HIP HIP HOORAY FOR ANGIE KIRK

Angie is one of the coolest girls I know. The thing you'll walk away with after meeting her is her giggle. You'll want to hear it all the time because it's as addicting as sugar! Happy Birthday beautiful Angie! I hope you aren't at work today.

I'M A NEW MEMBER

This morning I was driving to work, listening to NPR {via KUER} and I realized how many of their shows I listen to and enjoy. Here is a short list in no particular order:

1. Diane Rehm
2. Radio West
3. Car Talk
   
4. Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me
5. This American Life
6. Morning Edition
7. All Things Considered

So {drumroll} I called in and became a new member with a donation of $40! The best part was when they read my name on the air. I felt so responsible at that moment.

HOORAY FOR KARI MASON

Subtitled: I'm a terrible friend!

Kari celebrated her birthday yesterday and I failed to acknowledge it in true blogging fashion. Please, Kari, know that it wasn't as a result of me loving you any less but more a result of trying to dig myself out of the quagmire of doing "crap work" {according to my boss}.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of my favorite people on the planet. I developed a girl-crush on Kari within days of meeting her and it's never waned. It's true love, you see.

















Things I love about Kari {the short list}:

• No one can hold a candle to Kari's shopping talents
• She can wear stuff from kids Gap {not sure if this is something I love or something I covet}
• She has a darling little girl named Ellie who looks like a pixie and is the poster miracle baby
• She is truly in love with her husband; you can tell how much just by looking at her face when she sees him
• Kari has the warmest most genuine personality and is kind to everyone
• I like myself more when I'm around her
• Her strength and determination are one of her greatest allures
• She is BEAUTIFUL
• Kari is honest. She will tell you that your hair is funky or the jeans you bought don't look super hot on you. This will always make her someone who's opinion I trust {she liked Nate immediately...see, she's spot on}
• She drove 4-hours round trip to be at my wedding
• She glows
  

VISUAL DNA

I have found a new blog I like called How About Orange... Jessica has a lot of fun projects that even the most novice DIYer can successfully perform. BUT, what I've really enjoyed today are her little personality quizzes. Along with the right vs left brain quiz, here is one that captures your visual DNA.
What about me? Well, unfortunately the widget is working so here is where I fall.

PERSONALITIES:
Mood=dreamer
Fun=escape artist
Habits=back to basics
Love=love bug

RIGHT OR LEFT HEMISPHERE: WHO RULES YOU?

Apparently, I'm almost right down the middle in terms of my intuition and my articulation. Look at me all well adjusted and balanced for once.

Brain Lateralization Test Results

Right Brain (48%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain. Left Brain (42%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain

Take your quick 30 second quiz here.

DREAM BEDROOM

I am in love with this bedroom. I want it. Everything. I think the bedding alone would send me to the poorhouse.

HOORAY FOR DISCOUNT BEDDING

I stopped in at DownEast Outfitter {my new once-a-week addiction} and found a Pottery Barn quilt and shams at a fabulous discount price. Nate and I have been looking for something to go on our gigantic king bed and this was one of the finalists. So you can imagine my glee when I picked up the quilt for $100 and the shams at $9.99 each.
















They remind me a little of the bedding on the cover of March Domino magazine.

THE MEAN FRIEND

Were you the mean friend in high school? Did you say, unforgivably, to some boy obviously interested in you and even more scared to death of you, "don't even look at me."
I wasn't the mean friend. But I also wasn't the girl that all mean friends verbally punched and kicked either. Granted, there were times when, for some unknown reason, my friends would decide they weren't eating lunch with me one day. Or, they'd all wear a certain color and forget to tell me so I didn't fit in. But I think that's the usual fare for junior high and high school.
What I do know intimately are the results of those terrible days where I felt like an outsider in every respect. That hollow feeling; seeing the world in a blur where everything sounds like I was listening with my head in a bucket of water - those feelings I hope NEVER to cause in someone else. Now I try to remember everyone's birthday. I try to let everyone know they are welcome at lunch, or a party or my house. If I accomplish only one thing in my lifetime, it will be to avoid making someone else's stomach hurt the way mine did on a particularly difficult day in junior high.
Ira Glass, host of This American Life on NPR and the show of the same name on Showtime, did a fabulous story this week entitled, The Allure of the Mean Friend. This is a great listen with clever commentary and great first-hand experience from individuals who were the mean friend or a victim of the mean friend. I giggled; oh how I giggled.

















{isnt' Ira cute!}

DIY: OUR DRESSER

We've been, well, I've been trying to figure out the perfect DIY finish for our old dresser. Something to make it look nice and special for the new room. I originally thought I'd stain it a dark walnut color but the wood didn't take the stain the way I thought it would. The dark parts of the grain went VERY dark and the light parts of the grain went golden. It looks like a tiger. I like tigers, but I don't want one sitting in my bedroom with my clothes in its fat belly.

I then decided to paint it black - but now, for real, I'm choosing a paint color similar to our bed and I'm painting it to match. I think this will help the bedroom look less like a college bedroom and more like one that hosts two thirty-somethings. We'll get a bit more eclectic with side tables, a mirror and a settee/chair. My goal is to get the dresser painted and add the hardware before Nate comes back from Texas.

