Hot Pants for Shuffleboard

MFT Day 1: A freshly made bed after you wash your sheets

2012-01-31T09:34:00.000-05:00

Before I begin, I want to point out two things: One, these items aren't in any order. It's what I think of for that day. And two, obviously Ricky, Lewis, and my friends and family are my favorite things. But if I blogged every single day about them, then it'd be the most boring month of blogging ever.

My Favorite Things Day 1: A freshly made bed after you wash your sheets

So last night when I was describing my endeavor to Ricky, I mentioned as an example when you make your bed after washing your sheets and how that's the greatest bed to climb into. Everything feels fresh and clean and the sheets are crisp. It's so cozy and delightful.

It's even better when it's in the winter when my sheets are flannel, because they're even softer and warmer. I wash my sheets weekly, and so on Sunday night when I climb into my freshly made bed that's so warm and cozy I feel even more ready to start the work week.

A new 30 day challenge

2012-01-30T19:21:00.000-05:00

Further proof that, yet again, Julie Andrews playing Maria Von Trapp is the answer to all of life's problems.

Friends will know that January of 2012 has been a very, very hard month. It's been long, tiring, tear-inducing. I'm very glad to be saying goodbye, as are my brothers and mum/Leo.

Ricky keeps telling me that good things are to come, and we both need to pick ourselves up by the bootstraps and try to embrace the rest of 2012. I think he is right. I think while it's easy to be bogged down by the bad, it doesn't help anyone.

This morning while getting ready for work, I thought of a new 30 day blogging challenge for myself. And yes, this is inspired by The Sound of Music. Every day for 30 days I'm going to blog about some of my favorite things. It could be a song, a whole album, a person, an article of clothing, a feeling, a food, a painting, a brand of yarn. Anything. It's to change perspective and for myself to think of something good and happy and wonderful every day.

I'll be starting this whole process tomorrow. I'm starting on the 31st because there are only 29 days in February. Also, because I'll be starting on Jess' wedding weekend on the 1st, so that way I'm not frantically trying to blog something before going to Gloucester for a rehearsal/rehearsal dinner. This could be an interesting month of posts, or it could be painfully boring. Only time will tell.

Sonic Bloom

2012-01-26T09:23:00.000-05:00

It's been a rough week or so in our neck of the woods, with the death of Millie and my mum's cat running away and still no sign of her (this is Coco, the little one). I'm ready to give up on all of January 2012 unless something drastic happens. (i.e., Coco the cat returns unscathed)

This morning when walking to work, I think my iPod knew that I needed some happy music (because... you know... iPods can think and read people's minds) so it played Sonic Bloom by the Polyphonic Spree. I love this song and album, so it was a nice treat.

I hope you also enjoy this song today.

Millie

2012-01-21T12:13:00.000-05:00

Facebook and real life friends of mine know that on Thursday, we had to put Millie down at age 12 years and 4 months to the day. The arthritis in her hips and bad legs had gotten to be too much, and the girl couldn't walk anymore. Sam and Mum brought her in on Thursday.

The sadness and pain are unimaginable.

We're all trying to get through this as best we can, with mixed results. We all knew that she was old and sick, and that she had had a long and full and happy life, but it doesn't make this period any easier. We've been emailing each other photos of happier days, of Millie running on a beach or walking in the woods. It's easier to remember those days than the end.

This also marks an end for us, the end of our childhood pets. Penny, Midnight, and Millie are all gone, as is that phase in my life.

I'm thinking of happy memories of Millicent. When we lived in Gloucester in the winter at that off season rental, and when I was home from college I'd take her for walks on Long Beach so she could run. When she used to sleep with me, Penny, and Midnight all together in my little twin bed. When you'd push the swirl on her behind, and her tail would instantly flop down, as if for modesty. Her neuroses. Her quirks. The freckles on her nose.

I know it was time, but it highlights a cruel caveat to having pets: inevitably, you will outlive them and have to experience a great sense of loss in what seems like a moment after they've entered your lives.

So rest in peace, sweet dear Millie. A day will not go by where I will not appreciate all you brought to our lives.

What a crock...

2012-01-12T12:45:00.002-05:00

Guinness beef stew with cheddar biscuits. Mmmm

This year for Christmas, Ricky's mother surprised me with two things I desperately wanted or needed: one, a new lightweight winter coat (the red toggle coat is a string now with no working pockets) and a crock pot. I've always wanted a crock pot to make soups and stews, especially in the winter.

So far, I've only made one thing, which is a Guinness beef stew. I was surprised at how easy it was to make a delicious flavorful stew! I got up early and set it up, and then in 8 hours dinner was done and amazing. I also made cheddar biscuits using an Irish cheddar I found, to keep the country of origin-theme going. All in all, it was a huge success and a hit in our household.

I'm a little leery of leaving something on all day when I work in Boston, for fear that Lewis could get into it or that it could set the house on fire. I know that everyone does this, and it's probably me just being nervous, but I feel like so I don't fret all day, this will be a weekend cooking option only.

I think I'll try making something over the long weekend, perhaps a soup or a slow cooked chicken. I've been reviewing my slow cooker cook book and all the blogs and websites online for new recipes that I never thought to make until this winter. Bean stews, pot roasts, pulled pork... you will all be made and devoured soon.

Oh Phil

2012-01-07T16:14:00.002-05:00

There's a Facebook meme going around where you post the #1 single in the country where you were born the week you were born. I had high hopes of something cool and awesome, but instead... I had Phil Collins' Against All Odds:

Fortunately it seems everyone born in 1984 has similarly crappy/cheesy #1 songs. What's crazy is when you go down the rabbit hole of #1 songs for your much younger family members. Like my Gorrell cousins...

Zach: Alannah Myles' Black Velvet

Calvin: Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You

Walter: TLC's Creep (this is when it gets a little sad times/rough, because I definitely remember having this song played at Middle School dances...)

Henry: Spice Girls' Wannabe

Joseph: Cher's Believe

So yeah, that happened.

Wildlife city

2012-01-05T18:51:00.001-05:00

I came home from work to find that the giant opossum that had previously been living in my neighbor's yard has moved to my yard. It ran from by the front steps to where the trash is held (and the bistro... eek!) to now hiding in a bush. I shined a flashlight around my backyard and saw it. It is big. Fortunately, it seems harmless and just trying to find food, and every opossum website I found said that it should be harmless and just want to leave us alone. Meaning: it's not going to be a larger scarier version of Rat Invasion 2009.

I was hoping it would look like Old Lady Opossum from Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas...

...but it instead looks like this:

Posting about something I almost never post about

2012-01-05T09:51:00.000-05:00

Shoes.

Winter break seemed consumed with shoes for me, which is odd since I normally don't really care about or purchase shoes. I seem to have a lot of pairs, but that's in part because I'm terrible about throwing away old shoes (there's still a season left in them!) and I go to a lot of weddings so I have a lot of dressy shoes. In 2012, I am in two weddings, each with a different wardrobe and requirements. For Jess' wedding, we need to wear pewter heels (I'm recycling a pair I wore to a different wedding last year), and for Erin, she didn't really care. The lack of direction was almost harder, because I saw so many different routes to travel down. And because I am in this wedding, I wanted nice shoes that would be comfortable and look nice when photographed. Oh, and weren't too expensive. (Lewis needs to be able to eat at the end of the spring)

I've been hunting for months, and hadn't found anything I truly liked until recently. My friend Jess (not getting married Jess) and I were browsing shoes when I went to Modcloth. I haven't purchased much there in the past, but I stumbled across a super adorable pair of shoes that were only $30. I don't tend to gravitate towards pink, but I liked the soft color. I also loved the detail on the toe of the shoe. The bridesmaid dresses are blue, so I thought a deep blue and a light pink would look nice together.

I got the shoes right before Christmas, and they were a dream. Just as pretty in person, not too high of a heel, and were pretty comfortable. Modcloth also threw in a complimentary headband! So I am prepped and ready for that wedding.

On top of this shoe purchase, I received my Missoni heels from my friend Megin on Christmas Eve. Even though someone (Ricky) thought they were too busy for a shoe (Ricky), I really wanted a pair of Missoni for Target heels. I liked the toe detail and that the heel was so thick. I could see them being more comfortable as a result. Unfortunately, my Missoni shoe dreams were crushed in the north because it seems every girl with a size 7 1/2 foot in Massachusetts had the exact same dream. And more disposable income and time to rush to a Target before me. Shoe FAIL.

Over the summer, I was bemoaning my lack of Missoni shoes with Megin, as she was living in Massachusetts for the summer. When she returned to Virginia in the fall, where she lives most of the year, she found out that the south did not feel the same way about Missoni heels that I did. I got a text that her Target was overflowing with the heels. She purchased a pair for herself and one for me, with the promise of bringing them up for Christmas. Shoe WIN.

As promised, she brought them up and gave them to me on Christmas Eve. They are just as great in person as they were grainy and pixelated on her phone. Super comfortable as well. I'm planning on wearing them to Jess' shower and/or rehearsal dinner.

And now I'm done talking about shoes for another year or so.

Golda Meir

2012-01-03T14:28:00.002-05:00

The birthday girl with Gertrude and Alice, 2006.

Erin left me a voicemail last night. She's at her parents' house for a week or so, and was doing some cleaning when she stumbled upon the birthday gift I gave her for her 22nd birthday, a paperdoll set of notable women.

I had this paperdoll set when I was little. Dover Books produces hand-drawn paperdoll sets on a range of subjects, from presidents to movie stars to fashion from a decade to Notable Women in history. Because my mum is wise and I am neurotic, I was never allowed to cut up these paperdoll books, but could use them to draw my own paperdolls. This was quite smart, since I could keep the books as reference forever. In fact, I still have them all in my closet at my parents' house.

One day in college, I was telling Erin about these paperdolls and she remarked that it was the strangest set of paperdolls imaginable. This is mainly because while they did have more "glamorous" women like Harriet Beecher Stowe, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Edith Wharton, they included significantly less paperdoll-ish women like...

...a bare-breasted Pocahontas
...Gertrude Stein, with Alice B. Toklas as her accessory plate
...Golda Meir

Erin couldn't imagine what this book would look like, so I decided to buy her her very own copy of this book. She thought the plates were hilarious. I think it was published as a historical toy for young girls who like paper dolls. I tried to find it on the Dover website, but I think they've discontinued it for other paper doll sets. Like notable TV moms. And Vampires. It's a shame, because every little girl out there should be able to play paperdolls with Gertrude, Alice, and Golda.

Back at it

2012-01-03T11:09:00.001-05:00

First day back at work after 10 days off is always hard. A whole lotta coffee to get through today. And tea. And podcasts.

It's been real, 2011...

2011-12-31T11:03:00.000-05:00

...The other night, Ricky and I were discussing 2011. It wasn't an awful year, but it also wasn't the easiest. We both had to face some tough things in our lives, though I feel the experiences made us grow as people in the long run. We've also grown quite closer, helping each other out when things got tough. These experiences, though, are a bit personal, and not meant to be written about in a public blog. But if you know either of us personally, you know it's had its ups and downs. There were tears, and stressed sighs, and harumphs from both of us all twelve months. Speaking with some friends of ours, it seems the whole year was rough on many people. I, personally, am ready to be done with the whole year and start fresh.

That being said, 2011 had its high moments. Our trip to Vermont was the loveliest few days I've ever spent. I fell in love with Northern Vermont, and if we could I'm pretty sure I'd change my random musings from the 0-1-9-7-0- to random musings from the 0-5-4-0-1.

We've discussed a return to Burlington soon for another vacation, so I'm sure there will be more stories and photos from Lake Champlain in the months or years to come.

We also adopted this little guy:

And any year which involves that face has its merit. Since February, Lewis PizzaCat has charmed and snuggled his way into our hearts. He's grown up a lot since this photo was taken (from 1.9 lbs to 11 lbs) but he's still the snuggly baby we adore and obsess over.

So, 2011, I am glad you're going to be over. You were rather unkind in many parts. I'm hoping 2012 is bright and fresh and new and exciting. I have high expectations for sure.

