i literally laugh out loud...

you MUST read this blog: FU, Penguin.
i just bought the book on amazon.com and am counting down the seconds until it arrives on my doorstep.

i wish kitty baths were this easy on harbert ave...

Cat Takes a Bath @ Yahoo! Video

the run-down

my boss brought his dog to work today and she sat in my lap while i worked. finally finished getting the house clean over lunch. it's been a weeklong endeavor. kept getting distracted at work by the fun that shall inevitably ensue this weekend- sarah is in town and our usual routine includes lots of delicious food and wine, sandwiched by fantastic conversation. the bldg super came in to warn of the massive and violent storm headed our way. "might be good to get outta here" so we did. spent 45 minutes sitting in a friend's basement waiting for the tornado sirens to STOP. stayed on the phone with susan and we weathered the storm together. trees down on the way home. crap alllll over the streets. luckily no lights were out so the drive was easy. zoe sleeping next to me. her little leg draped over my arm. i wish ppl could see this side of her. not the side where she attacks your face at full force. waiting for sarah to arrive at mi casa. starving... constantly thinking "what will we have to eat"... looking forward to a girly night with my bestie, wine, and sex and the city.

home again

we had a wonderful family vacation to seagrove beach. sb has been our go-to-destination for the past 15 years or so. it is such a wonderful area and the beaches are beautiful. all of the little beach towns are fairly close together, so it is really easy to town-hop for shopping, beaching, eating, etc. on our way down there, we heard the weekly forecast and it looked very very dim. rain. every day. for the next week. but somebody else had different plans in store for us... it rained ONE morning. that's it. the rest of the time was sweet, sweet sunshine.

on the one morning that it did rain, mom and i went out for a walk and got caught in the downpour on the way back. we finally got back to the condo and looked like we had entered the most intense wet t-shirt contest ever. we felt pretty hardcore.

highlights:

1. reading beachside. finished twilight and started the fountainhead. talk about opposites :) i've been telling myself i'll read the fountainhead for some time now. and despite the fact that i was semi-intimidated by it, so far i really like it. i'm about 250 pages in and going strong.

2. "the blue giraffe". a fabulous art and jewelry shop in neighboring watercolor, fl, which singlehandedly inspired me to PAINT PAINT PAINT!! by far my most favorite shop in that area. www.thebluegiraffeon30a.com if you're interested.

3. angelina's pizza. this little pizza place stole our hearts on our very first trip to seagrove. they make the best pizzas around, and have such a cozy atmosphere. nothing fancy, just good food. we ate there twice this time :) on our first night... and our last.

4. man vs ocean. on our last day, the ocean waves were especially sizable. nothing compared to hawaii or anything, but big enough to toss you around and knock the girls loose from the swimsuit top... at one point, our entire family was out there, trying to bodysurf the waves and/or just survive getting hit by one. SO MUCH FUN. and then... we spotted another family riding the waves nearby... a family of s t i n g r a y s. so we "calmly" made our way back to our safe, comfy towels and continued our sun-soaking regimen.

5. quote of the trip. "i had no idea i was so cool!" -dad

so here i am. back in memphis. happy to see my cat, zoe, but wishing i was still on the beach. one thing i have to comfort me is a LOT of reading choices that i collected today. of course i still have the fountainhead, which i plan on diving into after this post. at borders this afternoon, i bought 2 magazines, metropolis and vogue. architecture & design and fashion. fabulous!! i picked up the memphis flyer at lunch with the fam at the bagel company, and i have a new women's health that rachel so graciously housed for me while i was out of town. my goal is to stay motivated for a bikini body even though my beach vacations are over for this year. i am also going to make an effort to actually READ the magazines i get, instead of flipping through and only looking at the pictures. there's interesting stuff to be learned and i intend on doing so.

it is good to be home. there's something comforting about your own house, your own spaces, that even vacations can't compete with. yet without the existence of both, each would lose its meaning. i am so thankful for a wonderful family to share that vacation with, and a wonderful place to come home to.

that's MY friend!!!

so i just came across this. she's so modest she never would have told me this on her own. but I FOUND IT ANYWAY!!! mwwwahahaha!!

my best friend and freshman year college roommate, sarah jenkins, has been voted by Springfield's GO Magazine as being one of the top 20 under 30 for 2009. and 2009 isn't even half-way over!! yeeeeeaaaaa grrrrrrrlllll.

straight from the website: A 20 Under 30 is a man or woman doing amazing things, or doing things better than others his or her age. A 20 Under 30 is also an outstanding member of the community. Once again we found 20 honorees that fit the bill and have great personalities to match, and asked them to come to their photo shoots with items that define them as professionals or as people.

congrats, sarah!!

click here to read all about her :)

home again

it's been a while since we've talked. sorry about that :) life post-mexico has been a whirlwind- engagement parties, family visits, cookouts, birthday parties, and wedding showers.

