Reasonably Certain
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Ellen covers topics she has learned about throughout her 20's such as mental health, body image, makeup, fashion, and living abroad.
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Reasonably Certain
Halloween Special!! ft. Tanya McQuoid & Spanish All Saints' Day Panellet Mukbang
EP #19: Ellen is dressed in her handmade Halloween costume as Tanya McQuoid from The White Lotus season 2! She talks about how she put together her costume, a recap of White Lotus S2, and does a taste test of all the Spanish Halloween treats.
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Hey, guys. Welcome back to Reasonably Certain. This is episode 19 and it's my Halloween episode. I have my little Spanish Halloween goodies right here. I will be taste testing these later in the episode. but I did get a Variety box of peniettes. Guess how much these were. Just guess. Guess. I didn't check the price. Not that I'm sure that there's even a price on them. And there definitely wasn't a price on the shelf. Or maybe there wasn't. I was blind and I just didn't look. But. Or maybe there was and I just straight up did not look. There probably was a price, honestly, but not on the box. So I just grabbed it. I was like, yeah, XL Variety. Because I want the most variety I can get. Like, if I'm gonna be doing a taste test, we need the full variety. So guess how much. €30. Yeah,€30 for this box. They better be very good. Anyway, we'll get to that later. I'm Tanya McQuad from White Lotus Season 2 Episode 2. And she is in her Italian dream, Monica VT Mom. And she wants to go on the Vespa with Greg and she asks Valentina to take a picture of them on the Vespa and it's iconic. I took so many pictures and videos today. I made so many TikToks. I made a post on Instagram. So if you don't follow me on Instagram or TikTok, go check those out. I am very proud of them. I put a lot of effort into this outfit, into, this costume. So I've become like, re obsessed with White Lotus Season 2. Hence why I wanted to be Tanya for Halloween. Duh. So let me run you through my costume really quick because I feel like this is probably the. I think I can say this with 100% certainty. This is the most closely accurate costume to what Jennifer Coolidge actually wore in White Lotus Season 2. I just have to say, I was like, if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it 110%. I'm going to just go all the way there, because why not? It's fun and I enjoy it. So I have my little paper cigarette here. I'm Monica Vitti. I'm just gonna put this down so you're not hearing me fiddle with it in the mic. but for those of you not watching, I think you should watch so you can see. Or at least go check out my social media so you can see how good it is. If I can say so myself. Yeah. So I've been become. I've become re obsessed with White Lotus season two. I'm not as big of a fan of season one, but season two, I've watched like, three times or more. so, yeah, I just. I never get sick of it. And let's start with the dress. This was just, like, a cheap pink dress that I got from Amazon. It was, like, the closest cut in color that I could find to the actual dress that, Jennifer Coolidge wore. I would have just bought, like, the actual dress that she was wearing. however, it is not available anymore. Like, you can't find it anywhere online. And even if I could buy it, I think it was like$1,500. So I'm not, like, that committed to the bit. So even if I could buy it, I don't think I would be spending that much money on a costume. so the next best option, I thought, was to just literally recreate it myself, because I was just not happy with any of the other, like, pink dresses with patterns I was seeing out there. I was like, they're not accurate enough. I need it to be, like, exactly the same. That's just me. I'm a freaking perfectionist freak. So I bought the dress, but it came as, like, a bright Barbie bubblegum pink. And I was like, no, no, no, no, no. Her dress has, like, the teeniest peach tinge to it, and it's, like, a bit darker. So I had to buy rich synthetic dye. I think I got it in the color, like, apricot orange. And I just dyed this dress for literally, like, 30 seconds. I just, like, dipped it in and took it right back out because I just wanted it to be tinted, like, with a slight orange over the bubblegum pink. And I didn't want it to be full blown orange. So I think it worked out pretty perfectly. There are some, like, spots where the rit dye took way more than the others. But, like, whatever, with all the pattern on the dress and stuff, hey, not bad. Then I had to paint the pattern on the dress. And, I enjoy painting every now and then. You know what I mean? But. But I wouldn't say that I'm like, an experienced fabric painter, per se. Painting on fabric is difficult. so I went to an art store, got fabric paint, started. I got some fabric markers as well, because I had to trace the. Well, not even trace. I had to freehand draw the pattern from the actual dress that she was wearing in white Lotus onto this dress. And then I was gonna paint it, but I had to trace it first. So I looked up, like, what is the dress that, you know, Jennifer Coolidge was wearing? It's a temporary London dress, like I said, no longer available. Can't buy it. Even if I could, it's like fifteen hundred dollars, way too expensive. So I was just trying to look up pictures of the dress, pictures of Jennifer Coolidge in the second episode, pictures of the print. I was like, if I could just get a photo of the print, that would be great, so I can see, like, how it repeats and everything. However, I just couldn't find anything that, like, high enough quality where I could zoom in and, like, really see what the actual image was. So my best clearest images were actually me recording on my phone, on, like, recording the show playing on my iPad and then pausing it at spots where, like, I could clearly see the dress and screenshotting it. So I have, like, a ton of screenshots from the actual episode, and I have some screenshots of, like, the actual dress. But it. It was really hard to see, like, the one picture I got, like, of the listing of the dress. I mean, they filmed this over two years ago. I don't know Alex the stylist, if she had this dress in, like, her style archive for a while or how she acquired it, I don't know. So you can't buy it anymore. It's hard to find pictures of it online. It might have been a super limited release or something like that. I don't know. so I was just trying to find photos of the dang pattern because it was so hard to tell, like, how it worked on the dress. And then I thought I had a