Wordless Wednesday: Summer Lovin’
**Photo credit The Radio Runner’s Crackberry.
Join in the Wordless Wednesday fun with Angry Julie Monday.
Cary Brothers: Ghost Town
If you haven’t already, go buy the latest album, Under Control, by Cary Brothers.
Meet Bart’s cousin from New York**.
We all remember Barthlomew, right?
His family is starting to weasel their way into our lives. “Supposedly” that’s what these gnomes tend to do. Nose their way in, until it’s a hostage situation total domination a place to call home.
Bart’s cousin is, as he tells me, the food savvy one of the lot of them. I say, as long as Fauntleroy keeps a firm grip on my avocados while they ripen to guacamole perfection, he’s welcome in my kitchen any day.
*Yankee Candle Co., though surely they intended for this cute fella to hold a jar candle and not my produce, have no idea how handy their spring line of garden gnomes would become in my arsenal of fantastical characters.
**Get it, Yankee Candle Co.? Cousin from New York?
Spruce the table for a few bones.
Over the weekend, I was thrilled to be a part of the AZ Tour de Thrift as hosted by Ashley and Jax. We met at Mimi’s Cafe for some great breakfast and delicious conversation. Or is that great conversation and delicious breakfast? Meh, it works both ways.
I ventured down to the southwest side of town (a region rarely ventured unless an IKEA trip is on the agenda) with Kelly to get our thrift on.
One on the list of great things about Goodwill stores is that they host a 50% Saturday once in a while. The coordinators were using their noggins when they opted to have us all flex our bargain muscles by planning the event so it landed on one of these sacred Saturdays. Read: I got tons for close-to-nones. (Nones is not a word, but the “s” on the end makes it rhyme-ish with tons.)
Armed and ready with my $5 gift card every attendee received before the journey began, I scored a great tray ($1.49) that I instantly envisioned dead center on the dining room table. Whoa! What’s that a few rows over? An overabundance of milk glass bud vases ($0.35/ea…I bought five) in all shapes and sizes?! Done.
After later rummaging through my generously packed swag bag, I stumbled across a Behr Premium Plus Ultra, Paint & Primer in One color sample in Gem Turquoise (500B-4). If I had squee-d any louder, I’d be carting Husfriend and Nugget to a hearing aid sizing appointment this morning. I was pretty stoked. Which, in hindsight, is pretty pathetic that paint samples and thrift store finds make me so excited. I’ll spare you the edge-of-your-seat-suspense and carry on to the before and after.
Before:
**Yes, watermarked and stamped as the before shot…can’t say so much for the after shot. I was too antsy to post.
After:
***Yes, I love the natural light that makes out with my dining room too. You can be jealous. I won’t tell.
Now…are you not in love with that?! You don’t have to be, I suppose, but then we won’t be cyber pals anymore for about three minutes. I guess what I’m getting at is that I don’t want you to hate on my mean crafting skills in the comments. Aight?! Aight.
I love, love, LOVE the Gem Turquoise so much, I even spruced up the boring old black on black chalkboard with a more weathered look in mind. Can we all nod in unison and agree I’m on a beachy, summer kick right now? *nodding slowly*
My next thrift hunt…atypical-for-a-backyard furniture. Why? Because we have a backyard to enjoy and entertain in now. Post forthcoming.
A First-Timer’s Guide To Attending BlogHer
Naturally, 2010 has transitioned into the year of blogosphere firsts.
Among the ever-growing list is my decision to attend BlogHer 2010 in New York City in August.
I figured, for the sake of those lucky schmucks in the same first-voyage-boat as I, I’d hand you an oar in the form of a guide so I’m not the only broad rowing. I mean, these guns are pretty svelt, but a little assistance is greatly appreciated. I may kiss you. We’ll see how that goes. Just quit being such a lazy ass alright?! Good.
1. Curb Your Anxiety.
I don’t care how you need to curb it, but do. I realized the need to throw Lunatic Jess in the trunk bound and gagged, back in, oh, JANUARY! Now I know I haven’t quite mastered the science of time travel so this reference to JANUARY is pretty obsolete and could surely be omitted from this entire Hitchhiker’s Guide To Surviving The BlogHer Galaxy, but how else would I have incorporated “bound and gagged” into the post? Don’t answer that. The sense of urgency in and of itself is enough to make an anxiety-sufferer…well…suffer. I kid you not when I say every financial obligation (aside from spending cash) requires, at minimum, an eight month advance. Women are insane and fear the inability to be drunk and awkward in the presence of other drunk and awkward women. Like REALLY fear it. Don’t be anxious, just know that that’s the way the cookie crumbles. If you need me, I’ll be nervously eating the cookie crumbs straight off of the linoleum.
2. Buddy System.
Get a buddy…or seven…at least. At Bloggy Bootcamp, though on a much smaller scale, I was
forcedable to break away from the two buddies I went with to mingle with a bunch of new bloggers I never even knew existed. I was cool with it, but also happened to have a panic attack before Ted Rubin took the stage. That blew. But…BUT…I had my buddy system to fall back on. Some Lexapro and some candy bar binging in our hotel room (trust me, it was only because there was no whiskey at my disposal) and I was back on the horse. Focus on having at least one buddy to travel/shack up/eat/drink/giggle/freak out with and you’ll be just fine. I think.
