Gus Gus

When I look at the little booger sleeping, I go a little weak in the knees.   How did I get to be so lucky? 

 

So much personality, so majestic.

He loves to flirt with everyone.

He's got a grrrreat sense of humor.

See?!

He loves to sits on your things.

I love you, lil' bitchka!

Happy Monday!

Well, I'm back at my desk after a delicious 4 day weekend, and I must admit (even though I just got here and got as far as checking gmail and making a cuppa), it's tough already. Really tough. So if anyone wants to send me cute pictures, or Natalie Dee comics, or fruit baskets, knock yourselves out.


In other news, I have to be thankful for an amazing weekend. On Thursday we had a really great day hanging out with my in-laws, going to the dog park, playing with my new sewing machine, we saw Fantastic Mr.Fox, and then the 4 of us ate through 11 dishes of food and collapsed with Bailey's and another movie. On Friday, I hit the sales (snow boots and bath towels, apparently). I pottered around the house and in the pm spent the evening with my lovely friends eating double helpings of pie and playing Taboo. Yes, I did shut my finger in their door, but was reassured to find out from Dr.Bort that I had a bona fide documented medical reaction and wasn't just being a pussy.



My lovely friend Jacob got me on the guestlist for a very sold out show, and I saw a band I really heart (Fools Gold) followed my another really fun 11 piece by the name of Ed Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.




Saturday and Sunday were spent pottering around at home, catching up on Glee, putting up shelves, cooking delicious shrimp, insulating the house (seriously, it's much warmer now even though I feel like a grandma), watching the Reader and snuggling with my favourite guy before I loan him back to the surgery department for the next 13 days straight.


Hope your weekends were perfect - happy Monday :-)

Holiday weekend fun

What did you guys do over the weekend?  Well I know Anna-Maria managed to slam a finger in the door and wound up in a lot of pain :(  I hope she still comes over to our house and forgives our front door some day. 

Friday, Inna & I pampered ourselves at the salon then went home and vegged out w/boy and snarfed down some leftovers.  AMDCC came over and we attempted to play Taboo until the incident (see above).  It was a good day besides that.

Yesterday, we had brunch at Yolk then went and saw Fantastic Mr. Fox.  What a fantastic movie!  

Bill Murray plays Clive Badger.  So funny.

We finished the night off with Belgium beers and Phase 10. 

                                     

I love low-key weekends. 

Mmm....Thanksgiving

This holiday weekend flew by, but it was certainly a good time.   Thanksgiving day was amazing.  Badger's parents and sister came up and our friends Jake & Inna came over as well.  Badger cooked all day long, but his dad was sure to take care of him by feeding him Miller lite the whole time.  I got some amazing flowers and was pretty excited to decorate the table.  It seemed to turn out pretty good!

We had so many dishes.  Turkey (I didn't eat it, but of course), sweet potatoes, macaroni n' cheese, green bean casserole, corn pudding, cranberry sauce, stuffing, pesto-deviled eggs, gravy, etc.  It was all made from scratch and with tons of love.  Seriously.  For dessert we had pumpkin-banana pie and an apple crumble.  It was delicious.  Nothing was made from a can.  I'm so proud of my boy!

It was a great day!

Fantastic Mr.Fox lives up to his name!

I went to see this long-awaited movie yesterday afternoon. It's like Wes Anderson got into my head and made a movie (again).

The animation. The attention to detail (watch for the eyes). The dance scenes. The soundtrack.



Go, now. But call me first, because I will officially never get bored of this movie.

Thanksgiving Greetings

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Treats

Last night I came home from a mega-crummy day at work, so needed some tasty relief.



Ta-da! Veggie quiche with delicious Polish cheese that I don't know the name of, and tasty vegan sesame dough. And for afters, German spice cookies with almonds.


We just ate the cookies with my in-laws, and steam cups of German christmas tea. Mmmm, holidays!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I love Thanksgiving.  I really do.  I don't even eat turkey!  But all those dreamy, delicious sides...mmmm...nom nom nom.  This year we're doing things a little different.  Badge's parents and sister are trekking up here from Louisville to eat chef David's deliciousness while crowded around our small, albeit awesome table.  We're also having some friends over which makes it all the more special.  It's time to bust out the Hans Fahden wine and make the most of this wonderful holiday. 

What are your Thanksgiving plans?  What are you thankful for?  I am very thankful for my wonderful fiance who treats me like gold.  My life would be so different without him.  He really is my soul mate and I love him more and more as the days go by.  I'm also thankful for my wonderful friends I have here and back home.  How would I make it without all the laughs and hugs and fun you provide?!  Last, and to be expected, I am very thankful for my wonderful family and my soon-to-be in-laws who are all amazing and supportive and there for us.  I'm so fortunate for everyone in my life! 

Super-8 Videos & Photobooths

There are only a few things I've come across that I absolutely MUST have as my selfish splurge items for the wedding. 

