Living vicariously through photographs

simply fall, originally uploaded by mainemomma2007.

As a desert-dweller, lately I've been living vicariously through mainemomma2007's flickr photostream. Talk about some BEAUTIFUL fall foliage. Plus, her photographic technique is truly wonderul. Click on the picture to go check her out!

Pass it on

Copy this sentence into your blog if you’re in a heterosexual marriage, and you don’t want it “protected” by people who think that GLBT marriage hurts it somehow.

Mod Pumpkin Carving!

Patterns on pumpkins, originally uploaded by Laura VW.

Love this! The Fauxrla Kiely especially.

Get me to the Ranch on time!

So, here’s my little Sunday adventure.

Brad and Jen’s wedding was on Sunday at 4:30. I dropped Mike off at their house to do best man stuff the morning and went back to the hotel. I got my dress steamed, made the “Just Married” sign made for the car (badly), and did a super quick flat iron job on my hair (I bought an emergency $15 flatiron because Mike forgot to grab mine while packing – needless to say, it was not my chi iron). I headed out to the mall after that to meet my friends and have lunch. I had a moment where I considered throwing my dress, boots, and other items in the car just in case I was running late but I thought that would be silly. I would have plenty of time to run back to the hotel and get dressed and put makeup on. **cue ominous music**

So I’m driving away from the mall about 15 minutes later than I would have liked (our waitress was a bit slow) and I get about a block away and I hear a HORRIBLE clanging noise. I pull into a church parking lot and look at the back tire. HUGE FRAKKING BOLT sticking out of it. HUGE. There is much hissing as the tire rapidly deflates.

I call Mel and ask her to come meet me and then I call AAA because 1) I don’t know where the spare tire is or the jack because it’s my husband’s car 2) I have a wedding to go to and I don’t want to arrive completely gross and nasty from changing a tire 3) It’s sort of dangerous to change a tire so I only do it if I absolutely have to and 4) they are fast, reliable and I pay for the AAA anyway so I should use it!

Mike offers to send Chris (another groomsman) for me but there is no way any of the bridal party is going to miss the ceremony because of me! I decide that the best thing to do is send Mel to my hotel room and give her a massive list of everything I need for the wedding including my brush, makeup, flatiron, sign, and clothes.

While she is doing that, I pack up everything that I’m going to need from the car including cameras, cowboy hat, and Mike’s computer because the wedding is out a bumpy dirt road and driving on the donut tire would be bad news - especially because it’s not like we have another tire hidden around somewhere. AAA comes and changes the tire no problem and I’m ready to go. The solution to the problem of how I am getting to the wedding is now for Mel to drive me with all of my stuff. She comes back with everything I need and more. I told her to look for a specific white tank top in my suitcase and, just to make sure I get the right one, she grabbed everything white she could see!!

So I’m laden with stuff and we head out (did I mention it’s about 15 min until ceremony start time at this point and it’s a bit of a drive?) and the only way I was going to be there all put together is to change in the back of Mel’s car (a ford focus). So Mel drives me to the ceremony and I put on my tights and boots and dress in the back seat (my legs were so swollen from running around in the heat so I could only get my boots on with the tights!!!) Also, did I mention I’m pretty prone to car sickness and that I had to pee when we left the restaurant? Awesome.

So Mel and I finally pull in at 4:29 and (thank goodness) there is an issue with the place where the FOB parked that they had to deal with before the ceremony started. I bolted to the groomsman changing room and got myself sort of together before the ceremony (the bladder issue was paramount at this point). Then, as the bridal party was lining up, I cut in front of them to go grab a seat. Of course, I forgot that at a Jewish wedding, bride and groom’s sides are switched so I went to the wrong side at first and looked like an absolute idiot turning around and going for the groom’s side. I finally spy a seat (in a really sunny spot, probably why no one was sitting there) and my phone starts ringing. I say SHIT quite audibly in front of the guests and fumble in my purse for the offending phone. I turn it off and grab my camera as it’s time for the music to start. Whew. Made it. I also managed to sneak back to the groomsman room again to fix my hair and makeup before cocktails but man, it was an adventurous day.

I think it was karmic payback because the bride (who was also the S/O of the best man at my wedding) couldn’t find our ceremony site on our wedding day and ended up hiking along the creek in her heels until she found it. We both had our adventures on each other’s wedding days.

Mazel Tov!

Congrats to Jen and Brad!! What a beautiful wedding. I hope you guys are having a lot of fun in Hawaii!

