let's save her

Remember: it's not about what country you're from - it's about what planet you're from. Tomorrow at 8:30pm Local Time (wherever you may be) is Earth Hour. Please join me and many others in this campaign for change by turning off all non-essential lights.

LIGHTS OFF – THE FIRST VIDEO CONTROLLED BY YOUR LIGHT SWITCH | My Earth Hour

it's good to be regular

Chatroulette is the latest internet sensation. I can't say I quite understand it as it mostly just creeps me out but how awesome would it be if this happened when you logged on!?

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

(thanks for the link My Heart!)

reigning flowers

When I'm not 100% my best and I just want to crawl back into bed and let the day pass, I know there are 2 things I can pull out of the closet to make me feel better... shoes and a handbag! Recently I've been playing it safe by wearing ballet flats more often than not so I was thinking I might be in the market for a pair of wedge sandals for the impending days of sunshine. I'm also thinking a wonderful flower tote ala the past couple of Valentino Spring collections would be an amazing addition. What do you think?

(click on the image to be taken to the Valentino Spring 2010 accessories page)

Unfortunately all these gorgeous totes are a bit out of my price range. So I'm thinking of a compromise. How about the beautiful petal design in a more budget friendly clutch instead?

(click on the image to be taken to Nine West where you can purchase this clutch)

Funny how my pictures of the big bags are so small and the picture of the little bag is so large!

not a size 8

I want to wax poetic about this thing or that but right now I just can't. I can tell you that I've got pictures so old and piled up, sitting on my camera waiting to be posted and written about. I've got a folder in my email marked "blog fodder" full of images slowly going out of style. There are movies being viewed and there is music filling the silence. But none of that comes to mind right now. Because the highs wouldn't be so great if there weren't a few lows and I might be falling down.

bare legs and all

I stopped the meds and today I let the sun in. Work has been busy but for some reason the mornings/lunch time are fairly peaceful. I haven't taken the chance of going out to lunch just in case of a dragon sized problem. But today was different...

I last took a pill on Sunday. Sunday I watched about 15 hours of television only getting out of the house to go pick up tacos and frozen yogurt for dinner. It was an awful waste of a day and was not my intention at all.

Monday I didn't take a pill.

Tuesday I didn't take a pill even after a minor break down at the end of the day.

Wednesday I still didn't take a pill and I got up before work with enough time to eat breakfast, take the dog out, take a very short run and FULLY get ready for work and still arrive at the office by 9:30am. This is the first time in 2 and 1/2 weeks this has happened. I kept pushing my sleep time later and later until I was rising with mere minutes to get ready and out the door and to the office by 10am. And that energy lasted all day.

This morning I am 3 days in without a pill. I made egg whites & turkey bacon for breakfast. I ran for 25 minutes. I shaved my legs before showering and then put on a skirt for work. I was in the office by 9:45 (there was some needed dilly dallying with My Heart that delayed me!). For lunch I walked to get a sandwich and ate it in the sun while reading a book.

Goodbye Winter. I loved you and I will miss you. Welcome Spring! This year I will not see you as impending doom but instead I will give you a hug.

XOXO

the here and now

Was jolted awake at 4am this morning by a magnitude 4.4. Haven't been sleeping that well anyway so what's a little ground shaking gonna do. My sleep schedule has gone awry and so have I. I'm lost in this brown dust cloud and all I've got is this little straw to breath through. Not sure when it happened or why. I went to the doctor and got some meds to help try and cope but so far it feels like it's making things worse. I can't fall asleep. Once I fall asleep I don't want to get out of bed. I haven't gotten up for work with the alarm in over 2 weeks. I'm barely making it through the day. And I guess that's why I've been away.

this battle

I'm being consumed by Dragons (with a capital D). I'm tired but wanted to share what I'm working on so check it out...

You can see the official movie site here.

sweeping curved for calm

Different Not Less

I had this recorded on the DVR for a while but hadn't gotten around to watching it. It seemed interesting but not compelling. A couple of weekends ago after my latest 5K I just wanted to sit on the couch and veg so I decided to finally put this on. I was blown away by how moving Temple Grandin's story is. She is a remarkable woman. If you've never heard of her I suggest reading up or trying to get your hands on some of her interviews. I must say, Claire Danes did an excellent job of portraying her. I think I could watch this movie multiple times just to discover more.

in this age

I've been out of the dating scene going on 5 years now so I wasn't quite sure if I was just over reacting or if it truly was odd...

