If I had a computer at my disposal,

I would have made each and everyone of you a little CD of songs that are good (you'd probably agree at least on a few of them...) but unfortunately, the computer I can use most of the time is a PC, and won't allow me to get songs from my iPod to the computer. So, until I buy a new little computer (post Africa, anyone for a Christmas in July mix?) I'll post the songs and artists I WOULD have made a mix out of right here.

1. It's oh so Quiet - Bjork
2. On the Rebound - Floyd Cramer
3. Comin' Home Baby - Mel Torme
4. Forever - The Explorers Club
5. Up North - Pale Young Gentlemen
6. Reunion - Stars
7. Love Me Tenderly - The Felice Brothers
8. Lose Your Soul - Dead Man's Bones
9. Yours To Keep - Teddybears Sthlm
10. Bulletproof - La Roux
11. See Fernando - Jenny Lewis
12. White Light/White Heat - Velvet Underground
13. I Will Dare - The Replacements
14. With A Girl Like You - The Troggs
15. Feeling the Pull - The Swell Season
16. Salt and the Sea - Gregory Alan Isakov
17. Darling Be Home Soon - The Lovin' Spoonful
18. Please Stay - Duffy
19. Edge of Desire - John Mayer*
20. I Wonder - The Willowz
21. Don't Think Twice, It's Alright - Bob Dylan

*Yes, I would have felt like a tool for putting John Mayer on a mix, but it's a pretty good song.

nymag.com

nymag is one of my favorite sites. so snarky and fun, all of the time. after reading this, I said, "that's horrible," and proceeded to giggle for a long while.

ROOTS.

"A lady who colors her hair knows when her roots are showing and makes an appointment with her stylist."

I love having my hair done, all the foils, the trashy magazines, the gossip at Vanity Junkie and leaving with Brigitte Bardot hair is always a welcome experience. If I didn't limit myself by way of a hair budget, I'd spend a lot of time and money. Sometimes, however, I'm not a very good planner. Three weeks before I went to Spain I tried to get an appointment with my usual (AND FABULOUS) stylist, but she was completely booked. A friend of mine suggested a salon, so I went. I left with fine hair. When I got back from Spain, I had a coupon from the new salon... and so the coupon dictated. I left with HIDEOUS, HIDEOUS color. It looked like four week grow out straight out of the salon, so I called my usual stylist to see if she had any time for an emergency appointment. She was booked solid for the next three weeks. (Did I mention she's very good?) So, I went to Yelp to try to find someone. I went in for my appointment with this new person and she made me WAY too blonde to cover up the hideous disaster of the previous week. As I left that appointment I realized I had just spent all of the rest of the money I would allow myself for the rest of the year. I immediately called my usual stylist and set an appointment for January 5 (why yes this was three months ago). For about three weeks my hair has been past the point of decent root length, so taking a page out of the Carrie Bradshaw handbook, I've been wearing my hair curly, or wearing hats. I am very excited about my appointment on the 5th.

Why did I tell you all this junk that you don't care about? Because you needed the back story before you heard the anecdote.

On Christmas Eve, much against my own good judgment, I went to my grandparents' house for the annual gathering. The first words out of a certain Christmas letter writer's mouth were not, "Merry Christmas." (as mine were to her) or even, "Hello." instead it was, "What is going on with your hair?" said with a tone to imply that I had ketchup smeared all over my head, or was wearing a pink flamingo lawn ornament as a headpiece. "Um, what?" was the answer I mustered, and she then said, "Are you letting your hair grow out, or what?" "I'm trying to save some money. I have an appointment next week." Later when she opened the printer my brother and I gave her, she thanked my brother about ten times, then my dear uncle said, "and Molly..." and she said nothing.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have grandparents that actually liked me, or were at least kind, but then who would I make fun of on my blog? Oh, that's right...countless strangers.

I would like to thank all of you for judging me and my tacky roots in silence. I appreciate it!

Christmas Craftiness.

Since most of my craft projects have found their way to their new respective homes, I'll share some really poor pictures. (After Jen and Adrianna get theirs, I'll post pictures of a few more.)

For little brother, I painted Elvis, James Dean, and Paul Newman on to little onesies.

Partner them with the jeans and little converse I got him, and if he's not cool it won't be my fault.

For cousin, and step siblings, I painted some more little things on t-shirts:


For brother, I painted DEVO onto a yellow shirt.


For cousin and his lady, I did a little Elsie-inspired diptych:

For aunt to protect her manicure, I made these ridiculous things:



For cousin, who is obsessed with zippers and zebras, I made a handbag. It's kind of cute.

I lined it in zebra fabric (and actually wrapped it in the remnant so that if she wants, we can make something else out of the fabric.) and was able to use one of my typewriters to make a little tag out of yellow taffeta.


More to come!!!

Crafty like Satan...

I am tired and feeling very masochistic. My sewing machine's needle is super sticky and covered in black feathers. I have a feeling that I am no where near sleep tonight. If I weren't having so much fun, I'd think this crafting for Christmas thing was the DUMBEST idea ever. I can't wait to be done and give all of these things away. And I can't wait to share some pictures here...

