I'm a Bachelorette

Ok, so last night's bachelorette party was awesome, and I want to publicly thank (in counter-clockwise order, starting with the lower right corner of the photo) Nicole, Danielle, Katherine, Rachel, Emika, Andrea, Reed, Paula, Dana and CC.  Because this group of ladies is awesome.

I mean, seriously. They're rad.
So is Cafe Sport in San Francisco.
If you like Italian food, go here now.

I don't have photos of the decorated hotel suite or the crafts, or my ridiculously rad headbands, or the thousands of nail polish bottles (or champagne bottles) or goody bags, or any of the other stuff they put together, but I know other people were taking pictures (I was just being a bachelorette).  When the pictures go public (but uh, not all of them, ok guys?) I'll share them here.  Let me just say that these ladies went all out and it was so lovely and I love them all.  It was a super, super fun evening and night, and I honestly have some of the best friends ever.  Oh, and we got a pseudo-strip show because the folks in the apartments across from our hotel room did not think it necessary to close their blinds. Good times, folks.  Good times.

Next weekend, I'm flying down to LA for my bridal shower, where I'll get to celebrate with a whole other group of amazing ladies.  I am seriously one lucky bride, y'all.  I've never felt so showered with love, and it's a little overwhelming, but I think I'm getting used to it  ;)

This week: more crafts, more knitting, and hopefully some home-organization!

Bonus Crafting Post! Guest Books!

Earlier today I promised you a bonus crafting post...and like I said, I don't like to make promises I can't keep!

Inspired by this pin on Pinterest, I decided that we should have one small guestbook on each table, rather than one big guestbook in the entry/lounge area.  I love the idea of having a special book to open on each anniversary for the next twelve years, a little memory of the wedding for the first twelve years of our marriage (twelve tables, twelve books, twelve years, and whoa just realized, getting married in 2012...ooooh spooky?).  We're going to provide a stack of card stock and pens at each table so guests can write messages to us and put them in the books.  

Some of the books - Andrea came over and helped me trace
the numbers from a stencil and color them in with silver
Sharpie.  It actually went a lot faster than we had
anticipated, and they turned out really well!

I decided to go one step further though...the books I bought are art portfolio display albums (yay acid free!), and we're going to put a disposable camera on each table so people can take pictures to go with their notes - we'll print the photos after the wedding, and have friends help us insert them into the right places in the albums (so we don't read the messages until the appropriate anniversary, of course!).  It should be really fun to look back on the photos people took of themselves as the years go by, a nice balance of unprofessional/silly/lower-quality photos to have in addition to the undoubtedly gorgeous ones Em and Aaron (her husband and co-shooter) will be taking (which will go in the fancy shmancy wedding album I'm making from Photobook America, thankyougroupon).

Aly found these "classy" black disposable cameras that
turned out to be cheaper than the standard yellow or
green ones anyway! Score!

We might print labels or photos to go in the spines of the albums, so that when they're standing on our shelf, we can easily grab the one we want.  You can kind of see the empty spines in the picture at the top - the paper included for the label was such a bright white that it seemed a little jarring.  Looks better without.  Maybe I'll just write on the plastic with Sharpie to mark the books if we don't think of a good idea for a photo/label insert.  Maybe we'll print little labels with the art from the invitations.  We'll see!

All that's left to do is print up the little signs to explain to people what to do and gather the pens and cardstock :)

PS ooh! idea! We'll also take a picture of us on each anniversary, print it, and put it in the book that year.  oh, I am a genius.)

Wedding Knitstuff, Part...One?

I promised a post about knitwear, and ye shall receive a post about knitwear!  I don't make promises I can't keep...I promise!

And now, it is my pleasure to present to you...The Completed (so far) Knitwear for the Wedding!  (yeah, the title could use some work)

Beautiful, beautiful hand/wrist warmers,
for the bridesmaids,
knitted and embroidered by Reed.
In the background, you can see the
bouquets and bouttonieres :)

I messed with the contrast because it really
shows off Reed's embroidery. 

While Reed was working on the hand/wrist warmers (and
a bunch of other stuff), I knit 6 scarves.  Yes, six.
Did you know that scarves take a long time to make?
I am about 3 months behind on The New Yorker now, but
I'm pleased with the way they came out!
Each one has a different stitch pattern, length, width, and
ratio of yellow to gray.  Coordinated but not matchy matchy.

So far so good, eh?  Reed's working on my hand/wrist warmers now, and is starting the dads' ties this weekend.  I'm about halfway done with the first mom cowl/neck warmer, and starting to think about whether I want something knit in my hair (decorative bobby pins? headband? hmmm) as well.

And that's the knitting update for ya!  Up next: a bonus wedding craft post!  I know you can't wait!

This is Happening, Guys

Ok, so we're T-22 days to the wedding (WHAT? CRAZY! also: 22 is my favorite number), and shit's getting real.  Sorry for the language, but it is.

The dudes' scarves are done (minus weaving in the ends on 3 of them, but that'll get done while I watch 30 Rock tonight), the ladies' wristwarmer glove things are done (thanks, Reed!), I just started the moms' cowl neckwarmer scarf things, and Reed's about to start the dads' ties.  I'll do some knitwear posts soon, cause why not?

Bouquets are done, boutonnieres are scheduled, and I've been ordering supplies from SaveOnCrafts like it's my job (my night job).  I've had three dress fittings, and am going again tomorrow morning (we're currently trying to solve a physics problem related to getting the dress not to fall down. seamstress says: solvable!) with my sisters.  I've tried on the dress with my boots, my blue glittery TOMS, and my cardigan.  And various strings of pearls.  And a scarf.  And one of the bridesmaids' pairs of gloves.  I'm all set, yo.


