This and that

This is one of those weeks where I look up and am shocked to discover that it's already Wednesday. So before the week escapes me completely, some tidbits:

Bedroom Progress

On Saturday we painted our bedroom, set up the new furniture, and purged. Let me tell you... that felt pretty awesome. I'm excited about finally getting the room to a good point and sharing it with you. I've even caught myself just hanging out up there, it's getting so clean and pretty. That's pretty major considering it used to be my least favorite place in the house. Putting together a gallery display over the bed is going to take some time, but I think the end result will be great. (By the way, see how the curtains aren't long enough? I've been meaning to fix that problem for over a year.)

TJ at the office

My latest eBay find: one of the Nationals presidential bobbleheads. Those racing presidents are one of my favorite things ever... of course I had to have this.

Oops

Speaking of the Nats, at the ballpark on Sunday I acquired the most awkward sunburn in the history of awkward sunburns. Let's just say that unclothed, I still look like I'm wearing a white v-neck tee. I'm desperately trying to correct the situation with strategically applied self-tanner in advance of our family portrait on July 6. Something tells me white shoulders with a sundress isn't a great look. When will I learn?

HBO, Always

This week it's 100 degrees outside, so I feel less guilty than usual blathering on about television. Tell me - is anyone else despondent that Girls is over? The show completely won me over, due almost entirely to Lena Dunham's writing. I mean, "she wears floral capris like her hymen’s still intact," are you kidding me? That line just kills me. Another television obsession of late that I already miss: Veep. An instant classic, that show. Since I'm already sharing raunchy lines today, how about Veep's spit-out-my-drink analogy of "that's like using a croissant as a fucking dildo." Oh, yes. One facial expression from the man I will always call Buster Bluth and I am done for, completely. And finally... we have entered the land of Game of Thrones, at long last. We're making our way through Season 1 via Netflix, and yep... everyone who told me we'd get hooked on this show, you were correct.

Friday I'm in Love

I'm looking forward to a lazy weekend to gear up for a big week of travel. Some baseball, some gardening, some projects around the house... easy. What's on your weekend agenda?

Cutest girls ever.

I bookmarked this forever ago during my blogging hiatus, but I figured if it gives any of you half the pleasure it's given me since then, it's worth sharing. These girls slay me.

Funniest local blog ever.

 DC residents, have you seen this blog yet? I'm sure you have, given the horrified looks on my friends' faces last weekend when they realized I hadn't. At any rate, the When In DC tumblr is just.so.good. What is it about a good gif that just kills me?

Best cauliflower ever.

We're obsessed with this recipe. It's just... luscious. succulent. [enter your favorite sexy food word here]. Make it.

Friday I'm in Love: LOL Letterpress Edition

Last night, while I should have been packing for the weekend (oops!), I instead got lost in the wonderful world of pretty paper on Etsy. Given my love for cheeky paper, these three pieces earned gold stars. Letterpress that makes me laugh out loud? Paper perfection in my book. 

Beautiful/Easy

Seriously? This is genius. Art from Dear Colleen.

 

Maddow Love

"If elected, she WILL run" is so my kind of humor. Big props to Big Wheel Press for egging on my perennial Rachel Maddow crush.

Buffalo Pride

The thing is, I actually adore Buffalo. My pal Tracy (waaaaay overdue at bringing her little girl Brenna into the world right now, by the way!) is a Buffalo native, and I'd never been there until her wedding a few years ago. The city flat-out rocks, just the kind of place I like to nerd out to. The architecture and history alone are enough to make me swoon. Add in great bars, old industry giving way to new ideas, and a fantastic sense of realness, and well... I was hooked. At any rate... everyone gives Buffalo a hard time, which is part of why I was so happy to genuinely love the city. This piece, then, speaks perfectly to my faux Buffalo native pride. Thank you, Western New York Book Arts Collaborative!

That's it from me this Friday. I'm off to Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania for a few days, for fun with my in-laws and a little work, too. Have a fun weekend, everyone!

Friday I'm in Love

I'm quite happy to put this week to bed... and quite happy to jump-start my foodie getaway! Here are my three spotlights for the week:

Seven Deadly Sin Plates

Am I cool enough to hang this collection in my home? Probably not... but oh how I'd love for one of you cooler folks to do it. Just brilliant. Can you image the laughter of your dinner guests when they take a moment to study the decorative plate collection hanging above the table? Made by Trixie Delicious, blogged by re-nest.

Surprise 3D Announcements

 I look at a lot of pretty letterpress every week, but this number over at For Print Only literally made my jaw drop. Just amazing, every thing about it. This gorgeous little package was the brainchild of The Mandate Press - worth remembering if you have any big surprises to announce in your own lives.