good idea of how it would work, so I started drawing on the pattern. So I started drawing on the pattern, and then I realized, like, here you can see, like, this part here. I was like, oh, there must be just, like, this little building thing. And then I realized, oh, actually this is not a full pattern piece. Because on her dress she has, like, a panel and a seam that goes right here. So it, like, cuts off the pattern right here. And I didn't really realize that at first. So there's a few mistakes where I, like, didn't realize until after drawing this that I was like, oh, her dress has a totally different pattern than mine. Duh. I mean, they're similar, but she has, like, way different seams and, like, pieces on her dress that this one doesn't. So the pattern I can't, like, literally copy from hers, like, exact, because, like, it cuts off in different places on her dress. So I tried to just like copy it as close as I could, but obviously I couldn't do it like literally exact. And then painting on fabric is just a whole another ball game as well. Like especially with this like super thin, crappy, like synthetic fabric, like polyester. It also in the weave of it, like if you have a super liquidy marker or too liquid of a paint and it's not like thick enough, it will just run all the way down the weave of the threads and it like streaks a lot. So learned that pretty quickly. Like where is it? Another spot? Oh, you can't even see it because it's like way over here but on this side. Over here you can't even see it because it's like way over here but like way over here. I had ah, tried using paint markers for like the pink and the orange on the dress. but they, they streaked and ran so bad that I was like, oh my God, big mistake, big mistake. So lots of learning. I think I could totally paint a dress now that I've done this, but I think I'm good on painting dresses for a while. I think it literally took me like 40 hours or more to do this dress and that's not including getting all the other stuff to go along with the costume. Duh. so I got this scarf off Amazon as well and it came this color so I thought that was pretty close and I didn't do anything to it. And then I got the actual sunglasses that she was wearing because I was like, okay, if I can't get the dress, at least let me get one other piece that she was like legit actually wearing. So I got this. The Versace sunglasses, the actual like model that she was wearing. Not like the ones that she literally wore, but they're the same, same ones. So I was like KO Versace. Like they're probably super expensive, but they weren't current anymore either. So I did them on US Amazon. thankfully I was able to order them and had this idea in like August before I went to my parents house in September. So I ordered them to my parents house and I was able to bring them back here to Spain. I think they were like a little over 200. So not bad. I mean your run of the mill like Ray Ban or Oakley's are like over 200. So to me it's ridiculous. It's obviously ridiculous but kind of an iconic purchase because these are the actual sunglasses. So iconic. And now I mean they are probably the nicest pair that I own because I Love sunglasses. Like, it's probably my favorite accessory to have, like a cool sunglass. but I have to take really good care of these because these are definitely the nicest pair that I own now. But how iconic. Like, I'm keeping these forever. Like, these are like, in my books. Like, this is a piece of history. Okay. that's why I would have loved the dress too, because, like, for me, I was just so obsessed with the second season of White Lotus. I didn't really love the first season as much. It's not that I didn't like it, but I just think the second season is so good. So I've probably watched the second season like three times. Like, it's just. It's very good. And then I noticed that she had the cigarette, obviously, so I just made a little paper cigarette and I actually, I took my big ring off. I'm too lazy to go put it back on. But she had like two big rings on. I just have the one. So I had it on my finger. And then she also had French tips. But when I. I like, was up so late last night finishing the dress and then I was like, oh, I need nails too. Like, I didn't have any nails on and they were. My nail beds are rough. And I was like, oh, she has French tips on. Like, do I have the time and energy to like put gel X on right now? And I did. And you know what? Last night, like was a godsend because I was up doing my nails and then I was
like, It's probably like getting close to 3:00am like, yikes. Like, I gotta hurry up and finish my nails. And so then I see the clock is at 201. And I was like, no, no, no. Because just a little while ago I checked and it was like
2:25 or something. And then I realized, oh, it's 200 and 1 because it's daylight savings time in Spain. So we fell back an hour and I got an extra hour last night to finish my nails and the dress. I mean, it couldn't have come at a better time because I was really like cutting it to the end because I was supposed to go with my friend Yoli to go take photos and videos outside. But of course, like, it never rains in Barcelona. And this whole weekend, like Friday, Saturday, Sunday has just been like pouring rain like non stop the whole weekend. So we just, I. We were thinking like, the forecast looked like it was going to clear up by this afternoon and we tried. I literally got ready. I was. Had My purse on and my rain jacket. I was legit about to walk out the door, and then I just looked outside again, and I was like, dude, like, it's actually raining pretty hard. Like, it doesn't usually rain that hard here in Barcelona. And this weekend, it just. We just had, like, three really rainy days in a row. Not, ideal, but, hey, I took all of my photos and videos inside. It ended up being fine. So that was the plan for today. Didn't end up going that way. Whatever. I still documented my outfit because I put so much work into this. but, yeah, I'm very proud of myself. So that's the little rundown on how I put my costume together. And I thought this episode, I mean, I will obviously get to the Spanish kind of like Halloween treats later on. we talked about that in the last episode, if you didn't hear kind of like how Spain celebrates Halloween. And then I thought I would do a bit of a deep dive on White Lotus season two. I remember when season two came out, I was like, what is this White Lotus show everyone's talking about? Because I still hadn't seen season one. And I remember everybody was like, oh, White Lotus is such a weird show. Like, it's just, like, there's no plot. Like, it's just, like a bunch of rich