Updatessssss

I went with the Essie Berry Hard. Also featured in this picture are the Gerber Daisies from Whole Foods, as well as some pink Prosecco for NYE

The black purse from Zara....$20 you guys, I did it! It is black suede with a chain that can be tucked in. I enjoy it...it's sort of boho.

Details from last night to come....for now, out with girlfriend for brunch!


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If things look different....I apologize. I got the crazy idea of trying to mess with the template, and failed miserably.

So Glorious

It's 11:30am. I'm still in bed. Ahhhhh. Relaxation.

I think I epitomized the single city girl last night. I came home from work, checked email + internet shenanigans, then did a treadmill workout and yoga. Then I looked down at my bare feet and realized I needed to do a pedicure. By the time I was all done with that, it was close to 10pm, and the salad greens I purchased for dinner just did not seem appetizing. So I broke out the tortilla chips and salsa and ate that in bed while I watched The Hangover, which I had rented from iTunes. I needed to rest up so I can be out in full force tonight!

I slept until forever this morning and it felt wonderful. I'm drinking tea, and trying to decide what to do with my day. I'm thinking a workout is in order....but no shower. I just can't bring myself to shower twice today. I'll just toss some baby powder in my hair, put on a sweater and some Uggs and go to Lenox mall. I need to get more glue for my false eyelashes. I'm sure the tranny messes at M.A.C. can set me up with that. There's also a Teavana at Lenox, and I'm almost out of my tea blend. I might even be so daring as to try a new blended flavor! I may also pick up some extra gel-padding inserts for my heels tonight. More can never hurt. Ack! I ALSO need a semi-dressy black purse. I've been carrying around my beatup Longchamp when I go out, which is sooo not going to cut it tonight. I have an oversize faux-croc clutch that would be absolute perfection were it not BROWN. As my blog readers as my witness, I will not spend more than $20 on this purse for tonight if I find a suitable one. But ohh....wouldn't the Marc Jabos STAM BAG just be heaven with my outfit? Let's take a moment to mourn......

OKAY-

My current dilemma is nail polish color and eye makeup palette for tonight. My whole outfit is some iteration of black, so black nails are out. My lip color is SUPER red, so classic red nails are out.

Here are some options I've been considering:


The pink is obviously a spring color, but it might offset the vampy-ness of all the black + red lip action.

Anyone have suggestions?

As for eye makeup....the false eyelashes are a definite, but I'm deciding between a subtle charcoal-gray palette or maybe something purple.

Are you going ALL OUT with your NYE look, or is it just another night for you?


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Musings

I've been drinking A LOT of tea lately. I haven't had coffee since I was home a week ago. I have my custom tea blend from Teavana every morning while I do my makeup, and when I get to work, I make myself some Tazo tea instead of coffee. And we even have good coffee at the agency...it's Starbucks packets, but it still tastes bitter to me, and when coffee gets cold it's NASTY and it leave a gross tastes in my mouth, whereas tea does not.

I just felt like sharing.

My study abroad program from junior year sent me a letter asking me to donate money. Sorry, IES....not any time soon.

I need/want to start going to church more often. Or I just need to be Jewish. One of the girls on my team is Jewish and always talks about the fun stuff she does at the Jewish Community Center. Like kickball leagues and parties. Catholic people don't do that. I went to mass in college, but I thought the kids in the Catholic Student Association were kind of weird. In the same vein, I need/want to start volunteering somewhere as well. I would love to do it at the Humane Society, but in order to play with the animals, you probably are required to clean their shit too. Bummer.


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NYE Ensemble

I decided on an outfit for New Years Eve. Uhh which is TOMORROW. I literally just realized that fact this morning, and thought to myself, "I'm going to have to sleep all day tomorrow just to stay up until midnight." It's totally true. But anyway......clothes.

Instead of the gold sequined dress, I'm going to wear that French Connection dress I bought back in August.

With these black sparkle tights from American Apparel (yet to be purchased)

and a pair of black pumps

let me dream, thanks.

With a bold red lip, and some false eyelashes.

It's a little more subtle than the gold sequin frock (as for the makeup....different story), but the dress is fantastic. I actually wore it for Christmas Eve mass and quite enjoyed the dress with tights and heels.

UPDATE: went to Little Five Points at lunch got a parking spot right in front of American Apparel....bought aforementioned sparkley tights. I broke my own Rule of Tights....$20+, but it is NYE after all, and I'm re-wearing an already-in-my-closet dress. So I feel this is allowed. Plus, I'm a grown ass woman, I Do What I Want.


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Expletive!!!

Yesterday afternoon, I cruised over to Whole Foods to grab lunch. I did not have any food in my apartment to pull together an actual MEAL that I could bring in the morning. I have eggs....salad which is probably bad, and some grapes which are probably bad as well. But you don't want to know about the boring ins and outs of my cupboard. Whole Foods, in case you're not aware, has a faaaaabulous salad bar and hot meal bar, as well as pizza by the slice. So I grabbed a spanakopita slice of pizza (feta and spinach) and then made myself a nice little salad. I decided I would go back that evening after work because it's actually on my way home, and damnit I just LOVE Whole Foods. So much great produce and organic dairy and cute guys in beards and its just a granola love-fest.

I leave work, complete my Whole Foods excursion, and I'm walking out to my car feeling pretty content. I had a good day at my big girl job, I bought groceries and I was going to go back to my big girl apartment and workout then make dinner. "I'm such an adult!" I said to myself. Then I sit down in my car, turn the key in the ignition, and all I hear is "clickclickclickclick." Hmm, weird. Again. "Clickclickclickclick." Lights flash on and off, and more weird noises.

