Living Etc.

So Living Etc. is this fabulous British magazine that I've read about, and seen in stores like Left Bank and Borders for some time now. The thing is, since it's British, each magazine is $8.50 here in the US of A. But today, after a leisurely lunch at Companion (while it seems like I go there a lot, it's not true) Pete and I wandered down to Left Bank (again, I'm really not there too often) and I just bit the bullet and bought both the January 2009 and February 2009 issues.

I haven't had a chance to look at them yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to be uber-inspired and want to get an uber-expensive subscription to them. SO DON'T LET ME.


[via madebygirl & living etc]

Days with Snow

I skipped a class and Pete had the day off, so we did something we've been wanting to do ever since we had been there for the first time together - go to the Missouri Botanical Gardens when there is snow on the ground.

And. It. Was. Gorgeous.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our day.






I didn't do much else over the last couple days - I actually had class (boooo!). But I did start a new book, called Who's Your City. It's all about globalization and why people choose to live where they live. Very interesting.

La Balon Rouge

Quite possibly one of my favorite movie clips of all time. Last Christmas, the Tivoli showed this movie, along with another one by the same director called The White Mane, and me and my momma went. It was beautiful and just as magical as I remembered from when I was younger.

Genius

iTunes is fantastic. I was a little late jumping on the bandwagon...meaning, iTunes on my super-slow computer really did not like this whole "let's download a new application" thing...and it took THREE TRIES.

But I can't complain. Because it is AMAZING. So, I began with "A Sunday Smile" by Beirut, and here is the playlist it came up with (it's soooo good and perfect for blogging/snow-falling/painting):

1. A Sunday Smile - Beirut
2. Knife - Grizzly Bear
3. Ragged Wood - Fleet Foxes
4. Challengers - New Pornographers
5. Nothing Changes Around Here - the Thrills
6. Middle Distance Runner - Sea Wolf
7. The Last Beat of My Heart - DeVotchKa
8. The Gulag Orkestar - Beirut
9. Chinese Translation - M.Ward
10. Rainbowarriors - CoCo Rosie
11. Kicking the Heart Out - Rogue Wave
12. Fiery Crash - Andrew Bird
13. Your Arms Around Me - Jens Lekman
14. Objects of My Affection - Peter, Bjorn & John
15. White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
16. John Wayne Gacy, Jr - Sufjan Stevens
17. I Think I Need a New Heart - Magnetic Fields
18. Suffer for Fashion - Of Montreal
19. Guymas Sonora - Beirut
20. Love's Lost Guarantee - Rogue Wave
21. Easier - Grizzly Bear
22. Heart it Races - Architecture in Helsinki
23. Plasticities - Andrew Bird
24. Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car - Iron & Wine
25. The Opposite of Hallelujah - Jens Lekman

Soooooo good. I highly recommend all of these bands. If you are so interested, let me know and I can send some good tunes your way.

(PS: For all the song links, if you want to listen to them on the page they are linked to, down on the verrry bottom of the screen, towards where your "start" bar is - there's a small play button. Hit that and you are GOLDEN.)

(photo via here)

Wouldn't it be nice...

...to dress up like Wednesday Addams for a day?

Well, cherry blossom girl did. I'm enjoying this look. Very Marcy (my roommate).

Colorful Snow

This picture is gorgeous, found at Sweet & Low...


Thanks for the pretties, Megan!

Please Excuse the Mess

I'm currently wanting a fancier blog. Or a blog that just isn't so...pink.

So, excuse my progress! Someday, hopefully soon, this will look halfway decent again, but as of now, I'm trying lots of different things out. I apologize if you come to this page and see no header, or the columns are out of whack. I am a novice when it comes to writing HTML...

That reminds me. Anyone out there that doesn't feel like they are going to chop of their feet when attempting to code? If so, help would be loved.

(via here)

Your Personal Moon

Yes please. These pictures are GORGEOUS.



from here, who found them here

RIP, dreams...

So remember when I wanted to buy those gorgeous Hunter Boots?

