love, hampton.

modern patchwork!

2011-02-03T23:24:00.000-05:00

i still haven't cut the fabric for my quilt. that shiz was pricey and i'm sort of scared that i'm going to mess it up. i'm thinking perhaps i should cut my quilting teeth on a more beginner-friendly project before i step up to the houndsteeth. (teeth teeth teeth. i have a dentist appt next week, i guess i have teeth on the brain.)

so i've been thinking about the modern patchwork e-course from Rachel Denbrow. What is UP with these Red Velvet girls and all the cool stuff they do?!?! It's only $32 to buy, but 3 lucky ladies (or crafty dudes, I suppose) will win the e-course for free. Check it out!

2011-01-05T14:44:00.003-05:00

i hope someday to have a bathroom with a christmas tree in it. you can never have too much christmas cheer in the bathroom.

christmas tiiiiiiiime is heeeeeeere

2010-12-25T22:53:00.004-05:00

i love christmastime, every last commercialized bit of it. i have heard a couple of people comment about how funny they think the target lady commercials were... i wasn't really feeling the target lady, to be honest. i felt like she was a creepier version of the mervyn's "open open open!" lady from back in the day. nathan told me that those were the same commercials target used last year too... i don't remember seeing them last year, but maybe that is just because i found them so un-memorable. anyway, the target lady commercials seemed to stop playing once they started showing this year's new commercials more recently... and the new ones are great. seriously, i would get stupidly excited whenever they'd come on. like this one:

it wasn't until i got on their site to download a few of the songs until i realized that the one above is one of my favorite bands, bishop allen. i guess i was so distracted by how cute the commercial was it didn't occur to me to look at the bottom right hand corner for that information.

and this one is pretty cool too. the dance floor reminds me of the piano from the movie 'big' and also of an art installation i saw at the guggenheim a few years ago. it also sparked a conversation with a certain hot boyfriend about dancing and an occasion at which dancing might occur sometime in the future. fun times.

this one is my favorite. i mean, we all know that the real meaning of christmas is not found under the tree, but watching these kids rip be unable to contain their joy as they are tearing through the wrapping paper gave me the biggest sh*t eating grin EVERY TIME.

etsy drool

2010-12-15T12:46:00.004-05:00

the listing is for the scarf cowl thing, but what i really want is that squirrel sweater. is it rude if i message the seller and ask her where she got it? i think it might be rude. i also think i might not care.

houndstooth picnic quilt

2010-12-09T12:26:00.002-05:00

My houndstooth picnic quilt, originally uploaded by studiocherie.

my friend marissa and i have decided to embark on a quilting project. i found this pattern on etsy and we bought our fabric yesterday. evidently quilting is a bit of a pricey hobby to take up. i spent $75 on fabric! but the lady at the store told me i had a good eye for color. so, there's that. my quilt is going to be alternating 'teeth' of mustard yellow and a light-ish violet eggplant color. i'm also working on a crochet afghan in the same color family, because apparently i am a grandmother from the mid-seventies. if this project turns out well, i might start carrying around pictures of all the blankets i make in a "brag book" and keep it in my purse with kleenex and tic-tacs.

[portal de belen]

2010-12-06T18:51:00.001-05:00

[portal de belen], originally uploaded by LOV-E.

found this illustration on flickr and promptly fell in love. a quick google search could only confirm that portal de belen *might* be loosely translated to mean 'manger scene' or 'bethleham.' but i took french in high school, so who the hell knows? i only wish that there were some mariachi-playing wise men to complete the scene.

"do you see what i see?"

2010-11-02T04:59:00.004-04:00

so i found this .... i suppose you'd call it "wall art" on the craftzine blog. and really, what is there to say? i think they were going for paisley, but...

sorry, craftzine, but that's a vulva. holy balls, you guys, the medical posters at my gyno's office aren't that graphic. the one on the bottom right looks like intestines. but you didn't even see that there was one on the bottom right, did you? because your eye is immediately drawn to the giant ruffly VAGINA, right smack there in the middle.

you know what's really messed up? i can't stop looking at it.

