Wrapping up 2010

via qsprn

Wrapping up 2009

1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?

• Got engaged!
• Hosted Thanksgiving dinner (made a turkey!)
• Rented a lens from borrowlenses.com
• Saw an Army/Navy game
• Had jewelry designed (my engagement ring!)
• Had a professional photo shoot (I felt like I was being followed by paparazzi!)

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions and will you make more for next year?

From last year:

• Cut HFCS from our diet, or severely restrict it. I guess limit processed foods in general.
• Fix my little anxiety/fear of bicycle death thing.
• Resume cooking meals at home more often
• Eat healthier foods, and by exercising more, possibly look smoking hot when I'm naked?

Last year, my diet was worse than ever. I did get over a lot of my anxiety, with a lot of therapy and just having things generally go more smoothly than last year. I did not cook very much, unless you count frozen pizza. Blech.

This year?

• diet, diet, diet. I would like to eat waaay better than we did this year. Less booze and much less frozen pizza.
• start saving more money.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No, everyone eked out their babies at the end of last year!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No.

5. What countries did you visit?

None, once more. We were going to go to "Europe," but J traveled a lot for work and I was generally broke/working customer service jobs, so we mainly traveled for weddings.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?

The ability to browse wedding blogs without having to hide it (or rather, hide just how often I read them!)

7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory and why?

November 13, because that was when J proposed!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I found not one, but two jobs, one of which I truly enjoy, the other which starts next January. I also made some really great personal breakthroughs in therapy. I did finally get that client to pay—the one that was my biggest failure last year.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Letting one of my coworkers get to me to the point that it gave me serious stress when I had to go in to work knowing he and I would be spending the day/evening together.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I caught the flu, again, but nothing major.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

The engagement photos, for sure, but we actually also got flannel sheets, which turned out to be an excellent purchase now that it is cold. I haven't even had to use the electric blanket since we bought them, and I'm sure that has saved us some money, as well as helping the environment a little bit (a stretch? Maybe, but they are awesome!)

I also bought some riding boots that I love. I have seriously been searching high and low for riding boots for three years, now. It is about time.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

• J's, whose support and devotion have never wavered, ever. And also because he proposed to me and all that.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Just this one guy who made me want to stop going to trivia, even though we've been going every Tuesday for over a year. He's such a dingbat.

14. Where did most of your money go?

rent, health insurance, wedding savings.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Getting Engaged!

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?

Home by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder?

Much happier. I am still in the engagement glow!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Exercise

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Eating frozen pizza!

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

In PA with J and his family

21. How will you be spending New Years?

Working at my restaurant job, then going dancing with my BFF, Jessica.

22. Did you fall in love in 2010?

Yes, I still find new ways and reasons to love J more and more every year.

23. How many one-night stands?

Fail.

24. What was your favorite TV program?

Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Walking Dead, Mad Men.

25. Do you "hate" anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

I think that I've come to decide that "hate," even the mild pretend "hate," is a completely wasted emotion. This doesn't mean that there isn't anyone that could have made this list, just that I choose not to participate in this question anymore.*

26. What was the best book you read?

I am mostly reading a bunch of wedding books right now, so I am ill equipped to answer this question. Long and short? I don't know that I read very much this year. Offbeat Bride was probably the best wedding book, though.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. I was very sad when Ima Robot seemed to be breaking up. Now? I has a happy, again—and after Edward Sharpe, Ima Robot came out with a new album! Yeehaw.

28. What did you want that you also ended up getting?

MY VERY OWN LETTERPRESS. Also, a pair of riding boots.

29. What did you want that you did not end up getting?

A Clarisonic Mia

30. What was your favorite film of this year?

Black Swan

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 26. We went to my favorite Mexican restaurant with a bunch of friends. The owner even gave us a free cake!

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Getting to tell a customer off. What a waste of a last day at a restaurant.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

Pretty much the same as last year. More sweat pants, more flats, skinny jeans, comfortable chic.

