house party hopes 5: brit edition

i will actually already be at heathrow on my way back to the states when this publishes, so we'll call it an ode to this journey, haha. it was mostly worked on while i've been here, which explains the shorter than normal track listing, i've just been doing too many things! anyway, enjoy what there is!

01. "this too shall pass" by ok go

02. "run" by vampire weekend

03. "sun hands" by local natives

04. "souls of gold" by sister crayon

05. "fences" by phoenix

06. "rome" by yeasayer

07. "i start to run" by white denim

08. "i like you so much better when you're naked" by ida maria

09. "all is love" by karen o and the kids

10. "there are listed buildings" by los campesinos!

11. "fix up, look sharp" by dizzee rascal

12. "air force ones" by nelly

friday five #18

01. skybar - rhian & i really, really lucked out with the most beautiful dublin weather on wednesday! and, because of our early (read: operating on 2 hours) flight, we had already done and experienced and absolute ton by lunch time, including a little turn about the guinness storehouse that ends in a free fresh guinness at the skybar, which is atop the storehouse with a complete 360 degree view of dublin from above. it was beyond beautiful, as evidenced in the reflection of the sky in the mirror topped table my expertly poured guinness was resting on. (also, look at this stop motion video rhian made. it causes me to explode into a semi-violent giggling fit.)

02. shreddies - i've been having these for breakfast just about every morning since i landed! they are kind of a denser version of wheat chex with a slight sweet taste, almost like a really light honey. super delicious. they may very well be added to my short list of foods that will have to start being shipped to me in the states. also, are you ready for the cutest bit? they're tag line is, "knitted by nanas!"

03. olympic hockey - this is officially the first time i've ever actually cared about anything olympic related, and it is just about completely impossible to see any of the olympic hockey games here in england. grr to that business, but yay to the fact that i've at least been able to follow the scores in real time thanks to the scorit app and team usa is winning across the board! the boy is recording all of the nasty match-ups on sunday, and you can trust that i will be watching them as soon as humanly possible upon my return to the states.

04. tea - i've only ever been a tea drinker as a last ditch effort to stave off illness... until bristol happened. maybe it's the chill i know is just outside the window, maybe it's being surrounded by interesting boxes of tea, or maybe it's simply in the air here! i'm finding it cozy, comforting and actually even pretty yummy. my favorite at the moment is clipper's organic nettle tea.

05. bristol city farm - it was supposed to be hailing today so nicole and i were readying ourselves for a day spent at the blue reef aquarium here in bristol, but what we awoke to was instead a beautiful blue skies kind of day. we threw on clothes and headed out to enjoy it for as long as it would last and our first stop was the bristol city farm! nicole & milo have a little allotment here where they work their own little bit of garden and have some veggies & such. there is also a little cafe there that serves amazing food made with ingredients grown in the allotment. and obviously i'm a fan of anywhere i can pet pig noses, talk to whooly sheep and visit with sweet little baby cows! we also went to bath, which is a story for a whole 'nother blog entry.

so far...

bristol really has been delightful, to use a very british word and i'm having an excellent time. it really was travel from thursday evening in the states until late friday afternoon here in bristol, with a time change that really attempted to kick my bumm. i did enjoy the train ride from london's paddington station all the way across englad to bristol, at least the bits that i was awake for. the only other time i've been here was on a school trip when i was 15 and we really only saw very tourist-y parts of london. so, it was really cool to pass all the little villages and the huge open spaces inbetween. then i had loads of fun catching up with nicole over lots of tea.

by day two i was feeling way more human and felt like i could actually function on a non-zombie level. a nice relaxing morning scheduling some blog entries, munching on shreddies (they're like chex meets shredded mini wheats) & french pressing coffee. then we headed out & about in bristol and did some thrift store shopping before heading into the stokes croft section of town to meet some of nicole's "mates" for lunch at a really cute kitchen like cafe near her studio, which we also visited. it was really cool getting to check out this really artsy part of the town and seeing a bunch of original banksy stuff out on the streets (bristol is his hometown). then nicole had a yoga class to teach, so i half watched the rugby tournament milo was watching while i worked on my valentine's mix until nicole came home with a tiffin full of amazing indian food in hand. we all watched the first episode of glee on my laptop (they hadn't started watching it yet) and then i got to talk to the boy for a while on skype before heading to bed to finish my sleep catch up.