Have fun, kiddos. I'm off to finish a couple of paintings.

Oops.

I'm working on a Christmas present for baby brother Isaac, and oops, if I didn't turn Paul Newman into Peggy Olson.



Back to photoshop, to try again. hehe.

P.S. This "handmade christmas" idea of mine was one of the stupidest ideas I've ever come up with. Here's hoping I finish in time.

Girls With Low Self-Esteem.

I haven't been to a pub quiz since Becky****, Shara and I DOMINATED at the Office Trivia night. That night we won a gift certificate to the place where the pub quiz was held, and have been trying to get back to spend it for some time, but various things have hindered that plan of action. Last night, the hindrance was the fact that the pub quiz was canceled at that bar. The night we could all get together, of course, it was canceled. So, we ended up going to the old pub quiz location, Thirsty Lion, which is not my favorite quiz set up. It ends up taking a SUPER long time, and is generally really rough because it has themes like pirates, alcohol, presidents, etc, and we are never prepared because we don't know the theme before we go.
Last night's theme was Christmas, a theme all six of us "Girls with Low Self-Esteem" were pretty comfortable with. I don't want to brag, so I'll just say, we did better than we had anticipated, and got third place (out of 25 teams!) and took home a prize of $62, (Shoot. That was bragging wasn't it?) despite the fact that the Christmas carol/drawing-out-of-a-hat-gods were out to spite us!*

*A note to my fellow Girls with Low Self-Esteem, the lyrics that guy had as the first verse of O Christmas Tree belong the fourth verse** according to multiple websites. I'm glad that we chose to use the lyrics anyway. Who knows those lyrics?

**Yes, Annie, Adriana, Shara and I sang this song in front of the whole bar, and it was funny-awkward because the timing gets a little mickey-moused around along the sixth line there...
"O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!
How are thy leaves so verdant***!
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How are thy leaves so verdant!
Not only in the summertime,
But even in winter is thy prime.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How are thy leaves so verdant!

***Really? Verdant over and over again? OK, you kooky Germans.

****Last night Becky said a few very funny things, one of which I responded to with, "If you keep that up, I'll talk about this on my blog." But of course as I'm typing this 24 hours later, my mind is a complete B L A N K as to what she said. Becky, be a lamb and leave a comment about how funny you are. :)

Fashion! Turn to the left. Fashion! Turn to the right. We are the goon squad and we're coming to town. Beep beep! Beep beep!

After getting my Vogue in the mail today, I did my initial read-through, which is a page by page glance through to look at all of the pretty pictures, and will occasionally include reading an article or two, depending on the subject. This month's best dressed list was a culmination of the decade's best, and it included an invitation to voice opinions via votes on our favorite looks.

I have an elaborate filing system in place to house magazine clippings, sketches, what have you, of things that inspire me. A quick glance through that would tell you I have very specific ideas about colors, patterns and lines of clothing. When vogue.com showed me my picks for the best dressed of the decade, I decided that I am INSANELY BORING.

But, I was only torn on a couple of years. I could have easily picked Queen Rania or Jennifer Lopez in 2001, or SJP in 2003, or Alexa Chung for 2009, but that doesn't really open up the pallet. Like at all. I'm over it.

And now, on to Who What Wear. I have to say, I've gotten their emails for about two years, and I like them less and less every day - their style is way too California-trendy-trash for my taste. I don't think I'm their target demographic. I keep subscribing because every now and again they have cute Kayleen McAdams on to teach me how to rock gold eyeliner, or what have you, and sometimes they have cute clothes. Like in their December Editorial that they sent out last week, they featured a Katy Rodriguez dress that I'm pretty much in love with, despite their attempt to flog it to death with over-styling, ahem, heinous puffy coat, I am talking to you.

Dancing.

I am not in my hip hop class right now. Last Monday was the last night, and I'm kind of bummed about it. Let me start off by saying it was a community center class, so there were all sorts of suburban-ites in it. Lots of middle-aged women who made me feel not so bad about my own lack of coordination. The class left me either entirely confused and feeling awkward, (4 body rolls in a row? are you kidding me?) or completely bored - there was no middle ground. But truly, I am not a hip-hopper. One time, our aged 40+ teacher pointed out that Shara, Becky and I were all a little too "Fame" with our moves. Speaking strictly for myself, I am definitely more inclined to jazz hands than any other bodily movement. Actually, when thinking about how I actually dance, it is pretty much perfectly captured in these two clips:





And how awesome is this imageI stole, without permission from Jooj? Maybe someday, I'll dance like them.

A few things before I sleep:

1. I've been looking at tables recently, looking for a little bit o' inspiration. I found this table and kind of fell in awe.

2. I've never been a particular fan of Jennifer Garner, except I think she's a cute girl. I'm kind of loving her in Chanel in the shoot for W. I love how the hair and the skirt are the same shape, and that they used cardboard and pins instead of a fan. Gold star for ingenuity!!!