34. What kept you sane?

Medication, therapy, and yoga.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

John Kraskinski.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?

Health Insurance

37. Who did you miss?

Our friends Dan and Lydia moved last year, but the loss is still just as strong.

38. Who was the best new person you met?

Almost everyone at my new restaurant job.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

Let it Go

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

"This is the first day of my life

Glad I didn't die before I met you

Now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you

And I'd probably be happy"

Heart

Things I love Thursday

Getting some work done. As I posted previously, I finished a website and the restaurant menus this week. Exciting to be done!


Hanging out with other people's pets. I hung out with my neighbor's corgi the other day, and I will be hanging out with Jess' cat this weekend. The next best thing until we can get our own dog.

So Much Going On Lately

My To Do list has been growing at an astounding rate, lately—business is going well, things at the restaurant are going well, and there have been other personal developments that are finally going well now that everyone is on track. The things that have been keeping me from updating this thing, ever, these days.

I keep thinking about starting a professional blog—something I can tie to my website; a website that is woefully out of date at the moment. The Catch-22 of being a web designer is that I haven't had the time to work on my own portfolio recently. Which is why a professional blog seems like such a silly idea.

Tidbits from the past while:
We have met the neighbors. Drank a few bottles of wine with them. I ended up massaging the downstairs neighbor's dog's feet, which I could have done all night...LOVE HER. She was going to be a show dog before she broke her hip, so she has pins holding her together. I told her I knew how she felt, and about how my jaw is held together with pins, too. Downstairs neighbors' chihuahuas are scared of her, though, so they didn't really want to hang with us.

The new restaurant menus that I designed will be unveiled this week, and I am so excited about them.

I got a rockin' haircut.

J finished his Master's! No more grad school! For now!

I launched a hair studio's website

Plus other stuff, that I can't talk about just yet...Exciting times! As they say, Stay Tuned for more!

Quelle Belle

Palomino Colored Pencils

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms"

Making Marriage Sound Cute

quote via so much to tell you

Choose Your Own Adventure: Logan Airport

Every time I come home from the airport, I manage to take a different route. This is never my intention, and usually I get home without incident, even if I end up taking Storrow Drive to Harvard Square instead of the more direct route to Inman Square.

This time however, at three o'clock in the morning I might add, I veered entirely off course in a way that was terrifying, moreso because I didn't even have my cell phone on me. My usual exit was closed, and instead of taking the next exit, I managed to get off the highway a little bit too early and ended up in Boston's North End. J and I have walked through Charlestown to the North End before, so I figured it would be a snap to get back from there using my bearings. Boy was I wrong.

I had no cell phone and no way of knowing when to get on and off the dozens of highways that might or might not send me back to Logan airport, where at the very least I would know where I was! I kept trying to catch a glimpse of the Boston skyline, so I'd know vaguely which way to go. Long story short, guess who ended up at a Walgreens in Revere, nearly in tears, asking the security guard how to get back to Somerville. I'm just really glad I had decided against driving in skimpy pajamas and had opted for real clothes, instead. His directions weren't really very accurate, uh, AT ALL—the only real insight he provided was that instead of taking a left out of the parking lot like I wanted to, I should take a right. I found signs for Everett/Somerville, and things finally began to look familiar at some point.

This is the route I SHOULD have taken, provided the exit I needed hadn't been closed:


View Larger Map

And in the end, this looks pretty close to the route I ended up taking, instead:


View Larger Map

When Gilmore Girls Mirrors Real Life

"I feel awful—I feel sick...It just sucks, you know, because I graduated today, this was supposed to be a happy day in my life and now when I look back on it I'm just going to think about this whole other thing that happened." --Rory Gilmore

I don't really think about my own graduation anymore, but the penultimate episode of the Gilmore Girls dredged up some pretty awful memories for me. Thank God life has turned out beautifully every since I left college boyfriend's wretched family in my past. The wonderful thing about heartbreak is that it leaves you feeling alive, though. Going through it at the time is no picnic, and I personally learned a lot about depression when I graduated from college, but watching Logan's heartbreak was as beautiful as it was painful. I can imagine Logan telling the story about Rory—the love of his life before he met the actual love of his life—to his grandchildren when he's 80.