it's true, i have been horrible about taking pictures in bristol, as in none so far, but i do want to go back to stokes croft and photograph loads. But, we were much better in london. and so, that brings us to nicole and my london overnight:

we took the bus into london on sunday (talking, giggling & reminiscing the whole way) and then headed to our hostel to check in to what was supposed to be a six girl dorm, but we ended up just having it to ourselves the whole time. it had cute little pod-like bunk beds, but that was about as far as the charm went, haha. we did some shopping without much buying around the hostel, including a visit to my first top shop. we then rested our shopped out feet at the king george pub with some really yummy burgers & chips and my first proper british pint. then we decided that a silly fluff movie was totally in order for two girls apart from their boys for valentine's day (even though we aren't big valentine's day girls) and went to go see "valentine's day" the movie in a theater full of couples and one row of girls, haha. it was definitely silly & mindless, but it made me cry at the end (which isn't hard to do) and we giggled a couple of times, so it was worth it. then it was back to the hostel for a bunch more girl talk before heading to sleep...

... which was impossible because there was either no insulation or sound proofing at all in the hostel, or everyone was wearing clogs. there was also a talkative nightingale and pigeons "getting intimate" on our windowsill. needless to say we were pretty much already awake by check out time, with very little sleep leading up to it. we maintained our happy level by resting with some morning coffee & tea before heading back out for more london adventures. we also treated ourselves to day passes for the underground and didn't allow ourselves to feel guilty for sometimes taking the tube for just two stops, haha. we did a little more shopping and looking around, including the actual orla kieley shop (it was wonderful, but even harder to spend the money on in british pounds, so i left with just pictures) and then headed to camden town for lunch along camden lock and then spent the rest of our day at the stalls in camden town market. such a fun, lively, packed place to be. totally inspiring and full of things to see everywhere you look. i scored a couple of really fun, cheap buys whilst out and about. then we headed back to victoria station to meet one of nicole's friends for some coffee and chatting at victoria station before we headed to the coach station to take the bus back to bristol where i went to my first sainsbury's grocery and found a candy i had been looking for and an adorable bag i had seen a girl carrying that turned out to be a cheapie reusable grocery bag, haha. obvs snapped it up right away, especially since it was just 1 pound. a bunch more skyping with the boy, lots of usa hockey talk, and then i totally passed out to rehab from our london adventure.

tuesday we laid low, finished recovering from our london adventure and had a super lazy day. we headed out once to sainsbury's for some staples (i am obsessed with ryvita pumpkin seed and oat crispbreads with hummus on them! best crackers ever) and we also got everything we needed for dinner because it's pancake day! that's what they do for mardi gras/fat tuesday here. you have savory and sweet pancakes (which are really what we would call crepes in the states) for dinner as a last yummy hurrah before lent. it's not really my last hurrah, but i'd never turn down a good crepe dinner. i edited some more london photos, did some reading, planning & packing for dublin until rhian got to nicole's for our little pre-dublin sleepover and then we sewed all my fallen buttons back on to my new coat and talked ourselves to sleep to at least get a little rest before our 6:30 a.m. flight to dublin this morning.

having so so so much fun so far, missing my mum, the kitties, the boy & the store, but also looking forward to loads more fun in dublin with rhian and back in england with nicole before i head home on the 22nd!

fictional love.

in further celebration of valentine's day, or at least valentine's week(?), i bring you a tentative list of some of my favorite fictional couples.

ned & chuck - pushing daisies was yet another show that i feel was canceled way too early, much like a lot of other awesome television shows that don't necessarily appeal to everyone. aside from the amazing sets, costumes, character names, guest stars & main characters, the romance between ned & chuck, who have been meant to be since childhood and can't even touch (or chuck will die, again, instantly) is actually adorably romantic, this is the way they hold hands, pretending they are holding each others instead of their own. too sweet, despite the everyday intricateness of it.

elizabeth bennet & fitzwilliam darcy - i am not yet tied to any particular portrayal of these two, but the one to the left is the one i've seen so far. i always much prefer my imagined version of the characters that come naturally as i read to any tv or movie portrayal anyway. love that this didn't come easy, elizabeth bennet never compromised who she was and the general stubborness, interference & unlikelihood that their love manages to overcome.