I went back to the store yesterday. ALL the boots were on sale in the store, at 50% off, EXCEPT the ones I wanted.

I was pretty sad...

Hunter Boots

So. I really want them. And I decided this year that I am going to start working out, start losing some weight, etc. Just generally eat healthier and get into shape. So, behind every good resolution and promise is a bribing tool, right? In my case, I created one for every month:

January - Hunter Wellies
February - printouts of all my pictures from snapfish
March - this beautiful poster
April - Birkenstock clogs
May - Northface Jacket
June - Chicago poster
July - this cupcake bowl and this perfume
August - lovely organic woven blanket
September - for like EVER poster
October - floor lamp
November - something from Three Potato Four, under $50
December - nothing. Spend money on Christmas presents!

Now, Hunter Wellies usually go for about $115, I think. But when Rosemary and I were out and about the other day, there was a boutique in the CWE that had a 50% off all boots in store...and HUNTER BOOTS ARE THERE.

So here's my conundrum: No, I have not lost weight. I have not even started working out. HOWEVER, I have been eating pretty healthy. Sweets from time to time, yes, but I am watching what I put into my mouth. If I have a piece of cake tonight, I will not be eating a Rice Krispy treat for breakfast in the morning...you know, that kind of thing.

So should I get the boots? I mean, I couldn't even get boots for $57 on eBay, or a discount shoe place, so I might as well, right? Maybe I will get them and cut out my "reward" for February? ARGH I DON'T KNOW HELP ME INTERNET!




please?

Me and My Crafty Goodness

Okay, so I was just so lucky as to be able to have coffee/cupcakes with the lovely Rosemary yesterday. We started out at Companion (which has DELICIOUS quiche in the morning, I highly recommend it) and then window-shopped around the West End for quite a bit. We went into some ADORABLE stores. I don't remember the names of all of them but Cassie's and Left Bank Books were a definite.

Cassie's is a cute little boutique on Euclid that has all kinds of fun stuff, but their main schtick is creating custom-made fragrances. They have all these teeny bottles of scents, and you can mix and match them however you want to create the ultimate YOU fragrance. I should also mention that they have many "knock-off" designer fragrances, like Chanel No. 5 and Dior, etc...so, you could go there and get 2 oz. of Chanel No. 5 for $20, as opposed to the $260 1 oz bottle of fragrance at Macys.com. So, they kind of win. I decided that mum and pops will be treating me to a BRAND NEW PRETTY SMELL for my birthday.

Left Bank was great, too. I've been there tons of time but it was so much fun being there with someone else who just wanted to LOOK at things, and not necessarily buy. When I go with Pete he likes to get in, get out...and not really browse. We looked at poetry and cookbooks and art books and I didn't spend a penny! It was pretty great.

ANYWAYS. The whole meaning of those post has to do with the fact that while at Left Banks, Rosemary pointed out a book to me: Born Again Vintage, by Bridgett Artise & Jen Karetnick. It. Is. Perfect. The entire thing is about picking up two (or more) random pieces of clothing at a thrift shop, like Salvation Army or St. Vincent de Paul, and sewing them together to create a lovely hipster dress, blouse, legwarmers, etc. In short, it's genius. And I want it.

So I'm sitting there thinking, wow. Seriously? Me, getting another craft book? I was thinking about all the craft books that are sitting on my bookshelf right now: ReadyMade: How to Make [Almost] Anything; D.I.Y., Design it Yourself; and Handmade Modern, just to name a few. I was so excited to buy each of them! I ran home and went through the whole thing, bookmarking up a storm and imagining where each thing I LOVED would be in my future home.

But guess how many projects I have done so far? ZERO. ZERO ZERO ZERO. And so with this fabulous new book in my hands, I thought, "What will I do with all these crafty wonderful lovely books? They just sit on my shelf and do nothing." And then my mind went into the sad thought of giving all these books away when I'm 80 and I can hardly walk, or making my kids pack them into boxes and they sit in a storage closet somewhere. And what will I have to show for my years of buying crafty books? NOTHING."

