Oh the places you’ll go!
Sometimes I like to pretend - or perhaps I actually believe - that my life is really boring...
...Wake up. Go to work. Come home. Eat dinner. Go to sleep...
...Repeat. Repeat. Repeat...
...Until all of a sudden it's 2010 and I'm left wondering, What in the hell happened to the last few months/year?
I think every once in awhile it's a good idea to take a virtual inventory and remember all the cool things I've done, all the one-of-a-kind experiences I've had...
...If only to serve as a reminder that my life is NOT boring and that there are many more exciting things to come in the future...
...Because, god, if I top out at 27, then my life really IS boring.
So! In no particular chronological or significant order, here are some of the places I've stood:
- At the top of the Space Needle in Seattle
- On the ground of Sistine Chapel in Rome, neck craned upwards
- In the Rockefeller house in Washington, D.C. with El Presidente
- Afloat in the Dead Sea in Israel (basically everywhere and anywhere in Israel, actually)
- In front of my all time favorite piece of art - Picasso's Guernica - in Madrid (that second link has nothing to do with Guernica, but rather, is a story about cheese and barf. You've been forewarned.)
- 273 steps up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
Where are some cool places you've stood?
Props to my homegirl Sensibly Sassy for posting the places she's stood, which compelled me to do the same.
The things that thrill me now…
My garden is growing like you I wouldn't believe. Unfortunately, my tomatoes routinely get attacked by a group of five ASSHOLE birds, which means that Chris is constantly on Bird Watch 2010. Sadly, during a totally sober (hah) night a couple weeks ago, we had target practice in the backyard, thus depleting the CO2 supply in Chris's pellet gun (that's kind of like a BB gun for those of you who don't know...Because I didn't.) Now we've taken to just running outside, arms flailing, when the birds descend on my tomato plants. (And for those playing along, yes, in addition to growing a garden by day, we're also continuing to terrorize our neighbors by night. People love us.)
More crappy iPhone pictures of my garden can be found here.
We finally have a big kid room, complete with a Cal King bed and matching bedroom furniture. There's also a (new! awesome!) paint-job, the idea for which got implanted into my brain by the evil geniuses at the DIY Network. Luckily, Chris was quite handy with the laser-level and I was surprisingly dexterous with the blue painting tape, so the paint-job - which looks like it could have resulted in much hair-pulling and expletive-shouting - went quite smoothly. I highly recommend stripes!
We also got all our entire upstairs and a portion of our downstairs flooring re-done. The fact that I now have laminate flooring, not carpet, on my stairs (!) thrills me to no end. If you had asked me 10 years ago what I was excited about, it might have been a day off school or a keg party that night for which I had an alcohol hook-up, meaning I would get to drink a bottle of Boone's instead of crappy keg beer. It would not have been laminate flooring. Alas, things change. (For the better, obviously. If I were still drinking Boone's Farm, I'd fully expect you all to come over and stage an intervention. A Bad "Wine" Intervention".)
And sadly, these are things that are thrilling me these days. Gardening! Home renovations! I am so exciting!
What about you? What's absolutely thrilling you this summer?
Pirate Ninja Robot
I'm not sure where this originally originated, but my friend Kim introduced me to the Pirate Ninja Robot concept a few years ago and ever since then, I can't help but classify the people I meet into one of the three categories. It's weird, and it makes no sense, but without fail, everyone is either a pirate, a ninja, or a robot.
I am a robot.
Chris is a pirate.
What are you?
Lessons Learned From Mom: Dad Edition!
My intention was to post this on Father's Day, which was, heh, a month ago. You see, I unfortunately spent Father's Day hungover, recovering from a wedding. WHICH REMINDS ME (actually, my grandma reminded me), I never followed up with you about which dress I ended up wearing. I ultimately went with Option Number One, as I thought it evoked a more wedding-y feel. Not to mention it was more conducive to dancing, which is basically all we did all night. Anyway, thanks for all your input!