2010-10-31T16:26:00.003-04:00

oh man, while white knuckles is not my favorite ok go song (listen to anything on their self-titled album, it's way fun.) i do enjoy these guys and their goofy videos. i also enjoy ikea and dogs, so that makes this video a triple threat. you can go to their site and download the video for a donation of $2 or more and the proceeds go to the ASPCA. or if you hate dogs, you could watch it here for free. whatever.

side note- when i lived in nyc for ten minutes, i saw ok go open up for rufus wainwright. gayest concert ever, it was pretty rad. it was shortly before the treadmill video went viral, and as their last song they opted out on the whole singing and playing instruments thing, and did choreography to the song instead, with the song playing over the PA system, ~~milli vanilli~~ ashlee simpson style. ridic.

if you want better things, i want you to have them

2010-09-27T21:09:00.000-04:00

why is it so hard to let go of the ghosts of things you don't even want anymore?

photo from mimiloveforever

sometimes the internet is awesome

2010-09-20T22:27:00.002-04:00

my day has not been super awesome. it has been marginally productive, which is very nice, but i haven't been able to enjoy that victory because i settled firmly into a funk sometime around 11:30 this morning and haven't been able to shake it.

but it seems that the world wide web has come to cure me from my grumpy day, because it sent me this, via black*eiffel:

now that's pretty damn cute. i think it's also the universe's way of saying that maybe my problem is just that my blood sugar is low, and i should go to sonic and get a banana split- double strawberry, no pineapple.

all dressed in white

2010-09-03T14:36:00.000-04:00

i am SO glad that j. crew has introduced a bridal line in recent years. because what little girl hasn't dreamed of walking down the aisle in a bath mat?

i went through a brief stage in junior high when i tried to make a lot of my own clothes. let me tell ya, it was pretty rough. there was one night when, fresh out of the shower, inspiration struck and i decided it would be an AWESOME idea to use my bath towel to fashion a dress for the upcoming valentines dance. or the homecoming dance, or whatever the hell dance. the moment was fleeting though. i'm not sure if i was just shy about going strapless, or if i realized how stupid that would look in any other context besides fresh out of the shower. at any rate, even in 8th grade i figured out that this was not a fashion statement anyone should make. maybe j. crew should hire some tweens as consultants before their spring line comes out.

oh, and look! anthropologie has the matching flower girl dress for sale!!

she's cheer captain and i'm on the bleachers

2010-09-03T13:33:00.003-04:00

browsing through target yesterday, as i am apt (wayyyyy too apt) to do, i discovered that taylor swift has her own line of greeting cards. besides quoting herself in a couple of them, and seriously, who does that??? they are otherwise pretty cute.

i would not have expected taylor and i to have a shared aesthetic. this is the card that first caught my eye. that kid shares my fashion sense- she and i DEFinitely have a shared aesthetic. i wonder what she wants to be when she grows up. if i had to guess, i'd say it's the person at the zoo that bathes the giraffes. that sounds like a pretty badass job. way better than being some silly old cheer captain.

frustration station

2010-07-13T17:00:00.002-04:00

argh! today i had finally mustered up enough motivation to tackle a couple of creatvie projects i've had on the backburner for a while. but i think my sewing machine might have gotten damaged in the move. that's not altogether suprising because i don't have a case for it (it lived sitting on its side in a tote bag in my car for 3 weeks) and it's not super well made to begin with. i noticed that it looked a little beat up when i finally unpacked it and gave it a proper home in my little craft nook in the new house. but i didn't think much of it til it went all wonky on me when i attempted to hem a thrift store dress this afternoon. crap!

i'd already been thinking about signing up for this online class:

and now i am pretty sure i'm going to. i'd forgotten how satisfying it is to sit and physically produce something until i'd gotten thisclose! to being able to do it! i could really use some brushing up on my skills, because while i have a lot of ideas floating around, i'm not always sure how to execute them. i haven't taken any sort of sewing class since i was 12, and i'd be willing to bet a refresher course would help. but now i may have to find a new sewing machine before i can even do the class! lame. oh well, for now i guess i can grab a needle and thread (and thimble) and work out some of that frustration by hand.

jusssssst breathe

2010-07-12T13:32:00.002-04:00

one of the many many (wayyyy too many) bloggers i follow also runs an online jewelry boutique and she recently posted some things from her newest collection. i've gotta say, i am loving them. these pendants have short, encouraging phrases on them- and also printed in braille on the other side. they are designed to have the braille be the side that is visible when you are wearing it. this might be a nice, calming reminder for me to chill the f*ck out when i am thinking too much and breathing too little.

it's official...

2010-06-27T10:00:00.001-04:00

i live with a boy.

woot!!

(photo)

2010-05-07T12:15:00.002-04:00

if you are a blogoholic like i am, you have likely already seen links to the new site thxthxthx, a blog where the author posts a thank-you note each day. she calls it her 'daily exercise in gratitude.' it's a sweet idea, one that could easily border the edge of saccharine. writing (non-snarky) thank you notes to the inanimate mundane crap of every day? really? first reaction: it's kinda cheesy.

but.

this one is great.

really.

lost coastlines

2010-04-21T14:52:00.001-04:00

this okkervil river song sounds a lot like how i feel about god sometimes.

a lot of times.

i'm ok with that i think. walk by faith and not sight, right? k. i'm tryin.

