Dancing the Whole Way Home

It's been a few weeks since I did a proper Friday dance and I apologize for that. The thing is, I have my guitar lessons on Fridays. 9 times out of 10, I come home exhausted from the long day and the last thing I want to do is blog. Then, Friday rolls around and I feel guilty. It's a never ending spiral of shame each week. If I were more on it these days, I'd at least start the post earlier in the week since often times I know the wedding that I want to feature. Oh well, instead I'm being a part-time blogger.

This week's wedding is very apropos to the way I've been feeling lately. I've become a full on homebody unless forced to leave. Luckily, I'm forced to leave the house pretty often, so I'm not a true homebody. But people, the desire is there. I'm primed for homebody-ness. Clearly, this lovely couple loves being homebodies, too. They got hitched...at home. That's right! Michelle and Ryan got married at home, with their family and close friends and dog. The intimacy of this couple's wedding is so evident in every beautiful photograph by Kristen Marie Tourtillotte, too! Seriously, how awesome, right? If only we had a home big enough, I would have done the same.

Don't you love that last photo where they are looking at each other while Michelle pets their dog? So sweet! They just look so in love (and relaxed)! Such a sweet, sweet wedding!

So, this weekend I have another 3 day weekend. Jealous? I know. I'm an ass like that. Sadly, my good friends lost their father unexpectedly this past Tuesday. So, I will be in good friend mode, helping out at work to cover their duties and then heading to the wake/funeral. After that, I'm working. But my hope is that by Saturday night, I'll be done with work and I'll be able to relax, relax, relax the rest of the weekend. This includes, but is not limited to, watching TV, watching movies, grabbing dinner with A.P. and being...a homebody. What are you doing this weekend? Something way more fun, I hope!

In the mean time, here are your dance moves for the week:

Pretty business cards

Fashion inspired by one of my favorite TV shows, The Big Bang Theory

More fake miniatures

Button earrings...and not in the way you're thinking

My new obsession!

The face symmetry of celebrities, or how Salma Hayek looks hot no matter what

Ever read Cooking Comically? It cracks me up sometimes.

Good news for my lifelong diet

Beautiful hanging lamp made from...coffee filters!

Plus five Not the Marrying Kind posts you may have missed in the past month or so...

Single Girl Pressure vs. Married Girl Pressure

A Quick Visit(or's Guide) to Milwaukee

Do you include children in the wedding?

Factoring Divorce into a Marriage

Worm composting

(Friday dance photo via here; Michelle and Ryan's home wedding photographed by Kristen Marie Tourtillotte via Miss Moss)

Things I Love

As the weather flits back and forth between unseasonably warm and sunny and cold and rainy, here are some things that are keeping me supremely happy these days:

1. Uggs

I wear Uggs almost every day of my life once cold weather hits. I wish people wouldn't look at me funny if I wore them in the summer, too, since technically they are all-weather boots. I like to tell people it's like wearing slippers at work. It's heavenly. I'm even thinking about investing in a new pair, since my not even that old pair got a hole pierced in them from the icy snow last winter. Sniff, sniff. So sad.

2. Plaid

Whenever I'm sad, plaid cheers me up. It's my favorite pattern and I'm almost always drawn to it in stores. I remember my first two plaid shirts that I purchased during my grunge phase in my adolescence. I don't think I ever quite outgrew it (or Weezer, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam) and still lust for it. I got engaged in it and rocked it in my post-engagement shoot, which I was already planning on doing, but which The Half-breed Swede emailed me that I must do. It's perfect in any season and one of my favorite shirts which I've been consistently rocking through various trends is my thrifted brown plaid shirt, which I've had since 2000. It's timeless and I *still* get compliments on it. I'm lusting on this one right now and wish I could add it to my collection:

3. Bagels and cream cheese

For almost a month solid, I've been eating bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. I've done bagel thins, fat free cream cheese, chive cream cheese, and with lox. My favorite is of course, always with lox. If I have capers, even better. I could eat bagels and lox forever. I toast my bagel, put cream cheese on it (and on those good days, lox), wrap it in a paper towel, and put it in a sealed plastic bag. Then I eat it with my morning cup of tea (see #4 below). And for fun, one of my favorite bagel places in Chicago.

