*hey there, it's christa*

DVR Watch: How Did the Newbies Fare in Week 2?

Well, I've officially eliminated one show from my Fall "Must-See TV." After a promising-enough start last week, I'm officially over "Whitney."

Aside from the fact that I really couldn't care less about these characters (yeah, it happened that fast), but the whole taped-in-front-of-a-studio-audience factor was the proverbial nail in the coffin.

Really, what's the point of having a live studio audience when all the applause sounds exactly the same?

Whether it's the big joke or a moment that's not even remotely guffaw-worthy, it never varies. Plus, it's just annoying. Ever notice how strange it sounds when you're watching Friends re-runs? Well, it's even weirder a decade later because it seems so incredibly dated. Note to NBC: Can the laugh track, but even then, I won't be tuning in.

As for "New Girl," I liked this week's episode a teensy bit better, while my enthusiasm for "Two Broke Girls" actually waned a bit. Guess we'll see what next week brings. In the meantime, I'm glad I can always count on "Chopped" to deliver the proper dose of television excitement. :)

Extreme Heat: DFW Edition (A.K.A. Fall Can't Arrive Soon Enough)

I've never exactly been the green thumb type, but I still never expected my lawn to be a lovely shade of wheat.

Yes, it's drought season here in Texas, and despite my best efforts in programming our automatic sprinklers for just the right amount of H2O at just the right time, the Banister lawn is easily the ugliest one on the block.

Even worse is the large stripe of brown in the otherwise green rectangle of grass near the mailbox. I don't know if the water simply doesn't reach or if our lawn was secretly hoping for chunky highlights, but it's pretty atrocious.

See, before I moved to DFW last summer, everyone had warned me about the Texas heat and how it was different from other kinds of heat. And considering I'd visited several times since Will and I've been married, I (almost) knew what I was getting into...well, except that I never dealt with it every day. But I assumed that 8 1/2 years of dreadfully hot and humid summers in Nashville was a decent prerequisite, right?

I guess not.

See, grinning and bearing it for a few days in Texas (thank you, Frederic Fekkai glossing cream) isn't so bad. But facing the heat on a daily basis, especially when you've got pasty white porcelain skin like me, is the proverbial horse of a different color. To wit, I have a horrendous tan line on my wrist (thank you, cute Fossil watch) just from checking the mail, and I won't even elaborate on what Will calls my "redneck socks."

Needless to say, I couldn't be more thankful that I work inside on days like these. At home. Not only do I have the air conditioning blasting and constant access to bottles of nice cold water and green tea, but I can wear fearlessly wear shorts (ok, they're more like capri pants) without anyone getting frightened by the ghost whiteness of my gams and my strangely tan ankles.

If anything, these summers have given me an entirely new appreciation for everyone who works outside in this blazing, triple-digit heat. I'm sure I'd pass out in like five minutes flat and have third-degree burns to boot. But they handle it like pros, every day no less, so hat's off to them!

Meanwhile, fall can't arrive soon enough for me. I can't wait for a blast of nice temperate air. But as a backup in the meantime, I'd gladly accept a few days of rain as a consolation prize. Hear that DFW weather guys and gals? R-A-I-N. Pronto.

A Long, Long Jaunt Down I-35

Well, I'm officially living in the Lone Star state now, and my, my, my what a crazy journey it's been! I gotta say moving is truly not for the faint of heart.

After finishing up the packing (whew!) and officially saying goodbye to my downtown St. Paul abode, my friend Krista and I (along with Blackjack, Will and I's trusty black Toyota Highlander and Gretta, Krista's bossy but oh-so-helpful GPS) made the sizable trek to the place where everything's supposedly bigger and there's mouthwatering salsa and guacamole around every corner.

And thanks to our 16-hour journey down I-35, I crossed off two more destinations from my list of "States I've Never Been To" (Kansas and Oklahoma, for the record) and enjoyed a steady diet of classic rock (given how many times I heard Boston's "More Than a Feeling," you'd think it was a current pop song) and really bad country music where the lovelorn mourn the loss of their dog, their wives, their sanity etc. etc. 

When I wasn't tracking down the next totally bad song for Krista and I to listen to on our severely limited selection of stations, the people-watching and regular truck stop visits kept us plenty entertained for the duration. Truth be told, for such a long trip, the miles totally whizzed by, and before I knew it, we were finally in my new hometown.