So, while somewhat morbid, I've been crafty all day. I pulled apart an old phone to create a rolodex, soon to be filled with tons of phone numbers (when Pete asked why I would waste my time doing this, as all my numbers are in my cell phone, I didn't know what to say). I FINALLY put my Ikea frame to good use. It looks like this:

I finally tracked down some REAL corkboard, at my local Hobby Lobby, cut it to size, and am turning it into a bulletin board. It's in, but I'm also going to spray paint the whole thing white tomorrow, when I'm not stuck in a small apartment for the evening. It's going to be aweeeesome. I'm going to make it my 'inspiration board', where I tack everything up that inspires me. Yes, I am quite excited.

ALSO, exciting news! I got the last things needed to start using my GOCCO! The bulbs came in two days ago. So now I have to get a design ready, and put on my big girl face because I am so afraid I'm going to mess up and ruin an expensive screen or bulb. But I guess trial and error is pretty important.

So, because of my little realization in Left Bank, I am on a craft kick. I have a decent amount of free time throughout the days this semester, so keep an eye here for fun craft projects! I don't have my camera or else I would document right now...

Just some fun pictures

I am quite sleepy. In class. Bored. What else is new?

So, today is a happy day.

I've been watching coverage of this all day. Been moved to tears several times. Am so excited to see what becomes of all this!




One fancy hat! Made of glory, as my friend Kathryn said.


And I just think this is a fantastic picture.

Talkin bout my generation...

I am quite a fan of this new Pepsi Commercial.

30 Rock

If you haven't watched 30 Rock, you should probably go to Hulu right now and catch yourself up on the entire series. It is THAT good.

Also, you should know that Tina Fey won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy (or whatever the closest to that is) FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW.

It took me a long time to get into 30 Rock (still not sure why), but it is THAT GOOD. So go forth! And watch!

Ugh.

As a future teacher, this makes me sad. I teared up while reading it.

I will NEVER understand why people don't give teachers more credit. If it wasn't for teachers, those big businessmen and engineers and other "important" people would not have a career. Teachers had to teach them!

Argh. This gets me so worked up.

I don't get upset when engineers get paid a ton of money! This is the part that made the most angry:

"I thought about this the other day when I ran across an online rant about teachers seeking more money in some school district somewhere. "FACT," this ranter wrote. "LAZY TEACHERS JUST WANT A THREE DAY WEEKEND! Just say NO to them, they are already OVERPAID and UNDERWORKED, and the public needs to remind them who they work for ..."

Unfortunately, this fellow is not alone. A few years ago, when I wrote a column suggesting that teachers were underpaid, I got a flood of responses from readers. Some agreed with me, but they were mostly teachers. Others -- perhaps half -- not only disagreed but expressed quite a surprising hostility toward teachers. In essence, they said teachers had some nerve expecting to be paid like engineers when their work was more like filing and babysitting."

Ugh. Anyways. That's that.

Neon Graveyard

I would have a hey day if I got to go here...and really, whenever I get to go to Vegas, it's just going to be fantastic. I'm going to take a jillion pictures. Just warning whoever gets to go with me...




Don't worry, I'm not going to, but I have this ultra-romanticized idea of getting married at 2 in the morning at a Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. As soon as it's over, drive out to the desert and sleep with the Joshua Trees...






1. aaron 2. aaron 3. arZan 4. arZan 5. http2007 6. http2007 7. Five Hundy

Being Vegan

I'm not going to lie. It's TOUGH. I read every label of everything I put into my mouth. I went out to eat today, at a vegetarian diner, but I felt as though I had to ask about every. little. thing. that. was. in. the. dish. It was a pain. But I had curry ketchup. And that was good. The ketchup was on a veggie burger. I probably could have said that first.

In general, so far, it's been a really great learning experience. I've been drinking homemade smoothies every morning, I'm cooking up a big vat of split pea soup tomorrow, and I'm excited to keep trying out recipes. There's a lot of support out there for vegans (and new-comers, so that's super extra special great), and a surprising amount of restaurants in the St. Louis that have multiple vegan options. I spent about an hour and a half researching that today. Sauce Magazine and Urban Spoon are both GREAT resources for that.

