atlantic Station from 10 – 6 and is totally worth the trip!
• Fox Film Festival:  Check out old and new films (including SATC 2 on August 12th) at the Fox!  Enjoy a festive wine tasting before watching a film on the original big screen.
• Castleberry Hill Art Stroll:  It happens every second Friday of the month, but August is the month for us!  Wander in and out of Atlanta’s eclectic galleries and restaurants and find some new art at the city’s “Best Art Stroll.”  Plus, appreciate the neighborhood and experience the perks of in town living.

Love to hear your ideas too!