New Blog New Blog

After being hassled by Mike's friends, Mike and I have started a new old married bags blog. I will continue to post on here, but I can't guarantee I'll keep this one up. For now, you can enjoy both blogs full of witty posts.


Enjoy!

My Top 25 at the Moment

To entice my readers back after my long absence, here is another post!

I was just looking at my top 25 most played songs on my itunes on my desktop. I think that its not totally accurate, as I think something of the Duke Spirit's Neptune should be on there. And Cold War Kids. But I dunno.

1. End of the Century -- Blur (43 times!)
2. I'm Shakin' -- Rooney (36)
3. Oxford Comma -- Vampire Weekend (34)
4. Wake Up -- Mezzanine Owls (30) (thanks corey!)
5. Subterranean Homesick Alien (unplugged) -- Radiohead (30)
6. Paint the Silence -- South (30) (that was during my OC obsession phase)
7. Unforgettable Season -- Cut Copy (29)
8. Far Away -- Cut Copy (29)
9. Time to Pretend -- MGMT (27)
10. Bryn -- Vampire Weekend (27)
11. Silver Thoughts -- Cut Copy (26)
12. Walcott -- Vampire Weekend (26)
13. Bodysnatchers -- Radiohead (25)
14. Campus -- Vampire Weekend (25)
15. Roundabout -- Axe Riverboy (24) (thanks again corey!)
16. House of Cards -- Radiohead (23)
17. Come Around -- Rhett Miller (23)
18. Midnight Runner -- Cut Copy (22)
19. Paranoid Android -- Radiohead (22)
20. She Moves in Her Own Way -- The Kooks (21)
21. Seaside -- The Kooks (21)
22. Subterranean Homesick Alien -- Radiohead (21)
23. You're a Wolf -- Sea Wolf (21)
24. Out There on the Ice Again -- Cut Copy (19)
25. Strangers in the Wind -- Cut Copy (18)


And after reviewing the list, I realized why its not entirely accurate. It's because my computer was in storage for 4 months. All of those songs were what was listening to in the spring. Most of them inspired by my husband and our first few months of dating. If you count both versions of subterranean homesick alien as one, that would be my number one song -- 50 times! That one was definitely inspired by my now husband. The first time I visited him in February at his house in Seattle and we were driving there from the airport, we drove down this long windy road to the water, and at the end of it was a sign "END OF COUNTY ROAD". I said to Mike "so you live on a country road, huh?" To which he replied with an outburst of laughter. Obviously I hadn't gotten enough sleep and couldn't read the sign well. Anyway, this became a joke between us and while listening to OK Computer over and over again between visits, we laughed at the aliens abducting the guy on a country lane late at night. We still have to steal that sign on his street.

Anyway, this summer I had the Duke Spirit on repeat, along with a lot more radiohead albums. And, as you can see, I listened to the whole second album of Cut Copy way too many times and I killed it. (I'm still looking for it on vinyl though, it is a must!)

Halloween, what?

It was a little surreal being in Hawaii on my honeymoon on Halloween. Not that I get really excited for Halloween, but it is the first holiday in my favorite string of holidays. I usually try and plan a clever outfit, I usually go to at least one Halloween party, and I usually eat some (if not a lot) of Halloween candy. None of that happened this year. I spent a quiet night with my husband on Halloween, which was perfect. The North Shore got as crazy as we'd seen it, no big raging parties, but lots of scantily clad girls. My favorite part of Halloween are the kids outfits going trick or treating. I'm glad that I felt like I didn't totally miss out on Halloween because my sister sent me this picture of her kids.




This just makes me miss them more.

It's a FIRE...sale

You know how I talked about restraining myself buying a ridiculously expensive bag that I really really wanted?

Well the day came when I got this in my mailbox:


And with a Nordstrom's gift card I've had for a while, I got this ridiculously expensive bag for a really reasonable price.



I am so excited to get it! Yay for sales!

head_explode.exe

It's too late to apologize. I know.

I've been watching too much of this,



Working here,



Shopping here,

Watching this on DVD and DirecTV,



Neglecting this,


Spending too much money and time on this,



and dreaming of this....


and this....