people, like, laying around, like, it's so dumb. And I was like, yeah, it does sound dumb. And so that's why I never watched season one. I was like, eh, nothing has intrigued me enough to watch it. And then, I think. I don't know, it was probably TikTok or something that got me to watch season two. And so I finally, finally cracked. And I think I got an HBO subscription because also, I wasn't paying for HBO at first either, because I was like, there's nothing really on there that I, like, need to have HBO for. but then the second season, I think was probably what got me to actually get an HBO subscription. And then I watched season two. Well, I watched season one, watched season two, and I was like, no. Why are people, like, dogging on this show so much and saying it's so boring? Like, it is not boring at all. And then I just rewatched it this past week so that I could have it, like, fresh in my mind for this podcast episode. And I was like, why are people so critical of this? Like, do they just not get the vision? Do they not get the concept? Like, I think Mike White is a genius, and I love both seasons. I love the concept of the show. I love that it's, like, about kind of like a satire following, like, rich people around and their interpersonal relationships. And, like, you know, it's like, all the interpersonal relationship stuff is, like, so fascinating to me. And I know it's just a show, but, like, I think it's. I don't know, it, like, never gets boring. Every time I watch it, I'm like, no, yeah, this is. This is good. And I remember people were, like, hating on the outfits, too, and I was like, I think White Lotus season two needs to, like, be in, like, a cinematic history museum for fashion. Because I think that it's done so well that, like, every outfit is memorable, even on the guys. Like, I. Yeah, I think it's done so well. Anyway, so that's what I wanted to talk about today is I just want to do a deep dive on why I love White Lotus Season 2. And if you haven't watched it yet, I guess spoilers, obviously, because there is, a plot to the show, believe it or not. but, yeah, spoilers. But I mean, hopefully you've watched it by now. Hello. But if you haven't watched it, you can watch it and come back and we're going to discuss. It's like a little book club today. A little Halloween. White Lotus Book Club. Okay. And also, maybe I should take off these sunglasses now. I kind of like having them on because the. Oof. Yeah, my filming light is bright. And also I had to switch my hair to a side part. Cause she has a side part. Duh. and my hair is not used to it. Thankfully, my hair is not hurting today, but it does not want to stay on this side of my head, so it keeps falling in my face. So actually, the sunglasses were good at keeping it out of my face. But let's see. Let's see how long I can manage this. Okay. Okay. I'll give you a quick synopsis on White Lotus in general. So the White Lotus is a fictional hotel chain. You could think of it similar to, like, the Four Seasons, kind of like that. So the show focuses on these fictional, you know, families, rich people, whoever that go to these White Lotus resorts. Ah, right. I was on the right path. so it's an anthology series, so the cast and characters change every season. However, I liked that there was, like, one character that they followed from season one to season two, which was Jennifer Coolidge, aka Tanya McQuad. Other than Tanya, they have an entire new set of characters that they follow. So I think, well, spoiler alert. Tanya will definitely not be in the third season? Well, I don't want to say definitely. I mean, like, there's. You can only. Can't always rule out that they won't go back in time or something. But Jennifer, I think through interviews and whatever, has confirmed that she will not be in season three. Yeah. So I think Belinda, who plays the spa manager in season one, will be returning for season three. And I think season three is going to be in Thailand and it should be coming out soon. Wait, just let you know what, why am I saying. Let's see when season three is coming out. It was supposed to come out in 2024, but the SAG AFTRA strike has pushed it to 2025. So I'm hoping it's in like the next four or five months, hopefully. I just hope it doesn't like, go on super long into 2025. I hope it's like, shortly after the new year. But who knows? They haven't set any, like, estimates. They just said 2025. So in season one, there's like a totally different set of characters, except Tanya, AKA Jennifer Coolidge was in the first season as well. And they were all at the White Lotus, Hawaii, so we got to see all those characters. And then the White Lotus Season 2 is set in Termina, Italy, in Sicily, at, the White Lotus in Sicily, like I said. I just think that the outfits, especially all of Jennifer Coolidge's outfits are like, so iconic. And especially this one. I mean, that's why I had to do it, obviously. I think that this outfit and this scene is like, so iconic that I just, I will always remember it. It's so good. It's so good. So let's just go episode by episode and I'm going to tell you guys what I liked about it. And also just the cinematography. Like, I've been studying a lot more, like how shots are actually put together and like, the decision on, how each shot is filmed. And, like, I don't know a lot more about, like, how movies and TV shows are, like, actually put together. Not officially. This is just on my own curiosity because for me filming, I just learned how to use DaVinci Resolve. That took me like 10 hours the other week, which was a very steep learning curve. But now that I know it, I feel like a freaking genius. and so DaVinci resolve is powerful enough that like, even Hollywood uses it to make, like, commercials, movies, TV shows. So now I've, I've studied a lot more about, like, how shots are chosen and like, I don't know I think it's so fascinating how, like, I just need to start studying film, I think, and, like, how the director chooses to, like, do different shots and, like, frame them a certain way and, like, you know, show the characters in a certain light. It's just fascinating. So episode one, obviously, everyone's arriving to, the resort, the White Lotus Resort in Sicily. we are basically getting the sense that it's going to be a tense vacation, because you see in the very beginning of the show in the first episode that there is a dead body in the water. Scary. And the whole season, you're like, who is it? Oh, my God. Like, every time somebody goes in or near the water, it's like, oh, my God. Like, is it gonna happen? Like, is this it? Is this it? So it keeps you on your toes the whole time. Like, when is