Poor Lil' Rich Bitch In The Kitch

Every Sunday our personal lil rich bitch in the kitch will share her secret, healthy, cheap recpies PERFECT for a plrg evening. We know we're a day late, but we promise we'll be on schedule from now on. So check back every week for something new. Also, the bitch can be harsh, but we all need some tough love sometimes.

Sunday is a day for yoga, sitting on couches, and cooking dinner with your roomies. After a long weekend of afternoon beers while watching March Madness, and late nights of dirty martinis, you NEED a healthy Sunday night to jump start your week. Yes, you. Protein is an ABSOLUTE essential to get your energy levels back up for the long work week ahead. To celebrate the warm weather that Spring is bringing to the Big Apple, here is a delicious apple chicken recipe that takes only 6 simple ingredients to make! Easy enough for you, lazy little girl. It will make you feel better about the cash you by accidentally spent this weekend (you went shopping, didn't you!) and will only leaving you wishing that every night you had this much patience to cook!

Grilled Apple Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

1/3 cup apple jelly

2 tbsp applesauce

2 tbsp honey mustard

1 tbsp honey

½ tsp cinnamon

4 breast of chicken

Mix all ingredients besides the chicken into a mixing bowl. Wash and prepare the chicken. Dip the Chicken into the mix and place on the grill or frying pan (If using the stove, first place a small amount of olive oil in the pan and simmer). Let the chicken cook on medium heat. Keep adding the apple mixture to the chicken every time you turn them over.

Delicious side: Grilled Broccoli cooked in just lemon juice with a sprinkle of garlic pepper!

Now get to it plrgs!

xoxo,
bitch in the kitch

And Now, A Note From The District

dear NYC plrgs,

greetings from the district!

Confession: Friday night I paid $18 to go to an elitist after hours event held by DC hipsters at one of the Smithsonian's art museums... which I could have done for free during the day. I was under the impression that it would be open bar and I would drink my $18-worth, college-style, while still being an elitist who enjoys art. The drinks were not free and instead of accepting this and choosing to abstain, I walked 2 blocks in the rain to an ATM (bc obviously the bar was cash-only) and spent too much $$ on pre-mixed cocktails because lets be honest, I'm not hipster enough to do that shit sober...

Consolation: I spent the rest of the weekend (as i spend most weekends) eating soup alone, while staring at anatomical diagrams and wallowing in my own self-inflicted academic prison.

lessons learned: are two-fold

1. I know that there's NO place on earth like NYC, but as a plrg based out of the nation's capital I do have the opportunity (when I'm smart enough to take it) to enjoy many national treasures/events for free, or at least at prices most of you would consider discount. We're not as fashionable here as our NYC counterparts, but we do enjoy drinks, dinners, brunches and public transportation of the same, or arguably better quality, (dc metro vs. nyc subway, anyone?) at a much better price.

2. Life as a med/law student etc. is a little more socially dormant than it is for you (corporate) career girls, which means that even after a weekend sPLuRGe the math often still works in our favor. However, before you all decide to go running off to grad school once you hit that 1-year on the job mark, take a minute to think about how you'll finance that. If Mommy and Daddy are weathering this financial storm and still believe in making all your dreams come true, then go for it. But if you're like most of us, you're looking at major loans to cover the next 2-5 years of not only tuition, but living in general. And where are these loans coming from? That's right ladies, banks... not the most popular or trustworthy kids at the party these days... hope you've been saving more than sPLuRGing this past year...

That all said, hop on Bolt or Megabus for a pretty cheap ride and come see us some time. But please consult with our exam schedule first, grad students don't often get the whole weekend to mess around (think about that). We'd love to show you Barack's house, and the cool little speakeasies that are popping up in some of our hoods. I just know PLRG could come up with a pretty fabulous DC weekend guide, if you needed it.

xxx,
from a student-loan dependent/quasi antisocial PLRG in the District

Weekend Guide

sPLuRG: alice + olivia sample sale
when?: Tuesday, March 31st - Friday, April 3. 8 am - 7 pm
where?: 80 west 40th street (btwn 5th and 6th)
why?: Party Dresses $139; Skinny Pants, $99; Boyfriend Blazers, $149

eat: essex
where?: essex at rivington
what?: crab cakes $10, wasabi-crusted salmon $16, essex potato pancakes with melted goat cheese, $6
why?: if you make a later reservation, they'll give you a round of free drinks when you're done... and dirty martinis taste even better when they're free.