More Geekiness: Star Wars USB Drives

From Urban Outfitters, no less.

Are these not just awesome?

Urban Outfitters tends to have um ... interesting jump drives for sale. Some are shaped like sushi or pizza, some are animals that are doing things I might not want my USB drive to do, especially because I bring it to work. I could handle these though. They are just fun and geeky. Apparently, they also have Star Wars plushies. I understand Yoda and Chewy but I don't think I want to cuddle up with Vader or a Storm Trooper. Couldn't they have Han Solo instead? Or R2D2?

For all my geeky readers :)

This is funny even if you don't watch The Office. For those crazies that have not seen this amazing show, the basic premise of this scene is that Dwight (foreground) claims to be 100% productive all day long and does nothing non-work related at work so Jim (background talking) is timing anything he says or does that would not constitute work to prove him wrong.

Let the geekiness commence.

**Also props to Ashley, who also posted this on her blog because it's just so frakking funny**

The polyvore halloween costume contest is like crack to me

Tink has been done, be Peter! by Jelitan


Sexy, updated Velma by Jelitan


Minnie! by Jelitan


Smurfette by Jelitan

wwmTVww - Lauren Graham

It is the loooooong awaited second installment in the "regular segment" (haha) of Women Who Make TV Worth Watching. Today's featured actress is the lovely Lauren Graham.

(source)

Lauren's character of Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls is the person I would most like to emulate if she were an actual person (except for her issues with relationships, but we won't go there). If one could have a TV character role model and not be sad and pathetic, she would be mine (ok, so I am sad and pathetic). She is much more quick-witted and quippy than I will ever be though, no matter how hard I try. This amazing TV actress has never won an Emmy, a fact that I find extraordinarily appalling. She has also been a secondary character in many unfortunate movies. I'm really hoping Flash of Genius is actually good. My aunt (who shares my obsession with Ms. Graham) and I have our fingers crossed.


Lauren carried Gilmore Girls through many spectacular seasons (and even some not so spectacular), through the beginning before Alexis Bledel learned facial expressions, through that one season where she decided to talk through her nose, (love you Alexis!), through the super dramatic one where they didn't talk to each other, etc., etc. The only faults I have ever found with her character were the result of writing and directing mistakes and changes, and never Lauren Graham's portrayal. If you haven't seen Gilmore Girls yet, where have you been? Go rent it now! Please don't subject yourself to Because I Said So though, that's like torture.

Halloween costume for the husband

Another one of my polyvore halloween costumes. These are just too much fun!

All the halloween inspiration you need, even a shopping list!

She's RIGHT HERE! by Jelitan

Confused and/or exasperated over your halloween costume? There is a really great halloween costume contest going on over at polyvore. Entrants put together collages of great costume ideas.

Go create your own or scope out some inspiring looks. In a polyvore collage, each image links to the website it came from so if you find a great concept, you can even go buy the pieces! The invented concept costumes are great but it's the updated or unique takes on classic figures that I think are the best ;)* I wish that I could say I was doing something creative like this for my own costume. Mine this year has me really focused on looking as close to the actual character as possible (to the point of driving me a little nuts).

Who else has ideas? If you enter the polyvore contest, post the link in a comment to share!


*Meghan gets credit for the basic idea of the costume above. I just put together the pieces.

But I'd rather look ridiculous when everybody else does than plain and sensible all by myself

Why, Anne Shirley, you are definitely back in style!

Puffed sleeve dress from banana republic.

Bliss & Mrs. French.

lanterns, originally uploaded by mrs. french.

Lately I feel like my blog has been an advertisement for amazon, apple and other such companies that would need no help from me. Time to focus back in on the indie artists!

I know that Mrs. French has been very popular in the blogosphere of late, but I just have to throw my 2 cents in as well. She takes absolutely goregeous photos and I wanted to share them with you.

The colors, textures, everything is so wonderful! Please go look at her flickr photostream, blog, and, of course, her etsy shop. Go now!

Yay pumpkins

yay pumpkins, originally uploaded by prideofazchick.

I had so much fun in Prescott over the weekend. It was always a family tradition to go to the Young's farm pumpkin festival every year since we moved to Prescott. It was so disappointing when the farm closed.

But now, new life has been breathed into the pick your own pumpkin tradition this year. There are 2 pumpkin festivals in Chino Valley.