GODDAMNIT my battery is dead. So I call Saab Roadside Assistance, get someone out to help me and finally they jumpstart my battery. My car was bought new in 2005, and hasn't had the battery replaced since then, so my dad suggested I just go buy a new battery immediately. "They're only like $75, it's fine." So I call PepBoys, and Bon QuiQui on the other line says she can't get me in tonight, it's "too busy." I called at 6:30....they close at 9. This was kind of an almost emergency. So I call around to other auto places, finally found one that could install a battery and drive over. Meanwhile, my car is making screaming noises. It literally sounds like little gnomes are inside my console screaming. My uncle calls and tells me it could be my alternator (wtf) and that I really need to get the battery replaced like ASAP. Well Advanced Auto Parts is basically in the ghetto...like approximately 76% of Atlanta (seriously...you can be on any street, and two blocks in either direction, there are probably homeless people and guns. I digress). It was like 8pm, DARK and I was so mad I couldn't even be scared. The battery came to $160, and the guy took forever to install it, and made a lot of clinking and clanking noises I wasn't too secure about. I was so afraid to start my car this morning, I was afraid it was going to blow up. But it didn't.

BUT SERIOUSLY. It has not been one month since everything has been in my name, and I took over paying for shit. And in this month, I've had to have my power steering fluid container cap replaced ($800+) and now a new battery. This all really could not have happened when my parents were still paying for everything? Like last month? Like remember when that girl backed in to my car and my parents said "put the repairs on our card."? Can we go back there please?

UGH so today I thought it was going to be a better night, but I came home and was suddenly overcome with the urge to label a file folder with all my bills and file away bills and mail that had come over the week. And attempt to pay my internet bill online which was a huge disaster. Then I said, out loud, "okay, even being an adult today." And watched Superbad while I worked out. WOW I'm soo over everything being so DIFFICULT. I know it's life and I have to pay bills and stuff like that, but I'm just so tired of everything being such a process and production. GAH.

Sorry I'm complaining so much....I know you don't come to OMGOpinions to read my whining.

At Whole Foods yesterday, I bought these oranges called Cara Cara Pink Navels

Look you guys! That's an orange not a grapefruit....it's pink on the inside!! It was super delicious and made me really extremely happy. I don't care that they're like $3.00/lb or something exorbitant like that....I will buy these as long as they are sold as WF.

A little baby Schnauzer came in to work today. His name is Baxter. And I love him. I will try to take a creepy picture of him next time he comes.

I'm going to leave you all with a little pretty pretty, because I need it today, and some pretty pretty never hurt. Enjoy.

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Confession

I hardly ever wear this beautiful bracelet. My mom bought it for me one summer when we were in Paris. I need to get motivated to wear it, because it is so pretty and it's HERMÈS, you guys. It's so good looking, the only thing that bothers me is that little gold turn lock sticks out fairly far, and it's hard to wear with long sleeves, because they get caught.

But I need to quit my whining. It's HERMÈS.

(I saw the bracelet on a blogger's gift list for the holidays, and I reminded of that fact I actually own it.)

Clients from Hell

Thanks to L. for showing me this. I don't work in the creative department of my agency, but I'm sure they get quite a few ridiculous requests. This is a site full of crazy client requests for digital designers. Here are some favorites:

“Can you change the paperclip in Word to a cat?"

“Is there a font that’s even more whimsical than Comic Sans?"

“We really don’t like web as a medium. Can you please force our sites visitors to print out a copy of every page? We want our page to be more tangible."

“Can you make my business card less gay looking?"

“… and by the way, I can’t afford to pay you for this job, but you will be paid in karma — which is so much better and more permanent anyway."

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my little puppy dog and her stuffed lamb, Lambie, which is as big as she is. Zuzu was trying very hard to look serious in this picture.

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Big Paper Packages Tied Up With String

What did Santa bring all you little elves?

Growing older means getting practical gifts, I think. In that vein......

Hello, pretty. Santa (a.k.a. my dad) bought me the MacBook Pro, because my dear, sad little IBM notebook was holding on to life with one little claw. It made motorcycle noises when it tried to do something too hard. So sad. My dad was soooo excited to get this for me, he could barely contain himself. I like it a lot. A lot. A lot. It took me about 4 hours to figure out how to transfer my iTunes WITH all the playcounts (its called metadata, FYI). I wanted to keep all that junk because I like it, okay? But it has like 3 times the storage capacity (I think thats called memory, or hard drive...whatevs) of my old notebook, so I never have to choose between downloading an episode of Gossip Girl or keeping old terms papers from college again. (That was a true story, you guys.)

My mom got me this because...well, she's a mom and this is a mom type of gift to give. Seriously though, I LOVE Mark Bittman. I read his columns in the NYTimes, and his recipes are easy, simple and flavorful. See how I said that like I actually cook them? I don't. I just read them and assume that's how they really are. But really though, I am excited to sit down and learn how to cook more than grilled cheese and sauteed spinach. I'll report back.

And that was it! My parent's Christmas gift to me was helping me set up my apartment in a financial capacity...and I still owe them cash money. Does that make sense to anyone else? No one? Okay good I'm not the only one. My parents are so silly.

Share your Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/Festivus presents with me! I want to know what was under everyone's tree/menorah/pole. I Googles Kwanzaa and was not able to find a suitable symbol of the holiday. Apologies.

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Getting ready for mass, dinner and decorating the tree.

Merry Christmas everyone!



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Photographes de la Mode, et des petites choses a partager

Les photographes du Sartorialist qui j'aime...



le chemise ecossaise et le veste bleu, comme le veste d'un uniforme d'ecole.



l'echappe chameau! ja'doooooore



ahhhh cette femme est trop trop TROP mince, mais le couleur blue en deux ombres....genie. et aussi son collier avec des rossettes do toile, je l'aime.




la combinaison des couleurs est magnifique a cette femme...le gris en deux ombres avec le rose pâle.



aloooooooors c'est bien avec le francias.

Some fun blogs I've been exploring recently:

A Cup of Jo

Elle Shoe Diary

Erie Basin vintage jewelry

not a blog, but Vogue Paris for you Frenchies.