E V E R Y . S I N G L E . N I G H T.

regardless, of the hectic week we've been having, it's been absolutely wonderful. sean and i are living a "normal" life together!! if only for the week....

sean and i had a fabulous time in mexico, and escaped without swine flu!! i will dedicate another post to mexico soon.

early saturday morning, sean leaves for chattanooga and 2 months of intense surgical rotations. while i am going to miss him tremendously and i wish i could be there to support him and lend a helping hand when he needs it, i am also aware of the fact that it is a blessing for me to not have to witness the hell he's going to be put through. i just get to listen to the awesome stories.

there's your brief update on life in memphis. stay tuned for the details.

green porno

this may be a sad thing to admit, but i'm gonna go ahead and do it: my only previous familiarization with isabella rossellini was from "friends", when ross had her on his list on 5 celebrities he was allowed to sleep with. i could go on about that episode for another 10 minutes, but that's beside the point.

i was just watching "the soup" on E! and joel mchale informed me of ms. rossellini's newest project for the sundance channel... "green porno." i cannot even being to describe this by myself, so here is a description from the official website, as well as a link to the video page. WATCH THEM ALL. even though they're a bit awkward, they are pretty entertaining. they're only a couple minutes long a piece and who knows... maybe you'll learn something. and you can create your own "green porno name"... mine is Cory Cat. nice.

"The critically acclaimed series from Isabella Rossellini is back with a new batch of very short folms about the reproductive habits of marine animals. GREEN PORNO is scientifically accurate yet extremely entertaining."

(from www.sundancechannel.com/greenporno/)

videos: Sundance Channel: GREEN PORNO

saturday = pampering

new haircut and massage in the same day!? who can be that lucky???

ME.

sean gave me a massage for my birthday, and i have yet to use it. so i'm heading over to massage envy on saturday for one whole hour of complete and total bliss.

but before that, i'm getting my hair cut. i'm going to a new salon, since my regular place is too expensive for this economic time. so i'm taking a little leap of faith and going to a new place and new person. which is kind of a big deal for me, since i get a little protective about who cuts my hair.

i cannot wait to get pampered!! eeek! I LOVE IT.

springtime in memphis

springtime is here!! three things i want to do RIGHT AWAY:

one. go to the botanic gardens and feed the koi fish!

two. go to the "blossom - art of flowers" exhibit at the dixon gallery.

three. play another round of golf with my dad!

new items on Etsy!!

i've added several things to my Etsy shop over the past few days, but my favorite was this morning... go buy them!

#1

#2

cafe eclectic

sean took me to a new (to me) restaurant last night: cafe eclectic. i had never even heard of it... and that's a shame, because it is super cute. and delicious. just another reason why midtown memphis is so great. it has live jazz and other musical delights on the weekends. and really good roasted potatoes. and the overall ambiance is very very nice. i think it's one of those places where i could spend an afternoon sipping coffee and surfing the internet. just take a look.

entrance

interior of cafe

roasted potatoes!!

i am loving this brick corner detail.

check me out

i have setup a shop on Etsy.com, a wonderful website where people can buy and sell all things homemade. the website is fantastic, but i think you should check THIS PAGE out. :)

so far, i have posted some homemade cards in the shop. i will be continuing to update the shop, with different pieces such as custom magnets, coasters, and paintings. i have SO MUCH FUN doing all of these little projects, and more than anything else i love sharing it with other people.

so check it out- i hope you find something you like!!

and now it's snowing

victorious!!

i did it! my first 10k! the longest distance i've ever run! and it felt great. well, maybe i should wait until tomorrow to really give an accurate account of how my body responds. but for now, i'm good.

i've found that the first 10-15 minutes of any type of cardio that i do is some of the most difficult. i don't know why it happens that way, and i wish it didn't. it's always a bit aggravating to feel like i need to stop when i'm not even that far into a workout. however, once i pass that time frame, i feel like the world is mine to conquer. without fail, that's how today's run started out. it was a chilly 40 degrees outside, with a bitch-of-a-wind that would not let up. (thankfully the rain held off until after the race. if it had started raining during the race i would have had to say peace out.) we ran through downtown, the south main district, uptown district, past st jude children's hospital, and finished at autozone park. when i got to the 2 mile marker and saw that i was on pace, that gave me a little boost of self-confidence, and the rest is history!!