date: 'inoteca
where?: 98 rivington or 323 third ave.
what?: prosciutto, mozzarella, arugula pesto paninis $11, pesto bruchette $3
why?: nothing turns us on more than small plates and good wine.

brunch: the barking dog
where?: 34th and lex
what?: homemade granola, $4, eggs benedict $9, apple raisin cinnamon pancakes $8
why?: because if we must brunch in murray hill, it better be really good.

happy weekend plrgs : ) 

These Boots Were NOT Made For Walkin'!

Bad news, plrgs. Looks like your poor little rich girl asses can't even afford to take public transportation anymore. We're gonna have to find some sneaker sample sales for you, 'cause you're gonna need em!

The MTA announced this week that, to fill a 1.2 billion dollar deficit, fares for buses, trains, and subways will be hiked up ... a lot. The so called "doomsday" budget will raise the one way ticket from $2.00 to $2.50, which makes a 30 day monthly pass $103 from $81.

Long Island plrg's (one whom is our very best friend) will have it the worst, buses are being hiked up 75%... from $2.00 single rides to $3.50.

This is all going down in the beginning of June, right as it gets too hot to walk to work without looking like a complete mess.

Sorry to spoil your Friday plrg!

plrg bff's

Just like you, we really love our girlfriends. Being in your twenties in this city, where guys know all the right things to say to get what they want, and the bitch in the cubicle next to you would throw you off the 6 train platform without a thought, you really need your gals. And of course we need our plrgs... who would stop us from splurging for hanky pankys? Sit us down and remind us that you don't need to have every single color????? (But.. the new zebra print is sooooo cuu...)

Here's a list of some chicks who are making it big in this week's headlines that we'd like to recruit to our crew, and some we'd like to give a little nudge off the platform too. Just kidding! Well, kind of.

we'd love to get $5 manis and lunch with...

Jessica Pressler and Amy O'dell - New York Magazine's Daily Intel writers who always know whatsup. This plrg may or may not have sent them fan mail every week for the past few (7) months.

Diablo Cody and Crew - Four inseparable best buds who are stars in the screenwriting industry and have stayed tight despite the competition in their field. They also have kick ass bff necklaces that we'd really like to be included in.

Jill and Bethenny - Despite the fact that they are NOT plrgs, we'd really love them to take us out so we could all talk shit about the Countess.

Arianna Huffington - You go, girl.

The DABA Girls - If you haven't gotten that these girls are hilarious writers and the site is a satire, we can't be friends with you.

we'd love to fakely say hello and then talk shit about...

Marie Douglas-David - Ms. Douglas-David is suing for $100 million dollars in her divorce from her 66 yr old husband. And we hate gold digging already-rich girls.

Ruth Madoff - No explanation needed.

Lindsay Lohan - Linds hasn't worked in two years, but is suddenly surprised that she is out of $$. That didn't stop her from buying a brand new car and charging it to gf Samantha Ronson. Sam... you can join our crew. leave LiLo at home (which you're paying for.)

Ann Coulter - Again, no explanation needed.

who do you plrgs want in your crew? write us and let us know!

Bad Little Rich Girls

Oh boy, we were bad this weekend. Not like oops I'll buy this full price bad, like oops I just bought the whole store bad. We know, we know, we're such hypocrites. But every plrg has her weakness, and ours happens to be Pipa's sangria and flat breads. And then a sale at Bloomingdales. Oh dear.

You can bet your WAY broke plrg asses that we'll be making dinner tonight, and for the rest of the week. And what kind of friend would we be if we didn't share them? Here's a plrg's guide to saving some $$$ this week:


Monday: Balsamic Chicken With Baby Spinach

Tuesday: Wild Mushroom and Chicken Stir-fry

Wednesday: Cheese & Spinach Stuffed Portebellos

Thursday: Healthy Mac&Cheese (amen)

Eat up plrgs! The only thing worse than being a poor little rich girl, is being a poor and hungry one.

