Happy Summer Saturday!

Every once in a while, a Saturday spent cleaning, scrapbooking, catching up on DVRed TV, and errand running is a fabulous thing.  Gotta love a relaxing start to a 3 day weekend.

Happy last Saturday of Summer!

Friday Five

1. "First Impression" from First Date: I've been unable to get this song out of my head since seeing the show last weekend.  Mostly because it's a fabulous song but also because it's the only one I can find on YouTube. The darn soundtrack hasn't come out yet which is a bummer since it would definitely have been downloaded by now.  However, there is a reprieve coming seeing as they announced today, it would be out on iTunes September 24.  Woohoo!  Just in time to get the other songs stuck in my head as well on the plane to England.

2. This adorable story out of Pittsburgh.  As I root for the Ravens, I'm not usually such a fan of anything sports-related coming out of Pittsburgh, but it's too cute.  This is a fantastic example of a good sports role model, unlike Pittsburgh's usual headliner Ben Roethlisberger...

3. I've always loved Paddington, and since I've heard there's a store in Paddington Station (where else would it be?) that is, apparently, major cute overload, I've been pretty excited. And of course, excitement breeds Pinterest browsing, which happens to be where I found this little gem.  Love it!

4.  DropBox: I may have written about this a few weeks ago, but I needed to comment on it again.  The only reason I downloaded this app in the first place was to have a way to get my photos off of my phone on to my laptop, which just happens to be the only thing I've used it for so far.  However, it's absolutely perfect for that reason.  I've heard there are about 30 other amazing things this app can do, but I'm happier than a pig in mud with it's one little specialty.  I foresee photo printing, come vacation time, becoming 100x easier.

5. The very fact that they are re-releasing this in theatres.  I was dying to see it when it came around the first time and completely missed out.  Of course, I'd prefer they show it a little closer to home than in DC, but I'm not going to be picky.  As long as it's Metro distance, I don't mind at all. 

The End of Civilization

Just like (I'm hoping) many book nerds out there, I pay close attention to the news stories on new additions to the Oxford Dictionary.  Of course, doing this, I'm usually disappointed in the human race as a whole.  This year was par for the course, though it seemed especially frustrating for some reason.  Here are just a few of my favorites:

Twerk: In other words that disgusting display of crassness that Miley Cyrus so eloquently performed at the VMAs earlier this week.

Blondie: I'm ok with this one.  In fact I'm not sure why it's never been in there before considering how long blondies have been around.

Omnishambles: Apparently a by-product of Malcolm Tucker on "The Thick of It" in Britain.   Based on the definition, it's basically a big shambles. Seeing as I have an affinity for fusing words, I'm ok with this one as well.

Selfie and Vom: Are we so focused on 1000 other things that we can't take the tenth of a second extra that it takes to say "self-portrait" or "vomit"?

Derp: Meaning stupid, as in: The fact that these words have made it past a 13 year old's text conversation is extremely derp.

FOMO: Granted, I don't always know the tech/text speak but I have NEVER heard anyone use this term.  It apparently means: Fear of Missing Out. But quite honestly it sounds slightly derogatory.

And last but certainly not least, my top 2 examples of the fall of civilization:

2. TL: DR: Another I've never heard until today, but it means - Too Long: Didn't Read.  How long before students will be writing this on English tests and essays?

1. Srsly: Because it's just too taxing to add those pesky vowels 

I have to think that 100 years from now if dictionaries still exist, people are going to think we were brainless weirdos who didn't know how to spell.

50 Years

The "I Have a Dream" speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most groundbreaking speeches in human history, was spoken 50 years ago today. At the time, I'm sure his ideas seemed radical and almost impossible due to the climate they were living in. Though a great deal has changed since then to bring us all closer to equality, there are people and feelings that really haven't. While we no longer live in a world separated completely by race, and racism, separation still exists.  And while race discrimination isn't as prevalent today as it was 50 years ago, age, gender, sexual orientation, class or even country of origin still are.  

