The Daily Bacon

Resolutions for 2012

2012-01-01T13:46:00.000-05:00

Why not? I actually accomplished quite a few things on my list in 2011, so this year could be even more successful. That leads me to resolution numero uno...

1. Think more positively. I get negative, like, real fast. Too fast, actually, especially where work is concerned. Time to stretch out those smile muscles a little more often, even if I'm not feeling it.

2. Take another sewing class. My first sewing class was fantastic, but I need to keep going. I will sew the hell out of 2012.

3. Have a baby. Yeah, you heard me.

4. Use more coupons. I have them. I have a lot of them, actually. I just don't use them. Silly, don't you think?

5. Be healthy and lose weight. Duh.

6. Blog more. Bet you can't wait!

Hell yeah!

2011-12-30T17:46:00.000-05:00

Source: Aesthetic Outburst

2011 was a fine year

2011-12-28T22:32:00.001-05:00

Time for the year-end List of Stuff That Happened to Me And You Likely Won't Care About But Who Cares Because This Is About Me.

A List of Random Things That Happened to Me This Year:
1. Celebrated my second wedding anniversary with Hot Pants by going to France and Spain. It was my first visit to Europe, and it was just as magical as my brain had imagined it. Way to go, Europe.
2. Hosted my family for Christmas for the first time since HP and I got together. It was great to show off my Christmas crafting skills and to share our home with my parents, aunt, uncle and cousin.
3. Took a sewing class and have been going crazy on projects ever since. I can finally stop paying ridiculous prices for throw pillows and curtains.
4. Had a lovely visit from Ian, a friend from college who lives in England, after more than a decade of not seeing each other.
5. Our two best couple friends both had babies, shaking up our social lives in ways I still can't properly explain without graphs and charts.
6. I paid off my college loans.
7. I was in three weddings between January and June. Yowser.
8. I visited the set of "The Walking Dead" for work and got to meet many of the actors, makeup artists, costume designers and the rest of the braintrust behind the incredibly popular show. I even got a hug from IronE Singleton. It was a truly awesome evening that I can't really tell you about because I signed an NDA.
9. My grandfather _ my last grandparent still living _ died in April after 90-plus years on this earth. I miss you, Grandpa.
10. My nephew, Elias, was born in May.
Update: 11. Visited with a dozen of my very best friends on a reunion trip in Washington, D.C., part of our annual meet up in cities across the country.

Amazing Albums Released this Year:
Fleet Foxes, "Helplessness Blues"
The Decemberists, "The King is Dead"
Wilco, "The Whole Love"
tUnE-yArDs, "Whokill"
Katie Herzig, "The Waking Sleep"
Adele, "21"
Noah and the Whale, "Last Night on Earth"
The Features, "Wilderness"
The Head and the Heart, "The Head and the Heart"
I'm From Barcelona, "Forever Today"
The Submarines, "Birds"
Update: Beirut, "The Rip Tide"

Some Books I Read (and loved):
"Swamplandia!" by Karen Russell
"Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" by Mindy Kaling
"Bossypants" by Tina Fey
"My Life in France" by Julia Child
"The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" by Aimee Bender
"Anthropology of an American Girl" by Hilary Thayer Hamann
"One Day" by David Nicholls
"A Visit from the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan
Harry Potter, books 1, 2, 3 and 7 (some for the second time, others for the third or fourth)

Some Awesome Movies I Saw (and loved):
"Crazy, Stupid Love"
"Hugo"
"Harry Potter: The Freakin' End"
"Bridesmaids"
"Midnight in Paris"
"50/50"
"The Muppets"
"Ides of March"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"

Places I Visited:
Paris, Avignon and Nice in France
Barcelona and Madrid in Spain
Norwich, NY
Grantville and Harrisburg, Pa.
Memphis, Tenn.
Washington, D.C.
Chicago
Dauphin Island, Ala.
New Orleans

Famous People Sightings:
Bill Clinton
Ron Livingston (sighting No. 2, this time in Atlanta, rather than New Orleans)
the cast of The Walking Dead, plus Greg Nicotero
Michelle Obama
Spike Mendelsohn from Top Chef
Kevin Gillespie from Top Chef
Richard Blais from Top Chef
Gen. Larry Platt of "Pants on the Ground" fame
Spike Lee
Laura Bush
Ann Brashares

Tales of an empty fireplace

2011-10-29T12:08:00.000-04:00

Hot Pants and I got rid of our gas logs about a year ago, mostly because we didn't use them very much. They made a loud hissing sound when they were on (likely due to improper installation by the genius contractors who renovated the house), making for unpleasant evenings having to talk loudly over the sound of the roaring fire.

But what to do with that big empty space? We had some limitations because the gas line sticks up in the middle of the space, and we didn't want to leave it exposed lest one of our curious cats figured out how to turn it on. They have hidden thumbs, you know.

First, I tried a candelabra, but it looked weird and mostly collected dust. Then I saw this photo.

Via Beach Studios

Absolutely genius! I had a shelf of old books I didn't want to toss but rarely touched. They immediately went in the fireplace. Check it.

Here are some other fun ideas for your non-functioning fireplace.

Via Flickr (though I think it's originally from Anthropologie)

Via Apartment Therapy

Via Real Simple

Via Retropolitan

Catlanta

2011-03-17T00:40:00.000-04:00

There's a local artist who's turned his late-night graffiti sessions into citywide scavenger hunts for little bits of his art. Catlanta has an avid set of followers (including yours truly) who will drive like bats out of hell at all hours to snag his magnets stuck to random mailboxes and fences across the city.

I first ran across Catlanta when I saw this cute mural near my house a couple of months ago.

Then a friend told me Catlanta had started making magnets of this little character _ called kittens _ and was hiding them around the city. AWESOMENESS.

Here's how it goes: It starts with a tweet and a Facebook post linking to his Flickr account, where Catlanta puts a photo of where he's left his kittens. After that it's a race against the clock. These little suckers have disappeared almost instantly, it seems.

(Read this great ScoutMob piece on him.)

Today? I won. VICTORY IS MINE, CATLANTA! I found this little guy after hauling ass to a restaurant near my office (in rush-hour traffic, no less).

Isn't he so cute? Now the challenge will be not wanting to drop everything and run every time I see he's posted new ones. Hoarding is not a good look, especially when so many people are hunting for these. That would just be unfair.

These are the thoughts I was having when I got a text a few minutes ago alerting me that a new one had been put up less than a mile from my house. I grabbed my Pajama Jeans (yes, I said Pajama Jeans) and dashed out the door. I arrived at the spot less than five minutes after he tweeted and it was gone! But I did run across two girls who were also looking for the kitten and were just as disappointed as I was that it was gone. I justified looking for another one by telling myself I'd give it to a friend or maybe to Hot Pants for his office.

But who am I kidding? This shit's addictive!

Trends in handmade crafts vol. 2

2011-03-16T01:10:00.001-04:00

You might remember my famed Trends in Handmade Crafts Vol. 1. The good news is there is a seemingly never ending supply of trends when it comes to the craft world. Be ready to have your mind blown.

Babushkas

This little cuties are freakin' everywhere. Like, for real. I made a treasury on Etsy and was overloaded with matryoshka stuff.

Tadpole Creations

Miss Bluebird Creations

Buttons and Badges

A Little Sweetness

Spectacles

Not the kind you make of yourself, but the kind you wear on your face. Geek is chic, just ask Leonard, Sheldon, Raj and Howard.

Typewriters

Click clack clickity clack clackity click.

At the other end of the telescope

2011-03-12T17:21:00.000-05:00

I bought myself a Nikon P7000 in anticipation of our trip to Europe. I wanted to get it early so I could play with it and get used to the settings. I've been a Canon user for a long time now, but it shouldn't be too much of an adjustment.

I took the new toy out for a spin today to shoot some of the cool graffiti in the neighborhood. Behold!

I've got those wanderin' blues

2011-03-11T13:59:00.000-05:00

Hot Pants and I are planning a trip to Europe in the fall for our second wedding anniversary. I think this map from Shop Dirsta is the perfect tool to help us plan.

Spell it out

2011-03-10T08:55:00.000-05:00

I am in love with type. I want to bathe my house in letters and fonts and typeface. This rug from Crate & Barrel's CB2 might do just the trick.

Or perhaps these Scrabble-inspired pillows from Shop Dirtsa on Etsy.

Or how about coming home to the custom designed letter pillows from Hillary Cosgrove on Etsy?

Or you could do what I did and buy a random lot of letterpress blocks from Etsy's vintage vendors and scatter them around the house, spelling random things as inspiration strikes.

And the Oscar for best dressed goes to...

2011-03-01T23:09:00.000-05:00

Fashion critics be damned, I thought Cate Blanchett's dress at the Academy Awards was absolutely incredible. Love. Love. Love. Love. Did I mention I loved it?

The dress is Givenchy and is absolutely divine. She got the worst dressed award from Joan Rivers on Fashion Police, but I could not disagree more. This is artsy, unique and fashion forward. It's the right mix of art house and red carpet. It's like a fashion meets robot meets art project. It's fucking fierce. Did I mention I love it?

My second favorite look of the night was Mila Kunis in Elie Saab. That color is perfection on her. She is just stunning.

A few others that were lovely:

Hailee Steinfeld in Marchesa (she designed it herself)

Natalie Portman in Rodarte (who also did the costumes for "Black Swan")

Helen Mirren in Vivienne Westwood

Crafternoon delight

2011-02-21T13:00:00.001-05:00

Well, hello there! Sorry for the prolonged absence.
Time to share what I've whipped up recently in my Craft Cave. I recently threw another baby shower, this one for my friend, Amy, at our favorite local brunch place Radial Cafe. It's the same restaurant where Hot Pants threw me a surprise engagement brunch with family and friends from all over the place, so it already carried a lot of really happy memories.
For my first trick, I will you show you how I made pinwheels that actually go around and around. It took some grunting and cussing, but they turned out adorable and are now a bouquet in little Alexander's room.
Check it:

I used these instructions from Create Studio for these little boogers. I had quite the time finding a grommet tool at Michael's, mostly because they call it an eyelet tool there. Apparently, eyelets are a girlier version of grommets. I'd also recommend getting a little thicker dowel than I did here because the push pins kept poking through the back of the sticks and making it hard to get the pinwheel to go around and around. The fun things with these are that you can either use decorative craft paper or just plain card stock that you draw on yourself.

For the centerpieces on the tables, I opted to use the toys I had bought for the mom and dad-to-be instead of wrapping them. Less paper waste, less stuff for them to open and it was rather festive for the occasion. Plus, all the kids who attended the shower had stuff to play with during the boring parts.

I also put together some fun little note cards for folks to fill out with advice for the new parents. I have to put in a plug here for Michael's rubber stamp section which has some really cute, modern stuff now. This little owl was perfect for the occasion.

I ran out of time to make cupcake decorations, so I turned to the tried and true artists on Etsy to hook me up with some cuteness. A Little Lollipop Tree came through with flying colors. She even had a design that matched the Dwell Studio bedding on the registry. And, yes, the cupcakes were just as fabulously tasty as they appear in this photo.

I also put together a time capsule for guests to fill up with items that represent the year the little guy was born. I turned a simple photo box into the cutest little time capsule ever with Sharpies and Japanese washi tape.

But before you go thinking I just let our guests off the crafty hook, here's my favorite part of the party. I stole an idea from another baby shower I attended and loaded up a table with blank onesies in a variety of sizes, fabric markers and stencils. Voila! Fun craft time for everyone! I make party guests work for their keep. And the parents-to-be were so thrilled with having a stock of personalized onesies.

This ain't your mama's...

2011-01-27T11:42:00.001-05:00

I just pre-bought tickets for this handmade indie craft show in Chattanooga in March. So excited!

Now, you're thinking, "Aren't you already married?" Yes, I am. But this is not just a wedding event. It's party planning. It's indie crafts. It's awesome food and fashion and neato things that make me drool just thinking about them. I also bought an extra ticket just in case bride-to-be The Modern Gal wants to tag along. Hooray for indie craft awesomeness just 100 miles from my house!

