happy notions

So Close...

2011-04-21T15:52:00.004-05:00

Hi friends! Things are super busy around here. I've spent countless hours at various governmental agencies to get all my permits/licenses/leases signed. I've baked well over 500 cupcakes (which is not a huge amount, but when you're baking out of my crappy kitchen, well...it's a lot) within the last two weeks. But it's starting to pay off! I've booked quite a few events and two farmers markets already, which doesn't sound like a lot, but as Pete says: "you haven't even opened yet and you've already booked this stuff!"

What else is happening? Well, I quit my full-time job. Let me rephrase that - I wrote a resignation letter and my last day is Friday, April 29th. I don't know if I've really talked about my job all that much, but let me just say...I really, really had a very hard time with it. There were many factors that I loathed but the hardest part for me was sitting all day. The most walking I did was from building to building (maybe 50 feet) and from my desk to the copier. I started at computer screens for the better part of the day. It wasn't up my alley.

So in short I am VERY excited to get out of there and start doing what I love.

In other news, the weather in St. Louis has been crazy. Tuesday night found me, Pete and Scout hiding out in our bathroom (we live on the second floor of a four-family building), because the tornado alarms were going off and we don't know our neighbors and I really, really didn't want to go into our basement.

This happened.

I don't like storms.

Also, have I shown you my logo? I don't think so!

It was designed by my dear friend Marcy. Yay Marcy!

Melody Federer

2011-03-27T17:27:00.002-05:00

So I went to high school with Melody Federer. She was goofy and wonderful and gorgeous, and she still is!

She lived in Paris for a bit, singing in cafes, then moved back to New York City and now she's making music and actually making a splash.

Check out her music video. It's so pretty!

Also, keep an eye out for her. I think she's going to be huge.

Farm Fresh Cupcakes

2011-03-21T14:16:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the void of blog posts this last month or so.

But I actually have a good excuse! I am starting a business. FINALLY - something that I WANT to do with my time.

And guess what? It's a cupcake business!

It's called Farm Fresh Cupcakes. You should definitely become a fan on facebook and twitter. My website isn't 110% ready yet. Actually it isn't even like 60% ready yet, so I'm not going to link it. But I purchased the domain name and everything!

These last few weeks have been insane. I work at my day job all day, come home, and set up shop on the couch working on FFC things. It's like having two jobs - working on my business plan, applying to fairs and farmers markets to vend, reaching out to people to help me, creating and testing recipes, and coordinating all of this web stuff. Not to mention making lists of everything I need to pull this off - like a new mixer and lots of cupcake liners and junk like that.

It's gone really, really well so far - I was even mentioned in Sauce Magazine's blog! - but it's been exhausting. I'm not saying that I'll NEVER write again but it's quite likely that you won't be hearing much out of the happy notions corner of my brain for awhile.

So far, I have learned that I will be selling cupcakes every Saturday morning at the Tower Grove Farmer's Market - which was my first choice! If you're in the area, you should come say hi. It's until 12:30 p.m. by the playground, near the center of the park. I've also already booked a few private events (nothing huge, but nonetheless, it's experience!) along with one BIG festival but I can't really talk about it yet because I don't think it's official.

So. I'm not saying goodbye for good, and I always appreciate some comment-lovin', but to be honest I may not be back for awhile.

And I'm sad that I can't upload pictures of my creations to this blog post right now because I'm on my work computer and I can't access facebook (lame) and I also don't have my camera (double lame), but if you go the facebook link above you can see what I have so far.

I hope all is well with you, dear readers! Thanks for all of the support in the past. I would love to meet you in the coming months if you're in the St. Louis area!

p.s. that is my preliminary logo up there. in case you were wondering.

10 Favorite Smells

2011-03-10T08:41:00.003-06:00

What's that, you ask? I don't blog for a month and I come back to talk about my favorite smells? Well, here you go anyway.

These are in no particular order. Bridgett (whom I often gain inspiration from in many ways of life, but today - about her favorite smells) is so eloquent in naming her favorite smells. So, I'll try.

+ When we drive to Hilton Head Island, SC (it's about a 15 hour drive), we go through six states. But once we hit South Carolina, the air smells different. I've noticed this over the countless hours of someone in the car feeling carsick and cracking the window a bit. I've noticed this during the many bathroom breaks we take at rest stops and at roadside McDonald's.

There's always a long line once you get on the island. Traffic is awful because there are always first-year visitors who don't know where they're going or they've forgotten since last summer. But once we're on the island...we roll down all the windows in the car all the way and breathe in the muggy, salty ocean air. It's amazing. It tells me vacation is starting.

+ Baking. Bridgett said this, and I don't mean to copy, but yes, definitely baking. Cupcakes particularly (how could I not say that), but I make a three-berry pie in the summers and I pretty much just salivate while it's in the oven for 40 minutes. My grandma's chocolate cake has a very, very distinctive smell while it's in the oven. Something about the butter and sugar firming up in the oven is just heavenly.

+ Garlic and/or onions sizzling in olive oil on the stovetop. YUM.

+ Sunday mornings at the Hoffman House. It's the smell of my dad in his bathrobe, and me cuddling on his lap when I was five. The coffee grinder whirring and then the smell of coffee brewing shortly after. And then the 88.7, the St. Louis jazz station, softly playing in the background. Mom usually fries up some bacon, or cooks some eggs, or toasts some English muffins. Someone brings the newspaper in from outside, where it's been cooking on the brick walkway for awhile. Sometimes I still catch whiffs of this - when Pete and I did laundry every Sunday at my parents house we would come and the jazz station would be on and the smell of bacon would linger, but dad was fully dressed and was usually out in the garage working. SO nostalgic. Sometimes in the morning, Pete smells like my dad did. Is that weird? Oh well, I said it.

+ Rain. Yeah, it's typical, but I love the smell in the air here in St. Louis right before it rains, especially in the summer. During rain, I like that smell, and after the rain, too, but especially before it rains. There's tension and the air is heavy and it just smells so pretty.

+ Cigarettes. I know, it's awful. I've never, ever smoked a cigarette (well, I've never smoked anything, EVER) but the smell of cigarettes reminds me of working at Joanie's. I used to take calls for pizza deliveries on Tuesdays and Friday nights when I was in high school, and the little phone station was on the stoop from the stairs leading from the kitchen into the basement. The waiters and bussers and kitchen staff would take smoke breaks and hang out down by the phone. I would leave every night reeking of cigarette smoke and pizza. As a naive little Catholic high school girl, I would listen to their stories of digging graves (seriously) and stuffing drugs up their behinds to smuggle it into the US (yes, seriously) and take it all with a grain of salt. They would blow smoke in my face and I hated it but I kind of loved the attention.

Also on cigarettes. Since I worked at Joanie's, I seriously built up a tolerance for smoke. I also went to a lot of shows in high school at Mississippi Nights (RIP!) which was teeny tiny and perfect. Low ceilings, and so many smokers. The air-conditioning broke down at one concert I went to in July of 2005. In St. Louis. It was awful and wonderful. Sweaty rock n rollers!

+ Old Books. Yum. I went to a used book fair a few years ago, found a book I had been looking for, opened it, and promptly inhaled. I got some weird stares for that one. I don't know if this love of old books stems from reading my parents' books when I was younger, or from the fact that many of the textbooks and novels I had read in grade school were from years and years ago, but it's just phenomenal. My fifth grade teacher, Sr. Kathleen, said once, "oh, I just love the smell of old books!" and I knew I wasn't weird anymore.

+ My perfumes. I read in a bridal magazine to pick a new perfume to wear on your wedding day, and then whenever you wear it in the future, you'll always be reminded of that special day. So I did exactly that. I bought Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue perfume because I smelled it in a magazine and really liked it. I wore it on our wedding day (although it was so hot and I was so sweaty and my dress was so big it doesn't really remind me of that day) and every day on our honeymoon. It's more of a summer scent, so I haven't worn it lately, but anytime I take the cap off and inhale, it makes me happy.

I usually wear Chance by Chanel in the winter. I've been wearing that since high school. It's such a familiar smell. I wore it to my senior prom, to graduation, on my first date with Pete...lots of memories.

+ Pete. He doesn't wear any cologne or anything but it's just the smell of his deodorant and...other smells, I guess. It just feels so much like home now.

+ Office Supply Warehouses. Weird, right? But when I was younger and my dad still worked at Anheuser-Busch, I would go with him on a walk down to the office on Sundays and he would let me pick two or three pens out of the supply closet to take home with me. I don't know what it is - paper? Post-Its? All of that ink? Envelopes? I think a lot of it is tape. Either way, going to OfficeMax makes me happy.

BONUS SMELLS
+ My mom. She showers at night (must be where I get it from) and would come downstairs to tuck Emme and I in after she showered, and she always smelled like Pert Shampoo and Angel Body Wash (from Victoria's Secret. I was always so embarrassed to go into the store with her when I was little).

+ Taco trucks. Fried food, in general.

+ Fresh orange juice. I don't really like oranges or orange juice, but freshly squeezed OJ is so fragrant and lovely.

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Favorite Health and Beauty Products

2011-02-06T08:51:00.002-06:00

**EDIT: I started writing this post on 2/6 (Sunday) hoping to schedule it to post on Tuesday morning (2/8). I am now revisiting it on 2/9 and am embarrassed because I could only think of eight products. Oh well!

As a person who rarely wears make-up (seriously - the last time I wore it was at my wedding which was...sevenish months ago) this Ten on Tuesday made me think. So here are my picks.

1. Lip Balm/Chapstick. I was very loyal to Smackers chapstick in grade school. Now I usually use Burt's Bees or Chapstick. I also recently bought some Dr. Bronner's lip balm, which is pretty good.

2. Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap All-One! - Amazing. I prefer the lavender but peppermint is also great.

3. Twinlab Na PCA with Aloe Vera - also amazing. I needed a moisturizer and this one had very very high reviews on vitacost (which I also highly recommend) and I went for it. Love to use it under shaving cream. Makes everything so soft!

4. Perfume. This is my one accessory. I love Chanel Chance in the winter and Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue in the warmer months.

5. Lavender Salt Scrub from K. Hall Designs - so yummy. So soft. One problem - the little exfoliating beads are annoying to scrub out of our shower after I use it. But it's totally worth it!

6. Gummy Vitamins - normal multivitamins scare me because they are so big. And hard to swallow. And they taste funny if they get stuck in the back of your throat (which they normally do, for me). So I started taking ADULT gummy multivitamins and they're great. They taste good and I don't worry about not getting them down (okay, okay, insert THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID joke here).

7. Skintimate Shaving Cream - been using the same stuff since I first started shaving. The pink bottle, for sensitive skin. It smells like baby powder. Love it.

8. Jergen's lotion. Any kind is a miracle.

Weight Watchers Update

2011-02-06T08:32:00.002-06:00

So I officially started Weight Watchers over a month ago, and I've lost eight pounds so far! It's kind of unbelievable, when I think about it. It definitely took some getting used to, but I've enjoyed learning more about eating healthy foods.

The hardest (and, let's be honest, the most painful) part of the process has been learning how many points items have. For example - I LOVE s'more flavored Pop-Tarts. They are the perfect breakfast (at least this is what I thought). Also, I love s'mores. So, delicious.

One package of S'more Pop-Tarts (meaning two tarts) is 10 points. A Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell is 15 points. At the beginning, I got 30 points a day - now I'm down to 29, since I've lost weight. It's crazy to watch the points add up, but I've learned a few ways to keep them down. Almost all fruits and veggies on the new system are 0 points, which is great. So I've been eating lots of apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, carrots, celery, broccoli, etc. Which is something that YES, I totally should have been doing before, but...I just wasn't.

Pete and I ate healthy probably half of the time. If we were tired after work, we had the attitude of, "ah, screw it, let's just run by Sonic or Taco Bell and get dinner there." But now we're planning meals (including what we're taking to lunch at school every day) every week and I have to say, it's been great.

It's not that hard AND it ends up saving us a lot of time at Trader Joe's or Schnucks, AND it saves us money because I know exactly what to get, AND it's healthy. And seriously, it takes maybe 10 extra minutes a week.

So that's what I have to say about that.

Oh, but then there's the whole exercise thing. I haven't even attempted to do that in the last month. I know, it's awful, but...it's been cold! We've had snow on the ground for the last two weeks, practically. And it's been bitterly cold most of the time. I do realize that there are ways to exercise inside, and I'll be honest - I am LAZY. I love being outside and walking or biking or hiking but inside, during the winter, I'm fine with eating my veggies and watching old episodes of Community.

HHI

2011-01-24T20:41:00.002-06:00

I don't know if I've shared with the bloggy world, but I am SO excited because I'm going to Hilton Head Island this summer!!

Pete's never been, so I am hyped to take long walks on the beach, read six books, go swimming, walk into town, and spend times playing games on the deck. Just thinking about our week there with my family and some very, very dear family friends makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

So this is the big thing to keep me hopeful during these loooooong daaaaaaark winter days and nights.

[dreamy picture from cheryl maeder]

Early/Late Sunday Roundup

2011-01-20T11:55:00.002-06:00

I feel so embarrassed that I didn't get around to posting a Sunday Roundup last week! Pete and I started watching LOST, which has been addicting. Absolutely addicting. I am obsessed. I think Hurley, Locke, and Charlie are my favorite characters. But I am also falling in love with Sawyer, and Claire is awesome.

Anyway - we started watching it this past Sunday, and just finished the first season this morning. Aaaand we just started the second season about 10 minutes ago, because we have a SNOW DAY!

Have you watched LOST? What did you think about it? Any favorite characters?

Anyway - here are some great links from the past week and a half.

Currently chilling in the refrigerator - can't wait to taste them!

Pantone cookies. Perfect for the color fiend in your life.

An article about home chefs that got me thinking about new ventures.

How to define your personal style.

When to throw your make-up away. I need to do a LOT of throwing away, apparently...

I would like a whole fleet of these pitchers (seen on sfgirlbybay)

A good egg.

These dainty necklaces are gorgeous.

I wish that I had found this project before our honeymoon started...

I would also like a flock of these seagulls.

A bowl of 1907 French Onion Soup. Perfect for a chilly winter's evening.

Preferable over a dryer.

This is a brilliant idea.

So excited to learn that there's a Baked in Charleston, SC!

Illuminated bloggers.

This shall be very useful when I restart my garden this spring.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

[image from greige design]

Worst Snow Day Ever

2011-01-12T10:36:00.003-06:00

I would take the time to write about it, BUT my husband already did.

Did I mention he has a new blog? He has a new blog. It's called Sonic Screwed (if you know Doctor Who, you will like that reference. If you don't know Doctor Who, well...it probably means nothing to you) and it's brilliant.

Yesterday we had a snow day, and it sucked. Here's why.

[image from bella lago]

Sunday Roundup

2011-01-09T10:36:00.002-06:00

How was everyone's week?

This weekend, Pete and I did a whole lot of nothing. We saw The Fighter on Saturday with Steve and Mary, ran to Local Harvest for some last minute groceries, and stayed in and watched the new Futurama. It was a good weekend.

Here are some great posts from around the web this week!

Just the push I need for creative projects.

Gorgeous credenza.

I will someday learn how to use my sewing machine, and then make this.

I want to have an UP themed birthday party for my 23rd birthday...

How many Weight Watchers points do you think a slice of this deliciousness is?

Pretty yellow coat.

Great cheap date ideas.

This wreath is darling.

Loving these pant shorts.

How to host a craft party.

I'm pretty much obsessed with Ashley Meaders.

Wes Anderson round up!

I'm jealous of all the lovely, wonderful bloggers who are going to Alt. Life goal = go in 2012.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

[image = here]

Best

2011-01-06T20:47:00.009-06:00

This is probably the last one.

Also - who knew - but Picnik is awesome. So much easier to deal with than Photoshop, at least for what I did this evening.

The Mast Brothers

2011-01-06T08:27:00.000-06:00

Have you heard of the Mast Brothers? There are my kind of men - beards, glasses, AND they make chocolate? Yes please.

The Mast Brothers from The Scout on Vimeo.

When we hit up New York, I'll probably stuff my suitcase with Mast Brothers Chocolate. They have a tasting room AND hot chocolate. Maybe I'll just stay there forever.

All images below are from The Selby.

Great Advice!

2011-01-05T08:23:00.000-06:00

Chuck Klosterman is hilarious, and when I saw this on Design Crush, I knew I had to share...

Oh Chuck. If only it was that easy...

Another Resolution

2011-01-04T19:56:00.003-06:00

I know, this blog is all about what I did in 2010 and what I'm planning to do in 2011. Sorry! Maybe I'm almost done, maybe not.

Regardless, I thought of another resolution today. Well, actually, I thought of it a few days ago but remembered to write about it NOW.

Use all of the gifts that we received from showers and the wedding.

People are SO GENEROUS. And while Pete and I cook every night, we still haven't used everything we received .

Here's what we have to use. Sooner than later!

Giant Wooden Salad Bowl
Cocktail Shaker
Meat Tenderizer (we've used it, but not for tenderizing meat...)
Juicer
Crock Pot (we used it to try to make fondue. It was sad.)
Deep Fryer
Honey Dipper
Fruit Basket (I've used it. Since we got back from our honeymoon it's held mementos. But I want to use it for FRUIT.)
Gravy Boat
Footed Cake Platter
Bar Tools Set
Fondue Set
Dutch Oven
Garlic Peel/Press thing (it's a tube. it's weird.)
Citrus Squeezer
Nine-Person Tent!

And my Target registry got deleted so I can't actually look at it, which is what I did for Macy's and Crate & Barrel.

I'm excited! Seeing all of those things together in a list makes me want to plan meals for, like, the next seven weeks.

Does anyone have any recipe ideas for the cooking things listed above? I've been meaning to make a nice hearty stew these days, since it's so cold, in our Dutch oven. I'd love to hear suggestions!

[image: the day after our honeymoon, we tore into our presents and this was the aftermath.]

Books I Read in 2010

2011-01-03T17:31:00.002-06:00

One of my resolutions for 2010 was to read 20 books for fun. I only read 18. It was really, really hard to not cram in the last two books on the last two or three days of the year.