If anyone has any good vegan recipes, or restaurant recommendations, or general advice or thoughts, please throw them my way! I'm in the honeymoon stage of this still - it isn't a pain yet, but I'm wouldn't be surprised if I got sick of it before the end of January...

New Years Resolutions

I always make them. They rarely stick. But 2009 is my year, I hope!

1. Answer the phone when people call
2. Make healthy eating choices (more on that later)
3. Spend more time with friends
4. Cut back on unnecessary spending
5. Make shopping and meal lists and stick with them
6. Spend a couple hours a week writing, instead of mindlessly surfing the Internet
7. Wash face, brush teeth, and floss EVERY DAY (by the end of the day I just get lazy)
8. Promote a well-kept internet persona (geek)
9. Spend quality time with Pete (we spend lots of time TOGETHER, but not doing things together)
10. Stop buying and start using the library and resources that I already have access to (this goes towards unread books I have, at least 10, and supplies for art projects)

So there you have it. So far I've done pretty good. I've made grocery/meal lists, gone shopping, etc. I've flossed a couple of times (I really, really hate flossing). I picked up my old notebooks and re-read the novel I started writing sophomore year of high school, which I think really has potential. I've already filled two notebooks with story, plot, etc...so I'm really excited to dive back in. And I've spent a couple of hours organizing my studio in the basement while I've been at home. I recycled a ton of old magazines, threw away crusty paint, condensed drawers and baskets, etc.

So, 2009 is so far so good.

Secret Life of an American Teenager

For some reason my sister is OBSESSED with this show. For multiple reasons, I think.

1. The "high-school aged" boys are "hot"
2. It's about a teenager getting pregnant
3. It's about teenagers getting into petty little fights and arguments.
4. Little sister is always afraid of getting pregnant (I kid you not. But that's a story for another time, and probably not really Internet appropriate.)

So when she's home she tapes all the episodes on our DVR and watches them in succession. She is doing that right now, and since I'm sitting in the same room, I've been watching them with her.

They are weird. The whole premise of the show is that a girl gets pregnant, with some band member's (marching band, not rock band) baby. And this girl (ugh, I already know names...) is named Amy. She has a snarky little 13-year-old sister, and parents that are separated. Oh, and her mom is played by MOLLY RINGWALD. I actually think that part is awesome, but whatever.

As stated previously, this show is pretty much chock full of teenage drama - girls fighting over boys, boys getting defensive, girls arguing about what is wrong with them and why another girl is "prettier"...UGH. GAG ME WITH A SPOON.

Watching this show makes me so thankful that I went to a Catholic school. I know for a fact that NO ONE IN MY GRADUATING CLASS was like this. Because I was pretty much friends with everyone. And I know that not necessarily every public school is like the school in this show, but just the fact that the stereotype is being perpetuated angers me. Seriously. Come on. I'm pretty sure that a girl wouldn't break into the school late at night (we're talking midnight), with her ex-boyfriend (he cheated on her), to look for her birth certificate (she's adopted), only to find the school counselor there. And I'm pretty sure that the 15-year-old girl would not be able to seduce him.

I mean, believe me, I am quite aware that "relationships" happen between teachers and students. But come on. This is just ridiculous.

Anyways. The whole reason I wrote this post...

Molly Ringwald circa 1984, in Sixteen Candles


Molly Ringwald circa now


And finally, if you haven't seen the beautiful "Brat Pack" movies: Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, the Breakfast Club, Weird Science, etc...I strongly suggest you go out and BUY THEM. I just love me some good 80s films.

Planet Earth

I asked, and received - thank you Grandma and Grandpa!

Is it super geeky that I asked for this for Christmas? I guess not. I mean, it's fantastic. If you haven't watched it, you best keep an eye out for re-runs on the Discovery Channel. And you're in luck because they just started up again tonight!

Also, with the DVD set, after each episode there are director's notes, with background footage and stuff like that. I highly recommend it!