At the time, Dr. King was dreaming of a world where we weren't so focused on what made us all different from each other.  He wanted us to see the world as he saw it; as a mix of aspects and attributes that proved we were all alike.  We haven't quite acquired the perfect status he dreamed of, I have to and really want to believe we are getting closer.  Another 50 years is just too long to wait.

Canvas and Wine

I've never really been the artsy type.  I'm all for scrapbooking and things, but I've never had the need to pick up some brushes and some canvas and just go where it takes me.  I'm not that free.  However, not one, but two friends told me about this cool thing called Canvas and Wine on the exact same day and I figured it must be fate, so I went along for the ride.  

The deal is you choose the night you want to go, based on what picture the class is painting that evening.  Then you are given a 16x20 piece of canvas, paint and brushes.  The teacher explains step by step how to paint each piece of the picture you are aspiring to create.  Of course, since you are at a restaurant, food and alcohol is served as well.  The whole thing's down to a science.  

Tonight's painting was to be called "Morning in Venice".  Much to my surprise it wasn't a complete disaster.  I assumed at least mine would be, but even I have to admit, it's not so bad.  Though anything involving having to paint straight lines is always going to be a bit wonky.  I'm pretty darn proud of it and actually plan to hang it somewhere, which I was skeptical about before arriving.   Overall, it was a fabulous evening!  Thanks Stef for including me- Can't wait to try again!

 Half-way there...

 Our masterpieces...Just call us Monet

Travel: Organized vs. Scatter-Brained

When it comes to travel, I've never been much of a planner.  I make a few vague lists of things I want to see, then fly by the seat of my pants when deciding when to see them.  I've also never really held much stock in technology when it comes to visiting new places.  I can't really read maps so the shiny map apps aren't going to help.  And I have a fancy schmancy camera so why waste money on photo apps.  But for some reason, this time around, when planning for the European Adventure, I've gone off the deep end.  There are spreadsheets with multiple pages, color coated with addresses, and tube stops/lines.  There are restaurants in different vicinities, and budgets for activities.  I've also researched all sorts of travel apps and plan to download most of them before I leave.

Between you and me, even I find it a little crazy.  Though, I have nothing to base my assumption on of course, I think this newly organized way may just be an easier way to travel.  The trip hasn't happened of course, and all these plans may very well blow up in my face but I like having the information to fall back on.  Because of the whole map reading situation, I know the apps I've found will get me places by telling me exactly which direction to go.  And we'll never have to falter back and forth on what to eat & where.  I've seen reviews and menus: I know exactly what will be good and what's supposed to be not.

My biggest regret though, which is something I'll have to amend when I get there, is the surprise of finding something new.  When I first went to London, I knew nothing of what to expect.  I wandered and walked and happened upon a great pub and Carnaby Street, just by chance.  That's what I love about travel.  The surprise of something new.  However, when you're as scatter brained as I am, the need for the surprise, quite often causes Travel ADD.  Wanting to see everything, I see nothing.  

I'm hoping the planning, takes care of my little wandering brain this time. Though, of course, moving there, would definitely solve this issue...

First Date: NYC

As noted last night, I was lucky enough to spend the day in NYC yesterday to celebrate the bestie's 30th birthday.  And it just happened to be a pretty perfect day.  Most days in the city that never sleeps are pretty wonderful but somehow yesterday, turned out a little more perfectly than the rest.  When going to Manhattan, a show on Broadway, is always part of the itinerary.  In the last few years though, there have only been a few "new" shows out there that have really gotten my attention.

When I say "new", I mean totally original, and not based on any existing work.  Old stand-bys like Phantom of the Opera and Wicked are fantastic.  Don't get my wrong, I would never pass up a classic but it's always fun to see something completely out of the box.  Luckily the bestie is sort of in love with someone appearing in something new and completely out of the box: Zachary Levi in First Date.  By some fluke of nature I was able to snag 2 tickets dead center, first row balcony for a pretty outstanding deal.  Woohoo!