So, here are my 18 books:

1. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey
2. Baking Cakes in Kigali (click the link to read my review!)
3. Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant
4. Made from Scratch
5. The Omnivore's Dilemma
6. The Importance of Music to Girls
7. The Hand That First Held Mine
8. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
9. Unfinished Business
10. Lunch in Paris
11. Life of Pi
12. The Carrie Diaries
13. Committed
14. Commencement
15. The Summer We Read Gatsby
16. Barrel Fever
17. Slaughterhouse Five
18. Lady Chatterley's Lover

I liked elements of all of the above books. But just to be silly, I'm going to write my thoughts in tweet-form (yeah, I'm copying off of my husband's technique).

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey: Great series for the younger crowd. I enjoyed it but felt a bit juvenile while reading. Suspense! Twists!

Baking Cakes in Kigali: Eye-opening novella about a lady baker in Africa. Heartbreaking but so important. People should read this and be informed.

Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant: Made me feel good about the weird things I eat when I'm alone. Fascinating to learn what others eat on their own, too. Very entertaining.

Made from Scratch: This book has made me determine that I need a big backyard when Pete and I buy a house, for a huge garden and chickens.

The Omnivore's Dilemma: I learned a lot from this book. I highly recommend it and think you should read it if you care about what you put in your mouth.

The Importance of Music to Girls: Originally I was drawn to this book because of it's title. I feel like it could have been better, although I did enjoy certain parts.

The Hand That First Held Mine: This book blew me away. It was confusing until it all made sense. And I honestly didn't see it coming.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: What a crazy concept for a book - a girl who can taste people's emotions through the food that they create. An interesting way to think.

Unfinished Business: Story of a man who loses his job in his 40s and spends the next year doing wonderful, nice things. I want to do what he did now, in my 20s!

Lunch in Paris: Like all things having to do with Paris, this book made me want to move there ASAP. Maybe someday. BONUS: all kinds of yummy recipes!

Life of Pi: Blew my mind. The story kept my attention, more than any young boy in a boat with a scary tiger ever has.

The Carrie Diaries: This is the high school story of Carrie Bradshaw, of Sex and the City fame. The last line is perfect. The rest of the book was not.

Committed: All about the history of marriage and marriage in other countries. It was a perfect book to read in the summer before MY marriage.

Commencement: Made me want to go to all-girls college, too. Riveting story that follows four ladies from freshman year - young adulthood.

The Summer We Read Gatsby: Witty, mysterious, hilarious. Two (half?) sisters meet up in the Hamptons to divide up their great aunt's estate. Entertaining.

Barrel Fever: Not my favorite David Sedaris book, but the last short story is priceless. Most of it was a bit oddball for me, though.

Slaughterhouse Five: Only the second Kurt Vonnegut book I've read. Absolutely fantastic. Sad it took me 22 years to read it.

Lady Chatterley's Lover: Weird. So, so weird. So hard to get into and to keep reading. But I couldn't give up. I'm glad it's over.

Phew! Anyone have any suggestions for books to read in 2011?

Sunday Roundup, and Happy 2011!

2011-01-01T18:55:00.003-06:00

Guys, I can't believe it's 2011.

2010 was a great year - I finished school, got married, went on an amazing honeymoon, and landed my first full-time job. I made lots of new friends, spent time with my family and wrote hundreds of thank you notes.

And now, 2011 begins. We had a small get together here at our apartment last night, then went over to Steve and Mary's for brunch. We left there around 1:45, I think - and the rest of the day has been a blur. I've been thinking about 2011 a lot - this is the first time, in my whole life, that there is no knowing what I'll be doing. The world is my oyster! School isn't holding me back anymore. Now: to find out what I want to do with my life. Then we'll get going :)

So. Here are some great finds from the last two weeks.

Hot cereals: the IT breakfast for 2011.

Wow. I feel small.

Night riding.

Blizzards from years past.

Top 10 travel experiences.

Sounds delicious.

Sparkles!

I never use straws but I wish I did.

Pretty silver.

I actually like cabbage, so...this sounds good.

Erin makes me think that a sauna at home is possible. Bookmarked for the future!

Dream kitchen.

Lovelies, I hope 2011 is the best year ever for you and yours.

[image via papertissue]

2011 Here I Come!

2010-12-30T17:28:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I talked about the resolutions I completed, and...didn't complete...in 2010.

Here is my list for 2011. The following are things from 2010 that I would like to complete!

12. Rent bikes somewhere and ride them around
14. Paint the apartment
18. Lose 30 pounds
20. Finish writing one of the four novels I have started right now
21. Stay up to date on my magazine cataloging
24. Have a tea party. Complete with ridiculous hats (Thanks, Emma! It's happening in 2011!)
26. Update the logistics of the blog
27. Join a book club
29. Spend a weekend in a B & B somewhere pretty
33. Have an Arrested Development party
35. Learn how to drive stick-shift
36. Learn how to use the darkroom in my house
37. Take a class for fun (yay Emma, thanks for reminding me!)
38. Try tennis again once it gets warmer outside
40. Get out of credit card debt.
41. Go skinny dipping
42. Read Metamorpheses
43. Ride an exotic animal
47. Make gnocchi from scratch
49. Create a craft night get together once a month
51. Open an Etsy shop
52. Take a glass-blowing or letterpress class
53. Get all the "good art" in the apartment framed
54. Have a boudoir shoot
57. Start commenting more on all the blogs I read
58. Buy flowers for my parents on my birthday
61. ...go skydiving...?
62. Read all the Babysitters Club Little Sister books in one day. Eat little kid food and take breaks to call childhood friends
63. Write fan letters to 12 people - one per month.
64. Go to a blues or jazz bar in Chicago
65. See Chuck Berry in concert
66. Suck it up and go on a rollercoaster
67. Take a candle-lit bath
68. Sew something for real and wear it
69. Learn how to play chess
70. Learn calligraphy
71. Embroider another pillow/blanket/something
74. Help build a Habitat for Humanity house
75. Give to NPR
78. Create a clothesline when it's warmer out and dry clothes on them
79. Volunteer on an organic farm
80. Participate in NaNoWriMo in November 2011
82. Watch the rest of the movies from AFI's 100 Greatest Films
83. Grow a bonsai tree
84. Revisit SARK and actually take her advice
85. Start and display a collection of something
87. Stay up all night long and watch the sun rise. Preferably somewhere pretty
88. Have a bed day - read, doze, watch stuff on the computer, doze...eat minimally
90. Graffiti something, somewhere
92. Get a bikini wax
93. Make cheesy/hilarious Christmas cards
96. Have something to brag to Swatek about
98. Finish an entire coloring book
101. Get a passport
102. Go paintballing - with very nice people that won't hurt me too much.

Now, here is my addendum for 2011:

+ Work my way through Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook. (I received it for Christmas and was WAY excited about it.) I want to read the whole thing (clocking in at 719 pages) and take as much advice as I can.

+ Bake every recipe from Artisan Breads (I bought this book as a Christmas gift for myself. My first project is proofing currently).

+ Start saving more money.

+ Organize my craft room and start making more things.

+ Floss everyday.

+ Use my free time more constructively.

What are your resolutions for 2011? Tell me tell me tell me!

2010 New Years List

2010-12-29T18:35:00.002-06:00

Last year, I created a list of 102 things that I wanted to accomplish this year. Some of them were big (like getting my first full-time job, getting married, etc) and some where much, much smaller (eat a piece of pizza backwards).

I got through half of my list. I had hoped to be farther along in my quest, but alas, I tried my best.

As a recap, here it is.

1. Graduate from college (May 15, 2010)
2. Find a job
3. Get married
4. Go on an amazing honeymoon
5. See the sunrise or sunset at the Grand Canyon
6. Gamble in a Las Vegas casino
7. Drive up Highway 1 from LA to San Francisco
8. Visit Disneyland
9. Drink my own Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista (I tried but it was WAY too strong. Pete had one.)
10. Stop at any bizarre road-side tourist attractions we see
~~11. Get to the beach. It's been too long.~~
12. Rent bikes somewhere and ride them around and stuff.
~~13. Have a giveaway on the blog (whee aren't you all excited?!? Sooner than later, I think.)~~
14. Paint the apartment (we painted one room. I want to paint more.)
15. Adopt a dog.
16. Buy a new couch (broken)
17. Buy a new bed (the bed frame/headboard part. The mattress is fine)
18. Lose 30 pounds (I gained three pounds. oh well. However, I signed up for this today. Hopefully I'll get going now.)
~~19. Get a doctor.~~
20. Finish writing one of the four novels I have started right now.
21. Stay up to date on my magazine cataloging.
22. Keep a tidier, more organized apartment
23. Make a ton of crafts (watch the blog for developments on this)
24. Have a tea party. Complete with ridiculous hats.
~~25. Buy an original piece of art.~~
26. Update the logistics of the blog (I'm ashamed this hasn't happened yet.)
27. Join a book club
~~28. Write more letters~~
29. Spend a weekend in a B & B somewhere pretty
30. Get fresh flowers for the house once a month (I did for nine of the three months
31. Go on runs with that dog we're apparently going to get. (We didn't get a dog, but we did get Scout!)
~~32. Make dinner for friends and family more often~~
33. Have an Arrested Development party
34. Spend an entire day in the Central Library, taking photographs and reading whatever I want
35. Learn how to drive stick-shift
36. Learn how to use the darkroom in my house
37. Take a class for fun (sewing, cooking, knitting, baking, SOMETHING)
38. Try tennis again once it gets warmer outside
~~39. Get a credit card~~
40. And never be in debt, once said credit card is received. (I got a credit card stemming from Pete's credit card account, and he was in debt. Not in a LOT of debt, but debt nonetheless.)
41. Go skinny dipping (after I lose those 30 pounds, duh)
42. I have had this book since the day after I saw the most amazing, inspiring play of my life. I want to finally read it.
43. Ride an exotic animal (camel, elephant...something weird)
~~44. Put my arms around an enormous redwood tree (Muir Woods)~~
45. Have a portrait painted/drawn of Pete and I (we've already decided that this will be our wedding gift to each other)
46. Start a garden
47. Make gnocchi from scratch
~~48. Stay home on Valentine's Day this year and cook an amazing meal and watch Disney movies~~
49. Create a craft night get together once a month (I did this a few times. Not enough.)
50. Ask for help. (Working at a new job? Constantly asking for help.)
51. Open an Etsy shop this year (also ashamed that this didn't happen.)
52. Take a glass-blowing or letterpress class
53. Get all the "good art" in the apartment framed
54. Have a boudoir shoot (scheduled for 2011!)
55. Be comfortable enough in my own skin to go swimming with the kids from Wilson. (HA! I'm done with that place. This one doesn't count.)
56. Get completely off Paxil. (I tried. It couldn't happen.)

57. Start commenting more on all the blogs I read. I'm horrible at that.
58. Buy flowers for my parents on my birthday and my wedding day
59. Send a message in a bottle
60. Throw those rocks into the ocean
61. ...go skydiving...?
62. Read all the Babysitters Club Little Sister books in one day. Eat little kid food and take breaks to call childhood friends.
63. Write fan letters to 12 people - one per month.
64. Go to a blues or jazz bar in Chicago
65. See Chuck Berry in concert
66. Suck it up and go on a rollercoaster.
67. Take a candle-lit bath.
68. Sew something for real and wear it.
69. Learn how to play chess
70. Learn calligraphy
71. Embroider another pillow/blanket/something
72. Make a 100 Books To Read list and read 20 of them this year (SO CLOSE. 19.)
~~73. Clean out my apartment and donate, donate, donate~~
74. Help build a Habitat for Humanity house
75. Give to NPR
~~76. Buy cloth napkins and use them~~
78. Create a clothesline when it's warmer out and dry clothes on them
79. Volunteer on an organic farm
80. Participate in NaNoWriMo in November 2010
~~81. Visit Rodeo Drive in LA and maybe (maybe) buy something. Small.~~
82. Watch the rest of the movies from AFI's 100 Greatest Films
83. Grow a bonsai tree
84. Revisit SARK and actually take her advice.
85. Start and display a collection of something (I have started a collection of Pez dispensers. They are not currently displayed anywhere.)
~~86. Talk less, listen more~~
87. Stay up all night long and watch the sun rise. Preferably somewhere pretty.
88. Have a bed day - read, doze, watch stuff on the computer, doze...eat minimally.
~~89. Go to a drive-in movie~~
90. Graffiti something, somewhere.
91. Dance in the rain
92. Get a bikini wax
93. Make cheesy/hilarious Christmas cards for me and Pete's first "official" Christmas together and send them to everyone we know (After sending hundreds of wedding invitations, thank you cards, graduation announcements, etc...I was sick of buying postage. Next year, for sure.)
94. Learn my blood type
95. Get a massage
96. Have something to brag to Swatek about (this will definitely happen in the later part of the year)
~~97. Really, really surprise Pete. No hints allowed.~~
98. Finish an entire coloring book
99. Eat a piece of pizza backwards (how have I not thought to do this until NOW?!)
100. Make some delicious baked goods every month and take them with somewhere else - mom's school, Pete's school, fire station, etc.
101. Get a passport
102. Go paintballing - with very nice people that won't hurt me too much.

and one big fat MAYBE
103. Try surfing. We're only going to be in LA for a short period of time but I would LOVE to take a surfing lesson. I've wanted to learn since freshman year of high school.

_____________________________________________

Most of the things that I didn't complete in 2010 were simply because of laziness. Others - I couldn't afford it financially. Or I just ran out of time.

For 2011, I am planning on attempting to do all of the things above that I couldn't complete in 2010 (within reason - I won't be returning to San Francisco to drink my own Irish coffee). I will also be making some more resolutions, but things that are a bit more...simple. Definitely not 102 of them. I'll share those tomorrow.

Sunday Roundup

2010-12-19T19:57:00.000-06:00

You guys, Christmas is in six days! Insane!

It certainly feels like the holidays here at the Wissinger Complex...we've been getting Christmas cards in the mail, all the Christmas presents have been bought and are (mostly) wrapped, stockings are hung by the chimney with care, and we're almost finished with school and work! We're heading up to Chicago to hang with my family on the 24th, and then driving down to Cairo to be with Pete's family on the 26th. I'm excited to see everyone and, as usual, get out of St. Louis for a little bit.

Here are some fun links from this week!

The 30 Most Important Cats of 2010 made me giggle like a little girl.

Thanks to my friend Lindsay, I was able to enjoy this lovely story.

Tips on putting together a holiday cheese plate. Yum yum yes please.

Dreamy prints from California.

Perfect Christmas sweater.

These earmuffs and this scarf would certainly jazz up my plain black peacoat.

Love this homemade tote.

Beautiful colorful Christmas trees.

Pumpkin pancakes = perfect breakfast.

I would like to try to make Fleur de Sel caramels.

Liz's wreath is gorgeous.

Salad pizza sounds delicious right now.

This wedding looks super fun!

Homemade felted Katamari set - Bridgett, this one is for you.

Christmas is everywhere!

What a pretty little letterpress studio.

I don't know if I'll be back around the blogosphere until after Christmas, so if NOT, Merry Merry Christmas! I hope you and your families and friends have the best Christmas ever.

[image via here]

Advent Calendar

2010-12-16T20:23:00.002-06:00

The last couple of years, Pete and I have tried to make an advent calendar and stick to it. And when I say "advent calendar", I mean "plan one Christmas-ey thing a day and DO IT" leading up to Christmas Eve.

We've done a pretty good job this year. I wrote each item on our calendar in red Sharpie so I would remember what to do every day. We haven't really done them in order, but this is what we've done so far:

- watch A Christmas Story
- wrap presents
- get and decorate a tree, plus the rest of the apartment
- make homemade marshmallows and hot cocoa
- go to a Christmas party
- watch our Christmas shows (Christmas episodes of TV shows that we like a lot)
- watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- drink eggnog with friends
- exchange one gift with each other
- go to a Christmas concert
- watch Love Actually
- make snowflakes and hang them up

Other things that are on the list, but haven't been completed yet:
- go ice-skating
- make Christmas cookies for our co-workers
- have a full traditional Christmas breakfast while listening to Christmas music
- watch Charlie Brown Christmas
- watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- finish making Christmas presents
- drive around and look at lights

What do you and your loved ones do to get ready for Christmas?

picture: via here

Honeymoon Day 7

2010-12-13T09:29:00.000-06:00

Driving! Up! The! Coast!

This was one of the best parts of the whole trip, although our day started slowly. We woke up late, thought about hitting up the new Magnolia Bakery (it opened in LA THAT DAY, but the thought of cramming another cupcake into my mouth was just...bad...) but then decided against it and drove towards CA 1.

But it took forever to GET to CA 1, and once we hit it in Santa Monica/Malibu, we were in traffic for close to two hours. The traffic moved occasionally, but it was so slow.

But we had some great views - beautiful architecture and houses on one side, and the Pacific on the other.

We stopped at the vista points a lot, which means that we took a LOT of pictures...

Pete climbed the rocks and I thought it was fun for about a minute and then I started yelling at him to get down.

Our stopping point for the night was in San Luis Obispo. We checked into the hotel, got some dinner someplace in town (I don't remember where) and then walked around the downtown area. THEN we went to the Sunset Drive-In Movie Theatre. And it was AMAZING.

[complete with retro paintings]

[the evening fog rolls in]

[I could even put my feet up without disturbing anyone!]

We saw Inception, which was excellent. I highly recommend drive-in movies. The next showing was the new Twilight movie, which we did not stay for. Just in case you were curious.

Sunday Roundup

2010-12-12T09:12:00.000-06:00

Hola, everyone! We're only 13 days away from Christmas. Can you believe it?! I love Christmas so much. Pete and I started wrapping gifts this weekend - our theme for this year is brown paper packages tied up with string! But with red and white bakers twine, specifically. I love how they look. We also nabbed some gift tags from a small letterpress studio down on Cherokee Street. They look pretty rocking, if I do say so myself.

How is your holiday shopping going? I'm hoping to share some gift guides and ideas for people this upcoming week. And after Christmas, I'll share what I got for everyone in our family. We stayed pretty close to the resolution I set for myself to only buy handmade! But then I amended it and allowed myself to buy things in a store, but only in local stores. So that was good. However, we did do some shopping at Target and Hobby Lobby for picture frames and craft projects...so, it was close.

Here are some wonderful links to kickstart your Sunday!

Is it warm yet? I like this suit.

Coldplay is one of my faves and their newest song/music video is stupendous.

