Hot or Not is now being taken over by a new pair of clever, snarky and VERY opinionated girls (Jane Berry and Katie Best). They will be posting the ‘Berry Best’ (Puny, right?) and worst of pop culture. It will be updated regularly, and feel free to comment with new ideas for our next entry.
Getting your ID photo taken: I am almost positive that the person who is taking your ID picture either takes your picture before you have a chance to smile or they wait until you have been smiling so long that your face hurts before they take your picture. It is very rare that anyone sees a decent ID. I blame Murphy and his stupid law. It just figures that the picture you have to carry around everywhere and use all the time is the one with your most awkward picture on it.
Coffee: I don’t know what it is, but there is something about coffee that just sounds like a brilliant idea when having a sleepover with my friends or when I’m tired in the morning. During this summer I’ve concocted at least five different coffee drinks during those two a.m mornings; Coffee mixed with hot chocolate, coffee with vanilla ice cream, coffee with at least a half cup of sugar, coffee with cream and cinnamon, coffee with peppermint ice cream, etc. Coffee is now an addiction.

Mosquitoes: This summer, NOT getting mosquito bites was nearly impossible. All the mosquitoes in the world just need to die and leave everyone alone. End of story.
Oxfords: These are basically my new shoe obsession. Oxfords are adorable, leather and vintage-looking. Originally made popular for women by Audrey Hepburn (Men wore them first), these shoes are now back in style. I think I might be in love with my Steve Madden Oxfords. If you do not have a pair of these, they are most definitely an ‘IN’ for fall fashion.
Giving Dogs a Bath: Having three dogs, two small and one as a big of house, means a lot of work. Especially when they start smelling like a mixture of bad B.O. and garbage. The other day I had the rather death-defying task of giving all three of my dogs a bath. This was by no means a definition of fun. Especially when my largest dog decided he didn’t want a bath, jumped out of the tub and started shaking the water and shampoo all over the bathroom. Not only was the bathroom a wreck, it now smelled like wet dog. Next time, I’m saving myself the trouble and taking them to a groomer.
1980’s Brat Pack John Hughes Movies: Pretty in Pink. Sixteen Candles. The Breakfast Club. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Weird Science. Some Kind of Wonderful. There is just something about the Brat Pack movies that teenagers today can easily relate to. Maybe it’s the diverse but realistic characters. Or maybe it is the charming, comedic plot lines. Whatever the case may be, sitting down and watching these movies never gets old. Take it from me; I’ve seen all of these movies at least a dozen times.
Summer Reading
Homework over the summer is always painful and uninteresting. Period. End of story.

The Salad Sandwich
Okay so I suppose that most people would basically call it a veggie sandwich, but I tend to add more lettuce and a bit of dressing. I am a huge sandwich fan. I have this philosophy that you could stick anything between two pieces of bread and it would be delicious. This particular sandwich has been perfect all summer because its cool and I love sandwiches for their convenience of no utensils needed.
Mud Volleyball Tournaments: Bump, set, splat! I landed in the mud. My plan was to run up and spike the ball, but unfortunately the mud had joined forces with gravity and decided they had other plans for me. This summer I had the amazing opportunity to help host a mud volleyball tournament as a fundraiser. I don’t even like volleyball and it ranks in my top three experiences of the summer. It was a great (and free) way to cool off. There was only one negative to the entire experience and that was my team spent the day before the tournament picking all the rocks and twigs out of the mud so no one would hurt their feet.
Randhurst Village: Oh wait! That’s right! It doesn’t even exist. So much for being done in 2010. Our closest mall is woodfield and not that I mind driving out to Schaumburg because it clearly has better selection of stores, but it was just so convenient to have a mall just two blocks away from school and I miss it.
Wrigleyville Shopping: So if youre at Wrigley field you want to walk down Clark street. It’s a few blocks down past what I like to call the “bar” section because for 3 blocks there isn’t anything but bars. You will then enter an area I refer to as the hand-me-down. Every 3 stores is another thrift shop. There are of course the classics such as goodwill and the salvation army, but there are also at least three ragstocks and my all time favorite: The Hollywood Mirror. It has literally everything you can think of from prom dresses organized by decade to hamburger earmuffs. I even found an old prospect cheerleading uniform there. I noticed it and had to do a double take. Oh but if you ever go looking for it just know that if you get to the Yogen Früz  on Clark and Belmont you want to make a left.
This Graphic: The picture with the heads is not Katie or I…. our graphic is a work in progress.