Flying off to a magical land tonight! I wish...it's just theMidwest, don't get excited.


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I Took The Camembert

....from one of the 8,000 gift baskets the media department has received in the past week. I took in it the vain of "putting it in the fridge," but then I just stuck it in my lunch bag and brought it home with me. For the past week, there has been a constant and steady stream of cookies, gourmet cupcakes and Harry & David gift baskets coming to our team and the rest of the media department. I had my first sugar crash in probably 15 years on Friday afternoon. One minute I was buzzing around, getting work done, answering emails and sending shit, then next thing I know I'm dragging myself to the kitchen to make coffee at 4pm. Sad story.

In addition to calorie-laden gifts, we also get cool stuff! One of the vendors we work with gave everyone Snuggies, and a few others have sent wine and champagne. But I didn't get the fun stuff, because a lot of our reps don't even know I'm new to the account. Next year, though, guys. Next year I will be sitting in my Snuggie drinking my own bottle of champagne. Just you see.

I'm also writing this post from a desk! Sitting in a chair! As opposed to writing crossed legged in my bed like usual when I lived at my aunt & uncle's. Is this growing up?

I did the treadmill + yoga thing tonight, and made a salad for dinner. I just finished up packing, and my whole suitcase is a wardrobe of black. I own other stuff...but I own black so much, I sometimes don't even realize. In the winter it's just so easy to put on a black dress, tights, a cardigan and a scarf and not bother with anything else. But don't worry.....come spring I bust out the hot pink shirtdresses and florals. I love me some floral print dresses.

I'm thinking about painting an abstract piece......ON MY KITCHEN WALL. Oh girl YES I jus' did. It's so white, and I have to paint over it when I move anyway... so why not be all artsy and go to town? I really might do it. Saturday afternoon project when I return from Christmas for sure.

Where is Gossip Girl? It has been 2 weeks. Was there a hiatus of which I was not aware? ....see how I didn't end that sentence in a preposition, but sounded like a pretentious snot? Grammar is for lewsers.

This is really all I have for now. I won't go in to detail of how I was at the car repair shop for 3 hours Saturday, because I don't want to relive it. All I want is my old dealership back. From Ohio. Move to Atlanta, please.

Au revior, mes cheries!!


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Would It Be Bad...

To recycle a dress I've worn for 2 New Years Eve's.....again? For a 3rd year?

This is the dress in question:

I've had it since Junior year of college, and I wore it both Junior year NYE and Senior year NYE.

I will be in Atlanta (with a different crowd obviously). And my pictures on Facebook aren't public, so no one would really know but me. And you all. But I trust you not to tell. And it's old and I got it on super clearance from Macys, so no one is EVER wearing the same thing as me.

I was thinking about having it altered, maybe making the scoopneck a little bit lower, but I don't think I have enough time to accomplish that now. Damnit procrastination!

Or I could pull a Serena a la Season 1 of GG and do opaque black tights, a dark scarf and a black jacket and cardigan.

OR what I've done in the past (on admitedly not-so-festive occassions) is wear the dress with a black turtleneck over it, so it's like a sparkley skirt, like this:

Or I can always just bite the metaphorical/financial bullet and go buy a new one from H&M or Urban or something. But I am trying to save the monies, you guys.

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Design, Both Home and Self

I never thought I'd see the day when I was interested in home design. I don't watch HGTV, my mom always wants my opinion on her home decor decisions, and I tried my best to feign interest.

But now that I have my own little space to decoration....OMG I'm obsessed.

I've been reading Elements of Style blog a lot. This girl is such a genius. She's a decorator who takes inspiration from fashion trends sometimes, and just has really super good taste. I'm finding myself actually WANTING to try some DIY projects....and that is SO not usually me.

I've also been browsing through The Sartorialist and Garance Dore (en francais, bien sur!) and I'm missing Paris sooo badly right now. My little apartment reminds me of Paris, and how antiquated and vintage everything felt. Here are some pictures I've saved from The Sartorialist that I find a lot of inspiration in...

I love the layers in her look

You had me at hello with the lip color and sunnies

I wear a lot of black, and I love how chic she looks

More black, and j'adoooore the ruffles, and OF COURSE the patterned tights! This is in the Tuileries garden, before a fashion show, FYI.

I want to try a skinny belt with a few of my jersey dresses, like this

Of course I love me a well dressed Parisian man, too.

I also think I need to wear my heels more often. I'm 23 years old....I just need to buckle up and do it. I have so many great, fierce heels I never wear because they make me 6ft tall and hurt my feet. I'm going out tonight to a jazz club (oh la la!!) and I think I might debut a pair of heels. Maybe. But it IS raining. I'll consider it, okay?

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I've Been Playing House

If you're wondering where I've been.....I've been busy growing up! I'm so sorry for the lack of updates......my life has been bananas since about last Thursday. Friday night my parents arrived to help me move, and bright and early Saturday morning the process began. And it is still not done! I'll spare you the moving drama....I'm sure you all know how stressful it is. But this was probably the best move my parents and I have had to date. Minimal arguments. And no stairs, which was a blessing. It did start to rain later in the afternoon, but the majority of the heavy lifting was finished by then. I'm still waiting for the treadmill to get here. I made my aunt & uncle an offer on their treadmill since I was the only one using it. A gym membership is $45/month, and I can't fit that in my budget right now. So buying the treadmill from them was definitely the best decision. Now I can work out whenever I want and watch my own tv!!

Okay...enough talk...I know you all want pictures!

This is my "living room," excuse the mess. I haven't finalized picture hanging placement or bookshelf decoration coordination yet, hence the chaos and clutter. That door leads to a screened in porch which is as long as that back wall. The walls were ALL stark white, but I painted that right wall a canary yellow. And by "I painted" I mean my mom and aunt.