We sail out on orders from him but we find
The maps he sent to us don't mention lost coastlines
Where nothing we've actually seen has been mapped or outlined
And we don't recognize the names upon these signs
And every night finds us rocking and rolling on waves wild and wide
Well we have lost our way, but nobody's gonna say it outright

act justly // love mercy // walk humbly

2010-04-12T14:43:00.005-04:00

i've tried to distance myself somewhat from political and religious labels in the last few years, for a lot of different reasons. i'm not opposed to them entirely*, it's just that they tend to be pretty limiting. you are this one thing, and you are not any other thing. i'm not sure if any label can (or should) be able to contain all the aspects of who i am and what i believe. that being said, 'social justice christian' is a little wordy, but it does sound like something close to what i'd like to be.

found via soupablog

*the label jackass, for example... there are instances when that seems to sum it up pretty well.

stop looking at me, swaaan!

2010-04-12T09:47:00.002-04:00

spending too much time on the internet will make you ponder the big questions of life. questions like whyyyyyyyy are there not more inflatable swans in my life?
must. remedy. immediately!

Cause I’ve been housing all this doubt and insecurity and I’ve been locked inside that house all the while You hold the key

2010-04-08T10:53:00.003-04:00

i am afraid of a lot of stupid things. really, really stupid things.

well, no more. fear, you can eat a dick!!

2010-04-04T03:52:00.003-04:00

i ran across this blog called "makeunder my life" a few weeks ago because they'd featured an interview with holly from decor8, one of roughly 17 million blogs i follow. their tagline is "designing a life with intention" and the more i think about that, i like it a lot. i'm pretty new to her blog but it seems to center on enriching life by simplifying it. the girl who writes it is a jewelry designer out of chicago, and she'll include some business advice here and there. i was taking a midnight (ok, 3am) stroll through my google reader a while back ago and saw that she had posted this video:

i could tell almost immediately that this video was made by the same people who did the advent conspiracy videos. almost more than it made me want to be an entrepreneur, it made me want to work for that company! the actual company the advertisement is for, grasshopper, is a phone system that i don't really have any use for, but i keep watching the video. i have a playlist on my lala.com account called "motivational speaking," it's full of songs with upbeat, encouraging "you can do it!" lyrics that i call upon when i'm having a rough day at work. lala is going the way of the buffalo :'( so whatever alternate digital cheerleading i figure out may have this video in heavy rotation.

i am a weapon of massive consumption, and it's not my fault, it's how i'm programmed to function

2010-02-16T23:57:00.001-05:00

happy mardi gras, friends. i know that you know today being fat tuesday means that tomorrow is ash wednesday, and the beginning of lent. last year was my first lent and i jumped in head first, still not really knowing what all the fuss was about, thinking i'd figure it out as i went along. (i tend to do that.) for my foray into the symbolic wilderness, i gave up eating out. NOT easy. i did allow myself some free days, like my birthday, and my excursion with the fam up to illinois for a long weekend, but otherwise i did pretty well. i thought about going the same route this year, but that seemed a little unfair to my boo, since he'd undoubtedly be affected by my sudden culinary high maintenance-ness. i considered giving up tv, but again, i thought natedogg might be out on that idea since a solid chunk of our more low-key time together is spent watching dvd's. and ya know. i try to be thoughtful and stuff. so in the vein of being thoughtful, i tried to think about what would be a challenging (but not insurmountable) and meaningful item or activity to give up. after feeling the effects of a sudden burst of fiscal activity a week or so ago, i landed on this year's "sacrifice."

shopping.

when i say it out loud it sounds pretty shallow, and i feel like a character from clueless. "like, omg! i totally can't go shopping for forty days!" but it's not like that. i don't typically spend my money (or my time) on bullshit just because i can... or do i? that's pretty subjective i guess. i may not be running around beverly hills with cher and tai (or paul rudd. dammit.) but my debit card does see the light of day far more than it ought to. when i get an unexpected windfall, it burns a hole in my pocket. i remember being 10 or 11 and getting $50 in christmas money. i wanted to go to the mall the next day. my mom being my mom, and me being not of legal age to drive, that did not happen. but from that early of an age, i had bought into the idea that i was a consumer. (that's an unintentional pun, but what does it say about our society that 'buy into' is a common expression for aligning with an idea? so many layers. peel the onion, ya'll.) shopping was an activity, it was something to DO. i was ten years old, i didn't NEED anything from the mall. i didn't even have anything in mind to buy, i just wanted to go spend my money because it was mine and because i could.