Won't you be my Valentine?

2011-01-22T12:08:00.000-05:00

Valentine's is coming, and even if you don't have someone special in your pants - er, life - then, make Valentine cards for your friends! Despite having Hot Pants in my life, I like making stuff for my friends on National Chocolate Day best because they were my original Valentines before he came along. And if you'd rather make Valentines for folks in need, two years ago Etsy collected handmade cards to send to elderly folks in NYC's CityMeals-on-Wheels program. Replicate it in your own city!

Last year I took a letterpress class at a local studio and made my cards there, but here are some ideas for making your own from the comfort of your couch.

Martha has a tutorial on how to make Valentines out of wax paper and crayons. They would work for decor in your home as well as cute little things to mail to folks.

Several crafters are posting ideas for making Valentine cards out of paint chip samples from the hardware store. I absolutely adore this idea.
Here's one from craftevolution that will get your creative juices flowing (ew).

Or how about this one from fabulous crafter Jodi Kahn of Simply Sublime. (Feautred in Country Living!)

Lastly, I say just break out some construction paper, scissors and markers and go to town or challenge yourself to make a Valentine solely from stuff you have around the house (no cheating!).

Oh, Etsy, how I love thee

2011-01-08T10:03:00.001-05:00

Shocker, right? Another post about Etsy. I don't care what you think. Etsy is the best thing that ever happened to my creative side and the worst thing that ever happened to my bank account.

*Contented sigh.*

Lately, I've been obsessed with making collections on Etsy, hoping that one of them will end up on the front page.

I've had a few folks ask me how to do it, so here you go:

1. go to Etsy.com
2. sign up if you don't have an account (and then feel ashamed for not having an account)
3. click on "see more" beside the Handpicked Items header on the front page
4. click on the "create a list" button to your right
5. go to town!
Hint: using the tabs function on your browser with two Etsy windows open will make completing this task much easier.

Now you're reading to make gorgeous collections of amazing feats of craftasticness.

This beauty, for example:

Or perhaps this one:

Or this one:

My favorite blogs

2011-01-05T15:36:00.000-05:00

I get a lot of questions about where I get my inspirations for craft projects, interior design, arty objects of desire, etc. Aside from daily browsing on Etsy, I also avidly read tons of craft and design blogs. Here are a few of my faves for your reading pleasure:

Design*Sponge
It's interior design meets handmade crafts meets awesomeness. And it features amazing designers.

74 Lime Lane
An Australian blogger with a nice eye for beautiful handmade items and crafts.

Apartment Therapy
A blog that started for apartment dwellers who needed help decorating their small spaces has become my Bible for how to redecorate a room. It's got incredible before and afters plus features great interior designers and their living spaces. Also it features scavenger finds and how to remake furniture you find on the side of the road. The number of posts can be overwhelming, but just take it one step at a time.

Decor8 Daily
Gorgeous crafts, beautiful decor and DIY interior design.

How About Orange
A great collection of handmade items, free printables and Etsy finds.

The Long Thread
An Atlanta-based blogger and mother who I had the pleasure of meeting at Indie Craft Experience last month. Her crafty projects, sewing tutorials and annual list of the top tutorials of the year are unmatched. And she's super nice.

Oh my! Handmade Goodness
A collective of independent artists, designers and crafters who share their inspirations.

Where the Lovely Things Are
More handcrafted beauties! More design! More awesomeness!

2010 in photos

2010-12-30T11:15:00.018-05:00

Honeymoon in Hawaii. January.

My first tattoo. January.

Valentine's Day in Savannah. February.

Our niece, Rhiley, came to visit. March.


Pollen puddle. April.

Walnut Street Bridge in Chattanooga. May.

Nolt farm in Pennsylvania. June.

I turned 31. July.

Sidewalk Tetris in San Francisco. July.

A much changed Rhiley came to visit again. August.

First wedding anniversary celebrated at St. Simons Island, Ga. September.

The Pixies at the Fox in Atlanta. September.

Graffiti in East Atlanta. October.

Visit to Philadelphia. November.

Rock show in Philadelphia. November.


Tibetan monk studying at Emory University. December.

Aftermath of Christmas dinner. December.

Year in Review 2010

2010-12-29T13:34:00.001-05:00

Time for the Big List of Things That Were Very Awesome or Important or Mostly Just Entertaining in 2010.

A List of Random Things That Happened to Me This Year:
1. Hot Pants and I spent our January honeymoon in Hawaii. It was just as awesome as you might imagine. Also, I got a tattoo while in Maui.
2. I watched quite a few friends get married, get engaged or get pregnant.
3. My beautiful niece Rhiley celebrated her second birthday in November, and her mom announced she's going to be a big sister come May.
4. I revived this blog after months of not posting and overhauled what I do here to focus more on the world of crafting and handmade awesomeness.
5. Hot Pants and I celebrated our first anniversary with a trip to St. Simons Island, Ga.
6. Atlanta had its first white Christmas since 1882, but we weren't here. We were in Memphis, which was enjoying its first snow on Christmas since 1992. No accumulation, though.
7. I adopted a new job at work that has fulfilled me in ways I could not have imagined even a year ago. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity.

Amazing Albums Released this Year:
"I'm Having Fun Now" by Jenny and Johnny
"Infinite Arms" by Band of Horses
"I Learned the Hard Way" by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
"The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire
"J Roddy Walston and the Business" by J Roddy Walston and the Business
"The Lady Killer" by Cee Lo Green
"Volume Two" by She & Him
"Contra" by Vampire Weekend
"Preservation: An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall" by various artists

"This is Happening" by LCD Soundsystem

Some Books I Read (and loved):
NOTE: I made a habit of logging every book I read in GoodReads.com this year. I even impressed myself! This is not the full list, but a healthy sampling.
Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy (The Girl With/Who...)
"The Imperfectionists" by Tom Rachman
"This Is Where I Leave You" by Jonathan Tropper (and then I read all of his novels)
"Hoot" by Carl Hiassen
"Committed" by Elizabeth Gilbert
All of Emily Giffin's books
"Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
"Accidental Billionaires" by Beb Mezrich
both novels by the fictitious Richard Castle
"Juliet, Naked" by Nick Hornby
"My Fair Lazy" by Jen Lancaster

Some Awesome Movies I Saw (and loved):
"The Social Network"
"How to Train Your Dragon"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"
"Catfish"
"Red"
"Despicable Me"
"Waiting for Superman"
"Scott Pilgrim v. the World"
"The Tourist"
"It's Kind of a Funny Story"

Places I Visited:
Maui, Kauai and Oahu, Hawaii
Lotsa places in Penn.
Norwich, N.Y,
San Francisco, Calif.
Portlan, Oregon
Washington, D.C.
St. Simons Islan, Ga.
Memphis, Tenn.

Famous People Sightings:
John O'Hurley
Shaun White

Live Shows That Rocked:
Pixies
Avett Brothers (twice!)
Band of Horses
Jenny and Johnny (briefly)
Wilco
New Pornographers

Would you light my candle?

2010-12-27T23:39:00.000-05:00

Hola, peeps. Now that Christmas is over, I can post my latest craftacular adventure without spoiling the surprise for the folks on the receiving end.

Presenting...candles!

Soy candles, to be exact. I had Goodwill-bought teacups left over from the baby shower I threw in the fall and didn't want to just re-donate them to a thrift store. What better to fill an adorable little teacup than an adorable little candle?

I hit up Michael's, where I found some microwaveable soy wax for just $9.99 a batch. Please note that this box does not go a long way, so if you're planning on making a Yankee Candle factory in your house, this may not be the most cost-effective method.

I also grabbed a couple of packages of wicks with the little metal discs already attached and some scented oil (all can be found on the same aisle with the wax). I recommend using a little melted wax or glue to secure the wick to the bottom of your container first. It made for much easier pouring once the wax was ready.

The package said to microwave the wax to a certain temperature _ one that I've since forgotten _ but I could never get it that hot, so I simply heated it until it was completely melted. I used our Pyrex measuring cup for easy pouring. The package also warned against using heavy amounts of scent in the wax, but I found I had to put at least one dropper-full in to be sure the candle had scent at all.

To keep the wicks in place (those little suckers like to float), I got out our set of chopsticks and skewers. I decided not to bother with colors on this go-round, instead hoping to get some experience making these before I add in more complicated elements.

I found an entire package of wax could make four to six candles, which meant making a second run to Michael's for more wax. And not every one had much of a scent, but I was happy overall with the finished product. What's more, everyone who got one oooh-ed and ahhh-ed over them.

A few things I'm loving right now

2010-12-22T16:45:00.000-05:00

I'm working on my year-end post, but until then, this will have to do. Here's a few items I've run across recently that make me want to jump with joy.

From Oh Dier

From Star House

From Christine Tenenholtz

From Bunny Dee Ar

From The Calamity Collective

Trends in handmade crafts 2010

2010-12-10T19:37:00.001-05:00

Mustaches:
They are bushy, they are hilarious and they aren't even attached to someone's face most of the time. Mustaches were everywhere this year. Weddings. Birthday parties. Around the house on a Friday. On necklaces. On coffee mugs. On T-shirts.

From Bird of a Different Feather

From Peeping Thomasina

From Something's Hiding Here

From Rockentot

Poo
Did she say poo? Yes, indeed, as I was wandering around the Indie Craft Experience here in Atlanta a few weeks ago, I saw poo in every form. Felt. Cotton. Ceramic. Poo is in. And sometimes, it has a mustache. Clearly some of this stuff needs to end up on Regretsy, but some of it is kinda cute.

From Fecal Friends


From Cutesy Poo

From Short Sleeve Alliance

Foxes
The cunning little buggers were everywhere. I even gave into the craze and bought this cute little pillow from Bird Mafia.

More fox mania!

From Rylan Carter

From Yee-Haw Industrial

From Amy Blackwell

Owls
Holy moly. Owls, owls, owls. Whether it's making your own owl calendar here or you want to pacify your baby with one, owls are the thing.

From Pink Perch

From Robin & Mould

From Roddy & Ginger

From Paizley Polka Dot

Baby shower, redux

2010-12-02T19:00:00.023-05:00

I promised some photos of the baby shower craftiness, so here ya go.

First, I broke out the patterned paper to make an "Oh, baby!" sign. Please ignore the total mess around said sign, as I was clearly too busy crafting to actually clean the house.

Then I headed to my local hardware store looking for something that would make suitable signs for each dish at the party. I thought about writing the names of dishes on rocks or printing out cute little signs, but eventually I settled on black tiles. They looked like adorable little chalkboards. I wrote on them in silver Sharpie, figuring I could just paint over them with chalkboard spray paint for reuse.

I had used this tutorial from Martha Stewart to make tissue paper pom poms, but they turned out more like blobs. Luckily, one of my co-hosts determined they'd be cute on the back of the couch.

I framed the cutout of the bird pattern I made for the invitations to use for table decor along with some mini-pumpkin branches and pine cones. (Plus, then I could brag on how I made the invitations. Duh.)

Finally, I wanted to brag about an item made by one of the co-hosts of the shower. The cake turned out absolutely adorably (and was her first time using fondant!). Check it:

Glue gun goddess strikes again

2010-11-10T17:48:00.000-05:00

Ever wondered what to do with all those coffee sleeves you get this time of year? Aside from getting a reusable one like this or this, you can also get all crafty with them.
I had seen this post on Magpie and Cake, a fabulous craft and design blog, and decided to break out the hot glue gun and go crazy.
Hers turned out like this:

I didn't have as much variety of sleeves as she apparently did, so I decided to go for a bit of a different look. The whole process took about an hour.
Ta da!

I liked that the print on the insides of the coffee sleeves showed and I opted to avoid the giant bow, instead going for a more subtle light blue ribbon I found hiding in my gift wrap bin.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2010-11-08T10:42:00.000-05:00

I declared it loudly this morning, the words shocking even me as they escaped my lips. I'm in the mood for Christmas! (GASP!) Normally this time of year, I yell expletives when entering stores that have put up Christmas decor before Santa enters Harold Square at the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I'll admit the urge to sprinkle tinsel on a tree and sing along with Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas album snuck up on me. But I'm going with it.