A hat

2011-12-30T10:15:00.000-05:00

One of my goals for 2012 is to knit items that have been in my queue for a long time that I haven't gotten to yet, along with using up my yarn in my stash. A perfect marriage of these two ideas came when I decided to make the #1 item in my queue since April 2008 with a random half skein that I've been holding onto for awhile. Behold, my version of The Republic Hat.

I really like this pattern, especially since it was quick to whip up. It took me about 24 hours to make the hat. I started it Christmas morning and by the end of the following day, I was wearing it. I like how the hat has the spirit of a curled brim hat knit in the round, but is a bit fancier with the garter edge and the button. I used a bit of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky I had sitting around. I'm not sure how much of a skein I had leftover, but I'd say half of one would do fine. The button is from Windsor Button.

This hat is sooo warm. I wore it yesterday when I was walking around Salem, and my head was perfectly warm. I like slightly larger hats that can cover my ears, since I walk to the train and then to work and when it's freezing my head/ears need protection. This will do nicely once it gets freezing and snowing in January.

I strongly recommend this pattern, since it's quick and easy to knit up and has some visual interest to it. This would also make a great gift for someone. I may make one for my mom or Ashley down the road.

Stash organized!

2011-12-29T12:49:00.000-05:00

Thursday afternoon, and here's my to do list, with things done crossed off:

Grown Up Friend Date with Patti.
~~Clean my closet.~~
Clean computer room.
Get materials for Jess' ring pillows.
~~Knit something with quince yarn.~~
~~Organize stash.~~
~~Make shepherd's pie for Ricky for dinner.~~ Update: make something in crock pot (thanks, Ricky's mom!)
~~Find shoes for Jess' wedding.~~
Donate things to good will.
Fix sewing machine tension.
Make ring pillows.
Another secret project for Jess' wedding and also for Erin's wedding

So so far, I'm doing quite well. I haven't heard from Patti or Jess yet about hanging out or if she still wants ring pillows, respectively, so those may just be on hold. The computer room is slowly being cleaned, bit by bit each day. The bags of good will are by the door. Basically the sewing machine is the only thing that hasn't been attempted.

The clean closet feels great. It's easy to manage, and I feel better about it. I was able to throw out a lot. (note to self: there's no need to keep the packaging and documents affiliated with a phone you haven't had in over 4 years)

The yarn stash was a bit daunting at first, but once I decided on a process, it went quickly. I'm glad I emptied it all out in a big pile to sort, but dear lord did my heart skip a beat seeing that huge pile at first. It's amazing how much yarn you can accrue over the years!

Before... eeek!

I decided to have all the lace weight and sock yarn in the small tupperware, and then devote one big tupperware to all the yarn I have that I have a lot of (i.e., I could make a sweater out of) and then the other one to all the random one skeins I have that can be for smaller projects. The basket is still what I had it for originally, which is the ends of skeins that I can use if I want a small amount of yarn for trim or whatever. 2012 is going to be a year of knitting through my stash, so I'm hoping that if I take a photo of these containers in a year, they won't be as stuffed. I've already knit a hat out of some leftover yarn, so I think I'm on the right track.

After... muuuuch better.

I full acknowledge that this is perhaps the most boring post I've ever written.

Quince cowl

2011-12-28T10:58:00.001-05:00

Two things have been checked off my list! First, I made something with my Quince yarn, and secondly, I organized my stash. The stash photos will come later in the week. But first, I want to show off my cowl.

When Ricky and I went to Portland, I purchased two skeins of Quince. At the time, the company was just starting out, and only had a handful of patterns. Not thinking (I was on vacation, after all) I purchased a skein of honey and a skein of pomegranate. They did not go together AT ALL. So they've been languishing in my stash for awhile now. I decided that for winter break, I needed to use it up.

Well after finishing my Christmas knitting, I got ambitious and decided to just knit something out of it for Christmas instead. I found a simple seed stitch cowl on Ravelry, and then found an example of someone making it on a smaller scale in Quince. I decided that this was the route I wanted to go. I measured how long I wanted it on me and off I went.

I did a lot of work on it in a coffee shop in Cambridge waiting for my old roommates to arrive in Harvard Square and have dinner with me, and also on the train. I've definitely been enjoying whipping out smaller projects while commuting, since I've been getting a lot of satisfaction out of finishing them in only a matter of days. I think 2012 will have a sweater project in it, but for now, I'm just focusing my energies on smaller projects to use up some yarn and make gifts for people.

This project was insanely easy. It was done by December 23rd and I was wearing it all day on Christmas Eve. It's not the warmest, but I like how it's more of a "I want to be kind of warm" or "I want to look cool" cowl. I also love the color, though after seeing it on me, it makes me question my desire to knit myself a whole sweater out of this color. Small projects against my hair and skin tone might be best, instead of a giant one all over me.

BTW, because I got a crock pot from Ricky's mom for Christmas, Shepherd's Pie has changed to a stew or something I can make in a crock pot. Very excited about that one! I think today's projects will be starting the computer room, and maybe finding shoes. We'll see.

Christmas knits: the boys' hats

2011-12-27T09:45:00.002-05:00

A few years ago, I made my brothers fingerless mitts for Christmas. While this was fun, it was perhaps a bit too ambitious to start them in December, since I was a slower knitter and barely finished them. Or, if I recall correctly, I only finished one mitt for each and then made the other two while they were on winter break. There we go, that's it. This year, I decided to just stick with hats, particularly because they both lost a mitt (ugh) and also because I didn't have as much time to focus on something that small and detailed with all the other knitting projects I had to do this time of year.

I made a bit ago the Turn a Square hat by Jared Flood for Erin's boyfriend, Matt. He liked it, and with the scrap yarn I made myself a hat. Matt had requested another striped hat for Christmas, so I decided to make one for him out of whatever scrap yarn I had from Pete's hat.

Because Pete's a redhead, I decided to go with browns and greens. This is also the color of his winter coat. Matt's looks similar to Pete's, except that his is more darker grey stripes and less brown and green. Sam likes blue more, so I went with various colors of blue. The skein of striping yarn for Sam also included some greys and whites, which helped not make it too blue, if that makes sense. I really like how they turned out, and I think they both liked them. I used Cascade 220 for both solid colors and then Noro Silk Garden for the self striping. Noro's colors are lovely, and I like how Cascade both highlights and mellows it. Also, it's a very warm hat, since I've been wearing mine a lot while walking to the train and then work. Quite pleased with it.

Mum was so impressed by Sam's hat, that she's requested her own. Fortunately, you can make two hats from a skein of Cascade 220 and a skein of Noro Silk Garden with this pattern, so I have all the materials already! Hers will be a bit brighter of blue, but that's fine. When I finish that hat, I'll post the photos of both that hat and Matt's hat.

Again, here are Ricky and I modeling Christmas hats by the water. (in case you were wondering, we went out for Breakfast, and then grabbed all the Christmas knits and took photos of them before wrapping them up) Ricky's wearing Pete's hat, and I'm wearing Sam's.

I can't post the rest of Christmas knitting right now since I haven't given it away yet, so I'll be posting some of the to do list accomplishments I've completed so far. (hooray!) My list may also have been too ambitious, because Ricky got me Price is Right for the wii and I am hoooooked.

Christmas knits: Beth's cowl

2011-12-26T10:43:00.000-05:00

Now that Christmas is over and most of my Christmas knits have been distributed, I'm going to blog about them. The first will be the cowl I gave Ricky's mom Beth. Beth's had a hard few months, and she's always been very sweet to me, so I wanted to make her a nice hand knit this year. And, since time was of the essence, I went with a cowl.

My friend (and new mom!) Crystal of Domesticated Human recently published a cowl pattern she made for a gift using one skein of Malabrigo. I love Malabrigo merino worsted for it's soft squishiness, and thought that Beth would as well. I had a skein of a light purple -- I thought I'd like the color when I purchased it, but no such luck -- that I decided to use, since it's a color she'd enjoy.

Knitting this up was a breeze. It only took a few days of knitting on the train, and I was finished. I decided to go up a needle size to make the drape looser and also because Beth is taller and her features are larger than Crystals. (she's like 5'10") I'm glad I did, since it did make it a lot looser. I loved how the dropped stitches looked, and it made for an interesting pattern.

I modeled it by the ocean to take photos for ravelry and also here. It was definitely warm and soft, so I'm glad I picked this yarn for the gift. I gave it to her yesterday, and she LOVED it. So much. Ricky was even touching it and she joked with him not to, in case it got damaged (note: it won't, it's quite sturdy). I'm glad I made it for her, since she definitely appreciated it and will get a lot of use out of it.

On the lookout

2011-12-24T11:16:00.001-05:00

I took this photo and told Ricky that Lewis was waiting for Santa and looking out the window for him. I think in reality, he's watching birds, but I thought it was funny. If only it was snowing or there was a soft reflection of Christmas lights, then it'd be perfect. Lewis spends a large portion of the day sitting this like: sitting on the back of the couch with his paws on the window sill, watching birds outside. It's quite cute.

Friendmas

2011-12-23T16:30:00.001-05:00

We're going to my friend from high school holiday party tonight -- dubbed Friendmas -- and the cookies are all packed and ready to go. Chocolate and peppermint and gingerbread with lemon icing. I hope they are well received!

I always enjoy Friendmas, because it's a nice way to see old friends and catch up when not at a wedding. We're all just there to hang out.And now that people are settling down and pairing off, it's also nice to have a big ol' party with spouses and what not. There's also a lot of good food. And it's in Beverly. So a pretty winning combination.

The rest of the weekend will be quite busy, so it's good to have this party tonight. Christmas Eve is devoted to Ricky's family, and Christmas day to mine. A lot of running around and time in the car, but it'll be good.

I also finished all my Christmas knitting, and they are blocking. Tomorrow will involving taking photos to document projects, and then I'll share them here. I must say, I think they all turned out quite nicely.

Christmas traditions

2011-12-18T19:58:00.001-05:00

As Ricky and I get older and celebrate more holidays together, we've decided to create our own Christmas traditions that are ours. One that I've enjoyed two years in a row is to travel into Cambridge on a weekend and see It's a Wonderful Life at the Brattle Theatre, then walk around Harvard Square to Christmas shop, eat snacks, and enjoy treats. Today we went into the city and did just that.

There's something I really love about The Brattle. I think because it's a small, no frills, independent theatre that plays both large hits and old classics. I've seen lots of movies here, and it's great seeing movies that I was unable to see on the big screen. It also feels great supporting a small, independent theatre, something I fear is disappearing in this day and age.

After the movie, we got our standard lunch at Cafe Crema (mmmm) and a dessert at Burdicks, and walked around only slight. It was waaaaay too cold to do our normal loop. I saw recently that a Burdicks is opening down the street from where I work, so perhaps there will be more chocolate penguins and teas in my future.

I think it's great that the longer we're together, we're establishing our own traditions for holidays and memories. Our trip to see It's A Wonderful Life is something I'll look forward to every year for a long time. It's a nice wintertime date day.

Winter Break Goals

2011-12-13T16:33:00.000-05:00

It's like "mini resolutions".

One of the joys of working in education is that I have lots and lots of holidays off. I also have the week between Christmas and New Years off, as the college closes. This is, especially after years in the private sector, completely magical. The whole school is off, and there's no pressure to check email or catch up. I love it.

Many of my friends, however, do not have this time off, so I find myself with a week almost completely to myself. This is okay with me, though, as I'm using it as a week to catch up on things. A mini-GSD week, as it were. I made a checklist, which I will update as that week progresses:

Grown Up Friend Date with Patti. My friend/old roommate is a teacher, so we both have a week to ourselves. We've resolved to grab lunch and catch up.

Clean my closet. It's become a catch all for all my crap, and now I can't see the bottom of the floor or the crap I've thrown in there. Time to tackle.

Clean computer room. Not as bad as the closet. This is the room where we put things that we don't want Lewis to eat. But it needs some order of semblance.