jim & pam - i was a little late in the american office game, so luckily i didn't have to wait quite as long as everyone else to see these two finally get together, but managed to be dying the whole time they weren't nonetheless. everyone, or at least most everyone i know, wants fiercely to believe in the possibility of an unrequited, ill-timed friend crush working out amazingly in the end and these two are the perfect example. add awesome comedic chemistry, hijinks (lots) and a million occasions when it seemed like it would never happen and when it finally does, you just about die.

eric & sookie - maybe it's because i've read all the books (hey, they're excellent mindless summer reading) but i just find bill soooooooo annoying, all simpering and such. i want eric & sookie to get together, and not just in her random fantasies! he is a little more rough & tough, and i feel like he would be there to back her up, but would never take over when she could handle something on her own, y'know? i guess we'll call this a couple i'm dying to have happen!

angela and jordan catalano - i mean seriously! do i have to quote like every painful moment of this non-relationship to you?! remember how it was like this is high school? when you could fall in love with a boy because you "just love how he's always, like, leaning on things" and every single word out of his mouth is dissected and analyzed forever? so painful. so true. haha.

there are a fair bunch of couples i have left off this list, buffy & spike, satine & christian among others, but i guess that just leaves room for the possibility of a future list. : )

a transatlantic valentine

i'm not a huge mushy valentine's day kind of girl, but being away from the boy for it does seem a bit bummy, hence the slightly low-key love-y mix. just a little musical valentine from all the way across the pond.

01. "love song" spoon

02. "touch me i'm going to scream, pt. 1" my morning jacket

03. "jackhammer (slim version) the spinto band

04. "my love" lykke li

05. "heroes" david bowie

06. "two doves" dirty projectors

07. "february stars" foo fighters

08. "elevator love letter" stars

09. "to be alone with you" sufjan stevens

10. "always love" nada surf

11. "publish my love" rogue wave

12. "please, please, please, let me get what i want" the smiths

13. "une annee sans lumiere" arcade fire

14. "teen angst" m83

15. "pachua sunrise (alias remix) minus the bear

16. "konstantine" something corporate

friday five #17

as decided on the 10th when i wrote all these scheduled blog entries for when i'm away, haha.

01. "odd blood" - i was beyond excited for the release of yeasayer's latest album to the point of actually pre-ordering to insure that i would have it before my trip. i've given it a couple of full listens and so far "ambling alp" which they released as a sneak peek a month+ a go is still my favorite track. i'm hoping it will grow on me with a few more listens on this trip.

02. bird box - my factory issue iphone alarm clock isn't really doing the trick these days, i think i'm getting too used to it's sound. i'm thinking about downloading the bird box app (which is free) and then buying the woodgrain bird house for it to live in. check out the cuteness.

03. class concepts - love the inspiration that strikes when a whole rush of new product starts to head out into the world. i'm a total nerd and love creating folders in iphoto for each class idea and filling them with all the possible products, editing and getting just the perfect mix of new and current products put together to create classes that i can't wait to teach! so much fun coming up in the next few months.

04. 2011 ford fiesta - convo with the boy; me: "so, how wrong is it that i kind of want the new ford fiesta?" the boy: "very." i can't help it. i think it's really adorable, it comes in a fun orange, magenta, and this sweet green, plus a bunch of fun features and the mpg's aren't half bad. call me sick, but i think it's cute.

05. "mint sprint" nail polish - c'mon, just say it out loud, "mint sprint." love. along with being fun to say it's also a pretty rad color on your nails. loving the way i'm rocking it now, which is "mint sprint" on my ring fingers, grey patent on the rest. love.

cha favorites

i've been paying close attention to all the sneak peeks, reports from cha and now all the catalogs of the newly released product and there is definitely a fair amount of new releases that i'm really excited about seeing in the next 6 months. here are some of my favorites;