This weekend is the bachelorette party, planned by my sisters and close friends.  I am happily out of the loop, knowing only that I'm meeting them tomorrow at a hotel in Union Square.  I thought I'd share this dream I had recently...clearly some manifestation about my desire to control everything (even though I really am excited about this surprise weekend, I swear!).  Also, I had just watched something about vampires, so maybe that's where it came from.

In my dream, we had rented a cabin somewhere for the bachelorette party, and my sisters had hired Twilight-themed strippers, who came stalking up through the woods like vampires. We freaked them out and sent them away, but one came back and he was the stripper and it was super awkward...but I was really really drunk, so it wasn't horrible I guess?  Later, we were mostly sobered up, and we were opening presents (what, was this a bridal shower all of a sudden?) and this super drunk chick came stumbling up to the house wanting to get in.  Eventually, we let her in, and I think we became friends?

Dreams are weird, and this wedding is coming up!  Stay tuned for (hopefully) more posts on crafting and such as I finish up projects (with massive help from friends).

Skating Tenaya

Not ones to miss out on a once in a lifetime (or even a once in 30 years) opportunity, we drove to Tenaya Lake in Yosemite twice in the last two weeks. As you can see from the slideshow...awesome.

The slideshow contains photos and videos; if you can't view a video for some reason (looks like videos might not work in the slideshow), just check out my Skating Tenaya album on PicasaWeb.

Will's teammate Chris posted these photos and videos, in case my slideshow wasn't enough for ya :)

Crafternoon: Wedding-Style

Today was a big day in weddingstuff, and craftstuff in particular.  In fact, I'm even adding a new label for this post (partially in hopes that it will push me to craft more often).  Today, my crafty girlfriends and I made the bouquets for the wedding.  "But Kim! Won't the flowers die?"  A-ha!  No!  We are awesome!  Magical, in fact!

Ok, not magical.  But we did get all fancy with the flowers, using wooden flowers and dried filler, (inspired by Brit's post on her bouquet, here) which actually feels more appropriate for our winter wedding in Tahoe than fresh flowers would.  They turned out beautifully, and we had a ton of fun (right?) assembling them.  Rather than bore you with big long explanations, I'll just tell you with pictures :)

First, we used hot glue guns to glue wire stems to the wooden
flowers, poking holes in them to get them to stick better.
(Thanks to Brit for the hole-poking tip! Worked great!)

Our supplies, spread out in various vases.

Don't forget the most important crafternoon supply: wine!
And an awesome team of can-do ladies:
Emika, Andrea, Rachel and Reed

Emika and Andrea, assembling small bunches of flowers,
later to be bundled together to create my bouquet.
Many small bunches put together = one lovely bouquet!
(note: while Brit did 3-4 bunches of 10, we did
several bunches of 4-5, and then added more flowers
and filler around the outside as needed to make it bigger)

Reed works on a boutonniere.
Pinecone, mini flower, knit flower "poof".
And yes, it says "wire cutters" on her hand,
a reminder to me to buy them at Michael's.

Emika, with a few nearly-finished
bridesmaid bouquets. Tiny and adorable!
All that's left is to wrap the stems with yarn!

I based my supply list on Brit's list: Natural Cedar Roses, Sola Shell Flowers, and Sola Roses, but my preserved Caspia arrived smelling rather fishy.  No, literally, it smelled like rotten fish.  Fast forward to this morning, when we found some fantastic replacements at Michael's -- white Caspia-looking stuff, some ivory Caspia-looking stuff with dried thistles and paper-thin flowers, and these crazy things that kind of looked like pussy willow, but with tiny papery roses instead of pussy willow puffs.  The little roses looked very similar to the Sola Shells, and worked perfectly in the bridesmaids' bouquets and the boutonnieres.

A finished boutonniere.
Freaking adorable.

Bridesmaid bouquets and two boutonnieres.

And ta-da! My finished bouquet!
My stem is wrapped in silvery gray ribbon,
and I'll be winding yarn around it
to tie my wooden ring to the stem.

I'm really pleased with the way they came out, and I love that they'll last for years and years to come!  

And as for the rest of our wedding-crafting?  Reed's going to make the remaining 4 boutonnieres (oh shoot, I think it's actually 8 more.  Forgot about boutonnieres for the parents), finish my hand warmers and start on the dads' ties.  I have to finish Will's scarf and make the neck warmers/cowls for the moms, maybe make my dad's tie if I can, and stencil the numbering on the guest books (one for each table, more on that later).  And soak the labels off some jars.  And buy some more jars/candles, probably.  And...something else I'm forgetting?  Good thing we have almost 4 weeks to go!

Comfort Isn't A Crime (or Liz Lemon is Awesome so Shut Up)

Conversation from last night while watching 30 Rock:

Me: Throw some glasses on me, and I am Liz Lemon.
Will: That's not a good thing, Kim.
Me: But look at her outfit! We dress very similarly.
Will: That's not a good thing, Kim.
Me: But she dresses so cute! I love what she's wearing!
Will: ...that's the point, Kim.

Evidence (probably more convincing if you know me in real life):

If it was colder in SF, I'd be wearing this.
I am wearing a very similar hat today though.

I wore this when I went as LL for Halloween.
It was an outfit made of clothes from my closet.