So! As I said, my intention was to post a small sampling of some of the good advice my dad has given me, so here you go! (For those playing along, other Lessons Learned from Mom can be found here, here, and here.)
Always ask; the worst they can say is "no."
This can be applied to anything, but in my case, my dad told me this in high-school, when I was nervous about asking for a raise at the drugstore where I worked. (I was asking for a dollar raise, hah! A DOLLAR. Those were the days.) Anyway, I was fretting about it and my dad said, "Just ask your boss. The worst he can say is no, but he might just say yes." It's so obvious, isn't it? And yet, I feel that so many people are afraid to ask even the simplest of questions, when honestly, what's the worst they can say? Life's too short to wonder what might have been, so go ahead and ask! And hey, you might just get that raise! (Here's hoping it's more than a dollar.)
Relationships should be easy
People are always telling you "relationships are hard." I personally had always been a little - for lack of a better word - worried about marriage because of this blanket, "OMG relationships are hard!!!" statement. (I never worried about marrying Chris, mind you, just when I was younger, I worried about what was so hard about marriage in general. How hard are we talking here? Will I be able to hack it? Or, will it be too hard for me?) And then I remember me and Chris having drinks with my mom and dad and my dad saying to me (about my relationship with Chris), "It just looks easy. Relationships should be easy." And it's so true! For the most part, relationships should be easy. I like you, you like me, let's do this. Sure good relationships take work, but work does not have to equal difficulty.
It's better than a sharp stick in the eye (or a swift kick in the ass)
Okay, okay, so this isn't exactly advice, per say, but it was something my dad always said (still says) and man, isn't it the truth? I mean, unless you're being audited by the IRS or your cat died or you DID just get a swift kick in the ass...
Happy (way, way) belated Father's Day, Dad! You're the raddest!
What's the best advice your dad ever gave you?
The dishes are DONE, man!
I've been summoned by my lovely aunt, the always-tres-cool Rachel in the OC, to answer a few questions! I love answering questions and talking about myself in general, so here goes!
1) What movie will you not turn off whenever it comes on?
This could be a loooooong list, but I'll try to break it down to the essentials: "Clueless," "The Family Man," "French Kiss," "The American President," "Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead," and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
2) How old were you when you got (or gave) your first kiss?
I believe I gave (hey-oh!), and I was 14; the magic happened immediately following our junior-high graduation dance.
(Now let's fast-forward 12 years...We're in Washington, D.C....In the office of a member of Congress...I see the dude...Who works for the congressman...Aaaaand I ignore him. Oooh! Burn!)
3) What movie star is your dream date?
I'm honestly not sure I'd like to date a movie star, but I'd totally - pardon my French - bone Denis Leary.
4) What food will you absolutely not eat under any circumstances (and why)?
Mayo. It's grody.
"How can you eat a sandwich with no mayo?" you might ask (they always ask.) "Isn't it so dry?"
No! I use mustard! Or oil and/or vinegar! Or both/all three!
"What about potato salad? How can you have potato salad without mayo?"
I use sour cream!
Trust me, I have no use for mayo.
5) How many hours of TV do you watch each week?
Not enough. Seriously, I think TV is where it's at and I only wish I had the time to watch more!
6) Do you get your five servings of fruits and vegetables every day?
Does wine count as fruit? What about champagne? Grapes, right? Grapes!
7) What is the first rule of Fight Club?
We Don't Take No SHIT From Anyone!
We Don't Take No Prisoners!
We Don't Take No For An Answer!
We Don't Talk About Fight Club.
8 ) Did you really like the Dennis Hopper (RIP, dude) movie "Blue Velvet?"
A) Dennis Hopper died? and B) What's "Blue Velvet"?
9) Do you read the last page of a book to see how it ends?
No! I'm not like Harry Burns from "When Harry Met Sally"!
*Adding "When Harry Met Sally" to the list of movies I'd never turn off*
10) What is Joey from "Friends" signature phrase? Bonus: What is the name of their coffee shop?