63:21 and a smile on my face :)

side note: apparently we had "good" weather for the race because as i look out of my window, sleet is starting to cover the roof of our neighbor's house. thank you, mother nature, for holding off until we could all get warm and safe inside our homes. i think i'll go make some hot chocolate now.

4 days worth of thoughts. get comfy.

i just realized how wieeeeerd i am! i mean, i've always known i had a slightly crazy side but this confirms it. i am currently watching tv, waiting for my 9:30pm bowling date to arrive, and i am flipping back and forth between 2 shows. The "Planet Earth" Documentary. and E!'s "The Girls Next Door". HA! even i cannot believe the extent of my diversity :)

and i find both shows fascinating. for different reasons, obviously, but nevertheless, FASCINATING. it's amazing how many parallels you can draw between the struggles of African wildlife and the pressures of becoming a playmate. survival of the fittest. or the most surgically enhanced. same thing, right?

anyway. on the 21st, i'm having an engagement party for a childhood friend. it will be a modest party, but i'm determined to make it as great as it can be. all of the people coming to the party are old old old friends - like, 1st grade friends - and we don't get a lot of chances to visit now that everyone leads their own grownup life.  BUT here's what i'm thinking for food:

spanish salted almonds (see  post from jan 2nd)

croissant rolls

spinach dip with pita chips

guacamole with tortilla chips

shrimp with cocktail sauce

cranberry meatballs

veggie & fruit plate

valentine's candies

chocolate chip cookies

and assorted DRINKS!!!

yay! can't wait!!

sean and i are celebrating our 4 year anniversary next week. :) we usually combine anniversary and valentine's since they are so close. this year, we've decided on dinner at The Tower Room American Grill. i've wanted to eat there for years, since it has a wonderful, high rise view of memphis. and i've heard the food is delish. regardless, it sounds like a good valentine's spot, and it shouldn't break the bank. so i'll let you know.

alright, i think we're caught up.

enjoy your friday and i'll enjoy mine. 

resolutions*

*reloaded

i came up with a NEW new year's resolution a little while back. this is pretty much the only time i can remember actually following my resolutions pretty well... ok, so maybe the reason i've done well with my resolutions so far is because i actually enjoy doing all of the things i resolved to do. it makes it easy. maybe that's cheating, i don't know. but i don't care. because i'm getting s#*t done and enjoying myself in the meantime. but continuing on...

i bought SO MUCH scrapbook paper and card stock in after-christmas sales that i have now created work for myself. but it's fun work. and that's the best kind :) i have resolved to HAND-MAKE ALL of the cards i send out this year: birthday, valentine's, congrats, get well, halloween, thanksgiving, even christmas. i've always had a small passion for making greeting cards with random stuff i find in my craft box. so i figure i can take it to the next level. i mean, it's always so hard to find the perfect card, or i end up thinking "i wasted all that time looking for a card and i could have come up with most of those myself"... christmas will be the real challenge.  s o o o o o  many cards to send, but i'm determined to do it. and everyone will get a unique card. i think i like that aspect the best. truly personalized greetings. 

so watch your mailbox because some day soon, you may receive your very own, one-of-a-kind greeting! i just hope they're not cheesy or stupid. if you think they are, please just keep it to yourself. that's my heart and soul. my blood, sweat and tears. but not literally, because that would be gross, and then you'd be entitled to hate them. 

that's how i roll

i had the best day!! well, maybe not the best, but it was pretty damn good. lately i've not only been waking up early on the weekends, but i've actually wanted to do so. on days when i desperately need the sleep (i.e. post-2 am bedtime or after slightly too much vino) i can definitely  s l e e p  as long as necessary. but i find that i don't really WANT to do that anymore. if i can accomplish x y and z before, say, 1 pm then i feel victorious and unstoppable. 