She showed up at his place for their first date and handed him a candle saying, "This is the same scent I have in my bedroom." Could be a subtly sexy hint right? That is until she showed up at his place for date number two carrying something along the lines of this:


Now mind you, there was no birthday or holiday involved. And he's not really a movie or candy kind of guy (or candle I hear). So my initial reaction was, "Run! She's absolutely crazy." But then I thought, maybe it was just a really nice gesture and I was out of touch with what was acceptable dating behavior. So I did what any normal person would do, I put the question out there for the facebook world to decide. I got a lot of really great responses. Many echoing my sentiment of crazy but some really thought out and concise ideas such as this one from one of my male cousins:

Did anyone suspect that maybe the girl was hinting that she wanted a candle lit night on the couch eating popcorn and watching movies or something?? i dont find it all that strange...

Who knew he was so sentimental!? My friend D on the other hand said this:

Women with candles have replaced women with cats as the new sad thing.

I think that might be true (even though I love me some candles!). I really enjoyed reading what everyone had to say and although many of you thought it was an odd/crazy gesture not everyone was so quick to assume the worst. Thanks for that!

So a little more back story to all of this...

I do not know this guy or this girl, they are friends of a friend. What I do know, is that she is a recently divorced politician's wife in her late 30s. He is in his late 20s and is in the music industry. They met through her daughter's boyfriend. Let me just repeat that... they met through her DAUGHTER'S BOYFRIEND. Oh, she's also been described as a sexy Latina and I would venture to assume that he's a guy's guy but slightly hipster. In the end, this relationship did not work out - they were looking for two different things but I would have ventured to guess that when she showed up at his house with a candle.

looking for calm

Loving this print found today via a Real Simple email about art worth investing in...

Gosling Lake
by Kurt Tong


This can be purchased from the site 20x200, which I believe I've posted about before. Click on the link if you don't remember.

Do you think I could make it work in the same room as my most recent photographic purchase?

imagining purrrrrrrrrrrrr

Today I started anti-anxiety meds and then someone sent me this:



So, you know... it's been a pretty good day.

unconditional as always

I'm loving these hilarious dogs of the tumblr site hipster puppies. Not only are they cute, but they've got great captions to go along with their "style" :-)

for tillie, having a mad men premiere party means dressing up, drinking manhattans and being totally fucking insufferable

[photo via justin g]

margi tells people she does “graphic design” for a living, but in reality does “nothing”

[photo via mark h]

penny cannot believe you put a tablespoon of butter in the pasta when she’s told you a thousand times that she’s vegan

[pic via megan b]

HAPPY FRIDAY!

XOXO

this rapunzel

(Photo: Marco Grob via NYMag.com)

Isn't she gorgeous? It's nice to see her womanly body embraced (although some will call her big - which is just plain stupid). I don't watch Mad Men, although I want to, so I'm not really familiar with her but I saw this article on the NY Magazine website and was intrigued. I just think her body is so beautiful.

sally's melted

I know that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and supposedly there will be 6 more weeks of winter... maybe for the rest of the country but not here. In SoCal it's been in the 80s lately. And although I was looking forward to Spring, I just wasn't ready for it to come this early! We were up at the snow for the long weekend and even there it was unseasonably warm. I was hoping to get to dress in cozy sweaters and lots of layers but it wasn't really that necessary. I guess a girl can dream...

image from Refinery 29
The Perfect Outfit: 4 Tricks For Cold-Weather Layering

counting down to up

The weekend of Love, the day of Leadership. But really, today marks something more important... a birthday of 2 amazingly special people. My sisters. And so...

To the 2 cut from the cloth that encases the heart of 3,

It hasn't always been easy but we fight. We fight with each other and we fight for each other. C'est la vie! I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Thank you for teaching me to let go all the while holding on for dear life. We are such different people but we share so much of the sameness . I now embrace those differences because of how much I have learned from them. I know that hasn't always been the case and I appreciate that you two don't hold it against me! But I hold dearly that we are one, in a way no one else can take from us.

You are artist and free in contrast to my type A overly organized persona. You are peaceful and still when I am overly dramatic. You are beyond smart. You are genius. You make me laugh. You make me cry. You are me and you are not me. You are my sisters.

I hope that as we grow older and wiser we will continue to grow closer. I cherish every moment I get to spend with both of you. I promise to make a continuous effort to be in your life, to be someone you can turn to, to be the sister you can love.

Enjoy this year, just the 2 of you because I'll be waiting in the decade of 3 next. I love you M & M with all my heart and I hope you know how much that truly is.