This is my "bedroom," which again is messier than it hopefully will ever be. I also painted the wall behind my bed yellow. And there is a door in the middle of my room which does not open. Once upon a time it lead to the hallway, but for what purpose I am not sure. Just tonight I hung a picture to the left of my bed and also over the head of it. I don't have a headboard yet, just the same bed frame I used in college.



Kitchen, obviously. For some perspective, the kitchen is to the right of my "bedroom." So to take this picture I am standing in front of my desk in the picture above this one. I'm not wild about the kitchen....I want to change it somehow. It's just so damn white! I put a Paris poster on that left wall, but it is still too institutional to me. See that kitchen cart next to the oven? I put that bad boy together. And the oven is gas. Lord help me. I'm afraid I'm going to poison myself or blow up the building. So far I've only ventured to boil water for tea, and every morning it makes me anxious.



This is a pile of VOGUEs on my side table next to my couch. I have been collecting VOGUE since high school, and have been envisioning decorating with them since then. I even have a few from my various stints in France. My stack is probably 3ft tall. This stack has a lamp on top of them, and I am still trying to find places for the others. Maybe on my vanity to boost up my table lights?


This is my little Christmas tree, and Russian doll "nativity." The tree is an old American Girl doll tree, if any of you girls remember having those. Most of the ornaments are from the American Girl stuff, but the turtle and the little fairy are from a handmade ornament store where my parents live, and we buy a few ornaments from them every season. Next to the tree is ANOTHER stack of VOGUEs and stuff on top of it.

So that was a photographic tour of my little studio. It's cozy, but very roomy for a studio. My mom pointed out that she thinks I like it so much because it reminds me of Paris and she's totally right. The only thing I could complain about is I don't have my own washer/dryer. There's a laundry room on the first floor, and I feel like I'm living in the dorms again, having to bring down quarters and haul my dirty laundry all over the place. Living in an apartment with a W/D my senior year was definitely a luxury. Other than that, this little apartment is great!

In other news, work is good. and BUSY. I'm starting to get the hang of things, so I'm getting more responsibility with the clients and vendors. I'm also responsible for setting up meetings for the whole media department, not just my client team, so I spend a lot of time responding to emails from sales people trying to get us to advertise on their site.

I hope you all are fabulous and enjoying your holiday season!

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Apt. Update

I forgot to take pictures of the apartment, you guys. Someone remind me on Friday night, so I can do it Saturday before the moving shenanigans begin.

I went to see my new apartment today- empty. And dirty! Holy shit, the people living there before did not clean when they left (which is SO gross- PSA), so the landlord's cleaning crew is going to come in and do a full five star cleaning. Let me tell you....if I ever doubted I was my mother's daughter, that doubt was put to rest today. I got in there and pointed out every little thing I wanted done: oven pulled out and cleaned behind, the built-in hutch repainted, the floorboards washed, the screened-in porch cleaned of all leaves & debris, new rods in the closets, etc and so on. And all that will *fingers crossed* be done by D-Day Saturday! I have to show my parents I was able to pick out a decent living space. But hey....silver lining is- if they don't like it, maybe they will pony up some money so I can live somewhere else. Win-Win-Win.

iPhone is beautiful, thanks for asking.

I've started to schedule my workouts around watching Jeopardy. So I'm running on the treadmill, and shouting answers at the television. About 30% are the correct answers.

Okay, this "adult" thing is getting kind of ridiculous. Here's a list of shit I need to do within in the next, oh.....3 weeks:

1. call to get electric service in the apt
2. call to get gas service (gas stove)
3. set up cable/internet
4. MOVE
5. change address for a million things (phone bill, bank, magazines, etc. and so on)
6. find 5, YES 5! separate doctors (dentist/gyn/vision/derm/primary care)- get appts and make sure they are covered by my insurance. GYN is most important. Birth Control must be refilled. Right now it's being used more as an acne remedy (*sigh*), but important nonetheless.

I have such a new respect for my mother. My dad was in the military, and we moved several times when I was younger. She had to do this multiple times! My god.

Everyone in college is stressing over exams. I don't miss that, really. Except for the years when I only had one or two eams, then I could go out the rest of finals week. What I do miss being home for 3 weeks straight with nothing to do but go to yoga classes, bake cookies and visit my parents at work and have them take me to lunch.


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"We definitely got bigger than we wanted to be. You feel like you’ve done something wrong. That woman in mom jeans who’d never let me date her daughter? She likes my music. That’s fucking not cool. You almost start doing damage control: When people ask you to do stuff, you’re like, ‘No, because I can already tell this record is going to get to a level where people will fucking hate us"

-Caleb, Spin Mag Jan/Feb '10

It's funny because there was a mom directly behind us at the concert. In the general admission pit.

It's sad because it's true.


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It's No Big Deal, Don't Worry About It

So much has been happening my little Christmas elves!

Let's start at the beginning....I'm loving my new job! I can tell it's going to be a lot of hard work, but I like the account and my team is super fun. And the perks are redonkulous, you guys. Agency life is fabulous. Lunches are always being brought to the office or we're being taken out. Thursday night, a rep team took us out for drinks & apps, then to see CAVALIA. It's a Cirque du Soleil show that is getting a huge amount of press here in Atlanta. It is Cirque du Soleil, but WITH HORSES, you guys. Amazing. And I absolutely love horses, so this was so great. We were front row, and we went backstage afterwards to see the horses in their stables. We also got tons of concessions and tons of booze during the show. As members of my team were ordering extra large glasses of red wine before the show, I asked, "is this normal?" and my director goes, "totally."

Then Friday we had our department Christmas party at a restaurant in Midtown. The top level of Gordan Biersch was rented out for us for the evening. We had an appetizer buffet, open bar and a White Elephant gift exchange (a.k.a. Yankee Swap, as seen on The Office). The gift I wound up with was 8 episodes of Punky Brewster on DVD. Hysterical.