I don't have that exact hat, but I have one
that is very similar.
And one that looks like a penguin.
And I want her scarf.

Pretty sure I've worn this exact thing.

Please don't tell me anything but "You're totally right! She always looks cute, even when she's in her frumpy gray TGS sweatshirt, and I bet you look equally as cute in your frumpy gray DISQUS sweatshirt! Or in the cardigans and tshirts you wear almost every day!  Just like Liz!"

I honestly love it when my coworkers laugh and tell me I am having a Liz Lemon moment, because I find her to be charmingly awkward and also hilarious.  So what if I identify with Liz Lemon?  She is awesome.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Let's Get Productive!

Today's a big day in wedding-prep land!  We're going to look at suits for Will in a couple hours, and I'm picking up my dress AND having my first fitting!  It's the first time I'll get to try on my dress, the actual one (not the sample, I mean), and I get to wear it twice today!  Can't wait!  Eee!  I'll have two of my bridesmaids with me, and afterwards we will probably do a little shopping for the one who still hasn't found her dress.

Also on the agenda is (finally) unpacking from the holidays.  Want a list?  Ok, I'll give you a list!  So glad you asked!

NOTE: List updated as of 9:50pm

• Big Suitcase: full of gifts, clothes, miscellaneous stuff
• Three Boxes One box: full of gifts that didn't fit in our suitcases (parents had to ship)
• 3 Suitcases and 2 Duffels: will be empty and needing to go back in the closet
• Winter coats/ski clothes: need to be put in duffel and put back in closet
• Closet will need to be reorganized a little bit to make room for the suitcases
• 2 Boxes: Christmas/Chanukkah decor that needs to go back in said closet
• Dining room table: needs to be cleared
• Coffee Table: Covered in mail, needs to be filed/put away/recycled
• Recycling: needs to be taken out
• 1 box: wedding bouquet supplies -- unpacked; the dried Caspia smells like fish though, so that's a mystery that needs solving.

Bonus List!  Wedding Stuff I want to get done this weekend:

• Count scarves I've made, see if I have 1 or 2 more to make -- I have 1.5 more to make!
• Make a plan for dad's ties and mom's neckwarmers
• Make a plan for my handwarmers
• Find a dress for Katherine?
• Get Will's suit!
• Pick up my dress, go to my fitting!
• Sort through bouquet supplies to see what it all looks like -- as noted above...unpacked; the dried Caspia smells like fish though, so that's a mystery that needs solving.

I'm a little inspired by this post on The Hairpin...sometimes you need a little motivation!  I also want to get a bunch of laundry done (hey, Will, how would you like to do some laundry?) and organize the bedroom - there is a lot of stuff piled everywhere, and even a box I haven't unpacked from the move. In August. Oops.  Dang holidays!

I'm ready to rock though!  Do you have any Winter Cleaning plans this weekend?  Any events you're preparing for?  Tell me your tales of nesting and productivity!

It's that time again

Resolution City, here I come!

Every year, I write up some resolutions and check out the ones I wrote the year before to see how I did.  Usually, I realize that I forgot about some of them.  Perhaps I should write them somewhere other than the internet.

Last year's resolutions:

1. blog more often (uh, sort of nebulous, eh? I think I blogged a lot in 2011, so that's good I guess) - just counted. 131 in 2010, and 95 in 2011. so, uh, nope. but I feel like 2011 was a bigger blogging year, so maybe 2010's posts weren't as substantive or something. whatever.
2. give the ole blog a redesign (yeah, that never happened. hello, 2012, I'm coming for you! maybe?)
3. create an "about" page (yep, didn't do that either)
4. figure out why search is messed up on my blog (bet you can guess how that turned out)

I think I focused too much on my blog, and then didn't have (or didn't take) the time to actually do this stuff.  But that's ok, because I also resolved to let my blog be what it is without pressuring myself to do more.  Since, you know, I have a full time job and a life outside work and am planning a wedding and all...I think it's ok.  Not saving babies here.

Anyway, it's New Years Day, and I'm sitting on the couch after two weeks of travel, family, parties, illness, and some really awesome other stuff I'll tell you about in a non-resolution post when I get around to uploading my pictures.  (wow, nothing like a lazy blogger to excite you on New Years Day! whatever, sue me. no, don't do that. you wouldn't have a case anyway, so shut up. god, what am I talking about?)

This year, I want to...

1. keep the house tidy, and not have piles of stuff everywhere (I always make this resolution when I write them right after traveling and the house is a mess)
2. open the mail on the day it was received. or the day after. not the week after.
3. eat healthier, eat slower (I eat too much because I eat too fast, and although baguettes and salami and cheese are some of my favorite foods, I want to focus on leaner proteins and more veggies and such. wedding diet, whatever).  maybe lose 5-10 pounds?  ick, I hate myself for saying that, but yeah, I could stand to do it.
4. exercise more than twice a week.  preferably in some sort of class like the bar method or something.
5. try new things, at least one new thing per month (a recipe, a craft project, an activity, being assertive, etc.)

I think that's about it.  If I actually accomplish all this, I'll be an adventurous, responsible, healthy, fit person with a clean house (ha) - here's hoping!

Happy New Year, all! 

Covering Yourself

Ok, after that last ode to Sara Bareilles, you're probably like, "Kim. Shut up. Talk about knitting or how you exploded a squash or something."  But seriously guys.