Luckily, stores far and wide are obliging my jonesin' for some holiday cheer.
I hit up West Elm this weekend to check out their new collection of handmade felt ornaments. I grabbed a few of these adorable little letters for gift tags. Aren't my friends and family lucky?

And I couldn't resist buying this lovely wreath for our fireplace. Squee!

That's about all the damage I've done so far with decor, but the siren song of Anthropologie is drawing me in with these cute little Matryoshka ornaments. Wouldn't they cheer up a tree with their smiling faces?

Last year, I shelled out for one of these Merry Christmas banners (although I only paid $99, not the $128 that Anthro is charging this year.) It makes me squeal every time I see it strung across our window above our couch.

And if you're as obsessed with letters as I am these days, these little guys will do the trick. They make me want to jump for joy with every adorable pom-pom.

Not to abandon my favorite handmade store, Etsy, for the big names, I found tons of handcrafted felt happiness with a simple search. Want a woodland holiday? Done!

From Astahtoys


From Recycled Parts

:::::Or hearts!::::::


From Sewn Natural

Georgia!

2010-10-31T11:14:00.001-04:00

Oh, unusual musical collaborations. You make me so happy.
Atlanta resident and captain of cool Cee-Lo Green has a new single from his upcoming album "The Lady Killers." This one pays homage to his home state and extols its virtues, of which there are multitude. Duh.
Anyway, so Band of Horses wanted to pay the same kind of tribute to Georgia, where lead singer Ben Bidwell's parents grew up, so they covered Cee-Lo's new song. They even asked the University of Georgia's marching band to help out on the track (for this, they can be forgiven). And then Cee-Lo was all "me, too! me, too!" and covered Band of Horses' "No One's Gonna Love You" for his new album. The two musical acts have released a duo single with two A-sides featuring the covers. And it is awesomeness. You must download them here.

Calendar girl

2010-10-28T20:50:00.001-04:00

I'm obsessed with beautiful, crafty handmade calendars. Luckily, the blog Decor8 has done all my shopping for me.
Check it out:
Calendar round-up part 1

Calendar round-up part 2

Calendar round-up part 3

Calendar round-up part 4

A few of my favorites:

This letterpress desk calendar from Paper Source.

This beautiful fabric calendar from Lisa Rupp Design.

A beautiful pillowcase calendar from le papier studio.


Tea towel calendar from Bookhou.

This wall calendar from TwoDotTwo.

Oh, baby!

2010-10-12T10:41:00.000-04:00

I'm helping host a baby shower for my lovely friend C in a couple of weeks. Since C is solidly anti-blog ("I just don't get them," she says), I'm not worried about this spoiling things for her.
To start, I decided to make the invitations echo the bedding C picked out for her baby boy.
Here you go:

So, I dashed to Michael's to see what craft paper they had. I couldn't get the exact colors, but I got close enough that I was pretty happy. Then came the fun part. Cutting and gluing! I blew up the image of the bird and cut out each piece individually, tracing it on the various patterns of craft paper. I pasted it all on one piece and scanned it into my computer. I made the design fit 8 1/2 x 11 paper so that it would look high-res when I shrink it down.
Ta-da:

Then Hot Pants helped out because he's a genius at Photoshop and I am rather clunky with it. (Pause here to scratch Oscar dog's head. He's rooting around in my lap.) HP shrank the photo, added a place for type and then let me do the rest. I immediately headed to 1001 Free Fonts, which is the absolute best website for DIYers. Memorize it. Love it. Get all crazy about it.
I selected Protection, downloaded it and went about my merry way. I decided to print two to a page to save cardstock. Then I put the paper cutter and corner rounder I bought for our wedding invites to work.
Voila:

I think I spent a total of $40 on supplies (not counting the cutters and other crafty stuff I already owned) and was incredibly pleased with the outcome _ probably much more than I would have been had I ordered them online or from a store.
More baby shower crafts to come! Stay tuned.

Wired

2010-10-06T22:57:00.001-04:00

I've developed a minor obsession with the story behind Facebook, sparked, of course, by my deep and undying love for all things Aaron Sorkin. Hell, I love the man so much, I watched every episode of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," even the terrible ones at the end.

When I first heard he was penning the screenplay for "The Social Network" (the seedy and somewhat questionable back story of Facebook), I was beside myself. I needed to prepare. Luckily, Hot Pants (remember him?) has the two books about the ubiquitous social networking site: the one that Mark Zuckerberg approves of and the one he thinks is a steaming pile of poo. They're both great reads but are COMPLETELY different books.

"The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich is racy, gossipy and downright seedy. It's fast paced _ I read it in a day. And it's only from the point of view of the four guys suing Zuckerberg over Facebook's genesis. One is his former best friend who he totally fucked over when the company was still very young and so were they. The other are three Harvard classmates who seem rather whiny and spoiled, stomping their feet and saying "He stole our idea!" even when he kinda did and he kinda didn't. Mezrich makes no bones about admitting he never once spoke with Zuckerberg for the book despite the author's repeated requests AND he confesses to condensing timelines, recreating scenes and generally making shit up. Take it with a grain of salt, but read it anyway. It's fascinating.

The second book is the Zuckerberg-approved tome "The Facebook Effect," which looks not only at the company's start but also at the impact it's having on the world. This time written by journalist David Kirkpatrick who spent many, many hours interviewing the boy genius himself and many others at Facebook. The writing is much drier, much more direct, and it's not as good storytelling as the other book, but Kirkpatrick really dives into the meat of the company rather than simply relying on the he said-she said bullshit that's emerged since the website started. It's a stark contrast to Mezrich's soap opera, spending very little time on the lawsuits against Zuckerberg and instead focusing on the company itself.

Now the movie. *happy sigh*

Really? It was fantastic. Smart, witty, fast-paced. All the things that Sorkin does so well, wrapped up in an adorable little crimson bow (Harvard jokes! Love them!). Forget facts and what's real. This is great storytelling at its core, and Sorkin has not ever said the story is completely factual. In fact, in a New York magazine article, he actually said he argued with director David Fincher to go with inaccuracy when it improved the story. In one scene where it's well documented that Zuckerberg was drinking Beck's, Sorkin said he wanted to have the character consume screwdrivers because that made it appear that he was trying to get drunk. Fincher won in the end and Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Zuckerberg, chugs down beer as he hacks into servers across Harvard.

Go see the movie for sure, but if you've got the notion, pick up the books, too. Join my geek army.

Calling do-over

2010-10-05T22:59:00.000-04:00

Let's try this again, shall we?

After talking with friends, the husband and many others about the direction this blog should take, I realize now what was missing. Me.

Somewhere along the way I got the idea that this blog should be about something, that it should have a direction and a theme. Well, that's just a bunch of bullshit. This blog was always about what gave me pleasure, enjoyment, hope and happiness. It was about what made me tick. It's my big ol' canvas. I just forgot that I don't have to paint within the lines (or some terrible analogy like that).

So what if I don't post every day? So what if it's horribly uninteresting? So what if I get no comments? This blog isn't for you. It's for me.

So there.

Identity crisis

2010-09-28T18:34:00.000-04:00

Hello, readers!

You can see that I've tried to revamp some things here with The Daily Bacon, but frankly the pet photos just aren't working for me. They feel...lame. Really lame, actually.

I started that particular trend hoping it would encourage me to post more, as the blog had become more of the Monthly Bacon . What should this blog be about? What do you want to see more of? Or less of? Or do you care at all?

This is your chance to weigh in. Before it's too late. (Or something threatening like that.)

Guest pet: farm animals!

2010-09-25T12:30:00.001-04:00

The in-laws have a farm in central Pennsylvania with tons of animals. Here are some of my faves.

That's a miniature horse. She wasn't terribly happy with me, either. Good thing I didn't sit on her. Just after this photo she took off and was impossible to catch. Slippery little bugger.

This is Timothy and Kate. They like to head butt and pose for photos. (Well, really, they just wanted to eat the camera strap.)

And this is Pudge. Aw.

Oh, the places you'll go!

2010-09-23T23:17:00.000-04:00

It's called the lion cut, but we call it the Full-on Dr. Seuss because all they leave is Sam's boots and a poof at the end of his tail. And it's hilarious.

Here's the before Sam (sorry for the repeat):

And here he is after:

Ahhhhh. Much better. At least for me, considering I haven't trained him to vacuum his own hairballs yet.

Guest pet: Ginger!

2010-09-22T00:21:00.001-04:00

My friend Errin has a poodle-yorkie (porkie!) mix named Ginger, who is a tiny, 5-pound ball of energy and fur. She's not very well behaved but is far too adorable to be mad at for long. She's also into licking everything.

Musical fuzzies

2010-09-21T10:15:00.002-04:00

Today's fuzzy isn't my pets but is just too cute to pass up. OK Go has done it again! This time with dogs!

So. Not. Amused.

2010-09-19T21:31:00.000-04:00

The cat in the box

2010-09-18T23:08:00.000-04:00

CeCe loves Amazon.com boxes the most, but she'll take any old cardboard box that comes along.

Fierce

2010-09-16T23:25:00.000-04:00

We had to have some of Oscar's teeth pulled about a year ago because they were rotting (he's old!), so now his tongue will only come out the side without the teeth. And he seems to have a hard time getting it back in.

Come to my window

2010-09-15T23:07:00.000-04:00

The cats often sit on the back of the couch and look out the front window, so I'm usually greeted with these cheerful little faces when I pull up to the house. It's a nice way to come home.

So fuzzy

2010-09-13T12:26:00.000-04:00

Mom! Mo's touching me again!

Animals!

2010-09-12T18:10:00.000-04:00

Time for a direction change for the blog! Starring: pets! My pets, to be exact. Doing hilarious things. Feel free to write your own captions and make me look bad. Aaaaaaaaaannnnnddddd....commence!


Remember that time little Rhiley lost a finger?


This is my box. Fuck off.

Frankly, Mo was getting a little tired of dramatic readings from Harry Potter.

Life

2010-08-25T23:25:00.000-04:00

Too lazy to write, so here are some really cool bits of street art, taken mostly with my iPhone. No whining about the picture quality. Or else.

*Sidewalk Tetris in San Francisco*

I pity the fool who can't find this yard & plant sale!

*Outside a low income retirement home*

On a newspaper machine in San Francisco

Near Urban Outfitters in Atlanta. Duh.

On the Walnut Street Bridge in Chatatnooga

Portland loves you!

In the Krog Street graffiti tunnel in Atlanta

:::Portland's got the fever:::

Oddfellows in San Francisco. 151, naturally.

Michael Voltaggio is a douche, or why I broke up with reality TV

2010-06-04T17:28:00.001-04:00

The moment was so enraging that I can, even now months later, remember the heat in my face. In December, Padma Lakshmi (the former Mrs. Salman Rushdie) announced that asshole extraordinare Michael Voltaggio _ the more annoying half of the cocky brothers who competed with Atlanta chef Kevin Gillespie for the finale last season _ had won the competition. After I let out a long string of curse words, I turned to Hot Pants and said: "That's it. I'm done with Top Chef." And I was. I SO was.

I had already voted "Project Runway" off the island after it moved to Lifetime and paraded a series of whiny, prima donna contestants in front of the judges. I liked the show because it was about fashion, not drama. And what's worse, the judges consistently picked awful, boring winners who didn't do anything but make me want to sleep in a pile of fabric from their final collection. Enough already with the "he stole my idea to make a sweater vest entirely out of used coffee filters and then Bedazzle it!" Bad producers! Bad!

Then America made me angry.

Enter: American Idol. I hadn't really ever watched the show _ aside from the hilarious audition episodes _ until I met my wonderful friend, Emily, who was going on and on about how hot some guy named Ace was. One night, I grabbed a cherry slurpee from the corner gas station and sat down with Em to watch Idol. I was hooked (both on Idol and cherry slurpees). Then, I met Hot Pants, who is a religious viewer of Idol and whose mother takes notes while she watches. Adorable. There I was back in front of the TV from January to April two nights a week, cheering on the weirdos who decide to try out and making fun of Bikini Girl.