On to apartment business! Thursday I met with my broker to exchange leases, and he let me know an identical studio was opening up across the hall from mine, and I would be able to move in basically next week. At first I was a little hesitant, because while it is EXACTLY the same, it is a mirror image of the one I had seen and begun planning furniture arrangements. Then I had some friends and family members talk some sense in to me. So barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will be moving into my adorable little apartment next week!

In other big girl announcements....I would like to welcome the newest addition to my technical family.......little iPhone!
Yes, in a snap -but well researched- decision, I purchased an iPhone this afternoon. I don't know what got into me last night, but I was just researched some plan options, and when it came down to what I wanted a phone to be able to handle (lots of texting, email, Google maps and general Google-ing), the difference between purchasing a smartphone and a "normal" phone in terms of price was just too low to NOT get the smartphone I've been wanting for years. Then is was just a matter of researching the differences between iPhone and Blackberry, and in terms of user interface, usability, web browsing capabilities and overall sex appeal, the iPhone was totally IT. So I pranced on into the AT&T store this afternoon and had a blast picking it out. The sales guy was TOTALLY adorable and he uses the exact same phone I just bought, so it just cemented the fact I'm making the right decision. PLUS, I'm getting cable + internet throughh AT&T, so I can bundle my bill and save some money. I feel good that I treated myself to the phone I really wanted, but this wasn't a rash decision. It was well researched and very logical I feel.

We discovered baby squirrels living on the back deck! They're so cute, and keep scratching on the glass, because they want to come inside and live with us!

Besides the excitement of the iPhone, I haven't done much today. Worked out, helped my aunt put up Christmas decorations, that's about it. It is SO cold in Georgia today! There were snow flurries this morning. Uhhh, no. I don't like this. I want to go buy groceries and make a salad, but I don't feel like venturing into the Tundra. Frozen steamed peas and green beans will have to suffice for tonight's veggie consumption.



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Use Somebody Nominated for 4 Grammys

1. Record of the Year
2. Song of the Year
3. Best Rock Song
4. Best Rock Performance by a duo or group with vocals
   

coooool.

But, can someone explain how an album released in 2008 can win a 2010 Grammy? "Sex on Fire" won Best Rock Performance blah blah blah in 2009. Same. Album. Confused, but happy nonetheless.


Edit: I may have just answered my own question. "Use Somebody? was released as a single in 2009. This makes sense now. NVM.

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45 lessons of life

[written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio]

“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written.”

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now… Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life… Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

It's Back

Back by the popular demand (...of one person) it's my Gossip Girl recap!

Once again, this is a live-recap, meaning I am watching the episode as I write down commentary. Thank yooooou, iTunes!

oohhhh J. I love the boots. Red and suede and knee high? Can't go wrong.

"What are you then, an eighteen year old blonde coincidence?" Precisely Blaire. And why does Serena's mouth hang open like a trout gasping for air after she says, "wanna go for a....walk?"

Vanessa is wearing a rug. With buttons.

Grandma CeCe is back! What a conniving, gin drinking, old bitch! Love it.

Mariage Freres is a famous tea salon in Paris. Nice name dropping, Eleanor. And her bag looks like a Valentino, but I can't find it in the current collection. Can anyone else pinpoint it?
I also don't feel like Eleanor would change her will, especially not to exclude Blaire. She's selfish, so she's not giving it all to poor children or people with diseases, and Cyrus has his own money.

Oh, that's nice. Vanessa's black mom is back, and she's wearing a rug as a coat too. They are giving hippie, crunchy granola people everywhere a very bad reputation among the nation's 15-28 year old girls and gay men.

Ahh so Eleanor is knocked up! But by Cyrus, ew. Negate all happiness.

I love Blaire's definition of a sibling: "someone's who's sole purpose in life is to compete for your parents' love and attention." Such an only child thing to think.....I would know.

What would Thanksgiving be without some familial and marital tension? It's like a Gossip Girl tradition, now basically.

HOLY GOD Serena is wearing a PANTSUIT. A PANTSUIT. I wasnt even going to be snarky about the lace see-through panel, because I thought it was a pretty and conservative dress for Miss Van der Woodsen. But now that I see it's a pantsuit?

okay my pretties, I start work tomorrow, so this is all I have. If anything else comes to mind, you'll be posted! But I toooootally cannot wait to find out what kind of good dirt was in that letter from Serena's dad.


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Shopping, Drinking And Eating

We'll go in chronological order.

Friday night was Townie Night and it was actually really fun! We pregamed with some old friends, then went up to the bar. The ONE bar that was open Friday night in town. I feel like Townie Night is something everyone dreads, but secretly likes. It's fun to see old middle school and high school friends (and non-friends alike), see who got fat, who's still living at home, etc etc. I had a few glasses of red wine at the pregame, then I thought it was a fantastically good idea to order BOURBON GINGERS at the bar. Do I need to repeat? Bourbon. And I was also talked in to taking a shot of Jim Beam. These people seem to think that I still drink like I'm in college, and apparently I forgot as well. Saturday morning did not treat me kindly.

After the bars, we went to the house of a guy friend of ours, M. Waaaaay back like 2 years ago, M. and I had a brief Christmas Break Affair. We're totally over it, and luckily can just hang out and have fun. Rare, I know. My dear friend T. on the other hand is still under the spell of Mr. M and has been for oh.....12 years. They went to the same church growing up, you know that story. Precious. Anyway so it's me, T. and 3 other boys at M's house, and it was reDONKulous, you guys. We drank Bud Light Limes and ate key lime pie? I don't even know. And played piano. And wore silly hats. I slept on a fancy sofa in the formal living room that was most definitely not made for sleeping.

Then Saturday I cursed Jim Beam and slept until approx 2pm in my own bed. It was my mom's birthday, so we went shopping (duh) and then went to dinner at Bonefish Grill. Uhh Bang Bang Shrimp is to diiiiiiiiie.