the drawing of the sunglasses is by kate bingaman-burt. she started a series of illustrations in 2006 called "obsessive consumption," a hand-drawn daily chronicle of everything that she bought. i don't know that i'd want to document all the numerous ways that i've drained my bank account, but it would certainly be a sobering experiment. so, my abstinence from consumerism (and wrestling with some of the ideas behind it) will be my lenten adventure for the year. i've allowed for some free passes, namely stuff that i need to complete something from my birthday list, concert tickets for we were promised jetpacks and alkaline trio, and birthday or baby shower presents for dear friends. also possibly some hair dye at some point if i can ever figure out what i want to do with my hair. the catholics get sundays off, so i think these concessions are fair. oh, and groceries, obvs. a girl's gotta eat.

we should get jerseys, 'cause we make a good team

2010-02-14T10:00:00.002-05:00

don't think i'm gonna get all sappy and gross here. you've met me, right? listen, valentine's day is lame. but you know what is not lame, is this dude who continually melts my cynical little heart. he is the opposite of lame, pretty great in fact. and today seems like as good a day as any to point that out.

(that's all.)

pic from owly shadow puppets

let's get a silver bullet trailer and have a baby boy...

2010-02-02T13:45:00.002-05:00

look! it's an art print of my retirement plan! at first glance it might seem that the artist, leah giberson, left out the dachshund, but i trust that he is inside lounging (but not shedding) on the mid-century style sleeper sofa and enjoying the ambiance provided by the chandelier. the chandelier that has been rewired to work as a pendant lamp, of course. because you can't hard-wire a lighting fixture in a travel trailer, that would be ridiculous! there are some palm trees off in the distance too, you just can't see them.

we sit and grow our roots into the floor, but what are we waiting for?

2010-01-08T11:46:00.006-05:00

if you read my blog (and obvs, you do.) you might be familiar with a project i am working on this year. (this, the 28th year of my existence, not the year 2010. just to clear up any confusion.) i may have even blogged about it here, i don't really remember. anyway, this past birthday was a difficult milestone for me. not really because of anything about being 28, or almost 30, or hitting the year of my 10 yr high school reunion (okay, maybe that last one just a little). it was more because as i saw 28 approaching, i realized that i'd spent most of 27 in a passive state, wishing, longing, waiting for things that i realize now could never happen. the birthday was an uncomfortable reminder that OH MY GOD IT'S BEEN A YEAR and i was no closer to these things than i had been before. it was a sad, helpless feeling. not an awesome way to start out a new year.

but i happened to run across this girl's blog just before my birthday, and was intrigued. she had made a list of 24 things to do while she was 24. can you guess what happened next?

pic from MaryKateMcDevitt

a lot of the things on the list will not get crossed off this year. i made the list while i was still living (and splitting living expenses) with jared, and before i had a car payment. with these recent life developments, some of these fun things (like learning to surf and snowboard, seeing the west coast) are for the moment financially unattainable. i'll just have to hope that 29 throws some extra dolla billz my way and i can get them checked off then. i'm ok with the fact that my list will not be "completed" on march 17, because the point was never just to do things. it was to regain some feeling of control in life, to be proactive and work towards the things that are within my reach, and i've done that. i think my procrastinationism (totes a word. yes it is.) will always be a little devil on my shoulder, but having a goal on paper and a deadline (however loose) for it will help to balance that some. so what all have i accomplished thus far?

well, i've learned to make risotto. i've hung curtains in my apartment. i've gone on a date - a couple of them actually! i (halfway, kinda, close enough) tried out for roller derby. i've updated my resume. i've volunteered. i took a yoga class. i went to get allergy testing for my weird food allergy that i can't quite pinpoint (they couldn't test me for that, but i went, so it counts.). i set up an etsy shop, and i applied for a craft show. items still pending: surfing, snowboarding, seeing the west coast, learning one song on the guitar and one on piano, hanging out with my friend jen in austin, taking a creative writing class, finishing the color on my tattoo, getting my passport, planting a garden... and honestly the others i really don't remember right now (hey, 28 things is a lot of things!), but they are written down at home. i've established a trajectory in a direction that feels good. really good. so i'm looking forward to continuing it and grabbing both 2010 and 29 by the balls and moving forward. like whoa. because:

pic from postsecret

(side note: if you are getting this from your RSS feed, click over and check out the new header! lovehampton has had a small makeover. tyra would be proud.)

2009-12-31T10:01:00.000-05:00

you guys.... we did it.

'cause you wanted some love, well, make it happen.