3. Take The Party Plane.
I’m centralizing this point for those of us who live anywhere West of the Mississippi who will be traveling, essentially, across the whole country for the conference. Even if you haven’t interacted with anyone who’s on The Official Party Plane flight…scratch that. You should know them. See back up a few paragraphs, under point numero uno, where I expressed the urgency equivalent to that of an ugly wildabeast in heat? Yeah, you’ve got a good 2/3 of a year to engage the crap out of the umpteen million bloggers that will all be awkwardly drunk together on a cross country flight. (Virgin America…bless their hearts.) To find the bloggers cool enough to
gang uprally together for the travel side of the weekend, follow the #partyplane hash tag on Twitter. Or don’t.
4. Be Anal.
Don’t “Be AN Anal.” Just be anal. Get organized. Know what to pack, how to pack, what not to pack, where you want to go, how much you’re going to spend (unless you’re a freak of American economic nature and have oodles of extra money just kickin’ it on your credenza or in your spare mattress in the spare wing of your spare guest house on your badrillion acres of spare land. yeah. unless you’ve got that going on.), who you want to meet, what sessions you want to attend. All of that good stuff. Don’t be aimless, but don’t be afraid to let it change either. I know it’s on your printed and bound
and gaggeditinerary you’ve distributed to your roommates, fellow Virgin America passengers, cabbie, and concierge, but the world, contrary to popular belief, will not implode if lunch does not occur promptly at 11:24:39 on Friday, August 5, 2010. Pinky swear.
5. Have A Blast.
For the crowd I’m rolling with, this conference serves as a break from the day-to-day duties of motherhood/wifehood/womanhood. (Sidenote: I will not be partaking in The Shed during this trip…thank goodness…for you) Unless you’re there to become an affiliate, build your brand because Whoziwhatzit, Inc. is expecting you to…by paid contract, treat this time as a vacation. You deserve it. Even if your other half moans and groans and grumbles and grunts at whatever is least appealing to them about your getting away for a few days. (Sidenote again: Husfriend has not made any unprovoked noises…’specially since he and Nugget get to steal away to the Jersey Shore while I’m playing in The City…just in case…and to see the family…that too.)
There’s my guide. Straightforward-ish and rookie-esque.
Basically, I can’t wait to see it all first hand. From the horror stories to the blissful tales shared by friends I’ve only yet to meet beyond my keyboard, there’s not a second I won’t be soaking things up. Fear this knowledge if you will, but rest assured I’ll probably be the only one intentionally doing topless headstands in tighty whities on my hotel room bed for the cameras. There’s not much more blackmail you can get than that. It’s not blackmail if I soberly volunteer though is it?! Hmm…
See you in Saint…I mean NYC!
Wordless Wednesday: Girl’s Just Wanna Have Fun
**Photo credit: The Radio Runner
Join the Wordless Wednesday fun and link up with Angry Julie Monday. I do.
Blogs and Music and Amazeballs
After a show last night with Greg Laswell, Brian Wright, and Jimmy Gnecco at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix, I got a majorly harsh reality smack, square on the left cheek. The gigantic growth of adult acne is proof in and of itself. Gross.
Where was I?
Reality. Right.
This topic warrants a post all its own, sure to come later on today while the wound is still gaping and achy. In a nutshell, I’m depressed as a mofo. Because let’s be honest, if you’re doing someone’s mother, there’s no doubt in my mind you’ve got some sort of depression inducing issues you need handled. Am I right?
I was low until I stumbled upon this fantastic group: La Blogotheque. Go, get to know them, fall in love, be rejuvenated. Even if the refreshing feeling lasts just a few short minutes, you’ll realize that radio is dead (as if we all didn’t know that already) and the interwebs, blogs in particular, are alive…and thriving.
This is how the amazeballs happens.
Phoenix - 1901 - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.
And then he slept through the whole thing…
This past weekend was one of the great variety.
The kind that makes you squee for weeks and frantically pack and re-pack the night before you leave.
Nugget and I launched off to California this weekend to stay with Megan for her little man T’s birthday party.
Between Saturday night sushi with Megan and Miss and Maui Pineapple Amazeballs Rum-Laden Deliciousness in a Double Red Cup and Scooby Snacks and a Jolly Jump, you can bet your sweet ass that this weekend was the definition of fun. The validation that the interwebs knows what it’s doing when it gets people connected. Word to yo mutha!
The party was so much fun and my shy little pasty white Nugget hung with the big dogs, cheated on his mama with Megan the second we landed at LAX, and, in true Nugget fashion, quietly wandered down the street like the Silent Nomad we know and love.
I’m refreshed, re-energized, and raring for the day-to-day because, I know, “my” people really do exist…and they’re just a hop, skip, and a jump away.
*Photos courtesy of Just One Miss
Wordless Wednesday: Brooks Brothers Nugget
**Join the Wordless Wednesday fun and link up every week with Angry Julie Monday.
Who needs a hoagie when you could have sweet musical sex instead.
Husfriend hates Subway with the passion of a thousand fiery suns, plus one, or twelve. To be honest, I’ve lost count.
I’m meh about the Italian BMT. (I’m assuming the BMT stands for Bulging Mountainous Ta-tas, but I’m pretty certain I’m wrong, or, more likely, “onto them”)
This post, right here, that continues to ramble about sandwiches and the mystery meat therein, is really about this guy:
And how this guy’s latest, independently released album, Under Control, is $5 for the entire month of June on Amazon.com.
So go. Speed past that toilet water smelling establishment and back to your pretty little computer. And buy. Buy, buy, buy.
His post was funnier…maybe.
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