I think orange is the new white.

20 untranslatable words. I love wabi-sabi and hyggelig.

Remember Paris vs NYC? Well, prints are being sold and I want ALL OF THEM.

A flickr stream devoted to all things Anthropologie.

So dreamy and magical.

Embroidered slides are something I would never ever have the patience for.

When I open a storefront for my yet-to-be-created Etsy wares, it will be decorated like this Spanish place.

Have you been following Melanie's easy DIYs? I love this chandelier and these sparkly ornaments.

Scout's Christmas present from us will be a scratching post of some kind. (However, it's hard to justify $40 on one...)

The last few days I've wanted to move out of the country. If it's ever REALLY a possibility, I would want to be a house caretaker on the side.

Vodka pie crust. I'm curious.

When we have kids, I want to recreate this Advent calendar.

Have a great week, everyone! My first big project at work will be finished (fingers crossed) by Tuesday, and it's gone very well so far. I hope I have a few moments to wind down and process it at work this week...

P.S. We got a Christmas tree, and Scout has been super curious about it. This morning I was baking cupcakes and he wandered into the kitchen with a head full of tree sap. We had to give him a bit of a haircut, because the sap wouldn't come out with baby shampoo and water, and now he has a bald spot on the top of his head. It makes me giggle and feel bad every time I look at him.

[image from here]

Honeymoon Day 6

2010-12-11T16:56:00.008-06:00

This was our weird day in LA. We wanted to go to Graumann's Chinese Theatre and do the Walk of Fame and stuff, but I had forgotten how INCREDIBLY touristy it is, and Pete was interested for about a half hour. So we just sort of wandered throughout LA.

We began the day with fish tacos in Los Feliz - this is the menu:

Then we headed to Hollywood, where it took us about 20 minutes to figure out where and how to park (we parked underneath the Kodak Theater, in their ridiculously huge underground parking lot. It was a little...scary. We wandered through the mall, then went to the handprints, and then debated between Ripley's or The Hollywood Museum. And we went with The Hollywood Museum.

[Pete and Harrison Ford]

It was nice to get in from the heat (LA had a heatwave while we were there, which was funny because we're from St. Louis and when the heat index is 93, it isn't THAT hot) and enjoy the air-conditioning, but I wouldn't go back. It was pretty cheesy.

[Me and Marilyn, outside of the museum. I originally tried to give her a kiss, but bronze gets hot in the sun.]

After we wandered around the museum for an hour or so, we hopped back into the car and just drove around aimlessly. I love doing this in cities I'm unfamiliar with - it's such a great way to explore. And since LA is SO big, we never ran out of places to go. Plus, having the iPhone was handy because if we got REALLY turned around or went off the map, we could locate ourselves pretty easily.

We drove by the Klasky-Csupo studios and soon after that found our FIRST cupcake stop of the trip - Frosted Cupcakery. It was delicious.

[but we were in a hurry to get somewhere else so we took them to go]

We somehow found our way to Larchmont. This area was AMAZING. We went to the Village Pizzeria and then to Crumbs Bake Shop. Needless to say, we were STUFFED by this point. Two cupcakes each and a huge slice of New York pizza. We were also getting kind of cranky because we didn't know where we were and we also didn't have much of a plan. I realize that a lot of people, on their honeymoons, want to rest and relax and spend time together being calm. Pete and I were very different on our trip, though - we just wanted to cram as much in as we could.

[peanut butter & jelly cupcake and that famous pizza]

We jumped back in the car after reading about Judy Greer's favorite hangouts (she probably sat where we sat at Village Pizzeria!) and walking around and window shopping. Then we headed towards Beverly Hills.

BH was fine, but also kind of boring. We went to Rodeo Drive but couldn't find a parking space, so we never parked. We couldn't have afforded anything anyway.

However, we DID find the Sprinkles. Which is (you guessed it!) another cupcake place. I didn't even WANT another one, but Pete and I both waited in line for a half hour (yes, a half hour) and each got a famous cupcake. I ate mine the next morning for breakfast.

[magical.]

We slowly headed back to the our hotel and relaxed there for a bit, before we ventured out for In-N-Out burgers. Oh. So. Good. We took it easy the rest of the night, as it was time to begin our drive up the coast the next morning!

DISCLAIMER: After writing this post and looking at the pictures that I included...I am afraid that I look like a HUGE fatty. We did do more than eat cupcakes this day, although it isn't worth noting... Also, I just didn't take pictures of us sitting in traffic.

Mayonegg

2010-12-06T09:57:00.000-06:00

Some of you will know exactly what this is.

For those of you who AREN'T huge Arrested Development freaks, there is a story about a girl who creates and then eats a Mayonegg.

I love this.

Sunday Roundup

2010-12-05T08:49:00.002-06:00

The last few weeks have been CRAZY. Thanksgiving was great with our family; we went down to Cairo (where Pete's from) and hung out with his parents, siblings, sisters-in-law, and nieces and nephew. It was wonderful. We got some great family pictures taken, too, which I'll post once we get the proofs. Yay!

I've been really busy with work, and I've been doing a lot of staring at a computer, so the last thing I want to do when I get home is to continue to stare at a computer.

But in the last three (!) weeks I have found some great things that I will share with you all!

How to make your own dry shampoo.

Dreamy!

Things on my Etsy Christmas List: baby Narwhal, pretty pink ribbon bag, a candy red lamp, and felt flower prettiness.

Rock candy Christmas wreath.

Wouldn't every dress or shirt be better with a Peter Pan collar?

Such a delicious sounding hot cocoa recipe.

Would it be weird if I wore a whole sweater of these Christmas pins?

I want to do this in our front window.

I know it's kind of silly, but I'm pretty sure Scout would love this house.

This travel video (of 4000+ photos) makes me want to drain our savings account and travel.

Love the Bill Murray/Wes Anderson artwork.

I'll be making these dog treats for Louie, Jackson, Bruno, Savannah, and Wheezy this Christmas.

More amazing travel photos.

Love Elise's new pegboard.

Have a great week, guys! Only 20 more days until CHRISTMAS!!!

[photo: via here. I love that Christmas is coming up, but if I magically found myself transported to a beach right now, I wouldn't complain...]

Sunday Roundup

2010-11-14T10:01:00.000-06:00

Happy Sunday! It's less than two weeks until Thanksgiving, which means so many wonderful things: spending time with family, extra time off of work, Black Friday shopping, and of COURSE loads of delicious food. Pete and I are going down to Cairo with (I think?) pretty much the entire Wissinger & Stout clan for Thanksgiving, and I am super excited.

How was everyone's work week? Mine was busy. This weekend has been lovely.

Here are some fabulous links from the past week!

101 reasons to buy handmade this year.

This tart is mouthwatering. (via cakespy)

And speaking of cakespy, this is my new favorite card.

If I had kids, I would customize this calendar in a heartbeat. I love the watercolor effect.

Absolutely positively adorable video about Christmas decorations from Anthropologie.

GUGH. Stranded jellyfish.

Things Organized Neatly (thanks, Emma!)

More Martha Stewart crafts - I especially love these leather belts, homemade planners, and button necklace.

I would love to see any and all of these things in my Christmas stocking.

Rachel (of Black*Eiffel fame) was in San Francisco recently, and reading about her trip makes me homesick for our honeymoon.

Design Mom posted her essentials for a tool kit and car kit. I love the photographs and I want to go buy everything she lists right now.

The holiday cards at Rifle Paper Company are adorable.

[picture: i would LOVE to hang this in my craft room]

thxthxthx

2010-11-09T11:15:00.004-06:00

If you read lots of other blogs, it is very possible that you have heard of thxthxthx: one thank you note a day.

I enjoy writing thank-you notes. I think it's a really important thing to know how to do, and I always appreciate receiving thank-you notes.

But these are not your average thank-you notes. THEY ARE SO MUCH BETTER THAN THAT. What a great exercise in thankfulness and joy and happiness. I should start doing this; maybe it'll curve my current kind of pessimisstic outlook on life.

Patrick Wessel

2010-11-08T18:29:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, Pete and I learned that a friend from college passed away. He was 25.

It was a huge surprise to us. We learned on his facebook page that he had been diagnosed with cancer awhile back. His dad had been updating Patrick's facebook page for awhile, keeping all of us college kids updated on his life, after Patrick did not have the ability to do so. And then all of a sudden, he had passed away.

I'm not used to people dying. I've been very lucky - my grandfather passed away a few summers ago, and other than that, the rest of my family is still around. Some of my friends' parents have passed away, and that was heartbreaking (every death is heartbreaking, I suppose, but when you have a friend in high school and their mom or dad dies? Just thinking about my friends that this happened to makes me tear up).

And now, Patrick.

Pete and Patrick were RA's together their junior year. When I first saw Patrick, I kind of had a huge crush on him. Then I felt so silly when Pete introduced him to me. Patrick was so nice, kind, warm, friendly...and absolutely hilarious. Diane Benati, a SLU graduate, wrote this article about him for the Riverfront Times. I cried when I read it.

It also really inspired me. She mentioned that Patrick thought that watching TV was the biggest waste of time. And as I read that, as I was watching TV and screwing around online on Friday night, it was like a giant hit in the face. I was never really great friends with Patrick - when we passed each other on campus, we would stop and chat for a second, but we never hung out. So when I read that, I just felt like he was pushing me to get off my butt and do something. I am constantly planning for big projects or trips or parties, and sometimes they happen but mostly they don't.

So I got up and started working on my ornament wreath.

My senior year of college when I realized that I didn't want to be a teacher, I did a lot of thinking about what I wanted to do. I thought about entrepreneurship for awhile, and since Patrick had majored in that while at SLU, I sent him a facebook message. This is what he said back to me, copied and pasted (ignore the first part, where I tell him I am Pete Wissinger's finance, and he makes fun of me for that):

pete wissingers finance??? i knew you were money, but... i'm just teasing. seriously, a huge congratulations to you and pete!

of course i remember you, how could i forget ye??

well, this might not be the answer you're wanting to hear...but i look back on college as a pretty big waste of my time because i wasn't interested in anything i was studying. so as long as you're interested in what you're doing, i say go for it. personally, i wasn't interested in entrepreneurship or being a businessman because i had no passion for it. i should have gone after the things i was truly interested in...

you only live once, kaylen hoffman. so do whatever makes you the happiest. don't waste your time working for someone you don't want to. do anything you can to move to a place you've never been, and you'll grow more than you know.

so if you're tired of english + education, try the entrepreneurship, but only if you're passionate about doing it. the entrepreneurship stuff wasn't for me, i was doing it because it seemed pretty easy.

i wish i could go back and do what i really wanted to, which was play rock and roll and do film acting. i'm doing both in new york city right now and go camping upstate on the weekends and couldn't be happier.

i can't stress it enough, make yourself happy sooner rather than later.

the best teacher in that entrepreneurship program is tim hayden. he's awesome. that's about all i know.

every best wish,
patrick wessel

What a wonderful guy.

A lot of college friends made fun of him in a goofy/hilarious/buddy-buddy way because he couldn't grow a very good mustache. One mutual friend on facebook wrote, "I bet you have the best mustache ever now, Patrick."

Patrick, you are so missed.

[image 1: Patrick moved to New York and jump-started a modeling/acting career. This picture is from Interview Magazine. ]

[image 2: from Patrick's now-defunct modeling website]

DIY Ornament Wreath

2010-11-08T17:05:00.003-06:00

It's my pride and glory!

When I saw this ornament wreath on Design*Sponge last year, I knew instantly that I had to have one of my own. And how fortunate, when the directions are provided!

This wreath was pretty easy to assemble; it just took a lot of patience and time.

I followed the directions on the tutorial pretty closely. I got a straw wreath from Hobby Lobby for $4 (although all Christmas decorations were 50% off, cha-ching!), then covered it in fabric I had on hand at home. I just used hot glue to glue the fabric to the wreath. ALSO: I wound ribbon around the wreath and then hot glued it into place before I put the fabric over it - so hopefully when I hang it up, it won't fall down.

Then came the accumulation of the ornaments. I started slow, but then when I actually started to put the wreath together, I realized I needed a lot more ornaments than I thought. I got some ornaments from Macy's (all still 40 - 50% off), some from Hobby Lobby, and some from Target. I wanted to stay in the same color scheme, of course, so I went with the brightly-colored glass balls (and some hearts!).

What do you think? I'm kind of afraid to hang it. And I need to do a bit of patch work on one side, but I LOVE how it turned out. It looks so festive! And I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Hobbies I Will Never Actually Take Up, so I Should Stop Kidding Myself

2010-11-08T09:31:00.000-06:00

I am limiting myself to five things, inspired by this post.

1. Skydiving. I've wanted to skydive since John and Dana moved in next door to my parent's house when I was eleven. Well, it's 11 years later and I still haven't gone. I'm not getting any younger and since I'm afraid to get into a plane, I don't really see how I will ever be brave enough to jump out of one.

2. Knitting. I mentioned knitting here, and I appreciate all the feedback! I got two facebook messages from people I didn't even know who read this blog, offering to help me learn to knit. Thanks guys! And really, I would love to learn. I just wouldn't be surprised if I never took the time.

3. Exercising. Yes, I totally stole this from the original list. I have bought good running shoes, I even went to Curves once. I know I need to get into shape but just the thought of getting my butt off the couch is exhausting. Work is so incredibly stressful and emotionally draining every day, so that when I get home, the very last thing I want to do is move more than necessary.

4. Letterpressing. I wanted to learn how to letterpress SO BAD this year but it's really expensive and the one place I know of in St. Louis that teaches people is really, really expensive. I just can't justify spending that much money for a couple of days of instruction. Maybe someday.

5. Researching my family tree. I LOVE reading everything that Bridgett unearths about her family. But she's patient with this project (at least if you aren't, Bridgett, you're fooling me) and has spent hours learning. I could just see myself paying for the website use, and then forgetting about it until it expired.

Sunday Roundup

2010-11-07T18:53:00.002-06:00

Happy Sunday, everyone! It's officially the holiday season, and I LOVE IT. Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and while it isn't quite Christmas, decorations are showing up on the streets and in shops, and people are beginning to plan for the holidays!

This weekend, I spent a LOT of time working my first Christmas project of the year, which I'll be sharing tomorrow. Friday evening, Pete and I stayed in, made spaghetti and bison meatballs, and he did some graduate school work and I worked on my project. Saturday, I got some more supplies for my project, Pete studied more, and then Mary (my lovely sister-in-law) came over for a crafty girly movie night. We watched When in Rome and (most of) Sleepless in Seattle, crafted, drank wine, and ate grilled cheese and tomato soup and some deeeeelicious chocolate. It was a lovely evening.

Here is some internet awesomeness from this week!

I would love to outfit a room in this mountain wallpaper.

These state pillows are really fun and colorful (via Gifted Magazine)

Wish I knew how to skateboard...

It's really interesting to read about how parents deal with excess Halloween candy.

Are you wanting to get into the Christmas spirit? Martha has tons of ideas...

When in New York, we WILL be going here. How delicious does everything look?!

Seen on Joanna's blog, Paris vs New York City makes me smile.

This guy does good work.

Foxes are so cute.

What the average American consumes in a year. Kind of gross.

I would wear this sweater every day.

This Japanese website has some really, really fun stuff on it.

These feather pistachio cookies are works of art.

Paper is so pretty.

Have a great work week, kiddos!

[image from oh, hello friend]

Conversational Missteps That Make Me Want To Hang Up On You In Real Life

2010-11-06T15:19:00.000-05:00

This is fun. Maybe I'm too mean, but here are my picks.

1. Acting like you are on a reality TV show and using long, dramatic pauses. "Kaylen, I looked over your newsletter, and.......................................................................................you did a good job." I'm sorry, but this isn't Project Runway or Biggest Loser. Just tell me what you think/what other people think and I'll go on my merry way.

2. Using "like" or "um" waaay too often. I'm guilty of this myself sometimes. But working in an all-girls school makes me realize how often teenage girls are capable of this error.

3. Plain old interruption. Pete is awesome at this and when we first started dating, I just let it slide. I wanted to be charming! But now, over four years in, he should really know that I HATE when he interrupts me. And if he does, he gets an earful. However, this doesn't stop him from interrupting me.

4. Talking over another person. My office is like this. They all have something they HAVE to say at the same time. I understand having a good idea and wanting to share it; I'm not against that. But just take a deep breath and bring it up when someone else isn't in the middle of saying something, or write it down for later.

5. Not making eye contact. It's okay to not stare deep into the soul of the person that you're talking to, but I can't stand having a conversation with a person when their eyes are wandering all over the place, the whole time.

6. Saying things like, "oh, I know how you feel" or "I know exactly what you're talking about." Maybe that isn't right of me to say, and sometimes it is nice to complain to a friend, and then to have her say, "oh yeah, I totally know how you feel. My dog ate my favorite stuffed animal when I was three, too!" But sometimes I just want to sulk in my own story and not be upstaged by anyone else's past experiences. I'm sorry if that makes me sound awful, but it's true.

7. Shoving your beliefs down another person's throat. I like hearing what you have to say about the election or your favorite ice cream. But maybe I disagree, and you giving me all these reasons to "change my mind" probably won't make me actually change my mind. Especially if you're talking to me aggresively.

Wow. I thought it would be difficult to come up with more than three things. Guess not!

Pandora Stations That Make Life Worth Living

2010-11-05T12:06:00.000-05:00

I wasn't really a big Pandora person until I started working here. Sometimes you just need to listen to music, and since I don't really lug around CDs and I have an iPhone but don't really use it for music...Pandora has become my best friend. I highly recommend checking it out, if you're unfamiliar!

Anyway, here are my favorite station picks:

1. Christmas. Maybe it's too early, but I LOVE Christmas everything - especially music. So I made myself wait until November 1st to start listening to Bing Crosby and Perry Como and Ella Fitzgerald's. My favorite Christmas carol, by the way, is "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".

2. Nick Drake. He has such a wonderful voice and I get to hear favorites like Jose Gonzalez, John Lennon, and Andrew Bird. It's nice and relaxing and perfect for wintry grey days.

3. The Avett Brothers. I love the twang. It took me awhile to get into these guys, but I'm kind of obsessed now. Bonus: this station provides me with Ryan Adams, whom I love.