That all ended a couple of weeks ago when America chose Lee DeWyze as the next American Idol. Really, America? REALLY?!? You chose Mr. White Bread over Crystal Bowersox, who has more talent in her little toe than Lee has in his entire being (plus his terrible hair and wardrobe). And you even promoted Casey Whatshisface to the top 3! Over Michael Lychne! WHAT?!? We're through, American Idol. As for you, America, I threatened to defect if you chose Lee and I'm STILL shopping for property in Canada to this day.

So, I'm now left with So You Think You Can Dance, which has yet to piss me off enough to end the relationship. That's mostly because the dancers are so amazing that any of them could win and I'd be perfectly happy. You can fake being able to sing well enough to fool the voting public, but you can't fake being able to dance. I've still got my eye on you, though, America. You best watch out.

525,600 minutes

2010-03-14T00:59:00.000-05:00

Hot Pants and I had been engaged about two minutes when this photo was taken March 14, 2009. His popping the question will go down as one of the greatest proposals of all time. You can refresh your memory here. It remains one of the most amazing days of my life and definitely earned HP years of amnesty for not putting down the toilet seat.

Rigby!

2010-02-22T14:34:00.000-05:00

I got to meet my new nephew, Rigby, this weekend! He was born in December, but he lives in Memphis with my best friend (and matron of honor), Melanie, and her lovely husband, Josh. I can report that Rigby is perfect in every way and has developed a killer smile (complete with a dimple).

I'm so handsome!

Mommy thinks Rigby is really cool.

It's what I want

2010-02-16T12:19:00.000-05:00

My gal pal who is blogging about saving money has inpsired me to try some cost-saving techniques myself. I'm not by any means in dire financial straits, but I think carving a little here and a little there out of my spending habits will help pad my savings account nicely. And it will help my credit card bill behave.

So, here's what I've done so far:

1. I've unsubscribed from the e-mail services from my favorite stores: Victoria Secret, Nine West, Ann Taylor Loft, Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy, Anthropolgie and Urban Outfitters. I frequently found myself buying stuff I didn't need simply because I had a coupon or it was on sale. No need to remind myself of my shopping habit every single day.

2. I've stopped making drop-ins at Target. Some people go for a walk in a park. Others drink a beer on their porch. When I need sanity, I go to Target. It's a very familiar, comforting place for me, and I feel calmer when I'm inside. But the problem is that I didn't just browse when I was there. I'd load up on stuff I absolutely don't need. $25 here and $48 there adds up pretty quickly.

3. I've been clipping coupons for the grocery store. Now, granted, none of those coupons actually have MADE it to the grocery store with me, but I'm half-way there in my effort. We'll see how much it helps with our ridiculous fruit-and-vegetable-consumption schedule.

4. And finally, I've tried to cook more. It's such a simple change, but it makes all the difference in my caloric intake and my wallet. I cooked three nights last week, which is a record for me. A couple of the other nights, we just had canned soup or leftovers at home. And I had yummy homemade lunches most of the week. My goal is to do actual meal planning each week so that our trips to the grocery store aren't just grabbing random things. (The jury's still out on whether this will continue successfully.)

Go Peyton!

2010-02-07T15:51:00.002-05:00

In honor of Peyton's appearance in the Super Bowl tonight, here's a video of his best TV moment.

Hawaii in photos

2010-01-31T02:21:00.001-05:00

The first morning in Kaui.

This seems to be a popular way of getting places in Hawaii.

The Jurassic Park waterfall! In Hawaii!

The Napali Coast on Kaui.

Kilauea lighthouse on Kaui

Sunset in Maui

We happened upon a couple mid-action under a waterfall on the Road to Hana (on Maui). So we took their photo.

Thar she blows! Blowholes are neat-o!

The opposite of a hole in your heart.

Along the Road to Hana.

Uggs. For sale in Hawaii. Ugh.

Surfers on the Pipeline in Oahu.

It was raining as we started our journey to Hana.

There. Are. A. Lot. Of. Chickens. In. Kaui.

The captain of our whale-watching expedition had the Hawaiian attitude down pat.

i heart u

2010-01-29T11:48:00.012-05:00

I've never been big on Valentine's Day, not even now that I'm happily married to the love of my life. It's all commercialized and sappy and annoying even if you're in a relationship. In fact, the very best V-days I remember are the ones spent with my other single girlfriends downing wine, Thai food and cookie dough. That said, I sure do like hearts and the color red, so the season makes for some awesomely delicious designs. I bought this adorable mug at Starbucks last night to kick off the official Heart Season, which led me to search out other beautiful images. Share time!

Source: 74 Lime Lane

Source: Sweet Jessie

Source: Dolan Geiman

Source: Twin Ravens Press

The last image I'll leave you with is from my fabulous wedding photographer, Heidi Ryder, of a photo display at our reception.

A marked woman

2010-01-25T18:07:00.007-05:00

I had wanted a tattoo since I was in college. It sounded so hip, so cool...so un-me. But like a the good girl I am, I waited, figuring the yearning for permanent ink was just a whim. After all, there's nothing scarier than a 50-year-old woman with a Tigger tattoo on her calf or a chameleon on her shoulder. I figure after a decade of wanting a tattoo, it's no longer a passing fancy.

So, when Hot Pants and I headed to Hawaii earlier this month for our honeymoon, I made up my mind to become, as my father jokingly called me after, a marked woman. What better way to celebrate my new marriage and our honeymoon than to permanently scar my body? I had decided months ago that I wanted to get a compass rose. (I had gone through an incredibly tough time two years ago during a particularly horrible bout of depression, and I liked the idea of reminding myself that -- no matter how tough it gets -- I'm never truly lost.) It's on my thigh just above my knee, easily shown off or hidden to match my mood.

It's still healing, so it's kind of peeling and itchy, but I'm really proud of my tattoo. Most of all, I enjoy the shock many have displayed when I told them about the new addition to my body. One friend said she "never in a million years" would have guessed I would get a tattoo. Nice to know I can still surprise even my closest pals.

My bags are packed! I'm ready to go!

2010-01-08T22:54:00.001-05:00

Shout outs

2010-01-06T09:42:00.004-05:00

My lovely friend has started a blog on 50 ways to save $100. It is so great, particularly if you're like me and you're absolutely terrible at saving money. T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E. Luckily, I have Hot Pants, who is cheap and freaks out about money frequently. Marriage is all about balance.

My other lovely friend has revived her blog Waiting for Vizzini, and I have to say I am SO FREAKIN' HAPPY about it. Her blog often makes me laugh to the point of tears. Now, this friend is mid-transition from being a librarian at a public library to becoming a college student (again) and majoring in theater. The blog that was once about the freakazoids at the public library will now be about the freakazoids in theater. AWESOME.

ANOTHER lovely friend over at Patches and Paws is doing some mighty nice reflecting these days on life and the world and more life. Also, she is writing about Splants. Hi-fucking-larious.

So, go check out my ladies. They are wonderful, talented women who have really great taste in friends.

Newsfeed

2010-01-03T14:34:00.007-05:00

Let's start 2010 off with some warm fuzzies. At least, they are warm fuzzies for me. You might be bored by them. But then again, I don't really care what you think. Ooo, did I just ruin the warm fuzzy feeling? Damn, I hate it when that happens.

Ahem.

1. A few years ago, Hot Pants (you know -- my husband) wrote this really hilarious and amazing Christmas song. It's called "Fuck You, Motherfucker (It's Christmas)." Yes, it's THAT kind of Christmas song. (Hey, I never said I married him for his clean mouth.) Anyway, his friend Brad Sucks recorded it last month with a little backing vocals from my man. It's so great that I can hardly stand going an hour without listening to it. Check it out.

2. Thanks to my wedding and Etsy, I am now obsessed with a few things:
*Milk glass, for one. I think milk glass vases are just about the most awesome thing ever. I am now kicking myself for forgetting to take a few pieces of milk glass from the parents-in-law, who graciously offered to give me some from Hot Pants' grandmother's collection. Hopefully, I can rectify that soon.

*Letterpress. OMG, LETTER-FUCKING-PRESS. I'm now to the point that I'm thinking about taking letterpress classes and buying my own small letterpress just so I can save some cash. But, like, for real, y'all? Look at how lovely this is. And this. And this. And this. And this. Squee!

*Needlepoint. Like, calling someone a smelly pirate hooker? Or thanking them for the Best Mixtape Ever? Or commemorating your love? Or telling them they remind you of a Chi-wow-wow?

3. The Avett Brothers. The Avett Brothers. The Avett Brothers. We saw them live here in Atlanta on New Year's Day. Best. Concert. Ever. We had fun, despite the teenager behind us screaming at the top of her lungs (and the top of her vocal register). I think she may have re-ruptured my eardrum with her high-pitched screaming. I finally turned around and said "You have GOT to stop that." She looked wounded for a moment, but she did stop screeching. I'm now officially old because I'm yelling at teenagers at concerts.

3, 2, 1...

2010-01-01T10:13:00.003-05:00

Year in Review 2009

2009-12-22T10:40:00.004-05:00

Time for the Big List of Things That Were Very Awesome or Important or Mostly Just Entertaining in 2009. (See 2008 here, 2007 here and 2006 here.) I started 2009 with a bubble wrap party with friends and my then-boyfriend, and I plan to end it with friends and my now-husband at a party. Pretty nice bookends, if I do say so.

A List of Random Things That Happened to Me This Year:
1. I GOT MARRIED! Holy crap, I got married! Having my family and friends all in one place to celebrate such a big moment in my life was tremendously emotional in ways I can't explain with words. I also got engaged, which was an epic event full of subterfuge and surprises. Refresh your memory here.
2. Thanks to Body Design's awesome personal trainers, I can do pushups, I have nicely cut biceps and developing quads and I'm down 25 pounds.
3. I wrote a novel! I participated in (and completed) National Novel Writing Month. Go me!
4. Vera Bradley. You might remember the quilted bag queen was included in this list of things I hate. Well, I'm eating my words. Because I own two VB bags and I love them. All of a sudden her patterns got all adorable and mod. Also, I became more accepting. So, yay for growth.
5. Etsy. For real, y'all. I have developed a full-blown obsession with the online indie crafting marketplace. My entire wedding was decorated by Etsy crafters. Christmas is brought to you by Etsy. My new creative space in my house will be, too.
6. I became an aunt two more times in the last month. My best galpal, Melanie, had Rigby Finch Clark on Dec. 17. And friends Chris and Kathleen had Josephine Adelle Joyner on Dec. 7.
7. My sister-in-law's little one, Rhiley, turned 1 this year. She walks, she talks and she knows what zombies eat (brrrrraaaaainnnnsssss).
8. We built a deck on the house. It was the only home improvement project we've undertaken that had no drama and stellar results.
9. We had travel drama that involved a flood, a bike wreck and a trip through the airport in a wheelchair.
10. We rescued a lost puppy and then found his mom.

Amazing Albums Released this Year:
"Give Up the Ghost," by Brandi Carlile
"I and Love and You" by the Avett Brothers
"Up From Below" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
"Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound" by De Novo Dahl
"Wilco (The Album)" by Wilco
"Try Fly Blue Sky" by The Heart Strings
"Noble Beast" by Andrew Bird
"My Maudlin Career" by Camera Obscura.

Some Books I Read (and loved):
NOTE: I always run into the issue of not being able to remember what I've read at the end of the year. I tried to remedy it by signing up for GoodReads.com, but I forget to enter books into my profile. I know I read much more than this, but this is what I could remember. Also, there were some books I hated.
"Julie and Julia" by Julie Powell
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (again)
"Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows" (again)
"The Wild Things" by Dave Eggers
"Pretty in Plaid" by Jen Lancaster
"Certain Girls" by Jennifer Weiner

Some Awesome Movies I Saw (and loved):
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"Up"
"500 Days of Summer"
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
"Inglorious Basterds"
"Julie and Julia"
"He Just Not That Into You"
"Where the Wild Things Are"
"Coraline"
"Adventureland"
"Whip It"
"Sherlock Holmes"

Places I Visited:
Memphis, Tenn.
Grantville, Penn.
Chicago
Boston
Plymouth, Mass.
Dauphin Island, Ala.
Washington, D.C.
Blue Ridge, Ga.
Franklin, Tenn.