There's just one more thing I didn't mention, that Emika and I actually took a minute to marvel about during the show.  See, Sara is the master of covers.  When she covers a song, it becomes brand new.  I think it takes a special kind of musical ear to be able to do that, to hear a song and twist it around so it's still the same song, just...really different.  Anyway, she's really freaking good at covers, and I love hearing what she does with classics.

But this time, she covered one of her old songs - one of my favorites that's been around since forever ago.  Covering your own work has to take a little something extra, I think.  It's hard enough to re-imagine someone else's music, but to take something that's come out of your own head, to move it around and change it into something new...I think that's harder.  I am terrible at covers.  I must lack the imagination or something, but even songs I've written myself always sound a little like something someone else wrote.  But that's neither here nor there.  My point is that Sara's cover of "Come Round Soon" last weekend pretty much blew my mind.

And now...a little time travel (my music professors in college would be so proud of my "research", though I'll spare you the musical analysis).  Silly, yes.  Unnecessary, sure.  Fun?  I think so.  Enjoy.

Check out "Come Round Soon" as she played it back in the day 

(this was 2004 I think?)

At the House of Blues in Chicago in 2008

(found it on YouTube, sorry the quality is rough)

Toned down in 2009:

And then, check out how she played it at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on 12.10.11

And just for fun:

So yeah.  She's good.

The End.


Coming soon, Why I Love Lady Danville, in honor of the fact that we get to hang out on Saturday.

Oh What Fun

II have this tradition with a couple of my dear friends.  It's a simple tradition, but every year, when Sara Bareilles visits SF, we get tickets and go en masse.  Sometimes there are 10 of us, sometimes there are 5 of us, but we always go out to support her.  See (and forgive me if I get a little "we knew her when" nostalgic for a minute), we go way back with Ms. Bareilles. Sara was definitely a fixture at UCLA back in the day, and since she and I were in the same a cappella group (albeit a year apart), we often ran in the same circles.  Since I wasn't 21 at the time when most of my friends would gather at Westwood Brewing Company and Temple Bar to see her play,  I ended up selling merch at her shows.  Nobody cards the merch girl, let me tell ya.

Anyway, I spent three or four years selling homemade CDs, DVD singles of music videos made with friends, and I can still remember the first night we had t-shirts.  And a self-produced album that actually looked like a Real Live CD (it was shrinkwrapped, yo).  Things started feeling more legit.  She started drawing larger crowds and "headlining" the small local venues instead of being a 20 minute opener.  I used to accept compliments on her behalf (we looked more alike back then when I was college-thin), and giggle at the fact that people confused me for her, while using the misunderstanding to push more sales (shh secrets).

In 2007, she hosted her CD release party for Little Voice at the Hotel Cafe (whoa, found a video from that night online), and people were clamoring to get a copy.  Offering to buy the "Love Song" tshirt off my back if we ran out.  I was in a little merch booth, not just at a table in the corner, and honestly, at times I was glad for the separation.  I remember thinking how crazy it all seemed, that she was autographing CDs, not just selling them to people who wanted the music from that night's show.

In 2008, she headlined at The Fillmore.  They freaking recorded it.  You can buy the DVD on Amazon.

When she played the Cafe duNord in SF in 2009, I was recently unemployed and available to merch all three nights of shows.  That was the first time I got teary-eyed; during "Love Song", the audience sang along so loudly that she stopped singing to listen.  It hit me that this might be the last time I would be working behind the scenes for Sara - I felt something changing that night, and I felt all Mama Bear Proud.  We sold more merch than ever that night.  She had a new tour manager, who had kind of made light of the selling merchandise end of things, but once I showed him the numbers afterwards, I got to puff up my chest a little bit.  "Yeah, I'm good at this, dude.  I've been selling Sara's stuff for almost seven years now."

Now she's judging The Sing Off on NBC, which has of course garnered her another bajillion fans.  In the smallest world ever, of course one of the groups competing was made up of more alums of our a cappella group (hi, Sonos).  It was a trip to turn on the TV and see the faces of so many people I love.

Fast forward to last night.  The Bill Graham Auditorium, which has a capacity of over 10,000, was nearly full.  People standing all the way to the back walls, and sitting in the balcony.  Everyone singing and laughing and dancing and pouring love up onto that stage. Fans with coordinated signs. Teenage girls on the street saying "I know she's not singing yet, but I can like, feel her presence!" basically blew my mind.  Fans lining up by her tour bus, waiting for over two hours in the cold after the show for a chance to say hello.  Scheduled meet and greets for radio winners.  Not to mention the show itself -- she's come a long way from those tiny bar shows where it was just her and an electric piano and occasionally a friend jumping in on percussion or guitar.  Last night was a bona fide rock concert.  I can't help but giggle when she steps away from the piano to strut back and forth across the stage, fans reaching up to touch her hands.

If this sounds like a big ole love letter to Sara Bareilles, well, I guess it is.  I am so, so, overwhelmingly proud of this girl.  She has worked incredibly hard to get to this place, and has managed to stay true to herself and her music, not compromising her f-bombs and lame (I mean hilarious) jokes or turning into some high-maintenance diva.  I have so much love for this girl, you guys.  I don't know if you can tell.  And I didn't even give buckets and buckets of love to Javi and Josh, who have been here since the early days, the super crazy talented guys on guitar and drums.  Love, love love.

Every time we get together to see her shows, I leave with the warm fuzzies.  And this time, I thought I'd share them with you.  Happy Holidays!  :D

Josh, Becka, me, Sara and Emika
(Dana took the picture)

Bonus: holiday hilarity from Sara and Ben Folds (do you think it was awkward for Nick Lachey?)