4. The Polyphonic Spree. I hear the Beatles, Sigur Ros, Sufjan Stevens, and Belle & Sebastian.

5. The Arcade Fire. This was my first Pandora station and I am obsessed. You know how when you make a station, you know some of the songs, and the rest of them are nice, but you haven't heard of them? I know EVERY SINGLE SONG on this station (thus far). It's great.

6. Iron & Wine. So nice and quiet. It's perfect for those days when I just want to scream.

Movies That Never Fail to Make Me Weep

2010-11-04T09:32:00.000-05:00

Inspired by this post.

The Christmas Box - Yes, it is a made-for-TV movie. But it's based off a book that both my mom and I read and we both just cried and cried and cried. So when we watched the movie, it was one big blubber-fest.

Forrest Gump - when Sally Field dies. When Jenny dies. When he meets little Forrest. I love this movie for many reasons, but there are so many moments that make me tear up.

UP - but really any Disney movie. Especially Pixar/Disney movies. But especially UP! Have you seen this? Don't click on it if you don't want to cry!!

An Education - such a great film, but I cried when I saw it in theaters, and Pete and I recently purchased this and watched it again and I cried like a baby at the end. If you haven't seen it, though, you really should - it's wonderful. Carey Mulligan is one of my faves.

Love Actually - always made me cry before, but NOW, having used a song from the movie for my walk up the aisle with my dad at our wedding, well, it will just be at new heights of cry-dom.

The Hangover - I laugh so hard I cry.

Juno - at the end(ish) when Juno is in the hospital bed, and Paulie comes in...Pete and I saw this movie in theaters three times, and I bawled in all three. Like, I had to hold my breath to keep from actually gasping for air/sobbing embarrassingly.

Away We Go - it's hard for me to think of this movie without getting teary-eyed. Let's just leave it at, "you should watch this."

Stranger Than Fiction - have you seen this? I pretty much wrote it off, until a friend and I watched it a few years ago. Will Ferrell is fantastic - absolutely fantastic - and plays such a different kind of role. It's all so real and gratifying and wonderful. And absolutely gut-wrenching.

Sleepless in Seattle - um, HELLO?! How could you not cry during this?

These are some of MANY movies that make me cry. All are great. I highly recommend each and every one!

Things My Mother Never Taught Me (and Things She Did)

2010-11-03T20:29:00.003-05:00

Sometimes when I have free time (which is more and more fleeting these days) I go through my bookmarked blogs. And I rarely get past the first page, which is really a shame because it's not their fault I didn't find them first, and that they happen to be closer to the bottom of the page.

Anyway - my love affair with Secret Society of List Addicts has been rekindled. I'm planning on doing some scheduled posts (which I'll have to talk about another time; they are AWESOME) into the future but for right now, see the title of the post for what I'm talking about.

Things I Never Learned from Mom
How to put on make-up. My mom really never taught me how to do this. I've complained to friends and to Pete that I'm upset about this, and sometimes I truly am - I wish I knew how to apply eyeliner, or the best way to figure out what color my foundation should be. But it also makes my life immensely easier. I NEVER wear make-up, which means a few more minutes in bed every morning : )

How to walk in high heels. I am absolutely hopeless at this. Some girls from my floor when I was an RA tried to teach me, but...I don't really know if it helped. I try to avoid these whenever possible. I think they stayed on at our wedding reception for about twenty minutes.

Patience. It's funny, because my mom is a pre-school teacher and was a kindergarten teacher for many years, and she's super patient with her kids at school. But she doesn't have much patience for me and my younger sister. Maybe she did when we were younger.

How to be a Packrat. I figured this one out all by myself.

How to Not Cry at Everything. If you know me, and you think I'm awesome at crying at everything, you should meet my mother.

How to Spend Money. My mom is, um, frugal. Perfect example of this. For my parents' anniversary a few years back, my mom bought a little print of a baby lamb smiling with "I love you!" written underneath it for my dad. My dad bought my mom a giant bronze butterfly (I'm talking three feet in diameter) that he always planned to mount on the playhouse that used to be in our backyard, but it broke when he accidentally nudged it with his car...in our garage...that we knocked down the playhouse for. My mom usually just shops at when she sees a big SALE sign, or when she has to. I, on the other hand, LOVE LOVE LOVE to go shopping. I like grocery shopping, shoe shopping, salt-and-pepper shaker shopping, everything. I don't care much for swimsuit shopping, but who does?

Things I Know Because Mom Told Me
How to mend a broken heart. I realize that this sounds cheesy, but my mom and I are pretty close. Sometimes she drives me crazy, and I know she feels the same about me (what kind of bride wants fake flowers, anyway?) but throughout adolescence she was always there to hold me when I cried about my current crush making fun of my saddle shoes or when I gave a poem to a boy in 8th grade and he laughed in my face, then started "dating" a good friend. There have been some problems in my life lately that I wish I knew how to handle like the above situations. I feel as though I learned well.

How to Make One Mean Chocolate Cake. The Peluso family has a chocolate cake recipe passed down from my great grandma, to my grandma, to my mom, and now to me. I tweak it every time I make it, and so the cake always tastes differently, but I am always pleased with it.

How to Make Mistakes but Move on Anyways, and THEN Forgive. Sometimes they were small mistakes (coloring on the kitchen table with permanent marker) and sometimes they were much bigger (huge, huge lies in high school that, of course, I was later caught in) but I was always forgiven, regardless of the immensity of what I did.

How to Laugh a lot at Seinfeld. My mom, my dad and I all LOVE Seinfeld. My sister hates it. We used to watch it all together and just laugh and laugh and laugh.

Creativity. Mom is ridiculously creative, even though she doesn't really admit it often. She's a wonderful artist - she paints, she draws, she sculpts - and she also loves music (both listening and playing piano/clarinet) and going to concerts and plays. I'm a culture nerd when it comes to the arts because of her. And also my dad.

How to Play the Piano. I had a piano teacher for many years, but before we started having Becky teach us, mom taught Emme and I. She put stickers on the keys with the notes and we learned "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Chopsticks" and stuff. Becky later taught me "Canon in D", but my piano roots are from mom.

Thanks for everything, mom! I love you!

[pictures: top - me and mom the night Pete and I got engaged; middle - Louie, Emme, mom and I at my 20th birthday celebration (that cake is the famous chocolate cake); bottom - not of mom and I, but it is my favorite picture of my parents, hands down. I am SO happy that I caught this shot back in 2006.

Big Time Rush!!

2010-11-02T09:21:00.000-05:00

No big deal, I was totally hanging out with these guys last week.

So here's the story:

Y98 and Walgreen's (I think?) were sponsoring a contest - whichever high school cast the most votes at a Walgreen's in the area won a concert by BIG TIME RUSH at their school.

And the lovely girls of my high school just voted and voted and voted their hearts out.

And then they came.

They played for a half hour, in our gym, this past Thursday.

We were all pretty excited.

And if you think I'M excited, well, you should've heard the buzz of the 401 girls in the hallways...

This is my favorite song. Keep in mind, I've only listened to one of them. And it's this one.

In general, the concert was great - we didn't really invite anyone from "the outside", so it was just the school community. I was one of the adults up front creating a barricade between the screaming girls and the boy band, which was...interesting. A new thing to add to my job description!

But it was so high energy, and everyone had a great time. I can't embed the video here, but you should totally go take a look - the screaming girls. Oh, the screaming girls. I was one of those girls for four years. And may I just say, one of the teachers brought a handful of ear plugs for the show, and I am SO SO SO grateful. It's not even funny. They were SO SO LOUD.

[image from J-14, which is the ONLY magazine I subscribed to when I was about 12 years old. I'm happy it's still around]

It's a Scott Pilgrim Halloween!

2010-11-01T10:32:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you remember, but once upon a time Pete really wanted to do a "boyfriend guest blog" on happy notions. And so he did. And he mostly wrote about Scott Pilgrim.

So the movie came out, and we saw it like four times, and then Pete decided that we would be characters from the movie for Halloween.

So he was Scott Pilgrim, and I was Kim Pine (the angry-at-the-world drummer in the band, Sex B0b-omb).

I'm not a big Halloween person, truth be told. In fact, even as a kid, I really just got dressed up for the candy. So now that I can't just take candy from my dear neighbors as a 22-year-old, I don't really see the point.

But I dressed up for Pete (Scott) anyways, and here are some pictures.

Pete = Scott Pilgrim. Scott has a katana at some point, so that's why Pete has one in the picture.

Me = Kim Pine. Angsty with freckles.

And here's a real picture from the movie:

[Scott has the ZERO shirt on, and Kim is the second from the right]

Next year, I really, really want to be Angelica from Rugrats. I already have the dress and the shoes and the hair ribbons. I just need the right tights and the right shirt.

Sunday Roundup, and Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T09:55:00.003-05:00

What did you do this weekend? Luckily, our weekend isn't over yet - tomorrow is All Saints Day, and since Pete and I work in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, we have a day off!

Friday evening, I enjoyed a delicious pumpkin scone and caramel apple cider from this place with Shannon, and yesterday Pete and I did some shopping and went to a Halloween party that my friends Marcy and Torgerson threw. It was great!

Today, we're planning on doing laundry, writing some more wedding thank you notes (we're about halfway finished!) and hanging out with my parent's dog.

Here are some of my favorite things from around the web this week!

I love Christmas, and this will be my first big project of the season.

A tetris bookshelf.

I love this bubble wreath tutorial from CB2. Speaking of CB2, if one opened in St. Louis I would shop there aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the time.

These spoon cookies from Orangette look delicious.

Since I'm a sucker for all things bright and colorful, these staircases did me in.

18 of the best bistros in Paris...I'll get there someday...

Pete and I will be making these for all of our co-workers come Christmastime. Any suggestions on what cookies to use? I'm thinking Christmas-themed sugar cookies...

We received a cast iron skillet for our wedding and sometimes I forget how important it is to take care of it - I'll be seasoning mine this afternoon!

I wish our teacher's lounge looked like this.

Also from curbly, boats turned garden sheds.

31 Things Learned in 31 Years. Love.

I want to copy Katie's bedroom almost exactly.

This skirt from ModCloth is calling my name.

Picture: I'm not a big Halloween person, but this is just perfect.

Have a great week, everyone!

Ming Makes Cupcakes

2010-10-27T09:41:00.000-05:00

This is absolutely delectable.

Ming makes a new cupcake/cookie/savoury-something every week and posts a picture and the recipe for it. Love the simplicity. Also, is it bad that I want to eat every single one of those cupcakes right now?

Bonus: homemade thin mints. Looks sooooo good.

Bonjour Celine

2010-10-27T09:01:00.000-05:00

Bonjour Celine is one of my favorite new blogs (well, "new-to-me" blogs).

I especially love these pictures of rain. We haven't had rain in St. Louis in so long. I miss it.

Claudia G. Pearson

2010-10-26T09:24:00.000-05:00

I'm a very visual person, so these recipe posters are right up my alley.

The colors are lovely and the execution is perfect. I would love to have a wall of these in my kitchen.

Awesome job, Ms. Claudia G. Pearson. You make my heart sing.

PS: I also really love this buy local print, and the orange set of rowhouses.

DIY Necklace

2010-10-25T09:21:00.000-05:00

I haven't spent a lot of time making jewelry, but this piece is so pretty and dainty and perfect. I wonder if my big, clumsy fingers could make it work?

I just love that turquoise.

20x200

2010-10-24T16:14:00.002-05:00

Have you heard about 20x200? It's brilliant. Jen Bekman, the creator/owner, decided that the internet was the perfect place to unite artists and people that want to buy limited editions of art at affordable prices. So, every week, they release two new pieces - one that is a photo, and one on paper - and have three or four different sizes that you can purchase.

I want every piece. Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not much of one.

This is my newest want - I love the colors and the name of the piece. Unfortunately (for my wallet) the smallest/cheapest size is sold out, so I have to decide if I want the bigger piece or not. Thoughts?

Sunday Roundup

2010-10-24T13:35:00.002-05:00

What did you do this weekend? RK's production of Once Upon a Mattress is officially over, but with Pete as the 'master electrician', he was there all weekend. Yesterday, we went to a pumpkin patch with Julie, a new work friend, and Steve and Mary. Then Julie, Pete and I got Black Thorn Pizza and went to the musical. This morning, Pete and I took a looooong walk around the neighborhood and fantasized about buying a house in the near(ish?) future and having kids. The weather is still unseasonably warm in St. Louis (it's October 24th and it was 75 degrees today) but I'm holding out for cooler weather.

Here are some of my favorite links from this week!

Elise is celebrating her 2000th Etsy sale! Help her reach her number.

Pomegranate farm. Yum!

I'm buying this beautiful personalized hanger for myself as soon as I finish this blog post...

This poster from 1canoe2 cracked me up.

Nichole made this huge paper lantern pendant with nothing more than coffee filters and glue.

This flower bouquet is super cute. It would look great sitting on our dining room table year-round.

S'mores are my fave - recipes for doughnuts and milkshakes.

Best Mac and Cheese in NYC - bookmarked for our March trip.

These maps are super awesome.

Amy Sedaris shares her favorite things.

My job requires me to use Photoshop and InDesign, which are both great programs. I'm slowly learning, and this site is fantastic. What fun ideas!

The Purl Bee has given me tooooons of ideas for Christmas presents this year.

Picture: love the minimalist, clean lines - and the pops of color. My place will never look like this, but it's nice to think about.

Have a wonderful work week, everyone!

Scout Plays Bananagrams...

2010-10-18T12:42:00.004-05:00

...kind of.

Jon Hamm

2010-10-18T09:10:00.000-05:00

If you are a woman (or really, a man, too) and you don't think that Jon Hamm is above-and-beyond attractive...well, good for you?

He was born in St. Louis, so that's awesome.

I have only watched the first season of Mad Men, and it was just as amazing as everyone says it is. We need to get Netflix going again and watch the second and third seasons. And fourth? Or is that it?

My favorite Jon Hamm, though, is 30 Rock Jon Hamm. AKA Dr. Drew Baird. He is adorable. I love the new hairstyle and the glasses.

Okay, that's all.

images - one & two; three & four

Sunday Roundup

2010-10-17T10:32:00.002-05:00

It's a new tradition! I always love bloggers' Friday links (here, here, here, here) so I am totally going to copy them.

I spend a decent amount of time online each week, looking for fun projects, general inspiration, and beautiful things. So here is my collection of found internet items from the last week.

Interested in a swap? How about a calendar swap? Maybe we'll be partners!

Mr. Wissinger and I need to get out to the pumpkin patch so we can make these.

What a great idea for renters, or (ahem) lazy people! Anyone else want to start a petition to get a Paper Source in St. Louis? Chicago is the closest to me...

I'm a sucker for elbow patches.

Love these pops of color.

I love this whole apartment, but especially the wall with the pictures.

A new requirement for our future home.

This gender reveal party is absolutely adorable. It almost convinces me to wait to find out the sex of the baby, but when we get pregnant I'm pretty sure I'll need to find out ASAP.

These prints by Dan McCarthy are so, so pretty - I especially love the cityscapes with lights on in the windows.

I am excited to buy a house, primarily for more wall space. So I can do things like this.

I recently revisited Marta Writes (I hate when I forget about magical blogs) and the how-to series is fabulous. Especially love this, this, this, and this.

I hope you all had a happy weekend, and have a lovely work week!

picture via bippityboppityboo. How excited are you for snow?! Well, I'm excited for snow days.

Etsy Headquarters

2010-10-17T09:19:00.002-05:00

So, so much fun! I wish I worked there.

Or I wish that at least my office was a bit more colorful and fun-looking.

Next step in life: move to Brooklyn and beg for job at Etsy.

via swissmiss

Christmas!

2010-10-06T12:53:00.002-05:00

Ugh. I'm not sure if my excitement over Christmas is charming or annoying or a little bit of both. With this cold weather making itself at home in St. Louis, I am Christmas CRAZY. I've been doing research on what to get people for Christmas, making lists of things to do during December (Pete and I have tried to do one Christmas-ey thing a day the last two Decembers), and dreaming about our Christmas tree.

So in my researching, I've decided that everything I get for people this year will be handmade or bought from someone else who made it by hand (aka a lot of Etsy shopping, yay!). I've made this my Christmas pledge a few years in the past, and while it starts out well, I usually get behind on my shopping and end up getting people things from Target or Anthropologie (which is fine).

So. Here, I've said it. I will be getting people handmade things!

Oh, wait. I already have to go back on that pledge - I saw an AWESOME pair of mustache socks that I wanted to get for Pete. Hmmm.

I've already found some great projects I want to dive into within the next few weeks, but I can't post them here because the three projects I really, really want to do are for people that I KNOW read this blog.

Do you know of any websites that you think would aid me in my handmade Christmas quest?

Wishes (Winter Edition)

2010-10-05T10:43:00.002-05:00

I wish...

...that there was snow on the ground.

...that our fireplace worked.

...that the hot cocoa I bought in Cambria, California, tasted better than it does.

...for a pair of fleecey Hunter socks to adorably match my Hunter boots.

...that Pete and I could laze in bed all day and watch Parks & Rec and have Scout lay with us to keep us warm, and NOT pee on the bed.

...my office wasn't as cold. My fuzzy socks + sophisticated flats are not the most classy look.

...that I could go for a brisk Central West End walk, like Mary and I did in high school to "take pictures" for media class (we did take pictures, just not always for class).

...that dinner would make itself. And that the apartment would clean itself.

...that our apartment had heated floors.

...I knew how to knit (how beautiful is this?)

NYC

2010-09-25T16:45:00.003-05:00

So, slight change of plans.

I know I talked up Europe around this time last year - that I was TOTALLY going to go in the next year, no matter what. And to hold me accountable for saying that.

Well, after our amazing (READ: expensive) honeymoon, and since I've gotten a full-time job, we did some number-crunching and realized that really, Europe just isn't feasible for 2011.

Although it is still a possibility. Our school takes tours of girls to various places throughout the world each summer, and this summer two of my favorite teachers are taking a group of girls to Ireland, Wales, England, and France. There are already two chaperones, and (last I heard) only ten-ish girls enrolled for the trip. For every five girls that go, a chaperone goes for free. There's already another teacher in line before us, but if 25 girls sign up for the trip, we're going for free!

So we'll see how that unfolds.

In the meantime, my office works in the summer. So Pete and I decided to not go on any trips in summer 2011, unless the Europe trip comes through, or if my family/friends of the family plan a big reunion trip back to Hilton Head Island.