Courtney Martin's TED Talk

We're having quite a TED Talk week over here, and for good reason... I'm addicted to listening to these talks on slow afternoons when I'm trying to ignore my coffee craving and I'm tired of NPR. Courtney Martin is an editor for one of my favorite blogs Feministing. Her TED Talk ranges from her feminist parents, her own process of defining what feminism means to her, and women's activism, then and now. Completely inspiring, and funny, too.

Have a delicious weekend, everyone!

Friday I'm in Love

I'm excited about this weekend... no huge plans, just a weekend in DC at long last, and Oscar weekend at that! I hear it might even be spring-ish, so I'm going to take some long scenic walks, maybe go fox-hunting... until it's time to plant myself on the couch, ogle the red carpet, and cheer on Anne and James, of course. I'm strangely not in the mood to write an Oscar post this year, but go check out my pal Kate's post if you're in the mood for one (and read my comment there to feel my pain about a celebrity near-miss I had last week). On that note, my three picks for the week (which actually are not all this-week finds... it's been one of those weeks). Have a fantastic weekend, folks!

Bangable Dudes in History

Huge props to Lauren for bringing the blog Bangable Dudes in History to my attention. Yep, it's as fantastic as it sounds. Case in point: the above graphic. (Click for a larger size.) See more bangable dudes in history at the blog, and proceed to weep with joy.

Back to the Future

 Props here go to Sarah for spotlighting the amazing project Back to the Future. Oh, how I'd love to set up a series of these portraits with friends and family. I could look at these for hours.

Salvatore Bklyn

Once upon a time, I dated an Italian-American for several years, who always made fun of the way I said "ricotta." Which is to say, I pronounce it without an Italian accent. All these years later, I officially have my response. It's in the form of this couple in Brooklyn who make their own ricotta and sell it to some of New York's most celebrated restaurants - as well as to shoppers at the Brooklyn Flea. They begin this video with a dismissal of ricotta pronunciation snobbery, then tempt you with their smoked ricotta on toast with olive oil, and then have you cheering entrepreneurship. Let them eat riccota!, they might as well shout from their windows. And let them pronounce it however they like!

Friday I'm in Love

Greetings from the beach! I am basking in the glow of my cousin kicking the vocal pants off people three times her age in the music showcase last night, all while coolly playing the violin at a level Charlie Daniels (who Z discredits because of his theatrics with unnecessarily harming his instrument) could only dream about. So... I have pics and video of this phenom lined up for next week. Get excited!

In the meantime, have a great weekend. And by the way, how about me missing the earthquake in DC by being beachside instead? T says the cats were not happy. Poor little kittenz having their universe disrupted! Did anyone else feel it, or did you miss it, too? Oh, one more PS: I was a Garden of the Day over at Prince of Petworth this week - woo hoo!

As we do on Friday over here, here are three fun things to round out the week. Have a great work-free existence this weekend, everyone!

Goodbye, Old Spice Man!

It was bound to end ... stuff this rich with beautiful genius cannot prosper for eternity. Sigh... Please light a candle for the most brilliant marketing campaign of our day, and imagine what you might have asked of Old Spice Man and thus what you could expect from one of his scores of amazing personalized response videos. Me, I will be forever YouTubing this stuff. SILVERFISH HAND CATCH!

Double Rainbow Freakout

This video was around all week, but I'm putting it here anyway so that I can watch it with ease whenever I'm needing a reminder that A) life is beautiful, and B) there are some really weird people out there (self esteem boost!). Hat tip to my pal Nance for sending this to me first. And really, folks, don't we all wander from time to time, "WHAT DOES IT MEAN?"

 Fiona Apple "Not About Love" (with Zach G)

I'm a big Zach Galifianakis fan ... the man just makes me laugh, always. This video is no exception. And while it's no "Criminal" for the manner in which it will unsettle you, there is Zach Galifianakis dancing in streets and pitching fits in bed. Something for us all, really.

Friday I'm in Love

I'm a heading into a sports-filled weekend. First, we're flying to Boston tonight to take part in A²'s annual tournament "The Stanley Cap," wherein an intricate bracket system pits teams throwing bottle caps into cups of beer all day long, until a winning team emerges at the end of the night. Kind of a big deal. Sports event number two is the World Cup. Since I happen to be married to someone who's been living and breathing the Cup for weeks now (thank goodness kickoff is finally less than an hour away!), this is also kind of a big deal. Sports event number three is Stephen Strasburg on the mound again for the Nationals, which we'll have to follow from up north, because, in case you hadn't heard, his debut was kind of a big deal.

So in honor of all things sports this weekend, a tribute to soccer madness, plus two other things that, well, just tickled my funny bone this week. Have a fantastic weekend, everyone - may the best teams win!

World Cup!

Going to be exciting. Actually, it's fun for me just to see how excited T gets. But seriously, how can you not get pumped up watching this video?

What the G*D F* is Wrong with You?

I shed tears reading this. Oh, how it pleases me. It is profane and it is absurd and was the best thing that happened to me all day when I found it. Get your basic rules of grammar straight, people!


