Blasphemy!

Listen – I was super cranky when I wrote this yesterday. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

I’m sure you never thought you would see the day – the day I talk smack about Pottery Barn AND Jimmy John’s. Okay…so it’s not for real smack, but it’s a little bit. (BT – you’re mom’s never seen this blog, right?)

Seriously, if I could sit in a Pottery Barn and point to things while people brought them to me, Pretty Woman style, WHILE eating a Jimmy John’s #2, hot peppers on the side...wow. Just wow.

But here’s the thing. (Check it Jaclyn – not only did I start a sentence with a conjunction, I started and entire paragraph with a conjunction!) I thought the $15 shipping on my J. Crew bridesmaid’s dress, which weighed all of 6 ounces, was a little ridiculous. That was until my curtains. I have paid high shipping for PB stuff before, but at least the items were heavy. I bought curtains. Just two panels. They came in this box:

Shipping was $50.

Say whaaaaa? Not. Even. Heavy.

If they are going to calculate shipping that way, I feel like the very least they could do is give me the option of adding a couple bricks to my order – so I can at least feel like I am getting my money’s worth…or as my friend Megan would say, a good weight for my money.

Additionally, I ordered some pillow shams a couple weeks ago. I got them. They looked, and felt, like they came from Big Lots. No joke. They are going back. I already paid a pretty penny to get them to my house…guess who pays to send them back? That would be me. You would think they could at least pick up the return shipping. Amazon does, yo!

And my beloved JJ’s? Well – sometimes they are just too freaky fast to listen. I stopped in today for that aforementioned #2, hot peppers on the side. I went up and said “#2 no cheese, hot peppers on the side.” Cheese doesn’t even come on the sandwich. They ask “do you want cheese?” every frickin’ time! If you are so blasted adamant that cheese come on the sandwich, why doesn’t cheese come on the sandwich???

The dude – the dude that scoops the bread out and adds the mayonnaise, heard me say cheese. He did not hear me say “no.” He told the meat and cheese girl I wanted cheese. I heard it. I could have said something, but I honestly didn’t even have the energy. Luckily by the time he handed it off to the meat and cheese girl, the cheese had left her mind…along with my hot peppers.

Ouida - don't go getting any crazy thoughts. I'm not joining your team. I still super heart Jimmy Johns (and Pottery Barn).

Hooo-hooo

I just made the cutest little picture for my friend Ouida. It's a little thank you gift. I totally ganked it from something I saw on Etsy, but... imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? I wonder if she'll see it here before I give it to her tomorrow? I actually just hope I remember to bring it to her tomorrow.

(hoo-hoo!)

(I can't wait to make one for myself!)

Framed!

So after I framed the cutest porcupine ever, I started cutting mats for those other awkward-sized prints I had. I bought some frames this past weekend, framed them last night and hung them tonight! (Christopher totally does. not. like to hang pictures. I agreed to try to find alternate groupings other than side by side at the same hight for future projects.)

Lindsey was so wonderful and gave me a book of floral prints. I had been looking for one for a couple weeks, and couldn't find one. She had one and just handed it right over - wasn't that sweet?

And this is another Sharon Montrose print I got from 20x200. I thought it would be easy to frame because it was an 8x10, but they are tricky...the paper is 8x10. Well, the paper is actually 8x9 7/8, but whatever. The image is a bit smaller.

(baaa-aa-aah)

Of course Buster had to investigate while we were hanging.

And one final print. When Kendra gave me the Porcupine, there was a "thank you" note included on this little post card. Yup - framed the post card. Why not?!?!? Tortoise shell. I haven't decided where I am going to hang this one yet.

A Dash Evaluation -

We went to the opening game of the Winston Salem Dash with friends this evening! There are a few items I wanted share with you...

1. Well - first - the ballpark is absolutely awesome! Beautiful. The parking was easy. The walk wasn't far. I like purple. I can't wait to go to more games. You must go!

2. At the opening of the game, they released white...doves? pigeons? Some of you may know where I am headed with this. I will go PETA on your ass in half the time Ouida can go redneck on someone (and I don't even like PETA!). Doves don't fare well in the wild when they are released. If you insist on releasing birds at your event (and I really don't get why sporting events are "dove worthy"), you are supposed to release white pigeons: they can survive in the wild. Most people don't know this, and release doves. So what was it, Dash? Doves or pigeons? (btw - I am on this. I tweeted and asked. I will keep you updated!)

2b. AND THEN! As if that wasn't enough...fighter jets did a fly-by...OVER THE BIRDS. What the what? Uhm... The poor birds! Imagine their surprise - they are in a nice cage/box one minute - chirping it up with each other, and the next they have a fighter jet coming at them. And hello! Have we forgotten the "miracle on the Hudson" so soon? Yes, yes - let's do send birds towards plane engines.

3. Kernel Kustard is at the ballpark - WIN! And yum. They are still learning how to pour beer, but I really think as the season goes on they will perfect it.

4. We got some hot dogs and some beer, and headed to our seats. We passed some speakers at the entrance. I'm still trying to regain my hearing. This was corporate building fire alarm loud. Dash - you might want to turn the volume down on that one just a smidge.