So, since we aren't really planning any summer trips, we took a look at the calendar and realized that since we work at the same school, we have the same spring break. And since we have the same (ahem, paid) spring break, we should totally go on a trip!

Hence, New York City and Philadelphia.

We'll fly into NYC, hang out there for a few days, then take the Megabus to Philly and stay with some friends. Then take the bus back to NYC and fly home.

I am so excited and have been doing preliminary research of things I want to do - I've been to New York once, for like 15ish hours, so I am excited to actually see the city. See Central Park, and the Museum of Natural History, and the Magnolia Bakery.

And I have yet to set foot in Philly - that's where Megan lives, along with Pete's good friend from high school, David, AND Karen, an awesome blogger. I totally told her on twitter that we need to meet up when I'm there. And she said yes! Squeee! Commence a conversation peppered with Arrested Development, Mindy Kaling, and 30 Rock quotes. I am tres excited!

So if any of you lovely readers have suggestions of things to do in New York or Philly, please let me know! I would love to hear from you!

images:
one
two
three
four

Scout!

2010-09-18T17:32:00.002-05:00

Meet Scout, our newest addition to the family!

She isn't a dog, but she's pretty darn cute. And frankly, I am THRILLED to have her here.

She's about eight weeks old. My friend, Maggie, has a cat who escaped earlier this year. After searching and searching for her, they found her a week after she had disappeared - but she was pregnant! Five adorable kittens were born on July 13th this summer. And we picked our Scout up yesterday :)

Pete and I have had so much fun watching her play and explore our apartment. She is super adorable, and may I add - VERY photogenic. And it's like she knows to sit still when a camera is out. Which is perfect for me. I've already taken way more photos than I would like to share...

[size comparison - that is Pete's forearm. she is teensy tiny!]

Bake it in a Cake

2010-09-17T14:07:00.003-05:00

Thanks to the super-talented, uber-amazing Cakespy, I was introduced to this tumblr - Bake it in a Cake.

HELLO?! Do not all of these things look delicious? I want to eat them all. Right now. In a row.

This blog is basically about all of the awesome things that one can bake inside a cake. On the first page, Twinkies, cream puffs, s'mores pop tarts, strawberry jam, mini key lime pies, Milano cookies, and baklava all make an appearance. But the one that looks like the best to me?

A cupcake with a Cadbury Cream Egg baked into the middle.

Cadbury Cream Eggs are my FAVORITE part of Easter, hands down.

Honeymoon Day 5

2010-09-15T19:08:00.004-05:00

I loved this day. I've realized that I have been writing a LOT - so I'm going to try to keep it minimal. Also, I'm watching America's Got Talent and, well, I need to put a lot of my concentration into Prince Poppycock and Donna Summers performing together.

In short, we started the morning at Venice Beach, which is such a cool area. The beach is beautiful and the street right behind the beach is full of tourists, potheads, radicals, sunglasses shops, crappy bookstores, and snack stands. It's just the coolest mishmash of people ever. Did I mention that it's on a beach?

After spending some time by the water and eating some fish tacos from a shack, we headed down to Abbot Kinney Blvd, where there are a ton of shops/boutiques, hair salons, restaurants, architecture firms, etc. The houses all look like fairy tale houses - all different colors of pastel and teeny tiny and cute little yards. I would have moved in right there (by this time I was definitely feeling less homesick).

[um, can I please have a sign like this?]

I had read about a place called the Abbot Pizza Company - and Pete urban-spooned it (this quickly became a verb on our trip) and sure enough, it won his praises. The pizza is all kinds of crazy flavors (Pete got a slice of chicken curry and I had four cheese, which included ricotta) and baked on bagel dough. Yuuuuuum.

I dragged Pete into some stationary stores and clothing shops. We found an awesome shoe store that was way out of our price range. We then proceeded to wander around the neighborhood, gawk at the houses (and the prices OF the houses...yikes), look at murals, and gawk at the houses some more.

We then began our trip out to Disneyland. This took FOREVER. We were about an hour away from Disneyland without traffic. Add that to trying to get there around rush hour and, well...it took us awhile.

Eventually we made it, though, and jumped on a tram to get to the park. Neither of us had been to Disneyland, so it was fun to see how it was set up - it is truly just THERE, just on the street, in the middle of Anaheim. So weird, compared to the way that Disney World is set up.

We only went on one ride (oops!) but we had free passes to the park, so I didn't feel too bad. It's a Small World is just as kitschy as I remember it being. We wandered around the park, people-watching and eating. And taking pictures.

[Pete, being awesome in front of Star Tours]

[oh hey It's a Small World]

Finally, it was time for the Fantasmic! show to start. I can't really formulate it into words, but it just made me so happy. Ever since I could remember, I have loved everything Disney. I loved the princesses, but also Robin Hood and all of the Pixar movies and just...all of it. So Fantasmic! was this huge water show and there were a ton of characters and huge boats sailing through and Malificent (the dragon from Sleeping Beauty) was huge and breathed fire and tried to kill Mickey! But Mickey prevailed (obviously). And I felt like a kid again. Walt Disney tends to do that to me.

[how awesome is this?!]

[forgive the blurry picture; I just wanted to give you an idea of what it was like. This is the Steamboat Willie steamboat, and all the characters you could ever imagine were on it, like Winnie the Pooh & Co., Mickey and Friends, the princesses, Pixar people, etc.

By the end of the day, we had probably walked ten miles between the park and the Venice neighborhood and for some weird reason we chose to walk back to the parking lot, instead of taking the tram. And we had wanted to crash as soon as we got back to the hotel room, BUT I wanted to get some NyQuil from a WalMart by our hotel - since we were getting back so late, I didn't think we would have to wait long. But we stood in line for over an hour! There were hundreds and hundreds of people waiting in line with all kinds of stuff - hangers, cleaning supplies, a week's worth of groceries - at 11:30 at night. I asked the woman who checked us out (when we finally got there) if it was always so crowded, and she said that it was usually busy until 2 AM. What?!

Honeymoon Day 4

2010-09-15T09:28:00.000-05:00

Day four was one of my favorite days. We hiked from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.

Let me start by saying that I LOVE LA. I find the "fakeness" of it comforting, somehow. I just feel home when I'm there. But really I'm probably just a California Gal at heart.

Regardless. We sort of slept in in Vegas. After waking up, we played a few lazy games of War with the sweet LAS VEGAS deck of cards we had gotten the night before. We watched a bit of a Top Chef marathon. We talked a lot about the wedding and the rest of the honeymoon, and then we got excited to actually be ON a honeymoon, so we packed up our stuff and headed out.

First stop was Trader Joe's. I just have to say - it was very comforting being in a Trader Joe's. Even if the layout is different and they have things there that they don't have in St. Louis (HELLO why are there not peant-butter stuffed pretzels here in the Midwest?!).

Then we hit the road. We drove through the desert. The temperature outside hit 112 degrees. The windows of the van were literally hot to the touch. We drove by our first In-N-Out but didn't stop until we saw the next one from the highway.

Oh. My. They were as good as I remember them being. We definitely had In-N-Out three times on the trip and just writing about it makes me miss it.

We also stopped at a Vans outlet store where Pete bought me new checkered shoes. Which was great. Someday I'll tell the famous story of my Vans.

We finally made it to LA, and of course, we sat in traffic before we even got the hotel. We stayed in Baldwin Park, which is (I think?) a suburb. LA is so spread out, it's hard to tell. But we were at least an hour away from everything that we wanted to go to, so once we checked into the room we sat and relaxed for perhaps a total of two minutes before running out to explore!

We headed down to Santa Monica right around dusk. It was beautiful. I love the ocean. I miss it. I don't know if I would want to live near it all the time, but...oh. It was just wonderful.

Pete had never seen the Pacific Ocean (except from a plane) but he enjoyed the beach. And he took an obscene amount of pictures of me.

After enjoying sunset on the beach, we headed up to the pier. We strolled hand-in-hand, did some people-watching, and played at the arcade. Pete tried to make me go on the ferris wheel but I am not a huge fan of heights. So we stayed grounded.

[Santa Monica Pier is the official end to Route 66 - which starts in Chicago. So I was pointing to St. Louis, where we began our trip. We drove the entire route, minus Chicago, on our honeymoon. And since then, we've been to Chicago and home twice.]

Because we didn't want to eat Bubba Gump's Shrimp or greasy boardwalk food, we finally decided to head out for dinner around 8:30. Thanks to the Urban Spoon app for the iPhone (if you have an iPhone you need to download this asap - it's free and amazing) we were lead to Urth Cafe. Which was amazing in every way. Organic. We sat outside. There was a heater nearby (because it was chilly, outside, in JULY. Why do I not live there?). I ate a caprese sandwich. It was perfect.

This place was also right across the street from a pizza place that my family and I went to when I was there in 2005. And the liquor store my parents stopped at to get a bottle of wine was right down the street, too. So odd. It was like I knew the neighborhood really well...but I didn't know it at all.

We walked around Santa Monica a bit - all the shops were closed, but we peeked inside. We got some Ben & Jerry's. It was a glorious first couple of hours in CA.

Also, may I mention - Pete and I went down to Cairo a few weekends ago. Maci, our niece (it's fun saying OUR nieces) had her birthday party. Mike and Bridgett and their daughters and son came, too. Bridgett was having a hard time getting her phone signal to pick up her Yelp app, so I grabbed my phone to try to help. And let me just say, when it finally did load, it was stuck in San Francisco, from when I had used it last. It was SO SAD to see that as I stood in a parking lot in Paducah, Kentucky, trying to find a coffee place that wasn't McDonald's. That is all.

UP (again)

2010-09-14T21:25:00.000-05:00

So I was looking through some happy notions archives and I watched this video again.

I'm just saying, you should too. I haven't watched UP in a long time, though Pete and I talk about it a lot.

This segment above reminds me of last Christmas at the Wissinger estate. The girls (our nieces) wanted to watch UP. Or maybe I wanted to watch UP and I tricked them into thinking that they wanted to watch it. Whatever the story - we put it on. So there were four little girls in there, along with me, Pete, Mary, Steve, Mike and Christy. During this scene I'm pretty sure we were all tearing up (I don't know about Steve, and Pete probably wouldn't want to admit it). Bridgett walked into the room and was like, "I don't know WHY you guys are watching this!" And we all sort of giggled and tried to nonchalantly wipe away tears...but it's so good. Watch it again to remember how wonderful and fleeting life can be.

Baby Cash

2010-09-14T21:10:00.002-05:00

So my awesome friends Lindsay and Paul made a baby. His name is Cash. He is wonderful and cuddly and adorable.

Also, do you KNOW how small newborns are? He is teeny tiny! I knew that they were little. But then I saw his fingernails and how perfectly itsy bitsy they were and just...wow. So small. So perfect.

Anyway - this is Cash and two of Lindsay and Paul's pugs, Bruno and Savannah (Nana? Nannah? for short). L + P, I hope you don't mind that I totally swiped this picture from facebook.

I know, I know. Makes my ovaries ache. Kind of like how Leo made me feel last Christmas (and pretty much every time I see him).

The Most Perfectest Jacket Ever

2010-09-14T21:05:00.002-05:00

How gorgeous is this? Le sigh. Even though I have a full-time job, I still can't afford it. Isn't that what jobs are FOR?!

Validation

2010-09-14T20:58:00.002-05:00

My mom passed this video along to me yesterday. She watched it during a faculty meeting at her school. I was wary at first (I love my mom, but she's into those cheesy forwards sometimes, so...I wasn't really sure what to expect).

But this was SO GOOD. Pete found me at the end of the video, curled up on the couch in tears. Good tears.

If you have 16 minutes, I implore you to watch it. Pronto if possible.

Commercials

2010-09-14T20:39:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile since I wrote about some awesome commercials that make me cry/think.

The first time I saw this video I thought, "wow that's so true!" Timing is everything in some cases. Very cool perspective.

Another AT&T commercial - love the music, love the visuals.

I always love Target. The commercials are kind of hit and miss for me right now, but this reminds me of Wes Anderson's style. Also those girls are adorable.

Lastly -

Old Spice. I laughed so hard when I first saw this one.

Enjoy! Have you seen any good commercials that you like recently?

Crossing it Off...

2010-09-05T20:33:00.004-05:00

So I've been busy with all kinds of great stuff, BUT I realized the other night that I hadn't told the blogosphere about all of my recent accomplishments.

Remember this list? Well, I've been (somewhat slowly) crossing things off. I have four months left to try to get all of it done. I know I'll get some more of it finished, but other things (roller coaster? Sky diving? Surfing? ha.) will probably have to wait until some later moment of my life.

1. I graduated! I posted pictures here, and miraculously, STILL have not gotten pictures from my parents of me and them. Oops.

2. I found a job!

3. I got married!

4. I did indeed go on an amazing honeymoon! Read about days two and three. I need to continue writing about the other days. We did more than drive through the Southwest and visit Vegas.

5. I saw the sunset at the Grand Canyon.

6. I did gamble in a Las Vegas casino.

7. I did drive up Highway 1 from LA to San Francisco. Well, I drove a good amount of the way. Pete drove the most. I got a teensy bit carsick on those twisty turny roads.

8. I did visit Disneyland.

10. We didn't stop at any of the bizarre road-side attractions I thought we would see. We didn't see many. One was right outside of Amarillo. We stayed there our first night of the honeymoon and got up early to get on the road. Within ten minutes of driving, we came across these. Looked really cool, but we didn't stop, since we had JUST GOTTEN IN THE CAR. So, this one didn't really happen.

11. We did visit the beach. Pete liked it more than he thought he would, which was great.

14. We did paint one of the rooms in our apartment. It's my craft room, and it's yellow. I'm not totally finished with it yet, which is why you haven't seen pictures. We are currently working on painting our bedroom. Sea-foam spray is the color. Pretty!

15 (kinda). We are not able to adopt a dog, unfortunately. It would cost us a LOT of extra money to put a deposit down for our apartment. However, one of my dear friends' cats ran away from home. When they found her a week lady, she was carrying kittens! We'll be getting our own kitten in about a week and a half. Her name is Scout and she is gray. I'm so excited to welcome her to our place!

17. We didn't BUY a new bed, we BUILT a new bed. And when I say "we" I totally don't include myself in that - Pete and our friend Paul built it. On one of the hottest days in the summer. Again, pictures to come.

30. I have made sure that there have been fresh flowers in the house once a month, with the exception of July. Which doesn't really count because we were gone for two weeks of it.

39. I got a credit card! But I haven't used it yet (probably for the better?)

44. I did put my arms around a giant redwood tree (well, as far as I could, at least)

45. Portrait of me and Pete - DONE. Thanks, Nan Lawson!

72. I am four books away from having read 20 books this year.

73. Pete and I have cleaned out this apartment three times now and taken a ton of stuff to Goodwill. I LOVE doing that. And it was much needed after the wedding.

76. We bought cloth napkins AND used them. Blamo!

81. We visited Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. I didn't buy anything, but we did go to Sprinkles in BH and I got a cupcake. So good. I wish we had a Sprinkles here in St. Louis...

82. I have watched one more movie off of the AFI list. It was From Here to Eternity, and it wasn't that great.

89. We went to a drive-in movie in San Luis Obispo - Inception. It was amazing.

94. I learned my blood type - O+

So. That's that. I have some work ahead of me!

College Advice

2010-08-27T19:46:00.002-05:00

Stolen from this wonderful, thoughtful man - I wish someone had been around to tell me this when I changed my major back here.

Okay, that isn't totally fair - many of my friends were supportive (although I had to almost always tell them reasons - only Mary was nonjudgmental, from what I can remember), and Pete's family was very supportive. My family, on the other hand, well...not so much. People told me it was okay, but I wish that I had had a counselor that said these things.

Dear College Students:

You picked your major and determined the course of your professional life before you were really ready to do so.

Please don’t be offended by this.

Some of you were ready, because your passions aligned correctly.

But most of you picked what you thought would be best, well before you understood what it would mean in the decades to come.

Some of you are already discovering this to be true. I’ve worked and taught on a college campus for over a decade. I see it all the time. That’s okay.

You can change your major.

For those of you that didn’t just close this window:

Yes, it will suck. A lot.

But so will the lifetime you may otherwise invest in something you do not love.

Follow your gut. Especially when it is aligned with your heart. This especially goes for you creators. The drive to create will never go away.

Don’t do anything crazy. Don’t drop classes this minute. Talk to a counselor. A good one. One that loves what they do. If you don’t get one, make another appointment until you do.

Make it work.

Your future is worth it.

Hey, college students - from a person who's been there - this smart man is right. Don't finish just to finish. You're in college, finish it with something you love.

I have to say, the last three days at work have been a bit overwhelming but I am so glad I am doing that and not teaching. It would have been awful - not just for me, but I'm pretty sure for the students and my fellow staff as well.

Blueberries

2010-08-26T12:09:00.000-05:00

I took these pictures the weekend after we returned from our honeymoon. We were home and wanted - no, needed - to see our friends. So we had a big old party and invited a ton of people.

I made a blueberry tart. The cheater kind - from Real Simple - but it was delicious. The filling was delectable. And those blueberries just looked so pretty in the sunlight, they had to be documented.

Job!

2010-08-25T20:48:00.003-05:00

So. I'm totally employed.

At my HIGH SCHOOL.

I still couldn't believe that it was real. And I had my first day today. And it was glorious.

And I have my own email address! And my own phone extension! And my own laptop, PLUS a desktop that stays at school!

I still can't believe it, after a day.

Here's what I wore (my parents were ALL ABOUT the first day of school pictures, and since it was Pete's first full day, and my first day of grown-up work, well...)

Did I mention that Pete also works there? So we both work there? What a wonderful world.

Oh - in case you were curious, I'm working in the development office - working on recruitment, fundraising, communication for the school, etc. Today I proofed some letters and started putting together the parent manual!

So. That's my big news. I can access blogger on my work computer, so if the day is ever slow (although I don't think they ever will be!) I'll do some stealth-blogging.

If You're Getting Married...

2010-08-20T13:33:00.014-05:00

...here's my two cents.