I won't be telling any stories about my awful college boyfriend to my grandkids or anything, but I can imagine talking about other boys in my past. And that kind of childhood heartbreak is just the type of maudlin thing that brings a smile to my face.

After all, I wouldn't be here in this wonderful place if life had taken a different turn at any point along the way.

Nice Guys

The captions: hilarious.

Swagbucks

Over the past few months, I have gone on a spending spree on Amazon. First, I finally bought the ipod I'd been saving for, then, when my mouse broke, I broke down and bought a magic mouse. When I went on this spree, I didn't spend any of my own money. I had accumulated amazon gift cards by participating in surveys and by using swagbucks.com for my daily searching.

Every time my account reaches 450 swag bucks, I get a $5 Amazon gift card. Searching the internet is something I do anyway, every day, and their search engine gets better and better as the site develops and grows stronger. Searching is a simple way to see swag bucks add up, but the real money is in referrals. After I had a few friends join, my points went through the roof and I ended up slowly being able to afford a $150 mp3 player, $5 at a time. There are some other prizes on there, and I can't speak to their value, but I know some people will "save up" for things like an XBox (I can't imagine how many swag bucks you need for an XBox).

If you're interested, you should check it out. It's pretty exhilarating when you get your first prize, just for using the search engine, and if you're into online games, they have a pretty active twitter and facebook account where they post opportunities and contests to grab swag bucks every day. And because this post is clearly about shameless promotion:

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/dearsweetbriar

Magic Mouse To The Rescue...I Hope

In continuing with my whorish consumerism, I made another Apple purchase today. The scroll button on my mouse constantly sticks, and it has become a daily battle with the thing. I use lotion pretty frequently, and I know this has contributed vastly to the problem, which isn't helped by the fact that I eat at my desk sometimes. Yesterday the scroll button stuck, and after my usual struggle with it (which I will sadly admit includes banging it on the desk to dislodge the dirt) it did something awful—the whole mouse got stuck in the clicked position. I figured it was just dirty, so I tried to clean it to no avail. Now there's a piece of my mouse on J's desk, and the rest of it's over here, still in the "clicked" position, rendering it unusable.

So after absolutely no deliberation or thought whatsoever, I bought a magic mouse. I immediately regretted the spontaneous purchase, and I don't know how I'm going to feel about this new toy once it arrives. It is all unicorns and glitter and rainbows, I'm sure, but it's also relatively new and probably buggy, and now I'm the proud owner of something that will most likely become outdated this summer and obsolete by next summer.

A lot of the people whose twitter feeds I follow bought this toy when it came out—and they were all duly impressed. The reviews on CNet, however, seem to indicate that no matter how impressed people were with the magic mouse when it first came out, they are not thrilled with it after using the thing for a bit. So, we'll see what happens when the package arrives for me. If I return it, I'll have to see what else Amazon has to offer before my Amazon Prime trial is over. I've always had good luck with logictech mice, and I will be damned if I spend money on another stupid mighty mouse that I will have to throw out the window once the track ball starts sticking.

iPod Madness

source

I got a brand new 5th genereation ipod nano on Wednesday. After applying swagbucks gift certificates and signing up for an Amazon credit card, I spent a whopping $32 (I had $180 saved up in a bank account for just this reason).

I've been so out of touch with new technology that I was overwhelmingly impressed with my new tech toy. I got an 8GB nano because I figured that my old ones only carried one or two albums and a dozen songs that I listened to at once. I was able to store everything I listened to on a tiny little 4GB ipod, before. But this nano? This nano plays video! This nano has a pedometer! This nano has games! In color! This nano makes me feel old.

But it is so pretty, and now I can watch episodes of the Office when I travel. I'm kind of starting to regret not going for the 16GB, or holding out for a touch!

