I have a dog. He looks like this.

His name is Murdock.

Sometimes I like to remember what he looked like when we first brought him home.

Then I remember how sharp his teeth were, how he didn’t know what he was allowed to bite, how he didn’t know where he was allowed to poop, and how he didn’t know how to sleep through the night.

I guess it’s a fair trade.

Anyone that knows me is aware of the fact that I like food and cooking a lot. I have the tendency to get lost in the international aisles of the grocery store and I’ve been known to make my own tomato soup and granola from scratch.  I take pictures of food. I think about it, I research it, I write about it, I make it, and I eat it. It’s hard to be as food-obsessed as me and not develop a few high-brow food preferences. That being said, there are some cravings that can be only satisfied by the lowest common denominators of our culinary traditions.

I’m not just talking about junk food. Junk food can be high brow – french fries blanched in duck fat before a double fry, wood fired pizza with truffles and arugula – these things do not count. I’m talking about the foods that make you ask for “paper” at the grocery store check out, the kind of foods that make you feel kind of dirty for loving them. Everyone has a few regrettable food loves that they are powerless to resist. These are mine.

Ramen Noodles are a college staple, but eating ramen after college is not socially acceptable. Ramen has almost no nutritional value, but the noodles are hot and slurpy and endlessly versatile. I used to eat them chicken flavored with worcestershire sauce and  lot of black pepper. Now I’m all about the sriracha hot sauce. I’m not a role model.

I can’t be trusted around fried potatoes of any kind, but Lay’s Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips are my kryptonite. These are probably the only chips I literally can’t stop eating. Even after I start to feel sick from them. I think it’s a little bit about the texture. They’re so thin! I especially love the really big chips that get folded over on themselves. Double crunch. I’m such a freak.

So being caught by your foodie friends at Outback Steakhouse isn’t as embarrassing as being caught at, like, TGI Fridays, but it’s still pretty bad. For me, the Bloomin’ Onion makes it worth the risk. It’s a fried onion shaped like a flower and seasoned to the point of rendering ones taste buds ineffective for the rest of the week. THEN it’s served with a vat of horseradish sauce, I assume to clear the sinuses. My love for it is masochistic.

I bought Totinos Pizza Rolls last month with like, a bottle of soda and hung my head in shame in the checkout line. I’m kind of a sucker for any cheapo crappy frozen pizza pocket, but due to their mini size, Totinos are especially fun. I have no excuse.

Ranch Doritos, especially when eaten with the more densely seasoned side facing down for maximum impact.

I’m not a big pastry person. I’d rather have eggs for breakfast than a danish or a muffin. I’m also not much of a sweet tooth, but Krispy Kreme donuts – in all their deep fried glory – are obscenely delicious. Plain glazed only – anything else is way too sweet. I’m thinking about making bread pudding out of some. Would that be weird?

I have driven over thirty miles for a really good fry, but on a day to day basis I’m basically a slut for any kind of french fried potato. McDonalds’ are totally decent, as are Arby’s curly abominations. I want them all.

My soul is bared. What are your nasty guilty food pleasures??

Music is getting very electronical lately and I like it a lot. MIA, Gorillaz (have you heard The Fall?) and The Knife are some of my favorite musicians lately. Their songs are full of popish synth and buzzing basslines that make me have to dance.

But sometimes my soul cries out for something with more, well…soul.

The Black Keys have been the object of my latest musical infatuation. Their music is downright bluesy and this song, in particular, is just really sexy to me. I think I’ve listened to it at least eight times in the last two days.

I like to try to read about current trends in the fashion world, whether I intend to apply those trends to my wardrobe or not. Who What Wear’s daily newsletter is one of the best resources I have for quick, up to date overviews of trends and styling tips. Because of them, I’ve had years to warm up to the high-waisted pant trend that’s finally surfacing in major clothing stores. I also know that kitten heels and bare midriffs (with high-waisted pants (…still, yikes)) are on the way in and that skinny jeans, despite their ubiquity, aren’t going anywhere for a while.

HOWEVER. Some of the trends I learn about through my darling newsletters are downright disturbing. The Who What Wear girls aren’t designers, and I don’t blame them for this particular monstrosity…but I really hope I don’t see this recently featured trend take hold.

These “flatforms” have to be some of the ugliest shoes I’ve seen in a long time.

Then again, I said the same thing about high-waisted pants not too long ago…and I’m now on the verge of buying a pair.

Sometimes I shudder to think what my future fashion self will do.