1. I desparately want a photobooth.  I've wanted one since I started all this wedding planning nonsense.  When I went to my friend Sarah's wedding in NY, they had a photobooth which just made me even more determined to get one for ours.  I love, love, love photobooths.  Especially vintage ones, with pics like these:

Via Pitch

Photos via Hula Seventy

I can only imagine all the possibilities.  All that beer & wine + our goofy friends = great photos.

2.  When I originally saw this video from The Flash Dance, my heart melted.  And still, every time I see it I swoon.  I am so in love with it.  That is why I am bound and determined to get some super-8's, assign some crafty friends to the task and (quoting Tim Gunn here) MAKE IT WORK. 

Everything and everyone in The Flash Dance is incredibly talented and awesome.  I wish I could be friends with them!  But I have amazing friends with amazing talents so this WILL happen!!

Birthdays!

Sunday was my mom's birthday as well as Anna's little brother.  Today is Sir Alex Preston's 28th birthday!

Congratulations, Alex. You survived the curse of the 27's!

Amazing photos from around the web

Good morning everyone,

It's Monday...joyous Monday again/already.  What better way to nurse my Monday blues than to browse the internet and stare at lovely photos.  Like these two from FFFFOUND!

Or this vintage postcard of Calistoga, CA from Maptote

I also ran across these adorable illustrations via thoughtfulday.  The illustrator, Anne Leguern, is amazing and I want to buy her entire collection!

What did you get up to this weekend?  Badger and I ran around like mad men (causing us to have no time to watch any Mad Men) trying to prepare for our first Thanksgiving feast.  We're both so excited to host this feast and to have both family AND friends join us.  I can't wait!!

Did anyone catch the new episode of Dexter?  SO GOOD!!

The Big One Eight

It's my little brother's birthday today. Except he's no longer little: today he turns 18!

It got me thinking about turning points, those times when you're supposed to get markedly "older"; 18ths, 21sts, 30ths, graduations, weddings. What really changes?

In any case, here's to celebrating those milestones in style! Happy birthday, X!

Fall Color

I was in NY a few weeks ago, and enjoyed being immersed in the fall colors in the Park.



I found this video about the colors people are wearing in fall, which I think is cute too.



I've really taken to purple this fall - what's your favorite color this season?

In praise of: Breakfast

At night, when I am lying in bed about to fall asleep, I often look forward to breakfast. And now, when I get up really early, I always need two. Hooray for second breakfasts!

This got me thinking about all the wonderful things about breakfast: about how breaking bread in the morning with someone you love often sets the tone for the rest of the day, about brunches where you re-live the crazy night before, experimenting with exciting breakfast foods, about those incredible homemade 3 course breakfasts at our gîte on honeymoon, about Saturday morning dim sum, and mimosas.

What do you love about the first meal of the day?

Love

Boy gets home tonight and my heart is pit-er-pat-ering just thinking of him.  He's only been gone since Monday but I miss him so. 

I want!

I have been trying to find these J.Crew boots that I am madly in love with but they don't have them on their website.  It must be a catalog only kind of thing.  Hmmph.  I guess you readers will never know. UNTIL NOW:

I do want these though - surprised? I love plaid.  I've always been a fan of the button down plaid shirt but I am really digging the fact that they're widely available for me instead of having to scour the thrift store (which is still fun from time to time, but they never fit me right).

I'll take one in every color, please.

I don't know what it is about these flannel jacket thingies but I really, really like them on men.  My mom asked me what she thought she should get him for Christmas and I suggested this:

Selfish, I know.  But that and some work boots = major turn on for me.  Maybe that's because I come from a family of blue-collar workers who really got their hands dirty.  Maybe something is wrong with me.  Who knows, who knows.

And now for something compLETELY different...

It's days like these in which I do nothing but daydream about a better life.  What that boils down to is that I hate my job and I miss the simpler things in life, like a garage to park in.  When Badge & I daydream together, I always bring up the fact that I want a goat to have an endless supply of goat cheese :) 

Hey there, Billy!

The last time I conveyed my yearning for a pet goat, Badge suggested perhaps we'll get a sheep instead.  Then we could have sheep's cheese AND wool sweaters.  Bahahahahahah!  I love him.

I would name him something like Edward or Maximillian.  I can do better though.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle inspiration, food coop and nerds

I've been reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and I just have to say that she is one of my new favorite authors.  Have any of you read this?  Or any of her other books?  I've read the Poisonwood Bible and Animal Dreams and both were great.  I'm madly in love with A,V, M and want to share it with the world.  It's such an inspirational book.

One night after work last week, I got off the train after having read a chapter on vegetarianism vs. eating free-range meat, and encountered a volunteer for the Dill Pickle Coop.  What timing!  After reading A,V,M, anyone and everyone will be inspired to join a coop or buy local food at the grocery store. 

The Dill Pickle Coop is opening up down the street from us and our friend Sharon Hoyer is part of the brains behind it.

          The Dill Pickle is a cooperatively owned and governed neighborhood grocery store that aims to provide sustainable, local and organic goods at an affordable price in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood.

They'll be opening up in a few weeks and I plan on supporting them!

On a cute note, my coworker just made a funny:

                 Julia: Your nerds were a big hit in the department.  I guess we are what we eat!