2009-12-28T12:28:00.003-05:00

hello, butterflies. it's been a while, hasn't it?

pic via weheartit

--------------
Now Playing: Gentleman Auction House - "ABCDEFGraveyard"

chestnuts and fire, holly and hay, jesus and mary, what a great day.

2009-12-25T03:52:00.003-05:00

merry christmas, friends. thanks for being in my life. you're all wonderful. and much loved.

pic from http://www.flickr.com/photos/shannaleigh/

hey blog, how's it goin? i like your posts, they're really great. say hi to your motha for me, okay?

2009-12-21T19:17:00.003-05:00

why, why, WHY is andy samberg so funny? why?

i don't know either.

anyway, on to things. i'm trying to embrace the cautious optimism i feel peeking through. there is a part of me that is always waiting for the other shoe to drop... but for the time, i'll try to get past that and just enjoy the cute shoes... if that makes sense. (it doesn't? oh well.)

(picture from weheartit)

speaking of cute shoes (in a less metaphorical manner), i'm in the market for some new flat boots. what do we think about these?

at delia's for about $60. or do we like this chinese laundry pair from nordstrom better? they are only $10 more, if they aren't sold out in the store. they're gone online.

decisions decisions. it should be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

p.s. i wear a size 8.

2009-10-28T17:33:00.004-04:00

today is a lucky day for pretty dresses. first i saw this new lovely at one of my fave online stores, modcloth.com. it's called the "lunch date dress"

and later in the day i wandered to beeks's blog and she had posted about a giveaway on this girl meg's blog for this pretty thing! meg named it the "ladies who lunch" dress. very charlotte from sex and the city (or maybe michelle obama?), but the green keeps it fresh. i think i could pair it with a cardigan and not feel like i'm playing dress up. or i could switch her white patent belt for my black studded one. regardless, i dig.

i need to schedule some lunch dates, stat!

it's my only offer...

2009-10-05T16:37:00.002-04:00

i think i am finally brave enough to start being the person i've wanted to be since i was 17.

it's nice.

*photo by akihiro furuta*

i want your kite strings tangled in my trees all wrapped up

2009-10-02T00:51:00.004-04:00

well hello there...

it's not that i don't love you anymore, sweet blog. i just can't sit down lately and actually turn out a blog entry. as if mtv didn't damage my attention span enough from infancy, twitter popped up on the scene and has rendered me incapable of thinking beyond 140 character bursts. we'll get back to the long rambling rhythm of life at some point, but until then i refer you to the upper right hand corner.

my heart ticks in beat with these kids that i grew up with

2009-08-19T12:29:00.002-04:00

we reunited. it was fun.

oh, the interwebs!

2009-08-07T17:25:00.002-04:00

<3<3 betsey johnson added me on twitter. <3<3

ways to get punched in the nuts:

2009-08-07T15:32:00.004-04:00

have this conversation with me:

(the text is small but if you click on it you can see a bigger and more infuriating version)

we've been in between the days for years

2009-07-30T13:33:00.003-04:00

new stuff from david fullarton. thanks dude.

america!!!! (f*ck yeah!)

2009-07-04T15:46:00.001-04:00

20080709150217, originally uploaded by findblancomeow.

happy birthday, america! no one is perfect, but you've been real good to me. i'm off to celebrate your bday with beloved friends. we'll talk when i get back.

xoxo
hampton

(pretend i'm posting this last weekend)

2009-07-04T15:40:00.001-04:00

20081107124123, originally uploaded by findblancomeow.

happy pride weekend, friends!

pic from weheartit

weheartit.com/entry/178782

i am feeling a little peculiar

2009-06-30T14:36:00.004-04:00

i have this adorable fun friend named holly who used to work for google. and i discovered last night that google at one point hosted a "google idol" contest that holly won. she didn't just win within her department or within the dallas office (which unfortunately no longer exists); it was a company-wide contest and she won. curiousity and boredom at work got the better of me today, so i pulled up the video. ya'll, she killed it. i mean really, she's so good. i wish i could hear more of hollybear and less of her friend weilding the video camera, but nonetheless, i present my sweet friend holly singing "what's up" by the 4 non blondes

Having my shirt screen printed at dallas

2009-06-14T17:16:00.000-04:00

Having my shirt screen printed at dallas city arts festival. Super cute design by journey dude brian gibb

These trees were in the air last night,

2009-06-11T11:44:00.000-04:00

These trees were in the air last night, not on the ground.

i haven't updated in a while... just wondering if yall still check this ;)

2009-06-10T19:40:00.005-04:00

i am sitting in my apartment, a foot away from and facing the window while i sit here on the laptop. my apartment is on the first floor of the building, on a fairly busy corner of a fairly hispanic (oxymoron? they have more melanin than i do) neighborhood. i am entertained by the fact that they see me and make the 'how you doin' face at me... until they realize i have nair on my face. then they don't know what to do and awkwardly look down at the sidewalk and hurry away.

tmi? you'll get over it.