BP Spills Coffee


Because sometimes, we've just gotta laugh to feel a little better, you know?

Friday I'm in Love

One hopeless consumerism item for you this week, and two more videos. What can I say... videos have been doing it for me lately. (Why yes, my books are sitting neglected on my bedside table... can you tell? Give me a break, at least I finally subscribed to the Post! Being a bookworm again will commence once I can walk into my closet and I have art on the walls, okay?) Um, anyway, back to my picks for the week:

Two Paths Trench


It's raining this morning, which makes me think that I really "need" this trench. Very early birthday present to myself?

NASA Scientists Plan To Approach Girl by 2018


Pitch perfect, this video. Full credit to my sister-in-law for bringing this brilliance into my life. Seriously, watch it. Cackle. Weep with delight. Thank me later. (ps: While we're talking The Onion, I sometimes fear I'm turning into this guy.)?

The Runaways

Whatever, naysayers, this movie looks kind of rad. I know there are legions of Kristen Stewart haters out there, but I'm not among you for two reasons: A) I haven't seen any of the Twilight films B) I have seen Adventureland. But more importantly, Dakota Fanning all growns up and rocking it onstage? I want this movie to be 2010's Whip It.

Friday I'm in Love

Oh, Friday I'm Love, how I've missed you! Although my folders are bursting with fun finds, I wanted to do videos today due to my short attention span. See, I'm busy - my parents are driving up later today to spend the weekend with us. DRIVING UP! This has not happened... ever. I've always lived an airplane ride away. I can't wait to see them and kick some apartment ass around this place. But the fun doesn't end there: on Sunday, my pal Richard is staying with us, too. Check in over on Twitter on Sunday, where I'll surely be Oscar-tweeting to my heart's content while Richard makes me giggle-snort with snark. But enough intro... on to the fun videos!

The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

Nope, this isn't new. But I'm still obsessed with it. We play this commercial all the time around here. Just amazing. Amazing, I tell you!

Community

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

We are huge Community fans. Here's just a taste of why. Go watch the show, seriously. And yes, that is Joel McHale wearing tiny gym shorts on the front page of the website. You might want to check out the full episode from last night...

SNL President Reunion

Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion from Will Ferrell

I love seeing the SNL presidents in one room together. Will Ferrell and Darrell Hammond are perfect here, and how about Jim Carrey and Chevy Chase making an appearance? The best line, though, goes to Dana Carvey as #41, to his son: "Yeah, that second term of yours was a real victory lap, wasn't it, Dubbers?" I spit out my coffee.

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone - I know I will!

Friday I'm in Love

Here are my three grinnable selections for the week:

Network Television?

That question mark is there as in... really? Did I really just write that I was in love with network television this week? Yes! I adored the pilot of Glee so much that I happy-cried at the end of it. Then I watched four episodes online in a row. Modern Family is also killing it for me. This show has more family awesomeness than any we've seen since my beloved Arrested Development. Have television writers and network executives really finally woken up from their perpetual lameness? Did you hear that, television programmers? Because now it's your turn. See, "Glee" and "Modern Family," two fantastic shows, both really smart and targeting a somewhat similar demographic, are on at the very same time. And can I just mention, that is also the same time that Olivia and Elliott are doing their perennial thing for "Law and Order: SVU"? Unacceptable. So yep, this is me, loving some of the network tv's offerings for the first time in ages, and politely asking for a different time slot for one of them. (Well okay, one more rant - "How I Met Your Mother," consistently awesome, now on at 7 p.m. CST? Kids can't understand Barney's jokes, and at 7 p.m. I'm not ready to sit down and watch something. Just saying.)

Smoked Mozzarella

I was intrigued by these small smoked mozzarella balls at Central Market and decided I had to take them home with me. I'm a huge fan of smoked cheese in general (well, smoked anything, really), but had never eaten smoked mozzarella before. I tried them in a caprese salad, but the smokiness was a bit too overwhelming in a dish that's built upon simplicity. They found their true place, however, melted in hot, savory dishes. Just a few little slices were wonderfully rich in a steaming bowl of grits for breakfast. I'd imagine this cheese would elevate a ratatouille or a frittata to an entirely new level as well. Smoked mozzarella... check!


Frances Bean Cobain's Twitter Account

Via Jezebel's awesome Tweet Beat feature, where I get to purvey the best and worst of celebrity twittering without actually having to subscribe to celebrities, I came across this gem, and promptly spit out my drink. I kind of feel like I'm too old to bother with explaining to today's brainless and talentless popular youth what is wrong with them, so Frances Bean, thanks for doing that for me to your own cohort! Also, per your tweet from last week, good luck on finding someone to adopt you.

Troublemakers

Best advertising campaign ever?

"Such tragedy could have been easily avoided"

Wptt Contraceptive, via TheDieline.