...and looking forward to this....everyday.

Ode to Mike

On this day of your birth, oh so many years ago, Michael William, I dedicate this blog post to you.

What can I really say that hasn't already been said?

You're everyone's friend. You're loyal. You're hilarious. You appreciate the beauty of the earth. You're incredibly smart (as evidenced by your crazy love for physics). You rock out. You know how to relax. You see the good in everyone. You are one of the kindest people I know.


You served as my airport ride service in Provo many times and never asked for anything in return. You have integrity. You smile all the time. You should have been born in the 60s or 70s (see rocking out). You're a music snob. You're a baseball lover. You love a clean kitchen. You are a master car packer. You are spiritual. You're a fast talker.


You're patient. You're a goofball (as am I). You're a nerd (I might rival your nerdiness). You're clearly a proud Seattleite and I love it. You love burgers, pizza, and mac n cheese (a true American). You love Brazil. You love apple products. You're always in a trend before it is a trend. You love biographies and WWII history. You can quote Arrested Development like nobody's business. You're a swimmer. You were my defensive coordinator for my flag football team in college.


You are so loving. Thanks for being my everything.

Paris Now

I really need to buy a ticket now to go see this.

Picking and Choosing

Someone once told me that when they bought an album, they just picked and chose songs they liked, and then either deleted the rest (!) or put them on an extra HD. I've had a couple of sampling CDs from this person, and it has driven me crazy that I've gotten 3 songs off of an album because the person had stored only those 3 songs on their computer. When I get to know a band, I must listen to their whole album. The record companies are complaining about the decline of the album and rise of the single, but really it's their own fault. That's how I grew up with music -- listening to singles on the radio and then going to Tower to buy the album. I often didn't even listen to the whole album (I was in middle school, so no judging). Only later when I was more mature did I realize that bands still make albums for a reason. Maybe I'm not crazy about every single song on an album, but it's still worth a listen.

My favorite albums are ones that have cohesiveness, like they did back in the day. Bands don't have any depth when they have one hit singles. Sorry.

This

would make an awesome wedding present.




I'm just sayin.

Sharing

Why does my conditioner smell better in Mike's hair?

Simple Pleasures

I was thinking today how I really love the small simple pleasures in life. I think I get caught up in shopping for clothes & shoes (its in my genes, what can I say) and I have way too many possessions but I have a goal to be better (I've had this goal for a while, but nothing ever came from it). I know that more things doesn't make me more happy, especially when I move often. With a couple more moves in sight, I have a goal to give away more, buy less. I'm pretty good at cleaning out my closet, but I know even more things can go. My shopping tends to go in cycles....when I don't have much to do, I shop more. When I'm super busy, I don't have the time. Now is one of the busy cycles so I'm predicting less shopping.

Anyway, some of the simple pleasures I was thinking about in bed last night when I couldn't sleep. (by the way, I think I have an aversion to east coast time, I never got back on it in the spring with all my traveling and going to CA and I certainly can't fall asleep until at least 2 am right now, even though I'm exhausted)

Clean Sheets
Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers
A shower when you really need it
Laying out in the sunshine
Porch swings
Big gulps -- nice and cold
Flip Flops
Reading outside
The internets and all of its joys
Good friends that are there when you really need it
the roar of fenway
baseball in general -- going to baseball games, hot dogs, watching games on TV
An in and out burger fresh off the grill
a crisp salad
A swiffered floor
New shower curtains
The smell of cleaning supplies
Funfetti cupcakes
Time with nieces and nephews (really priceless)
Quotes from my nieces and nephew
A clean house
New music recommended from a friend
Family traditions
Limeade
Air conditioning
The smell of pavement just after it rained
New knowledge
A wendy's frosty
football
new pens
tall glass of ice cold water
a good run
good smelling shampoo
Mike's dimples
home grown tomatoes
bubble wrap
espn.com
nail polish
the mountains in UT
the water in seattle
the golden hills off 280
Mike's love notes
Scriptures & Prayer


I think that's a pretty good start.

