Things That Are Awesome

A wonderful website. In a time when it's so easy to get hung up on what's wrong with the world, this blog is a wonderful reminder of the little things in life that are amazing.

I've been really angry lately with the way some things are in this country. Part of it is politics; how Michelle Obama's campaign against childhood obesity became a partisan fight (Glenn Beck claimed she was trying to take away his french fries by suggesting carrot sticks as a snack for children). I'm frustrated with agribusiness and food that tastes bland because it is forced to grow in the wrong season, or meat that comes from fattening cattle and chicken on feed they don't consume in the wild (I got John some Michael Pollan books for Christmas, can you tell?). I'm frustrated with the fact that pharmaceutical companies refuse to fund more studies on lithium, which has shown a lot of promise for treating strokes and Lou Gehrig's disease, simply because no single company has a patent on it and thus everybody could benefit from selling the drug.

Sigh...I found this blog at just the right time!

Some posts that reminded me of the little joys in life:


#356 Wearing your boyfriend's sweatshirt (I love doing this)
#371 Seeing Old People Holding Hands
#380 Hearing Someone's heartbeat
#391 When parents bring you back gifts from a business trip (my dad always used to bring me stuffed animals: a lobster from Maine, an armadillo from Texas. Now, he still brings me back things from his trips, typically tea from London!).
#407 The in-law nap (this one made me laugh out loud because I just did it on Christmas. I was tuckered out from playing midnight mass).
#413 Trying on your new clothes again as soon as you get home from the store (I am way guilty of this!)
#466 Using milk instead of water (I do this for tomato soup, and it just isn't the same without it!)
#497 The moment after the show before the applause begins
#563 Watching cream go into coffee


A nice reminder to stop and smell the roses (or at this time of year, the evergreen?).

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I had an amazing day of food and family. I hope you did too!

Here's a few last holiday links I've loved...

~Let it Dough! Creative Christmas cookies!

~Build a Christmas village on a shelf, starting with this free download. Then, if you get ambitious, she has more for sale.

I would totally watercolor these. I may make them soon!

~An adorable winter engagement shoot. My favorites, however, are the first two pictures!

Tangled in lights. Love it!

~Um, hello amazing photo. Originally found here.

Totally my favorite. Love the clothes, her expression, and the colors!

~T-Rex sums up the year's accomplishments.

~Ickle and Lardee have one of the cutest letters to Santa ever.

PS if you don't know these two teeth,
you need to go through this entire blog's archives immediately.

~Look amazing, but a ton of work to make...mini gingerbread houses! And they sit on coffee cups!

Wow. Just wow.

Holiday Cheer Part 3

~Did you know kissing under the mistletoe may be partly inspired by Norse mythology? The things you learn reading mental_floss.

~Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication (according to Da Vinci), as shown by this perfect little hot chocolate recipe: milk, chocolate, sugar. And the picture is divine:

via

~Beautiful typewriter art, found here.

How do people think of these things?

~I have a love of blogs that give elaborate gift wrapping ideas at this time of year. You know, like the stuff you see on Anthropologie, where you can spend as much on the wrapping as the present. I opted for something simpler (see below), but fell in love with this method of re-using cheap plastic dinosaur toys.

It's a metallic dinosaur! On a Christmas present!

Or, even better, a metallic dinosaur necklace!
All it takes is a coat of paint!

Here's my gift-wrapping scheme this year: brown paper packages tied up with string, with a touch of deep red:

Four more days! Merry Christmas, everybody!

Party Time!

I love the contrast in these images by russetplait: the red hair, the deep red lips, the black against the snow. So gorgeous!

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I love this look for the holidays; just a pop of deep red with black and a touch of sparkle at the collarbone.

I also liked E's look on Academichic for a party with professors: deep charcoal gray with bright red tights.

I would so wear this! Only I'd probably add a simple necklace with red gems;
I don't like my neck to go bare unless I'm playing violin.

My take on neutrals+red? I'm currently wearing red nail polish from Urban Outfitters.

This exact one, in fact.

This is a first for me, because I've always avoided red nails. They're just so basic, not much more interesting to me than a french manicure (eeew). Nothing against girls who want the classic look,* I'd just rather have an opaque pop of color if I'm going to take the time to do my nails. I don't often do it, because I'm impatient and smudge the nails before they can get a chance to really set.