Famous People Sightings:
Chuck Leavell (in my office)
Top Chef contestant Kevin Gillespie (at his restaurant)
Top Chef contestant Hector Santiago (at Cavalia)
Alice Walker (in an interview)
Elton John (at a speaking engagement)

Live Shows That Rocked:
A.C. Newman
Dave Sedaris
Alton Brown and the "Good Eats" 10th anniversary show
John Oliver and Seth Myers comedy tour
Modest Mouse
Portlant Cello Project

Thankful crafting

2009-12-05T16:23:00.007-05:00

For Thanksgiving decor this year, I wanted to keep it simple but also incorporate some of the stuff I learned while planning the wedding.

A few of the lessons:

1. Mason jars make flowers look rustic and adorable. Always.

2. Why buy it when you can make it?

3. Candles, candles, candles.

Hot Pants and I are not particularly fancy folks, but we like a pretty table, and I love a chance to drag out my boxes of crafty things. Plus, we were having friends over for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks to Martha Stewart, some of my favorite craft blogs and a little ingenuity, I think it turned out pretty well.

I dragged out an old book I have deconstructed 12 different ways and tore out a few pages. I revived the typewriter stamps I bought at the Newseum in D.C. and used abundantly for our wedding and went to work. I also made use of the tree stamp we applied to the envelopes of our wedding invitations. Add in some twine, some clothes pins an voila! Awesomeness.

Then, I stole an idea from my gal pal, Martha Stewart, and turned some beautiful green pears into place cards with a little card stock, the typewriter stamps and white ribbon I had bought to help make my veil. Martha had suggested handwriting the names, but I wanted to give the decor some consistency.

Lastly, I went to work on some unsuspecting squash and made six fantastic votive candle holders (that rotted three days later in a gooey mess, but whatever).

Ta da!

Those crazy kids in Knoxville

2009-12-05T16:13:00.003-05:00

My lovely friend, The Modern Gal, made a bet with her boyfriend involving snow, nudity and a 21-yard punt. Guess what? It snowed in Knoxville this weekend.

Check out the video of the results over at the MG's blog here.

Yeeeeeeee haaaaa!

2009-11-29T15:13:00.001-05:00

Thankful No. 4 and 5

2009-11-27T09:09:00.002-05:00

I was so busy yesterday cooking and decorating that I didn't get around to posting about thankfulness. I am thankful for all of the people who came to my house yesterday -- whether to eat or just say hello. They are my Atlanta family, and I love all of them a lot.

Now, today's thankful post comes from the Tubes of You:

Thankful No. 3

2009-11-25T08:43:00.004-05:00

Today's thankful post comes to you from The Big Guy himself, Buddha:

"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful."

Thankful No. 2

2009-11-24T15:02:00.001-05:00

Brought to you from the Thankful Bapstist Church on College Avenue in Atlanta...

I'm thankful for 33,000 words

2009-11-23T11:21:00.004-05:00

Hello, world!

My bestie over at Patches & Paws has issued a challenge to write about something you're thankful for each day this week. I've been wrapped up in NaNoWriMo all month, so I'm afraid the bloggety blog has been suffering a bit. So, I will start my week by saying I'm thankful for the 33,000 words I've written so far for this crazy project. I'm still behind where I should be with just seven days to go, but the end is is sight. Fifty-thousand words is in my grasp! Back to the novel.

Happy Halloween! (also, don't call me for a month)

2009-10-31T10:55:00.004-04:00

Boo!

Scared you, didn't I? Tee hee.

OK, so it's Halloween, the night where I dress up like Frida Kahlo, ditch Hot Pants (who is sick) and go to a party. At midnight, instead of turning into a pumpkin, I will transform into a literary genius with my first attempt at NaNoWriMo. (Now, that's scary.)

So, if I don't pick up the phone for the next 30 days, don't hate. Just know that I will let you share in my millions when my clever, pithy novel becomes the top-selling book of all time.

NaNoWriHuh?

2009-10-22T17:43:00.003-04:00

I have just committed myself to writing a 50,000-word novel between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30. It's National Novel Writing Month! Yeee haw!

What do I get at the end of it, aside from self-respect and a bloated ego for being so clever? A T-shirt, I think. Or I may have to pay for that. I don't know. The point is, I'm doing this and it's going to fucking rock. The novel won't fucking rock, mind you. Because I will have to write 1,600 words daily to get it done in time, and that kind of crunch rarely produces awesome results. But the process, people. The process will rock. It's a like a giant creative catharsis. A writing-gasm, if you will. Ew.

Just 11 days until the fun begins! Watch out, Dave Eggers!

Music, music, music!

2009-10-08T16:07:00.004-04:00

Wooo! New music!

* Firstly, there's Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, which put out this fabulous single on their debut album. Here's their recent appearance on Letterman. Ignore the stupid talk bubbles the poster inserted into the video.

* The Avett Brothers put out a new record with producer/music magnate/facial hair enthusiast Rick Rubin. It's a lot more polished than their previous albums, which has been a tough adjustment for me. I liked how imperfect their voices sounded and their lo-fi studio chat before and after songs. But I find myself listening to the album over and over again, mesmerized by the songs. Maybe ol' Rick knew what he was doing after all.

* Wild child Karen O has released the "Where the Wild Things Are" soundtrack and you can stream online for free. Check it out. I can't wait to see what Spike Jonze has done with my favorite children's book! If Maurice Sendak approves, it's got to be more than OK.

A proper thank you

2009-10-01T13:47:00.006-04:00

I got married last weekend!

Chances are you, you already know this. Because you were probably there.

But just in case you didn't, I'm now someone's wife. It's kind of weird.

I only have one regret from the whole thing. During the reception, we had a time where we thanked everyone for their love and support, etc. I did not take time to prepare myself for this activity, which is why I panicked later realizing that I hadn't thanked everyone I needed to. I made 1 million lists for my wedding but managed not to make a list for that. *Head desk*

So, here's what I should have said:

We would like to thank each and every one of you for your role in our
lives. You have made us who we are today, both as individuals and as a couple. But there are some people here who went above and beyond the call of duty and deserve to be named individually. In no particular order...
Sara Jackson designed the awesome programs that so many of you have asked about. She is a truly amazing and talented person, and I am fortunate to have worked with her. Plus, she's got a really cute kid. Hi, Owen!

The Rev. Lindsay Riddell officiated the wedding, and what a marvelous job she did! She made it look easy to stand up in front of 100 people and formalize a marriage. Lindsay will always be one of my favorite people on the planet, and I am so happy she could be such an important part of our wedding.

Ashley Heher, please stand up. This girl kept me single-handedly calm and collected this week. She helped me walk it off when I wanted to yell at people (sorry, Mom!) and was invaluable in getting stuff done. She made to-do lists, sent me calendar entries and reminded me to breathe. I could not have made it without her. Thank you, Noodles.

A whole group of our friends showed up early this morning to put up the beautiful decorations you see all around you. In fact, Lindsay had to scale the entrance gate because it was locked this morning. So, thanks to all of you who took time out of what could have been a lazy morning to make my wedding gorgeous.

I love all of you so much and am so grateful for your help. You have made today unforgettable.

What's in your file?

2009-08-29T09:26:00.006-04:00

My mom recently gave me the big file she kept on me throughout my life...report cards, standardized test scores, finger prints, my birth announcement, etc. It's as if the comments from my teachers were written yesterday, not 20 years ago.

My kindergarten teacher told my parents I needed to work on neatness in writing and coloring and should focus on "being a better listener." This would serve as a theme throughout my report cards, as if all my teachers had gotten together and told each other that I talk too much. This teacher also wrote that I had "trouble with small and large motor coordination." Yes, indeed, I was a klutz even then.

My first-grade teacher wrote that I needed to work on "neatness and excessive talking." In P.E., she wrote that I had "a difficult time picking up new concepts or skills." I'm guessing my personal trainer could attest to that if you called him right now.

My second-grade teacher wrote that I needed to "continue to work nightly on her math facts, as this is slightly a weak area for her." If she had only known what a weak area it would be! Math is the bane of my existence. For each one of my standardized tests, I blew the roof off the verbal, vocabulary, spelling and reading sections. The math sections had me down in the 60th percentile or lower. It's the reason why the 28 I got on the ACT was mind-blowingly awesome considering I bombed the math portion.

Fast forward to eighth grade when I scrawled "yuck" on my report card because I got a B and a B+ mixed in with my As. I was a perfectionist even then, aiming for all As on every report card. Freaking myself out when I didn't quite meet my own, irrationally high expectations.

Inspiration

2009-08-28T10:20:00.003-04:00

Hello, friends.

Thought I had forgotten you, eh? Well, I had. But then some inspiration hit, and I couldn't get you out of my mind.

Firstly, my friend Noodles has started a new blog about training for a 5k after, um, not training for, like, her whole life. She and her coworker, Shawn, lost their minds and decided to do a couch-to-5K by Nov. 1. I give them both crazy mad props, not only because that's quite a feat, but also because the blog is hilarious.

Secondly, I saw "Julie and Julia." Yeah, it was too long and the parts with Amy Adams weren't nearly as good as the parts with Meryl Streep. But what I came away with was how much blogging _ and in turn, the cooking challenge she set for herself _ helped her dig out of a deep, dark sadness hole. I've been down a few of those holes in my life and can appreciate the strategery.

Lastly, I miss writing for me. Meeeeeeeeeeee. I spend all day at work writing for other people the way other people want me to write, and I started this blog so I could flee that misery. This is supposed to be my saving grace, and instead, I made it a chore. Well, fuck that. I'm done with that.

Now, I order you to listen to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. It will make your Friday worthwhile.

Welcome to SNAFUville

2009-08-08T16:33:00.000-04:00

We are 49 days from the wedding, and things are starting to get really interesting. And by interesting, I mean WHAT THE FUCK, PEOPLE, ARE YOU TRYING TO SEND ME TO AN EARLY GRAVE?!!??!!?!

Ahem.

The lovely dress I ordered in March has yet to arrive here in Atlanta. The latest information from the dress shop is that it is en route from "the Orient" to the distributor. Once it gets there, they will mail it to the shop, where I will retrieve it and beg a seamstress to alter it for me. Now, the seamstresses I talked to say they need six to eight weeks to do the alterations, particularly because I've lost a bunch of weight since I ordered the dress. But we are already seven weeks from the wedding and the dress probably won't be in my possession for at least another week and a half. Great.

And speaking of getting married, don't try to do it in Tennessee without a properly ordained minister or justice of the peace. The Volunteer State is one of just four states that don't recognize online ordination, which is how my wonderful friend Mooch got her certification to do my ceremony. Turns out we have to get married at the courthouse to make it legit. Add that to my ever growing to-do list. Awesome.

That to-do list includes such small items as choosing the menu, making the music playlist for the reception iPod and decorating the grounds of the place we're having the reception and ceremony. No big deal.

Beantown in photos

2009-07-25T09:32:00.016-04:00

I've been meaning to post photos from our eventful trip to Boston last month. No time like the present.

Chowdah!

A Red Sox game at Fenway

Mmmm. Beer.

Plymouth Rock, in all its glory

The first thing the Pilgrims saw? Yachts!

Boat thingees on Plymouth harbor

Not art at Harvard

The bridge to Harvard

Where everybody knows your name

Make way for the ducklings

The Freedom Trail

I can see the little Japanese people running now...

2009-07-20T21:59:00.005-04:00

I was never one of Those Girls. You know the kind. They primp and preen and pout and prance and other p-words. They're twits. They're the kind of girls who, when they get engaged, turn into complete and total lunatics. They're the kind of girls I hated in high school and who, at my 10 year reunion, had not changed one bit despite the five urchins they'd managed to pop out before the age of 28. (Have I mentioned I went to a super conservative Christian high school?)