01. cosmo crickets core impressions (awesome embossed cardstocks in 5 classic cosmo crickets colors & patterns) 02. tattered angels chalkboard glimmer mists (they coat and shimmer like the winter mvp "marshmallow"! 03. maya road's canvas pennant banner 04. sassafras lass' 12" border sticker sheets 05. "fly a kite" collection from october afternoon ("thrift shop" is really cute too!) 06. puffy thickers & mixed patterned chipboard thickers from the "dear lizzy" collection (along with the rest of that collection, which is killer) 07. there's a bunch of new unity stamps that i like, but i really love this pear tree! 08. "brook" from crate paper. love these colors always. 09. the "hambly remnants" rub-ons are amazing! love the patterns, and can't wait to get my hands on the new grey stuff! 10. i die for these twill ribbon pleats from pink paislee! 11. "max & whiskers" from basic grey may, in theory, be a pet themed collection but i love the colors and the general patterns are going to be awesome for everyday stuff. 12. studio calico's typewriter rub-ons are killing me with the awesome red, yellow or grey options! 13. the 7gypsies letterbox tray is just begging to live in future apartment of my dreams 14. loving this ghetto blaster cheapie snag 'em stamp from imaginisce's "live loud" collection (some of the papers are pretty rad as well) 15. kind of in love with the new rack program from mme, "quite contrary" has some sweet bits and pieces and i love most of the color combos.

and now for something completely different...

when teaching a "maximizing your 6x6 paper pads" class i tend to pick out some card bases & ink colors that coordinate with the paper pad as a whole and mostly stick to those colors. but, this time i checked myself and remembered that when working with just one of the papers you can make your own color scheme for something completely different.

"origins" is full of earthy browns, greens & yellows that helped me create these cards;

but, when you take just one patterned paper away from the rest of the collection, especially one like this with a brighter green, you can put it with something different, in this case bright raspberry pink, these girlie stamps from hero and the awesome martha loop punch and make something completely stand alone.

random crafty advice - don't let yourself get caught up in the collection!

friday five #16

01. sheldon in a ball pit - i've blogged about how much i love the dr. sheldon cooper character on big bang theory, but this week's episode about sheldon's breakdown when he's stuck figuring something science-y that i can't even begin to pretend to know about had one of the most hilarious scenes from this show, EVER. watch it.

02. the guiltiest of tv guilty pleasures - i can't even defend "greek" by claiming it's witty or an underground, surprise sensation. it's pop culture laced, only slightly witty, horrible dialouge & cheesy predictable story lines, but i love it,and i love the cappy and romance. it's my super mindless, super guilty pleasure.

03. a trip to the rock - we're heading to the prudential center tonight for the devils v. leafs game. i'm beyond stoked! stoked on a new devils hoodie. stoked on watching brodeur play. love him! stoked on being there for kovalchuk's first game with the devils after that crazy trade last night! i'll miss oduya, and maybe even bergfors a little, but i can deal because kovalchuk has a nasty shot, nasty in a good way as the boy would say, and he's going to push it hard. should prove to be totally worth it. so stoked!

04. work hard & be kind - so who else cried multiple times during coco's last episode? i loved that he took the high road. i also completely loved his advice, "work hard and be kind." this spoof on the classic "be calm and carry on" print is amazing. you can also get it as wallpaper here.

05. brand cameos - i don't know that i love, love russell brand in large doses, but i do absolutely adore his smaller & cameo roles like, "forgetting sarah marshall." last weekend the boy and i watched "bedtime stories" which made for some cute, lazy sunday viewing, and he's pretty adorable in that one as well.

dream bedroom... sigh.

so who else is guilty of putting together dream outfits, rooms you can only dream of affording and wish lists full of things you will never actually buy? why must we torture ourselves? since i have officially started looking for an apartment, with a goal of late april or may, i have naturally started building dream rooms that i may not be able to afford, but can certainly try to d.i.y. my way into. here's all the bedroom inspiration i have picked up so far.

01. "high strung" green walls perhaps (jamaica posted this on tumblr a while a go, not sure where it came from) 02. birch wallpaper on 1 wall (might be able to paint this instead?) 03. gorgeous, dark wood side tables (love the shape) 04. killer wooden stereo to plug the ipod into 05. dark purple rosette quilt (will stalk on anthro wish list) 06. bartlett pear sheet set (soooooo will not spend that much on sheets no matter how much i love them) 07. textured, deconstructed, perfect gray pillow 08. alexander girard pillow 09. feather printed rug tucked under the foot of the bed 10. live what you love letterpress print 11. meerkat print (preferably in an ornate oval frame) 12. multiple john murphy style frames (could be thrifted & painted)