Generally I'm all about the OPI Sephora colors, but it's hard to justify $9.00 nail polish when I'm not a nail polish maven. When I was at UO buying this nail polish (and Christmas presents for people), the girl at the checkout said "This is such a blood red. Like something out of Twilight." One of the other cashiers chided her, "DON'T TELL THAT TO THE CUSTOMERS!" I had a chuckle.

Anyways, back to party looks. We had a nice little shindig at our place Sunday evening. Just eleven friends, mulled wine, and appetizers. It was an awesome evening. It was the first time we've had more than a couple people over at once, and it was a smashing success.

I labeled everything.

The puppy chow/muddy buddies were gone by the end of the night.

The table with Christmas decor.

Snowflake garlands and pretty lights.

Our coffeetable with the "party tree"
and flowers from John's concert on Thursday.

Setting out the pretty cups and the veggie tray.

And, of course, I have no photographic evidence of my outfit, but I got lots of compliments. I wore a soft-as-can-be black cardigan over a quirky floral print dress I bought at Salvation army, my red nails, my grandmother's golden lockets, a black fascinator in my hair, and dark skinny jeans. The important thing to me was keeping everybody in food and drink and conversation, and I'd say it went off without a hitch.

Hope your holidays are filled with many nights of family, friends and fun!


*Unless you get a french pedicure. Those creep me out for some reason. A lot.

Inspiration Board Love...

I love love love this guest post by coco + kelley on Snippet & Ink...

Purple and orange aren't colors I ever see for weddings. I love this wintery palette that adds a snowy white to the eclectic mix.

Love love love! So quirky and yet so refreshing!
via

PS to any of my bridesmaids that read this blog (I don't know if any of you actually do?): now that classes are over, wedding colors are in the process of being picked. I'll let you know once we do so you can get crackin' on finding a dress, esp. with after-Christmas sales on your side!

Diamonds are A) forever B) a girl's best friend C) dead

I recently saw Charlize Theron's J'Adore Dior ad again and remembered that I loved it. There's something so incredible about the entire scene; she looks fabulous in her jewels and dress, but even more fabulous as she's tossing it all aside.

I love the lines "Gold is cold. Diamonds are dead."

Speaking of diamonds, how the hell did they become the stone of choice for engagement rings? Yes, yes, I know you know about DeBeers manufacturing demand by making them seem scarce, but how did they get into engagement rings, specifically? Mental_Floss had an interesting article on the subject.

My favorite quote came from a DeBeers chairman: "Diamonds are intrinsically worthless, except for the deep psychological need they fill."

I am not about to judge this choice. I ended up with a diamond, albeit a teal one.

Hi there, engagement ring! I love you!

Gosh, it's pretty.

Anyways, I think diamonds may have been a popular choice for rings even without the marketing and creation-of-demand by the diamond industry. Diamonds are, after all, the hardest gem, and therefore the most durable. The phrase "a diamond is forever" is catchy but also descriptive. After all, we've gravitated towards platinum for the metal because it's so strong and durable.

I would have loved an opal ring, as it's one of my favorite stones. But, opal shatters easily. Very easily. And, the older opals get, the more the water leeches out of the stones, leaving them dull. The whole beauty of opals are their fragility, the water content radiating colors from within.

Plus, diamonds are sparkley when they're cut well. I'll never understand why raw diamonds are such a big deal on etsy, or the rose-cut ones. I love the look of a rose-cut stone in a bezel setting, but why spend so much for a diamond? Why not just get a rose-cut quartz or other stone? Most of the sparkle is gone from a stone like that.

I almost had a sapphire engagement ring, until Kate Szabone (my awesome jeweler) sent me pictures of different stones she had in stock. As soon as that little oval teal diamond showed up in my life, there was no going back. I distinctly remember a conversation with my maid of honor while I was trying to decide on a stone where she said "You already know you want that one. You keep coming back to it."

It's true. That magnetic attraction has only intensified since being proposed to. I still love looking down at the ring in different lights to see how the diamond looks. Sometimes it seems inky blue, other times it seems more green than blue. It looks best under stage lights and early morning light. It looks best on my hand where I can admire it. It reminds me of John and how much he loves me.

That's the whole point of the engagement ring.

Y'all can have your white diamonds. They are pretty, and I don't blame you one bit for wanting one (as long as you get a conflict-free diamond, of course). But mine is purely, perfectly me, and for that reason it is the best ring in the whole world. I will never see one I want more than the one already on my hand, which was custom made to my exact specifications, from the bezel setting to the sideways setting of the stone to the grooved, whisper-thin band so that I could still play violin with it on.

Follow that Dress

This is the actual dress.