On Productivity

This weekend has been quite productive, one of the most successful "getting things done" weekends I've had in a while.  And with a crazy work week last week, full of multiple to-do lists, none of which are remotely completed, I think I needed this boost of productivity self esteem.  It's amazing what accomplishing a few long-awaited tasks can do for my mindset; I feel just a little more invincible this afternoon, and while I'm glad it's only 4:30, and I still have quite a bit of daytime left, I don't feel quite as worn down.  ed note: It's now 9:50pm.  I didn't work on this for 5 hours; I took a break for dinner and falling asleep on the couch while "watching" football and such. Please note that I am feeling ready to tackle the week but tired enough to fall asleep before midnight.  Yay.


And now...

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS

WITH PHOTOS!

Christmas Tree

We got our tree!  We found it pretty quickly in the 6-7' section (closer to 7', of course), and the lovely folks at the Delancey Street Foundation sawed a fresh cut, removed and saved a few low-hanging branches, and tied it to our car.  But wait - the story doesn't end there! We got home and realized our tree stand was not wide enough to accommodate our tree.  Will then spent an hour trying to saw the trunk down to a part where it was slightly narrower, and trimming the little nubbins off the side...eventually we he got it down to size and we shoved it into the stand.  It's a little bit of a tight fit, which makes watering a little rough, but it works.  And Reed stayed over and helped us decorate, with hot toddies and our traditional "Will's Christmas Playlist" playing in the background.  We even added a new tradition: adding photos to the tree.  No, we aren't fancy enough to use photo-ornaments -- I just printed some photos (using my sweet "new" HP Photo printer that I won at BlogHer and dude, you can print directly from Picasaweb From. The. Printer. WHAT?!) and we stuck them in the tree. And you know what?  It's kind of fun.  This morning, Reed made us a really cool origami tree topper, and le tree?  She is done!

closeup on the topper

Invitations and RSVP Cards
I've mentioned it before, but we would not be able to pull off this 4.5 month engagement + destination wedding without the help of my amazing friend Aly.  She is our wedding planner, graphic designer, stationer, bride-calmer-downer, scheduler, and ummm breakfast provider?  This girl is seriously on top of her game; some day when she owns her own wedding planning and coordination business, she is going to make bajillions of brides so happy! Not only did she design and build our entire wedding website (if only you could see the silly thing I cobbled together at first), she combined Will's Uncle Bruce's beautiful artwork with some really lovely text.  And made the RSVP cards.  And designed the email Save the Dates.  And came over this morning, with bagels, supplies and an extra printer just in case, to lead the invitation-assembly charge!  We got them all done, and I am set up with a Word template for printing on envelopes when we pull together the last few missing addresses.  Which, btw, is super easy with my fancy new aforementioned printer. I love this printer, yo. Also, did I mention that the invitations are gorgeous?  (thanks to Taylor for providing the confidentiality censorship)

Motion Sensor Light
A few months ago, I realized that at night, it's kind of hard to see the bottom few steps of the stairs that lead from the kitchen down to the basement (where we do laundry).  Especially if you're carrying a hamper and making extra shadows.  I asked our landlord if we could install a motion sensor light, and he offered to pay for it.  I immediately ordered it from Amazon and received it, and it sat in the house for oh, maybe, a month two months?  Ok, it's been busy, and too dark to do it after work.  But still.  Today I finally hung the damn thing, and I'm happy to say that it works perfectly for some reason it does not work.  Soooo ok fine.  But I got it hung!  Eventually I'll get it working?

Spice Rack
Back in August, I installed a DIY spice rack situation in the kitchen.  I was pretty damn proud of myself, but soon we ran out of room.  I bought some new mesh drawer liner things (uhhh over a month ago?) but had yet to install them.  It was annoying both to-do-list and practicality-wise, and finally today I took care of it.  Behold the wonder that is our even more spectacular wall of spices!  Now all of our cooking spices are within easy reach, right next to the stove.  The baking spices (cinnamon and nutmeg and such) are still going to live in the pantry though, because they are used much less often and hardly ever while cooking.

Kitchen Makeover and Office/Guestroom Plans
The brilliant Melissa (of Blitz, the design firm that did the Disqus office, of whom I am completely enamored) came over on Saturday morning to take a look at our back room.  It is currently an office (meaning that Will's desk is in there, along with a ton of boxes) but I want it to be an office/guest room. I don't have a lot of vision for this room though, because it is pretty tiny, and let's face it: I'm not a designer.  But give Melissa a measuring tape and a floor plan and girl can work magic!  For about $1,000 (sofabed, file cabinets, shelves, area rug, throw pillows), we can transform this room into a really cozy, library/study-inspired space, with enough room for Will's desk, a sofabed, and plenty of office storage.  Now we just need $1,000!

While Melissa was here, I gave her my "oh, so by the way, there's some stuff in the kitchen I could use some help with" tour -- and she had the genius idea of moving the microwave on top of the dishwasher (that no, I still haven't hooked up - but I will! I will!) to make room on the built in hutch for my pretty glass jars of grains (and the knives). There's enough room to set stuff down for prepping, and it looks much cleaner too.  And wouldn't you know it? The microwave fits perfectly in the space on top of the dishwasher.  And because I moved all those spices and things out of the way, there is more room on the kitchen cart for chopping and prep (and eventually, to open the dishwasher).  Love it.  So THANK YOU, MELISSA.


...and some bonus decoration pictures
Because...well...you made it this far, and tis the season and all!