So, when Hot Pants proposed, I immediately swore to myself I wouldn't worry about stupid shit that didn't matter when it came to planning the wedding. Um, yeah. Here is the list of minutiae I have managed to focus on while losing sight of the bigger picture items, such as the reception menu and the ceremony.

1. Shoes. I am not wearing shoes during the ceremony. I've wanted to be barefoot at my wedding since I was a little girl, though I can't really remember why. Probably has something to do with the hippies who raised me. Anyway, part of the reception is outside, so I decided I needed shoes for that. But you can't wear old shoes on your wedding day! You must buy brand new shoes that are shiny and pretty. I've bought three pair so far (yes, three) and I'm pretty sure I've decided on which ones to wear, but that could all go out the window the second I run across another pair of adorable flip-flops with sparkly flowers on top. Or striped ballet slippers. Or another pair of green Chuck Taylors. Or those kitten heeled peep toe shoes!

2. Earrings. Oh, dear God, the earrings. My dress has an antique look to it, so I wanted art deco earrings. But I also wanted vintage, which can be pricey. And I need them to go with my grandmother's pearl necklace. Or do I scrap the necklace and wear big, long sparkly statement earrings? Is it more important to wear heirloom jewelry, even if it isn't the Perfect Pair of Earrings? Still, I want to honor the women who helped make me who I am today, even if they didn't wear beautiful tear drop earrings with filigree and crystals. People, I have been to a ton of weddings in the last three years and I cannot tell you what the earrings looked like on a single one of those brides. Chances are, I could wear radishes in my ears and no one would bat an eye. And, yes, I have bought two different pairs of earrings that I still don't think are quite right. The quest continues.

3. Envelope liners. Wow, did I ever have a quandary on my hands when I found out about envelope liners. See, our invites are really cool but kind of plain, so I was looking for ways to gussy up the invites without a) spending a lot of cash and b) making them too froofy. Envelope liners seemed perfect. I had visions of making them myself (all the cool DIY brides are doing it), but that went out the window when I thought about actually having to execute that plan. And then I debated whether I should get them at all considering envelopes are the first thing to go in the recycling bin in our household. Who gives a shit if the damn things are lined? Spend that money on booze! Besides, I was having a hell of a time finding the right size since we apparently chose the largest envelopes known to man. All the cute patterns are for the dainty little envelopes that only eat three bites before saying they're full and wear cute little dresses without looking ridiculous. I hate those bitches. After several days of searches (both on the Internet and in my soul), I found some cool liners for cheap that will look awesome with our invites. Done.

You say it's your birthday...

2009-07-14T22:45:00.005-04:00

It's my birthday, too, yeah! (No, really. It is.)
This time 30 years ago, I looked like this. Give or take a few hours.

Newsfeed

2009-07-08T10:56:00.003-04:00

Newsfeed away!

1. We found Kevin's mom! She was this very nice, very clueless young woman who asked us for dog-owning advice. Thus ensued a very nice, very long sermon from Hot Pants and me on her missteps. For starters, she told us he had run away several times before, "but he always came back." Uh, he's run away before yet you've never gotten him a tag? Um, yeah. He weighs 3 pounds and runs in the street, so chances are pretty good he's going to get squashed by a car. Get him a tag right now! She also told us that she didn't want to get him neutered because she wanted to breed him. I informed her that he would run away a lot less (and hump a lot less) if she would have his boys snipped off. Lastly, she announced she's moving to France in two months and wasn't sure what she needed to do to take him with her. Sigh. Here is where I told her that we would be happy to find a home for him if she couldn't take him. People, people, people. Don't buy a dog unless you're ready for the long list of responsibilities that come with it.

2. How sad was the Michael Jackson memorial yesterday? I was fine and making snarky comments about everything until his daughter, Paris, got up there and started sobbing about how much she loves her Daddy. Holy hell, did I cry! So effing sad.

3. Two friends of mine have started a rather hilarious blog called Matt and Marlene Devour the Culture. Read and love.

And he shall be called Kevin

2009-07-03T23:54:00.006-04:00

We found the cutest little long-haired Chihuahua wandering around our street last night, scared to death of the big bad world. He's got a collar but not tag. Way to go, conscientious owners.

He's a sweetie, but he's caused quite the stir in our house, as Oscar The Only Dog Who Ever Existed In the Whole World isn't very happy to learn his name isn't terribly accurate.

We've posted signs around the neighborhood, figuring the little guy couldn't get very far on his four tiny legs. It'll be a week before we start looking for a new home for him, so get in line now.

Meanwhile, I'm calling him Kevin. Behold!

News feed

2009-07-02T16:02:00.004-04:00

I've been kind of bitchy latey. First the squirrels, then Boston. I promise to be better about the bitter. For now, here's some what's in the hopper lately:

1. It's been two months since Hot Pants and I started personal training, and we are seeing great results. I've lost 13 pounds and gained muscle and confidence. I'm not sure how much he's lost (though I know it's more than I have ... men are so lucky!), but he looks awesome. I'm hoping I can shed some more of me before the wedding dress arrives and I have the first fitting. I ordered it in late March, so I should be getting the call from the dress shop in the next few weeks telling me it's here! *Does happy dance*

2. "So You Think You Can Dance" is back! The season has been really good so far, and I've actually been disappointed at a few of the dancers who've gone home. I've finally learned to love Sonya and Mia Michaels, both who drove me nuts last year. (Although, now that I've seen her Web site, I might feel differently about Mia...) My favorite dancers are Melissa, the ballerina with a heart of gold, and Evan, the Gene Kelly-esque Broadway dancer.

3. Michael Jackson died. Just in case you were, you know, living under a rock or just stupid.

4. My dad's been scanning and sending me old photos to display during the wedding. Here's some eye candy.

Fuck you, Boston

2009-06-27T18:16:00.014-04:00

This is a tale of the worst vacation ever.
We should have seen it coming. After all, we've had horrible weather in every other city we've visited this year, including riding out a tropical depression along the Gulf Coast that flooded the island we were staying on and buried our car in sand and surf. See?

Washington, D.C.? Cold and rainy. Chicago? Rainy and cold. The beach? Flooding, wind, rain, evacuation. You get the picture.

So why would Boston be different? We just had no clue what Beantown had in store for us.
First, our flight was delayed leaving Atlanta, which meant we arrived in Boston at 2 a.m. We had a bike tour scheduled for the next day, but we decided to postpone it because of the nasty weather. We spent the day walking around, avoiding downpours by running into stores. That night, we went to the Braves-Red Sox game at Fenway, where the Bravos absolutely ruled. (Woot!) The rain held off during the game, but this was my view during the game from my "partially obstructed" seat.

The next day dawned gloriously sunny. We nabbed a ridiculously expensive rental car and headed for Plymouth to attend a wedding. We didn't have time to see much of the town before the ceremony, but we did see a rather disappointing rock that played some importance in our country's founding. Big lot of hooey, it is.

The wedding was gorgeous, and we met some really awesome people at the reception while dancing the night away. Plus, they had an ice cream sundae bar. Mmmm!

Back to the tragedy.

We woke up the next morning to biting wind and a nasty misting rain. So much for touring Plymouth. Back in the car to Boston, where the roads are so confusing that it took us an hour to find our hotel right across from Harvard. You've heard of Harvard, right? Google Maps seems to be confused as to where it is. Or, at least, the GPS in our iPhones seemed to be confused about where we were in relationship to Harvard. Arg. More rain, more walking, more wet feet and cold. Cambridge is cool, but I'd rather see it when my extremities are dry.

The next morning was just as disgusting. We decide to take that bike tour anyway, as it was our last day in Boston and we didn't want to eat the tickets. About five minutes into the tour, I fell off the bike, skinning up my hand and knee on Beacon Hill. Awesome.

I got back up, hopped on my bike and continue with the 10-mile tour (after some first aid). Ouchy ouch ouch. By the end of the ride, we were cold and very, very wet. My hand, wrist and knee ached. We walked around the North End neighborhood for a while and grabbed some tasty pasta for lunch, where Hot Pants promptly dumped a full glass of Diet Coke all over himself.

Determined to make the best of it, we headed back out into the rain to see about the Institute of Contemporary Art's Shepard Fairey exhibit. I noticed my ankle and foot starting to hurt, but I chalked it up to my hugging the sidewalk earlier. After a mile and a half trudging through the rain, we discovered the ICA was closed. It's Monday. Fuck.

We grabbed a cab and headed for Cheers, where I gleefully bought a pair of dry socks to relieve my feet of their misery. At this point, I was kind of limping from the ankle pain. The more I walked, the worse it got and before long, I could barely walk. Fuck.

Finally, we decided to just head for the airport, where was now hopping on my one good foot and cussing under my breath. We checked to see what gate we were leaving from, only to discover that our flight was delayed for FOUR HOURS. This was where I announced really loudly that I hate Boston. No longer able to walk at all, I sent HP off to find a wheelchair. Turns out you can get checked in and through airport security really quickly if one person in your party is in a wheelchair. That's great, unless you're at Logan airport, where the AirTran terminal has absolutely nothing but a small newsstand and you're stuck there for, I don't know, FOUR HOURS.

I had to elevate my ankle, so I ended up lying on the floor with my foot up in the chair, showing the entire world my Cheers socks. We finally arrived home at midnight, never more glad to see our cat-hair infested home. I'm sure Boston is great, but I'm not really interested in going back any time soon.

Peachy Keen

2009-06-17T20:22:00.002-04:00

I live in the Peach State, even though Georgia actually is third in the nation for peach production, behind California and South Carolina. Whatever. We're the ones with peaches on our license plates. Imagine how excited I was when I moved in with Hot Pants and discovered the very lovely tree in our front yard was, in fact, a peach tree! I had visions of making homemade peach pie and canning peaches for the winter and doing all sorts of homespun peach things with the peaches because they are peachy.

Fast forward a few months to when the tree started to actually produce peaches. Did you know peach trees produce too many peaches, so you have to constantly thin your crop or you'll end up with tiny, nubby peaches instead of gorgeous juicy ones like you see at the grocery store? Yeah, um, it's really fun spending time each afternoon picking tiny little peach buds off a tree in your front yard. Woot.

We did the best we could, but by the middle of the summer, the tree's branches were sagging under the weight of its fruit. Add in a two-year-old drought, and what you have on your hands is a bunch of broken branches. Not just one or two branches, but, like, entire hunks of the tree just ripped right off. The tree just gave the hell up. And the peaches looked like sad little golf balls.

That's when we decided to trot off across the country on a nine-day vacation, leaving our miserable little peach tree to fend for itself. About three days in, we got a call from our next-door neighbor, Julie. A lady and her five children had pulled up in front of the house and started loading trash bags full of our peaches. Despite threats from Julie that the police would be involved if they didn't leave, the woman continued harvesting our fruit. I was livid. If that woman had come by when we were home, knocked on the door and asked for some peaches, I would have gladly given her as many as she could carry. It's a terrible economy, and folks have got to help each other out. But to just take them? That's bullshit. Sure enough, when we got home, what few peaches were left were rotten.

This year comes along, and the drought is over and the tree looks healthy and I'm all "We're gonna have peaches!" I carefully thinned our crop, thinking of all the wonderful things I could make with the fruit. Long about mid-May, we noticed gnawed on little ball-like things all over our back deck. Yep. Squirrels. Motherfuckers ate every last one of our peaches and left the evidence on the back deck, just in case we didn't feel the sting of the theft enough. There is not a single goddamn peach on that tree and the season isn't even half over! Fucking rodents.

So far, it's:

Thieves and rodents - 2

CB - 0

Clean cut vs. Guyliner

2009-05-21T09:40:00.005-04:00

There was a moment during last night's "American Idol" finale where Adam Lambert appeared in the gayest outfit I've ever seen on that show. He had on stacked gold boots, tight black leather from head to toe and some kind of sparkly, wire wing-like raised shoulder guard things. Hot Pants burst into hysterical laughter.

"I hope he wins, because that means American would have voted for THAT!" he said between shrieks.