I also had a lot of fun with my polaroid camera there. Click the link for my flickr photostream above to see more of my Prescott weekend through its lens.

Another ode to fall

The Haunted Pumpkin Patch, originally uploaded by Solitaire Miles.

I hope you are enjoying wonderful fall weather! Enjoy also this haunted pumpkin patch. Kudos to the photographer.

How to become incredibly easy to shop for and still get the things you want!

I have an amazon wish list that I have tried (sometimes in vain) to have my family and friends use when they buy me gifts. My mom thinks that I cheat and look at what has been bought (because my brother - the idiot - made a joke about it once) and then one year she shopped off of it but didn't remove things from the list and then yelled at me because I had given the list to others too (because it's my fault, of course, that she refuses to use a registry in the appropriate manner).

I told her this year it was the only list and she was just going to have to deal!! Mwahaha

So I got to thinking, I would love to receive items that can be bought off of etsy and other sites as well because I'm trying to buy more handmade, independent items. And then lo and behold, I find out that Amazon added a feature where you can put items from ANY SITE on your amazon list!! How great is that?

Click here to download the universal wish list button and import items from any site. One thing I have noticed is that it doesn't import the price from some sites so you have to key it in manually. It will show a picture of your item automatically which is pretty neat.

Cool, right?

Life on Mars soundtrack

I was very intrigued by the premiere of Life on Mars.

A scifi-esque cop show with a cute guy? Can't get much better than that (at least in my book)! Now I need to know what happens next. 

Plus it has a fun soundtrack. I found a list here (because I'm lazy and didn't want to go through the episode again to figure out all the music for myself). 

1. "Ground Zero" - Chris Cornell
2. "Life on Mars" - David Bowie
3. "Signs" - 5 Man Electric Band
4. "Baba O'Reilly" - The Who
6. "Little Willy" - Sweet
7. "Out of Time" - The Rolling Stones

I bought it and it is beautiful

Trivia question: How many ipods have my husband and I ever owned? - including ones we have had in the past and the ones we currently own. This might be less like trivia and more like blind guessing but there you go.

Your prize is the satisfaction of a job well done and/or the granting of a reasonable request.

Bonus points if you can name the types of ipod!

You ride up my thighs...

Who hates pantyhose? Claire Fisher does. (sidenote: why on earth does her co-worker listen to elevator music for fun?)

I absolutely refuse to wear pantyhose even though [technically] my office dress code requires them. I go defiantly barelegged on occasion but usually I wear the glorious invention of tights with my skirts and dresses.

Tights are awesome - they don't give you that constricting feeling and they are infinitely more difficult to run. They breathe more, and come in many many different colors and patterns ranging from conservative black for the office to crazy patterns and bright colors. For the cubicle set that has now been enlightened as to the magic of tights, go forth and convert others to my sect of women who are actually comfortable at the office.

the anti pantyhose by Jelitan

Enjoy.

Goulish Giveaway at Little Ant Designs

Go visit Little Ant Designs if you are a Halloweenophile like me and you cannot pass up an opportunity for a givaway of one of these amazing goulish portraits.

The giveaway ends at midnight tonight so hurry!

Office supply humor for the cubicle set

My cube at work is definitely the most decorated of all the cubes. There is nothing worse than a boring workspace (especially if you have to be there as much as I do). It's nothing too fancy but I have framed pictures from my wedding and honeymoon, a bunch of my mom's handmade cards tacked on the cube walls, and seasonally-changing gel gem decor on the top frosted glass part of the cube. I even have a little stuffed Totoro figure that I bought in Tokyo in the corner.

And now I have found the best office supplies ever to add to the uniqueness of my cube and cement my position as the most clever and creative coworker in the land. I might need them for my home office as well.

I found these folders at paper source:









And these sticky notes are from See Jane Work:

And, of course, stickers to make your inanimate objects look like they have faces (from merch-bot): I actually also found all of these things and much more hilariousness at my favorite indie bookstore in Tempe. Go there if you're ever in the Valley! That's the Phoenix Metropolitan Area for those of you non-zonans. I bought the "see me" sticky notes and another set that say "humbly submitted for your approval" to stick on items for review.

How do you make your workspace more fun?

Don't you just hate that?

That is, when you are trying to remember something and you just can't? I have been trying to remember the name of a music video that we saw at Spike & Mike's a couple of years ago. I finally had to resort to looking it up on the interwebs, the keeper of all knowledge that is worth knowing (and some that isn't). 