4. My morning cup of tea

When I lost my voice for a month, I started drinking tea in the mornings. Oddly enough, it was my goal to cut out the Diet Coke (a terrible habit, I know) and drink tea instead. For the record, I only ever drink Diet Coke when I'm working. I never drink it on the weekends or during vacations. I only ever do it for caffeine and I avoid caffeine when I don't need it. I also only ever drank 2 cans of Diet Coke a day. But it was starting to bother me that I drank it, so losing my voice was, in some ways, a blessing in disguise because it got me drinking tea. I'm down to 1 Diet Coke a day and I drink tea in the morning. On particularly exhausting days, I still sometimes drink 2 cans, but those days are few and far between. If I could figure out how to replace the afternoon Diet Coke with tea, I would do that, too. But it's easier said than done. I have no way to make tea at my job. I'm working on it, though, I swear. I typically just like black tea, like Lipton, with two tea spoons of sugar. But I'd love to order some of these yummies for days when I'm craving something a little different.

5. The TBS App for iPad

I got an iPad for work a couple of months ago. Frankly, I'm too paranoid to put anything on there, so it's not nearly as pimped out as if it were my own. The one thing I do use it for all the time is to watch TV or movies in bed. Lately, I'm loving the TBS App for iPad, which, if you login through your cable provider, allows you to watch full episodes of Conan, The King of Queens, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Seinfeld, and more. It's nice to watch something funny before you go to bed. I'm a big believer in watching a sitcom before I go to sleep. Nothing better than laughing your way to bed. This app has a bunch of great sitcoms with just three commercial interruptions. You can watch a 20 minute episode and fall asleep on nights you don't feel like reading. Loves it!

What are you loving these days? What's getting you through the gloom and doom of this post-Daylight Savings, pre-winter season?

(Uggs photo via here; Plaid Shirt via ShopBop; Bagel and Cream Cheese with Lox Photo via here; Pumpkin Spice tea via Amazon; Vanilla Caramel Truffle Tea via Amazon; Bavarian Wild Berry Tea via Amazon; TBS App for iPad Photo via iTunes)

Halloween!

Halloween is right around the corner and I think we're going to weenie out and not dress up this year. We have a party invitation, but I'm not entirely convinced it's a costume party anyway. But honestly, I'm tired. Every day, I'm beat. I've been working hard and every weekend I crash like it's my job. Plus, last year I convinced A.P. to dress up (we went as Publisher's Clearing House...I wore a robe, he wore a douchey suit and presented me with a ginormous check, then I hooted and hollered). So, this year, I think we're going to take it easy and do a scary movie marathon!

Here's the thing: I am terrified of scary movies! The last one we saw together was Paranormal Activity, which we saw in the theaters. I practically peed myself and sat on edge the whole time, while A.P. was bored to death. So, yeah, we need to choose wisely. I didn't think it through enough to queue up any DVDs from Netflix, so our options have to be limited to Amazon OnDemand, cable, and Netflix Instant Watch. Here's my list so far:

1. Paranormal Activity 2 - Why not catch up on the franchise? The ad for this last year was sufficiently scary. Anything supernatural scares the crap out of me. I grew up Catholic. I believe in the devil, mmkay?

2. Case 39 - Even though I get so annoyed by Renee Zellweger's ridiculous squinty eyes and inability to move her face in any emotional way thanks to God knows how much Botox, this movie looks creepy. Let's face it. Anything with evil children is usually scary as hell (Omen, anyone??)!

3. Poltergeist II - Even though I've seen the original so many times it's not scary anymore, I've never seen the sequel. Might be worth a watch. Plus, the older stuff I can usually handle better since they're a little less scary.

4. House on Haunted Hill (original) - Never hurts to throw in a classic! I've always heard good things about this movie. Plus, I loves me some Vincent Price. Now there's a creepy creeperson, but you know, in a good way!

5. The Walking Dead - It's not a movie, but we started watching this great zombie series last year and couldn't keep up with the episodes on OnDemand. Now they're available on Netflix Instant Watch and I'm thinking a little zombie action might be Halloweenish enough, but you know, not kill me of a heart attack.

What are your Halloween plans? Are you dressing up? Or will you stay in this year, too?