In addition to taking a super fun road-trip with a fabulous friend,  I FINALLY got to see Will after nearly a month...a reunion we celebrated with a downright fabulous meal at Mi Cocina (try the cheese enchiladas there, and they will change your life, I promise) and a late-night showing of Eclipse, the guiltiest of guilty pleasures, I know. 

Since we're still waiting for our stuff from the movers, (don't even get me started on that), I still sort of feel like I'm on some sort of bizarro vacation when I wake up every morning. Dallas doesn't really feel like home yet, but I hope as I start getting our house in order (by the way, I love saying "house" instead of "apartment," I feel all grown up now), it will, y'all.

In the meantime, Will and I are thankful to have a place to stay while we wait (something I'm not very good at). When we moved to St. Paul four years ago, we slept on the floor for a good two weeks. So needless to say, a comfy bed in a lovely air-conditioned abode is definitely a blessing. Well, that and a huge supply of anti-frizz cream for my hair. Since it's humid and about a thousand degrees, my hair definitely looks worse for the wear without a little help from my friends at Aveda.

Lemme just go on the record and say I'm thankful for them, too. And I'm sure anyone who's forced to hang with me would agree.

24-ish Hours in L.A.

It's amazing how everything can change in just three short hours.

When I woke up last Friday morning, it was snowing, which isn't so unusual in Minnesota this time of year, but I loathe it all the same.

Now don't get me wrong, snow definitely has its place at Christmas. But after growing up in Wisconsin, doing the college thing in Minnesota and adding three more years to my blustery winter life experience recently after eight years in Nashville, suffice to say, I'm over it.

Ok, rant over, I promise.

Once I landed in L.A. three hours after the snowy start to my morning, well, it was quite heavenly. Not only was the sun shining, something that it's apparently forgotten how to do in these parts, but it was a cozy 75 degrees.

For the record, most of the L.A. people were donning sweaters and scarves, while I made my jaunt from the Four Seasons to the paparazzi-friendly Robertson Blvd in just a t-shirt and jeans.

After walking up and down the boulevard and not buying a thing, (oh the self-control) save for an iced caramel macchiato from Starbucks, something I haven't enjoyed since, well, July, I decided to have a quick bite at the Newsroom Café (I was hardly dressed properly or celebrity-enough for The Ivy, after all). The Newsroom is the hip sort of joint that serves everything from wheatgrass smoothies to turkey burgers to chicken noodle soup sans chicken (yeah, it's tofu in there instead, so I smartly opted out).

While a wheatgrass smoothie is always mighty tempting (insert sarcasm here), I actually thought a SoCal quesadilla sounded good, especially the menu indicated that was fresh avocado involved. Since avocado is always in-season in Cali, something that's sooo not the case here in Minnesota where the guacamole won't be good again until summer, I simply had to have some. 

Proving yet again (thank you, Barefoot Contessa) that really good ingredients pared together, even if they're simple, taste really, really good, my quesadilla was amazing even though it only consisted of a grilled whole wheat tortilla, organic chicken breast, smoky corn kernels straight from the cob, homemade pico de gallo, low-fat cheese and some yummy green chili pesto. 

In a word: Yum.

After lunch and a little more people-watching, quite the entertaining activity in La La Land, I ventured back to the hotel and started reading the press notes pool-side for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (and yes, I did say "squeakquel"). Basically, even though squeaky, singing chipmunks were involved, it wasn't a bad day at the office...except for Will not getting to enjoy it with me, that is.

I must say reality gave me a pretty good smack in the face once I returned back to St. Paul 24-ish hours later, though. For whatever reason, I apparently forgot where I was coming back to and wore open-toed platform shoes. While easy to slip off while going through the whole security process, they were exactly practical once I stepped outside. I think one of my toes may even have frostbite. That'll teach me, right?

April 1

Ok, I'm trying to look for the proverbial silver lining here, so I will say that I'm thankful that it doesn't look like this (see left) outside. But what's making me a little crabby is that it IS snowing on April 1.

Yes, I said SNOWING.

And it's not just a cruel April Fool's Day joke.

Surely, Spring has to be on its way to Minnesota soon, right?

Here's hoping.