Confessions Of A College PLRG

Ladies, it looks like we should count our blessings. We seem to have graduated right before stuff got REAL bad. Let us sit back and be thankful that we even have jobs in this shitty economy. Doing slave labor is better than doing nothing at all!

Here's a note from a College PLRG, who reminds us all that it could be worse!

PLRGs out there, my do I feel your pain. While I cannot provide any of you with the bailout checks you so desire, I can shed some light on being a PLRG. Unlike you all, I am not a member of the PLRG society. No, no, no. I am a PLRGWNF. For those of you who are not familiar with this anagram, I am a Poor Little Rich Girl With No Future. :) As of now, I have no job, no prospects, no scheduled interviews, nothing. Lazy? Nope, wrong again! On the contrary, I have been emailing my polished little fingers off day and night in an attempt to “make contacts” or “network” as my mother so subtly suggests is the only way I will ever get a job. And are these emails met with kind “Sorry, what with the economy, we’re not looking to hire anyone new right now” responses? Nope. Are they met with brutally honest “I’m trying to keep my own job and there’s no way I’m going to waste my time trying to help you out” responses? No, of course not. Instead, I receive nothing. Nada. No response at all. Actually, I take that back. I did receive one reply in the past month that said a mere two words:

HIRING FREEZE.

So now, with 61 days of college left (but who’s counting?) I sit here reading this blog and wonder, would it really be THAT BAD to be a PLRG? The answer? DUH. But it can’t be worse than being a PLRGWNF…

I beg of you, don’t attack me with comments like “Enjoy your last days of college” or “Relish in the time you have living off your parents” because trust me, I am. But when you put that designer top back on the rack or walk by that nail salon and try desperately to ignore the glorious smell of the polish remover and top coat, just picture me and all my fellow PLRGWNFs living at home with our parents. Imagine us schlepping into the city via train in order to have a decent Friday night and passing out on someone’s couch or worse, imagine us on the 1:53 train while you all peacefully pass out in your conveniently located Murray Hill apartments. Doesn’t seem so bad now does it?

xxx,
PLRGWNF

plrg weekend guide

Congrats plrgs, you have made it through another week in the big apple. It's time for the second plrg weekend guide!

splurg: Rachel Roy Sample Sale

where?: 230 5th ave at 27th st.
when?: thru March 19th
why?: 75% off select fall 2008 and pre-spring 2009

eat: 11B
where?: Ave B at 11th
what?: thin crust pizza
why?: byob, bitches.

date: Agave
where?: 7th ave at Charles
what?: shrimp and mango quesadillas, $17, grilled mahi-mahi tacos, $18
why?: the margs are super strong and very delicious, the ambience is fun and laid back, and... he's paying.

brunch: The Garage
where?: 7th ave at Bleeker
what?: spinach and mushroom omelet, fresh blueberry stuffed French Toast
why?: $21.95 for one entree and all you can drink bloody's, mimosas, and screwdrivers. we know how you plrgs loooove all you can drink specials. just try to keep it together for the Rachel Roy sale!

plrg shoutouts

Here's what your fellow plrgs are saying. We'd love to hear from you! Post a comment and let us know your tips to surviving in NYC.

Unfortunately with the MTA prices sky-rocketing (monthly passes subject to change from $84 to $104), what's a girl to do? I guess it's better than daily cab rides, but come May I might have to forego the $100 pass, whip out the sneakers, leave early for work, get my ass a-walkin' and enjoy the urban outdoors....plus maybe I'll work off some of this winter blubber I've been toting around (let's call that silver lining). Just an idea ladies... - "B"

Getting a real job post grad, and moving to the Big Apple, I assumed I would automatically be able to enjoy all of the luxuries that I wanted to. The real world and a real salary...it turns out I was so very naive. Rent, cabs, dinners, trying to be as trendy as the next NYC-er, and don't forget the drinks (that is until we become DABAs...but that's another story) sure do add up. Keep the Poor Lil' Rich Girl advice coming. Girls like us need some direction in this big city on how to still feel rich, in this poor economy. - Michelle

Well, PLRG as I sit here in, my cubicle...No, not at the office, but (gasp) the library, reading your posts, I am pining for a little St. Patty's Day hangover myself. This would at least give me some semblance of that social life I used to hold so dear. I am caught thinking to myself, I wish I could be a PLRG right now...thats right, jealous of a PLRG.