(Photo via here)

First Look: Once Upon a Time

Not that long ago, I told you the exciting things on the horizon this month. One of them was that I was going to give you guys a little preview of a new television show. Though this is not at all a blog about television, if you're a regular reader, you know that I loves me some television. Sure, I may talk about sitcoms and reality TV all the time, but I love a lot of good shows, too. True Blood, Big Love, Lost, The Good Wife, and The Killing are among the many dramas I indulge in on the boob tube. That being said, I was super excited when I was given a preview of two shows premiering this fall on ABC. One is a reboot of Charlie's Angels, which, truth be told, doesn't interest me that much. It helps that Drew Barrymore is exec producing, but let's be honest, doesn't it feel a bit...late?

On the other hand, the second show they sent very much appeals to me! And I'm happy to share some details about it with you! It's called Once Upon a Time, and it features a great cast, and a super interesting premise. Here's the description they sent:

Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (Lost, Tron: Legacy) invite you to a bold new vision of the world where fairy tales and the modern day are about to collide.

Anna Swan (Jennifer Morrison) knows how to take care of herself. She's a 28-year old bail bonds collector who's been on her own ever since she was abandoned as a baby. But when the son she gave up years ago finds her, everything will change. Henry (Jared Gilmore) is 10 years old now and in desperate need of Anna's help. Henry believes that Anna actually comes from an alternate world... and is Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) and Snow White's (Ginnifer Goodwin) missing daughter. According to his book of fairy tales, they sent her away to protect her from the Evil Queen's (Lana Parilla) curse, which trapped the fairytale world forever, frozen in time. Of course Anna doesn't believe a word, but when she brings Henry back to Storybrooke, she finds herself drawn to this unusual boy and his strange New England town. Concerned for Henry, she decides to stay for a while, but she soon suspects that Storybrooke is more than it seems. It's a place where magic has been forgotten, but is still powerfully close... where fairytale characters are alive, even though they don't remember who they once were--including the Evil Queen who is now Henry's foster mother. The epic battle for the future of all worlds is beginning, but for good to win, Anna will have to accept her destiny and fight like hell. Brace yourself for a modern fable with thrilling twists and hints of darkness. Brimming with wonder, and filled with the magic of our most beloved fairy tales, Once Upon A Time is a fitting follow up to Lost from two master storytellers.

I don't know about you, but I loved fairy tales growing up. I read the complete Brothers Grimm, including all the awesome banned tales. I also loved the Pink Fairy Book! Plus, I really get a kick out of movies like Shrek, and Enchanted, which retell a lot of these fairy tales in interesting ways. So, it makes sense that I would be easily sucked into a show like this.

Plus, I'm totally digging that the Edwards Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, former producers of both Lost and Felicity (two of my old faves) are producing this show. I'm also impressed with the cast, always the sign of a good show. You've got Ginnifer Goodwin, who you might know from Mona Lisa Smile, and Big Love.


And Robert Carlyle, who you probably remember the most from The Full Monty (though he's done a lot of other awesome things, too!).


And, though I hated her character on How I Met Your Mother, I think I'll like Jennifer Morrison a lot more in this show.


And just in case, you need an actual preview, here's a short trailer from ABC.




What do you guys think? Would you tune in to Once Upon a Time this fall?

(Ginnifer Goodwin photo via here; Jennifer Morrison photo via here; Robert Carlyle photo via here)

The Best Excellent Wife

I started this post a month and a half ago, but was inspired to keep writing after tonight's episode of The Good Wife, quite possibly the best show on TV. Read on...but be aware there are spoilers!!!

I know that I've talked a lot about my love of television and bad reality TV. But I also love good TV, including The Good Wife. I try not to post about movies or television shows that often, but sometimes I can't help it (e.g. Lost, How I Met Your Mother, ahem, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills). Sometimes I like to throw out my love for certain shows on the internet and see who of my (few) readers has that love in common.

Does anyone else love this show? I really feel like the show's second season has been one of the best on TV in general. I love how the whole Lockhart/Gardner & Bond storyline played out with Bond being voted out in what had to be one of the tensest moments on TV this season. I was on the edge of my seat the whole damn time thinking that Julius was going to sell Diane and Will down the river. The whole Bond thing was great, but then it occurred to me that the season isn't over yet. So why did that episode a couple of weeks ago, when I first started this post feel like a season finale. Then it hit me...we haven't seen anything yet. Bond is just a way to make the bigger story happen.