Here is what our bed looks like. I mentioned it at length here. We bought a fabulous Serta mattress and have been sleeping comfortably on it for a week. It's like a giant cloud.

YAHOO FOR CAROLYN FORD!

It's Carolyn (heiress to the Ford Motor Billions!) Ford's birthday today. Take a minute and tell her how fun she is and maybe, just maybe, she'll give you some money. Cheers Carolyn!

SPRING MEANS FEMININE

Thank goodness Forever21 is there for us.

PIMP YOUR OFFICE AND OTHER GREAT STUFF

Alexander Kjerulf, author of the blog Chief Happiness Officer, has a great post about pimping your office with some very interesting furniture. I work for a Technical Analyst firm so you know there's not a chance on this earth that I'll ever have a meeting on this fabulous bike. But someone out there can, should, and will. Read more here.

PRETTY HEADBOARD

From Brocade Home.

WILL IT BLEND?

Apparently this guy is a blending guru and has run many experiments. Kudos to Novell for their unique perspective and, especially, for the mushy green slop! If you are patient and wait for this to download, you'll witness what must be the most powerful blender in the world.

REASON #7

This will be the last reason in my series of how/why Kristin is luckier than me. I bet none of you thought I'd go there; I'm going there.

{drum roll}

Only one of us got "lie'd" in Hawaii and that lucky girl was NOT me!

MUG SHOTS: THE OBSESSION CONTINUES

I've posted before about how much I like old celebrity mug shots. Now that I'm in my house and have plenty of blank walls, I'm thinking about getting a few of my favorites printed up and framed. {johnny cash, jane fonda, rosa parks}.

GET YOUR AMIE FIX

Amie and her husband are leaving for Mexico tomorrow. While I'm very excited for them to relax and soak up the sun, I'm NOT excited about what it means for me. The office will seem a little quieter and it won't be nearly as much fun for an entire week. My modus operondi today is to capture the quintiscential Amie with my camera so I won't miss her as much while she's gone! How cute is she?



Here's just an ever-so-gentle reminder as to why Amie is going on vacation. She's bo(red). I do believe this is her audition photo for "Girls Gone Wild" Cancun.

CONGRATULATIONS KINDEE AND RUSS!

My friend Kindee gets married tomorrow. I met Kindee on my trip to Africa; she actually runs the show and guides the humanitarian trips, you see. But besides being really adventurous, organized and motivated - she's so cute and fun. Nate and I will stop by their reception tonight to celebrate and wish them well.

COTTAGE KITCHEN

If I lived somewhere light and airy, near the ocean, I'd make sure it looked like this on the inside. Nate, of course, would shrivel up and die with all the girliness!






















{image from Coastal Living, Design Assistant}

HIP HIP HOORAY FOR KIM WRIGHT

If you see Kim today, wish her a happy birthday. She also likes it when people dance for her. Not like "Dancing with The Stars" kind of dancing {although she probably wouldn't mind that either} but retro style dancing like "running man" or "roger rabbit". Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Kim, you know if we still worked together I'd be there in your doorway dancing my heart out! Happy Birthday!
















{image from Martha Stewart}

SIMPLE KIND OF LIFE

There was a time when I was obsessed with this song. I listened to it night and day just longing for something simple. I think I'd also love to have pink hair and look this fabulous with it. I'm happy to report that life with Nate is anything but simple. It's chaotic and complicated and perfect.

PRETTY FLOWERS

We celebrated Ruth and Ryan's forthcoming baby boy last weekend. Look at the pretty flowers that decorated the table {thanks Costco}.

REASON #6

Today, I heard that my boss thinks I do crap work. Today Kristin probably woke up to the sound of the ocean, later enjoyed the people she loves laughing, and finally, finished off with some groovy Hawaiian drum and the ruffling of grass skirts.

POSTCARDS: MORE THEN MEETS THE EYE

Today on NPR Doug Fabrizio interviewed Frank Warren, Author of the postsecret blog and author/compilor of PostSecret: Extrodinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives, My Secret: A PostSecret Book, and The Secret Lives of Men and Women: A PostSecret Book.
Frank started this amazing social art project where people send in handmade postcards and include a secret they've been keeping {some happy, some sad, some haunting}.
This originated in the DC area where Frank handed out 3,000 blank postcards with directions {he also stuck some in books at the library and other places where people would seridipitously find them} with his address already filled in. The project has perpetuated and he now gets nearly 400 postcards a day. The postsecrets blog is updated every sunday with new selections he's received that week.
Totally fascinating concept. I wish I was motivated to do such a thing.





























































Another conceptual art project? "Greetings from New Orleans" explores the morality of pedestrians. If you found a postcard, filled out, addressed and stamped, would you drop it in the post? Justin Lundgren ran such a discrete study. Read what he discovered here. Justin took original photographs around New Oleans, printed them as postcards and then wrote messages on them. He addressed them all to his parent's home in Ohio and waited to see how many, if any were actually found and mailed. Here is a sample of his work.