3. I love Glee. That is all.

4. My dear friend Sara is currently fighting a good fight. I just read the peanut-authored-angry-blog-post and giggled hysterically and shook my head at her ignorance. Just wanted to say that I love you, and am so proud of your enthusiasm and gumption, despite Texans - who are apparently pretty good shots, claiming that Susan B. Anthony was primarily active in the twentieth century - write angry and what we will call not at all accurate blog posts where they quote you and post a picture of you. (Person I've never met, Susan B. retired in 1900. I forgot that 1868 counts as twentieth century.) (There I go, making fun of someone I've never met again...shoot...here come more angry emails.) And Sara, I would love to meet you on the top of the Empire State Building, or anywhere else, for that matter, any time. :) (How about the house with all of the mannequins??) Loves. Loves. Loves.

Probably because I'm a cynical meanie...

I never get too into engagement photos. People being all happy and cute and in love. Nothing like other peoples' happiness to make me really, really bitter. Tee hee hee. But, the adorable Elsie posted this cute, cute engagement photoshoot this morning by Sloan Photographers.

I then spent 30 minutes looking at their site, and was consequently 10 minutes late to church. haha.

These kids are super cute too. I'm kind of in love with this photography team. Go. Look.

Who do you remind me of?

Friday, after Birgitte's super cute neon themed birthday, Analee, Becky, and new friend Jason went karaoke-ing. When we got to the Cheerful Tortoise, I noticed a young man who looked very familiar. He had fair skin, light hair, dark eyes and very red lips. His familiarity was on the tip of my tongue, so to speak, I couldn't quite place him, so I asked my friends if they had any insight. When they answered in the negative, Analee, being the ballsiest of girls, suggested I ask him who people frequently say he looks like. I decided against this idea because although I couldn't quite place the match, I knew it was not a complimentary comparison. A few minutes later, I placed him. Here is a scene, which might not give it away so quickly and make me seem like the cruel, cruel person I would be if I came straight out and said it.*


Hint: It's not Christopher Guest or Cary Elwes.

*I want all of you beautiful people reading this that I am not a total meanie. Sometimes, my mind makes neurological connections that make me seem like a major jerk, but other times they are complimentary, and still other times there are no such connections made. Don't believe me? I don't blame you, but it is true. Nephi reminds me of Jean-Paul Belmondo a la Pierrot le fou and A bout de souffle. Ryan reminds me of a Paul Newman circa Long, Hot Summer and Cool Hand Luke. And a kid in my ward, who shall remain nameless reminds me of Fungus from Monsters, Inc.**

**Two out of three isn't bad, right?

Hide and Seek.

Playing Hide and Seek is one of my favorite activities. I like pretty much all variations on the game. With cars tracking people moving from point a to point b, to running around the backyard hiding behind bushes. This has become a very popular past time of the under 5 set I frequently spend time with.

As it has gotten colder, there is more indoor time. And you would think this would lessen the opportunity for hiding, but really it hasn't. Instead of pretending not to find the kids immediately while they are hiding in the same two spots they always hide in outside, I pretend not to find them immediately in the same three spots they always hide in inside. Today I upped the ante. They are getting smarter everyday, so why not make them work a little harder, right? Before they even knew we were playing, I decided to hide from them. When they called my name a few times, I didn't answer, and the five year old said, "We're lost! Oh, no." To which I said, "BOO!" Panicky, and hysterical screams were the order of the day, followed by fits of laughter. We then took turns hiding.

I hid in some awesome places while two of my young friends ran around trying to find me. I heard their little footsteps going up and down the hall, all over the great room, and family room, pause at the stairs, and from the other side of the house I would say, "I didn't go downstairs." They would scream wildly, run back and forth again, until they found me, in the closet, or behind the open door in the dark guest bath or one of the other places I found to spend five minute segments of my time. When the oldest hopped on the bus for afternoon kindergarten, the adorable little girl and I decided to keep playing. I found her instantly. Without a five year olds' help, this little three year old had some pretty weak hiding spots. When it was my turn to hide, I hid in more predictable spots (i.e. the top bunk) and she found me soon enough, but when I hid behind the rocking chair in the nursery, she took a lot of time trying to find me. When I heard her at the top of the stairs, and announced that I did not go downstairs, she ran back to the hall and proceeded to call my name, over and over again, "MAHWEE!!! MAHWEE!" thinking I would out myself. Fat chance, toddler. Without her older brother as cohort she quickly lost steam after 30 seconds of searching, and went to her room, sat on the floor and decided to play with her barbies. She sang a song of her own composing about ballerinas and princesses, and was entirely adorable, all the while, I was still behind the rocking chair in the nursery.

Why, you might ask, after the three year old girl had given up trying to find me was I still on the floor behind a chair? Because what kind of lesson would that be to instill on a toddler? If something is hard and I quit, it will work itself out. NO DICE. After her song and a few minutes with her dolls, she realized I was still missing. She came into the nursery and slowly crept up to the bed next to me, and threw back the covers, aggravating the sleeping cat, but still didn't see me. She was sad, and left the room. I knew my spot would probably go undiscovered lest I help her out, so at this point, I giggled. She called out, "Mahwee?" and I giggled again, and she found me within two seconds.

All in all, a pretty good game, and a catchy song about ballerinas to boot.