Which of course is why the other storyline that has been rocking my and everyone else's world is Kalinda and Blake, who have repeatedly blown our collective minds. The whole season they've heating up my tiny little screen with their cat and mouse game. However, the one thing that was killing me was that their little game felt so unfair. It felt so wrong that Blake was setting up Kalinda, mysterious, but ultimately good Kalinda. Whatever bad things she had done were in the past, she probably had her reasons, right? It seemed so unnecessary, and I just felt so bad for Kalinda. Up until those final moments in tonight's episode, that is.

That's right. Tonight's episode was a bit of a game changer. Because the secret that really had me shitting my pants, the secret that blew the lid off was that Kalinda and Peter slept together. Oh. My. God. Kalinda, friend of Alicia, totally boned Peter when they were both working at the state attorney's office. Oh. My. God. Kalinda has now made everything worse by making it possible for Blake to have found all this out. Oh. My. God. Kalinda, who slept with Peter and is friends with Alicia, will now probably cost Peter the election. OH. MY. GOD. Which also means that Alicia could end up back in Will Gardner's arms! I've been wondering how they would pull that off! If that isn't an amazing episode to get you pumped about how this whole season will play out, I don't know what is! (Sidebar: If you're ever in the Chicagoland area, go to New Rebozo in Oak Park. The owner walks around and tells everyone the menu and as he explains every dish, he stops to say Oh. My. God. Hilarious...and totally an insider experience to the city/suburbs worth visiting.)


It's funny too, because all these sort of fuzzy moments in the show became sharper than ever tonight. What also became sharper tonight was how good the writing really is on that show. I remembered that last season Kalinda visited Peter in jail, and they had this strange conversation. At the time, though, you as a viewer were supposed to assume that it was about some shady business dealings that they'd had when they worked together. Instead, it's become all too clear that the secret they are really hiding is that they totally did it! That the writers had the foresight to weave together the financial ruin of Lockhart/Gardner in order to introduce Bond so that Blake could come on board only to reveal Kalinda's big secret is only one small reason I love this show! The characters are intriguing, the mixture of politics and law is brilliant, the fact that it's in Chicago and they get it right is amazing, and of course the smarmy Eli Gold (the brilliant Alan Cumming who once again proves how amazing an actor he is) is genius. Heck, even the kids have great storylines!


And it all seems to always come together so beautifully. Such a great show! So great, in fact, that I joked to A.P. tonight that they should change the name of the show from The Good Wife to The Excellent Wife, whereas a month and a half ago I titled this post The Best Wife. I don't really know how much higher we can go!

Do you watch The Good Wife? Have you been loving this season? Did you see the Kalinda/Peter affair coming? I have to admit I didn't. I really forgot that they even knew each other!

(Photo 1 via here, Photo 2 via here, and Photo 3 via here)

Bad TV

I can't remember if I've mentioned that we got cable. It was a really big deal for us. I haven't had cable since college (when my rent was so cheap, I could afford a $100 cable bill), and A.P. hadn't had a basic cable channel on his TV since he lived with his parents! So after I got hired for this most recent job, we decided we'd get cable. Both of us were making more money, and even though we probably could have always afforded cable, we finally felt comfortable enough to get it. We don't have a DVR (much to my chagrin), but we do have all we really need: Bad TV.

Over my two week vacation, I watched the following all day marathons: Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Jersey Shore, The Next Food Network Star. In addition, I watched a ton of TLC's A Baby Story (best birth control EVER), Law & Order (of course), and so much more. A.P. didn't mind the Real Housewives, but he drew the line at Jersey Shore. I can relate. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm an educated woman; I have a Master's degree. I read, I consider myself knowledgeable about the world, and I feel as if I'm fairly cultured. So what the hell is wrong with me that I watched something like six hours of Jersey Shore??? Call me crazy, call me low class, call me whatever you want, but The Situation cracks me up.

And now, I'm going to call it a day, say that this fulfills my post a day resolution, and go watch Real Housewives Camille and Kyle act awkward around one another. What bad TV can't you get enough of?

Oh no they didn't! OH YES THEY DID!

Ladies, I bring you all weddings, all the time! Well, not me, but rather WE.

Curious? Click it.

Oh and PS. Someone go tell Perez to suck it. We have a life. We're just planners! Duh.