At dinner with my parents. Talking about

2009-06-06T22:15:00.000-04:00

At dinner with my parents. Talking about porn.

Blue goose with the boy, FINALLY!

2009-06-03T20:56:00.001-04:00

Blue goose with the boy, FINALLY!

also, i realize now that i should perhaps clarify. 'the boy' is jared, not... some other boy, after a week of having to reschedule our dinner plans. good times were had by all, but it was not a romantic escapade. he still likes dudes.

75% of the things i just tried on at urb

2009-06-03T19:17:00.000-04:00

75% of the things i just tried on at urban were plaid. Zero % fit.

Gunther does not like moving.

2009-05-18T20:59:00.000-04:00

Gunther does not like moving.

Mid-afternoon detour at the old adam's m

2009-05-17T15:43:00.000-04:00

Mid-afternoon detour at the old adam's mark hotel downtown

Moving day!

2009-05-17T12:42:00.000-04:00

Moving day!

I'm in love.

2009-05-14T14:33:00.000-04:00

I'm in love.

I'm home, bitches!

2009-05-14T14:20:00.000-04:00

I'm home, bitches!

take this job and shove it

2009-05-12T11:21:00.002-04:00

this is what i do for a living. this is my job. i read and respond to crazy emails from crazy people with crazy senses of entitlement. and also, evidently, i take minutes from their lives.

Below is the link I was asked to do. I qualified and spent 80 minutes watching a video and at the end I was told that they had enough responses!!!! I am mystified why I would be subjected to such a "bait and switch" program. I am less concerned at not making the edollars and more that 80 minutes of my life was taken and made me a"fool".

i am not sure why "fool" is in "quotes"... but "whatev."

The ROUS's? I don't think they exist.

2009-05-07T02:04:00.000-04:00

The ROUS's? I don't think they exist.

At flight of the conchords! I paid forty

2009-05-05T20:50:00.000-04:00

At flight of the conchords! I paid forty bucks each for these tickets and we are way far away. I'm not doing the presale anymore!

I miss my truck.

2009-05-03T03:29:00.000-04:00

I miss my truck.

2009-04-30T23:37:00.004-04:00

was browsing this blog and ran across this poster. love it. obamahope still makes me tear up.

2009-04-21T17:44:00.002-04:00

christmas is coming up, ya'll.

http://www.colawrvsalvage.com/details.asp?product=4

blogging at work (like a boss)

2009-04-09T13:17:00.004-04:00

it is very good to be back to texas. i had a much better time in illinois than i was expecting, thanks largely to the lovely emily cherry. my brother's performance for his thesis project was nothing short of phenomenal. the show that he did was wrist-slittingly depressing, but i managed to survive not only the play but lots of quality time with the fam without any lingering thoughts of self harm.

i love that the only post from my adventures in butthole that garnered any sort of response was the 'kum and go' picture. ya'll are perverts. this is why i love you.

also during this trip, my mom told me i should sign up for e-harmony. "don't you want a boyfriend?" sadly i could not capture this moment with the magic of cell phone photography. she also mentioned that they now have a gay site. not sure what that was supposed to mean. i think she probably meant for jared, because she is often inquiring about the state of his love life as well. but for the record: i like dudes.

With the brother as the house party

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With the brother as the house party

DSC00184

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DSC00190

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Still drizz at the house partizz

House party

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House party

Toga party at the clurb

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Toga party at the clurb

DSC00186

2009-04-05T02:13:00.000-04:00

Ghetto sangria, what!

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Ghetto sangria, what!

Courthouse in the town square

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Courthouse in the town square

Wtf

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Wtf

Dinner. The hot sauce is realz yummy.

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Dinner. The hot sauce is realz yummy.

Mom's drunk.

2009-04-02T21:50:00.000-04:00

Mom's drunk.

Doing the family thing is more fun when

2009-04-02T21:43:00.000-04:00

Doing the family thing is more fun when you're drizz

Illinois wind farm

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Illinois wind farm

Late lunch. Can i get a bellini? To go?

2009-04-02T16:33:00.000-04:00

Late lunch. Can i get a bellini? To go?

St louis

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St louis

On the road again. We ate here last nigh

2009-04-02T11:02:00.000-04:00

On the road again. We ate here last night right next to the hotel. Me = not impressed. I'm not holding out hope that butthole has better culinary offerings. But i do hear there is a taco bell...

Missouri gas station.

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Missouri gas station.