Dining table centerpiece

The front (living room) window

You didn't think I'd forget about Chanukkah, did you?
Can you find the hidden Star of David?
What about the Mistletoe (ok, so that's more Christmas)?

Decorating is awesome.

Productivity is awesome.

Awesome Awesome Awesome.

Yes, this is a post about laundry.

Ok readers, I need your help.  Lately, I've been washing a lot of my laundry on the delicate cycle.  Not just the typical delicates...we're talking cardigans and thin t-shirts in addition to the nicer-quality tops I've been trying to work into my wardrobe.  To be fair, the tags all say "gentle cycle", and I don't want my clothes to pill! The problem is that half of the stuff can't go in the dryer. Yeah, I throw most of the cardigans and tshirts in the dryer (on LOW, jeez) but a lot of the tops and sweaters can't go in the dryer, either because they say "lay flat to dry" or because I'm paranoid that they'll shrink.

Usually it's ok; I divide the delicates into "dryer" and "not dryer", and lay flat all my "not dryer" pieces on this awesome guy over here:

Michael Graves, I love you.

The mesh keeps my clothes from gaining awkward indentations (that are seriously difficult to get out without ironing or re-washing).  The mesh is removable for super easy storage if you need to tuck it away, or if you want to drape towels on it or something (though who line-dries towels?). Thanks to Erin for introducing us; I am in love.

However, we only have one.  Our other drying rack is from IKEA, and it is all skinny slats.

I bought you for Will when he first had sweaters
that couldn't go in the dryer. We've moved on.

It doesn't hold a lot, and even bulky sweaters end up with those awkward indentations.  But sometimes (usually), I need the space of both racks.  I feel silly buying a second Michael Graves (also I can't find it online, so now I'm freaking out that maybe it doesn't exist anymore), but the IKEA one is kinda useless.  

Tonight, I am in the predicament of having done (somehowidon'tknowhowitpileduplikethatyikes) THREE LOADS of delicates.  Load #1 all went on the racks (and barely fit, I might add. ok, didn't fit. one sweater is laying on the dryer).  Load #2 went in the dryer.  Load #3 is sitting in the washer, because when I went down to the basement to take it out, the rack stuff still wasn't dry (I washed it last night, but it's been cold out).  So it's going to sit overnight tonight.  In the washer.  Hopefully it won't get like, gross and moldy or something, but that usually takes several days of sitting (not that I would know) to occur.  Fingers crossed that tomorrow (when, um, I get home at like 10pm) Load #1 will be dry and I can put Load #3 on the racks.  It will be wrinkled and I might have to air fluff it in the dryer or something, because ahem, delicate "nice tops" shouldn't be wrinkled.  And I don't like to iron.

So help me please. Do I follow my laundry directions too strictly?  Should I just do smaller loads and let this be a lesson to myself to never let the laundry pile up again?  Is there a way to avoid those indentations?  Should I just seek out another mesh rack?

Help.

Engagement Photos!

Oh jeez.  Has it really been two weeks since I posted the sneak peek of our engagement photo session?  (yes. the answer you are looking for is yes.)

The ever-wise Tricia pointed out that we are planning a wedding during Holiday Season - and I'll add that it is also during Open Enrollment and Benefits Renewal Season (HR people, can I get a what what? This is a little bit of work, no?).  We might be a little bit nuts to be planning this wedding so quickly, and in such a busy time of year, but honestly I like it this way.  I like that I don't have to wait a year (or more) to marry Will.  I hardly want to wait until February (luckily, the sentimentality of getting married the weekend we met helps a sap like me when it comes to waiting).

Anyway, we were lucky enough to be able to find time to take our engagement photos with Emily before the craziness of the holidays, and I am pleased as punch to be able to share some of our photos with you.  Emily wrote a beautifully sweet post on her blog about our session (as she always does for her clients, because she's fantastic).  Check it out, and check out her other posts, her other galleries, her beautiful website.  Because she is one talented photographer.

And now, photos! I'll probably post a couple more pictures when I get the CD from Emily...just because they're all so great and it's impossible for me to choose just a few favorites (and I can't figure out how to insert from the main gallery without purchasing them right now, and the full CD is coming soon).

For now, these are some of my "they give me the warm fuzzies" favorites from Emily's post:

Always good to start a photo shoot with Fenton's.

Go Pens!

We had so much fun running around Berkeley, taking photos in some of our favorite spots, acting goofy and laughing a lot.  Can't wait for Em to take pictures on our big day :)

Engagement Photos Sneak Peek!

So many wedding updates, so little time.  No, seriously, according to our registry, our wedding is in 90 days. That is approximately 3 months.  That doesn't sound like very much, does it?  It feels like we just got engaged (and we did, just about 2 months ago).

So...updates. We have a venue.  We have a date.  I have a dress (and 1/2 of my shoes - got the blue glitter TOMs, but still need to find snow boots).  I've started knitting the scarves for the groomsmen, and Reed has started on the wrist warmers for the ladies.  The moms and sisters are dress-hunting, and we're going to start looking for a house in Tahoe for the wedding party soon.  We're making appointments with caterers and I have all my dress fittings scheduled.  We have preliminary registries set up (the Honeyfund is mostly just placeholders for now), and Alyssa is working on cake designs.

Oh, and we took our engagement photos.  :)

Emily posted this one sneak peek shot.
Can't wait to see the rest!

