Dubya Gets It

“Because you have a lot of people on here and I’m trying to sell books.”

-Dubya to the Zuck, on why he is on Facebook

OMGlee

I never thought Mr. Schuster was hot... until this picture.

RIP Mr. Nielsen

"It's the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day."

I remember watching Naked Gun all the time when I was a kid (I know, not really child-appropriate, but whatever). We had it recorded off TV on aVHS tape.... makes me feel old now that you can probably see Leslie save the Queen in hi def or blu-ray or 3D.

RIP.

Happy

I like finding new blogs to read. I especially like it when they have cute wedding photos like this one.

From Peace Love Lauren

#weddingwednesday

Give Thanks

Makes ya think, huh?

I'm heading off to Washington, DC to spend Thanksgiving with my family (my sister and brother-in-law and their cats live there). Looking forward to sightseeing, crisp fall weather and relaxing with family. I'm lucky.

Happy Thanksgiving, kiddos.

Sign Me Up

Wait, this is what biking is like? Ok, then I'm in.

From Destined to Design

Still Hot

Oh yeah, that reminds me. Who wants to watch the VS Angels Fashion Show with me next week?

Blue Skies

It's been dark and dreary for days, but today it is sunny. And that makes me happy.

From Etsy

Go Red.

Last year I was really pining over a pair of red jeans... and I never bought them. Seeing Kendi's outfit is making me think twice.

Party in Stlye

Most stylish wedding party ever? Yes.

From Our Labor of Love

#weddingwednesday

Disgusting Isn't an Option?

Feeling Festive

Tower Grove Park

Emily Thompson wreath

caramel apples

It is so yucky out today. It is dark and grey and chilly. What happened to my pretty fall? 

And speaking of fall, I'm feeling particularly festive today because Sunday I'm celebrating turkey day with my mom's side of the family AND this time next week, I'll be heading to DC to spend Thanksgiving with my sister and her husband. Bring on the bacon turkey!

Thanks Gap

Gap + Christmas + Ryan = LOVE

On Rotation: Florence + Treme

I rarely listen to the radio anymore. And I don't have one of those fancy iPod plugins in my car (heck, I don't even have one of those fancy iPods!). I like CDs.

I used to be an advocate of (alphabetically-ordered) mix CDs, but nowadays I'm rarely listening to something other than a band's CD or a soundtrack that I borrowed from Jason's Dropbox bought at the store or on iTunes.

Tucked away in my side compartment are Avett Brothers, Lady Gaga, Mumford & Sons, The National, Brandi Carlile, Ray LaMontagne.... just to name a few. But right now, I'm constantly rotating between Florence + The Machine and the Treme Soundtrack.

Florence + The Machine is this amazing blues-y/dance hybrid. It reminds me of the Eurythmics or A Fine Frenzy and I love it. The only official music video I could find was from Twilight (ew), but you've got to got to got to watch their performance at this year's VMAs. It blew my mind. While my favorite song of theirs changes on a weekly basis, right now I'm loving 'Between Two Lungs.'


And Treme, oh Treme. Have you ever watched this show? It is set in post-Katrina New Orleans and literally revolves around the music. Most of the main characters are either musicians themselves or, as is typical in NOLA, appreicate the musical culture that thrives in their city. The song from the opening credits is enough to get me watching (and listening).


Happy listening.
#musicmonday

Oh Wine-O

  

Tonight I'm heading to Sasha's for a friend's birthday (and I know Carlie is jealous!). It is weird to think I used to not drink wine and now it is one of my favorite things to do (and side note, why is it that drinking wine all the time is classy, but drinking beer/liquor all the time makes you and alcoholic? Interesting).

Oh, and then friend is this gal. Wish her a happy birthday. And read her blog. 

Images here & here.

Potter Princess

Miss Watson seriously rocked it at the Harry Potter premiere. I'm loving her new, pretty, grown-up style. Aren't you?

I Cooked!

I know that doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is. My 'cooking' usually consists of one of those 10-minute pasta packs or steam-in-the-microwave veggies. Okay, technically I still used frozen broccoli last night, but let's just focus on the hummus and spinach stuffed chicken I made....