this, like, supposed body in the water gonna happen? Like, who is it gonna be? So in the first episode, Tanya brings her assistant, Portia, who. I remember when the season came out, everybody was clowning on Portia's outfits. And I get it, because, like, they are pretty eclectic. But that's part of why it's so genius, the way that Alex styled the people on this season. Like, especially Portia's outfits. First of all, it's iconic, and people remember that's a big thing. And then second of all, it is very Gen Z. Like, it is very intentional also to, like, show the difference between, like, Portia and everybody else. Like, she's not necessarily from a rich family. She doesn't get to go on vacations like this. She's very young, very chill, very relaxed, very, like, doesn't care about stuff. So it reflects her character. Duh. And now that I look back on it, I'm like, no, because some of it's honestly kind of iconic. Like, maybe it just needed a couple years to age a little bit. But would I wear it for myself? Probably not. But, hey, I kind of get it. I kind of get it. So I remember everybody was freaking out about Portia's outfits, which are kind of funny. But, like, she's very memorable because of her outfits. And I think so is Jennifer Coolidge because of her outfits. So then Cameron and Daphne come, which is, like, Theo James and Megan Fay Fahey. I forget how to say her last name. And then Ethan and Harper, which. What is Ethan's name? I should just keep the cast names up. But Will Sharp as who? I couldn't remember. So. So then Will Sharp and Aubrey Plaza play Ethan and Harper, and they show up with Theo, James and Megan and their dynamics as, like, the four. Like, the two couples, the four friends is very interesting. and then the Degrasso family, Bert, Dominic, and Albie, they come to explore their Italian heritage, which they're like, family arc is honestly so hilarious. And then Lucia and Mia are the Sicilian locals. So you get introduced to all the characters very quickly. Also Valentina, who is the hotel director, and she is very funny. So that's just episode one is really just like, everyone arriving and you like getting to know all the characters. And then episode two is called Italian Dream. And this is when Tanya puts on this beautiful pink dress and scarf and sunglasses and wants to have her little Italian dream. Greg is clearly a douchebag who is Tanya's husband. And if you remember, actually. So I guess he carried over from the first season as well, because she met him at the end of season one, I think. and then ended up marrying him, obviously between season one and season two. So he tells her he wants to have a romantic vacation in Sicily. They go, but he's clearly a douche. Like, he's being really rude to her. He's mad that she brought Portia. We'll find out later why he's mad that she brought Portia. He wasn't just mad because it was supposed to be a romantic vacation. Portia is doing her own thing because Tanya tells her to get lost. So then she ends up meeting Albie from the Degrasso family, and they start chatting. And then Tanya, being her typical self, is looking to have her perfect Italian dream. So she asks Valentina for a picture on the Vespa with her and Greg, and she asks, like, guess who I am? And Valentina is like, Peppa Pig. And that went viral as well, because that was funny. And I guess that wasn't in the script. That was just, like, an improvisation. And it was so funny that they kept it in. So, they kept in Valentina saying. And it was iconic. So that scene is just going to go out in history for me as well because of the outfit and also because she goes, peppa Bake. so Greg and Tanya take off on their Vespa to go get pasta Banglade. And then Tanya and Greg arrive to the restaurant, only to find that Portia and Albie are also there. And Portia is supposed to be, like, gone. So that's a problem. But then Tanya's happy at dinner. She kind of forgets about it because she's having her pasta Bangladesh with giant clams, which is also iconic. She's like, I got my pasta vanguile with giant clams and a Vespa ride with you. You made my Italian dream come true. I feel like Monica Vitti. I really do. And, then Greg goes, I have to go back to Denver for two days. And she's like, what? So this is his alibi. So we're starting to see some ripples already showing in the second episode. Like, okay, why do you need to literally leave Sicily when she literally just got here last night? And he says it's some big work thing. And she's like, well, why can't you just quit the stupid Bureau of Land Management or whatever the hell you do? And he's like, because we have a prenup, and if we divorce, I. And I have to. And I've quit my job. I have nothing. And she's like, well, we're not going to divorce. Like, what do you mean? Like, we're going to be fine. Right? Right. Right. We're going to be fine. Right? And he's like, I have to go. you know what? Just stop being your typical dramatic self, blah, blah, blah. And she's like, I hate you. And then she runs out of the restaurant, and Portia and Albie are like, oh, more trouble with the couple again. And so that was pretty much episode two is Tanya had her little Italian dream until it came crashing down, because Greg was like, you're annoying. by the way, I have to leave for two days, but I'll be back. But also, I have to leave for two days, and you're annoying, but I'll be back. So that was already weird. And she's, like, spiraling because she's thinking, you know, her and Greg aren't going to work out. She's had trouble finding love in life. Greg has been on. Is currently on his fourth marriage with Tanya. So, like, she's already, you know, suspicious. And I guess he was super sick. So he knew that she had a ton of money when they originally got married, but she also made him sign a prenup, obviously. So that was kind of where they left off is that he said he had to go back to figure out some work stuff in the US and he would be back in two days. Takes, like, two days to fly anyway. So, like, obviously he was, you know, being a bit weird about his excuse. So that was episode two. Episode three is called Bull Elephants. And I'm not really focusing on a lot of the other characters because I could sit here explaining word by word, you don't need a play by play of the show from me. But I just want to tell you what I enjoy about like, Tanya's character. And she's a very, very like, not self aware, entitled, rude character, but also kind of iconic. So episode three focuses a little bit more on the other characters, like the two couples and their dynamics and like Harper and Ithan struggling with how they get along and then also struggling with Cameron