Get materials for Jess' ring pillows. I'm in a wedding in March, and I've been asked to make two ring pillows for it: one is pink, and the other is the color of The Boston Bruins. (I'll probably be leaving out gold or just have it as an accent)

Knit something with quince yarn. I have a ball of this, that's been sitting in my stash since I purchased it in July of 2010. I want to wear it. Probably as a cowl.

Organize stash. With all the Christmas knitting, there are balls of yarn everywhere. And it's chaos. I need to make it not be chaos.

Make shepherd's pie for Ricky for dinner. I love a recipe I found for this that has ground turkey, lots of veggies, and no tomatoes. I think it'll be a dinner one of the nights, since it is a bit time consuming.

Find shoes for Jess' wedding. I need a pair of pewter heels. I've been a giant failure to date in finding a pair that I like and don't hurt my feet. This is the week to find those shoes.

Donate things to good will. This will free up some closet floor space.

Fix sewing machine tension. It's been wanky for a year now, time to fix it so I can use it!

Make ring pillows. Photos will be posted of this, I am sure.

Another secret project for Jess' wedding and also for Erin's wedding. Secrets secrets.

Name that tune

2011-12-12T16:22:00.000-05:00

Today an ensemble was playing a song in the room next to my office, and it got stuck in my head. I knew the song, but couldn't place it. I then spent about 15 minutes googling various things to try and find it. I knew the following things:

--It was from the late 60's/early 70's
--It was used in an old game show
--It was also used in an old meme this girl Chloe I went to high school with used to love when we were in high school.

And (not) surprisingly, it was hard anything on the internet using all of those criteria!

After lunch, I decided to try to find it using the instrument that I heard playing it -- marimba -- and lo and behold, I FOUND THE SONG.

Spanish Flea by Herb Alpert. You will also recognize it as the bachelor music from The Dating Game:

Note: I changed the video, because I found a better one in all its 60's television music spot glory.

Midnight Breakfast

2011-12-09T12:03:00.001-05:00

I learned earlier in the year that my college President would be retiring. He put in 12 good years, and was all-around liked by the community, even naming a building after him in celebration of a job well done. HC's website has been marking the "lasts" of Fr. McFarland's tenure, which is bittersweet for sure. But today, I read about a "last" that for some reason hit really close to home.

Fr. McFarland is serving his last Midnight Breakfast with the senior staff at HC. I don't know why, but this struck a chord with me, as Midnight Breakfast was one of my favorite memories of college. Every night of Finals Week, staff and faculty members would stay out late and serve breakfast to the overtired, overworked Crusaders. It was a nice way to break up days of stressful studying and paper writing (and for me, play directing) by meeting friends in Crossroads to read, edit papers, and drink way too much coffee while eating egg sandwiches. I remember in those broke college student days making sure I budgeted enough in that last week to get orange juice, an egg sandwich, and that side of bacon to stuff into said egg sandwich.

I know that others went regularly, but I mainly remember meeting up with my friends Tim, Jess, and Karin at Midnight Breakfast. We were also the crew who spent way too much time in the campus center on couches, reading and drinking coffee and being slightly bitchy. I also remember making plans to see people or study with certain classmates at Midnight Breakfast. It was the place to go when being in your room or one of the libraries was a bit too much.

Fr. McFarland would always be there night one, happy to scoop out homefries to the busy students, always trading in his priestly attire for jeans and a plaid shirt. I don't know why, but this always charmed me.

So I'm sad to see Fr. McFarland leave the community, and it makes me think fondly of my four years at college all over again. I only hope the next president enjoys his time at midnight breakfast, and has a trusty plaid shirt to don while scooping out eggs.

A big day for a little guy

2011-12-08T16:26:00.001-05:00

Ummm, I'm the cutest cat ever.

Today Lewis turns one! We didn't adopt him until February, so we didn't know the little peanut until he was about 9 weeks old. It's hard to believe, though, that my baby kitten is now a kid cat.

(note, what I'm writing next points that I may be a crazy person when it comes to my cat)

Every morning, when my morning alarm goes off, Lewis comes running from wherever he is in the house and jumps on my chest and immediately starts purring and cuddling. I honestly can say in all my cat-owning years, I've never met a cat who is that affectionate and snuggly. So to the haters... cats can be loving if they are special cats.

Anyways, this morning after he ran in to snuggle me before I got out of bed, I sang him happy birthday and then treated him to his favorite cat food (which is going out of business... that's a story of meltdowns for another day). Ricky also gave him some yogurt. I'm sure we'll do something equally crazy tonight. That being said, my coworker told me she makes her dog a carob cake every year for her dog's birthday... so on the sliding scale, I feel like I'm looking pretty good.

So today is just a little shout out to my favorite cat, Lewis PC. And when I say he's a little guy... it's true. He's only 11 lbs. The photo is of him sitting on the back of the couch and having his paws on the windowsill as he looked out the window at birds, cars, and leaves. It was quite cute.

And... in tribute to everyone's favorite fake WWI Vet who's also a fake Korean War Vet

2011-12-07T15:29:00.001-05:00

It's been real, Harry Morgan.

Seventy Years

2011-12-07T15:23:00.001-05:00

70 years and never forgotten...

Making my apartment prettier, one minor art project at a time

2011-12-07T10:59:00.001-05:00

I needed a bit of a hiatus after posting (mostly) every day for a month. It's tiring!

I wanted to share a neat project I just completed to make my apartment look a little nicer. Ricky and I don't have a headboard, mainly because we want to wait and get a real bed once we have a house/upgrade to a Queen mattress. In the meantime, I wanted to make something to give our bed a bit more substance.

A while ago, I received a postcard from my friend Kirsten. It was the Penguin Books cover of The Garden Party, by Katherine Mansfield. I've always loved the look of Penguin Books, and asked where she got the postcard. It turns out there's a postcard set that sells 100 popular Penguin Books covers as postcards for quite cheap. I purchased it, and decided to make collages of the book covers and frame it to make a cool "headboard".

Ricky made one and I made the other. We went through all the covers and "claimed" which ones we wanted to use. They were either books that meant a lot of us personally, or book covers that looked neat. I bought two posters and two frames, along with some rubber cement. We lined them up, glued them to the poster, and then framed the posters.

I really liked how it turned out. The colors are varied, but because they were all made by the same publishing company, the colors work well together and look similar enough. We're going to try to hang them later in the week, and after that, I'll take more photos of it.

I can't stress enough at how easy this project is. We have extra postcards, so we're going to make one for the living with just the titles (i.e., no covers with actual artwork on it, just the plain books) over the winter. I'll take photos of that, too.

Would this be a good gift?

2011-11-30T10:30:00.001-05:00

After going to ~~a bajillion~~ seven weddings this year, I've begun to think about creative gifts to give that aren't just cash or a gift from Crate and Barrel. I have some good ideas for the weddings of 2012, but I saw this cool pattern on the Purl website for something called the Eleventh Hour Blanket. It's inspired by their pattern for a scarf that takes less than a day to finish up.

It looks so cozy and wonderful! What a great throw this would be for a bedroom or living room. And I think it'd be cute to do it in something that refers to their wedding colors. It calls for big needles and knitting double, so it'd be a quick knit.

The yarn it calls for is wonderful (Cascade Magnum) and all the supplies total of about $160-180. So it's a pricey blanket, but I feel like something homemade could be more meaningful than a check. And... I can knit, so I sometimes feel like for all these events it'd be great if I could my powers for good. And I know from experience that when I made my friend Jaime a baby blanket for her baby shower, she really appreciated it and it gets a lot of good use.

But is it cheesy to make a blanket for someone? Do people getting married just want money or something more practical like wine glasses?

It seems appropriate...

2011-11-30T09:22:00.001-05:00

...that I forgot to blog last night, since this has been a theme this time around. Last night we went out to dinner with my friends Joanna and Jason, which was a lot of fun. Some light ranting, a lot of giggling, and random joking. It was, I think, exactly what the four of us needed on a Tuesday night. Then when we got home, I pretty much put on yoga pants and made that slow descent into bed.

Again, I lead a very exciting life here.

I'll blog twice today again. I might post a knitting project I saw and want to try and make for someone in the future as a future gift. But we'll see.

Almost forgot to blog

2011-11-28T22:12:00.001-05:00

I've been deep in Christmas knitting tonight, so I almost forgot to blog. I obviously can't show you or talk about Christmas knitting, so instead...

Here's a photo of a puppy and a kitten. The puppy may be a Muppet, I can't tell for sure.

The Doctor is in

2011-11-27T11:19:00.001-05:00

I recently listened to a TBTL episode that was a tribute to some of the best "I Love You, Chunk" spots. The last one was about Doctor Who, the longtime British science fiction series. I've been curious about Doctor Who for awhile now, probably since I saw the Freaks and Geeks where Bill dresses up as The Doctor after surviving eating a peanut. My friend Jess also named her two cats after the show (Rose and The Doctor). Ravelry also has tons of patterns on how to make that scarf pattern. But hearing two people wax poetic about how great the series is -- that and having a Saturday night to myself to start working on Christmas knitting -- sealed the deal, and I rented the most recent series on Netflix.

I am hooooooooooked.

I've watched six episodes so far. Right now I'm watching the 9th doctor, but I think in about five episodes David Tennant shows up. I like how there's an overarching story and history to the series, but that each episode can also stand alone. Ricky compared it to Quantum Leap a bit, which I can see.

I'm also a fan of all the jokes about his identity that travel from episode to episode right now. Like what's his name and if he's an alien why does he have a Northern British accent (because every planet has a north). I'm glad that I picked it up, and that I have something to watch while knitting. I don't think I'll go back and watch the other series, only because that's a lot of programs to catch up on, but I'm fine with that.

I definitely recommend checking it out, especially since it's streaming on Netflix. Also, here's some classic Doctor Who for some audio for this post.

Old school theme from Tom Baker-era (the doctor with the long scarf that Bill dresses as):

Who doesn't love that theme? It's so retro feeling and also epic!

Now that Thanksgiving's over...

2011-11-26T15:49:00.001-05:00

...it's officially time for two things in my book.

Listening to Christmas music on WODS. (I realize that I posted that carol earlier in the week, but that was inspired by a conversation I had recently)

(I wish they'd play this)

Drinking Hood Egg Nog.

(Side note, when I tried to find a picture of Hood Egg Nog, the first one I clicked on was from this blog last year. I am nothing if not consistent)

I bought my first carton of egg nog last night, and today when running errands we listened to carols. It's nice to start getting into the swing of things!

A&J King was selling egg nog cheesecakes, which I can't wait to try. They looked incredible this afternoon. I'm also tempted to try and make my own egg nog and see how it shapes up. Mmmmm

Today's the day

2011-11-25T11:29:00.001-05:00

I'm going to see The Muppets. This is a day years in the making.

I've been obsessively reading everything I could about this movie since I heard Jason Segal was writing the script. I'm losing it with excitement. LOSING IT.

Amanda says that in my life I've minored in Muppet studies. My high school yearbook quote was from Jim Henson. I made TWO tiles in the high school devoted to Muppets. I've scoured ebay for Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. This moment was built for me. Gaaaaahhhhhhh

I will also probably cry with joy and an overwhelming feeling. Enjoy that visual.

In the meantime, listen to this Fresh Air interview with the writers of the movie, along with this classic Muppet moment.

Happy Thanksgiving from...

2011-11-24T09:58:00.001-05:00

...me, Charlie, Jed, Leo (briefly), The Butterball hotline, Toby, Joe Bethersenten, and the person sou chef to the king of... auto sales in Fargo.