Message on back read: "Dear Jen, Greetings from New Orleans, Forgive me for getting a tad nostalgic about our trip here last year, but the memories are strong. Zydeco at the Rock-n-Bowl, cabbage catching at the Irish parade, faking your birthday at Bayona for a free dessert. No disrespect to Sophie but this trip has been kind of blah. Frankly I don't see this thing going on much longer. You think I could give you a call when I get back? Jake"

REASON #5

Kristin is sure to be enjoying a heli-tour of some Hawaiian volcano on her tropical vaca. Today, my co-worker Karl flew his remote control helicopter up my skirt. Perv!


















Hand model: Amie

REASON #4

Whilst I was dragging my trash can through the rain soaked mud this morning, Kristin was likely to be bathed in volcanic, purifying, mineral enriched mud during her Hawaiian spa treatment.

PRETTY RING I'LL NEVER OWN

This is Kate Beckinsale's wedding ring close up. Pretty, eh? I've heard rumors that it was in the ballpark of $75k. I'm wishing someone I know would own this ring so I can see it upclose. I know a likely candidate...

PRETTY BEACH BOTTLES

Rosanna has a pretty collection of bottles in colors of the sea. Wouldn't these look pretty on a bookshelf of mantel? Much like her intention, they look like apothacary bottles washed up on the beach. I'm really inspired by pale, worn shades of blue and similar shades of green. I feel instantly creative and relaxed.























Pretty shades of green and blue at West Elm {vases no longer available but still pretty to look at}.

LAYERS CLOTHING

I think I'll buy this cute dress from Layers Clothing. Brittany {work friend} informed me of their big sale and this dress ends up at just $23. I love how it looks with a long sleeve tee underneath. Sorry, can't show you a photo on the post, you'll have to click here; trust me, it's cute.

PRAGUE OR BUST

I've been to Prague. It was so much fun to walk on the Charles Bridge, stare at a language that didn't even look remotely pronouncable, and read bits of Milan Kundera's Immortality {one of my alltime favorite reads} while sitting on a park bench.
If any of this sounds fun to you, consider taking advantage of Travelzoo's deal: six nights including air for $549.
















A gesture cannot be regarded as the expression of an individual, as his creation (because no individual is capable of creating a fully original gesture, belonging to nobody else), nor can it even be regarded as that person’s instrument; on the contrary, it is gestures that use us as their instruments, as their bearers and incarnations.
{From Immortality}

GARBAGE, GIRL!

This morning played out one of the more ridiculous moments of my life. Here are the details.





















image from wormulon.net.

Timeline of Events
6:30am: Nate leaves for Novell BrainShare and takes the garbage can to the alley behind our house {as directed by our "welcome to the community" documents}

8:15am: I call BFI {waste management purchased by Allied Waste Services} to explain that a garbage truck will have a time trying to drive down our alley right now because of all the construction.

8:20am: I call the City of South Jordan to explain that a garbage truck will have a time trying to drive down our alley right now because of all the construction {at the recommendation of BFI}

8:30am: The City confirms that during construction our garbage can should, in fact, be left in front of our house.

Break for Explanation

The way houses in our neighborhood sit, you only have garage access through the alley that runs behind the homes. At this point, all finished homes have just topsoil in lieu of actual grass and landscaping since it is still semi-winter in Utah. There are no sidewalks or pathways from the alley to the front of the house so the only way to take the trash can to the front is:
1) to drag it all the way around the block.
2) Drag it through the topsoil {um, it rained lastnight} through two gates, more topsoil, front curb.

End of Explanation

8:35am: Option 2 sounded faster so I threw off my heels, slipped on some flip flops by the back door and started to drag our 2,000 lb garbage can through the mushy, muddy topsoil.

8:35am: Did I fail to mention that the place was crawling with construction workers?

8:45am: Yes, it did take me this long to get the garbage can through the back yard only to find out that I went the wrong way. Only one side of our backyard has a gate that opens up to the front yard. I chose the wrong side.

8:55am: After dragging the garbage can back to the alley I looked at the other gate, leading through the other side of our backyard and on to the front curb. My legs were covered in mud up to my calves and my flip flops were about 3" higher with mud build up. I couldn't bare the thought.

9:05am: I dragged the garbage can begrudgingly around the block, trying to kick the mud off my flip flops {it still remained on my feet and legs} and still look feminine in my skirt.

9:05am: Construction workers are all around and still watching me. And laughing.

9:07am: I tip-toe through the house with mud on my feet, into the master bath and into the tub where I rinse off from the knee down.

9:15am: I slip into my heels, jump in the car and curse waste management as I drive by and wave at all the construction workers who have watched the entire process.

Should taking out the garbage really take an hour? {correct answer: NO!}

REASON #3

The third reason Kristin is luckier than me is that while I dine on turkey chili and a bagel at my desk, she nibbles legitimate fish tacos and sips fancy tropical drinks on the beach. This is really no competition, is it?

ROTHKO: GOOD FOR THE SOUL

Mark Rothko (1903-1970) was a Latvian-born American artist who's signature style {bold blocks of contrasting and complimentary colors} surfaced in 1949 and continues to inspire me today. I'd love to own an original someday.