and Daphne, the other couple. So they're all having their own interpersonal issues. And then Lucia and Mia, the local Sicilian girls, are fully, fully taking advantage of Dominic because he has a addiction and he can't stop himself. And he lets them just charge anything that they want to the room. he does say some food and a little vino, but they, they just take full advantage of that. And they go shopping and get really nice dresses. And I'm like, is this guy just so oblivious or like, maybe he's really just so rich he doesn't care? but yeah, they're fully living it up at the hotel. And I was like, I need to find, I need to go to a hotel and just find a, find, a random man who will just let me charge stuff, charge stuff to the room and just hang out and, not talk to anyone. So that's episode three. And then episode four is called in the Sandbox. Tanya is feeling very, very paranoid and not confident in her relationship with Greg. So Tanya asks for a psychic because she's feeling very distrustful in Greg and is looking for someone to bring her an answer. the psychic comes over. Tanya is like, ah, you want a water orange juice? You want a high ball? And then the psychic is like, yeah, pour me one of those. So at first you're like, oh, okay, this is like kind of a fun interaction. And then Tanya, as soon as the psychic or the card reader is not giving her the answers that she wants to hear, she gets so mad at the psychic, like, flips all her cards off the table, tells her to get out, kicks her out of her apartment or kicks her out of her hotel room. And this episode is truly insane because it shows, like, just how selfish she truly is. So she's literally like, oh, you're so negative. Oh, negative, negative, get out, get out, get out. All, negative. So negative. And she told Portia to go wait, like in the bathroom while she was getting her reading done, because she's like, are me and Greg gonna be okay? And then readers like, oh, I see a very beautiful, beautiful person, beautiful woman in Greg's life. And she's like, well, that's me, right? And the tarot readers like, no, no, definitely not you. So she's like, oh, you're so negative. Oh, get out. No, no, no, no. And then Portia comes out, and she's like, where'd the card reader go? I thought I was gonna get my cards read. And Tanya's m. Like, no, she was really negative. I'm just gonna go take a nap. And so she goes and lays down, and Portia's standing there like, what the. Okay. So she's like, okay, I'm gonna leave. And Tonya's like, no, no, you can't leave. sit there on the couch. I just bought one of the new Vanity Fairs. And so she's, like, forcing her assistant to just, like, wait around because she doesn't want to be alone because Greg left. So that just shows, again, how kind of selfish she is. And that was really all that, she did in episode four. And then episode five is called that's Amore. And, of course, there's a lot of, you know, interpersonal changes between the two couples. Their dynamic could be a whole episode in itself. Albie is no longer really hanging out with Portia because Portia met Jack, who is this English guy that came with a bunch of gay guys to the hotel. And she saw him at the pool the night before, and she was like, oh, like, he's kind of cute. So they hang out at the beach club. All the older gay guys invite Tanya and Portia to the beach club the next day. So this is the day that they go hang out with them. And then Albie, I felt so bad for him. He was, like, down waiting at the chairs below the beach club. And he saved one for Portia, and then she's up at the beach club, like, dancing with Jack. And Alby's like, oh, I felt so bad. And, so then he's, like, waiting, waiting, waiting. Lucia, one of the girls that was, you know, effing his dad, comes over and is, like, trying to get, you know, closer to Albie, hang out with Albie. So he ends up hanging out with Lucia that day, being kind of intrigued by her. And then Tanya and Portia just hang out at the beach club the whole day with the gay guys, get to know them a bit better. They start saying a bunch of weird stuff. So Quentin was the main guy that invited Tanya and Portia to the beach club. He was saying how, you know, all these people have these estates and they seem really rich. They have all these beautiful homes, but they're really large old homes, and they. They inherit these properties from their older members of their family. So it's, you know, stayed in the family for generations. But really, these people are not rich at all. And they're actually struggling because they don't have any actual cash flow. They just have these ginormous, beautiful properties. But if you don't have enough cash flow and you're not rich enough to upkeep it, they just kind of, like, start to deteriorate, and then you're losing, like, a very important piece of history. So Quentin's point was, like, for example, he has one, and he wants Tanya and Portia to visit it because it's so beautiful. But he's like, we have to be the stewards of our properties. Like, we can't let it go to waste. Like, the properties will be here much longer than we are. So he's basically saying how he thinks it's so important to keep these homes in good condition, kind of like, maybe at any expense. We don't know yet. He's just kind of putting it out there, like, oh, these homes are so important. And Tanya, you can tell it's kind of like, okay. Like, okay, what are you talking about? And so he's clearly very passionate about old homes, so he has, like, a very niche interest that Tanya's like, can't relate. But, like, okay, so that is episode five. Episode six is called Abductions. They get all these new friends. They invite them to go on their yacht down to the other side of Sicily to go to. What is it? Palermo? To go to their estate to have a party. And then Quentin starts saying all these things, like, oh, my gosh. Like, you are like the dam of the ball. You're just like Madame Butterfly. I think you fit with this opera story so well. We need to bring you to the opera tonight. Like, we're gonna go to the estate, and then we're gonna bring you to the opera tonight, and you're gonna be, like, the belle of the ball. And so they go see this opera theater performance that essentially is, like, foreshadowing what's gonna happen to Tanya. And she's just sitting there, oblivious as ever. Like, thinks the queen is sitting right next to her, and she's like, like, is that the queen of Sicily? And he's like, yeah. And she's like, hey, So they go to the opera. The opera is clear, very clearly foreshadowing Tanya's fate. Then Quentin starts saying, like, oh, we've got you some beautiful arm candy. Like, we're gonna bring you this