Thankful

2011-11-23T11:28:00.001-05:00

While taking the train into work this morning, I began to make a list in my head of things I am thankful for in 2011. I think 2011 has been, at times, even more emotionally trying than 2010, so I feel perhaps even more thankful than usual for these things:

Ricky
Lewis PizzaCat
Alva (still healthy and happy as a clam!)
My health and the health of my family
My friends
Having a reasonably priced apartment
My love of knitting
My job
The YMCA
Shopping local and the growing popularity of that concept
Friends being in love (but that being said, I am thankful that I don't have to go to another wedding for 4 months!)
Freshly baked goods
Hot tea
Tasty wine
My apartment appearing more and more like an adult lives there and not a college grad with a non-matching set of furniture
Millie
Foliage
Long weekends to Vermont
Farmer's Markets
Salem Restaurant Week
Warm wool socks
Mashed potatoes
The Landry brothers
Netflix
Comfy shoes
Blogs that post pretty things (looking at you, Apartment therapy)
Pinterest
Not moving in 2011
TBTL

I wish I could find this song as a stand alone on iTunes

2011-11-22T15:40:00.001-05:00

Because it's SO GOOD. And crazy. Mainly a little crazy. Or a lot crazy.

Listen to that banter. It's crazy. Sir Percival? Asking Bing Crosby if he likes contemporary music (answer: obviously not, it's Bing Crosby). Ohhh my God it's so amazingly weird.

But then it gets all awesome when they start singing. Well done, Bing and Bowie.

Who would wanna be such a control freak?

2011-11-21T12:50:00.001-05:00

Today feels like it needs the melancholy of Modest Mouse's Bukowski. It's a little chilly out, which comes as a shock to the system after such a nice weekend, weather-wise. I've always loved this song, and this whole album reminds me of my senior year of college.

A very John Candy weekend

2011-11-20T21:19:00.001-05:00

Ricky has found out that there are giant, gaping holes in my movie-watching history. Namely, almost all of the John Hughes cannon, and the movie Stripes. He wanted to remedy both this weekend.

Saturday night, after a memorable sushi date, we watched Planes Trains and Automobiles. I had wanted to see this one also because of an in joke we have about work. That and Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so it seemed appropriate. I really liked it! It was funny, and not too gross or dragging, like some movies of a similar ilk can be (Due Date... parts of Home Alone even).

Tonight, we decided to tackle Stripes. It was a shorter movie, and we weren't feeling like watching something too emotionally daunting. I also liked it, but I think he liked it a lot more. It was funny and great to see so many members of SCTV pop up. We also enjoyed seeing John Larroquette, who we nicknamed Poppa Larroquette after the Uhh Yeah Dude podcasts.

All in all, a very funny and also very Canadian comedian movie weekend.

Marblehead

2011-11-19T10:39:00.001-05:00

I mentioned that last weekend I went to Marblehead. It was really nice walking around, taking a few photos of the area, and enjoying a perfectly crisp fall day. This is my favorite one from the day, since I love that it's an old lantern and in the reflection, you can see other parts of the town. We mainly stuck to the older part of "downtown" Marblehead. I say "downtown" because it all feels very residential in comparison to Salem or even Beverly.

I blame Dan

2011-11-19T10:32:00.001-05:00

My plan was to post something, but I went to my friend Dan's birthday party, where we played games and drank beer all hours of the night. We also learned about everyone's favorite retired cop now toll booth collector, Johnny Nickles. It was a great way to spend Friday night.

As an apology, here's a cute photo of a schnauzer puppy. I knew you'd like it.

Breaking news

2011-11-17T22:08:00.001-05:00

I'm pretty sure our friend Papows...

...is actually Shel Silverstein.

Whaaaaat the hell.

Gross!

2011-11-16T19:05:00.001-05:00

Not this post, just the weather. If it was about this post, it'd probably be called "slightly boring!"

It's really nasty outside. And did I have a hat, umbrella, or wellies on? Nope! Because I'm a moron and it was sunny when I left for work this morning... because in my world, if it's sunny at 7am, it will still be sunny and pleasant at 6pm. So I walked home tonight in the dark rain, and came home very wet and cold. My walk isn't long, but when it's dark, cold, and dreary out... it gets a lot longer.

To warm up, I'm indulging in one of my favorite things in the whole world... baked sweet potatoes. I love them so much. It's baking right now, and I'm sitting here in comfy pants, dreaming of the toppings I may put on it. Because that's how exciting life has become these days.

So I don't just eat a sweet potato, I'm also going to pan fry some brussel sprouts and put them with cranberries. It'll be quite tasty.

While I'm honestly pumped for my dinner, this is a day my friend Bob didn't up and move to New Jersey, so I could beg him to make me tasty foods and ply me with fancy cocktails. Sadly, I don't think something warm and tasty would travel well from that distance.

Late night postings

2011-11-15T22:13:00.001-05:00

I can't even believe that Thanksgiving is in a little over a week. Insane. Still not sure where I'm spending it or what I'll be making. I think I'll be spending it at my aunt's house and making a pie, and then visiting Ricky's family, but I'm not entirely sure.

I'm trying to debate what's my favorite Thanksgiving side dish. So hard! Honestly it's my grandfather's homemade noodles, but that's more a my family side. His mother and others before her always made her own noodles. My attempts at noodles have always been poor, but I think now that I'm older I'll try to improve so I can carry it on. But onto traditional sides, what is my favorite?? Is it...

corn bread stuffing?

sweet potato casserole?

green bean casserole?

bread?

Mashed potatoes?

Internets land, what is your favorite side dish?

Blogger fail AGAIN

2011-11-15T09:11:00.001-05:00

I was going to post something last night after dinner and before bed... but then I got sucked into Diane Sawyer's special on the recovery of Gabrielle Giffords after her shooting last year, and was reduced to a crying puddle by 11pm. There was no way I was in a state to blog or blog well. It would have been a lot of phrases and pauses and probably a sad song by Coldplay.

It was inspiring and she's doing amazingly well for being shot in the brain, but it's clear that many of her goals -- furthering her work in Congress, having children with her husband -- will probably not happen now. But considering she was shot in the brain 10 months ago, she's astounding. Ricky and I were both crying in bed watching it. Me more than Ricky.

So this just means I'll be posting twice today.

But I don't feel afraid as long as I gaze at Waterloo Sunset

2011-11-13T12:02:00.001-05:00

Sunday is errand day, so we'll be running around a lot, prepping for the work week. With that in mind, here's one of my favorite songs by The Kinks. I wish this version was available on iTunes!

Also, if you're interested in a whole awesome album by The Kinks, I strongly recommend checking out Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire. About a year ago, I was in a restaurant in Boston and they played the whole album from start to finish while I was there, and it was pretty great. (this is the album that Victoria and Shangri-La comes from)

Weekend plans

2011-11-12T09:29:00.001-05:00

The Food Network version of an egg sandwich. Mine are simpler...

After a quiet thoughtful day yesterday, Ricky and I are back at it and planning to have a nice little (albeit busy) weekend. It's nice, though, because now that Weddingocaplyse 2011 is over, there's a significant rise in flexibility with our time. Today is a friend's 30th birthday, but during the day I think we're going to walk around Marblehead and poke around in shops and get coffee. It's funny, it's right next door but we almost never go there unless forced. I'm wondering why.

Right now, though, we're enjoying a newly forming weekend tradition of egg sandwiches and coffee while watching tv. We did this the last few weekends, and it's almost better than going out to breakfast. When I was single/lived alone, egg sandwiches were a regular meal staple. So there's something sweet about having them now together. Reclaiming egg sandwiches, as it were.

A thoughtful day

2011-11-11T10:01:00.001-05:00

I didn't have a plan to write anything up for today, being that it's Veteran's Day and some personal things going on (Ricky and I are fine). Today is just perhaps a moment to think. Think of those who did serve or are serving, for sure. I think the message of Veteran's Day is stronger every year for me, as I know more people who serve the country. My being a civilian my whole life is a gift thanks to them.

And think of those you love, and if they're having troubles, think about them, and ways you can help them out. And if things are going well in your life, be fortunate of that.

Sorry if this is deep and vague, but I had to get my thoughts out on a day of gratitude and thinking of those who serve.

Happy Birthday to Sinbad... and Tracy Morgan... and Pete

2011-11-10T09:59:00.002-05:00

Today is Pete's birthday. (there are a lot of family birthdays in early November) When we were little, we joked that the only famous person that shared Pete's birthday was... Sinbad.

Whenever we'd talk about who shared our birthdays, Pete would joke that we had awesome people share our birthday... and he had Sinbad.

I recently discovered that he shares his birthday with another black comedian... Tracy Morgan!

So a big happy birthday to Pete and to the two black comedians I now associate him with in my head.

The world is now filled with a lot less young children-based puns...

2011-11-09T15:05:00.001-05:00

I am in no way a fan of The Family Circus, but I did say "aww" when I heard that Bil Keane passed away. More because The Family Circus has been a present my whole life. When I was a little kid, I found it cute in that "gee willickers" sort of way. Then, as I got older and and my sense of humor became a bit more advanced and refined, I pretty much stopped reading it. But it was nice that Keane was so consistent... using the same jokes and ideas for 50 years.

Erin once mailed me a Sunday Family Circus where she added a ghost (like those ghosts that he always had in his cartoons) that said "shut up, Jeffy, no one likes you!" which I found to be hilarious. Because it's true. No one likes that know it all pain in the ass Jeffy. It's been hanging in every office I've had since I've received it.

So it's been real, Bil. I hear your son has adopted The Family Circus, so at least it'll still be continuing.

I also wanted to post a cartoon from The Nietzsche Family Circus, which combines an image from The Family Circus with a quote from Nietzsche. Mainly because I find this page hilarious in that "Garfield without Garfield" or "Kayne West tweets with cartoons from the New Yorker" sort of way.

Birthdays

2011-11-08T22:00:00.001-05:00

My mom turned 50 on Saturday, which is insane. I made cupcakes (see photo) for the party her family threw for her. They're chocolate buttermilk cake with a chocolate cream cheese frosting. As we know, my mom loves whales, so I found dolphin sprinkles... which are as close as I could find to a whale sprinkle.

It's definitely odd having my mom turn 50, since I always felt like I was the friend who had the young mom. (which is true... my mom is one of the youngest of my friends who are my age) But I guess since I am growing older, I guess that makes sense. And, if you think about it, my mom is still the young mom since she's only turning 50 now. And I'm pushing 28.

It was a good party. Everyone met up at a local restaurant that's a family favorite for BBQ and volleyball in the back yard. Low key and definitely fun. Only two cousins couldn't make it, since they go to college in far away states, so the turnout was quite impressive.

I'm glad we could give my mom a special day, since she deserves it and does so much for us. She said she enjoyed it, so that's all we could ask for.

Blogger FAIL

2011-11-08T10:33:00.000-05:00

I made it six days in NaBloPoMo before forgetting to post.

Six.

THAT'S IT??? Booooo me.

Last night at about 5am, I woke up realizing that I didn't write anything. I had every intention to do so, but instead spilled an entire bottle of iced green tea in my bag, ruining a lot of paperwork in it and probably the bag itself, ate tacos at a Mexican restaurant, watched last week's Up All Night and snorted I was laughing so hard (I have a feeling I'll be dropping the quote "All my family talks about is football and Regis!" and mentioning a memorial montage involving one photo and someone's W-4's on a regular basis), knit for awhile, and then went to bed. If you notice, none of those things are "posting on my blog about something".

I had every intention to do so, but it just didn't happen. So I'll have to more than make up for it. Perhaps with better and more interesting posts today. I don't even know.

And yes, I realize that posting twice in one day isn't the same as posting one thing every day. But it's how I decided in my mind that it'll compensate. No judging.

Also, remember to vote today in your local elections.

Bridesmaids

2011-11-06T15:52:00.000-05:00

My reprieve from attending or being involved in weddings has ended. I just picked up the bridesmaid dress for Jess and Giacomo's wedding in March. It's now sitting in my closet, where it will probably sit for another 2 months. Then I'll hand it off to get altered for short ol' me. Erin should be giving me the dress for her wedding soon. These weddings will be #4 and 5 for weddings I've been in.

While being in two weddings next year will prove to be a busy later winter/late spring for me, I have a strong feeling it'll feel like a cake walk compared to 2011. Ricky and I attended seven weddings, spanning from Western Mass to CT and all over the North Shore. Only three weddings, all of which are pretty spread out over 6 months, is a gift. And one of those weddings will involve driving 9 hours!