Whoa whoa whoa

August is almost over.  What?

I haven't blogged for 3 weeks.  What?  

I'm moving back to Boston in a little over a week.  What?  

Did this summer just fly by?  Yes.  

I'm sorry to disappoint you blog readers.  I have asked so much of your blogs and you've carried me through many times when I had nothing to do at work.  Thanks for your dedication.  So here's a post for you.  I've had a lot of ideas for blogs bouncing around in my head but nothing that really materialized.  

I've had a couple weeks to chill out here in Seattle.  While I have been doing very little, I actually have been getting some important things done.  Mike and I set a new date, which then of course involves getting everything started back up again wedding-wise (I'm not so happy about all of the extra work and stress that brings into my life, but I'm quite excited at the same time).  I went to Utah with Mike's family to drop Mike's brother off at the MTC.  I went to an amazing Radiohead concert last night.  I had dinner with an old middle school friend who I hadn't seen in years.  We giggled a lot about the old days and what a spaz I was.  She told stories that I didn't remember at all.  Mike commented, "you know, not a lot has changed..."  Tangent: Something quite hilarious that was brought up was that I was on drill team in high school my sophomore year (I know haha) and we had an invitational at Mike's high school.  Mike said he would have been there at the same time at swim practice on that particular Saturday in December.  I had completely forgotten about it.  I was 15 and my first boyfriend was coming to the invitational (we weren't official yet, not until I was 16) and I was so nervous.  I think its incredible that 10 years later I still remember how nervous I was that he was coming to the drill invitational.  And little did I know Mike was there too.  

  

I've had developed kind of a nasty habit -- playing solitaire.  I downloaded the free version from the iPhone app store.  I think it might have been a bad idea.  I confess I have played over 800 games in a week.  I signed up for netflix and received my first 3 movies in the mail.  Mike and I watched Strictly Ballroom and half of Raising Arizona.  We still need to watch Persepolis.  I've watched the Olympics every single night and I've been avoiding ESPN.com during the day as to not spoil the results for me.  I've had time to watch a couple of old reruns of the OC on the SOAPnet channel and Gilmore Girls on ABC Family.  I've gotten through a little chunk of Crossing to Safety and I'm absolutely loving it.  I went to the Seahawks pre-season game on Saturday.  We scored awesome seats thanks to a friend who does the Seagals makeup.  NFL games bring out a totally different sports crowd than any other major league sports event.  We had a good time laughing at the makeup and costumes.  I've had Mac n Cheese and Dick's Deluxes too many times to count.  I've been constantly looking for a room for Mike to rent in Boston for a couple months.  No dice yet, but hopefully soon.  I got the cutest fleur de lys skirt at Club Monaco.  I shopped the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and got one of Mike's sisters handbags for a good price.  Did I ever mention that Mike's sister designs all of the Nordstrom brand handbags?  Yeah.  I've been trying to hold off from buying a L.A.M.B. tote that I have convinced myself that I must have.  I have a gift card to Nordstrom that would cover most of it...but I'm trying to be good.  I've had Chinese food with Mike's grandma who doesn't speak any English and made myself look really American by putting soy sauce directly on my rice.  I went to IHOP for breakfast one morning with Mike when we were out of cereal.  I ordered my usual when I'm at IHOP -- chocolate chip pancakes.  The waitress told me it was her favorite too and then brought out the pancakes with a mountain of whipped cream.  It was heavenly.  I got my first bill from AT&T for our family plan with iphones.  Turns out the Apple store people were even more incompetant than I thought.  They signed Mike and I up for two separate plans instead of the family plan, making the bill twice as much.  AT&T is lame.  But the iphone is awesome. 

I think I've about updated you as to what I have been up to.  As much as I want to go back to Boston, I'm torn.  There's so much to do in the next couple of months and I'm really enjoying my semi-lounging life I've had for the last 2 weeks.  Once again to the land of paying for laundry, food & parking, homework, cold Eastern air, the sun disappearing way too early in the day, and moving all of my loads of crap to yet another Boston apartment (4 for 4 folks).  I am looking forward to the red sox being on everyday as opposed to only nationally televised games, fall crispness and gorgeous September that is Boston, being across the street from Fenway, rejoicing with friends, the joy of being on EST and reuniting with my Jeep.