1. Stand up straight ALL DAY. No, seriously - all day. I think I did a pretty good job throughout my wedding day, but there are some pictures I've seen (mostly taken by friends) where I am slumping over. I normally slump over. My posture isn't excellent. This doesn't bother me on a normal day, but when I'm wearing a beautiful dress with beautiful hair and make-up, I wish I had stood up straight more.

[not the most attractive picture of me, but it illustrates my point]

Also, here's a thing - standing up straight helps get rid of back fat. SCORE. Which, when you're wearing a tight dress (and most dresses will be so they will fit correctly), almost every girl inevitably has.

2. Really, really, REALLY love your dress. I did love my dress. It's beautiful. HOWEVER, I will always wonder what my wedding day would have been like if I had worn a shorter, tea-length dress. I wouldn't have been as hot. I would have been able to move more. My poor bridesmaids wouldn't have had to spend 20 minutes in the reception bathroom trying to figure out the bustle.

3. I wish I had looked at our guests when I walked down the aisle. I was so nervous beforehand, grinning like a fool and just looking at Pete, at the altar, made me feel oodles better. However, I'm pretty sure that looking at the beaming faces of our guests would have made me feel good, too. (Also, looking at the picture below - the wedding coordinator told me to hold the flowers between my hips. This is slimming but I was a bit distracted)

4. Smile! I have no problem smiling. And obviously a wedding is a super happy occasion! Remember that you're marrying the love of your life and that everyone that has come to see you share this day with each other LOVE YOU.

5. Remember that everyone there LOVES YOU. (I know, I sort of said that above.) My friend Lindsay gave me this piece of advice when I told her I was so nervous about walking down the aisle. The people that are there love you. They want the best for you. They are there to support you. If you trip or pass out or poop your pants, they won't hate you.

Also, it helped me to think about who, in our group of lovely guests, is a doctor or a nurse. So if I DID pass out, they would know what to do. Maybe that sounds morbid, but hey, it helped.

6. Take arguments or disagreements with family members with a grain of salt. My mom and I fought over things relating to the wedding A LOT. She didn't like the idea of a short wedding dress. We had some spats over where we are going to have the reception. Everything was like an argument - I was afraid to suggest things, for fear that mom would reject it right away. Like blue shoes and a snack at the end of the reception and fake flowers and and and. HOWEVER - the things that I wanted, for the most part, didn't work out for various reasons. And as it turned out (and how it ALWAYS HAS, for the most part), my mom was right. I DID deserve real flowers on my wedding day. Everyone loved the wedding dress and I did feel like a princess in it. The fact that we had our reception in the city, in a modern/awesome location, worked out a lot better than in a barn with Christmas lights strung up.

Another problem with my mom, and maybe even my parents and sister and other family members, was that they really just wanted a traditional wedding, complete with garter toss (shudder) and a send-off limo and all that jazz. Which, hey, if that is what you want, AWESOME. I'm glad you know what you want. But I didn't, and having them breathing down my neck was not the best experience. So. Take a bubble bath, watch some 30 Rock, do something to unwind during those stressful wedding planning meetings/

7. Garter toss. I shuddered in the paragraph above. I just don't get it. I think it's weird and awkward to watch as a guest (who wants to see a man stuck his hand, or worse, his HEAD) up his new wife's dress and come out with a piece of stretchy elastic in his teeth? I DON'T.) and I'm pretty sure I would be permanently red if I did that as a bride. So, be ready for all 120/200/300/whatever people to possibly see your under-roos, because that is definitely a possibility.

8. If in doubt, ask your bridesmaids/maid of honor. When I wasn't sure about something, they were my go-to girls. I didn't always like the answers that they gave me, but they were always on my side. They teared up when they saw me in my dress the first time (even though my hair looked like poop and I had horrible acne that day), they stuck my head in the freezer when I felt like I was going to pass out on the wedding day, they picked up my gown during pictures and danced the night away at the reception. Seriously, some of the best girlfriends I have. UTILIZE THEM.

Also - along with moms and daughters butting heads about wedding-related things, my mom bought a white shift dress to wear. At my wedding. And at my friend bridal shower, my sister (who was also a bridesmaid) and I talked about it and there, she heard all 16 of my closest friends saying how crazy it was for mom to have a white dress to wear. So, she said something to mom (I had tried to, but didn't want to see like a bridezilla). And mom returned the dress and got a pink one instead.

9. Crying is charming. It's okay to let a few tears drop during your day - and that goes for the groom, too. Although surprisingly, I didn't really cry at all. Must have been the Xanax.

10. Take a Xanax if you have to. I did. It was awesome.

11. Make sure you get PLENTY of sleep the night before. I know that there are people in town, people you never get to see, and all of your friends are hanging out somewhere. But seriously, you need your rest. Take some NyQuil if you can't sleep (again, I did). HOWEVER, if you do take NyQuil you need to get as much sleep as the bottle says. Because I didn't, and then I looked like crap when I went to get my hair and make-up done. That, along with having taken a Xanax, I have no idea how I managed to stay awake.

12. Saltine crackers are your friend if you're nervous. So is ginger ale. So is champagne. Pick your poison and make sure you have plenty of each to keep your nerves down.

[Marcy, Emme (my sister), and me - with saltine in hand and ginger ale close by]

13. Maybe this is only because I was married on a day in July that was 95 degrees and 95% humidity, but bring deodorant. I'm pretty sure most women get sweaty on their wedding day regardless of season, and you'll be hugging and kissing people and dancing and running around. BRING deodorant.

14. Try to do a first look if you can. I'm a pretty superstitious person (I try to not leave the house on Friday the 13th) but I think it was fate when Pete and I found out that our entire wedding party would have to wait in the church basement before we could all head upstairs for the ceremony. So, we decided (with the help of our faithful photographer, Ryan) to do a "First Look" - when the bride and groom see each other before the ceremony.

I'm not very good at keeping secrets that are happy secrets. I buy someone a present, and I want to give it to them right away. So it's pretty amazing that over the period of nine months, Pete never HEARD about my dress or SAW it. So seeing the look on his face, close-up, when he first saw me all made-up and in the dress, was just amazing. It also took the pressure off of walking up the aisle and kind of being able to see Pete, but kind of not being able to see him.

15. Finally, for the love of GOD - play Lady GaGa at your reception. Insanity ensued on our dance floor. I had no idea it would happen.

[Ryan, Marcy, and Shannon - Lady GaGa-ing it up]

all photos by Ryan Gladstone Photography

Man V. Food

2010-08-08T22:08:00.002-05:00

Does anyone else watch this show?

I think I may be obsessed. I saw that it's on Netflix Instant, which means that we can stream it through our Playstation 3 onto our fancy schmancy flat screen TV! (Thanks to Brendan for the PS3 and the Wissingers and Williams for the TV.)

The premise of this show, if you aren't familiar: Adam, the host, visits a new city every episode to taste each city's "known-for" or well-known meals. Then, he always participates in a food challenge. While the show itself is really awesome, it's the challenges that really make me squirm. Pete and I watched the St. Louis episode first, where he went to Crown Candy Kitchen to participate in the five-malt challenge.

Pete and I were just there with our friends Jared and Kate this past week. We each got a shake or malt and I couldn't even finish ONE (although I think everyone else did; I'm a lightweight).

But Adam couldn't finish the challenge! I wasn't sure if I should feel bad for him or feel proud of St. Louis for being able to defeat him.

In San Francisco, he ate a sundae that consisted of two gallons of ice cream - along with eight servings of whipped cream. What the what?! [in the video below, the second half is the sundae-eating]

And now, we're watching the Springfield, Illinois episode (Springfield is about an hour and a half from St. Louis) and he's about to eat five bowls of spicy chili. Uuuuuuuuuugh it just makes me stomach gurgle in an unpleasant way thinking about it. I HATE spicy foods.

Anyway - Man V. Food is on the Travel channel. Or instant Netflix. If you can stand some annoying little scenes of the host acting like Abraham Lincoln or a hippie, this is a great show.

If you're interested in just seeing what he's eaten without watching the show, check out this page. Disgusting, when you read it all at once.

image 1
image 2
image 3

Honeymoon Day 3

2010-08-08T13:07:00.009-05:00

On the third day of our honeymoon, we slept in at our hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona. The last two full days of driving had been exhausting.

It was about a five hour drive from Flagstaff to Las Vegas, and we started the day off at Target. The Target in Flagstaff was weird, for a couple of reasons - it was so like our neighborhood Target, but the layout was completely different. It really, really freaked me out. Also, they had BEER! Which now our Target does too, but that was the first time I had seen alcohol products in Target and that was also weird.

We were surprised to come across...the Hoover Dam! The drive was kind of boring for most of the way. Once we hit Nevada, the scenery became really, really pretty - we drove through parts of the Lake Mead Recreation Area and it was gorgeous. Some of the mountain ranges/canyons looked like they could have been as revered as the Grand Canyon. Pete and I both thought it was interesting that neither of us had even HEARD of Lake Mead before...

The Hoover Dam was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Granted, we didn't really get out of the car. It didn't seem worthwhile. The first picture is from a lookout point above the dam, and the second picture is a new bridge that they're building to keep pass-through traffic (like me and Pete) from having to drive over the actual dam. That bridge looks beautiful but terrifying. I would close my eyes and hold my breath the whole way across.

Then we got to Vegas. Hilarious. I'm glad I saw it, but I don't think I would like to go back. I don't have money to blow and I'm not a huge partier, which I think is what it takes to really enjoy Vegas. We didn't see any shows and we didn't stay at a place on the strip - we just spent like eight hours walking around and taking it all in...

Also - it was sad driving into Las Vegas from the Flagstaff side, as opposed to the Los Angeles side. We didn't see the famous WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS sign or anything. I also think it would have looked cooler if we had driven in at night.

So close!

View of the strip - Venetian on the right. Not sure what else is in there...

Right as I took this picture, a bus full of tourists drove by, mouths agape...

Just makes me laugh.

Pete at the famous Trevi fountain. Love the girl in the right corner.

Paris! Or as close as I'll get for awhile.

Duh! I'm obviously acting like a flamingo.

At Hash House a Go Go - which is awesome. Go if you're in Vegas! That pancake was probably close to 11 inches wide!

Pete got a meatloaf sandwich.

Night lights.

The Bellagio

The Eiffel Tower

The guys from The Hangover

The famous fountain show in front of the Bellagio

The Chihuly ceiling inside the Bellagio (one of my favorite parts of Vegas)

Me losing money

Pete losing money

All in all, we had a good time in the Vegas. But we were exhausted after only one day and after we had only lost about $50. My highlights were the Chihuly ceiling and the Serendipity Frrrrozen Hot Chocolate we got (which of COURSE we didn't take any pictures of). We were ready to get on the road the next morning and head to CALIFORNIA!

Also, some other things about Vegas: over Las Vegas Boulevard (the major street where many of the famous casinos are) there are overhead walkways. So people don't have to wait to cross the street with all the cars. It took Pete and I...well, it took us awhile to figure that out. St. Louis just isn't as fancy. Also, to get the overhead walkways there are almost always escalators. Crazy!

There were rows and rows of men standing on the streets with neon shirts that say GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS that try to hand you business cards for escorts or call girls or whatever you want to call them. Along those lines, there were also kiosks of catalogs all over the place. The catalogs were again for escorts or prostitutes. Very surreal. Of course I took one and it was the talk of a party that Pete and I had for some friends last weekend.

Lastly, Vegas has a monorail system. WHAT?! I thought only Disney World had that! I said that exact thing to Pete, who said, "...well, Vegas is kind of like Disney World. A weird, twisted, adult version of Disney World."

I like Disney World better.

OH MY GOSH

2010-08-06T22:36:00.003-05:00

OH MY GOSH.

I forgot.

So while Ryan was our primary photographer, we were lucky (oh so lucky!) to have Taylor Glascock join us as well. She was Ryan's number 2 (is that how it works?) and she was just awesome. She came on the bus with us the whole time and was pretty much the coolest person I've ever met. I may have freaked her out when I friended her on facebook and said something the effect of, "well. I think you're awesome and we should totally hang out whenever you're up in St. Louis. And that's that."

Regardless, she took some amazing, beautiful pictures. And you should totally go to her website and look at all of them, and if you live in Columbia, Missouri you should totally hire her to take pictures of you. Because she's super easy to work with, really laid-back, and she captured so many lovely little moments throughout the day.

And since I can right-click on her blog I totally know how to put pictures on here for you to see!

[I love the composition of this photograph.]

Still No Professional Pictures...

2010-08-06T20:51:00.002-05:00

...but here are some lovely things from families and friends!

As I said, we're still waiting on Ryan to get back the full portfolio of pictures back from the big day, but here is a blog post that he wrote, plus a tooooon of pictures (the story: I was at Target with Pete, getting some stuff off of our registry that we hadn't received, and I accidentally pressed the Facebook icon on my iPhone. All of a sudden, I had a ton of new notifications on my phone, one of them being that Ryan Gladstone had tagged me in a post. I KNEW that it was wedding pictures and I squealed. Loudly. Sorry, fellow Target-goers...). SO, you should totally head over there and check them out. He did a beautiful job.

But anyway, here are some of my favorite shots from family and friends: (oh, and PS - any picture that doesn't have a credit was taken by whoever had my mom's camera)

Me and my flock of flowergirls. How adorable are they? And Pete's mom, Mary Helen, made the two girls' dresses on the right; Bridgett, OUR sister-in-law, made the two girls' dresses on the left. Aaaaadorable.

Pete and I and my immediate family - mom on the left, Dad (being the guy that looks like a dad) and my younger sister, Emme, on the right. Who looked gorgeous, obviously. Also obvious: we look nothing alike.

Pete's immediate family - his brother, Mike, and his family on the left (Mike is holding Leo, Bridgett is up by me, kind of, and they have two daughters - Sophia and Maeve - and Leo); Mary Helen in the yellow, me and Pete; Jeff (Pete's dad); his mother, Ann; Mary and Steve (Steve being Pete's twin brother/best man), and Christy (Pete's sister) and her two daughters, Maci and Delaney. Phew! Mine was easier to type.

Pete and I, just hanging out on a beautiful altar. No big deal.

Friends and wedding party! Bottom row: Sarah, Emme, Megan (maid of honor), Steve (best man), David, Matt, Jason. Top row: Shannon, Marcy, me, Pete, Brendan, Frank, Tim. You guys like the look of the thumbs sticking out of the pockets? I kind of dig it.

Friends since first grade. Seriously. L - R: Bridget, Katherine, me, Kevin, Sam. Bridget and Kevin are twins. I had a crush on Sam for oh, about nine years. I haven't told him but it would be pretty easy for him to find out now, I guess. Also. I am not normally that short. The heels came off pretty early into the reception... PHOTO BY MARY GOULD (thanks Mary!!)

Me and Pete at dinner. So I'm just now realizing. I ate maybe ten saltine crackers before the wedding, had a shot of vodka on the party bus (awful idea; my sister almost threw up), had about half of my Crater Copernicus at Ted Drewes (weddings in St. Louis! You show up on your wedding day, with the wedding party, all decked out, and EVERYONE GETS FREE ICE CREAM! Seriously. Any size any flavor. Do it!), maybe two bites of salad, and five of my vegetables from the actual dinner. I was so exhausted by the time we got home on the wedding night, I could barely manage to lick icing off of one of our wedding cupcakes and have a few forkfuls of two-day-old Vietnamese food. How I survived I will never know.

Wedding party during my dad's toast. Do you see he's wearing chucks? He's totally wearing chucks. My dad is awesome.

Right after the cake cutting. Of COURSE cake would fall into my dress.

Us at the cake table. Speaking of the cake table. This picture was taken by Lindsay Harvath, who is a dear friend. Also, at the time of the wedding, she was almost seven months into her pregnancy. Also, she baked every single cupcake and the adorable cake you see in the picture above. In something like NINE HOURS. WHILE SEVEN-ISH MONTHS PREGNANT. Basically, she's a superstar ninja. And her cake/cupcakes were so good. SO SO good.

Dad and I during our first dance, taken by Shannon. Thanks Shannon!

Pete and I during our first dance. Look at that bustled dress! Shout-out good job to Sarah and Shannon, who bustled it while I did the potty-dance in the bathroom of the reception. Then they attempted to help me pee, but I totally did it myself because I am a ROCKSTAR. (But the important part is, they were there to help if I needed it.) This picture was taken by Katie. Thanks Katie!

Laura (of the lbeau room fame) and I. So cute! I don't remember who took this picture, but it was taken with Laura's camera. Thanks whoever took this picture!

Me and the ladies from my childhood again. Notice the super watery eyes on all of us. I walked over to them and Katherine (in pink) just looked at me and said, "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" and then we all started to lose it. Also taken by Mary Gould - a very close high school friend to all of us!

Okay, phew! Think you've had enough? Yikes, I hope not. Here are a ton of pictures that Bridgett took. If you want to stalk me or her, this is where you can find some more eye candy I MEAN photos.

Pete and his mom during their first dance

Steve giving his best man toast. It was very classy - well-written, well-spoken...and with a glass of bourbon. Awesome.

Mike and Maeve. This picture just makes my heart giggle.

Trying to look coy during the reception...I was so nervous. Every second that passed I thought I would throw up. So I took my shoes on and off twice. It's so awful to watch it in the video. Sorry to everyone that had to watch me do that...

But I just tried to smile a lot. Smiling apparently relaxes the face. I don't know if it helped or not, but I look pretty happy in this picture so let's act like it does :)

Andy and Mary (sisters!!) singing up a storm. They did such a beautiful job. Also, have I told you what our recessional song was? No?

And yes, I definitely chose it because of The Parent Trap. You guys, you should of heard Mary wailing it out at the end of the song. SO amazing. Gives me goosebumps just thinking of it.

Okay. One last thing. If you want to know what it was like to really, truly be at our wedding events, check out these valuable and excellent sources:

Bridgett - the rehearsal + rehearsal dinner
Bridgett - the wedding
Shannon - the bachelorette party
Shannon - the rehearsal dinner and wedding
Matt Essner - wedding events part 1
Matt Essner - wedding events part 2
Laura - wedding
Steve - wedding (with his best man toast, BONUS!)
Rosemary - mmm cake.

If I missed anything, let me know! And if you're still reading, you get 100 Stanley nickels! And 200 more if you recognize that reference!

Honeymoon Day 2

2010-08-01T14:21:00.005-05:00

I figured it's easiest to just share pictures and stories from the honeymoon in day format. Mostly because we took soooo many pictures.