Massholes, Revisited

Some interesting theories put forth by the Boston Biker on his blog:

A normal well adjusted person would be able to take a 30 second delay in stride, a normal person wouldn’t roll down their window and threaten to kill another person, a normal person after they had just nearly killed someone would have apologized (and mean it). It would seem that driving a vehicle in Boston on a regular basis can actually turn you from a normal well adjusted human being into a murderous asshole.

This is stuff I witness on a daily basis, and my commute, from point A to point B has never taken me more than 15 minutes. In 15 minutes, I am threatened multiple times, even if sometimes it's just by accident. Usually it's not. Parts of me just want to move, the parts that value my sanity over the sadness that people can't be better towards one another in my little city.

My April Goal

My goal for April is to workout more, especially in the mornings. As a server, I don't have to report to work until 10:30 AM, so there is a whole chunk of potential time to do...things! I could work! I could answer emails! I could...sleep in.

So this week I have been using Hulu's exercise TV feed to explore new cardio workouts. I bought a stability ball recently, and as soon as we've moved into the new place, I'll buy some weights. I commute by bike, although my world is so small these days, I'm rarely on it for more than ten minutes, but cool spring nights are the best time for rides out to Deer Island, so one of those trips is surely coming up.

This is the one thing I'm going to focus on in April. Eating better is also on the short list, but I think that one goal a month is going to be the way to make these changes lifetime changes instead of whims.

Throw Out Fifty Things: Day Four

This week was great because I placed these ten items outside for the taking, and a lot of them got taken!

31. Method dish soap that smelled terrible. TAKEN
32. Success Rice that we didn't use for three years.
33. Prototype mittens that I've made but don't wear.
34. Shampoo. TAKEN
35. Frank Lloyd Wright coffee table book. TAKEN
36. Sticky notes from Target that were too sticky when stuck together, but not sticky enough when I wanted to stick them to anything else! TAKEN
37. My old bike bell, which I removed when my mom bought me a bigger louder one. TAKEN
38. Placemats that have seen their day. J will thank me some day.
39. See-through bag that I got when employed with that big retail store at the mall. It was to prevent staff-shoplifting.
40. More yarn, and there will probably be another round of yarn before we move!

Things I Love Thursday

This picture is fabulous.

Greening Our Apartment

J and I will be moving over the next few weeks , and I want to get more plants into our living space. I managed to kill many of the plants we had here, but mostly because...okay, I confess that there is probably nothing wrong with the sunlight, the placement or the hardiness of the plants I choose. I just forget to water them! But I want to resolve to be better about this in the new place. Things that might help are a balcony. And my being more responsible (ha!)

In addition to more greenery, I would like to have fresh cut flowers in the apartment more often, and I think there's a perfect spot for them, too, because there is a cutout between our kitchen and living room that has a groove where I would hope we can fit one of these planters from Urban Outfitters:



I also think that a hanging planter would be pretty great in the space next to the sliding glass door to the balcony:


I decided to take advantage of Amazon's universal wish list and set up my own New Apartment wish list. I hope this will help me budget for the new place, and maybe we can eventually get everything we need for our new space without breaking the bank.

Throw Out Fifty Things: Day Three

This week's things came from all over, again.

21. Florals from inside the centerpiece at a reception I went to.
22. The placeholder from another wedding J and I attended last summer.
23. A tank top that has always been too baggy for me
24. A shirt that is sadly a little bit too young on me
25. Some nail polish that I haven't really worn. These purchases can seem like such a good idea until I get them home!
26. Some computer mice that I don't use since I got my Mac, plus they are both missing the USB keys that make them work.
27. Sequined suspenders I bought for St. Paddy's day, then I didn't wear them PLUS I didn't make any money to pay for them. Fail, all around.
28. My old point and shoot which is outdated, cracked, and pretty much useless now that we have two other digital cameras and a bajillion analog cameras.
29. A candle holder that I've had for years, loved, and used, but it is now time to let it go, as it's been half hidden in the bathroom for two years, not doing much of anything—not even really being decor.
30. Scraps from the mesh earring hanger I made last year.
    