XOXO
-M

a little warm and fuzzy

I can't decide which is my favorite (I LOVE BEARS!)...

ZOMBEAR

TANOOKI

BREATHTAKING MR. BEAR

B-WOK

BEARACK

Check out this blog - King PanPan. Graphic designer and illustrator, Julius Santiago, is creating a bear illustration every day of 2010!

pretty dots go round

I saw this rug on gilt.com today and really wanted to buy it for our home office. That room is not my top priority right now but this seems to go with the color scheme/style I want... I think. Was hoping to share it with My Heart but he's been so busy at werk today that I haven't had a chance. So I'm sharing it with you! We're leaving tonight to go up to the mountain for a long ski weekend. This gilt sale ends on Monday night and I don't think I'll a) remember about it or b) have the energy to deal with it when we return. Oh well, guess it wasn't meant to be.

this oblong day

This week has been fucked up. (pardon my language) I have had a rough one but seems like it's been even harder on some others.

First and foremost, I want to send a little of my own love into the universe for Mr. Alexander McQueen. I've only recently realized how much fashion means to me... it's art. And Alex made it out of this world amazing, wearable art...

(the infamous lobster shoes - Photo: Imaxtree via New York Magazine)

www.alexandermcqueen.com

Yesterday, a man committed suicide by jumping off the Kodak Theater which is directly across from my former place of employment (My Heart's current place of employment).

So disturbing.

Then I hear about the Georgian Luger... and now a shooting!?

Puts it all into perspective. Guess my week wasn't so bad after all. Is the universe trying to tell us something though???

Oh, wait... then there's this which has been a little bit of fun to watch unfold:

(click on the image to go to the story - image from McNew/Getty via NY Daily News)

And this, apparently dogs were feeling left out of the whole twitter phenomenon so now there's Puppy Tweets.

Go figure. It's a crazy crazy world we live in.

dressing the part

I'm all in pieces but I'm so put together. It's been a rough 24 hours or so. As I'm going to put it, I got "shamed" in front of a room full of people yesterday. It was completely inappropriate, rude and childish as far as I am concerned. It was by a superior. And so I fought back just to the point of appropriate. But the attack, it was uncalled for. It made everyone around me cringe with the uncomfortable and awkward silence of just plain wrong. Of course, the girl in me welled up with tears once my accuser left the room. I hate that reaction. So unprofessional. But I held it together enough to finish my meeting and walk out of there with a mere spec of dignity still in tact.
Afterward, some avoided me but most banded around me. It was reassuring for it silenced the squeak of doubt creeping in. Am I good enough? Did I drop the ball? What am I doing!? I know that I am good at what I do. I am reminded often of that. Yesterday was no exception. And so today, I dressed up and came in ready to conquer the world. I feel great. I am great. Sure, there are problems but nothing I created and nothing I can fix on my own. I will be a part of the solution and do what I can to make this a better environment for those I work with but then again, I kinda always do that.

And so I want to know, Where kind I find these absolutely fab shoes ...Love Maegan has on in today's post!? Those will definitely help me dress the part. XOXO

enter if you dare, keg's out back

I know this post is months too late but that's what happens when you go on hiatus. Just appreciate the fact that I'm actually writing again alright!?

I don't know if it has always been the case, but I think that Halloween is my favorite holiday. I'm pretty sure I've blogged that before. I remember posting my smurf costume from the early eighties... one of the greatest costumes ever to exist! If memory serves right, my parents always went all out for us when it came to Halloween costumes. And of course my co-pilot loves Halloween even more than I do! So it was no surprise when he suggested that our first major party in the new house be a giant Halloween bash.

I personally think we went all out! With a pretty big budget spent mainly on decorations, there was also plenty of food, a full bar and a keg. Our theme was Haunted Hill Asylum, from the minute you walked up to our house and throughout every room, even out in the backyard. Unfortunately, I am constantly hosting so I didn't take any photographs of the party itself. My Heart did snap some great shots of what the house looked like pre-guests (including the 2 doctors and the one mental patient! link to those after the photos), but what's missing are shots of some of the key details; the entrance to the house and the operating table for example. Here's a peak...

Upstairs, food and lounge area

Insane Clown Doctor (he ended up in pieces at the end of the night)

Downstairs, the Meat Shop

Death

The Cemetery

Let me tell you, this took months to plan and weeks to decorate. I hated being in the house all alone with some of these creepy guys! To check out ALL the photos that My Heart took follow this link to our Mobile Me Gallery.