I think in a few years, I want to have a bar crawl or a birthday party where my friends and I don our old bridesmaid dresses and get a little boozy. This is in no way a creative or new idea, but on this post about bridesmaids it popped into my head.

If I had a box just for wishes and dreams that had never come true, The box would be empty except for the memory of how they were answered by you...

2011-11-05T19:40:00.001-04:00

Ricky and I have been watching the original Muppet Show on Netflix. We just watched the Edgar Bergen episode (kind of awkward/painful, watching the two forms of puppetry try to find a common ground) but one moment I had forgotten about was the Muppet Show version of Time in a Bottle. It was a quiet, sweet, and certainly wistful moment for the show. I sometimes wonder if Henson knew that no matter what, there wouldn't be enough time for him to do everything he wanted to do and accomplish in his lifetime.

I think I may even like this version more than Croce's version.

Also, giant shout out to my mom on her 50th birthday. I just got back from a party for her with all my family, and took photos, but I will post them tomorrow.

More songs about buildings and hats

2011-11-04T12:06:00.002-04:00

I will someday have a conversation about buildings and food, but today, we're talking about hats.

Turn a Square 1: This went to Matt

Over the summer, Erin asked if I could make Matt a hat for the winter. He liked cool colors along with black and gray, and wanted something with slight visual interest. I've been eying Jared Flood's pattern Turn a Square for awhile now, but when I suggested making it for Ricky he shied away from the "bright colors" and "crazy pattern". But Matt was game for... subtle color changes and stripes.

I made this using Cascade 220 in Jet (Jet!) and Noro Silk Garden in Band on the Run (kidding). I liked that it was more of a charcoal gray for the Cascade, and I looooooved the Noro per usual. The pattern is insanely easy, and a good first project for colorwork, since it's a good way to get a knitter started on changing colors with stripes. I also loved the crown shaping, and will probably borrow it for other projects, since I liked how it sat on my head better.

What's also great is that I could make two hats out of these two skeins. I presented both to Matt -- one was blue and green, and one was a lot more subtle with blue and a lot of blacks and grays -- and he went with the blue and green one. I decided to keep the blue and gray one for myself. I'm thinking of making these hats for my brothers or even my brother and his girlfriend for Christmas.

Turn a Square 2: I kept it for a nice big warm hat that covered my ears

Here I am modeling both versions during warmer and simpler times. This is in August, which is why things look lush and green around me.

This makes me inexplicably sad...

2011-11-03T11:34:00.000-04:00

Probably because I have a lot of memories of going into the basement of the North Shore Mall with my mom, trying to find good gifts and discounts. I'll probably make a trek soon for memories and discounts.

So it's been real, Filene's Basement. My Beantown pride is sad because this is one less Boston-based department store that exists. (I still am bitter about you, Macy's, for taking Filene's away from us)

Also, I'm a little pissed off I'll never have the option to compete in the Running of the Brides.

It's cold, so let's talk about knitting.

2011-11-02T10:14:00.003-04:00

The finished cowl at Sea Meadow Gift Shop.

I'm having a hard time determining when to give up my lighter fall coat for my heavier winter coat, especially since the temperature seems to rise quite a bit during my lunchtime walk. And it seems like closing a chapter on warmer weather when you break out the winter coat full time. Probably within a week or so, it'll be big green coat times.

Today, though, let's talk about a knit piece I made for Shana, since I feel like my knitting helps give my lighter coat a few extra days of wear since it keeps my head/neck/hands warm. She had been asking me for a bit to make her a big cowl that she could wrap around her neck once, and could wear at work. Knowing Shana well, though, I knew that she also would probably wearing this outdoors or on a boat, so I needed something sturdy and warm, too. Her requests were for the following details:

--an olive green color
--soft


Modeling it wrapped around my neck twice.

--some sort of lace pattern that maybe had a zig zag quality
--can be wrapped around her neck twice so it can be worn both long and short

I found a pattern for a lace scarf that I was able to modify, which worked out perfectly. It was a pattern inspired by ferns called Fern Lace Scarf. The designer has it in a lace weight yarn, but I decided to do less repeats to make up for the larger yarn and needle size and added 3 stitches of garter stitch on either side for a finishing effect. I had garter at the beginning and end of the project (which I kind of liked that effect that you could see it met in the middle) and grafted it together. I felt quite clever.

The yarn is Malabrigo, which is perhaps my one true love when it comes to knitting. I found a color named Olive, which screamed Shana. It has a nice look when knit up, and it's also incredibly warm and easy to knit with, but also won't fall apart. I've used this yarn on a lot of different gift projects.

I think I'd be more pleased with my efforts if I had accounted for one thing. I only bought one skein of yarn... ROOKIE MISTAKE. I should have bought 2 skeins so that they'd be the same dye lot. Gahhhh. I (of course) ran out of yarn and had to buy a new skein months later. It was similar in color, and to the untrained eye you can't tell they're two different colors, but I can definitely see the differences in color. Note to self: always buy two skeins if it's a scarf. Always.

Shana, however, couldn't tell. Or she's too kind. But she loved it. I'm glad she liked it! What inspired me to post this project is that she texted me that she's been wearing her cowl a lot, and it's been keeping her warm at work/has gotten some compliments. So that's good.

I posted some photos of me modeling the finished product before giving it to Shana. I'd definitely make another big cowl out of Malabrigo again... just make sure I buy two skeins for the project. The photo of me with the cowl long to the left, you can see the two colors. This is because of the flash, I think, since in person it's a little less jarring in contrast. At least, that's what I keep telling myself in my head.

NaBloPoMo times again?

2011-11-01T09:44:00.001-04:00

I'm preparing to embark on my third annual National Blog Posting Month. I feel like more this year I'm also seeing campaigns to write a novel or poetry this month. Since I am talented at neither of these endeavors, I'm sticking to my little blog here. I don't know why, but I'm dreading it this time around, even though it's voluntary and I sometimes feel some of my better posts and musings are based on forcing myself to write down my thoughts once a day.

There are certainly some posts I have planned, including long overdue knitting updates, Halloween to recap, and the like, so that'll give me some blog fodder. I also want to try and capture nice moments this fall. So we'll see.

Gear up for a fun month of me posting my little heart out!

Halloween in Salem

2011-10-26T13:11:00.005-04:00

The Halloween party I normally go to every October isn't happening this year, and for a moment it seemed as though Ricky and I wouldn't be dressing up this year. But then my friend Rachel, a fellow Salem resident, decided to throw a party. Costume ON!

I don't know what it is, though, but I've had some costume malaise this year. No costume idea felt right, or perhaps felt too daunting. I weighed a few ideas, but nothing stuck. I was feeling a Halloween grump. (take that, Christmas, you're not the only holiday with grumps)

On Monday, though, Ricky and I were going to Savers for his Halloween idea (a pirate... but a real pirate, like the ones that are in the ocean now) and they had flyers with Halloween ideas for people like me: people who have no ideas of their own, and also refuse to buy a pre-made costume. One of them was... the slightly overdone but also extremely idea of Holly Golightly.

Aaaaand we have a winner.

I realize that about a bajillion girls before me have dressed up as this iconic call girl, but I'm okay with it. It's easy to pull off (black dress! Big sunglasses! Tiara! Pearls! Cigs!) and easily recognizable. I'm hoping I still have my prom queen tiara, but it's a little doubtful. I don't think I'll get the dress or pearls quite right, but I think whatever I find will do. I also plan on going to Coffee Time before the party to get a couple of danishes and a small coffee to go to complete the look.

Photos will be posted after the party. If you'd like to go down memory lane to see past Halloween costumes, here's a search I did on my Halloween blog posts. I also noticed that I never blogged about last year's costume, so I may need to remedy that later in the week.

While watching Top Chef Just Desserts On Demand last night...

2011-10-12T09:20:00.004-04:00

Ricky and I came to two conclusions:

1. Everyone on that show (other than Gail) needs to be told that their shit does, in fact, stink.

2. Orlando looks just like Montel Williams.

AMIRIGHT?!?

Another tribute to Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T12:50:00.002-04:00

Last night, while Ricky and I were at a local Friendly's, drinking Fribbles after a stressful day and trying to relive our youth/save the franchise (more on that later), he got a text from a friend saying that Steve Jobs had passed away. I'm saddened by this, though unsurprised with his stepping down from Apple over the summer. He was not the robust man of even five years ago, and so I feared that it was only time.

We then spent the rest of our Fribble date night talking about the impact he had on our lives and the world. To say that Steve Jobs had a huge effect on our lives is an understatement. We both had iPods, and I'm debating making the plunge into the world of iPhones this fall or winter. I spent a lot of time in high school on the fashionable iMacs. Hell, my physics labs were completed on MacIntoshes. We went to see Toy Story 3 as a date. I remember how big of a deal it was to get an iPod mini as a Christmas gift in college. I'm typing this post while on a Mac and every student who meets with me is using their MacBook while getting phone calls on their iPhone.

I don't want to reinvent the wheel here by saying how much of a visionary he is (though I just kind of did) or how he left an indelible mark on technology, business, and marketing. If you go to Entertainment Weekly or Wired, you can see a timeline of just what he did. But there is a huge sadness that he has passed. Perhaps it's how it was when Edison passed. Or Disney. Or Einstein. That we lost a huge visionary who affected our lives in ways we may not even know. His legacy and his company's legacy will be discussed for generations.

I found the following video on Wired that splices together all of his presentations on the new apple products. From the early 80's on, the message is clear: I am a visionary, and I know that what I'm about to show you will affect our technology and how we live. There's a smugness to it, but then again... if you were Steve Jobs, wouldn't you be a little smug, too?

So thanks, Steve. It's been great.

Stolen from Kirsten

2011-10-06T09:33:00.001-04:00

I grabbed this from Kirsten's tumblr. I'll be posting a more fitting tribute soon, but I thought this was an incredible post from Andrew Sullivan. The full article is here.

… I was at the gym when the [Palin] news broke, hence the late post. And, of course, the news was juxtaposed by the untimely death of Steve Jobs. Leonard Cohen once said of America that it was “the cradle of the best and the worst”. Today, we lost one of the very best in American history, a reticent genius and entrepreneur, an inspiration for countless of us who has changed the very fabric of our lives. And we also saw the end of the road for one of the very worst: a nasty, callow, delusional, vicious know-nothing, brewed in resentment, and whose accomplishments could fit on a postage stamp.

It’s a fitting comparison: achievement versus resentment, creativity versus narcissism, hope versus fear. I know which one will get the bigger headlines tomorrow. And there is some comfort in knowing it will pain her.

And for good measure

2011-09-30T09:02:00.003-04:00

Some pictures of Lewis modeling our "new" couch (again, Thanks Crystal and Matt!) and our actually new curtains.

Lewis wasn't used to having so many comfortable throw pillows, so he loved the new couch a lot.

And to bring the room together, I got curtains. They're from Target, mainly because I don't trust them lasting long with a 10-month-old kitten running around. But look how big Lewis is looking!

What I did on my summer vacation

2011-09-28T10:27:00.004-04:00

I realize that other than telling people about songs I like sporadically over the summer, I haven't really blogged much in the past few months. It's not that I've been sitting around quietly twiddling my thumbs. I've been busy. BUSY. I think the summer of 2011 will go down as one of my busier times. I don't know why, but the stars aligned and things got quite busy and full and important. And so I thought I'd sum up my summer, elementary school report-style:

Weddings, Weddings, Weddings!
2011 is the year of people falling in love and getting married. Or rather, being in love, but deciding that 2011 was the year they felt financially comfortable enough to have a wedding. By the end of 2011, I will have attended seven weddings this year. Yes. SEVEN. I've been forcing myself to not think about the finances of it, or else I'll get too stressed. In July, we had a wedding every weekend for three weeks in a row. I'm very happy for all my friends, but I'll also be happy when I have many months off in a row to rest up for being in two weddings in 2012.