The first day of the honeymoon was just us driving through all of Missouri through a lot of Oklahoma and through the top square-part of Texas. Most of it was flat and all of it was boring. Until the end of the day, when it was dark and stormy and I was FREAKING OUT because we were in the middle-of-nowhere-Texas. I found a Christian rock station on the radio and even though I'm not normally a fan of Christian rock it made me feel better.

We were supposed to get to Albuquerque on our first day of the trip but we stopped short, by about four hours. We were both exhausted from, oh, I don't know, our wedding the day before, and I had spent most of the first day of the honeymoon crying and being overwhelmed and probably just super obnoxious for Pete. So. Amarillo, Texas held us our first night. We got some McDonald's and tried to get on facebook to see all the pictures people had tagged of us. Watched some Mythbusters, and went to bed.

The next day is when the fun began. Since we were four hours behind ALREADY we hightailed it to Flagstaff,which is about an hour and a half away from the Grand Canyon, stopping only to buy lunch and an atlas. We made it to the Grand Canyon about an hour before sunset, I believe, and got some beautiful pictures. The sunset + the rain off in the distance was just gorgeous. I had been there before, but Pete hadn't (DISCLAIMER: besides Vegas, I had been to all the cities we stopped in) so he was very impressed. The Grand Canyon...it's just...no matter how many pictures you see of it, it means nothing until you see it in person. It's impossible to fathom just how big it is unless it's right in front of you. And even then, it doesn't really hit you. It looks fake.

Oh, and here are some driving pictures from the second day. It was beautiful - we were lucky to have almost 110% perfect driving weather from Missouri to California and back. Just two storms. And both were pretty short.

Honeymoon in Numbers

2010-07-23T16:43:00.017-05:00

I like lists, so...here's one!

4,630 miles driven round-trip

1,076 pictures taken

112 degrees - hottest it got, according to car thermometer

80 hours in the car (this includes all the traffic...ugh)

49 degrees - coldest it got, according to car thermometer

20 French macarons consumed (between the two of us)

16 major cities driven through

14 episodes of "This American Life" listened to

12 days, total

11 cupcakes consumed (by both of us)

11 states driven through

9 inches of hair cut off

8 games of skeeball played by me

7 fish tacos consumed by Pete

7 different hotels

5 rainbows seen (although only a few are kind of captured by camera)

4.7 miles walked in one day in San Francisco

4 ice-cream visits (Serendipity, Ben & Jerry's, Bi-Rite Creamery, Ciao Bella)

$3.59 the highest we paid for gas

3 cars that were farther away from home than we were - Maine, North Carolina, Tennessee

3 State/National Parks visited - Grand Canyon, Big Sur, Muir Woods (and countless Ewok jokes made at Muir Woods)

3 beaches visited - Santa Monica, Venice, and Carmel

3 In-N-Out visits made

2 sunsets intentionally seen

2 drives across the Golden Gate Bridge

2 days of sunburn for me

2 museums visited

1 sword purchased from Chinatown

1 drive-in movie attended (Inception)

1 mind-blowing meal at Chow

0 injuries - minus the time that I was looking at my phone while Pete was driving too fast on twisty roads out of Muir Woods and I got carsick

0 tickets (car/parking)

You guys, we had such an amazing time. Just checking in - Ryan, our wedding photographer - posted a few pictures from our big day here. But now, Pete and I are going to play Seinfeld Scene-It? (we registered for it...that's right. We registered at Target almost specifically for board games. I love our friends and families) and eat some greasy Chinese food. We came home a few days early from our trip and decided that even though we're home, responsibility will be avoiding us until we were SUPPOSED to get home.

But. I shall return with wedding and honeymoon photos and stories and more!

If I was Oprah...

2010-07-04T19:26:00.003-05:00

...these would be my favorite things, as of late:

1. Pillows- all shapes and sizes. I can snuggle up to any pillow, and quickly.

2. Hot showers. Complete with my Dr. Bronner's lavender body wash. Mmmmm.

3. 30 Rock and Arrested Development. These have always been my favorites, but I am falling head over heels in love. Again. With both of them.

4. My Sigg water bottle. So trusty and new(ish)!

5. Pete. I mean, I'm not going to give him away on my talk show, but he is truly the best person in the universe. Sorry, Oprah.

6. Hyperbole and a Half. I spent four hours (and no, that isn't an exaggeration) reading the archives on Allie's blog. I'm kind of in love with her. I think we would be good friends in real life.

7. Our CSA (community-supported agriculture). I love picking our produce up, I love coming up with new ways to cook with what we receive. Also we've been getting berries lately and those are a fun snack.

8. New bras. Seriously. I got some new bras and they're pretty awesome.

9. Wedding presents. I like getting presents and between the four (!) wedding showers I've had, and then getting packages and cards in the mail...it's pretty sweet.

10. Listening to old music from my high school days.

11. Frozen gnocchi from Trader Joe's. Mmmm delicious and so easy!

12. Good friends that will listen to me bitch, cry, or be super duper happy. Because everything is like a roller coaster right now!

13. Musings of our honeymoon...we're leaving in a week!

14. Frozen yogurt...which I am about to go enjoy right now with some delightful friends :)

I hope you all are having a great holiday weekend!!

It's All Happening!

2010-06-30T21:33:00.002-05:00

The crafts are (almost finished). I had my hair and make-up trial yesterday and, as my friend Marcy would say, I looked "ha-cha-cha". Programs are finished but not assembled. Gifts have been purchased for people that helped us. Dress is being pressed. Half of our vendors have been paid.

Yup, it looks like we're about a week and a couple days away from the wedding.

And I have been so much more busy than I thought. In all honesty, it's probably a good thing that I don't have a job right now because there are so many ridiculous things to DO - places to drop by for two seconds but they're so far out of the way it takes up a whole hour. Appointments and meetings and last-minute-planning-get-togethers and blah blah blaaaaaah.

At the same time as doing wedding stuff, there's the whole "we're going to be gone for two weeks" thing and there's a lot of junk to take care of there, too. I need to get keys made for my family and some friends in case they need to get into our house. Someone needs to get mail, someone needs to get Fair Shares (although this is already taken care of). And I'm a staunch believer in coming home to a pristine house, which means that lots of cleaning needs to happen. But I'm lazy so the apartment is a pit.

What else has been happening? I've been reading a lot. I finished The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. It's about a girl who can taste emotions through food. For example, if she ate a cake that I baked for her, she would taste that I felt rushed, stressed, but ecstatic. That kind of thing. It was really, really good. I'm almost finished with Unfinished Business, which is great but also kind of stresses me out. It's about a man who was laid off from his job at 55 years of age and makes a list of his "unfinished business" - writing a condolence note to a friend, finding family members he had lost contact with, saying thank you to a professor that changed his life. I love the style and tone of the book but it's stressful because I already feel like I have so much unfinished business and I'm only 22. Mary (future-sister-in-law Mary) let me borrow Peace is Every Step, which I started a couple of nights ago. It's written by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, and it's all about taking deep breaths and living in the moment, being content, being happy. It's nice and it's broken up into pieces, which is good, too. I have such a one-track mind these days and it's always going in a thousand different directions.

We've been getting lots of wedding presents, and subsequently we are running out of space to store them. This makes me nervous but it is also exciting.

We were lucky enough to be parents for a week and a half when our friends, Jared and Kate, asked us to kitty-sit for them. Her name is Monster and she is 12 weeks old. She is ADORABLE. A teensy black cat that liked to hide under the couch and dart from side to side of the room. Occasionally she would cuddle with me, which is coincidentally when I loved her most of all :)

My mom returned the white dress she bought to wear to my wedding. She got a new one today that is pink. It made me feel better.

I've been catching up with lots of friends, friends that used to live here, friends I went to grade school and high school with, and who are now back in St. Louis because college is over and they didn't want to be in their college towns anymore. This kind of makes me feel better for not having left.

Adversely, I realized this past weekend how many of my friends are going far, far away from home - or already have. I have a friend who is moving to London for grad school in the fall. Another friend who is moving to China, for good (for now). Another who is going to start volunteering in French Ghana for nine months. And those are my GOOD friends - friends that I invited to my wedding. There are so many other acquaintances I have that are doing more amazing things like that.

And here I am, still in St. Louis. But I'm content.

I'm also nervous all the time. Jiggly leg nervous, feel-sick-to-my-stomach nervous (although this is getting better). Which means that I start a project. Which is bad timing, which creates clutter, which means more mess in the apartment.

But really, everything is great. Pete is wonderful, I'm feeling good most of the time, my parents aren't acting insane (although my dad is all distant and my mom thinks that he is "distancing himself from the big thing that is about to happen" (ugh)), my bridesmaids are all getting along, and all of my friends have been AMAZING. Offering to help with anything, letting me borrow books to calm me down, accompanying me to wedding-related appointments, buying me cute/sexy lingerie (what? oh well), throwing me showers and etc etc etc.

But it's so much. So much is happening! It's all happening!

I think I just need a glass or two of wine.

I wish I liked wine.

Only One Month To Go!!

2010-06-10T10:40:00.003-05:00

I know I've been saying it for the last eight months or so, but I CANNOT BELIEVE IT.

One month from today, I'm getting married.

Exactly one month from this very moment (as I type these words, it is 11 AM) I will be posing for pictures with my bridesmaids. My hair and make-up will be finished. The flowers will be picked up from here. Mostly likely, I'll be freaking out (which means subsequently drinking champagne and/or shots of something fruity).

But that isn't what this post is about. I am getting so, SO excited. Everything is coming together, as I'll soon outline.

So, some stuff we've accomplished in the last month:

1. Went to our first pre-cana session last Sunday - and we have another one this upcoming Sunday. It wasn't too bad!
2. Bought wedding bands - we're picking them up tomorrow, since they had to be sized.
3. Booked the rest of our honeymoon (the way home), with the exception of one last night. It'll probably be somewhere in Nebraska. Yay?
4. Finally, FINALLY we met with our officiant. It was like a cat and mouse game to get a hold of him. It was ridiculous. But we met with him and it went really well.
5. Decided on a cake for Pete and I to cut. We wanted one that had chocolate frosting but I saw a cake in the most recent issue of Martha Stewart Weddings (seriously, best wedding magazine ever. I'm probably still going to buy it after the wedding because it's just so pretty) that I just fell in love with. So, since Lindsay is awesome, she was fine with us changing the design. (Seriously, if you need her to bake you anything delicious and you live in St. Louis? Give her a call; she's awesome.)
6. Picked a first dance song - "Love and Some Verses" by Iron & Wine. (you can listen to the song below on youtube)

7. Sent invitations. And we received about half of the responses back! It's so much fun to come home every day and see who is coming. And only three different groups of people declined so far - out of like 60.
8. Had a bridal shower in Cape Girardeau with Pete's family, and then had a surprise bridal shower the following weekend with my grade school friends and Soulard neighbor friends! I've never had a surprise party thrown for me, so it was super fun.
9. Finished all the bridesmaids gifts. Everything is ready and assembled!
10. Began to buy gifts for all the other people that are doing awesome things for us.
11. Bought cake toppers from this store - they're naked. Pete is going to paint them.
12. Found a place to get my dress pressed.
13. Got all of the groomsmen/ushers fitted for suits. I think.
14. Started burning CDs of This American Life and some other foodie podcasts for our road trip.

Whew! Busy busy. It's probably a good thing that I don't have a full-time job right now. Seriously, there's so much stuff to do!

Mini Cakes

2010-06-03T08:37:00.002-05:00

Delicious. I have no idea how anyone could have so much patience with these tiny pieces of clay... See more pictures here, on Kim's flickr page. Also, her blog.

Graduation!

2010-05-17T10:43:00.002-05:00

Can't believe it.

Totally finished with school.

FOREVER.

(Thank GOD.)

So here are some pictures.

[me and Pete]

[walking into the church for the pre-commencement]

[Steve, me, and Mary]

[big hug from Mary Helen! (Pete's mom)]

[Jeffie (Pete's dad), me, and Mary Helen]

Okay. Where are the pictures of me with my parents? They were there! I guess those are all on my parent's camera. I'll have to update later.

So that's that!

Okay, I lied. That isn't that. I had a really, really hard day on pre-commencement day. I woke up with a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, and spent all day throwing up or feeling like I was going to throw up.

I tried EVERYTHING to get myself centered - yoga, meditation, watching 30 Rock, The Office, Community, and Parks and Rec...nothing helped.

Once I got to the church to line up with my classmates, I was feeling a little better. Still icky, but better. We milled around for an hour before we lined up and then I started feeling nervous again.

We got into the church and my family and Pete and his family were sitting close to the back, so I felt better when I saw them. But once we got to the front of the church, I was sitting in the first row - right in front of all the deans and presidents of the school - and I blacked out.

And because I was so nervous, after I had blacked out (for like two seconds, I had closed my eyes and tried to take deep breaths and I opened my eyes and it was like they were still closed - everything was black) I ran to the side of the church and sat there, cowering in fear/texting Pete apologizing profusely and telling him to pass that information to my family.

It was exhausting.

And I was so embarrassed.

But now it's over. I have the pictures to prove that I was there. I graduated. It's not like we actually received our diplomas or anything.

And I learned that since I was so nervous about this, I would be even more nervous about the wedding day, so I am going to go back up on my full dosage of Paxil. I was so angry that I couldn't get myself all the way through it, but it makes more sense to just stay on the meds until I have a more stable life. Things are complicated right now. Lots is going on.

So. That's that. This weekend was exhausting and I'm looking forward to not doing any work this week (short of applying for jobs) and generally relaxing.

Only Two Months to go!

2010-05-10T09:00:00.003-05:00

Can you believe it? Just two months left!

(For the record, I cannot believe it. It's insane.)

Since school is almost over (one paper left, and six days until graduation!) I'm looking forward to totally concentrating on wedding planning and getting everything together to create a really, really awesome party.

So here's what we've taken care of in the last month:

1. Booked two pre-cana sessions - to get married in the Catholic Church, you have to attend these - and wow, they were expensive. Ridiculous. As if we aren't already spending a ton of money...
2. Went to our reception place and tested out the DJ equipment that our friends Christian and Kyle are going to use.
3. Set up transportation for the day. This was something we had debated about - is it worth it to hire a driver and a party bus? We decided that yes, it was - and we had money in the budget for it. It'll just be nice to have the whole bridal party together.
4. Mary Helen, Pete's mom, came up to St. Louis last week and we went shopping for flower girl dress fabric - and we finally found some! They'll be super cute; grey and pink (to match our wedding colors).
5. Got our free tickets to Disneyland.
6. Went to our reception place and did some tastings. We decided on a chicken sonoma, which is chicken with a light sauce, artichokes, and roasted red peppers. Also on the menu: garlic mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley. And a house salad. And some awesome cupcakes from Lindsay.
7. Ordered the last of the bridesmaids gifts. Now I just have to create a couple of things to go along with the store-bought goodies.
8. Ordered some fun stuff for the reception.
9. Ordered a very pretty headband. Now - to figure out how I want to do my hair. The white headband I ordered back here isn't cutting it for me.
10. Finalized the order of the ceremony and reception. Really, I think we have pretty much the whole "day of" schedule figured out.
11. Talked with Mary Helen about songs that we can use for the ceremony. I'm lost on this. I haven't been to enough Catholic weddings recently to know what is possible and what people use, so it was good to get some input.
12. We looked at wedding rings. Holy cow, those things are expensive. There are a couple of places/things that we're thinking about. But we haven't made any decisions.
13. Had our engagement pictures taken. I'm in love with them.

It was a busy month! I am getting so ridiculously excited.

photos from our engagement session by ryan gladstone

Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!

2010-05-06T09:56:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I don't know what I was talking about last week, when I said that I would have plenty of posts THIS week.

Because it's Thursday and clearly, I haven't written anything this week.

I had exam #1 this morning, and I have exam #2 tomorrow.

And I've been stockpiling fun things to write about for quite some time now, so I promise there will be goodies soon!

Here's a picture from Rend Lake last summer (which was, yes, in July, but I just put the pictures on my computer recently from Mary Helen). From left to right: Steve, Mary, Maci (Christy's daughter), me, Pete, and Christy (Pete and Steve's older sister).

I am so so so so so so excited for summer to start! It's going to be a good one :)

So close!

2010-04-26T22:33:00.007-05:00

Guys. Guys. Guys.

I'm graduating in 18 days.

This is my last week of classes - EVER. After the four more days of classes, I have two exams and I am home free.

Suffice it to say, it's a bit busy here in the Hoffman household.

So, I'm sorry that I haven't been around lately, but next week...oh, there will be blog posts.

Also, I'm looking forward to giving some reviews of SLU - no information withheld - that may give you readers a taste of why I'm SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED to be finished with it. Seriously. I'm not going to be one of those people that donates money back to them - any money I have to donate will be going to Rosati-Kain (my high school) or St. Margaret of Scotland (my grade school).

Anyway - sorry I haven't been around, but soon.

Here are some pictures of my graduation from high school (I loved high school...)

[oh hey, gums in my mouth. kind of a scary picture but as you can tell, I was pretty excited]

[some of my closest friends from high school]

[we can thank the ex-boyfriend for this shot...i like it]

[getting ready at my parents' house before heading over to the Cathedral...dad telling me something, me clearly zoning out, grandma maybe listening...]

[pandemonium outside of the Cathedral when it's over!!]

[at my graduation party, the Sunday before the big day (Rosati's graduations are on Monday nights). we didn't plan it, but the four of us are kind of wearing the same color scheme - this is my family, by the way...]

Rosati is across the street from the Saint Louis Cathedral Basilica. It's sad, because in my four years of high school we only used the church approximately nine times - twice a year for confession, and once my freshman year for the first mass of the school year. I was so excited that every mass would be there, because it's GORGEOUS, but we never had it there again.

But then there's graduation. So I guess that's ten times.

No one took good pictures of the actual church interior when I graduated, but I got some good ones when my sister graduated two years ago...here's what happens:

[beautiful church filled with beautiful people]

[first, two teachers freak out for a half hour while 100 girls are lined up outside, on a very busy street in St. Louis, and they try to figure out just WHEN to let the girls with the banners begin to walk]

[the girls that carry in the banners are always younger sisters of graduating seniors. cute :)]

[the graduates follow, single file, down the aisle. wearing white. i wonder if they planned that...?]

