I got 5 on it

If anyone is just tuning in, here's the second half of the 10 things that make me happy that I began yesterday.

Obviously, there's tons more I could write about (Craigslist, Red Bull, Harold and Maude, Papa John's pizza, "that's what she said" jokes, Intervention, but I think that's all been pretty well documented in my real life or my online life here on my Internet diary friend).

On to the list...

5. Belgian beer. I can't drink it too often because I need my clothes to fit. But it's so delicious. One of my favorite Saturdays is when we go to beer school at the Map Room.

It's getting really popular, so it's sold out the last few times we've tried to attend. But really, what's better than drinking and learning?

4. Terrariums. My love for plants has also been well documented on this site, but I'm adding them again because they're so important to my well-being.


I love having bursts of life around the house--especially in the winter. It makes everything somehow feel more fresh and alive.

3. This is kind of a two-for-one entry: My co-workers and snacks.


They spelled my name out in donuts for my last day at my current job. Everyone wants their name spelled in lights, but pastries suit me just fine! How literally/figuratively sweet is this?

2. While I'll miss a lot about my job, I'm super excited to kick things off here. I feel so lucky to have this opportunity; it's basically a dream job for me. Plus, everyone has been so nice so far, and I can't wait to be working with some crazy gorgeous stuff.

1. And finally, the three amigos, the main guys in my life: Otis, Harvey and Marc.


They're the cutest, most fun roommates ever...even if they have their faults (howling incessantly at 3 am, digging up plants, being a finicky eater, respectively). They're the best trio in the world to come home to every day!

I'm going to tag someone else today too! Jess at The Wife of an Artist, you're up!

Lucky 10

Erin at the fabulous Design Crisis tagged me to round up ten things that make me happy. Right now, I'm wrapping up things at my current job all while learning the ropes for my new gig,which involves a big gear switch and two trade shows in the next week. So things have been more than a little hectic for the past two weeks or so. Adding this round up as just one more task to my gigantico to-do list almost sent me over the edge...until I started doing it.

Seriously, so much drama is making me focus on all the irritating things such as the fact that if I don't do laundry tonight, my swimwear is going to have to pull double duty as undergarments. Which in turn makes me think about cellulite remedies, which drives me to the kitchen in search of chocolate. Good God, I am such a Cathy cartoon these days.

Anywhoodle, taking stock of what makes me sigh and smile is much more therapeutic than dwelling on everything that makes my shoulders hunch up and my left eye twitch. Thanks, Erin. I needed this!

Ok, here goes. I made a point to not make this all about food. It was tough.

10. Indian food. With lots of Naan in particular. I'm craving it like whoa.


9. Grenada tiles.



Love love love. I would possibly tile my bed and my sofa in some of these patterns. And I think a lot of the appeal of these is their old-worldliness. Mostly, they make me want to take a trip to Greece or Turkey.

8. Design Vagabond. Great design blog from an industrial designer who manages to find awesome stuff that's not reported on other sites ad nauseum.


Here's an example post on wonderful Crudo ceramics.

7. Writers who are so hilarious they make me laugh so hard I forget to be jealous. I'm thinking of Tula from Whorange and April Winchell at Regretsy. Those two are always good for a pick-me-up.

6. Speaking of bloggers, I am madly in love with this Patrick Townsend Orbit Light (in white) and am determined to get with it and hang it somewhere fabulous in my house.


I never knew how badly I wanted it in my life before I saw it on DC, so thanks for that, ladies. And thanks for making me cheer myself up today.

This is so fun I'm going to stretch it into two posts--top 5 to come tomorrow.

Even though I'm only halfway done, I'm tagging Melina at Owl and Peacock. And I'm expecting at lest one cheese-related entry.

Yo la tengo

Sorry for the general quietness around here...busy times, folks.

That's why I'm going to rewind and talk about stuff that happened almost a month ago! Santa got it all wrong this year and thought I was good enough to deserve some seriously awesome Christmas gifts. Here are some snaps of the shelf I really, really wanted.

I think it's doing an superb job of housing some of the crap I drag home on an almost-daily basis.

You can also see another jazzy gift peeking out of the corner of this picture.

My parents were so thoughtful and got me this wonderful mini tabletop photo studio thing that includes some great lights, a itsy-bitsy tripod, a light tent and an assortment of different colored backdrops. The cats are really enjoying naps in the light tent, but the tabletop lights alone have been worth it for photographing things for the shop. Such a sweet gift!

Mercury rising

I'm not a regular reader of Martha Stewart Living, but a friend passed along a recent(?) issue...I'm not sure. I ripped the cover off after I spilled a glass of water all over it and I can't remember what month the spine says it's from. Also, I just found the sad, wrinkly, water-damaged magazine wedged between my bed and the wall the other night.

So yeah, clearly, I'm not reading Queen Martha. She'd have my ass whipped into better shape than this. Also of note: the bottom of my purse has been dusted with that sweet n' sour Sour Patch Kids sugar for about a month. Every day, it makes my futile hunt for chapstick a little more grainy and delicious.

ANYWAY. This issue has some neat stuff (I ignored everything about moving my fridge and cleaning behind it and bathing your cats. You so crazy, Martha!) like making moss terrariums in jars. Also this:


Looks fancy and classy. But in reality is easy. (Kind of like your mom--oooh BURN!)