Things I Love Thursday

Feel Script from Veer, which I have been lusting after for so long I can't even remember. This font is not super cheap ($99), but I will be purchasing it at some point, when I feel it's necessary. Isn't it fabulous?



This cupcake kit from Meri Meri. Robots and Space! This has J written all over it. Hello, graduation party theme :)

This Flight of the Conchords poster by artist Dan Stiles. I would love to hang this on the walls of our new apartment, but sadly, it's sold out.

We got a new apartment! We signed the lease last night, and will get the keys April 1st! We're still hoping the stars will align and we will be able to work things out with our current place—the lease here doesn't expire until June 31st. For now we're just thrilled to know we have a top floor apartment that has a deck, a shared backyard, 2.5 bedrooms, and allows puppies waiting for us next week.

Throw out Fifty Things: Day Two

My next ten items came from all over the apartment. I was spot cleaning the apartment because we've been having prospective tenants come by to look around.

11. Books—I have a lot of books that I need to weed through, but these two aren't going to sell on half.com or swaptree.com, and they weren't even on the bookshelf. I have two or three cookbooks that I do use, but for the most part, I use allrecipes.com or google. I also don't have the same interest in architecture that I used to, and while I want to keep a few of my old textbooks, I see no reason to have multiple books on the subject.
12. AIA conference bag. There was a point in my life when I didn't think I could have enough bags. It turns out you can, and I do.
13. J's sister found a Kodak Pleaser Instant camera at a thrift store, complete in it's original packaging. I kept it because it was kind of cool, but then I realized that since the camera is for display, I would have already thrown away the box if it were new, so there's really no reason to keep a musty old box...
14. Yarn, and this is only the tip of the iceberg, because this was drifter yarn that had found its way into my closet. I actually have to tackle the collection of yarn at some point to see what I can do with it. Maybe some of it is sellable, but mostly it will probably go to goodwill (or knitting friends).
15. Some Old Spice body wash that was left when J's brother visited our apartment.
16. Old plastic pots that I picked up at the recycling center to plant some seeds last summer. Yeah, that never happened.
17. Big Black Notebook, because like bags, I have lots and lots of notebooks, and this one has been hanging out since college.
18. Some glittery eyeshadow that I have not worn since I bought it, in high school.
19. A paper take-out box that was handmade by a student in my typography class as her final project. We each got one that had candies and a little handmade paper fortune cookie inside. Each fortune was an inspirational quote by a designer/typographer. A cute idea, but also not something I need to hang onto forever and ever.
20. Old catalogs, one of them is the 2009 IKEA catalog, some of the Urban Outfitters catalogs were from around that time, too. Let it go, woman!
    

Things I Love Thursday

TeuxDuex.com, a great website I found recently that allows me to keep to-do lists accessible online, whenever I need them!

Paper Source, once again, where I found some awesome neon Bistro Chalkboard Markers, which I am using to style up the Tommy Doyle's Specials board something wicked.

Also, the fact that doing the Specials board is my "thing" during the week, now.

This blog, Mighty Cycle Media, which I found while searching for ampersand cookie cutters (I think. It was definitely an "ampersand" or "epershand" related query!)

Throw out Fifty Things: Day One

I need to get motivated to clean out the apartment for a few reasons. It started because some people came over to view the apartment—we're moving this summer. I feel way more comfortable when the apartment is presentable, and it also makes everything easier, like working, and finding things.

I also want to take some clothes to Poor Little Rich Girl or The Garment District, something I've been talking about since last summer, but have yet to do. I'm amassing quite the collection, which is why I thought I'd go to PLRG, instead. I think I might get more value for some of my nicer clothes there. The rest are just going to Goodwill.

So to get the ball rolling, I started the Throw Out Fifty Things challenge that I saw on Make Under My Life.