Sistah, puhleeze!
"How you doin'?" and Central Perk.
Help me be Stylish: I probably can’t wear black to a hot summer wedding, huh? Edition
Chris's mom's cousin's son's wedding is this weekend and of course, I haven't a thing to wear. My one not-too-casual-not-too-dressy summer dress has a little too much white in it, and I don't *do* white at weddings. (Do you do white at weddings? Are we past this yet? If I ever wore white shoes, I'd like to think I'm over the No White Shoes After Labor Day thing, but again, I don't wear white shoes, so maybe I'd think differently if I did. And now that I think about it, I do sort of judge people who wear white shoes after Labor Day. "Tsk, tsk, I think, "She shouldn't be wearing white shoes; it's September 10th!" Soooo, yeah, I don't think we're past this.)
ANYWAY, I have a couple options for dresses; unfortunately, two out of the three options are black. Like White After Labor Day, I wonder...Is there a rule about Black In The Summer? I honestly don't know, so you tell me. (For those who care about stuff like this, I'm not too terribly worried about being hot, as the wedding is at six o'clock in the evening and the high for the day is only supposed to be 79 degrees.) I also have a grey dress, which you will see below, but I haven't actually worn it, so who knows how it fits (judging from the picture, I'd say NOT WELL.)
Enough chatter, though, let's get on with the fashion show! Like Cher Horowitz in Clueless, I don't trust mirrors, so I always take Polaroids, or in this case, iPhone pictures. (Are iPhone pictures the new Polaroids? Sad.) As is the custom here, please chose from one of the three options and let me know what you think I should wear! Or, even better, tell me all three suck and that I need to go shopping! Or don't. I hate shopping.
Option Number One: Target dress with cute sequin detailing:
Option Number Two: Dress from who-knows-where, with cute scarf-halter-tie-thingy:
Option Number Three: Dress I haven't worn yet which I'm HOPING doesn't really make me look like a linebacker, as it obviously does here:
As for the shoes, I am pictured above wearing one of each of my options, but here's a close-up (the shoes on the left would probably work better for all of the above outfits, however, I threw the other pair in there because they're wedges. Ladies, I'll probably be doing some lawn-walking, so do I even need to 'splain to you why they're an option?):
Guess who loves her some strappy t-strap sandals! This girl!
So there you have it! Let me know your thoughts! And for fun (?), here are a few fashion show outtakes, courtesy of my Patrick Demarchelier-rivaling photographer:
A Working Blog Post Title Production*
Contrary to my initial fears, my garden appears to be growing. The basil isn't looking too hot - I fear the wicked winds out here might have carried most of the teeny-tiny basil seeds off into seed heaven - and the jury's still out on the Swiss chard and the carrots, but the corn, green beans, beets, and zucchini all appear to be flourishing. I was a little depressed about my tomato plants, which are looking a little yellow and dry, but this past weekend, my mother-in-law and Chris's grandma pointed out three tiny tomatoes that were a-growing! And then today after work, when I went outside to pay some love to my baby (my baby is my garden, yes, my life has taken a turn for the lame), I spotted another little tomato! Exciting times here, obvs.
Still on the garden track, since it's all I've got going on these days, we planted some roses. The pink ones are budding (is that what roses do? Do they bud? Or do they just, like, grow?) like crazy! So much so that I was able to cut off a bud and put it in my...wait for it...bud vase! The bud vase that I usually use to drink champagne out of! (Sadly that was not my idea; I stole that from my mom, who is way cooler than I am.)