Here it is for your enjoyment. If you don't like vulgar language, well, get over it, because it's still worth watching! 

How did I ever dress myself before polyvore?

I am a blogging machine today! You can imagine how much work I'm (not) getting done.

Mike and I have a wedding coming up in a couple weeks. I am very excited. Our friends Brad and Jen have been dating forever (aka, as long as we have) and they are getting married at the beautiful Oasis at Wildhorse Ranch in Tucson. It is a western-themed wedding (a pretty one - Jen has TASTE) and guests are encouraged to dress down. Hooray, right? Well, it would be, but...

Mike is the best man so it would look ridiculous if he was wearing this (ignoring the red vest):

and I was wearing jeans.

So I put this together for myself including a dress, boots, and clutch I already own. I figure it is western enough, but still me. Yee-hah!

outfit for B&J's wedding by Jelitan

**Update: - jeez this out fit is so matchy-matchy (There is purple in the pattern on the dress that kinda matches the clutch) - I can see Stacy yelling at me "It doesn't have to match, it has to GO!" Sorry Stace!**

Pinhole + pumpkins = awesome

the pumpkin patch by pinhole
Originally uploaded by manyfires

This picture makes me so excited for the fall season that is soon to be upon us. Those of you who do not live in Arizona might think that it's fall already - but here it isn't, not yet anyway!

And I couldn't let the weddingbee post be at the top anymore. It was depressing me.

Sorry Mrs. Bee, but I think I'm leaving the hive

I am, by no means, influential on weddingbee. I was mostly a lurker with a few board posts and many more comments but I ALWAYS read the site, even long after my own wedding. It is a community like no other, full of creativity, where rude negative comments are shunned. I credit it with giving me at least 50% of my wedding ideas - maybe more. Wedding planning projects were an incredible creative outlet for me and I would have loved to apply to be a blogger myself had I not discovered the site too close to my wedding date.

All of this being said, I am disappointed in the decision to sell Weddingbee to eHarmony with its prejudiced position on LGBTQ relationships and marriage.

Though, if I were you, I wouldn't take my word for it. I'd take hers, hers, and hers.

Cute, cheap shoes - what more do you want?

There was a point in my life (ahem... college) where most of my wardrobe came from Old Navy. Now I rely on it for my staples. If I am going to buy a camisole or a long-sleeved T for layering, there's no way I'm going to buy them at a department store for 2-3 times as much. 

Right now I'm loving that they have cute, inexpensive versions of the shoes that I loved from stores like jcrew last fall. 

I'll take a pair in every color, please! 

And all that Jazz

How many widgets is too many widgets? I guess when your page stops loading at any reasonable speed, then it would be time to cut down. You may have noticed that things have been changing around here (unless you primarily use google reader - like me - and haven't noticed anything). 

First of all, I am leaving my new blog header off this show and tell list because I'm not sure if I like it yet. I like it better than the other one just because it isn't a picture of me with my mouth hanging open. Anything is better than that.  

So, let us proceed from there. You can see to the left that I have a twitter roll that updates whenever I "twitter" or "tweet" or whatever avian verbiage I'm supposed to use to describe the concept of mini moblogging. I'm quite addicted to it at the moment and have been putting my unlimited texting plan to good use. Check it for my random thoughts, where I might be if I haven't blogged in a while, etc. (If you happen to be interested in those things)

 

On the right below the label cloud, there is my life list. I blogged about this a while ago and then added it here shortly thereafter. I update it periodically so don't worry; this short list is not all I hope to accomplish in my life. 

The etsy crawl has been here for a while. Whenever I find something really cool on etsy, I mark it as a favorite and it magically appears here. This widget is available through the site itself. No, these are not my own etsy creations (I wish!). See on the right my map of the US. After November 17th, I'll be able to add Florida! It is rather pathetic right now. I need to do some local traveling!

On the left down here you see my amazon wish list. I'm not sure I want to keep this on there but we'll see how it goes. It may be a temporary item. 

This is how we (blog)roll - down on the right you see my google reader recommended posts. These are incredibly fun. Basically, when I go through the blogs on my reader and find posts with cool stories, great music, beautiful pictures, good tips, great celeb gossip, etc., I share them and the most recent 7 appear here. You can click to see all of them and it shows up as a psuedoblog in a new window. 

And that is all for the grand tour. Nothing you couldn't have figured out yourself, but it's fun (for me at least!).