Here's what I've "thrown out" so far:

1. White House | Black Market pants (bought on sale, never really wore)
2. J. Crew jeans (don't fit, not my style)
3. Bakers silver sandals (that I never wear)
4. Lacy tube top from The Limited (worn and loved through college)
5. Black slacks from Forever 21 (these have seen better days. Ick.)
6. Some old Mudd jeans (never wear them anymore)
7. Pink picture frame (haven't used since college)
   
8. Vitamin E oil (I bought a new Sally Hansen cuticle pen which works much better)
   
9. Old phone charger (I guess I should find that old phone)
   
10. Masking tape (is old, is kind of gross, and doesn't stick to things anymore)
    

I'm going to be taking the first four items to Poor Little Rich Girl, the next two to Goodwill, and the last four to the recycling center (well...I might just throw out the masking tape, actually)

Things I Love Thursday

Mad Men, and dolls as Mad Men characters. So dapper!

Paper Source's new line of paper bag products. Hello my future Save the Dates, nice to meet you.

This T-shirt from Steadfast Brand. I have this t-shirt in black and purple, but I love it in white! Too bad I would spill something on that white t-shirt within eight nanoseconds of owning it...

This video from Cyriak.

♥ Lloyd Dobler

Things That I Would Like To Do In My Apartment

• Yoga, which does not require, but it helps to have, a quiet peaceful environment
• Working in peace, which does require a somewhat peaceful environment
• Being able to take a nap in the middle of the day when I'm working from home and/or am sick.

The tactics I have tried to counter the constant noise from our neighbors, the riffraff outside, the traffic, the super coming and going, the cleaning company, and the washing machine and dryer have included the following:

• ear plugs
• itunes
• breathing exercise
• yoga (yeah...)
• watching TV really loudly (which is counterproductive when I'm trying to work)

I really like people in two of the units next door, but they have been privy to some of my passive-aggressive, stupidly childish notes, that I fully admit are awful and whiny and should even be on the internet for everyone to see. This probably prevents them from actually wanting to be friends with me (and J, by default), which sucks.

We need to move. I don't think it's too much to ask for a top-story apartment in a house around here. Maybe even something with a balcony so I can knit and drink beer outside on a nice spring day. June 30th cannot come soon enough. Prospective tenants are coming to look at the place on Monday. I will do everything I can to make sure they're frightened as hell.

Neti Pot

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mybloodyself/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

I have been suffering from a head cold for the past three days, and I finally took the plunge and invested in a neti pot. I have been wanting to try this method of cleansing my sinuses for a long time, even though it looks pretty gross and unpleasant.

It is gross. And unpleasant. But my sinuses are now clear, and I'm really happy with this decision. With my asthma and hay fever season coming up, I'm pretty jazzed to make this part of my routine.

It hasn't really helped with the cold I have now, except to provide some temporary (as in five minute) relief, but maybe it will cut down on the time I spend being sick.

For anyone else who is curious or interested, Jala Neti is an old Hatha Yoga custom from India. The literal Sanskrit translation is "water cleansing," but it's basically nasal irrigation. You fill your neti pot with a warm saline solution, and you flush out your sinuses by putting the pot first in one nostril, letting the water flow out of the other nostril, then switching sides. You want to lean your head so that your forehead is level with your nose, so that none of the solution is coming out of your mouth. My pot came with pretty clear instructions, and after watching a few videos online, it came pretty naturally (I've been researching this for months, now, so I've seen my share of people demonstrating the neti pot).

This shouldn't burn and it shouldn't be completely unpleasant, although I don't think it's fun, nor does it feel very good the first few times, at least not while you're actually irrigating. And my nose is currently still running like crazy, but I'm not convinced that it's not just because of my cold.

Look for more on my neti pot and whether or not it makes allergy season remotely bearable.

Things I Love Thursday

Hipster Puppies . This tumblr blog about hipster puppies is...weird? Funny? Cute? I don't know, mostly I like looking at pictures of puppies, but these puppies are total hipsters! They're, like...cooler than me.