Here's the recipe (I found it here):

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup hummus
• 8 or so spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• Spice Belnd (I used a sun-dried tomato and basil mix)

Pound the chicken breast to thin it out (Careful, chicken is slippery. I did not know this). I just layered mine between two ziploc baggies because I didn't have plastic wrap (and yes, I am aware it would have been easier to put it inside the bag). Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil.

Smear some hummus on each flattened piece of chicken. Follow up with the spinach leaves, spice blend and some parmesan cheese.

Now roll it up. Sprinkle each chicken roll-up with some salt, pepper, spices and some Parmesan cheese. My tip? Season the side where the fold is... You'll see why in a minute.

Add the chicken to the skillet, seasoned and parmed side down. Here's where seasoning the side with the fold comes in handy! When I did it, I seasoned the other side, so when I set it on the pan it immediately came unfolded and got really messy. If you put the folded side down first, to should cook close... if that makes sense. Anyway, go ahead and season the side facing up and let it brown for a couple of minutes.

Flip it over and brown the second side. Add the orange juice and broth to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cover partially and let cook until the chicken is done.

Remove the chicken and drizzle some of the sauce on top to fancy it up.

Nom, nom, nom. That picture isn't mine... I borrowed it from the website where I got the recipe. But mine was actaully pretty good! I impressed myself.

Fierce.

From Dress Design and Decor

Tech Love

In recent years, my Christmas list is usually made up of clothes, with the occassional pair of boots, DVDs or other knick knack thrown in. This year, I'm thinking it is about time I add some techy goodness to the list too. Here's what I'm pining over right now:

USB Tulip Hub

Grassy Lawn Charging Station

Ceramic Alarm Clock

I'm also really in need of a good iPad stand.... but I don't even use mine enoug as it is to tell what I need my stand to do. Right now, propping it up against the wall to watch movies is about as innovative as I get....

And PS, I just realized I don't have a 'tech' category. Hmm. I tagged this as 'web.' If I didn't already have so many posts, I would completely redo these categories....

We Said Vows

we said vows. from Jeremy on Vimeo.
I post about wedding stuff all the time, and as easy as it is to get mixed up in the dresses, the rings, the photographer and the flowers, this video reminds me what it is really about.

Read their full elopement story here.

#weddingwednesday

Lego Love

Build Anything from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.

My brother is a Lego fanatic, so we've always had these little toys laying around our house. This video makes me happy.

An Extra Hour

Don't you think Mondays are particularly difficult when you're coming off of a fabulous weekend? That's where I am right now. I had a pub crawl on Main Street in St. Charles on Friday, a lazy Saturday followed by bowling with friends and movie night with the boy, and an epic Sunday funday trip to Illinois for Fast Eddie's, Loading Dock and Rotten Apple. Now, all I want to do is chat with my friends about the good times we had, upload my photos to Facebook (too bad that high res uploader takes for-e-ver) and, let's be honest, maybe lay in bed and watch movies all day. Needless to say, my 'Focus' Vitamin Water is necessary today. 

And to top it all off, we got an extra hour this weekend! Isn't it funny how, even though it was just one extra hour, I felt like I got another one every time I changed a clock? An extra hour to watch Spongebob Squarepants sleep in on Sunday. An extra hour of drinking at the Loading Dock. And in bed an hour early Sunday night. Daylight Savings rocks. 

Happy Monday, folks. 

Officially Fall

It's officially fall.

The leaves are changing, I need a jacket to go outside and I'm probably turning my heat on this weekend. Where did the summer go? Seriously. I'm okay with the fall, because I love it, but I'm in no rush for winter.

This weekend will be spent having good times with good friends a little away from home- in St. Charles and Grafton, IL. Hopefully, I'll have some solid stories/pics to share.

Oh, and PS that pic was taken with the Retro Camera app on my Droid at Eckert's a couple weeks ago. Not bad, eh?

Pretty Girl

Emma Watson in Marie Claire

Daphne

I saw this post on Jose's blog and had to share some of it:

My Son is Gay

Or he’s not. I don’t care. He is still my son. And he is 5. And I am his mother. And if you have a problem with anything mentioned above, I don’t want to know you.