Reunions
This year marked my 5 year reunion from college. Ricky and I trekked to Worcester for a weekend back on the hill. It was nice, but also had bits of melancholy. I feel like sometimes reunions try to re-capture a moment in time from your life, but that it ultimately fails. We're not all college kids anymore on the same level. We all have jobs or in grad school, and our personal lives are also at different levels. It was a fun weekend, but parts of it rang sad and hallow.

Vermont!
Ricky and I took one of the few free weekends to escape to Vermont. (I did actually post photos from that! I blogged something this summer!) It was the best few days I've had in awhile, and a rewarding and relaxing vacation for sure. Driving the 4 hours with Ricky was nice to have some time just the two of us to talk and hang out, and then when we got there, we did a wide array of our favorite activities. My cousin lives up there, so it was nice to see her. We've since fantasized about a world where we could move full time to Vermont, but I don't think that'd happen for a few years. I highly recommend an escape to northern Vermont for everyone.

The Beach
Ricky and I have the luxury of growing up by the ocean. So in the summertime, since it's easier for us to get to a beach, we try to go as much as we can on weekends or days off. This year, I felt we were able to get several trips in, despite all the other business. We're definitely not beach bums, just people who enjoy the water and sitting outdoors.

Two key friends moved far away
This summer two of my friends up and moved. Both were for the best, but it was still bittersweet to see them go. The first was my friend Dave, who got a job in Vermont. He had been trying to find something he liked in his field that was full time for a long time, so I was very happy for him. And, as I mentioned, I (not so) secretly want to someday live in Vermont and eat only from farmer's markets all day long. Secondly was my friend Crystal. She and her husband moved back to England, where he is from. I know that this is something she's wanted for a long time, so I am beyond excited for them. AND they're expecting a baby, so it's great that she'll be closer to family. Crystal gave me her living room set (well, more like sold it to me for dirt cheap) so I always have a little bit of Crystal in my life. I wish them both.

One important concert
This summer, my mom, brothers, Ashley, Ricky and I went to see Big Audio Dynamite. This was huge in my book, since I grew up listening to them and loving them. And we got very close spots at the House of Blues. It was amazing being that close to Mick Jones. He's aged decently well, and he still had the energy to put on a great show. They played all the songs of my childhood, which was equally key.

So yeah! That's how I pretty much spent my summer. There were other things in there that kept me busy, but those were the big events or trends.

Life's like a movie, write your own ending

2011-09-24T10:08:00.003-04:00

As the Google homepage showed us this morning, it's Jim Henson's 75th Birthday! It's crazy to think that he only would have been 75. I also wonder what else he would have created, had he not died so young. Given his full body of work in only about 30 years, I imagine it would have been quite prolific.

There's this amazing PBS Documentary I recommend you check out called The World of Jim Henson. I bought it in college on VHS because they never printed it on DVD, but I think it's on YouTube in pieces. It's really impressive, and shows a lot of his older work, like Sam and Friends and his commercials.

It really is a very Muppety year for me. At my surprise 27th birthday in April, we watched The Muppets Take Manhattan, it's Jim Henson's 75th birthday, I bought The Green Album, and the new Muppets movie is coming out in November. Huzzah!

Some of my favs:

A big day for sure

2011-09-19T11:09:00.003-04:00

The Millie girl is 12!

Millie's been slowing down a lot in her later years, and is certainly in her winter, so I hope she has a great birthday and a tasty treat. A very happy birthday to you, my dear dog.

Also, work has been crazy, but I'm planning a post about what I did on my summer vacation and all the knitting I've done as of late.

Day 30 of the 30 Day Song Challenge!!

2011-09-01T10:04:00.002-04:00

This is it! The last post!

I meant to post this a few days ago, but sadly things (mainly a lot of Netflixing Sports Night and Flight of the Conchords) got in the way. So here it is.

Day 30: Your favorite song at this time last year

It was still Rebellion by Arcade Fire, but that was Day 1 of this challenge. So because I don't want to re-post the same song, I'll select what was my #2 song... and that #2 was by a narrow margin.

I heard this song on a college radio show a few years ago, and LOVED IT. I did some super sleuthing (read: googled the lyrics I could remember) and found out that it was My Old Ways by Dr. Dog. This whole album is really good, and I'd strongly recommend it. I'm iffy on some of their other albums, but this one is quite quite good. It feels like good 70's rock, which is impressive for a bunch of guys from Philly.

And now to quote Dianne and Michnya, in regards to the 30 Day Song Challenge: "We done?" "Yeah, we done."

Keep your eyes peeled for some fun posts about knitting, the fall, and other good things!

Day 29 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-08-23T17:24:00.002-04:00

Penultimate!

Day 29: A song from your childhood

This is easy. The music that made the biggest dent on my childhood was The Point. We had the album, and probably wore holes into our tape of the movie that we had. In fact, I first became aware of Ringo Starr as The Point narrator (and a train conductor, but that's neither here nor there) and THEN years later I realized he was a Beatle.

For this song, I chose my favorite from the movie. This song is so pretty and beautiful. I even found the song the way it is from the actual movie. Thanks, You Tube!

Day 28 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-08-21T11:48:00.002-04:00

I meant to blog this earlier, but after returning from Burlington, our weeks went to shit. Ricky got some bad family news (everyone's okay now) and there was a terrible accident at the company I used to work at where someone was sadly killed. The following week was spent reflecting on the prior and just taking a break from things. This is cheesy, but let everyone in your life know how much you care about them.

So this weekend I'm feeling recovered and ready to return to the internets. I'm not sure what to even write for today's challenge.

Day 28: A song that makes you feel guilty

Guilty?! I'm not sure music even makes me completely guilty. I did some serious thinking on this. And decided to go with Buddy Holly. Not really guilty, but more sad that his talented and seemingly happy life was cut short by a plane crash at a young young age. I mean, I have outlived him by FIVE YEARS at this point, and TEN YEARS for Ritchie Valens. I think at first I wasn't feeling strong about my choice, but the more I think about it... I do feel guilty about them dying so young in such a horrific looking plane crash. It might be cheesy basing this on The Day The Music Died, but ah well.

Burlington: a weekend in photos

2011-08-09T17:15:00.011-04:00

A series of photos from our recent trip to Burlington, VT.

Day 27 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-08-09T16:46:00.002-04:00

I'm feeling rested after a long weekend in Vermont. Ricky and I went away for three days to beautiful, relaxing, invigorating Burlington, VT. I'll be posting updates and photos from our trip. Probably right after this.

Day 27: A song that you wish you could play

This is in line with the previous post, about me being able to play Fur Elise. I always wanted to be able to play a Joplin rag. Everyone learns The Entertainer, but my true dream is Maple Leaf Rag. This may be why it was the opening song when I directed The Wedding on the Eiffel Tower.

Side note, I love this version of it on Youtube. Find old timey Joplin clips, they're pretty great and have a warmth to them that lends itself nicely to rag.

Cat tub

2011-08-03T16:16:00.002-04:00

The other day, the house was very quiet. I assumed Lewis was asleep or getting into trouble. Turns out a little of both.

At Patti's wedding, our hotel room gift baskets came in bright Tupperware baskets, which are super durable and fun. We had ours on the floor and he dragged it over into the living room, and was curled up and sitting in it. He was just straight up chilling and being good. I tried to get him out of the basket, since it looked cramped, and he started to nip at me, so I let him be. He sit in it for AN HOUR.

Oh Lewis, you're so little and cute often!

Day 26 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-08-03T16:10:00.002-04:00

Home stretch!!!!!

Day 26: A song that you can play on an instrument

I've been holding off on this post for awhile, mainly because I couldn't find the song I wanted to post on YouTube. So I'll hold off and post another song I can play.

Way back in the day, in a previous life, I played the piano. A lot. I took lessons for about 10 years. I quit because I went to college, and I couldn't juggle it. Letting my skills slip is one of my biggest regrets, and I want to get a piano once I own a house and relearn it all.

I then thought I'd post What A Wonderful World, since it was one of my mom's favorite songs that I'd play, but then every version I could find was... well, to be blunt... kind of shitty. Blerg!

So then I decided to stick to a classic piece that most students learn (no, not Rondo Alla Turca, since it's super annoying). I'm talking about Fur Elise. But instead of a more traditional version, I'm posting the one from The Muppet Show. Deal with it, Cate Blanchett!

"I'm lickin' ma nose!"

2011-07-26T09:25:00.003-04:00

That's what I picture Lewis is thinking in this photo. Also, how big did he get?! Super big, that's how big.

I'm glad I got a photo of him that's not blurry, with ghost eyes, and you can see his tongue in full force.

Day 25 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-07-26T08:33:00.002-04:00

Love today's post!

Day 25: A song that makes you laugh

I heard Trey Parker and Matt Stone interviewed on Fresh Air about this musical, and it sounded awesome/hilarious. I also like how it's a wink and nod to both religion and musicals. Definitely check out their Book of Mormon interview, along with their prior one about South Park.

I love how the joke set up is, where it's "meaningful statement about faith, meaningful statement about faith, weird ass fact about the Mormon religion". AND the musical nerd in me loves how the opening is a nod to Sound of Music. When I first heard this song, I was reduced to a giggle fest.

Well done, Parker and Stone. Well. Done.

Day 24 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-07-25T20:55:00.002-04:00

No worries. Today has nothing to do with a mix Ricky's ever made me.

Day 24: A song that you want to play at your funeral

I've wanted this song played at my funeral since I saw the Concert For George, which is that PBS concert put together in honor of George Harrison about a year after he died. It's a pretty impressive PBS concert, just for the star power they were able to get together for one concert. It was all very sweet and loving.

The concert ends with Joe Brown playing a cover of the song I'll See You In My Dreams, and I'd want that song played exactly how he played it -- a ukulele and a heartfelt singer, with some mellow backing band -- played at my funeral. It's very beautiful and sad and sweet and also hopeful, all at once.

It's not the best version on youtube, but it was one of the few versions that didn't include the scene prior with Paul McCartney making a joke and Dhani Harrison thanking the crowd. Nice moments, but I just wanted the song.

Day 23 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-07-24T10:28:00.003-04:00

Today's day on the 30 Day Song Challenge is so appropriate!

Day 23: A Song that you want to play at your wedding

This summer, Ricky and I have SEVEN weddings to go to. SEVEN. I also realized that at this point, by the end of 2012, I will have gone to 19 weddings, and that's not even counting the ones I haven't been invited to!

I go to so many weddings, so I spend a lot of time thinking about what works and what doesn't. And I always think about the DJ and what he did right or not. So the songlist has played heavily on my mind.

I already know what I want my first song to be, but I won't be posting that, for fear of someone getting inspired and then making it their first song. If I'm at a wedding of a friend of mine, and they play said song, I'm pretty sure I'll cry on the inside. You can have the same style bridesmaid dress, or the same color schemes, or the same venue, but I feel like first song is so personal and unique.

So instead, I'm posting a song that Ricky and I have mentioned that we want to play a part, either on the dance floor or during introductions. It's also made an appearance on a mix for Ricky:

Day 22 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-07-23T11:57:00.002-04:00

I'm happy I have an AC unit today. This makes me think of when I lived in my first Salem apartment on the 3rd floor (which I'll always miss, since it was a dream and pretty much what I compare all other apartments to) in the summertime. So very hot and gross. We had ceiling fans, but after awhile, A ceiling fan just blows hot air around.

Keep cool, everybody, and just get to Monday when it's supposed to cool down and possibly rain.

Today, Ricky and I are attending a wedding in Boston, so we're hoping it won't be too gross in Boston (hint: it will be very hot and gross in Boston, so this is futile).

Day 22: A song that you listen to when you’re sad

Perhaps because today is my anniversary, I'm in a Ricky's Mix CDs frame of mind. This song was near the end of a mix Ricky made me when I went to the Hudson River Valley with my knitting group, and it was waiting for me when I came home. This also has my favorite cover art from a Ricky mix, since it was him, Alva the fish, and my stuffed sheep that I grew up with welcoming me home. (Lewis wasn't in our lives yet, just the fish)

This song also kind of makes me sad, mainly because it's so haunting and beautiful. So when I'm feeling sad, I'll listen to this song because it just brings that sadness to a different, beautiful level.