Now look what they did with it!

Found via this post.

I love the side view the best. 

Part of what I love about the dress is how the lace goes on the diagonal...

Only in Vogue...

...do you see people frolicking in soap suds in couture. I love the look of the models, but I think the setting is silly. As if we all go to the laundromat looking like that.

Perhaps it was just this particular shoot that didn't work for me. Generally I like seeing the juxtaposition of the fantastical with the mundane. And I do like the models and their clothes...

Ruffles!

My favorite shot. Love that dress and her pose!

Love this dress!

The best 404 error message ever...

Ok, not really, but the image used at Offbeat bride really made me smile:

So friggin' adorable!

Some other great ones:

"Our princess is in another castle."

A personal favorite, Homestar Runner's Teen Girl Squad gets 404'd!

The classiest dang 404 I've ever seen. Beautiful composition!

Love the scrolling star background on this one!

Nerdy guys in sweater vests, and instructions not to cry? Hilarious!

Friday!

I love this print so much. There are no words for how much I love it.

Links Links Links!

Beautiful and Eerie: A high speed camera looking out the windows of a train, seems to put the world in slow motion.

Just look at the gorgeous staircases in the front page picture! An old men's club is renovated into a residence, simultaneously modernizing the space and preserving the decay.

In light of my last entry on Twilight, an incredibly amusing blog entry that re-casts Edward as a moody problem child due to his sexual frustration (he apparently admits to Bella that he's a virgin in one of the books). I was in tears I was laughing so hard.

A style blog for guys (really fun to look through!). Check out nerdboyfriend.com

Bright orange flowers and blue sky. Missing the summer in all this snow (I'm enjoying winter so far, but the pictures are still pretty).

Free printable birdies! To use as ornaments or gift tags. So cute!

Distraction and a horrid, horrid confession

1) I haven't been able to focus on anything. This week is sort of a blitz to get my second Ph.D app in, do lesson plans for my music history class, and pass my recital qualifying jury. Then I am free and clear and can focus more on pretty things and wrapping presents.

2) I did manage to get the apartment decorated, with a little more eye candy than last year! (Pictures likely to come in a later post).

3) I really want to focus on wedding stuff, but feel like I can't right now because of this week being so busy. Sigh...soon enough!

4) Our apartment is cold, so I can only imagine how cold it must be outside right now. But golly the snow is gorgeous!

5) Just started watching Torchwood with John...dang. It's way more to my taste than Dr. Who (sorry, fellow nerds! I tried!). Perhaps I'll try again with Dr. Who someday, but I like the darkness in this series better. And the chemistry between Jack and Gwen. For real, go watch that clip. It's a real testament to the actors that they can convince me this is hot. I hate guns, the idea of firing them, and their power...but there's so much tension in the way he puts his hand on her waist to steady her stance. Plus, whoever plays Jack has killer arms and an even more killer smile.



Now, a heinous confession: I, ladies and gentlemen (and I know several sorority sisters are going to take me to task on this): I watched Twilight. I, a self-professed hater of Jane Austen, chick flicks, and all things lovey-dovey, watched this abomination of a movie.

I was going to insert an image here to spoil my big confession, but I couldn't bring myself to even download one from Google image search. All of them were all dark and moody and made me angry that I wasted 90 odd minutes of my life on this flick.

Not that there aren't exceptions to the no-romance rule in my life (Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Prime, Stardust, even the occasional Dirty Dancing), but this is a line I never thought I'd cross. I've spent a good deal of time mocking the-what do they call themselves?- Twi-hards. Ahem.

What can I say? I was curious. And I've been enjoying the wonderfully vitrolic Reasoning with Vampires blog, which scans actual passages from the book and picks apart the awful writing. A friend posted a link to Facebook, I followed it, I was amused. I still am amused. But I don't think I'll ever take that amusement as far as actually reading the books, especially not based on what I've seen of them through this blog. So I found the movie scattered across youtube and had a go.

IT WAS HORRIBLE. Not only that, it was a horrible decision to watch it. I am one of many, many people to notice this, but Bella is completely lacking in self-esteem and yet ridiculously self-centered and mean. She begins a manipulative, violent relationship with a vampire who tells her she's like a drug to him, "My own personal brand of heroin." OhBarf. He also sneaks into her room late at night to watch her sleep, without her knowledge. Hooray! Twu-wuv, everybody!