As it turns out, American didn't vote for that. Or, at least, enough of American didn't, despite Lambert's lovefest with the judges throughout the season. America vote for Mr. White Bread. Shock!

Truth be told, I like Kris Allen. He was a big ol' snoozefest at the beginning, but he really showed his stuff as the season wore on. His rendition of "Ain't No Sunshine" was AWESOME. I loved his Kanye West cover. I thought his Michael Jackson cover was decent. For the first time in a while, I agree with America on this one. I didn't like David Cook. I hate Taylor Hicks. Jordin Sparks is boring. Carrie Underwood is not my style. Kelly Clarkson? Nope. But there's a tiny chance I might actually buy a Kris Allen album, provided he doesn't do a whole record of Kara DioGuardi songs.

Martha Stewart, eat your heart out

2009-05-11T22:33:00.005-04:00

After searching through nearly every adorable bird cake topper set on Etsy.com, I sighed heavily and then gave up on the idea of ordering one. They're just too damn expensive. Plus, I knew I could do something similar myself with just a little effort. So, a few weeks ago I was shopping with my sister-in-law-to-be (hyphens! yay!), and we ran across the most adorable little bird salt and pepper shaker set. Add a little tulle, some pearls and a bow tie, and viola! Cake toppers!

Hot Pants crafted little the little brown shoes out of polymer clay and I painted them to look like Chuck Taylors, which he and his best man will be wearing at the wedding. I used the tulle from my mom's veil and the pearls from her dress. I'm really happy with how they turned out, though I'm still considering a hat for the dude bird since he's got three little holes in the top of his head. And I can't decide if I should let them stand alone or if I should attach them to some kind of platform or nest-like thingee.

My crafty streak doesn't end there! I had found the coolest note cards on Etsy for wedding guests to fill out during the reception, but they were, again, pricey. So, I re-purposed the card stock we have left over from the save the dates and put to work a set of stamps that look like typewriter keys. Check it out:

Dum dum da-dum

2009-05-08T22:52:00.006-04:00

Thanks to theknot.com, I know there are exactly 141 days until Hot Pants and I wed. Hard to believe it's that close. Wedding bloggers (yes, I read them. Shut up.) are obsessed with creating inspiration boards to help get their creative juices flowing. I've not created my own, but here are a few I find rather beautiful.

This just in: I'm not dead

2009-05-07T15:01:00.003-04:00

And to prove it, I shall weigh in on the Scrubs debate that is raging out there today.

Will they or won't they?

Last night's season (and Zach Braff) finale sure did play out like a series finale, complete with dozens of past guest star appearances (Laverne! Snoop Dogg Attending! Tasty Coma Wife!), an almost reveal of the The Janitor's name and a home-movie-style glimpse into what could be the future for the characters (much of which was reflected on J.D.'s face, which was a super cool effect). Throw in a Peter Gabriel cover of "The Book of Love" by the Magnetic Fields and touching moments between Carla, Turk, J.D. and Elliott, and we have ourselves the perfect ending to a series that has a special place in my heart.

I can't imagine it any other way, and don't really want to. How could they possibly do the show without J.D.? He's the centerpiece, narrator, protagonist and everyman of the show. Plus, he's Zach Braff. *Swoon* I'm hoping they don't pull a "Saved by the Bell: The New Class" on us and hope we continue watching even though Kelly, Slater, Zack and Lisa have been replaced with a bunch of no-names and Screech on steriods.

What do you think? Will ABC beat this dead horse as it rides a motorcycle over a tank of sharks or will they let the characters live on in syndication?

The fabric of our lives

2009-04-15T12:57:00.003-04:00

Hot Pants pointed me to this super cool project from the Cotton people. It's different artists singing songs they wrote with Cotton's memorable little jingle ("the touch, the feel, the fabric of our lives"), including Zooey Deschanel from She & Him (one of the best actors-turned-singers since Jenny Lewis).

I'm Hanz, and I'm Franz

2009-04-14T17:11:00.004-04:00

Hot Pants and I started sessions with a personal trainer yesterday, which means typing this is very, very painful. In fact, doing anything at all sends twinges of unhappiness up my muscles. Even lying very still. So, I am going to stop typing now and simply tell you to go here and watch this little bit of hilariousness that had me guffawing on Saturday. I nearly peed my pants when Zac Efron said, "They don't project or cheat out!" (NOTE: It's important for you to be a theater dork to get this joke.)

HAHAHAHA. Whimper.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming

2009-04-08T16:16:00.003-04:00

OK, so I did promise not to make this entirely about my upcoming nuptials. Not that there's anything wrong with writing about it! I just want this blog to remain what it was prior to my engagement -- a lovely mish-mash of random things that fascinate me, give me chills, excite me or otherwise catch my eye.

Now that I've mentioned the engagement and the wedding (check and check), I can move on.

Music you should buy RIGHT NOW:
1. The new Neko Case. It's haunting. It's melodic. It's beautiful. You will love it.
2. The Heart Strings. Hot Pants describes it as "twee pop" or "perfectly suited for a moderately happy intro scene of a Zach Braff movie." Yep. You may have to order it from an Amazon dealer because it's not in wide release in the States yet (the British are just so elusive). I found it here.
3. The new Andrew Bird. He's just so tasty that it makes me want to pinch his gaunt, pale, hipster cheeks. This one's got some more of his awesome up-tempo stuff, which is good. Because there's only so much sad bastard music one can take. Even Belle and Sebastian got the hint eventually.

American Idol update:
Why does America keep voting for Scott? I don't care if he's blind. He can't friggin' sing! Stop with the pity votes! Boooooo, Scott!
At first, I adored Danny, but he kind of puts me to sleep now. Plus he sang "Jesus, Take the Wheel," which is one of the worst songs ever written. On the other hand, I hated hated hated Adam at first, but I've loved his last few performances and voted for him each time. Maybe a new stylist would do something about his hair dye and eyeliner problem.
I think Allison rocks and should be snatched up by a record company immediately. I also love Matt. He's so adorable in this geeky way and has a nice set of pipes.

CB, out!

Flower talk

2009-04-02T22:42:00.006-04:00

Rather than spend hundreds of dollars on flowers for corsages and boutonnieres for our nuptials, I decided to go with these beauties from Etsy.

For the womenfolk:

For the boys (but in all green):

For my hair:

For the bouquets, I'm thinking of using green spider mums:

Or green hydrangeas:

DIY wedding

2009-03-30T23:31:00.005-04:00

I promise not to turn this into a wedding blog, but as that particular event is occupying about 98.7 percent of my brain power these days, it could get very wedding-y here at the Daily Bacon.

Just a warning.

Anyway, I like to be crafty, so I'm currently scouting DIY projects for the ceremony and reception. So far, I have decided to make my veil using the tulle from my mom's veil. I also am planning to make a version of these awesome Ann Wood cake topper birds.

So friggin' cute, but expensive and really difficult to come by, as Ann apparently isn't really producing much these days.

We are collecting jars from friends over the next few months to use as hanging votive holders during the ceremony. We're planning to have the service under the trees in the yard of the venue, so votive candles hanging from the tree branches will be lovely.

Meanwhile, Etsy is saving my life. So far, I've ordered the corsages and boutonnieres for the wedding party there. Those links are only approximations because I'm having the artists make them in our colors (light green and dark brown). I'm also looking there for thank-you gifts and other decorations. It's a little addictive.

We're headed to Memphis this weekend to get a good look at the venue and to meet with a cake vendor. I want to do a tiered cupcake display instead of a traditional wedding cake because a) cupcakes rock and b) cupcakes are cheaper. Plus, I can get a lot of different kinds rather than just a couple of kinds of cake.

That is enough wedding for now. Stop yawning.

Deck the halls

2009-03-25T16:32:00.007-04:00

We finally have a deck! It took weeks of meetings with six different companies to get what we wanted at the price we wanted, but it was worth the wait. Exterior Design + Deck did an exquisite job. They showed up on time, they left on time, they didn't annoy us and they didn't cut corners. It's the first time I've ever encountered a contractor that didn't make me want to kill them.

Hot Pants and I went to Lowe's last night to get chairs for our new back porch. These photos aren't the finished product because we have since put on a tin roof and are planning to install a porch swing, but they give you the idea.

Imagine a porch swing attached to that roof. The pattern on the railing is called Chippendale.

That roof has been covered with tin and makes a lovely sound when it rains.

Stop asking me that

2009-03-22T20:57:00.003-04:00

This is how a typical conversation goes when someone finds out I got engaged week ago:

Person: Wow! Congratulations! When's the wedding?
Me: September 26th.
Person: You set a date already? That's fast!
Me: (head explodes)

Then I have to spend five minutes explaining that we want an outdoor wedding, which means we have to hold it this fall or next spring and neither of us wants to wait a year to get married because we've lived together for a year and a half and it's just silly to take 12 months to plan what will be a small wedding. Blah, blah, blah.

Seriously? Why, why, why, why do people ask me when the wedding is and then express surprise when I can answer the question? Are you asking me with the assumption that I'll just shrug? Because that's stupid. It'd be one thing if the question was "Have you set a date yet?" or "Do you know when you're getting married yet?" But NO.

Sigh.

Bitch session over.

Hopping up and down excitedly beginning.

I bought a dress! I bought a dress! I bought a dress! It's so beautiful! Yay!

Don't you dare say "That was fast!" I will fuck you up.
_____
On a completely unrelated note, you might remember my Lament of the Shattered Green Mug. A few months after that unfortunate incident, my friend Christina bought me a replacement mug. Well, one of the feline trio knocked it off a table last night and broke it into beautiful little green shards. Waaaaaaaaaaah.

The Snuggie cometh

2009-03-19T23:13:00.004-04:00

They arrived today, complete with reading lights. Snuggie is spelled A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

Super-Secret Love Maneuver

2009-03-18T15:23:00.004-04:00

I noticed Hot Pants' heart was beating rather rapidly Saturday morning as we cuddled in bed, trying to go back to sleep because 8:30 is too goddamn early to get up on the weekend. I didn't think much of it, figuring the coffee he'd had the night before was quickening his pulse. I went downstairs to visit with our out-of-town guests and to eat the remnants of the cake from the previous night's dinner. After about 20 minutes, he asked if I could please come upstairs for just a minute.

When we got upstairs, he asked me to pull up the Web site for SongFight!, the online songwriting competition he runs. This is what I saw. I looked over and saw that he had placed an open ring box on the bed next to me. Inside was the most beautiful sapphire and diamond ring I have ever seen, made just for me based on what I had said I wanted in an engagement ring. I immediately burst into tears and got all flustered. He and his friends had all written songs just for the proposal, all sitting there waiting for me to listen. My mind was racing.

"Which one should I listen to first?" I said between sniffs.
"Uh, mine?" John said, smiling.

I clicked play and listened to him singing about how much he loves me. At the end of the song he sings "Will you marry me?" I nodded vigorously, unable to speak properly. He slid the ring on my finger. Perfect.

I started calling everyone I could think of, but not many people were answering their phones. I was particularly pissed my parents weren't picking up. I began making plans with some folks to go to a celebratory brunch at our favorite spot, Radial Cafe. We got dressed and got in the car to go to Radial but John didn't stop the car at the restaurant, instead driving in a big circle and getting on the interstate.

"Are my parents in town?" I asked incredulously.
"No, they are not in town," he answered with a grin on his face.

I tried not to ask any more questions, even though I had no idea what was happening or where we were going. The aquarium? The CNN center? Wren's Nest? He made a joke about going to Six Flags, but we were headed south on the interstate, not west. The airport! I thought. I asked if he had flown in Chippendales dancers to congratulate me. Or a marching band? Do I get a performance? I babbled to keep my mind from spinning. I know whose faces I was hoping to see, but I didn't want to get my hopes up.

We arrived and stood in the receiving area with dozens of other people, all of whom had no idea what had just happened. So, I took it upon myself to tell them. We had time to kill, after all. And then I saw the faces of my mom and dad topping the escalator from the gates area. I squeaked out an "Eek!" and ran toward them, collapsing in hugs and tears.