Day 21 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-07-22T10:46:00.002-04:00

Stay inside today, everyone. It's supposed to be miserably hot. My plan is to stay inside my air conditioned work until I need to walk next door to get watermelon to eat for lunch, and then walk back... and that's it. If I'm feeling bold, I may walk to the Pru mall and find a few wedding cards, but that's a lot of walking in 100 degrees.

And yes, we're keeping the AC on all day for Lewis. And he had many new ice cubes this morning when we left. So he's a happy little guy.

Day 21: A song you listen to when you're happy

Much like yesterday, it's not like I feel "I'm so happy, I'm going to play X." It more happens to be happening when I'm happy. I think for this, I'll go an odd route. Tomorrow is a special and important day for me, so I'll try to tie it in. Tomorrow I will have been dating Ricky for two years. Two! Neither of us have ever been in a relationship that long or serious, so it's big. We'll be spending it going to our friend Biz's wedding (I mean it when I say this is the summer of weddings).

One of the first things that tipped me off that Mr. Ricky would be a keeper is that on our second date he gave me a mix CD. I had mentioned that I felt soul-crushed at my current job, and since he had also worked at that company (at the same time as me, since we'd see each other at the gym but be too nervous to talk to the other) he related. So for our second date, he nervously gave me a mix called "Anti-Soul Crushing Mix" which had hand drawn pictures of me on the front listening to his CD and being happy. The drawings were terrible, but the mix was awesome.

It was all songs that he loved and made him feel happy. And it was a good clue into his personality and tastes, and I definitely liked what I heard. This was the second song on the track, but really the first, since the first track was a quick instrumental and more to set tone.

Sorry, that was a long explanation to get to this song.

Why buy flowers...

2011-07-21T16:14:00.003-04:00

Jacqui modeling her Harry Potter bouquet and her Harry Potter bracelet. Each bubble is a book of Harry Potter. The bracelet is from etsy. Awesome!

...when you can be amazingly creative like my friend Patti?

Patti and Bob got married last weekend, and Patti DIYed as much as humanly possibly. Down to the flowers. She made flowers out of paper. Not only was this cheaper, but it was more beautiful and heartfelt.

Patti picked a book for each member of her bridal party that made her think of them. Christine was an art book, Jacqui was Harry Potter, etc. And then, because the colors of her wedding were yellow and purple, she painted each flower purple. Enough that it was clearly purple, but not so much so that you couldn't tell it was originally a book.

Jacqui modeled for me above, because I was so impressed by it. How cool and creative is Patti? How much better is this than spending hundreds on arranged flowers?

Day 20 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-07-21T16:01:00.002-04:00

It's so hot outside this week! We've been tending to Lewis a lot, as he lives in a fur coat and is a little thing. We've been keeping the AC on all day for him (I dread to think what my electric bill will be next month) and have been giving him ice cubes. He's more interested in playing with the ice cubes, though. I tried to take a video of it, since it was very cute.

Also, my friend Patti got married last weekend, and I may be posting some photos of all the amazing crafts she did. It was proof that weddings don't have to be cookie cutter and boring. To people getting married: THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX AND BE CREATIVE.

Now I need to get on this. Only ten more posts! I've said this before, but I'm going to try and bang some of them out.

Day 20: A song that you listen to when you’re angry

This one was kind of hard to think of, which may be why it took so long for me to post it. It's not like I'm angry and think "time to queue up Ace of Base!" It kind of just depends on what happens to be on.

I decided that some Polyphonic Spree might be my "angry" music, so I chose Mental Cabaret, since I like the beat and dance-iness of it.

I apologize that this is a half-ass post.

Day 19 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-07-12T09:18:00.004-04:00

Where is July going?! It's already almost Bastille Day, which for me marks the middle of Summer. Also, the month of July is pretty much over for me and Ricky, since it'll just be a big blur. The next three weekends Ricky and I are attending weddings (sweet Jesus, people) so I know it'll be a crazy few weeks. I wanted to take a moment to continue on this meme, so it wouldn't languish as long as it has been.

Side note, I bought myself new black patent flats which I am loving, but they smell. Silly patent!

Day 19: A Song From Your Favorite Album

This was so hard, because I'm not sure what would be considered my favorite Album. Do I go classic (Rubber Soul)? Do I go newer (Funeral)? Do I go to an old standby (Innervisions)? Radiohead (The Bends or OK Computer)?

I think or this, I'll go all-time classic, with The Beatles' Rubber Soul. When you read the songs that are on this album, so many awesome songs are there. I think for this, I'll go with my favorite from side one, You Won't See Me. I think it's a catchy, pithy little song.

Or, if you're feeling more George-ish right now, here's my favorite from side two:

Breaking news from Garden 2011

2011-07-02T13:09:00.007-04:00

My Garden (aka Garden 2011) has produced it's first veggies! Three beautiful, photogenic, hopefully tasty radishes.

Oh and in other news, there's a sweet banana pepper growing as well.

Day 18 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-07-02T13:03:00.002-04:00

Today is such a perfect summer long holiday weekend day! I have exciting garden news, but I wanted to post this one first.

Day 18: A Song You Wish You Heard On The Radio

This one is kind of cheating, but mostly not. If I'm ever in my boss' car, she has WERS on (which I love, BTW). And they have an ad that has the instrumental beginning to The National's Karen, and I always get so excited since I love that song... but then some undergrad starts talking about their station, and I realize it's just an ad. Play the full song one day, WERS!!! Or if you do, play it when I happen to be in my boss' car driving to a storage facility across town!

A brief pause from the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-07-01T16:26:00.001-04:00

I have an idea of what I'll post for the following day, but I wanted to post a cute picture of Lewis trying to knit with his mitten paws.

This photo may or may not have been slightly staged by moving my knitting needles closer to his paws.

I mean, what?

Day 17 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-06-30T17:21:00.002-04:00

It's the end of June! How is that even possible? How is more than half of 2011 over? Are you all accomplishing everything you wanted to in the year 2011? Do you have a list of lofty goals that you publicly blog and then publicly don't quite live up to?

Day 17: A Song That You Hear Often On The Radio

I will admit, my time listening to the radio is pretty limited these days. I don't drive much anymore, I take a train to work, and when I'm at work I listen to CDs or podcasts. So I'm not prepared to answer this as well as I could have, say, 2 years ago when I had my old job.

I took a quick trip to the website of the radio station I used to listen to when commuting, hoping that they'd still be playing the same songs I would listen to when commuting. And many of those songs are the same. I decided to go with White Stripes' Icky Thump since I remember that song playing all the time back in those days. Maybe a little too much play? Not my call or job, but just saying...

I also think sometimes The White Stripes may be slightly overrated, but that may just be me.

Day 16 from the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-06-20T09:58:00.003-04:00

We're past the halfway mark! I am glad I'm doing this challenge, it's a nice way to blog and to think up inspiration. Sometimes, I find myself in a rut of things to talk about. Or I'll think "ooo I'll do a blog about all the places in Salem that have outdoor dining!" then realize "no, dummy, you did that last year."

I have some ideas to get back into the food part of my blog. I know there's a lot of other food blogs out there on the North Shore (North Shore Dish, Hello Gloucester or whatever it's called) but it's always fun to return to my college roots and write about food and the local dining culture.

Anyways...

Day 16: A Song You Used To Love And Now You Hate

This one is inspired by a day of cleaning with Ricky where he asked "why do you have Nelly Furtado's Whoa Nelly?" and me replying "because when I was in high school I loved that song so much Pete gave me the CD for Christmas".

That song got old, and I probably haven't popped that CD into its player in like 5 years. It's a song that has its charm in that it reminds me of high school and just beginning to realize what I like with music, but now I realize that it feels a little forced and contrived. There's just so much better stuff out there, but since I don't think Nelly's doing too much these days, I'm not alone in that thought.

Side note, I looked up Maneater by Nelly Furtado, and it's actually kind of catchy.

Day 15 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-06-15T10:18:00.002-04:00

Our work space is very cold, and my now cold tea isn't warming me up. I feel like a crazy person because I'm wearing a scarf and a coat right now. How do you deal with a cold shared workspace?

Day 15: A Song That Describes You

Whenever I do one of those memes and this question comes up, I usually just pick Girl by the Beatles, because I am a girl. But for this, I decided to actually think of a song. So I chose The Clash's Lost In A Supermarket, but I have no sense of direction or remembering visual locations, so there are multiple times when I'm at Target or Market Basket and have NO CLUE where I parked. Or I completely forget where food items are kept. In fact, this exact thing happened this past weekend when Ricky and I got out of a movie and had no clue where we parked.

Yep, it was a proud moment for me to be lost in the Target parking lot IN FRONT OF FRIENDS. Whoops!

Day 14 from the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-06-11T11:09:00.002-04:00

Part of me feels shame for posting this, and part of me does not.

Day 14: A Song No One Would Expect You To Love

My brother did this challenge on his FB, and I loved what he posted for his Day 14, which is Will Smith's Switch. Especially since I highly doubted that would have been his song. So, with that candor, I admit that I actually really get pumped up about Katy Perry's I Kissed A Girl...

And in case you were wondering (BONUS ROUND FOR DAY 14) it was between that and NWA's Straight Outta Compton...

Day 13 from the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-06-10T16:11:00.002-04:00

Isn't today just beautiful, if you live in Salem? The sun is shining, it's warm out. I spent some time gardening, then went to visit Jess, then Mum and Millie, and back here to surprise Ricky with a special treat for him. Oh, and I bought a lot of yarn and Lewis is running around with one of the skeins in his mouth as if it were his kill. I don't let him have yarn unattended (cats like to eat string and then it gets wrapped up in the intestines and it's bad) but sometimes I forget that I have a ball out when I'm home working on a project and he'll walk around the place as if he killed it. It's adorable.

Enough about me, onto today's music topic, which I actually love.

Day 13: A Song That Is A Guilty Pleasure

This was hard, because there's so many songs I love that I know are horrible. Ace of Base is dreadful, but when I hear It's a Beautiful Life on my iPod when I'm running, I get pumped. Meatloaf is a great power ballad for roadtrips. And so on. But for today, I went with my alltime favorite guilty pleasure.

ABBA.

I fucking love ABBA. They are award-winning*, after all. But they're so great. I've told Ricky if we ever got hitched, ABBA has to play at the reception at least twice. For today, I went with my favorite of their songs, SOS. I love the way the song sounds, but also check out this insane video. The girls are wearing CAT DRESSES. No, I stand corrected. They're T SHIRTS THAT ARE BELTED AND THERE ARE CATS ON THE SHIRTS.

It so embraces how cheesy it is. I love it. I also play this song at work all the time without shame. Loves you, ABBA.

*Eurovision, bitches.

Day 12 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-06-08T10:34:00.002-04:00

It's been a stressful week, so I'm happy I can take a few minutes to rant about a band I don't like.

Day 12: A Song From A Band You Hate

I think the word hate might be a bit too strong with this post, but it's still a good chance to rant about bad music. I really really dislike The Dave Matthews Band. A lot. All that jamming, frat boy at UConn trying to be alternative shit bugs me. I also clump Matchbox 20 and Phish into this ranting, even though I know their music doesn't really sound similar. But yeah. I can't stand Dave Matthews Band.

Friends of mine growing up in high school loved DMB and would wait up for the new album to be streamed on the radio, or go see their shows a million times. So awful. I honestly can't say I like any of their songs or would spend money on a concert.

This band was just coming into its own when I was ending high school, so a lot of "you're graduating" montages featured a DMB song or two. And definitely a fair share of summer mixes from friends and playlists and road trips. I'm happy to say it seems we've all grown up from that.

I chose Everyday, because this music video is also incredibly STUPID. (It was between Everyday and The Space Between, but really, either one could have worked) The guy is hugging strangers, and the commenters are eating it up. It's not deep or uplifting. The dude's hugging people. THAT'S IT. Then listen to the lyrics "all you need is all you want is love"... WHAT?!? That's not as profound as you want it to be Dave. And the Beatles did that in the 60's.