[it takes awhile]

[the Cathedral is huuuuge! the domed ceiling helps. oh, and the interior walls are made ENTIRELY of mosiacs. i'll write another post on it someday with some detail shots]

[this is the parent prayer - the moms and dads stand up, raise their right hands, give their blessing...love mom's old lady glasses]

[after, we went to a fondue place downtown. clearly, emme was tired]

Okay. Enough reminiscing. I'll be making some new graduation memories pretty soon. But for now, I need to work on this paper. So I can actually graduate on time.

I'll be back next week!

Engagement Pictures, Round II

2010-04-20T11:19:00.004-05:00

Okay ya'll. I have some more to show you. I'm pretty excited about them.

These are the photos that Ryan posted on his facebook business page (you should check it out and become a fan, because he's awesome), and I assume a blog post will be coming up soon. When it does, I'll link it here!

To begin, though - Pete and I had SUCH a blast doing this engagement shoot. It was so much fun, even though I was super awkward at the beginning (I mean, come on. The last time I got my picture taken seriously was for senior pictures in high school, which was over four years ago. I was a little rusty). However, I was so happy to see that we got some good pictures regardless of my (our?) general awkwardness.

Ryan was super easy to work with. He gave us some directives, but told us that in general, the pictures will look better if we just talk to each other, kiss every once in awhile and just look natural. Again, I'm awkward so it took me a second to get to that point, but once I did, I was very pleased with the results.

But back to Ryan - he, unlike me, was not awkward. We picked places we wanted to go, and once we got to each site, he gave us ideas of what to do. And they were really, really good ideas (as you will soon see). Basically, he knew what he was doing and now I am so, so, SO excited for the wedding pictures.

The places we went:

+ Rosati-Kain High School (where I went to high school, and where Pete currently works)
+ Downtown, near the entrance to the downtown bike trail

Did you like them? I hope so! I'm kind of obsessed...

Engagement Picture #1

2010-04-19T09:52:00.002-05:00

I like it :) When Ryan posts more to his blog, you'll be the first to know.

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Most Terrifying Trips I've Taken

2010-04-13T10:26:00.003-05:00

Thanks, Bridgett.

1. The horrible storm on the way back from the first year that we went to Pitchfork. Pete and I trucked up to Chicago for the Pitchfork Music Festival in July 2007. It was great, it was fun, it was so freaking hot. And now I'm sad, because I looked through the happy notions archives to link back to an original post, but there is none. I know what I'm doing this afternoon...

After Pitchfork ended on Sunday, we stuck around until Wednesday to see The Decemberists play an orchestra show in Millennium Park. It was amazing. But it ended probably around 9:30/10 PM and we had planned to drive back to St. Louis after the show...meaning we would be getting home around 2:30/3 AM. Which isn't bad - we have made that drive before - but there was a horrible, horrible storm. Like, there were flashes of green lightening in the fields of Illinois. We called Pete's mom to look at the radar for us, and tell us how much longer we would be stuck in the storm. Pete was driving, and even his feathers were a little ruffled - so we pulled over to a Burger King in Joliet (which is 45 minutes away from downtown Chicago) to "wait it out". Running from the car to the front door, we became SOAKED. My Coach wallet was ruined (it was okay, though - I only spent $19 on it at an outlet store) because an orange ticket I had inside of it bled all over the purple leather, because of the heavy rain.

We got some fries and milkshakes at BK. Then the power went out. And the whole place was quiet. It was like no one else was around. I was convinced zombies were about to eat me. But then we got back into the car and drove. The storm lasted probably another hour or so before it stopped raining. And then we had horrible, horrible fog the rest of the way home.

I was never so happy to return to SLU.

[the two pictures above are from the drive home. I was terrified, but, as Pete says, "not too scared to take pictures of yourself." (it's true)

2. Driving down to Houston for my cousin's wedding in April 2006. The ride started off gorgeous - Missouri's hillsides aren't too boring. It was a gorgeous spring day. But once we crossed the Oklahoma border, the skies turned dark grey (at like 4 PM) and a huge storm started. The sky had green splotches in it and there were less and less cars on the road, because they were all pulling off, since THERE WAS A TORNADO. My parents have an Acura (honking SUV thing) and it's pretty much a tank. But the car was being tossed around like nobody's business. Emme and I both had on our headphones with our heads down between our legs, because we were both so terrified to look outside. Eventually, mom, Emme and I convinced dad to pull over and check into a hotel. It was somewhere outside of Tulsa. And as soon as we checked into the room, dad switched on the weather channel and we found out, lo and behold, the worst was over.

Of course.

3. My family took a trip out West a few summers ago - I believe it was 2003. We flew into Albuquerque, rented a car, and drove all over - Grand Canyon, Taos, Phoenix, Santa Fe...we went everywhere. It was beautiful.

My favorite part was the Grand Canyon, I think (although I also loved Santa Fe). But getting there was pretty scary. We were probably about 50 miles away from the park when dad said that the no gas sign clicked on. I mean, it's okay - we're close to the park, there has to be a gas station, right? Right.

Or not. No gas station. So we're basically in the middle of nowhere. With very little gas. It's getting dark. Ahhh! But we made it. We got to our hotel (in the park) and got gas in the morning.

4. On a boat. Last summer, at Rend Lake with the Wissingers. I'm not a big boat person as it is. In summer 2007, I went on a boat at Rend Lake and LOVED it! It was wonderful. But last summer (2009) I was not into it at all. The waves were choppy and even though Jeffy was going relatively slow, for a boat, I felt sick to my stomach. And then it started to rain and I felt like I was going to pass out. Luckily, Jeffy went back to shore. Just as we docked it began to pour.

I didn't go back out at all, even though it got really nice and sunny again.

5. Smoky Mountains. I was maybe eight or nine. It was raining. We saw three or four trucks take advantage of the "run-off" areas in the mountains. I asked dad what the trucks were doing - after 100 yards or so, the trail stops. Where were they going? He told me what they were for, and I realized at that time that we, as humans, cannot always control our vehicles. And it was pouring rain and the slopes and turns were a little scary.

Hmm. That's all I can think of. Only 5. Guess I haven't had too many horrible experiences. However, we'll be driving to California and back this summer. I'm sure that'll be good.

And speaking of adorable things...

2010-04-11T17:22:00.002-05:00

So, thanks to LouFest 2010, Zooey Deschanel (well, her band, She & Him) is coming to St. Louis.

And I have taken it upon myself to meet her.

How could you not want to? Look at this video!

Plus, I'm a sucker for anything that happens within schools - fashion photoshoots, videos, movies, you name it. So that helps (even though it didn't need it).

The Girls With Glasses Show

2010-04-11T17:18:00.002-05:00

Have you seen this? It's super cute.

I want to make stop-motion animation videos while dressing up like Audrey Hepburn and Mother Theresa and Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe!

I want to play with globes and puppies and typewriters!

I think I shall call myself a "girl with glasses", even though I've never worn glasses or contacts. Hey, it's not my fault the bad-eye gene skipped me.

Anyway. This is adorable. The video is great, the premise is even better - keep an eye on these two!

via black eiffel

Only Three Months to Go!

2010-04-10T12:22:00.001-05:00

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Okay, here's some stuff we've gotten done since I last checked in.

1. Had one bridal shower (once I get pictures from mom, I'll write a post about it), and set dates for two more - one in Cape Girardeau on May 23rd with Pete's family and one here in St. Louis for my girlfriends on July 27th.
2. Bought shoes! They're cute. I didn't go with colorful shoes, because mom made her thoughts on that pretty clear (she was extremely against them), so they're white and they match the dress perfectly.
3. Received the invitations that we ordered - they're super cute and happy and stuff.
4. Decided on a hair and make-up place and set up trial run appointments for me and actual appointments on July 10th. We also put down a 50% deposit (is this normal? I was surprised by that...)
5. Picked out gifts for the majority of the people who will be helping us with wedding-related things. It's a long, long list...

Hmm. That's it. It feels like we've done more. Oh well. There really isn't a lot left to take care of - once we get the RSVPs in, we'll have to assign seating. My dad has been paying off the reception venue. We're getting engagement pictures in a little over a week, and we've made appointments to go in to ring places and look for wedding bands. Techically we've ordered our cake (right, Lindsay?) and we pretty much have the entire ceremony planned out, although we can't get a hold of the priest doing the ceremony, which is a little nerve-wracking. It is only three months away, after all.

Actually, one big thing we have left to take care of is transportation. Pete just wants to us all to drive around in our individual cars for pictures between the ceremony and reception, but my mom and dad (and sometimes me) want to have an actual bus or limo or whatever. I just think it would be nice to have all of us together in one vehicle. That way no one will get lost, and then the wedding party can just celebrate by themselves.

photo provided by the ever-so-talented ryan gladstone

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 22

2010-04-09T12:19:00.003-05:00

a song you listen to when you're sad

Oh, this is a GOLDEN story.

So, does anyone remember when Gavin DeGraw hit the scene? I think it was in 2004. He played a huge Toys for Tots concert here in St. Louis the year his first album came out, with Hootie & the Blowfish and Barenaked Ladies and some other people that I don't remember.

My friend Sam's parents bought tickets for the concert for us and two other friends - they are so awesome - and so it was the first big concert that we went to, by ourselves. We got quite a few lectures from all of our parents - "don't set your drink down!" "don't let your purse out of sight!" blah blah blah.

Gavin DeGraw was one of the first acts to play - he was one of the least well-known - and after his set, he was wandering around the Pageant. My friend Katherine and I ran into him.

He was DRUNK. So, so drunk. He was hitting on us. We were 15. I wasn't cute; I was super gawky and awkward. Because I was 15. Katherine, on the other hand - has ALWAYS been one of those pulled-together, super adorable, blonde hair/blue eyes type of girls. I think I was just along for the ride.

"Hey, you guys should TOTALLY come to New York with me and the band!" Gavin DeGraw exclaimed. He could hardly stand up straight - he was swaying all over the place.

"Well, I don't have a driver's license," I said. (See? What a geek.)

"Oh it doesn't matter, you should totally come up on our bus! There's so much room!" he continued.

Those are the pieces of conversation I remember.

Gavin DeGraw got much more famous in a small amount of time and he came back through St. Louis a lot. Katherine made a point to go see him anytime he was in town. I did once. Kind of.

Emme (my younger sister) had heard the whole story about Gavin DeGraw and wanted to see him in concert. Plus, she just liked his music. So, when we heard that he was making a stop in St. Louis at Mississippi Nights, we bought tickets.

I won't lie. I don't remember exactly what happened. But we got to the show, Emme was really excited, I was excited, we watched the opener, and I was like, "okay, time to go!" I HONESTLY don't remember why.

But we left, and Emme had no choice since I was driving. We got home and our parents were PISSED. "Kaylen, I'm so disappointed in you," my dad said. "I can't believe you went all the way there and then left," mom said.

I was angry and embarassed. So I went up to my room, locked the door, turned off the lights, and turned on Rooney - "Losing All Control".

I'm losing you
I'm losing all control
Just let me be
Let me be alone for now
I want to be alone tonight

So emo.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 21

2010-04-09T12:15:00.002-05:00

a song you listen to when you're happy

The first song I am thinking of is "Happy" by Snowglobe. I vaguely remember hearing of Snowglobe on a music blog (oh, the music blogs I used to read...that's one thing that has stopped in the last two years or so), downloading three of the mp3's the blog had, and just falling in LOVE with "Happy".

I mean, it was a big deal. It was my Myspace profile page song for awhile.

I ain't left my happy home
And I ain't ventured out alone
No I won't leave my little comfort zone
But I walk around, I lie a lot
They call those things that I ain't got
Mid-life crisis waiting down the block

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 20

2010-04-07T12:40:00.002-05:00

a song that you listen to when you're angry...

Oh, easy. Anything loud and hard.

But here are some specific examples:

The entire album Crimes by the Blood Brothers

The entire album Aha Shake Heartbreak by Kings of Leon (by the way, does anyone know what happened to them? How they just completely exploded onto the scene and are now super popular and playing things like the Scottrade Center?)

Anything by Jimi Hendrix or The Doors

and finally, Love is Hell by Ryan Adams - especially "Love is Hell", "World War 24" and "Anybody Wanna Take Me Home"

Lots of angst in those songs. Good for feeling angry.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 19

2010-04-07T12:09:00.002-05:00

a song from your favorite album

I would say my favorite album, one I can always turn to, is Seven Swans by Sufjan Stevens. I first heard Sufjan Stevens back in my senior year of high school, when my editor at playback:stl said to me in a meeting - "Hey, Kaylen, do you want to review Sufjan Stevens at Mississippi Nights this week?" I was wary. I hadn't reviewed a show before - only albums.

But I said, "sure, okay - what kind of music is...that...person?" (SOOF-yan is how you pronounce his first name but I wasn't even sure if this person we were talking about was a boy or a girl or a group or what)

Laura said, "well...he's, uh...indie?" And I suppose that's true. She knew that I was into indie rock (The Decemberists, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Go! Team, etc), so she figured I would enjoy it.

God, that is such an understatement.

I was nervous the day of the show. I knew I had a free ticket for someone other than myself, so I called my friend Sam to see if he wanted to go with me, because I didn't want to go alone and for some reason Domenic (boyfriend at the time) was busy. Laura had given me Seven Swans to listen to before the show, so I could maybe catch some familiar melodies/lyrics within the two-hour set.

I met up with Sam before the show and we stood in line for an hour before we got up to the front door. I didn't know what to say; I had no paper tickets, I was on will call.

"Um, I think I have tickets reserved for me?" I said, looking at Sam. "And a plus one ticket, as well?" (Note: I still get uncomfortable asking for tickets at will call. I'm always afraid that there will be a mistake and there sometimes are.)

"Yeah, who are you with?" the scary-looking bouncer asked me. I told him playback:stl and he said, "oh yeah, are you Kaylen?"

"Yes," I answered.

"How many tickets do you need?" He had a wad of them in his hand. For a sold-out show. Interesting.

"Just one, I think," I answered.

So then he stamped our hands and in we went.

I had been to Mississippi Nights many a time. I miss it SO MUCH. Within the last couple of years, St. Louis bulldozed over it to make from for Lumiere Casino. Mississippi Nights was my favorite venue. It was dark and smoky and cramped and falling apart.

And perfect.

I don't remember who the opener was - I have a Moleskine notebook, and seven pages of it are filled with my review notes from this concert. I didn't make any notes about the opener, though - just Sufjan.

He appeared in a red, white, and blue jumpsuit with blue stairs and stripes. He sang. He and his "Illinoise makers" made human pyramids and jumped around and did dances and pumped arms. It was a beautiful thing.

He sang a lot of songs from Seven Swans. And I had a hard time "recognizing" the music as he sang, because...it sounded so incredibly different from the album. Maybe because I was present, or because...it was surround sound.

Seven Swans is a very, very spiritual album. Sufjan tends to shy away from discussing his religious beliefs in interviews, which I think is probably a good idea. I don't think he wants to be pigeon-holed into "Christian rock" or whatever other genres exist.

And I will crochet you a hat
And I have a red kite
I'll put you right in it
I'll show you the sky

I cannot pick a favorite song from this album, but "Sister" comes close.

It reminds me of the first time that I went to Camp Ondessonk. New Years Eve, 2006. Pete and Steve (Pete's twin brother) both worked at Camp O for years, and every New Years Eve, past and present counselors are invited back to part-ay and ring in the new year in style.

I'm not a big outdoors girl. We never really went camping as a family when I was younger. I like having a bathroom nearby, at all times. So because I wasn't sure what it was, and it was new, I had some horrible, horrible anxiety. Also I think I was sort of carsick.

So as me, Pete, Steve, and Mary (Steve's wife) chugged along towards Camp, someone put on Seven Swans. And it soothed me. And it was wonderful.

Thank You, Nan Lawson

2010-04-07T11:17:00.001-05:00

She made us look pretty darn cute, don't you think?

I already have a frame. Once it gets here...this baby is going up on the wall.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 18

2010-04-06T10:35:00.002-05:00

a song that you wish you heard on the radio

Ha. I could say, "any song that I like" because it's kind of true - St. Louis doesn't have an "indie rock/alternative" station, so it's extremely rare when I hear a song that I constantly listen to with iTunes/my iPod.

But I'll narrow it down a bit and say "Girl" by Beck. I've heard it twice on the radio - both times in Chicago, while listening to 93.1 XRT. I would move to Chicago JUST to have a good radio station. (Okay, there are lots of other reasons, too - we're working on it.)

But "Girl" is such a happy, summery song - I can picture driving down the street with the windows down, my crazy-long hair flying through the breeze, singing along to the lyrics with Pete. Because only Pete really, really understands my love of Guero (the album that "Girl" is on).

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 17

2010-04-06T10:15:00.002-05:00

a song that you hear often on the radio

"Telephone" by Lady GaGa.

Okay, let me just say this: I am so, SO sick of Lady GaGa.

It's kind of my fault. I do listen to the local "popular music" station, Z107.7 from time to time. And stations like that play the same stuff over and over and over again. Hence, it seems as though every third song is Lady GaGa.

When I first saw her on SNL awhile back, I was smitten. What a cool orbit thing! She's talking to the crowd; that's cool! I was fascinated. I didn't really understand her but it seemed like she was okay.

But then she just EXPLODED (I guess technically she already had) onto the scene and everyone knew her and even old people knew the whole "Ga ga ooh la la" melody for her song "Bad Romance".

Ew. I am just so sick of her.

And the video for "Telephone" is so weird. Emme, my little sister, told me it was weird. So did Pete. But I watched it anyways and grossed out for awhile. I'm not even going to embed it here because that's how much I DON'T like it.

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 16

2010-04-06T10:06:00.004-05:00

Anyway.

Day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate

OK Go - "Here It Goes Again"

Have you heard this song? It's super catchy. Also, the video is amaaaazing. Look.

See? It's awesome. But it totally became super overplayed. And it got super obnoxious. And the video was everywhere - just looking for the actual video on youtube gave me a ton of parody results, like The Simpsons and high school talent shows...I mean, it's cool. I'm just sick of it.

In other news, Ok Go has another new video and it's pretty mind-blowing - all one take - and there's lots of stuff going on. I'm not sick of it yet, either, so I'm still loving it.