"I was hoping it was going to be you!" I said excitedly.

They were all smiles. So was HP.

We got in the car and drove back to Radial Cafe. I saw a familiar car in the parking lot. It belonged to my friend, Chris, who lives in Jackson, Miss.

"No way!" I yelled, jumping out of the car and running toward the restaurant's back door. I could see in the window my aunt and cousin from Tennessee, friends from Chattanooga and friends from here in Atlanta. I pulled at the door handle, but it was locked.

"Let me in!" I yelled.

They couldn't open the door, either. Arg! I ran around the restaurant and through the throngs of brunch eaters to the back of the restaurant, where sat 30 of my friends and family members waiting to celebrate with us. They had all known HP's plans for two weeks or more and hadn't even hinted that something was going on. Some told me they didn't answer the phone for fear that morning for fear of tipping me off to the plan.

We hugged and giggled and talked and visited. Plates of grits, eggs, tofu hash, biscuits and bagels came out, filling the room with delicious smells. I sat and looked around in amazement at how many people were there just for me, just because they love me, even if it meant driving five hours or more to get there.

More crying.

It was truly the most perfect day of my entire life. I had many of the wonderful people in my life around me. And I had the man I love next to me, promising to be right there next to me for the rest of my life.

Thanks, baby. You did good.

Click, click

2009-03-10T23:21:00.005-04:00

One of my earliest memories is my father snapping away on his Konica camera as I played in the pussy willow tree in the backyard of our tiny house, the same tree my grandfather had nursed from a sapling when my mom was little. Dad always had a camera with him and never missed an opportunity to get a shot of a V-shaped flock of geese or a stunning sunset across the Mississippi River.

After years of clicking away on the shutter, Dad has finally has set up a Web site where people can buy his beautiful art. Even if you're not in the market for some photography, it's a nice way to pass 15 or 20 minutes.

Reasons I feel old

2009-03-08T10:33:00.005-04:00

1. It is almost physically impossible for me to stay awake past midnight and sleep past 8:30 a.m.

2. My knees hurt after a low-impact game of Ultimate Frisbee.

3. I have no desire whatsoever to stand at concerts or sporting events.

4. The thought of getting drunk is too exhausting to even bother with more than one drink at parties.

5. Gray. Hairs.

6. I am turning 30 in four months.

7. I hurt my lower back turning on the shower last week.

The cult of Snuggie

2009-03-06T10:30:00.005-05:00

The New York Times had quite the hysterical piece over the weekend about the infamous Snuggie. The Blanket with Sleeves! has achieved such a following that it's lead to Snuggie pub crawls, Snuggie satire and Snuggie raps.

And the company that created the Snuggie has sold 4 million of what amounts to a fleece Jedi warrior costume, which makes them the most brilliant marketers EVER. (I totally want one RIGHT NOW. Seriously. Buy me one. Please?)

Maybe next we'll see some sort of Snuggie Con for those who have shelled out the $19.95 (plus $7.95 S&H). Or a a Snuggie smack down on the WWE. Or a Snuggie Olympic sport (fastest reader?). Or a Project Runway challenge featuring the Snuggie. The possibilities are endless.

Faces of the recession

2009-03-05T08:58:00.002-05:00

Slate.com has started a new Flickr group for folks to submit photos illustrating the shithole known as the economy. Enjoy?

Warning! Warning!

2009-03-04T15:07:00.004-05:00

They arrived at my office this morning. They'll probably be in your office soon, too, taking over your brainwaves, making you think about nothing except chocolatey-minty goodness and gooey-caramely tastiness and chocolatey-peanut buttery yumminess. Run! Run while you still can! It's too late for me, but you can still save yourself!

Happy March!

2009-03-01T12:36:00.003-05:00

The snow started coming down a couple of hours ago and it's already collecting in a lovely, picturesque way. As this is the first snow this winter, I can hardly contain myself.

Farewell, Rocky

2009-02-27T10:54:00.004-05:00

In what is probably a harbinger for the rest of the journalism industry, Denver's Rocky Mountain News published it last edition today. The newspapers shut its doors after 150 years because its parent company, Scripps, couldn't sell off the newspaper, which lost out in its long running battle with the Denver Post as the top morning publication in the Mile High City.

You can see a PDF of the last front page and flip through each page here. Take the time to watch the video on the newspaper Web site. Read the columns by veteran reporters about their time at the newspaper. Peruse the photo galleries. Take a trip down memory lane with a history of their top news coverage. Each item is a eulogy, a mourning of the evolution of the news business, which is leaving behind a storied history as it downsizes its way toward rebirth. Or, at least, what I hope is rebirth. It's yet to be seen if any of my colleagues are members of a dying breed or pioneers on the precipice of the next news era.

Farewell, Rocky. I sure do hope you are the exception, not the rule.

Scenes from my life

2009-02-25T13:50:00.005-05:00

Bed, Bath & Beyond, cutting board aisle. Hot Pants and I are perusing the cutting boards, as ours is warped and cracking. I notice something called the Onion Saver, which is a plastic container shaped like an onion.

Me: Did you see this neat-o onion saver thing? You use it to keep onions you have sliced fresh and happy.

Overzealous BB&B worker: AREN'T THEY GREAT? YOU SHOULD TOTALLY BUY ONE!!!!

Me, a little shaken by how loud she is: Um, yes. They look neat. Thanks for your help!

Overzealous BB&B worker goes back to stocking shelf near us. I notice she has strangely spiked hair with streaks of blonde and is really, really, really tan for someone who is living in the Northern Hemisphere where it is winter.

Me, to HP: Why not this cutting board? It's nice. I like the dark wood color.

Overzealous BB&B worker: YOU COULD USE IT TO CUT YOUR ONION ON AND THEN GET THE ONION SAVER!!!

Me: We just need a cutting board right now. But thanks. Again.

Overzealous BB&B worker: NO PROBLEM! LET ME KNOW IF CAN HELP YOU ANY MORE!

A lesser known impact from the country's shit-ass economy: store workers are actually losing their minds.

And the winner is...

2009-02-22T11:41:00.005-05:00

I am jazzed about the Academy Awards tonight! I plan to be on the couch from red carpet to credits. Hot Pants and I are having a party (complete with little plastic Oscar statuettes and movie-themed paper plates), and we hope to make an annual event out of it. Yay for themed soirees! On Friday, we took advantage of the local arts cinema's showing of this year's Oscar-nominated animated shorts. They were fantastic! Especially, Pixar's "Presto."

If we're all very, very lucky, Gary Busey will be on the red carpet again this year. That man is one entertaining sack of crazy.

(Company name deleted) can JUMP UP MY ASS

2009-02-20T15:25:00.004-05:00

In search of a new handyman, we called the local franchise of a Big National Home Repair Company with good Angie's List recs. We'd had some disappointments with our last fix-it dude and were giving the folks at BNHRC a tryout of sorts. Hot Pants and I are not exactly handy, so we need a hammer-wielding type to keep our stuff in order. Plus, we'd rather it get fixed correctly instead of continuing to patch it ourselves with what amounts to bandaids from Lowe's.

The guy -- let's call him Bob -- arrived ON TIME. A good sign. We did a happy dance in our heads. He had a short list of tasks: re-caulk the upstairs bathtub because it's leaking into the downstairs ceiling, fix two retarded door knobs and secure our basement door (as HP says, it's held together with spit and wishes). Keep in mind the company costs $75 an hour, plus supplies.

Bob didn't have the right stuff to fix the door, so he had to make a trip to our Lowe's, which is about a mile away. An hour later, she shows back up at the house. We're more than a little concerned at this point. He explains he couldn't find a strike plate at Lowe's, so he had to go to Home Depot, which is a few miles away. So, we paid $75 for him to drive around and find a strike plate when a simple phone call would have given him the same information. He did the rest of his tasks, working a total of three hours to the tune of $350. We're annoyed, but everything seemed to work just fine. Plus, he was a very nice person and didn't set off my creep-o-meter in the slightest, which is not always my experience when it comes to Men Who Fix Things Using Their Hands.

Here's where the story gets good.

Two days later, the caulk on the tub cracked and it became painfully obvious that the door knobs are complete pieces of shit that should have just been replaced rather than repaired. Maybe it would have been nice if Bob had made such a suggestion. Plus, the basement door is still not secure.

HP is boiling, stemming from his long, sordid history of bad experiences with home repair/construction people. He posts a review on Angie's List that is nice but lays out why we were unhappy with BNHRC's service. I call BNHRC to let them know we are not pleased and need the caulking redone. Douchebag Customer Service Rep vows to get back to me the next day. I don't hear from him the next day. Or the next. So, I call him and he's all "Oh, I was about to call you." Mmm hmm. He insists that we signed off on the work and that Bob tried to tell us that we needed to blah blah blah. I told him I'd have HP call him back, as I don't know what conversations he had with Bob.

Then I find out that Douchebag Customer Service Rep has put up a nasty reply to HP's post on Angie's List, calling HP "cheap" and saying he was "adamant about not spending money on his repairs." I hit the fucking ceiling.

We paid you $350, you sack of shit. Don't call my boyfriend cheap when the fucking caulk in our tub didn't go ONE FUCKING DAY without cracking. I can't help that your workers are so fucking incompetent that it takes them three hours to do incorrectly what my infant niece could have done in 45 minutes, you son of a bitch.

Pant, pant, pant.

Yes, HP has handled all follow-up calls with the company since then. Probably best, since I am still on the verge of yelling every time I think about how we were treated. BNHRC has agreed to send a different handyman (Bob II) to our house next week to redo all of the work for free. I think HP should insist that the company take down the nasty Angie's List post, but he wants to wait until we get our shit fixed before we do anything else to irritate the home-repair gods.
Meanwhile, we are searching for another home repair service that we can trust. I don't think it's too much to ask for quality, competent service and a reasonable price.

NOTE: If you want the name of this piece of shit home repair company, post your e-mail address and I'll send it to you. Otherwise, just know that they are the devil.

So far, so good

2009-02-18T21:15:00.005-05:00

Tonight was the first edition of "American Idol: Let's Cut the Bullshit and Name the Top 12 Already." I like the way they're narrowing down this year, as the first phase of Idol gets a bit tedious what with the dramatic, touching family stories and Paula's rambling. After much ado, it was revealed that the first three Idols are Alexis, Michael and Danny. I was hoping adorable Anoop would make it through despite his meh rendition of Monica's "Angel of Mine," but Amuricah decided the oil rig roughneck was better than the brown man with the strange, scary sounding name. Figures. I adore Danny, (good singer! recent widower! the whole package!) Plus he's a dead ringer for Robert Downey Jr. in the pre-crack, pre-prison days. (Think "Back to School.") And I totally love Alexis, who is from my hometown (Memphis, represent!) and a single mom at 21. Awww. The best news is that crazy-ass Tatiana was voted off the island. Thank God I don't have to watch her anymore.

Now THAT'S supercomputing!

2009-02-15T21:21:00.005-05:00

I have mentioned before Hot Pants' deep and abiding love for blinky boxes. I don't really get what most of them do, except to make it difficult for me to figure out how to turn on the DVD player. [Put the HDMI thingee with the blue lights on 2, put the receiver on the DVR setting (not DVD, see?) and then make sure the TV is on HDMI 1 (not 2, as would make sense with the HDMI thingee being on 1). ] But now he's brought in the mother of all blinky boxes. We have a Mac Mini attached to our 47-inch 1080p HD television, which means I am posting this on the largest computer monitor in the world. (HP just said that's not accurate, but I don't care. It's the largest computer monitor in MY world.) It's actually really, really cool. We just watched "Birds of America" through our Netflix subscription, which includes free Internet streaming. (HP just said we also could have done that on the XBox, but thinking about it makes my head hurt.) Plus, he got bluetooth keyboard and mouse, which means I have no wires running across the living room from the TV to the couch. It's, of course, something we could have done with the THREE laptops in our house (and the fourth one we lent to a friend for him to write his ninja-pirate-zombie movie script). BUT, I digress.

I don't get why we needed it, but I think it's fucking awesome. Now, let's see if we ever use it.