Classy, missouri. Real classy.

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Classy, missouri. Real classy.

Breaking lent. Road tripping leaves me l

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Breaking lent. Road tripping leaves me little choice! And I've been so good!

In the front seat playing dj now. Life i

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In the front seat playing dj now. Life is better. The front seats have seat warmers! My bum is toasty.

Breakfast. Also, i'm really bored and mi

2009-04-01T12:59:00.000-04:00

Breakfast. Also, i'm really bored and miss the internet.

Welcome to oklahoma.

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Welcome to oklahoma.

En route to butthole, illinois and my au

2009-04-01T11:59:00.000-04:00

En route to butthole, illinois and my aunt is jamming the easy listening on xm radio. Third eye blind just came on the nineties station and she switched it to power ballads. Shoot me in the face.

resurrect the evening, brought it back as it filled in something missing

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i slept for 8 hours last night!

image from weheartit.com

very excited about our new post-its

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thinking 'bout tomorrow won't change how i feel today

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a few weeks ago i bought some ziplock steamer bags after seeing the commercial and being irrepressibly intrigued. i was also more than a little creeped out about cooking raw chicken in a ziplock bag in the microwave though, so it took me a while to commit to the experiment. while i was making dinner (or as it was 6am, i suppose it was breakfast) hunger and curiosity won out.

i.am.AMAZED!

in literally five minutes i cooked two fairly large chicken breasts to tender juicy perfection. the recipe i used wasn't something that will knock your socks off, but it's a good jumping off point for the future. but now that i've pushed past my fear of microwaved chicken, there are plenty of options to explore. the directions warn against using the bags with high fat foods like bacon (why would you want to steam bacon?!?!) and foods with high sugar content. i'm wondering if high sugar also means foods with a lot of carbs, like pasta? if i could make spaghetti on my lunch break at work, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME. it's not like i couldn't make spaghetti at home the regular (boring) way the night before and take it to work the next day. but this would be way more fun. i'm trying to give myself some more eating-in options, particularly for lunch.

for those that are unaware i gave up eating out for lent and it has been HARD, especially at lunch in the office. food is oddly emotional and purposefully depriving yourself of something with an emotional attachment can be a little depressing. it's also part of the practice of 'breaking bread' with friends and family and there's an emotional component to that too. jared and i typically eat out a LOT, and with my lenten abstinence from restaurants and fast food places he has continued to frequent, i definitely feel a little distant from him these days. maybe if we can eat dinner at home and i can cook it this quickly i can get a little more face time with the boy. at any rate, go getcha some steamer bags! i watched my chicken in the microwave the whole time it cooked, i was hypnotized by it. if i can just get myself a frydaddy then i will be all set until easter!

things i've felt but i've never said...

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when i was in elementary school, 5th or 6th grade, i 'tried out' for the creative writing UIL event. i don't remember how it worked exactly, if the kids selected worked as a team somehow or what. i just remember that there were three spots and four girls in my grade wanted them. we had 'practice' after school for several weeks, which is basically the nerdiest thing ever, and then the teacher that was the sponsor for this event had to make the heart-wrenching decision of who would get cut. shocker: it was me. i was selected for the dubious honor of being the alternate. always the motherfuckin bridesmaid.

maybe this was because i had not yet learned the power of a well placed curse word in my essays. but yeah, probably not. i think it is more likely because all i knew how to do was play by the rules. my writing was good but it was too safe. i didn't take any chances with it, and i approach this blog now with mixed feelings. there are days when i want to spill out my insides, and some days i'll even put my fingers to the keys. mostly though, i stop myself. my blog is very calculated. i say exactly what i want to say. in an effort to not turn this into payattentiontome.blogspot.com, i'll forego any vulnerability and find a pretty picture to share instead, or maybe a song lyric that has been resonating with me but with no accompanying explanation, even if i'm prompted for it. it's safer that way. if i overshare i might make us all uncomforable, dear reader.

well. i've decided: i don't give a shit anymore.

i
dont
give
a
SHIT.

(i'm gonna keep saying that til it's true)

this space is mine and i think i'm going to try and get a little ballsier with it, our collective comfort level be damned! i cab be sort of a guarded person so i don't think this will come easily but i do think it's important, for different reasons that are kind of complex to get into here, but i will proabably lead you into over time. this is not about you, my dear readers. this is for me, an effort to be a little more honest with myself. denial and vodka will only get you so far, and i need to try something different.

at least, this is how i feel today. tomorrow my posts may be back to all fog and mirrors. who knows.

I work at dunder mifflin

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I work at dunder mifflin

well, shit.