very, very attractive man, and he's gonna bring us some party favors. And so they have the party. Everything's going good. Like, Tanya's like, I'm. God, these guys are so fun. I love when you meet other rich people, because then, you know, they're not after your money, which is also foreshadowing, which is very funny. So Portia is on the trip with Tanya as well, but she's hanging out with Jack. So she was kind of into Albie, but then she met Jack, and she was like, whoa. Jack is, like, way more my speed. Albie was, like, way too nice. He wasn't really, like, taking the hints that I wanted to do something more with him and wanted him to be a bit more forward and more aggressive. And then Jack was, like, exactly what she was looking for. So she was like, oh, my God. This guy's like, totally what I was looking for for this trip. Exactly. Exactly what I wanted. So her and Jack hit it off. They're doing their own thing out in Palermo. He takes her out for arancini. I guess it's like a fairly inexpensive, like, rice dish. And then they, dine and ditch because he didn't bring his wallet. So he says. And so then he just says, okay, like, let's leave. And then the, like, owner of the restaurant is, like, screaming at them down the alley because they didn't pay. And she's like, why? What just happened? And he's like, oh, I forgot my wallet. And she's like, I could have literally paid. And he's like, no, it's all right. So then you start seeing, like, what is this guy? Like, what is he doing? Like, why did he just think it was okay to, like, dine and dash? Like, why did he think that was cool? Even for such a cheap meal? Like, she could have paid. Like, that's kind of weird. so that is really what happens in episode. Episode six. And, like, nothing bad really happens yet. But Tanya and Portia are starting to feel, like, a little suspicious. And then the last episode is called Rivederci. Tanya and Portia wake up the next day. Tanya had seen something very sketchy the night before. And then that day, Jack decides that he's gonna take Portia on a little tour around the area. So he takes his Uncle Quentin's car and decides to show Portia around. Meanwhile, Tanya stayed back at the estate with everyone else to hang out and get ready to party again. Quentin was hosting a big party that night. Tanya starts feeling like Things are getting a bit weird. Portia is having fun, but also Jack is acting a bit weird, getting drunk, acting a bit, like, unpredictable. they stay the night in. Wherever they're at, in, like, a hotel. Portia and Jack stay the night in a hotel. Then Portia realizes in the morning that her phone is gone. And she doesn't know where it went, but she remembers plugging it in the night before. Jack is like, what are you worried about? Like, I'm sure we'll find it. Just go back to sleep. And Portia's like, no, something is definitely very weird. Like, I definitely know I plugged it in. And he's like, just stop worrying about it. We'll find it. So they spend the day. And he spends the day, like, taking her around more, wasting time, because they wanted to get back to go on the yacht, to go back to Taormina. And Tanya is spending the day, thinking, like, oh, crap. I think something is also going very wrong here. Something is very weird. Portia and Jack are at, like, a little lunch. Jack says, I'm gonna go take a shit in the restroom, leaves his phone at the table. Portia's like, oh, my God, this is my chance. Because she doesn't know where her phone is still. So she takes Jack's phone and calls Tanya. And she's like, tanya, I have a feeling something very bad is going to happen. I'm not sure what, but for some reason, I have a feeling something very bad is going to happen. And Tanya is like, yeah, you know what? I think maybe something very bad is going to happen, too. And then she realizes, like, oh, my God. Like, Tanya had seen in Quentin's bedroom a photo of Quentin and what looked like a young photo of Greg. And Quentin had told her this story about a cowboy that he fell in love with back in Wyoming. But the cowboy was straight, but it was, like, the love of his life, and he just wished so badly that he and the cowboy could have been together. But, the cowboy was straight, so it was just kind of like a scorned love story. And he never really got to have his true love. And so then Tanya sees this photo of, like, a cowboy that looks really similar to Greg in Quentin's room. And she's like, do you know this guy? And he's like, oh, yeah, that's so and so. And he says a different name. That's not Greg. And she's like, And then she kind of lets it go. But then on the boat, when Tanya's on the phone with Portia, she's like, wait a minute. Like, that was Greg in the photo. And they all do know each other. And Greg must be back in the US for an alibi. And then she says the iconic line like, these gays, they're trying to kill me. And Portia is stuck in wherever in the middle of the island. She is with Jack. Jack comes up to her and is like, hey. And he rips his phone away from her. And then he's like, okay, we'll start driving back to the estate, blah, blah, blah. But then he actually never drives her back to the estate. He drops her off at a random airport late at the night, late in the night, and is like, all right, get out. And then eventually, he drives off and chucks her phone out the window. So he did have her phone the whole time, so he was super sketchy. And then Tanya is on the boat, and they're like, oh, we're not. We're, you know, parked back at Termina, but this big of a boat can't go up to shore. So, you know, Nicholas, your little arm candy man is going to come and get you. And Tanya's like, oh, my God, this is how it's gonna end. Like, this is. This is how they're gonna get me. Because if I die, then Greg gets all, like, my money. So she figured out that it was all an elaborate scheme to get her money. So she ends up passing away in a very Tanya McQuad way, which was, she could have gotten away. she could have gotten on the little mini boat to go back to shore, but then she falls overboard and smacks her head on the little dinghy boat and passes away. And she is the body who we see in the water and the first episode. So that is season two. And I don't know, I just thought it was so well done. I feel like I could study it over and over again, like, just how the shots are taken, how the characters are represented, how the script is written. I really enjoy it. I don't know why I enjoy this show so much, because, like, there's lots of other great shows out there, too. Not. Not to discover discredit White Lotus at all. But it's probably not a show that most people would be like, oh, my God, like the top