To round out the riveting awesomeness of this post, here are a couple pictures of my garden. The first picture is from when we initially planted everything; the second one is after we put in a gravel path two weekends ago:
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We found out another set of neighbors is moving. Gee, I hope it doesn't have to do with me shouting obscenities in my backyard a couple weekends ago. I believe I was shouting something like [edited for content], "I PAY THE MOTHER YOU-KNOW-WHAT-ING MORTGAGE ON THIS HOUSE; I'LL PARTY IN MY BACKYARD IF I WANT TO!" (I party hardcore with semicolons, obviously.) I'm only kidding, though. Well, not about the shouting - that was most certainly something I did - but about that being the reason our other neighbors are moving. They actually live a couple doors down and likely wouldn't have heard all the ruckus. Anyway, another neighbor biting the dust is fine with us; as Chris said, "Hopefully they'll all move and we can rule the neighborhood."
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In case you missed it over at Style Lush Blog:
The post my mom thinks is my best: Champagne cocktails!
Two booze post in as many weeks: The Best Wine for Under Ten Bucks
All that drinking made my skin dehydrated: You're never too young for eye cream!
Hey look! It's all about my garden again!: Garden inspired recipes
Will I ever enjoy sweet potatoes? (Spoiler alert: Yes I will! Simply add bacon, drown in cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, guacamole, and fry between tortillas and they're delicious!): Reader Help: Sweet Potato Recipes
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*Chris just asked me what my blog post title was. I told him I didn't know yet, so he asked me what the working title was. Here you go.
iPhone snaps
I'll be honest, if it weren't for this lovely lady's most recent blog post, I'd have nothing to share with you today. Although it's been painfully boring around here, I do feel as though it's time for an update and what better way to update you on my life than through pictures! And even better, than through poorly-taken iPhone pictures!
Here are some flowers I bought from Trader Joe's. Although I do think the St. Patrick's Day-themed carnations are pretty wickedly classy, I really only bought the bouquet for those cute green flowers. Those cute green flowers have been my most favorite flowers recently. In case you care, they are called [some variation of] Button Chrysanthemum Mums. Thanks to Twitter for answering my What Is This Flower? query.
Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, here's a cute picture of me and my mom. She was in town for business, so we met her downtown for an Irish Car Bomb and a couple gin and tonics (or vodka cranberries, in Mom's case.)
And here's Chris and his brother Drew on St. Patrick's Day!
While on my way to a job interview the following day, I looked down and noticed that my nail-polish was missing off my ring finger. Even worse, it was also missing off the same finger on my right hand. The duration of my car ride was spent peeling off nail polish, as I didn't think chipped nail-polish would look all that profesh. (P.S. I got the job!)
During our quarterly trip to Costco, Chris and I discovered caskets! Yes, bury-you-in-the-ground full-on caskets. Oh, and pink ones, no less! I obviously had to pose for a picture. OBVIOUSLY.
This is me after a $30 haircut and color. For the first time since I was probably 10 years old, I went to a Great Clips to get my hair did. It was just totally and completely out of control nasty; I had to do SOMETHING. In keeping with the cheap theme, I decided to DIY my hair-color, as well. I didn't get too crazy; I really just wanted my roots to match the rest of my locks, so I chose an espresso color. After kinda-sorta destroying my bathroom, here was the result (too bad you can't really see anything in this shot, as I wisely chose a brown t-shirt for my hair to blend into. And a brown couch. Aces.)
This past weekend, I headed to Colorado to help my grandparents babysit this little cutie. I THINK that's Pike's Peak in the background. Maybe? Or not. Not too sure.
I had a layover in Denver on the way home from Colorado, so I did what any red-blooded American does during a layover: I bellied up to the bar. This shows the remnants of my first mimosa, as well as the spice flight that accompanied my Bloody Mary. Yes, a spice flight. I mostly just took this picture to show Chris what a spice flight looked like. He was jealous, obvs.
So that's all that's been going on with me! Exciting stuff, let me tell you what!
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I keep forgetting to post my Style Lush articles on this blog, so here are a few you might have missed: I ask SL readers help me with my hair (yes, it's always about my hair, apparently), I give you an awesome pasta salad recipe, I share a delicious way to use up St. Patrick's Day corned beef leftovers, and I help a reader outfit her guest bathrooms.
Flickr