However, the problem with seeing something so new (it just opened officially on August 14th) is the fear, especially these days on Broadway, that the darn thing is going to close quite quickly.  So pretty much since it opened, I've been checking to assure it stays that way.  My fear slightly doubled after I read this review. So going into it, you could say I wasn't very optimistic.

I am 100% ecstatic to report that it by far exceeded all expectations.  I would go so far as to say it has reached the top 10 list of my most favorite live performances ever.  The whole show, which revolves around a first date between Aaron and Casey in a bar in NYC, was funny, exhilarating and gorgeously staged from beginning to end.  The hook is that every other character that appears are in the leads' heads.  They are at times imagining what their sisters, best friends, exes and even google are saying at that very moment.  Hard to explain but fairly amazing in person.  The music which was criticized for being stale, was creative and catchy (case in point: try to listen to the preview song "First Impression" in the review I linked without having it stuck in your head for days. Not that that is a bad thing, because it's fairly perfect!)  And the acting was superb.  The bestie, of course, was already in love with Zachary Levi before he stumbled on to stage but after the show, I totally see the appeal.  He was born for this part.

It was most definitely the perfect show for any single person who knows how much it sucks to be single.  And I can only hope, that the nerd herd fans of Zachary Levi, keep it open for quite a while because, quite honestly I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

Now the awesomeness of the show isn't the only thing that made the day such a success. There was a bit more afterwards, but I'll let the pictures below tell that story : )

 Yes, he really is that sweet and that funny, and that dreamy in person.  He brought an iPod and speakers out so we could listen to music while he was signing autographs.  Then made sure everyone got signed and a photograph with him, in between his dancing of course : )

 Hereafter, this photograph will only be called "The Picture"

The bestie on cloud nine after The Picture.  Notice the star-stuck glint in her eyes...

Bestie Birthday: NYC

Just a few shots of the Bestie's birthday celebration in NYC.  Much cooler shots to come tomorrow after I've had time to recover from a truly awesome day!

Friday Five

1. Once again BuzzFeed gets the award for having the article that made me both laugh out loud and shake my head knowingly.  Aside from the F-bomb dropped in one of the GIFs (please ignore but it was too funny not to share), it's a bit too close for  comfort for the food lover in me.  Especially the fear that I may never get to try all the yummy food there is in the world.  Yes there are weird people that worry about this craziness, and I (unfortunately) am one of them.

 

2. I hear that there are people up in arms about this in England.  They don't believe he should be throwing his stardom into the political arena.  But I back him 100%.  It's debatable how actions like this can be taken but I feel that he's going about this in a pretty respectable way.  He's not jumping on any couches or insulting his fanbase.  He's taken his shots directly at the media which is where the changes need to be made.  Go Benedict!

 

3. Thickers: No I don't have a lisp.  Thickers are my new scrapbooking obsession. They've been around quite a while, but they've been coming in handy with my Europe scrapbook.  Alphabet stickers are usually fun, but sparkly, puffy ones, are just way more exciting!

 

4. Chazz: Oh my goodness! If this restaurant were closer I'd weigh about 300 pounds.  I wrote about it a few weeks ago, but I was able to go back this week and it was just as amazing and artery clogging as it was the first time.  The pizza and pasta are good, but the big draw for me is the Burrata and Prosciutto appetizer.  With just a bit of olive oil and some crusty bread, it is by far one of the best things I've ever eaten.  The burrata was so smooth, you could dip your bread into it. And the prosciutto was salty and sweet at the same time.  Delicious!

 

5. My Sister's Suitcase: Super cute ideas especially for Project Life.  Fantastic! 

Brief Bloggy Break

You'll have to excuse me this evening for taking the easy way out, but 12 hours of mind-numbing Excel work is really not conducive to clever blogging.  I must apologize and wish you a wonderful evening because I'm off to bed!

See you tomorrow!

Boys!

I feel that there is a disconnect between what we girls think boys should be and what stupid boys actually are.  There I've said it.  It may not be always the case, and I'm not of the mindset that all boys are stupid.  In fact there are some very very non-stupid boys out there.  However, it would seem the ones I'm meeting are just not trying very hard.