Speaking of Work Shoes

AE Soft Ballet Flat. $19.95


American Eagle Cutout Flats. $29.50
They don't look very sturdy or reliable, but hot damn are they cute.

Isn't some scary stranger the reason you're in this predicament?

These People on this I Survived... show are awfully whiny. I wouldn't let you in my house, either if you were stabbed, shot, bleeding profusely and screaming your head off at me. Call the cops? Sure. Let you in my house? WTF. No.

Work Shoes

I have been on a quest for a second pair of black shoes to wear to work, lately, mostly because I'm actually beginning to have really unsexy problems with my feet (ever had to treat a corn with salicylic acid? It burns through layers of your skin. Literally. That's how it fixes your corns. Gross). I have a pair of rocket dog ballet flats that has gotten me through a few slow shifts when I know I can't possibly wear my sneakers one more day in a row, but I need a pair of sturdy, durable shoes that I can trade out with my payless sneakers, which are the main pair of shoes I have been using for work these days.

I don't know if this is as big of a problem for the girls I work with; if they're just younger than me and don't care, or if I have destroyed my feet with years of wearing uncomfortable and terrible shoes. These girls do generally appear to wear comfortable shoes, but they manage to find cute ones, too, and that just throws me into a spiral of frustration. Why is it so hard to find cute+comfortable? Why must I sacrifice one for the other?

So, in my quest on zappos this weekend, I have narrowed it down to three pairs of shoes:

1. The obvious choice, since it's basically what I'm rocking now, but they won't fall apart as quickly: Sketchers Work Compulsions. $60.00

They're pretty cute, they should be comfortable because they're sneakers, and they're basic, standard black shoes. They're even specifically made for people like me who wait tables or work on our feet all day. The grippy soles are also key.

Pros: grippy soles, comfortable, highly recommended by other servers, reasonably priced.
Cons: they are sneakers. bleh.

2. My second choice is a little bit less conventional: Patagonia Sugar and Spice. $120.00

The reviews here are also pretty good, but they're less pointed, in that, yeah, 4 out of 5 reviews claim they're super comfy and great shoes for walking around all day (one reviewer bought them for a walking trip to India), but no one has specifically bought these shoes as a server and reviewed them as a server. One review is terrible, but I don't know if it's an anomaly, or someone who bought the shoes for the wrong purpose (to wait tables, perhaps?)

Pros: so cute, look comfortable, soles look like serious business
Cons: reviews are spotty (I'd have to test for myself), EXPENSIVE.

3. J said he would leave me, but I'm going to go here: crocs. $29.95

Yeah, I said it. Crocs. Another server I work with has these shoes, and I always thought they were cute, and she affirmed: they are comfortable as hell. You can hose them down (or stick 'em in the dishwasher?), you can wear them with socks, and you can stand around in them all day. Also, the price point? Check. The only thing I can see as being a problem is that one of the reviews seems to imply that because they're rubber, everything sticks to them. Since I walk to and from work, I can see this creating problems, either by my needing two pairs of shoes, which is annoying, or by having messed up crocs. The server I work with doesn't wear these once she leaves the restaurant, and this might be why.

Pros: Comfortable based on many reviews. Highly washable. I've seen them personally, and they're pretty cute. They are cheap, comparatively.
Cons: I've heard it takes time to get used to walking in them, and I'm pretty clumsy. Rubber attracts all kinds of dirt and things. They're rubber, so they won't breathe, and will therefore perpetuate the problem I'm currently trying to combat: sweat. They're crocs.

Anyone have any opinions/expertise in this area? I'm going to follow up when I've made my choice (although writing it all down has steered me away from the patagonias which I'll admit was my goal because they're so expensive and I love the look of them).