I am jealous of all the PLRGs out there who celebrated our favorite green holiday and can gchat their way to their lunch break, because there is another brand of PLRG out there...thats right, PLRG-who decided to not get a job and thought it was a great idea to go right back to school. The only upside, to the lack of salary I have now, is the possibility of an above entry level paycheck...someday, if the economy shapes up..someday. But until then I'll be living off of a student loan check and phone calls home--mostly to beg them to let me splurge on the Amtrak to come home for holidays. Visiting friends? Looks like I'll be "Fung Wah"-ing my way to NYC circa Chinatown until 2011. So here is a shout out to my fellow post-graduated, still full time student PLRGs (whose exercise is free because we lug six 500 page books to and fro' each day.)
I know you're out there... - Kimberly

looking forward to hearing more from you plrgs. stay tuned for the weekend guide, coming out tomorrow!

Happy Hump Day PLRG!

Is someone hungover at work today? If you're like us, you took your cute, poor little self out last night to celebrate the St. Patty's festivities. And now you're feeling it at work. And that is brutal.

There is no way you're making it to 5:30, nevertheless the gym today. But spring is approaching PLRGS! It will soon be time for (DISCOUNT) summer wardrobe shopping. So we're dragging our asses to yoga to sweat this hangover out.

Yoga can be very, very expensive in NYC. $25 a class so you can listen to the chick next to you breathe heavily? And lets be serious, we all do it for the 5 minute nap you get to take at the end, anyway.

Here are some of the best ways PLRG can say namaste, the inexpensive way:

OM Yoga
where?: Broadway & 13th
how much?: $12 per express class (1 hour)

Yoga To The People
where?: 38th & 6th
how much?: $10 suggested donation

Laughing Lotus Yoga
where?: 19th & 6th
how much?: $20 unlimited yoga for one week for beginners

Yoga Sutra
where?: 42nd and 5th
how much?: $15 express class

Let us say it together ladies... "I will never drink again, I will never drink again..."

Om.

"The City" Fails The PLRGs

In this week's ep of The City, Whitney ends the recap by saying that she wonders if "this city was the right place for [her] after all." Well. We'd like to take Whitney to Blue Smoke, feed her a cheeseburger, and let her know that she is obviously not living the real City girl life.

No Whit, not everyone moves to New York City and meets some grimey Australian wanna-be rockstar on their first visit (and if they do, they do NOT, under any circumstances, proceed to date him for the next three months.) Nor do they get to eat at every restaurant in the Meat Packing District, or stroll into (faux) work at DVF and do what seems like (and is like) absolutely nothing all day long. We want to invite her four blocks up from her MTV-paid-for-yet-poorly-decorated Grammercy apartment to our less lavish, but better designed digs, and slap her straight. Or, at least tell her how to punch Olivia, who, as a NYC "social," is the exact opposite of the Poor Little Rich Girl.

Let's calculate the estimated cost of living for fake NYC girls:

Erin works at One Management, which, at entry-level can't make more then $30k a year. Her 1br at Gramercy Starckapartment, on 23rd and 2nd, is approximately $4,000 a month. Hmm.

Whitney and Olivia, working in fashion PR, would probably make the same, if not less. Rent at the Elektra, where Whitney lives on 23rd and 3rd, is approx $4,895 a month, and god only knows what Olivia pays in Tribeca, but we assume its around $4,000/month.

Allie and Adam, as models working with One Management, make approx $3k-$4k a shoot. Adam co-owns Il Bastardo, so we'll give him credit for that. And we'd really like to go the $15 all you can drink brunches and tell him to stop messing with Allie.

That's just a start. Every week, we'll monitor how much these so-called new NYC girls are spending, which is way more than a PLRG could even dream of. As for the asshole model boyfriend, Jay's disgusting facial hair, and Whit's reoccurring role as a doormat, we're not so jealous. Can someone bring back Nevan???

Bail Us Out!!

Excuuse me, AIG. Have you not already received $170 billion dollars in bail out money? And what is this we hear about you giving $165 million in bonuses? (And giving that money to some of the people responsible for AIG's downfall, no less).