so today went something like this:  i woke up at 8:30 or so and read a little, did some sudoku, feed zoe, and strategically contemplated when i should wake up sean. this is a delicate process. wake him too early and you could get the evil eye... but wake him too late and he will start the day feeling as though he's already behind. i've got a 2 out of 3 chance of screwing it up, but i've gotten good at reading his sleep "mood" and can fairly accurately predict the best time to interrupt his beauty sleep. 9:00 we made breakfast. and by we, i mean me. bagels and eggs scrambled with fat free ham and cheddar cheese. delicious. 10:00 field trip to starbucks with sean and paul, then back to the house to enjoy. 11:00 i did some emailing, facebooking, cleaning, and kitty cuddling before grabbing my grocery list and heading to superlo. 45 minutes and $77 dollars later, i'm at home and having a tumultuous inner dialogue about whether or not i'm going to go for a run. i beat myself and decided to go for it. 1:45 it was definitely cold outside today- was 37, but no sun and a slight wind made it much worse. it was torture for the beginning. i kept thinking "i should have worn a hat, or another shirt, or put some vaseline on my lips" but eventually i warmed up and really fell into a groove. 3.6 miles in 33:07. not record-breaking, i know, but i was proud of myself. 3:30 i spent the afternoon at my parent's house, where i read my new book (which after only 15 pages i ADORE- i'm sure this book will have a post all it's own in the near future) i was told there'd be cake, essays by sloane crosley, drank some wine, 5:00 gave my mom a facebook tutorial (yeah, my mom's on facebook!!), 6:00 had dinner, 7:00 dessert, and 7:45 watched some of the SAG awards.

now here's the highlight: the following conversation took place as my dad was preparing to make dinner. i was so amused by this that i had to write it down immediately. i will most likely tell this story every chance i get for the next week or so. hopefully i can just continuously meet new people so i can just keep on telling it.  

dad: "you'll never guess what i found at the store- i had to search everywhere..."

mom: "ooo-what!?"

dad: "thick spaghetti!"

mom: "eww, i don't like thick spaghetti"

dad: "well that's just too bad. that's how i roll."

and i'm spent.

possibilities!!

SO. in addition to whatever trip sean and i take this spring, there is a very real possibility that i may be going to california to see my family! yay! this is my mom's brother and his family.  they've lived in california my entire life, so we really don't see much of them. they have 4 kids, the youngest of which is still six years older than me. 

they live in palo alto, just outside of san francisco. i swear that palo alto is my perfect place. perfect weather, perfect scenery, PERFECT EVERYTHING. without being repulsively perfect. aside from trips into san fran to see my cousins and do tourist things, we usually spend lots of time in p.a. eating, visiting, looking at my aunt's artwork and walking around stanford university.

side note: stanford is MY university. i am a huge fan of anything they do, mostly because it is such a beautiful place. i wish wish wish i had gone there for college. but 1. they don't have an architecture program, and 2. i'm poor.

recently, my uncle and family built a house in carmel-by-the-sea, ca. we had been to their previous vacation home there, and around that time they were putting together plans for building a new one. i'm not sure if we would go down there or not - i guess it all depends on the amount of time we have. but i sure hope we do. it, too, is A-mazing.

side trips from carmel include:

monterey bay (fantastic aquarium with the cutest little sea otters EVER!!!

and big sur. quite possibly one of the most beautiful coasts in the U.S.

and after all of this build-up, i REALLY hope i can go. i think i have the vacation time, so it really depends on flight prices. yesterday, i found a rt ticket for $250. and that's not bad, but if i can get something better, i'm in for sure. 

i have done this trip countless times, and it's amazing how it never gets old. 

i'll send you a postcard :) hopefully.

ahhhhh bargains!!

i finally bought a pair of brown riding boots! i've been searching for them for a few months now. earlier today i saw a pair at banana republic that i felt luke-warm about but they were still $80, even after a plethora of sale reductions. and i definitely liked that $80 more than the boots.

BUT THEN...!! an unexpected trip to kohl's produced a surprising result... for only $32.99!!!

and strangely enough i actually like them MORE than the pair from banana. go figure. i think it was destiny.

boots and i plan on having a long and happy life together.

super-DUPER-lo!

i just returned from my weekend errands, and i must say that it was one of the more successful trips i have had in a while. everywhere i went, i found everything i needed. and on top of that, i didn't spend impulsively!! cheers all around!!

i realize that what i'm about to say is kind of pathetic. but i get excited about the weirdest things nowadays. super-lo is my new grocery hot spot. i cannot claim discovering it- my friend rachel gave it rave reviews so i had to try it out. it's a regular grocery store, and they have all the name brand stuff. but unlike kroger or schnucks, their own generic brand is WAAAAY cheaper. for instance... this upcoming week's dinner menu looks something like this:

corn-tortilla soup

pasta with roasted red pepper sauce

turkey rolls cordon bleu

quesadillas

baked chicken breasts

i got the makings for these dinners, PLUS snacks and lunch stuff for THREE people.

and guess how much i spent!? 

$68.24

and we split grocery bills three ways. so i am essentially eating this week for less than $25. getouttahere. now who wouldn't get excited about that!?!?!

i rest my case. 

super-lo you rock my world.