... So a few weeks before Halloween, Boo decides he wants to be Daphne from Scooby Doo, along with his best friend E. He had dressed as Scooby a couple of years ago. I was hesitant to make the purchase, not because it was a cross gendered situation, but because 5 year olds have a tendency to change their minds. After requesting a couple of more times, I said sure and placed the order. He flipped out when it arrived. It was perfect.

... And then the big day arrives. We get dressed up. We drop Squirt at his preschool and head over to his. Boo doesn’t want to get out of the car. He’s afraid of what people will say and do to him. I convince him to go inside. He halts at the door. He’s visibly nervous. I chalk it up to him being a bit of a worrier in general. Seriously, WHO WOULD MAKE FUN OF A CHILD IN A COSTUME ON HALLOWEEN? So he walks in. And there were several friends of mine that knew what he was wearing that smiled and waved and gave him high-fives. We walk down the hall to where his classroom is.

And that’s where things went wrong.... Mom C approaches. She had been in the main room, saw us walk in, and followed us down the hall to let me know her thoughts. And they were that I should never have ‘allowed’ this and thank God it wasn’t next year when he was in Kindergarten since I would have had to put my foot down and ‘forbidden’ it. To which I calmly replied that I would do no such thing and couldn’t imagine what she was talking about. She continued on and on about how mean children could be and how he would be ridiculed.

My response to that: The only people that seem to have a problem with it is their mothers.

... If you think that me allowing my son to be a female character for Halloween is somehow going to ‘make’ him gay then you are an idiot. Firstly, what a ridiculous concept. Secondly, if my son is gay, OK. I will love him no less. Thirdly, I am not worried that your son will grow up to be an actual ninja so back off.

If my daughter had dressed as Batman, no one would have thought twice about it. No one.

But it also was heartbreaking to me that my sweet, kind-hearted five year old was right to be worried. He knew that there were people like A, B, and C. And he, at 5, was concerned about how they would perceive him and what would happen to him.

... And all I hope for my kids, and yours, and those of Moms ABC, are that they are happy. If a set of purple sparkly tights and a velvety dress is what makes my baby happy one night, then so be it. If he wants to carry a purse, or marry a man, or paint fingernails with his best girlfriend, then ok. My job as his mother is not to stifle that man that he will be, but to help him along his way. Mine is not to dictate what is ‘normal’ and what is not, but to help him become a good person.

Read the full post here.

Put A Ring On It

Just reminding everyone that this isn't some plea to get married... I'm perfectly happy with things the way they are in my life right now and no pretty white dress or fancy photo is going to change that. However, isn't this ring lovely?

Featured on A Little Sussy

#weddingwednesday

'Back to the Future' Analysis. Hilarity Ensues.

I'd love to see the Forest Gump analysis.

Aww Sheet

Sometimes I fear that my house will always look like a twelve-year-old tried to decorate a TGI Fridays. Step one on my 'growing up' plan is to buy new bedding. Right now, I've got pink jersey sheets (but they are so comfy!) and a bare whote comforter on top (I could cover it with my blue flannel duvet covered in yellow stars. Very adult, I know). But I'm currently eyeing these basic striped sets from The Land of Nod and Dwell Studio. 

A Tale of Two Cities

 Love these Paris vs NYC illustrations

Keep Things in Perspective. I'd Rather Vote.

I love this sign from DC's Rally to Restore Sanity (check out more of the posters here. They're funny.). Really puts things in persepctive, no?

Speaking of restoring sanity, tomorrow is election day ya know. Are you voting? You should.

My friend (and former TJ finalist) Jose is leading the #idrathervote campaign. Get it? I'd rather vote than complain. I'd rather vote that sit around and do nothing.... You finish the sentence. (Seriously, post this on Twitter: '#IdRatherVote than [insert message here]! Find your polling place here: http://tiny.cc/idrathervote').

And Jose is making this all super easy. You can check out his blog to find out where your polling place is and what's on your ballot. AND BONUS: When you vote, you get a special Foursquare badge. Win!

“I’d Rather Vote” is a collaborative effort organized by Jose Iniguez in conjunction with John Thrasher, Dannielle Owens-Reid, Ryan Carlos, Tomicha Cassel, Danielle Lynn, Ryan Lytle, KayKi, and Elizabethany.