Well, the PLRG deserves a bail out too. She works hard at her entry-level job. She picks up the slack and works long after her boss locks up his office for the day.

We know we're not getting a check signed by Obama any time soon, but hey, a PLRG can dream. Here's just a few things we'd do with that extra dough... after we paid off those loans and evened out our pending debt with good old Mom & Dad, that is...


Greenwich Village 3 Br Rental...$15,000/month

105 Minute Massage at Bliss...$210

Dinner at Buddakan...about $75 per person

Black Geren Ford Cocktail Dress...$304

Christian Louboutin Prive Patent Pumps...$795

(Sigh). Back to Loehmann's and Murray Hill for us!

What would you do with some $$ from The District? Write some comments and let us know!

Sunday (No Fun) Day For The PLRG

Happy Sunday PLRGs! If you're as poor as me today, you're at work when you should be brunching and tending to your hangover, which is why Sundays were created in the first place.

Unfortunately, Sunday is also the day that we must also reflect on our weekend spendings. The unecessary cabs (subways are just not accessible in five inch heels), $10 martinis (we know, you work hard) and perhaps the occasional shopping slip up. Don't worry little rich girl, we've all been there before.

Sunday is a night of relaxing and saving, so we're suggesting dinner at home with your roomies. We love Gwenyth Paltrow's site Goop. She has great healthy recipes and we're hoping that the more we eat like her, the more we'll look like her.

Hungry Girl is another PLRG fave, as well as Skinny and the City. We will allow you to pick up a bottle of Hob Nob Pinot Noir ($12), because Brothers and Sisters is on tonight, and if they drink every in every scene, we think we should be allowed to too.

Put that sushi take-out menu away PLRG, you have a long week ahead.

PLRG Weekend Guide

Since we're just getting started, we'll give you ladies a brief heads up on what the savvy spending NYC girl is doing this weekend...

sPLuRG: ADAM Sample Sale
where?: Chelsea Market, 75 9th Ave
when? March 11-15, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.
why?: 60 - 80% off... and you can't afford it any other way
PLRG perk... an inside PLRG who works near Chelsea Market suggests checking out Manhattan Fruit Exchange right across from the sale, they sell fresh fruits, veggies, etc., at market price.

eat: Tartine
where?: 4th and waverly
why?: BYOB is a plrg's new favorite way to drink
what?: herb goat cheese salad ($8.95), steak frites ($20)

happy hour: beer bar
where?: park at 45th st.
when?: today, to celebrate this guy getting locked up for 150 years.
why?: the goblets of beer are $7, and trust us, you can't drink more than 1.5.

date: Paprika
where?: St. Marks and 1st.
why?: Don't you read Daba Girls? Your guy doesn't have any $$ either
what?: Bruschetta Dí Pomodorí, Pesto, Olíve ($5.25), Ínsalata Dí Rucola Con Pere, Nocí, Capríno E Aceto Balsamíco - arugula salad wíth pears, walnuts, goat cheese and balsamíc vínegar- ($8), Gnocchí Dí Patate Con Proscíutto E Salvía Al Pomodoro -homemade gnocchí wíth proscíutto, sage and tomato sauce- ($10.90)

The (So) Poor Little Rich Girl

I was on the subway today (as a PLRG in this economy, cabs are an absolute no-no), staring at my nails and thinking about a conversation I had with my friend Jordan. We decided, what with the entire world basically going to shit, and our beautiful city going with it, that we could no longer continue with our weekly routine of lunch and manicures. So, we agreed, we would forgo our weekly lunches (unthinkable, if you eat like we do) for the duration of the recession (gasp!) if it meant getting our nails done. I thought about the color of my nails, a bright red color from Essie, called Poor little Rich Girl'.

And that is just what we are ladies, so you are not alone. We are young women working in NYC who thought by now we'd have 8 credit cards and money to spare, but who learned the hard way that our fabulous city is an expensive one, and these are tough times. But we also have dug out some of the best places to eat, shop, drink, be pampered, go on dates (not as many as we'd hoped, but, thats for another post), and we'd like to share those with you.

We'd love to hear your comments and feedback, and everything your cute poor little rich girl asses are doing to survive these times. 

XOXO, plrgs