you have got to be kidding me

And on March 21, this happened.

Apparently Connecticut wants to get rid of me because really there's just no other explanation for it.

workin for the weekend(s)

Hey guess what! It might snow on my birthday.  If it snows enough that could mean yet another snow day, but if it doesn't then I'm just going to be an unhappy camper at work.

Forget snow though.  Here's what I'm looking forward to in the next few months:

February 8: My birthday!  My presents are going to open my presents for me while we Skype.  Almost like being there... only not.

February 13: American Idiot (starring Billie Joe!) with Will for V day.  Fifth Broadway play since moving to CT?  Point for Connecticut! (Don't ask how many points there are for not-Connecticut).

February 18 - 21: Dad might be visiting AND a 3-day weekend!  Caveat: it can't snow and Dad's work can't get in the way.  I worry about that whole "can't snow" part.

March 4 - 6:  Dallas!!!!!

More pictures of me and KK coming soon.

April 3: Will's birthday!  (there used to be a picture here but Will got mad and made me take it down.  Sore loser).

April 7 - 11:  Parents (hopefully) visiting!  I've found them the flights, they just need to bite the bullet.  I'm talking to you Dad.

April 15 - 17:  Finally visitng Meredith and Cain in Maine!  I can already taste all the yummy food.

April 21 - 24:  Most likely going home for Easter!

May 27 - 30:  NC for Beth's wedding, Memorial Day, and Pinehurst!

During the March dull you will most likely find me sleeping, begging the winter to leave, or popping up in Chicago.  "U neva know" (H McNeill quote).

professional mover?

No. I am not and nor will I ever be a professional mover.  If you had asked about 4 weeks ago if I thought I was good at moving, I would have said "Oh absolutely! I've done it enough that I better be good at it!" Ha. HA.  Moving took up an entire full weekend and then we lived with far too much furniture in the living room and boxes all over the bedroom for another 5 days.  Tonight things are finally falling into place, but man oh man, I am so glad I'm not a professional mover.

There will be pictures to come soon, but for now, the walls are still a bit too bare and the boxes are still a bit too many (although really 1 box is too many so it's not as terrible as it sounds).  But I do have a bright side.  One very big bright side!

First let's rewind.  If you don't read 1800 home design blogs aren't like me, you might not know that anyone and everyone is talking about cleaning house and getting rid of things that just aren't necessary/useful/remembered.  Just the other day, I read about someones mission to get rid of 50 things - and 4 pairs of shoes could only count as "one" thing.  Get the idea?  Well, at this point I am up to at least 38 things on my list of 50, but to be perfectly honest that equates to at least 131 actual items that are gone forever (I say at least 131 items because I wasn't counting when I attacked my bathroom and travel-size toiletries and things when flying into the trash/down the drain).  Just a few things that I will never see again:

- wrapping paper that I didn't like
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Johnny Depp version
- an Allison-sized (aka not Will-sized) white sofa
- a toilet paper holder (because one of the places we lived didn't have one?)
- an easel that never made it out of the bag (and was clearly far inferior to the one Will gave me for Christmas)
- a beaten up suitcase
- wooden spoons (if they weren't perfect, the texture made me cringe - anyone else?)
- a paper-storage-thing I got back in middle school that just got replaced by a much nicer folder holder thing
- a dingy dirty sheet set (um, gross)

Current things to be excited about:

- new bedding and new sheets!!
- DVD organizing baskets
- a free floor lamp courtesy of roommate Kyle
- hanging fun things on the wall
- spray painting and sanding and fixing

Anyways, I hope your Saturday was a bit more glorious than mine.  But having no life until this place is settled is going to be so darn worth it.

Pictures soon!

and this is only the beginning

Oh hello there.  Been a while?  Tell me about it.  Just a quick update:

- it snowed yesterday
- it snowed today
- it's sleeting, wintery mixing, and snowing through the night
- snow is on the forecast for tomorrow
- snow is on the forecast for Friday
- snow is on the forecast for Saturday

Plus side: when I'm sitting in my cube, it feels like I'm in a snow globe.  Down side: skidding through stop lights.