I also bought this skirt at Banana, because I realized that all I wear are dresses and I need to mix it up a bit for the new job...

I'm envisioning it with a white long sleeved shirt and blue or black cardigan. I've also been thinking about starting to dabble in the wearing of the heels. I have so many pairs that I never ever wear, and I feel like at 23 years old it's a good time to start.

Sunday was morning mass and grocery shopping and napping, followed by my mom making a fabulous Barefoot Contessa recipe: Bay Scallop Gratin.

oh bonjour.


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Slight Breakdown.....Everyone Has Them. Right?

Today I was planning on going to the mall with my parents. Well I had a slight mental breakdown instead. Yesterday I was complaining about that zit on my forehead? This morning it seriously bothered me. I workout a lot, I don't stress eat.....so my stress manifests itself as eruptions on my face. And even though I got the new job, that comes along with a whole other basket of worries: an apartment, healthcare, new doctors, prescription prices. So to show for it, I have a zit right at my hairline. One zit is causing all this stress? You might ask. Well yes. I have had moderate acne my whole teenage life, and now I have the remnant scars on my cheeks and temples. I have good makeup (Laure Mercier) to cover up, but some days, like today, it's just too much for me. And add on top of that a botched haircut, and I felt SUPER UGLY this morning. I'm talking tears and throwing a fit at my mom and not even going out of the house today, I felt so ugly.

I watched some Project Runway an took a nap and woke up feeling better. I talked with my parents a bit. My mom had problems with acne until she had a hysterectomy. Well.....that's not happening anytime soon for me so it's just something I have to deal with. Birth control helps even out the hormones and I'm on several topical treatments. It's just such a hassle! I wish I had perfect skin and didn't have to mess with all this makeup. And I'm really afraid people look at me and think, "well, she's pretty but her skin is bad." No buts.

Ew. Anyway you guys. I just had to get that out there.

Tonight I'm going out with T. We're going to Townie Night. Yep. In my town, at the bars the night after Thanksgiving there's Townie Night and it's totally embarassing. I've actually never been because I always left home early to go back to college for our big football rivalry game. So this is going to be my first T-Giving Townie Night. I had my dad make me a double-shot latte so I can attempt to stay up like a normal 23 year old. I've been going to sleep at 10:30 lately, and at 10:30 tonight we'll have barely begun to start drinking. It's going to be a lot of people from my hometown that I barely know because I didn't go to high school here. I went to a private Catholic school out of town. So I went to middle school with these people. And let me tell you, I was no gracious swan in middle school. At the time I thought I was the shit, but I was awkward as they come, and whenever I see these people I'm afraid they still think of me as that little 13 year old. Must overcome.

Snacking Through Thanksgiving Day. I Do What I Want.

Would it be completely cliche to do a "Thankful List?" Probably, but I'm going to attempt one anyway, because it's good to be introspective and all that. I'm going to try and make this as minimally eye-roll-inducing as possible.

So here goes. I'm thankful for...

1. My parents, their generosity and their unconditional love. I'm starting a career with no student loan debt, no car payment and no credit card debt due to their financial education. They're also very proud I have a job now, but they would love me and be here for me no matter what, which I take for granted very often.
   
2. My various other extended family members. They're all on that side of crazy, but aren't we all?
3. My adorable puppydog this is her. isn't she the cutest thing?
4. My friends near and far, old and new. I'm semi-decent about keeping in touch with people, but there are some friends I have that no matter how long it has been, we always seem to pick right back up. They're good people. Since being in Atlanta, I've met some awesome awesome people and I can't wait to spend more time with them and create new friendships.
   
5. No more working at the deli. No more shady older men trying to flirt with me. No more teenage boys making fun of me for being a vegetarian. No more power hungry 19 year old girls getting all their authority in life from telling me how to clean a table. Never having to clean other people's tables. Never taking food services workers for granted. Never seeing a Reuben sandwich again. That shit is disgusting.
   
6. My car, because it's pretty and clean now.
   
7. Job. Duh.
8. I'm really digging my new bomber jacket, so I'm going to be thankful for that as well.

I don't know about you all, but I take a lot for granted in my life. I'm really very blessed (despite how much I complain...). I'm very fortunate to have the experiences I've had in my life, and I don't realize sometimes that not everyone has had the same privileges. So, in short, I'm very grateful for my life, regardless of the bitching and whining I partake in from time to time.

So! I hope that wasn't as gross and saccharine as it could have been. Now on to other items....
I've been snacking all day, which I haven't decided whether it's good or not. It's good in the sense that now I won't binge myself at dinner (hopefully....), but bad that...I won't binge myself at dinner. I'm sorry! I just got super hungry. I've had crackers and cheese at like 3 different times today. I ate some for breakfast and I just had some now. My mom has recently developed several "dietary restrictions," (i.e. she now thinks she's gluten intolerant as well as lactose intolerant....according to her doctor) so there is all this weird shit in the house, and the only thing readily available was Kashi triscuit-style crackers and some cheddar cheese my dad keeps around. It's all very silly. I'm looking forward to my mom's famous Peanut Soup from a Colonial Williamsburg recipe. We've had Peanut Soup every year since I was 8 I think. I've started to request it at Christmas also. She's also making cornbread stuffing and mashed potatoes and asparagus, which might be my most favorite meal EVER. And red wine. My mom doesn't drink, so t's most likely going to be my dad & I killing a whole bottle, then fighting falling asleep when our neighbors come over for dessert. Our neighbors are an older Jewish couple who we have kind of adopted as our own Jewish grandparents (even though we're Catholic). They're so flipping cute, and have two Bichon Frises, Sammy and Ellie.

Can we talk about how my skin is great when I'm in Georgia, then I come home and have 2 monster zits on my forehead? I'm 23 years old. This should not be happening. Guh.

I went run/walking outside yesterday and this morning with my dad, and I am sore, you guys!