5. Lanie Pope is teensy tiny!

6. Some of the downtown buildings were lit up purple. LOVE IT! What a great way to support the new team.

7. While we were walking around the stadium, we passed the team closet...eeer - store. I think they had two racks of jerseys in there. It was like they knew they had a stupid name, a non-related mascot, and a NASCAResque logo and people weren't going to buy anything. I see a market for cute Dash clothes... People do want to support the team. Why are there so few options? You can do it, Dash! And if you can't, call me - I have some ideas!

I know I am forgetting stuff...what else, what else??? BT and RA - you are going to have to help me out here! It's late...

Biltmore Estate

Christopher and I stayed in Asheville after the Vampire Weekend concert and went to the Biltmore Estate! I had never been before, and Christopher hadn't been in so long, he didn't even remember any of it.

It was awesome! I know this sounds a little ridiculous, but when we first got there, my first thought was "huh - I thought it would be bigger..." I think it's that there are so many fewer windows on the left side (when you are looking at it) that it makes the left side seem small. The right side seemed sufficiently large. Like one of those optical illusions or something - "which line is bigger?" - when they are actually the same size.

Anyway, we liked it so much we upgraded our tickets to season passes. Here are some pics!

(magnolia tree)

(conservatory)

(I think we startled this plant...it looked kind of scared)

(Christopher went to a great deal of trouble to get this picture. It came out quite nicely!)

There was a farm. You could pet everything. It was awesome.

(might have been my fave)

(this goat reminded me of the goat in Wicked)

(adorable)

(omgomgomg. so. cute.)

New Fans Of Vampire Weekend!

Christopher and I went to Asheville with friends to see Vampire Weekend! I had never been to Asheville, and I had been wanting to go for a while. So when our friend BT asked if we wanted to go several months ago, I jumped on it pretty quickly...especially for someone who has never even heard of Vampire Weekend. Ha! BT and his wife are pretty cool, and he said some more cool people would be going; I just like to hang out with the cool kids, and I like to go to concerts, so I figured we should go. Additionally, while I will always defend my classic taste in music, I do like to find new bands that I like...especially ones that Christopher might also listen to. (He has such questionable taste in music.)

We got out of work a bit early, and headed to Asheville! Had dinner at Doc Chey's which was pretty awesome. We even had dinner with Ezra, the lead singer of the band! (Okay, so we were eating in the same restaurant at the same time...but it's still kinda cool.)

The concert was pretty awesome. I listened to a couple of their CDs, and liked them, but I like them even more after the concert. In addition to the general coolness of the the concert, there were two things worth mentioning:

1. We stood next to this guy. Who danced. Like he was having a seizure. He looked like a robot having a seizure. It was pretty intense to watch.
2. I do not care for Vampire Weekend's "Oxford Comma." It hurts my feelings. I have a great deal of love and respect for the Oxford Comma.

Up next? The Biltmore Estate!!! You didn't think we would go to Asheville without going to the Biltmore Estate, did you???

The Cutest Porcupine I Have Ever Seen

Kendra got me the cutest print for Christmas this past year. I had wanted it for quite a while, and I was so excited to get it! The only thing was that it was somewhat of an awkward size – 8” x 7” - and I was going to have to get it framed, rather than just go buy a frame for it. Buuuuut - my wonderful friend offered to let me borrow her mat cutter! Whoa! I was waaay more excited to get this mat cutter than anyone should be. I have several awkward size prints that can now live in standard frames! Total money saver!

Here is the print in its new home! It’s by Sharon Montrose - a super awesome animal photographer.

(in the living room)

(who knew a porcupine could be so darn cute???)

I’m planning to get two more prints to put by the front door. She just released a baby GIRAFFE (which I totally plan on getting) and I got an email saying that she plans to release many more animals over the next couple months. I can't wait to see what she has. Judging from her blog, I have a feeling there might be a flamingo coming soon…

Easter

We went up to Jonesville to have dinner with Christopher's family on Saturday. They grilled steaks and baked potatoes, and had salad, garlic toast, and some really good desserts (as always). On Sunday, my parents and Keith and Bethany came over for dinner. Yup! I cooked[ish] an Easter dinner! Bethany and Keith brought these really good lemon cookies and AWESOME purple mashed potatoes. I never had purple potatoes, but I plan on making a trip to Whole Foods very soon to get some! My mom brought fruit salad and my dad made my grandma's apple pie. Yum. Everything was really great, and we had a really good time.

Christopher got me the nicest Easter Basket this year! There was, of course, my fave - Twix, and a bunch of other yummy candy, but he also got me these alabaster eggs from Williams-Sonoma. I wanted them last year, but they sold out while I waited for them to go on sale.

Aaaaand...this really pretty dishtowel from Anthropologie.

(Isn't he nice?)

My mom (for probably the fifth or sixth year in a row now) INSISTED that she was not making us Easter baskets. I reluctantly conceded this year and agreed to spend Easter with her anyway. We didn't get candy Easter baskets, but she did bring a flower arrangement in an Easter basket, which I think counts.

(pretty)

My parents also brought us a house warming gift, but I don't have a picture of that yet, so it will have to wait to get on the blog. ;-)