This week, especially, observing a few at work has been enough to break the camel's back. To start with, the one actually pretty perfect boy is happily married.  That of course is kind of a pain.  Then there are the single but obviously single for a reason boys.  These are the ones that seem pretty nice until you talk with them for a few minutes and realize why in fact they are single in the first place.  Then there's the boy, who was originally pretty perfect on paper, that goes from perfect to crazy-pants in the drop of a hat.  This stupid boy keeps you on your toes because you can't quite figure out what you're going to get each day which is what makes him so exceedingly frustrating!

And as an intelligent, girl, you can't really figure out why you liked him/like him in the first place but that doesn't stop you from liking him in the second place.  Then there's the boy that everyone says is perfect for you but you don't really know because he's just as shy as you are and you've never actually had a conversation with him.  Ugh!  Why is this so difficult!?

Yet another reason to continent-hop.  I'm pretty sure the Brits would never put up with this behavior.  Though that may just be my idealistic view of all boys in Britain resembling Benedict Cumberbatch in one way or another...

The City of Light

Last week, we decided to add Paris to the Grand European Adventure.  As excited as I am, I'm also a little frazzled.  Paris has always been this beautiful dream in my head.  I've read about the food mostly, of course.  But I've also heard the language, and learned about the craziness of it all.  So I should be as ready and knowledgeable as I am about London or Edinburgh.  But as it turns out, I'm not.  The second we chose it, my mind went blank.

The only thing I can think of to see is the Eiffel Tower (which for some reason I keep calling the Empire State in conversation).  I couldn't even remember any specialty beside the macaron.  What is wrong with me?  Since then, I'm getting a little better.  I'm still not totally knowledgeable as to why I'm supposed to want to see the Arc de Triomphe or the Alexander Bridge, but at least I have stops on the itinerary.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thoroughly and completely jumping off the walls in excitement, but the planning has been slightly difficult.  I'm sure when I get there, it will hit me and the thousand of other reasons I wanted to go to Paris in the first place, will become most evident. But for now, I'm blissfully unaware and blissfully and completely sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next 7 weeks to pass by in a flash (without really wanting the special days: Momma and Bestie B-days, summer, friend's wedding etc. to pass by as quickly).  It's a conundrum of course, but one I'm totally ok with : )

Shopped Then Dropped

No summer vacation (which is perfectly ok with me since there will be a fall vacation very soon) means I took the opportunity to take a day here and there to enjoy the beautiful weather everyone else was enjoying while on vacation.  Today, thankfully was one of those days.  Not having to work on a Monday is one of those special treats and I adore these days to pieces.  Today's non-working Monday was spent shopping, bonding, eating, enjoying, loving, then dropping.

In other words, a pretty perfect way to spend a Monday.  Now if I could just add a non-working Tuesday to my agenda I'd be all set...

Listening and Loving

Can't get this song out of my head!  Happy Sunday listening!

Truth

Saw this picture in this story on BuzzFeed.  After seeing a bit of what's going on in Egypt this week, I happen to think it's a pretty good idea.  It's unbelievable and heartbreaking and I just can't fathom that it's happening again so soon after the last uprising. 

 Here's hoping for peace and an end to the violence and bloodshed soon.

Friday Five: App-y Edition

In preparation for my trip and because of my new found creative spark (better milk it while it lasts), I've been searching for fun apps to use for Project Life, which is the way I'm scrapbooking my trip photos.  It turns out there are MANY to choose from.  I won't be downloading them all, because if I have to worry about updating things on 30 different apps, I'm so neurotic that I'll miss the whole trip buried in my phone.  However, there are some quite cool ones that I've downloaded or will be downloading very soon.

1. Daily Weather: This one is purely fluff but it's cute fluff so I don't mind.  You can enter any city into the app and it will "print" a newspaper like printout with the weather information that you can screenshot and drop into any album. Much cuter than just using the iWeather app and therefore will look nicer in the smaller pockets of my soon-to-be masterpiece.