Ooookay well that is all I have to commentate on. Everyone have a great day!


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J'adore GOOGLE

I dare you to watch this and not D-I-E

La Ti Dah

Flew home yesterday afternoon! My uncle drove me to the airport, and I dropped off my deposit check for my apartment on the way there. Things are progressing in a forward direction, y'all!! I'm so flipping excited for this apartment. It's going to the be cutest thing in the whole entire world. I found it Monday afternoon, after going apartment shopping Thursday also. This is a tough process. Much more tough than I anticipated. The cold hard reality of working sets in.....taxes and bills, and I realized my budget and range that I had to stay inside in regards to rent + utilities. And I'm wanting to live alone, so that increases my costs, as well as the fact I'm a single female and I want to be super duper safe. Needless to say, being safe, in a hip area AND on a budget are very hard to accomplish all in the same apartment. But I found my prized little space in a WONDERFUL area in Atlanta. I'll be right in Virginia Highlands (for those that are familiar) in an ADORABLE little studio apartment which is in an old 1920's mansion that has been converted into apartments. I love the area, I feel safe, and the building is old but immaculately kept. I'm not too far from my new office either...maybe 10-15 minutes depending on how backed up the street lights become in the mornings. The currant tenant doesn't official move until 12/31, but he may move out sooner, so hopefully I'll be in before Christmas. I'm sooooo excited to decorate! Since it's an old apartment, I'm going to keep with that and to a vintage-y ambiance. I'm painting my wooden coffee table white then sanding through in some spots to expose the wood's color. I'm gathering ideas from various Tumblrs, so if you see anything, send it my way! OR if you have any tips for decorating in a small space. It's a spacious studio, but a studio nonetheless.

Back to being home....so far so good. My mama picked me up from the airport and we went shopping and got lunch. She kept offering to buy me all this stuff - like makeup and other things. I'm pretty sure it's because she knows I'm going to be fairly poor in the next few months. But ahh...c'est la vie of a new career!
I did buy some RED lipstick. NARS Flamenco

I've never bought full-on RED lipstick, so I'm pretty excited about this purchase. So Sassy.
I just got some other makeup odds and ends. We also stopped in this place called "TEAVANA" which is like....a tea shop. They sell alllllllllll kinds of loose tea and tea cups and fancy tea makers and they can blend you pretty much anything you want. I got a small tin of a blended chai and white tea. My mother wants to go shopping FRIDAY which I cannot even believe. I think I'm going to get a grey plaid skirt from Banana and maybe a ruffled cardigan from JCrew. We'll see how far this parental generosity will stretch!

Oh, I bought that black wool bomber jacket from Express, and my parents bought me Project Runway Season 4 (the one with Christian Siriano) on DVD for my birthday. I recieved everything on my list except for the Blackberry. By God....soon enough I will have that damn Blackberry. Sadly though I think the dream of the Marc Jacobs Stam bag is going to have to be hung up for a little while. A cute apartment in a good neighborhood is definitely a suitable alternative, though n'est pas?

This morning I woke up and had some of my new tea, ate a bit of breakfast and went for a walk/run around the neighborhood. Neithor of my parents were home, so I had no way of getting a ride to the gym! Back in Atlanta, I had been working out on my aunt & uncle's treadmill, doing .10 mile running and .10 walking for a total of 30 minutes. I enjoy it mostly, so I tried to do the same thing around the neighborhood. Eh....working decently well, but it's cold and the cold air burned my lungs a little bit. Oh well....I got my body moving and worked up a sweat. I will probably do some yoga tonight.

I had dinner with my dad this afternoon...he came home early from work. So far being home is so wonderful! My parents are bragging on me to anyone who will listen. They're so proud that their daughter is finally employed!

I hope you all have an absolutely fabulous Thanksgiving...regardless of whether you eat turkey or not!!!



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Friday night I received the greatest text message from C.:


"Woooooo ragoo in the Barr fcking love kol bc of you babayyyyy!!!!!!"

timestamp: 1:24 am.

Love it.

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Flashdance!

I did my yoga today in Flashback-inspired 80's aerobic gear. It was kind of amazing. Here's why I did it:

So back at Halloween, when I was trying to decide on a costume, I purchased one of those neo-hippie faux fur vests from Forever 21. Then lamented the fact I was in Forever 21. Well since I went as the Walk of Shame, I didn't wear the vest and I needed to return it. Apparently I waited to long do this, because my receipt had "expired" and all they could do was exchange for merchandise TODAY up to the amount of the vest. Okay for first of all, Forever 21 is for teenagers. Teenagers work there, shop there, congregate there. I can barely deal with the clientele and staff. Case in point: I see this flannel plaid shirt I thought I could make work, and it was on the top rack. So I grab one of those long hook things and get it down, and the 6 girls who work there who are all gabbing around the register are like, "MISS MISS DO YOU NEED HELP?" And I'm just like, *blank stare* "No, I've got it, thanks." Don't get all loud wit' me because you're not doing your job. Whateva Whateva. So I hate everything in the store and don't know how I'm going to eat up $27. I settle on a pair of black ballet flats (can never have too many), a long tank top to do yoga in as well as this long sleeved cobalt blue sweatshirt with the neck cut out (a la Flashdance). I wore my new purchases for my yoga practice today and I have to say I enjoyed it immensely. I needed some new yoga threads so I can look all cute at my office when we have yoga class. Did I mention a yoga instructor will be coming to my new agency 4x a week? You're jealous.