Bowie is the Coolest

{P is for Phillip}

Things I Love Thursdays

This video about green screens that J showed me at the beginning of the week:

Birthday Cupcakes

I have crossed one off my list of things to do before I turn 27! I made some rainbow cupcakes for a very special occasion:


I think they were very much appreciated:

I Wish I Was That Coffee

When we were watching 30 Rock, I didn't get the joke; I mean god. He wasn't that attractive. I complained about it a few times, because I just couldn't see it. Then we started watching Mad Men. And that's the story about how I want to bang Don Draper—even when he is Jon Hamm.

For further Jon Hamm-ness and your entertainment, here's a great SNL sketch wherein Jon Hamm plays the ever so dreamy Scott Brown. It's four minutes long, but it's worth it if you also wish to bang Jon Hamm (but not Scott Brown...no way) (there are obvious sexual overtones in this video—much like in the entry I just posted—so...enjoy that):

Things I Love Thursday

Fun earrings . This seller was featured in the "etsy finds" newsletter, and I love these earrings! They're so colorful and fun. I resisted the urge to add them to my cart, but I thought I'd still give a shout out, because they are darling, and those crane earrings would be the perfect accessory for a cute Valentine's Day outfit.

My sister . who was here this week and a little bit of last week, before she goes to Portugal. This photo is woefully out of focus, but I still love it.

Poor Little Rich Girl . who now have a location near Inman/Kendall Square. It's where I got the earrings I am wearing in the above photo, and where I got a vintage Cars album on vinyl. She also said she'd email me whenever she gets any Bowie on vinyl. =My New Favorite Store, Ever.

Depends. Is It Bacon?

If you're in the food service industry the bigger question is: You dropped it on the floor. Do you SERVE it?

Things I Love Thursday

My New Health care Plan

Under my old health insurance, I was limited to 24 visits to my therapist per year. As a result, I either saw him less or paid more for extra visits. Each visit cost me a $30 copay, unless it wasn't covered by my insurance, in which case, he gave me a heavily discounted rate that I could afford. Last year, I spent $920 on therapy alone.

My new health insurance gives me unlimited visits. If I went once a week, which would be ideal, I would pay a $10 copay per visit. That's $520 per year! That's a $400 discount! And if that weren't reason enough to love my new health insurance, my prescription copay is lower, too.

My New Job

I recently became a server at a certain Irish Pub in Kendall Square. If you're around Cambridge at lunch time in the next week, you should come by! I like the people I work with, I like the atmosphere, and I forgot how much fun waiting tables could be. Relative to retail, it is the best job I've ever had! The pay isn't always going to be great, and I can't lose sight of bigger goals, but for now I'm really happy.

Bonzai!

Nah, I don't know this puppy, but if you click on his picture, you can see his profile on Puppy of the Day! I just thought he was too cute to resist sharing.

26 Things To Do Before My 27th Birthday

{Old Greyhound by Daniel Greene}

Here's a scary thought. I turned 26 today. Twenty-six. Somehow, it feels different from 25. I was a little nervous, but mostly excited about 25, but 26 seems so much...more. I'm excited, but I'm starting to feel a little bit older. I'm starting to slow down in some ways, ramp up in others. That being said, I thought it was time to make a new list! Here are 26 things I hope to do before my 27th birthday:

1. Make a Quilt
2. Procure some David Bowie on vinyl in February 2011...shortly after age 27
3. Take dance classes
4. Take some yoga classes
   in 2011...I finally got off my butt and did this
5. Find a new apartment
6. Bake rainbow cupcakes
   For J's 28th birthday! Which is...oh, one month after I turned 27. Whoops.
7. Sew a dress
8. Apply to grad school
9. Make fortune cookies
10. Make a scrapbook
11. Brand myself
12. Plant some lavender
13. Design some jewelry
14. Go to waterfire
15. Start photographing stunning fashion moments
16. Visit the JFK museum
17. Travel
18. Finish the frost flowers shawl
19. Finish my first project 365
20. Use some of the polaroid film in my freezer
21. Make 100 paper cranes
22. Make a 2010 portfolio
23. Make garlands
24. Hang twinkle lights in the apartment
25. Do a project involving polaroids+letters
26. Go out on a rowboat