2. A Beautiful Mess: My new favorite app and I've only just downloaded it 10 minutes ago. It's from the creators of A Beautiful Mess online.  It's basically Instagram, however you can add text, doodles, phrases and borders to the pictures as well as change exposures.  It comes with a ton already but there are also in-app purchases too, if you go for that sort of thing. 

3. PicFrame + Costco: Since my initial download of Instagram, I've been completely baffled as to what would be a good way to print them.  Apparently sending them as is to Costco, completely distorts the image (learned that the hard way...)  However, I read this article this week and found it to be a revelation!  If you stitch the pictures together using PicFrame, you get an image like the one above, which just happens to be 4x6.  Then you just upload it to Costo Photocenter, and voila!  Perfect print every time!

4. MindSnacks: I've mentioned this one before.  As Paris has now been added, I REALLY need to learn at least a little French, at least enough to get me to the nearest macaron. Luckily I have this handy dandy little app to play with in my free time.  I'm pretty sure it's geared towards 5 year olds but at least learning a new language is fun instead of painful!

5. Edinburgh Book Trail: How can you not be in love with an app that tells you exactly where the closest book store is?

Bonus:  Some others that I'm contemplating buying are:
Day One vs. Momento: Both are journaling apps that you can add photos to.  They let you keep track of what happened when.  But I'm hearing mixed reviews so I can't decide which to purchase.
InstaWeather: Allows you to overlay weather information (in cutesy typography) onto pictures you take.  If I didn't already have the Daily Weather app, I'd be all over this.  As it turns out, I might still be all over this: it really is adorable!
London Travel Guide (with Offline Maps): It's the offline maps that really sell this one, though I've done so much research, I may not need it...

Bon Apetit!

It seems fitting that on what would have been Julia Child's 101st birthday, I've had the chance to research her favorite city all day: Paris.  There's a small chance, which I never thought possible, that we may be going to Paris for the day when we are in London.  Holy Moly!  I still can't really believe it.  I was perfectly (well, let's say insanely) happy to be seeing my favorite city again, along with my newly imagined other favorite city (Edinburgh) and Shakespeare's home.  Adding the possibility of Paris onto what will be a truly memorable trip is just icing on the cake!

Paris has always been one of those places that's slightly out of reach.  I'm sure it's filled with fabulous people looking nothing like me, and sounding nothing like me (Thanks 5 years of Spanish for getting me nowhere!)  But Julia taught me that there is another side of Paris.  A side fully of boulangeries, patisseries, chocolatiers and dozens of other food-centric positions. Basically its a city full of people that like to eat, drink and be merry.  Ok, without the drink (Iced tea's not really their specialty), that's my kind of town!

So if it should happen, and right now it's looking good, I'll be spending my 12 hours in the City of Light repeating my mantra: What would Julia do?  Though, most likely I'll be saying: What would Julia eat!?  How exactly do you say: Where are the macarons? in French?

Happy Birthday Julia!

Wishful Wednesday

I read a Twitter post earlier today that named today Wishful Wednesday.  To celebrate Wishful Wednesday, you were supposed to tweet where in all of the world (or out of this world as the case may be) you would like to be at that very second.  Two particular places sprang to mind when I read it.  But I decided to do some research to see if I was the only one.  Four of the four co-workers I asked said some sort of beach: Hawaii, California, Brazil and any old beach.  Apparently sun, surf and sand are quite popular choices.

I, on the other hand, did not choose the beach and I suppose that makes me just bit odd. Two distinct places sprang to mind, but of course there were about a dozen after that as well. Here's the odd part, pretty much all of them had to do with food.  Is that wrong?  I may just have been hungry at that moment, but my happy places mostly have to do with eating so I guess you could call me a bit of a glutton.  But quite honestly, I really don't care.  There's really nothing better than spectacular food!

My (immediate) wish was to be:

~Sitting in Paris eating a Laduree macaron
~Sipping a nice cuppa with scones and clotted cream in London

Of course, I could also have said:

~Gelato in Rome
~Fresh pasta in Tuscany
~Lobster in Maine
~BBQ in North Carolina
...well you get the picture.  