The movie itself wasn't the issue. There are worse movies, and from what I know of the actual books, they improved on the dialogue and plot of the original. What bothers me is that the fans seem to find Edward dreamy instead of creepy, loving instead of abusive. It scares me that some young teenage girls are in their moody, dark, melancholic phase hoping to find a guy like this.

I went through that same phase, but it mostly consisted of falling for older boys who would never deign to date a 15 year old or superficially admiring the punk boys my own age for their cool hair or aesthetic alterations to their clothing. I was kind of into my studies, so as much as my journals from that period rage on about feeling invisible to boys and wishing somebody would love me, I did ok and I was kept busy with my music and my coursework. And, actually, I did date boys in high school: mostly nice ones who weren't gothic, pale, vampiric 100-year olds.

Bella and Edward are terrifying. He takes over her entire life. She lives for him, but they don't develop the characters or their relationship in a believable way. It's obsession and lust taken too far.

So, my opinion of Twilight has not changed (not that I was really expecting it to). But dear God, I hope girls can find a better romance to squee over.

Holiday Cheer Part 2

More pretty pictures to get you in the holiday spirit!

Wow. What an amazing image of a tinsel tree.

I love the warm orangey-pink glow emanating from this tree.

Helicopter Santa! Enough said.

Santa takes a tumble.

A Christmas Journey through Space. I kid you not.

Good old Shiny Brite ornaments.


And, some other non-photo, Christmas-y links:

A great mental_floss article about eggnog.

There's nothing like Bing's White Christmas to put me in the holiday spirit!

"I hope their Christmas trees get termites" For those of you who aren't excited about Christmas, Oscar the Grouch concurs wholeheartedly.

Poor Mr. Hooper!

Globe Chandelier

A beautiful globe chandelier, found on this post, made by this incredible French artist.

Insert bad "you light up my life" joke here.

I want one! I could put it in the same room as the beautiful art globes I raved about last week.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Guess what?

...

Look! Santa's waving at you!

IT'S DECEMBER! This means the holidays are already upon us!

Yes, that is Mario with a turnip.

Isn't it exciting? Seeing everything lit up and decorated with bright colors. Even for the not-religiously-inclined, it has to be exciting to see so many bright colors in a time when the skies are often gray and the temperatures are frigid.

Cowabunga!

Those are some of my all-time favorite decorations and pictures of our Christmas cheer. Here are some others from Flickr (which are definitely of a higher quality than mine!):

A cute little elf

A close up of some awesome vintage ornaments

I'm a sucker for a white tree and a vintage santa

Pink ornaments and vintage ornament boxes

Nothing like an aluminum tree with a bright green ornament

A groovy outer space ornament

Such cheery bright colors on an aluminum tree

Boxes o' ornaments

A snowy scene with a beautiful white tree

A beautiful, nontraditional Christmas tree

I love the look of this whole room with the tree and the pillows

A vintage tree topper against a beautiful background

Photography

I was struck by this post on east side bride. Actually, I was struck by a comment made on the post.

I really liked her second paragraph, because I think it brings up a really interesting idea. How many girls get engaged and then immediately lose themselves in 1) playing dress up 2) throwing a big party.

These days, we have access to everything. Blogs, Martha Stewart weddings. I'll bet when the Prince and Ms. Middleton tie the knot, there will be a global simulcast of the event, just like for Princess Di's wedding. We are a strangely wedding-obsessed culture. This has led to more and more high-end photographers. When we see the superstar wedding photographers on blogs, there's a lot of pressure (some of it subconscious) for us to make our weddings look like that.

I agree with the spirit (though not the letter) of ESB's opinion: You only need one great photo. I think this is true. This isn't to say that I'm not hoping for more than one (whether they come from a pro photographer or several friends' digital cameras). I love photos so much. I love looking back through them later on and reminiscing. However, your wedding is not a photo shoot. 

I think in my case the many beautiful photos I'm hoping for have nothing to do with the styling of my surroundings. They will have a lot to do with the people I share the day with, and our genuine joy at being able to gather together as family and friends and promise to love.

Amen.

East Side Bride is a girl after my own heart. I couldn't agree more with this post, where she briefly reflects on, (and I quote)

"WHY THE FUCK DO YOU NEED TWO WEDDING DRESSES!?!"

I have long wondered this, seeing the phenomenon on various wedding blogs. It's become such a commonplace thing that nobody seems to question the fact that it's totally weird. 