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image from design crush

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today is one million percent better than yesterday. i am humbled and reminded:

thanks friends.

the penis mightier

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this is not as funny as this

googling 'the penis mightier' made me laugh

we're kept together by highways and telephone lines

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PICT2803, originally uploaded by findblancomeow.

happy birthday to my bff. thanks for getting it. you're the best, dude.

2009-03-04T14:09:00.003-05:00

i cant figure out how to replace the little thing on the side that had my twitter info on it, so i thought i'd just make a post. now that i have more friends that will play, i'm trying to tweet again. if you'd like to delve even further into the minutiae of my life, you can follow me her e. or not. whatever, it's all good.

dreaming of a white christmas

2009-02-22T12:17:00.001-05:00

dreaming of a white christmas, originally uploaded by findblancomeow.

just like the ones iiiiiiiii used to know.....

this was my grandma's old white christmas tree. seriously vintage, this centerpiece to many of my childhood memories was maybe my most favorite item i procured from her estate this summer. i was so excited to have the big white tree in my small beige living room.

i never really got it to look the way i had it pictured in my head, and ended up throwing it away after the holidays. 30 year old plastic trees have a time and a place, but i think they are better suited for nostalgia than for 2009 in my living room. but it was pretty awesome being able to see the big white tree out the window from southwestern blvd.

the neon light from the building lets you know you're home*

2009-02-22T11:19:00.002-05:00

dallas in lights, originally uploaded by findblancomeow.

some people in an apartment down the street from me used xmas lights to depict the dallas skyline. super cute! i wish their was a red pegasus though.

this pic is obviously inexcusably blurry, but you can see the green of the bank of america building much better than in the other photo i took, and i think that really adds to the charm.

i'm totally stealing this idea for next year. even if i don't have a street-facing window.

*ben kweller wrote that line of the song 'falling' about flying into dallas from new york and seeing the tacky green BofA building just before landing. how sweet. whenever i heard that song before i would always picture the neon sign for trees in deep ellum. back, ya know, when trees still existed. sigh.

i'm taking pictures of everything to remind me of the place that's so perfect for me

2009-02-21T02:51:00.004-05:00

the degree to which i want to be these people -shauna and stephen from something's hiding in here- is nothing short of painful. i first read about this couple in philly in an issue of readymade magazine. and shortly after, pictures of their AMAZING loft start showing up all over the many many design blogs i frequent. one of these blogs linked back to their etsy shop, which i had already bookmarked some time ago, not realizing it was shauna and stephen. they collectively are also one of my contacts on flickr, so i've seen some more pics come up lately of a new project they are working on, sort of breathing new life into a previous project. the urban outfitters flagship store is in philly where the home office is based, and every two months they have an artist do an installation in the set of windows that faces the institute of contemporary art. urban picked shauna and stephen last year, and this was their project:

you'll have to click the link above for the deets.

their etsy shop is adorable, but the first thing that really sold me on this couple is their loft. when i say it's amazing, it's not in that homo fabulous uptown modern way you typically think of lofts as being. no no no no. i've had actual literal dreams about jared and me moving into a space like this, and making it ours (ok, making it mine, he doesn't really give a shit) the way s&s have. it's spacious and breathtaking, as a typical loft apartment would be, but it's warm and quirky and they have totally put themselves into it.

i totally have a crush on this couple, and on their living space. and when i fall, i fall hard.

happy singles awareness day!

2009-02-13T12:51:00.002-05:00

but the lows are so extreme that the good seems fuckin cheap, and it teases you for weeks in its absence

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picnikfile_QZ3WB8, originally uploaded by findblancomeow.

i would say this picture from postsecret is an accurate description of how i have felt lately.

i mean, just between you and me, internet.

i wonder how long i'll leave this post up.

please please please let me get what i want

2009-02-05T00:16:00.002-05:00

i want a love like this ring. huge and beautiful, though totally flawed.

every story needs an ending, after all

2009-02-03T15:42:00.002-05:00

i miss them all

2009-02-02T13:35:00.000-05:00

2009-02-02T05:17:00.002-05:00

late night insomnia drove me to discover a new art crush. charmaine olivia. go, click, fall in love.

a deer wearing gym socks is my fave. i plan on purchasing a print via etsy very soon.

in an attempt to distract myself from the fact that i'm not sleeping, i decided to watch a rerun of the puppy bowl with gunther. we enjoyed this. we also heard hearing my downstairs neighbor having sex. we did not enjoy this. i have to be at at work in four and a half hours and i suspect that likewise, i will not enjoy that.

i can name all fifty states, 48 get in the way

2009-02-01T00:46:00.001-05:00

girls in newark, originally uploaded by findblancomeow.

it was a real good trip.