Here's a gem for you.  A photo filled with some of the people I love most in this world.

I know I'm biased, but I really do have the cutest nieces and nephews.  I'm really glad they adore Mike.

      

Crayons

For some odd reason, this video popped into my head this morning between getting ready and giggling with Mike. It's such a classic.

Thank you YouTube.

Seattle for July

Mike came down to California every weekend in June. So July was time for me to come up every weekend (and for a good week). After Mike and I got iphones on July 11th I've had a good time taking pictures of our Seattle adventures. I feel a lot less awkward breaking out my iphone and taking a pic than my real camera (although I have some on that too). Btw, just in case you were wondering, I love my iphone. I know you've heard all your friends that have them talk about how much they love them, but I really do. A lot. I didn't know I could love a phone.


Mike and I took a ferry ride and ate dinner on it. I love the ferries of Seattle. July 11th. First day of iphone bliss.


This is pretty much the view from Mike's house (but you get to see more of the mountains where he is).


Next day: Seattle adventures. Mike is my favorite person to photograph. He always pulls a new face.


Second visit to Trophy cupcakes. Still not in love but I haven't tried the S'more cupcake, and they will do while I'm away from Lulu's, Sprinkles and Kara's.


Dick's. Quite possibly my favorite burger chain ever. The best part about last weekend 's visit (this cup was from a couple weeks ag0) was that I had an in-and-out burger right before I got on the plane to Seattle, and then after I landed we went to Dick's for a Dick's Deluxe.


Reason No. 524 why I love him. He's had this turtle up on his rearview mirror ever since I've known him. Donatello is awesome.


Self-portraits don't always turn out awesome. Does this even look like me? I look like I have bangs.


My favorite carwash sign since I was a kid.


A bonus during the car ride.


An awesome bookstore in downtown Seattle.


I love book stores like this.



They were cones! See what I mean about the faces he pulls? Never a dull photography moment.


God bless America. And how awesome are Virgin America's wing tips?


I think he looks like Guy Smiley in this one.


A Seattle classic. The first. The original.

I was so happy to find out they have a Buffalo exchange in the U-district. Mike found this awesome Nike Jacket. Too bad it was one size too small. But we found him other treasures. After that we saw this awesome piece of cinema. Clever and pretty.


Reason No. 323 why I love my iphone. It lead me to this glorious place of business when I was in dire need of a big gulp.


Mike's brother is selling his Porshe so we took it out for a spin.


Saturday was a lazy Saturday and we loved it. After months of jam-packed weekends full of wedding plans and going places, we needed a day with no particular plans at all. We slept in, giggled in the morning, went to IHOP for some delicious chocolate chip pancakes and stuffed french toast. Then we parked it on the couch, watching baseball, playing guitar hero, and introducing Mike to the wonderful world of 30 ROCK. We only left the house for food. It was really lazy and of course, super awesome.



And just to make sure I had a great weekend, I took Monday off too. I didn't really feel like getting up at 5 AM to catch my flight in the morning. So I played with this guy instead.


Oh the joys of an iphone camera. Phew. Long post. Just trying to make up for lost time.

Breather

It was SO nice to go to Seattle for 10 days and take a step back from all the madness. Mike and I decided to move the wedding back and have some more time. Everything's okay, we just need some more time. I feel so good about this decision. Thanks for all your support!

The 4th of July was so fun with Mike's family. Hooray for fireworks, something that I didn't get to play with when I was growing up except for our short stint in WA. Boo on California for being too dry to blow stuff up! Mike's brother got these huge fireworks that were super loud and almost professional sized. They were fun. It was the first fourth in a long time that I've been sick. That wasn't too fun but it didn't damper the fun much at all.

Here's some pictures from the 4th. I have some more fun ones from the week from my iphone which I'll figure out how to upload later. (which is a whole other story, but I LOVE it and so glad I got one!)