This is just a sneak peek, but I'll post more as I have them, probably after Thanksgiving.  Thanks to Emily for a super fun rainy day of shooting!

flask review

I was recently contacted by Red Envelope (who I met at BlogHer - funny how many BlogHer-related posts I'm doing lately) about doing a review of one of their products.  I really wanted to review these customizable throw pillows, because they come with cute pictures of states, and I thought it would be fun to have a Washington or Minnesota pillow and a California pillow for our home.  Sadly, there was a bit of miscommunication, and the only pillows to choose from were text-only, and I don't really care for the text-on-pillow thing.  Doesn't really go with our decor.


Anyway, they were nice enough to let me select something else, so I selected a flask. Why not?  We don't own one, and Will actually drinks things like gin straight out of a flask, and I figured it would be good for us to take to games and tailgates and whatnot to mix with other stuff.  All alcohol-drinking adults should have flasks, right?


So part of the deal with receiving this product was that I have to write a review, and link you to some stuff. Maybe that means I'm selling out a little bit, so sorry if you never want to read this blog again, but oh well.  Kimmy wanted a free flask, so there you go.  Red Envelope is a good place to go if you're looking for personalized bar gifts (like, say, a flask), or any leather gifts, really.  But honestly, they have a whole lot of stuff to choose from in their catalogue.  So check 'em out.

The flask (actually flasks...they accidentally sent me two - bonus?) is pretty good.  We don't really have any other flasks to compare them to, and our flask experience is pretty low, but it works.  The leather is glued on in a way that is a liiiiitle bit cheap; I thought you had to remove the leather to clean the flask, and it came apart easily as I tried to take it off -- clearly, I wasn't supposed to rip the glue, and luckily I only did a little corner before realizing this. It has silly debossed writing on it, so it's not necessarily the classy gift-type flask (unless your classy recipient would laugh at the "damn fool" message on the bottom there), but we don't mind that.  We need to get a smaller funnel, because our funnels are all a little too big, and it's hard to pour without spilling -- it would be nice if it came with a funnel.  Do any flasks come with a funnel?  Are you just supposed to have a steady hand?


Overall, a decent flask I think.  Ours didn't come personalized, so I can't speak to the quality of that, but Will's used his twice already and, when prompted for a review, said, "It's fine."  And that's about all I need from a flask, really.  Nothing fancy, a comfortable fit in the pocket, not too heavy, and easy to use.   I mean, it's a flask, right?


Am I missing something? Any flask aficionados out there with opinions or things I should be looking for in any future flask selection?


Thanks to Red Envelope for sending us the flasks!

Plastic Storage Containers

It's no secret that I kind of have a thing for plastic storage containers.  Whether they're big and rectangular (say, for holding holiday decorations), long and skinny (say, for storing linens under the bed), or cylindrical with a twist-on lid (perfect for freezing soup), or...ok, I might have a problem.

If this was the 1950's, you know I would host Tupperware parties (yeah, I know you can still do that now, but somehow it seems wrong?).  I met the Glad people at BlogHer last year and scored a free sample of these nifty containers with little mini containers that snap into the inside of the lid (salad dressing! dip for veggies! chocolate sauce?), and at our old apartment, I literally had a plastic storage container filled with plastic storage containers (due to cabinet space that wasn't conducive to a tupperware drawer).

I'm not kidding. It sat on top of the fridge (or sometimes on the floor).  Great for giving to a baby to play with, but guess what? We don't have a baby who needs to be distracted by a Giant Plastic Tub of Smaller Plastic Tubs. I can't find a picture of it at the moment, but rest assured, it was ridiculous.

I've had "figure out tupperware situation" on my to-do list since we moved into our new place in August, but it's one of those things that isn't a top priority, so it kept getting pushed out.  I really wanted to organize it with some sort of pull-out drawer, because stack and re-stack as I might, things always got all jumbled when I tried to pull something from the back. And once it's a jumbled, cascading pile of mismatched lids and bottoms, there's not a whole lot that can be done.  Sure, I would occasionally squat down and rearrange it all, but I knew it would just happen again.  So disheartening, this tupperware (first world) problem.

It took winning a $50 Lowe's gift card on my we-met-at-blogher friend Emily's blog (The Happy Home - check it out!) to get me going. I found this Rev-A-Shelf drawer, ordered it online, and then...let it sit on the floor in the living room for almost more than two weeks.  But this story has a happy ending!  I finally installed it today, and (aside from my power tools needing a recharge) it was super easy to do.  Like, embarrassingly easy. I only used the power tools because I had to pre-drill a little, and because I like the convenience of the electric screwdriver.  Boom, done.

It's a little blurry, and a little crooked, because I took this picture on my phone.  If I hadn't been so proud of my tiny accomplishment and so eager to rush to the computer and blog, I would have taken nicer shots.  Maybe even one with me in it, looking all "ooh! so much plastic storage!" (nerd)

There is a little bit missing from the collection at this photo (it's in use), but believe it or not, I got rid of about 1/3 of what we had before.  (ha. "we" - as if Will cared about any of this)  This tiny little cabinet is much more organized now, though, and I love that I can just pull the drawer out to get what's in the back.  And if I run out of room, I can stick lids on the left side of the drawer there.  Or use that for...something else that is skinny.

I'm glad I downsized the collection (and admittedly, there is still a LOT left - but much of it is throwaway stuff that I can use to take food to other people's houses), and even more glad that I have it mostly squeezed into the drawer (they call me The Master Packer).  Honestly, it took me longer to figure out that puzzle than it did to screw in the drawer tracks, but I did it, and now it's nice (so there).  We'll see if it stays that way!