I guess to make your old glass vases look like mercury glass, you can buy this faux-glass spraypaint, apply it to the insides of the vases or jars or whaevs and then spritz with some water to give it an--you know what? Forget it. We're all better off just getting the directions from Martha. She says:


"Clean your vase or votive then cover the exteriors with paper. Spray the interiors lightly with water and then with mirror paint. Turn upside down to dry overnight and then repeat if too sheer. When finished, if you want to use it for flowers, just make sure to put them in a glass and then place glass in vase."

I'm thinking I just might try this. I just have to make sure not to use the water bottle that has fish emulsion mixed in it (let's just say living with an orchid is not easy).

Has anybody tried this? Is it, in fact, a Good Thing?

Cabin fever: A breakdown

Winter makes me want everything to be about 37% percent more charming and rustic than it really is.

Dirty snow and salt-encrusted shoes all over my hardwood floors make real life about 12% less marvelous. Runny noses and chapped lips further tip the scale 25% in the direction of blah.

Today, I'm taking a photo vacation to even things out.










P.S. I came into the office this weekend to clean out my giant drawer of shoes. Things* just got real.

*I am a lady and therefore am not using a swear word two posts in a row. Watchy me as I curtsy and drink my can of Red Bull with my pinky finger extended!

Lanford represent!

Holy shit!

Everybody needs to gather 'round the computer with their loose meat sandwiches and read Third and Delaware, a blog 100% dedicated to the sartorial choices of Roseanne and the rest of the Conners family.


And, oh yes, the giant chicken t-shirt is addressed.

Dan and Crystal and Jackie and lil DJ and Darlene and Beckies I and II, oh my!

Take it away, Lionel!*

Thanks for the times that you've given me/ The memories are all in my mind/
And now that we've come to the end of our rainbow/
There's something I must say out loud type on my blog...

You're once,


Twice,


Three times a lady


And I love you. (imagine me whispering this part) I love you.

Ok, that wasn't creepy at all.

I'm just musing here that I'd really like some portraits** to hang up in my house. A friend of mine has these awesome, huge portraits of her mom and her aunt astride horses that she won't hang up because she's afraid she'll scare off any boys that come to her apartment. Ugh so jealous. Those would be up in my kitchen or somewhere awesome in a heartbeat.

Maybe I can pry this Carly Simon-esque 70s-era painting of my mom from my grandma one of these days (yes, that is Mrs. Hans Johansen herself).

* Last night, I watched a documentary that included commentary from a Dr. Lionel Tiger. Holy awesome name! See? He's real!
** To Marc: Not so fast. Paintings of sad clowns don't count.

All my metaphors fell flat

Lookit! They're blooooooming.

And the one time a cat went up and nosed around, it cause a flower to burst open in bloom right in front of us. Mystical magical.

Anyway, you want to hear a story about about a chat I had with my mom? Ok.

We were in her adorable little mom-car (she was being nice enough to roll with me to Frankfort to buy old stuff) when this happened:

Mom: What are you doing for New Year's Eve?
Me: We're going to see Jens Lekman at the Empty Bottle.
Mom: Oh. I don't think I know him. But that sounds nice.
Me: Yeah, should be fun.
Mom: Hey, do you like that guy Hans Johansen?
Me: Um. Never heard of him.
Mom: Oh yeah? He's on Pandora all the time when I listen to Dave Matthews.
Me: Weird. Yeah, I can't say I've heard of him.

about a minute passes...

Me: WAIT. Are you talking about Jack Johnson?
Mom: Oh yeah, that's him! I like that guy.


Bye guys! Have a great snowy Wednesday night.

The original Just Do It

Last Saturday, a little group of us took a trip to the Art Institute (apparently everyone else had the same idea; the place was packed). I was most excited to check out the new modern wing and Apostles of Beauty.



On the way to all that, however, we stopped by a little set of rooms that houses a retrospective of James Castle, a largely untrained, deaf artist from rural Idaho. Castle never learned sign language or lip reading, so his art was his primary means of communication.

His work is wonderful in its own right. I'm in love with how pieces that are so rustic can depict such futuristic and wildly imaginative scenes. But there's something else extra special about Castle.

The museum has more than 200 pieces of his work on display. Castle worked with all sorts of found materials--food cartons, old letters, envelopes--and a combination of soot and spit and natural dye as mediums. Not only was he resourceful, the materials and sheer number of pieces made it seem as if he couldn't not make art.

Like he was absolutely compelled to create.



I can think of so many times I put off projects because I don't have the right stuff--I need another canvas or I don't like the fabric I have on hand or I should buy fancier paper. But this guy didn't stop. Couldn't stop. It was so wonderful to see all of his work preserved. So I'm using his perseverance to inspire me to stop stalling and hemming and hawing and just get on with it already.



Thanks for the new year push, James!

Whoops

I forgot to blog. Holidays + houseguests + general life shake-ups have taken up big chunks of time.

But I'm here, keepin' on keepin' on/truckin'/it real.

And I promise to be back with actual interesting-ish content tomorrow.

In the meantime, why don't you tell us all a joke?