Especially the way the wedding industry fetishizes finding "The One" (the dress, not the boy). The Knot is full of stories of blubbering future brides, talking about how they knew they had found the One when they started crying and everybody else in the room burst into tears. Apparently that's how you know it's the perfect dress, the one worth shelling out all that money for: sobbing mothers and misty-eyed bridesmaids.

I get what some people say about changing for practical reasons; afraid of spilling red wine on their dress, inability to move around comfortably, etc.

But here's my $0.02:

1. Get a dress that you adore, that makes you feel magical. Stay in said dress as long as possible, to prolong the magic as long as you can.
2. If it's "The One", the tear-inducing confection of tulle and lace, why change into something less fabulous? Why be anything less than radiant the entire wedding?
3. If dancing is important to you, find a dress you can dance in! Buy ballroom shoes to go with your dress and have at it!

But then again, I'm not exactly the type to go for something like this: 

I typed "wedding ballgown" into Google. Voila.

I get the Cinderella mentality to an extent. I'm all for brides feeling beautiful and special. I'm not anti-establishment enough to deny somebody the princess-for-a-day feeling (as long as they aren't bitchy bridezillas about it).

Because (and this is one of many surprising places you'll see my traditionalist side pop up) I believe the process of becoming a bride, dress and all, is a rite of passage. I think it's an important transition to make, and that it is a significant change that should be celebrated and not treated as simply an expensive game of dress-up. You have to use your wedding planning to focus on the monumental change you are making to your life.

Plus, just think about the actual changing into the second dress: it will likely happen in a cramped bathroom stall somewhere, with a maid or maid of honor helping you keep the dress from dragging on the floor. Then what are you supposed to do with your little pride and joy for the rest of the reception? Hang it behind the head table? Stuff it in a car? Fold it up and put it in your trunk? Can you even fold a wedding dress? There's so many weird little logistics you'd have to add on.

YOU DON'T NEED THE HEADACHES!

It's like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife...

I initially saw this blog post on Creature Comforts and got really, really excited. I have a thing for tableware that comes in lots of colors (seriously, you should see my registry).

They're absolutely luminous.

But then I went to the website, Gracious Home. They are beautiful, but only have a serving set, demitasse and teaspoons. I have to admit, I was a little bummed; I was hoping they would have full flatware sets (knife, spoon, fork).

They are certainly pretty, though. Perhaps throw a few of the different colors of teaspoons on the registry to use with afternoon tea? I have an awesome set of black teacups from my aunt, so striking, bright colored spoons might work...

A World of Possibility...

By the end of the day, my first Ph.D application will be submitted, sent off into the world. I picture it as a toddler; walking shakily but determined to stay upright.

My thoughts are expansive of late; contemplating my future and my potential and attempting to contain the worlds within me on a single sheet of paper has been a difficult, yet rewarding, process. I am happy to have gained some hindsight and insight as I re-examine what exactly compels me to want to pursue a doctorate in my field.

All of this ponderous exposition is a roundabout way of introducing the true topic of my post, some beautiful globes I spotted on Oh Joy! today.

The globe was tucked into a holiday gift guide, and following the link to the website, I was immediately charmed by Wendy Gold's incredible artistry. Her designs are so beautiful and unique, but seem so natural on the surface of the vintage globes she decorates.

 So dreamy and sweet with the glitter on the base. This is the one I love.

 This would look great in a home library or office. Perhaps someday, when I am rich (oh wait, I want to be a college professor...)...oh well, this is the life I lead, and it makes me happy.

You know what else makes me happy? My fiance baked me oatmeal chocolate chip cookies tonight, from scratch, just to help motivate me to finish my applications. I am so lucky to have him.

You know what else else makes me happy? Bedtime! Have blissful dreams, all! I am going to drift off to dreamland, a place NOT located on any of those globes...

Rainbows Cakes and Cupcakes!

So I'm generally not into food coloring. I think it adds unnecessary chemical agents into your food, so generally I avoid it whenever possible. But I am almost tempted to rush out and buy some just to try my hand at making these colorful little cakes:

I'll bet they were as easy on the stomach as they were on the eyes!

First I saw the little beauties above, made for a housewarming party whose theme was "Color Me Happy." Irresistible! The blogger mentioned that she got the idea from another post on rainbow cake, so of course I happily followed the link down the rabbit-hole:

Looks right out of a Dr. Seuss book!

That little happy tumblr post led me to the original tutorial, which made me really smile. The entire process looks like it is so much fun!

Batter, separated by color. So bright and cheery!

Even the dishes look cheerful!

This looks AMAZING.

Just a little cheer for a gray Tuesday.