I have many more things on my weekend to-do list, and we're going to a basketball game in approximately 3 hours...let's see how much more I get done (and how much laying on the couch I do...so tempting).

Lindt Chocolate Tastes Good and You Can Have Some!

Lucky me, I met the fine folks at Lindt Chocolate when I was at BlogHer this year.  So many chocolate samples, oh yum oh yum oh yum.  And then they mentioned me on their BlogHer recap post.  And then they offered to send me more chocolate.  Lindt, I love you.  If Will hadn't given me a giant diamond, and if I could marry a company (corporations are people too?), I would marry you.  For reals.

cue angels sighing 

My dear, amazing, wonderfully hilarious friend Lyz (who lives way too far away from me) also got courted by the Lindt (wemakeyourchocolatedreamscometrue) people, and she made some SEXY PIE out of her chocolate.  I just ate it.  But I made Will help me.  And I made him offer tasting comments.  We worked for this chocolate, yo! (not really)

What did we think?

• 70% cocoa almond brittle -- a pleasant nutty flavor, chocolate is dark but still creamy. I like the crisp/brittle bits amidst the creamy chocolate. Will says it has a "satisfying crunch"
• 70% cocoa nut crunch -- a little more plain, more focused on the chocolate, but still with a walnutty undertone. Not sure I can taste the hazelnuts at all, but I enjoy the still-creamy darkness.  A milder, more traditional-tasting nutted chocolate.
• 90% cocoa -- I was surprised at just how much darker it tasted than the 70%.  I mean, it's a 20% difference, sure, but I hadn't really expected it to be so...cocoa-more-than-chocolate. Not sweet at all, really, more bitter, but not in a bad way? It's not subtly creamy like the 70%, just raw-tasting cocoa.  I like it, a lot, but this is definitely a 1-square at a time richness (the 70% with various nuts are lighter in taste and I could probably eat half a bar at a time).  I wonder what the 99% is going to taste like, holycow.
• Extra Fine Dark with a Touch of Sea Salt -- We tried this almost immediately after the 90%, and it felt extremely smooth and creamy in comparison.  The sea salt is subtle at first, but it sticks with you, leaving a pleasing salty-sweet aftertaste. Will thought it had a slight raspberry taste, and I agree. A bit fruity and sweet, with that saltiness countering nicely.  I'm so glad Lindt sent this in my batch, because it was my favorite one at BlogHer :)  Delicious.
• 99% Dark -- whoa baby is this stuff dark.  Scary dark.  Almost too much to handle dark.  Seriously.  The instructions say to place it on your tongue and let it melt...so Reed and I did just that.  It turned into a sort of chalky, bitter mush in our mouths.  Not super pleasant.  I chewed and swallowed, and it was like, ok. I guess.  Sort of like taking a spoonful of cocoa powder.  Bitter, without the sweetness of the 90%.  This chocolate is probably best used in recipes.  Or maybe turned into chocolate milk.  Will have to experiment with the rest of the little squares (this one comes in much smaller squares than the others).

We didn't do an official taste test for the plain 70% chocolate, because it's the basis for the nutty ones, and because honestly I forgot it was on the counter until I started cleaning this weekend and realized it was still there.  And now I want to make sexy pie.

And I want to give you chocolate!  Read on...

Some words from Lindt:

The Lindt Excellence collection is the world’s most exceptionally-crafted premium chocolate, boasting a wide range of cocoa percentage bars and innovative flavor combinations.  Made with the finest cocoa beans and highest quality ingredients, these innovations from the Master Chocolatiers at Lindt have a thin, refined profile to offer chocolate lovers a unique and sophisticated sensory experience.  The 3.5 oz. Lindt Excellence bars are available at retail locations nationwide, Lindt Chocolate Shops, and www.Lindt.com (SRP: $2.59 each).  For more information, visit www.LindtExcellence.com.  

The winner of the giveaway will receive three Excellence bars including: Excellence 70% Cocoa, Excellence Almond Brittle and Excellence Nut Crunch.
 Excellence 70% CocoaThe #1 premium chocolate bar in the U.S. – a full-bodied dark chocolate, masterfully balanced to be neither bitter nor overpowering Excellence 70% Almond BrittleA delicate crunch of almond brittle provides a sweet counterbalance to the deep flavor of the full-bodied, dark chocolate Excellence 70% Cocoa Nut CrunchThe subtle flavor and delicate crunch of caramelized walnut and hazelnut pieces enhances the refined, intense dark chocolate

To enter -

• Leave a comment about your favorite kind of chocolate.  Or why you love chocolate.  Or why chocolate is the cure for what ails us.
• Share this post on facebook, Twitter, etc. and come back and leave a comment for each thing you do.
• Go read Lyz's post about sexy pie and come back here to leave a comment telling me something you liked about her post.  Cross-bloggy-promotion for my friend Lyz!  Bonus treat: she also posts pictures of her nommably chubby baby, Ellis.  Enjoy.

Giveaway remains open until 11:11pm (Pacific) on 11/11/11.  Because, as Lyz said, I can.

CHOCOLATE!

Shutterfly Winners!

Congratulations! Everyone who entered the Shutterfly giveaway is a winner!  Because I had 3 prizes and 4 entries, I decided to add my coupon code to the pot for the Grand Winner, and give the other 3 codes to the other three.

The Grand Winner (receives 50 free Shutterfly holiday cards)

RACHEL!

Colette, Alyssa and Emily, you will each receive 25 free Shutterfly holiday cards!  

I'll email you all your coupon codes :)  Enjoy!