cinematic masterpiece of the world, but I personally think so. So, anyway, I just wanted to talk about White Lotus for a little bit. how I kind of just gas it up and why I chose to do this Halloween outfit. So let's move on to a little bit of Taste testing. I went to Maradona first to see what they had. pretty boring. I've already tasted most of Marcadona's chocolates and candies and stuff. And like, these don't really taste any different. They're just in a different shape, basically. So why did I buy four of these? I don't know. I don't even think the chocolate tastes that good. I have tasted them before, but I haven't tasted these in specific. You know what I mean? Like these holiday shaped chocolates. So maybe they do taste different. But we have two like pumpkin scarecrow men and then two, vampires. Did I need two of each? No. Not sure why I bought them. And then there's also like this sortido of all these chuches, and I didn't know what it would. I should have read. It's just a sortido de chocolate. but it's basically just assorted chocolates. And I already tried some of them and, it's pretty underwhelming, I'm not gonna lie. So the one thing I do miss about the U.S. yeah, a lot of the candy is probably filled with like red dye 40 and like blue lake number five or whatever. but I miss like Sour Patch Watermelon and Reese's Pumpkins and Tootsie Rolls and I don't know, there's just so many more options. I miss just going down like the candy aisle at Target. but they just don't have nearly enough stuff like that here. So there's a few extras from like the surtido here, but that's not as interesting to me as the panellettes that I talked about Last episode. I got paneeettes from Jansana Gluten Free Bakery. Like I said last episode, hypothetically, they should be gluten free. And I saw poniets at Marcadona and guess what? They had gluten in them. And they don't need to have gluten in them. It's so annoying. So I had to go to a gluten free bakery. And then I also got these like. I think they're called amet yons. Are they like little, like almond coin cookies? Like, I think they call them, like, they're like little coins. Whatever. They're like little almond cookies. And I love baked goods with almond in it. Let's get into this, vampire. Mmm. smells like your typical Easter candy. I don't know why that reminds me of Easter. Here goes the little vampire. It's very sweet. Like, much sweeter than typical chocolates. That I feel like come from Marona. It's not bad, but I'm not a huge chocolate person to begin with, so m. It's okay. I don't usually think of like chocolate when I think of Halloween other than like Reese's pumpkin or something. So I can safely assume that the pumpkin scarecrow man tastes the same. It's quite sweet, honestly. What I'm more interested in is moving on to the peniettes. Let's try these little almond cookies first. Smells like a typical almond, like shortbread cookie. Those are really good. Oh my gosh. What does it taste like? There's like a Hungarian cookie that I'm thinking of. Kind of has the same taste as krumkake. And then now for the big kahuna, we have our panettes. Hopefully you can see them. so some of these are repeats. Obviously I want to try like the most original, I guess you could say panette with like the pine nuts on the outside and the marzipan on the inside. The pine nuts taste like a bit of a, like heartier, nuttier sunflower seed. Mm. Not m a huge fan. It's okay. I love marzipan, but I'm not a huge fan of the pine nuts. I think. I think they don't taste like they should be on a sweet dessert to me. I feel like they taste more like, like. Yeah, like sunflower seeds. Like you could put them on a salad. We have another sort of authentic, original looking peniette, but this one is in a crescent shape with that looks like some sunflower seeds and maybe crushed peanuts. Maybe just like a variety of crushed nuts with marzipan inside. I like this one better than the OG one with just pine nuts. But still wouldn't be my go to. I like Hungarian marzipan where it's just the marzipan. You know what you're getting. This one also looks similar to the original, but it looks like it's darker and rolled in walnuts maybe. Or another like variety of crushed nuts with maybe like a pistachio marzipan inside. Mm m okay. I like this one a little better. It's a little bit more smoky, like toasty flavored. But maybe I just really love pistachio desserts, so maybe that's why. Yeah. The aftertaste of the nuts on that one though, I think. Cause they're more toasted sometimes leaves you a bit weird aftertaste. This one looks like, I don't know, just a round oval biscuit with some powdered sugar on it. Yeah, powdered sugar. Oh, it's like, like a coffee cake. Oh, my gosh. This one tastes like coffee. It's like, crunchy on the outside and really chewy on the inside. Wait, this one's really good. Mmm. Oh, my God. This one is really, really good. Yum. I need to figure out what that is. Let's take this squiggly looking one. it's like apricot. Yeah. I like how these are, like, crispy on the outside, but really chewy on the inside. That's really good. But yeah, it's like some sort of cookie with like, apricot and maybe, like, maybe marzipan in it. I don't know what makes them so, like, chewy or it's like just a really soft dough that you don't cook until it gets crispy. It's just like. I don't like, love, love, love the taste of apricot, but this one is pretty good so far. The first three, like, OG Vibe ones with the nuts on them not vibing with as much. Although I will say the one with pistachio in it was, like, a bit better. I think this is a macadamia nut on the top of this one. And this looks like, I don't know, some sort of cookie dipped in chocolate. Oh, my gosh. Yum. This one, I think, has a lot of nutmeg in it. I love nutmeg, so that's good with me. Similar texture to the coffee cake. Really, really delicious. Yum. Looks similar to the one I just ate, but it's a slightly different texture and not dipped in chocolate and has powdered sugar on it. Much softer. At first I was gonna say it had an orange flavor, but I mean, it is orange on the inside, but it almost tastes like no flavor. I mean, it tastes good, but it's like. I think it just tastes like vanilla. I don't think there's a flavor in that or it tastes like marzipan. Like almond marzipan flavor. Oh, this is kind of a cute little shape. It almost looks like a little acorn. And it looks like mostly just marzipan dipped in chocolate. Yeah, I was right. I mean, I love marzipan, so not mad about that. Okay. I'm already getting full. We have, like, a proper macaroon, I believe. Oh, my gosh. I have. I don't remember the last time I had a macaroon