Apparently, I have a problem...

I Survived...

Somehow I made it through the traumatic dental visit without giving myself a coronary or a stroke.  It was difficult and happened to include a great deal of shaking and heart-palpitations but I'm now back at home much calmer than before.  Of course I still can't feel my face so that's been fun...

Because of this fear of doing anything that would require me using my mouth or the parts of my face that were numb (i.e. all of them), I've spent a great deal of time online getting ideas on how to be all crafty and such.

~ Mother Daughter Photos: How easy is this?  I know most of the shots are a little weird but it's a fun idea to do even without the wonky outfits.

~Using apps to print Instagram photos: I attempted a few months ago to upload a regular old Instagram up to Costco Photo Center and failed miserably.  The little square photos were stretched into 4x6 size and looked rather like pixelated surveillance footage instead of priceless pieces of artwork.  If it this process goes like they say it does (and without uploading to Costco yet, it's going quite smoothly so far), I'm going to be one happy camper once I start doing fun things to Instagram, which might just lead to this little beauty.

~Christmas cards, and stamps and paper and scrap ideas...you get the picture.  I know it's a little early but if I'm going to knock out homemade cards, I really have to get a move on.  No stress this year, that's my mantra.  That ought to last until next week at least : )

~Can't wait to read this book! Food, Paris and Julia Child: what could be better?!

Freaking Out

Everyone has that one thing that makes their hair stand on end; that makes a usually (semi) calm person freak out like a nutter.  For me, that's the dentist.  I positively, absolutely HATE going to the dentist.  I can't watch anything having to do with the dentist on any show or movie.  I can't listen to people talk about it.  The very mention of it causes my heart to race and my stomach to flip.

All of this is to say, I have to go tomorrow to have a cavity filled and I'm completely terrified! I know it's crazy.  I know it makes me sound like a big old ninny.  But that's the thing, I can't switch it off.  No one seems to get it.  I'd very much not like to shake and tear up and get physically ill at the very sight of a DDS but I can't.  

So it's off to bed now, in hopes of turning off the little man inside my head that's saying "run away now!".  Wish me luck, though this will most likely be our last meeting - If the dentist doesn't kill me, the coronary I give myself may...

Scrap Happy

Feeling quite accomplished this evening after spending a good 4 hours scrapbooking for my future UK adventure.  Now I realize you may think it ridiculous to scrap before the pictures are taken, but I do have logical reasoning behind it.  I'll really want to show off my pictures when I get home, but I'll want them in an album instead of just on a computer screen.  If I scrap now, all I need to do is throw the pictures in the album when I get home and bam!  Instant amazement of friends and family of Super Kristen - Queen of Scrap : )

 

PS: Feeling most proud of the all out geekiness of Baker Street : )

First Birthday Fun

First birthdays are always fun.  Especially when filled with sun, and summer, and cake and pools and kids galore.  Thank goodness I had my handy dandy new polarizer for the gosh darn camera I haven't quite figured out yet.  At least the color looks good, if nothing else.

Happy Birthday Elena!

 The sky's finally blue: woohoo!

 Though it always looked like they were going to hit their heads, they somehow never did: daredevils!

 Splash!  I have about 100 of these disembodied splashes.  Apparently my continuous shoot button works quite nicely...

When hanging out with kids, you just have to give them the camera every once in a while.  You get some real masterpieces when you do : )

Friday Five

1.  I'd love to hang these side by side in my cubicle since there are definitely some people in my office that could use the sentiment.
  

 

2. I've never really known how to explain to someone this crazy urge to live in a country I've only ever been to once.  It's strange and goofy but it really feels right and this quote is the perfect explanation.

3. Free fonts and fun stuff on Pinterest.  I've never realized you could look for and download this kind of stuff but apparently you can.  I love it!  There are all sorts of holiday goodies and fonts, you just have to search for it.  This may make my journey into scrapbooking all the more addictive!

4. I'd like to go on record as saying that Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs may be the cutest couple ever!

5.  Summer! I can't believe it's almost over but it's pretty fabulous while it lasts!