AH Hair Gate 2009. Friday morning I decided I needed to get my hair trimmed up so I could wear it down and start looking for like a 23 year old instead of a 16 year old at work. I'm trying to grow out a bob, and I just needed a TRIM. TRIM. I call my salon and my gay stylist left! Tears. I was referred to another stylist. I trust the salon, so I arm myself with pictures and I head off. Long story short, my hair was butchered. The girl was waaaaaay too trigger happy with the texturizing shears. My hair is very thick, and people who don't know what they're doing will thin the shit out of it when I have a short cut. You don't do that. So yea, she massacred my head. But I had to work at the deli Friday afternoon and did not have the time to deal with it. When I got home from my shift, I shampooed and styled like normal, and I broke into sobbing tears. It was certifiably awful. I woke up early Saturday morning and called the manager at the salon and explained my predicament, and she scheduled me with yet another stylist in hopes of remedying the situation. I actually love the new girl, Charlotte. We're like kindred spirits....we LOVE LOVE LOVE gay male hair stylists. Anyway, so she was very sympathetic and upset that my hair was ruined, and did her best to fix it, but it was unsalvageable. My hair is now the shortest it has ever been, and about the worst cut-wise it has ever looked. One side is decent, the other side is super choppy and there's nothing I can do about it but wait for it to grow out. But I did get 2 free cuts from the salon so they can fix it as it grows out.

After those shenigans I treated myself to a pedicure and polish job at the salon Saturday afternoon. It's just upsetting that I was trying to grow my hair out, and now it's just as short as ever. I got a lot of compliments on it when I went out Saturday night, but with this cut, it is almost like it brings out another side of me. It's short and sassy, and I wear it big and voluminous. I don't know how to explain it, but I definitely find that I do my makeup differently when my hair it short as opposed to when it is longer. More eyeliner, darker colors. More SASS, for sure.

Last night I went out with K. and her friends in the Highlands, and had a great time. K. works at my old agency and is just a super sweet girl, and her friends are so fun. We went to a realy bizarre Thai restaurant and then went back to her apt for birthday cupcakes and wine. She made cupcakes and the girls sang happy birthday to me! Out of the 9 girls in the group, I had met 6 of them for the first time last night. It was so nice of them to make me feel so welcomed in Atlanta! Then we all went out in the Highlands to Hand in Hand, and I actually didn't pay for any of my drinks, so I guess the haircut isn't as bad as I imagine it to be.

Tomorrow I am off to clean out my desk at my agency, say goodbye to everyone; then go apartment hunting!


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I Need No Explanation

But since I love you dear readers, I will explain to you my apparent MIA status...

I GOT A JOB!

a for serious business, real, big girl JOB. It's amazing. I'm so excited. I start soon. I didn't mention any interviews on OMGOpinions because I'm sort of superstitious (not just a little stitious) and didn't want to jinx anything. That "meeting" I had when my car got hit? That was before my 2nd interview. REALLY.

I'll be staying in Atlanta, moving from my current agency where I intern to The New Agency. I love my new client account. I won't say who it is....but you should all be jealous. It's in the "beauty" category. That's all I'm sayin'.

I found out I got the position Wednesday night (great bday gift) an yesterday I went apartment hunting. Which is a whole 'nother stressful story. But THAT is why I've been absent from posting. Do you realize what this means?? No more hustling for minimum wage at the deli!!! Tonight is my last shift. Going down in a blaze of glory. But not really. I wish I were that bad ass.


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Happy Birthday to Me!!

I would never put this on Facebook, because that's obnoxious....but since like 2 of you know me in real life, I don't care... It's my birthday! 17th is such a good number.

Today is my birthday and it was a good day. I bought some Starbucks, courtesy of some cash money dollahs my parents sent in a card yesterday. Then my parents sent me flowers + a balloon + chocolate to my office and my team at work (agency) went to lunch at a great pizza place, and they surprised me with cake! It was so fun. I love love love my team and lunch was fabulous. I was a little cranky on the drive home, so I took a nap. I never take naps, but today was pretty necessary. Then I woke up and had a nice workout, and went to dinner at a mexican place with my aunt & uncle! Dinner was super yummy, I had shrimp tacos and 2 glasses of sangria. With my minimal alcohol intake lately, that was enough to get me feelin' sassy. Now I'm home, in my PJs, in my bed, seeing all the posts my wonderful friends wrote on my facebook wall, and I'm about to fall asleep to the Kings of Leon DVD. I may not be near my best friends for this birthday, but they definitely made their presence known. I got several phone calls & texts & gchats today....loved it! A pretty fabulous birthday all in all.

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Le Petit Escargot

title has zero relevance to this post.

I dropped off my pretty little (damaged) Saab this morning at the body shop and picked up some nasty Chevy compact. No offense intended to Chevy owners/drivers/lovers, but j'adore my car and want it back ASAfuckingP. This rental doesn't have an iPod hookup, so i had to burn a cd. And the radio stations come in fuzzy. Why is this? Someone explain this madness to me.

Tomorrow's my bday. INBD this year.

I'm not hungry. I bought salad greens because I'm not working at the deli this week, and I'll actually be home to eat a decent dinner. But it's 8pm, and nothing is appealing to my appetite. Maybe I'll make a small baby salad.

So yea....about working at the deli. I'm working a grand total of 6 hours this week. Pardonez-moi QUOI? As opposed to the 20-25 hours the past two weeks? Don't get it.

A glorious week from tomorrow I will be home!! With my doggie and my parents who will spoil me and cook for me and make sure I'm comfortable. My mom has decided that we're going shopping on Black Friday. I actually haven't been HOME for Black Friday in 4 years, because my college fball team's huge rivalry game was always scheduled the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so I was always catching flights on Friday. But this year I have a relaxing week, so getting up early to go shopping (and have things bought for me) won't be so terribly terrible.

As referenced in an earlier post today....I loooooved my green tights! I got them at Kohl's last night for like $7, and I wore them over a pair of black tights to make them really opaque. Opaque-ness is the key, I feel, in proper tights' wearing. I wore this simple black dress from H&M which I need to buy in every color they make, because I wear that dress all the time. Short dresses + tights + ballet flats are my winter uniform.

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens....

Guess the theme !

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Today's Ensemble Ft. Green Tights!

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