like a proper macaroon. This tastes like a Samoa. Like a girl Scout cookie. This is so freaking good. Oh, my God. Oh, my gosh. I'm gonna have to try and rank some of these. That's really good. Oh, my gosh. I love Girl Scout Samoas. We have this, like, cylinder thing. Looks like I. If I had to guess, like, apricot jam in the center. I think I was right. I think it's apricot jam. What is that? Oh, honey. Okay. There's definitely a lot of honey in this somewhere. I don't know what part it's in there somewhere. I think I would like it better with, like. And I love honey, don't get me wrong. Teeny bit less honey taste. And, like, I'm not a huge fan of the apricot jam, but I would eat the F out of just the. The biscuit part of this. I think we just have one more, which is like this chocolate truffle thing. And it just looks like a truffle dipped in chocolate. But I'm gonna guess that it's just a ball of marzipan dipped in chocolate. Oh, I was wrong. Oh, I'm gonna have real chocolatey teeth. That's gonna be really cute. it's like full blown chocolate in the center. And I'm not a huge fan of, like, super chocolatey stuff, but this is pretty good. It tastes kind of like a cake pop. Like a brownie. Oh, my God. Yeah, it tastes like a brownie cake pop. Oh, my God. Yum. It's m. Not, like, overwhelmingly chocolatey. It's. It's about at my threshold of chocolate level. I don't know if I could eat more than one of these. It's pretty rich, but it's good. It tastes kind of like brownie batter. Cause it's, like, super soft and moist on the inside. Okay. There's a few, you know, doubles in here, but those were all of the panettes. Okay. My favorite, the almond ones. These little, like, tiny almond biscuits. Really, really good. I love almond extract. I love, like, an almond flavored cookie. I love, like, a shortbread cookie. So these are really good. But I think I'd, actually have to say my number one is this, like, coffee cake cookie. The texture and the taste was, like, insane. And then a close second is the almond cookie and then the, Samoa. Well, the macaroon would be a third. This one that was similar to the coffee cookie, but it tasted like nutmeg. Then this one. Then I would have to say the brownie truffle thing. Then this, like, bland cookie that looks like it would taste like orange, but it's kind of just like almond flavor. Then this like apricot, jam biscuit, then just marzipan dipped in chocolate, and then this like apricot squiggle thing. And then I would say this pistachio rolled toasted nuts thing, then this like variety nuts thing. And then the last one would have to be the OG peniette. Ooh, sorry, Spain. I just don't like it that much. I mean it's not terrible because it has marzipan saving it, but I just don't think I like pine nuts. Interesting similarities to Hungarian desserts though, because I'm very familiar with like Hungarian holiday foods and I don't really know what Hungary does for Halloween in specific, but my mom makes a lot of Hungarian desserts and almost. And my, my grandpa was obsessed with apricots and walnuts. So I'm sure it's, you know, very European thing. Like Europe is relatively small, so I'm sure there's a lot of shared traditions. But yeah, lots of apricots in Hungary, lots of walnuts, lots of marzipan. So there's some similarities there. I don't think I've tried anything like this in the U.S. apart from like the U.S. does have macaroons and like shortbread cookies, but these are all new to me. Like all of these nut rolled, like truffle type things and all of these, like the texture of these I find fascinating because it's not like a cookie and it's not like a cake pop. But if I had to compare it to a texture, I would say it's like the texture of a cake pop. I don't know how that, how do you bake it like that? I'm not a, you know, an avid baker necessarily. I do enjoy baking from time to time, but like, I don't know how, how do you make that texture? It's so good, especially in a gluten free bakery item. I think when you're cooking with gluten, you have a bit more ease of like creating textures that you want. But in gluten free items, I, I'm very impressed. So yeah, the chocolates and Marcadona stuff doesn't really like get me going that much. It's, it's okay. But I mean, this is like kind of sickly sweet. It tastes more like. It's probably mostly just like powdered sugar or like whatever sugar base they use and then like a little bit of chocolate. Whereas like, I really, really enjoy the taste of this like brownie bite chocolate. That was really good. Thanks for joining me for this little taste Test of Spanish Halloween goodies. I don't know what I'm gonna do with all of these. I guess I'm just gonna slowly take bites out of them until I eat them all, because I don't want to waste them because this was€30. but I think overall worth it. Just so that I know what I like, because I think I would be wondering forever what I like if I didn't try these. So now I know. And if I want to repurchase any, I know which ones I actually like instead of just wondering forever. Although I have to say I'm a little disappointed that I didn't like the OG Penny yet. I really was thinking that I would, but I've never really eaten pine nuts much, but for me, these taste more. I don't think. I just. Just. It's not that I don't like the pine nuts, but like I said, I. They feel like a bit more of, like, a hearty nut to me, where it would taste better on, like, a hearty, salty dish rather than, like, a dessert. But anyway, this was a bit of a short episode. I'm filming on my iPhone right now because I forgot to charge one of my camera batteries, so love that for me. But anyway, I'm gonna do my Outro with my glasses on. Okay, perfect. So thank you guys for watching and listening. Like I said, check me out on Tick Tock and Instagram if you haven't already, to see all the little photos and videos I took with my costume on. Watch White Lotus Season 2 if you haven't. I want to hear your thoughts. I could talk about it much longer, but, I mean, there's no point in me re explaining it. You can just go watch it for yourself. But I just wanted to hype it up a bit. If you haven't watched it, maybe you can watch it through a new lens and understand where I'm coming from. Because I just enjoy kind of, what, like, picking it apart so much and, like, watching literally frame by frame, like, how they decide how to shoot certain things and, like, I don't know, for me, I just find it fascinating. So, anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed. I hope you have a great Halloween. Have fun. Be safe. Send me photos of your costumes. Anyway, thanks for watching, and I'll see you guys in the next episode. Bye.