I will say the only highlight is that the actor in it is Judah Friedlander. And who doesn't love some Judah Friedlander?

Day 11 from the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-06-05T16:49:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I went to my college's 5 Year Reunion. It was both wonderful and bizarre and bittersweet and hilarious all at once. I will probably post soon about how you can never go back to a moment in time -- even if all your friends are there and you are at the place of that moment -- but how it's also nice to try and revisit every now and again. The campus is as beautiful as always, and walking around it telling stories with someone who didn't go there was a nice experience. Ricky was impressed I walked up and down that hill for four years, that I could traverse from one end of campus to the other in 10 minutes if need be, and how fun my friends can be when together. This year, I'm going to three HC weddings, so I think 2011 will have a lot of college nostalgia in it.

But anyways, that's for another post. Today we're cover this:

Day 11: A Song From Your Favorite Band

That's the Beatles, but because I feel like it's easy to do a Beatles song, I'll do one from my favorite Beatle, George Harrison. I recently dug out All Things Must Pass to give it a good listen, and it was great. I like returning to a record after years, gives it new perspective and new ears, like I'm listening to it all over again.

I chose If Not For You, which I've always thought was a very sweet and pretty love song. I also put this on a mix for Ricky when we first started dating, so it has special meaning for that way as well.

Day 10 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-06-03T10:16:00.003-04:00

There's a mouse at work! He's been running around here all morning, trying to get out or get to food. He's tiny and a little sad, but it's still a little stressful. Tim thinks we should name him Mr. Nibblecheese and make him our mascot. I think not so much.

Day 10: A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep

Radiohead's No Surprises is so beautiful and mellow and peaceful. If I can't fall asleep, I listen to it and it mellows me out.

Day 9 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-06-01T21:22:00.002-04:00

It's pretty intense out, and I think we'll be getting some bad thunderstorms. Lewis is worried that the house is going to go up in the air, we'll land over the rainbow, and all of a sudden I'll start wearing more colors. I told him no matter what happens, Mum will always wear earth tones.

Day 9: A Song You Can Dance To

Ricky and I have spent a lot of time talking about songs you can dance to this week. A friend of mine is having an iPod wedding, and a few years ago I was on TBTL discussing iPod weddings. Ricky and I would have one ourselves, and then made a list of songs we wanted to dance to. One that we both agreed had to be there was Don't Stop Til You Get Enough by MJ. Obvs.

And if you want to see the full list from my iPod wedding playlist, click here. Really, you could dance to any of those songs.

Day 8 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-05-31T22:07:00.002-04:00

I just spent almost 2+ hours on the phone with Comcast to hook up my wireless router. As you can see, it was successful in that I now have wireless internet. As you can also see, it was a bitch and half since it took over 2 hours. But I'm pleased that I was successful and have a new friend in Shane the possible Canadian who sat with me for an hour, determined to get me my nets.

Day 8: A Song That You Know All The Words To

This one was an easy choice, so I fondly remember studying this cassette tape when I was super little (like 7) practicing the words and hitting rewind on my cassette player to relisten to it. So it has to be They Might Be Giant's Birdhouse In Your Soul.

Side note, I also know the words to that intro, but that doesn't count because I would have skipped it to just listen to Birdhouse In Your Soul, but the limitations of 1990's technology didn't allow me to.

Garden 2011

2011-05-29T22:31:00.005-04:00

Today I planted the garden! I must say, it was nice not having to drag all my stuff up to the third floor like I did at my old apartment. Still a container garden, because we have no land. For my birthday, Ricky got me the book The City Homesteader by Scott Meyer, to give me other ideas on what to garden and how to have a country lifestyle in a city. Definitely a good read, I recommend checking it out. Because of this book, I'm expanding into more veggies, such as three varieties of pepper, eggplant, and miniature cucumbers. All three I read were good for containers, so here's hoping.

I'm also excited about all the herbs I'm growing, because I love fresh herbs and it'll make all our meals this summer that much tastier. The list of herbs was inspired by Apartment Therapy's list of the Top 10 Herbs to grow. Normally I just do basil and rosemary, but I decided to try others to make for a more flavorful summer. Going to be great!

Above are my three pepper plants (along with the pot I've designated for all our smoker friends to put their cigarettes so they don't dirty the walkway) and below are my herbs (back to front basil x 3, dill, mint lavender, cilantro, thyme) and veggies (back to front miniature cucumber and Japanese eggplant). Not featured are my parsley and my rosemary plants.

I also have some flowers, beans, and radishes growing from seeds, so it's just dirt right now and not very exciting. The book says multiple times that radishes are very quick to produce, so I'm hoping to have a few batches of them.

I'll be posting pictures as they grow along with my bounty. Hope that they turn out nice, the squirrel next door doesn't eat everything, and that they all taste good. I also can't wait to sit out on my porch around my plants and enjoy it all summer long. Something I definitely missed when I lived in that studio, and one of my favorite parts of this new apartment.

Day 7 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-05-29T09:18:00.002-04:00

Dance, postcards, dance!

It's Sunday morning. Ricky's watching The Killing On Demand and Lewis is running around everywhere, trying to get into things. Little does he know he's going to the groomer in a few hours to get his nails clipped and to visit the shelter where we adopted him from. They haven't seen him since he was a wee bit of a thing, and now he's almost 6 months. Little guy's getting so big!

Day 7: A Song That Reminds You Of A Certain Event

I think maybe because of my upcoming college reunion, and even a little bit of yesterday's post, but I've been thinking a bit more about college this weekend. I think for my Event, I will choose a song from my first full-length directing piece, The Wedding On The Eiffel Tower. To this day, it's my proudest accomplishment when it comes to theatre.

I made a really unique piece, while a lot of it was my work and ideas, another big part of it was a huge collaboration. Pete had inspired a lot of the music choices, and Erin and Danielle (both castmembers) had suggested pieces that made the cut. This great girl named Jen choreographed the whole thing. And while a lot of it was structured, I gave a lot of room for my actors to improv and create on their own. It was a lot of building up for me, but also a lot of letting go to make the performances what they could be. A huge lesson for myself.

I've been thinking about Eiffel Tower a lot more recently, too, when Erin got engaged in Paris. Originally it was supposed to be by the Eiffel Tower, but apparently it's too many people there to safely propose.

Of all the songs, I think I'll do the big dance number, which was Frank Zappa's Peaches En Regalia. All the postcards danced during this, and it was very funky and cool. I think Erin even still remembers parts of the dance.

Day 6 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-05-28T10:12:00.002-04:00

I seem to have lost some steam with this, and I apologize. Classes started this week at school, so it was a lot of busy time with the kids. Also, the Bruins were playing a lot of playoff hockey, which took up my evening free time. They're in the Stanley Cup Finals now, but I'll still make sure I have time for this.

Day 6: A Song That Reminds You Of Somewhere

This one has been difficult, I think. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my undergrad experience at HC. My five-year reunion is coming up next weekend (eek!) and I realized that I graduated from college five years ago on Thursday, May 26. I've done a lot in five years, and yet at the same time it seems like yesterday that I was sitting in Kimball Dining Hall with Erin and Tim. I've gone back a few times since then, mainly for plays and one Commencement, but it's not the same. College on a campus is such a special time, and you really can't recapture that. This is not to say it was the best four years of my life -- because I think it's sad to have peaked at 22 -- but it was a memorable and special four years.

But the remembering part hasn't been the difficult part... it's the decision of what song! Do I pick my college song, O Holy Cross? Do I pick songs I used for theatre pieces I directed? Do I pick a song that friends turned me onto?

So I think for this post, knowing that a lot of music played a big part of my college life, I will pick Float On by Modest Mouse. That album came out in the middle of college, and I feel like Float On played pretty much every weekend, at whatever party or hang out I was on, and we'd all sing the lyrics. And whenever I hear those opening notes and guitar strums, I can think of various groups of friends in a dorm or a party singing it. This is one of those songs that no matter who I was with, too, they'd love that album. So don't you worry, we'll all float on.

Day 5 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-05-18T20:37:00.003-04:00

Ricky's watching The Big Chill right now on TV, and before I go join him I wanted to post today's, since I had been thinking about it all day long and decided that this would be the best option for the day.

Day 5: A Song That Reminds You Of Someone

Perhaps it's because we just bought some concert tickets, and also because my brothers, mom, and I have been talking about this band a lot lately, I chose Other 99 by Big Audio Dynamite. While my brothers and I were brought up on The Clash, we were almost brought up more by Big Audio Dynamite. We knew all the songs by heart, danced to them, and still quote them. BAD is coming to The House of Blues in August, and we all jumped at the chance to get tickets. (yep, going to a show at the House of Blues with my mom. Deal with it, Cate Blanchett)

Whenever I hear a snippet of a BAD song, I think of being little and growing up with my brothers and my mom. Every day we thank the music Gods that my mom is cool and taught us to love and appreciate good music, and that we don't know much about Top 40 except for what we learned in college. But we know all about The Cars, BAD, The Clash, Elvis Costello, and so on.

I've always loved the beat to Other 99, and find myself quoting it often. Everything's not always great, sometimes it's just fine. I ain't with the 100 crowd, I'm with the 99.

And you can bet that when they play this song in August, I will be dancing my little heart out.

And BONUS ROUND! the live version

Day 4 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-05-17T22:19:00.002-04:00

There was a bit of a hiatus, since I went to a wedding over the weekend and work was busy. More on the wedding later. I was also hesitant to post this day's song with the happiness over the weekend.

Day 4: A Song That Makes You Sad

This was an easy choice, unfortunately. More than any song, The Beatles' In My Life has been linked to sad times in my life. But I also feel like that's the case for everyone. Who hasn't heard this song at a graduation or a funeral?

I've heard this song at both, and in very sad contexts. When Jack died, his sister did the eulogy. She read the lyrics to this song at the end, and there was not a dry eye in the church. And a year earlier, when Ms Wieditz my high school music teacher disappeared on a scuba diving trip and was never found again, at both her memorial concert and the graduation the year after she passed away the chorus sang this song in honor of her. Both were filled with emotion, sweetness, and this pang of premature loss.

And while the song tries to keep an upbeat message at the end -- that despite all the loss and comings and goings we experience in live, I'll always remember and love you the most of all -- remembering this song in the context of that loss makes me very sad. There were many years where I couldn't even listen to that song without welling up. With time, that reaction has become less intense, but whenever I think of it, I think of those two people and get quite sad and nostalgic.

Day 3 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-05-12T08:14:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was a brief hiatus in this challenge, because I wasn't at a computer until late at night, and was too tired to think of songs. But I am well rested and back at it. And this is a great choice for today.

Day 3: A Song That Makes You Happy

No, I will not be choosing "If It Makes You Happy".

When I'm stressed, I often turn to music. And the last few weeks/months have been very stressful. So I've been listening to a lot of upbeat, happy, and genuinely fun songs as of late.

The one I'm choosing to highlight is MGMT's Art Is Everywhere. They wrote it and performed it for the TV show Yo Gabba Gabba, which I've sung the praises of in the past. I like that it's under 2 minutes, has a nice message, a fun beat, but is also kind of relaxed, too. Definitely recommend checking out the songs that have been on Yo Gabba Gabba, since it's just as much for adults as it is for children. They make a nice random song on a mix, too.

Day 2 of the 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-05-10T08:49:00.004-04:00

I have this whole week off, so I'm hoping to bang out a few of these before going back to work.

Day 2: Your Least Favorite Song

This was also difficult because just like there are so many shitty, awful songs out there. I had even written a note on Facebook a few years back highlighting my top 10 least favorite songs. I reviewed it to see if any stood out for this... and they did. But the question was: which one to choose??

I decided on Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline, for a host of reasons. I've found the simple tune annoying for years. There was all this hype about revealing who the song's about... and it was Caroline Kennedy, which is kind of lame. It's overplayed at Sox games and has NOTHING TO DO WITH SPORTS OR BOSTON. I could go on and on.

So Neil, enjoy this brief moment in the sun and on my blog, because I don't see it happening again in the foreseeable future.