Real down side?  We're moving on Saturday.  And right now the path from our apartment to our cars is not a wide one, and there's at least a foot and half of snow on either side of said path (because the snow from the Christmas blizzard never ever got a chance to melt and it's just been piling on since then). 

Annnnnyways, packing is going so well!  I've filled one Goodwill bag full of clothes and am working on a second.  For those keeping track, that's a total of 4 trash bags plus one big Gap bag that have been/will be donated to Goodwill since November (and let's not forget all those clothes that went to Dress for Success).  The sad thing?  My closet is still a wee bit too full.  Eeks.  But I'm loving all this de-cluttering, trashing, and donating that's going on because clearly I needed it.

However, I have a problem and that problem is a shower curtain. Ever since last February, we haven't needed a shower curtain because we had a glass door at Belmont and now at Newfield we have weird glass "European" style doors (read: door only covers one half of the shower) so we have a basic liner covering the other half.  But now my friends we will need a shower curtain.  Fact: I was up until past 1 am on Monday night because I was afraid I'd never be able to find a shower curtain I liked.  After online searching for about 2 hours, I had found just 2 that were options and I was far from sold on either of them.  Two anxious days later and we might have just found something that will help me sleep pretty tonight:

Source

Hey there subtle yet pretty pattern in a color palette that doesn't scream "OMG I love Justin Bieber" or "I'm ready for my hip replacement guys!"  Let me tell you, it's not pretty out there in shower curtain land, but this one has the potential to be something special.  It's out of stock online, but it's supposedly in stock at my local Target so you can expect to find me there very soon. 

Want to see the rug I've been eyeing for far too long?  Okay!!

Source



Sorry that Anthro put a white rug on a white background, but I do love this dainty thing oh so much.  Good news: Will does too.  Because yes, his opinion matters.  And when I show him all potential shower curtain/rug options and he doesn't like one that I do and I pout he makes sure to remind me that his opinion matters.  Right.  This rug is a little pricey, but considering we don't need much else for the bathroom (and because I'll want this rug no matter what rug I get), I'm a-okay with it.

Thanks for listening to my troubles.  Maybe it's the snow, maybe it's the boxes, maybe it's all the plans running around and tripping into one another in my head, but I'm a little loopy tonight.  Okay, off to pack up my jewelry box, sewing box, and a random vase.

oy

It was seriously one of those weeks.  On Monday it started with something bad happening at work that was not our/my fault, but was on a campaign that I worked on.  On Tuesday it sounded like things could be resolving well but by Tuesday afternoon, that was clearly not the case.  On Wednesday we woke up to an extra foot of snow on the ground and an unexpected snow day - only because the building where my office is actually closed down.  However, I had to do some work from home and let's just say that's pretty hard to manage when you only have access to email.  On Thursday I finally gave up and cried.  In my cube.  Yeah.  I also postponed the conversation I wanted to have with my boss because I had a feeling those recent tears would not help my case.  On Friday I handled crisis 186 of the week and impatiently waited for 5 pm.  And that's all I'll say about it.

Now that it's the weekend, I can finally start to enjoy life again.  Some things I've been working on:

- Designing a 2011 calendar much like this one.  Had a little snafu this morning when my computer shut down for updates and I apparently forgot to save said calendar, but we're back in action and I plan on printing this baby out at a Kinkos soon.  Expect to see it in the new place.  Places I am already planning to check off: Seattle, Dallas, Chicago, Pinehurst, and Cary/Chapel Hill.  Here's to hoping I travel all sorts of places.

- Coasters.  They are wooden and I am obsessed.  So far I have sanded and wood puttied.  Today I plan on staining and next week I'll paint.  Hip hip hooray.

- Packing.  Yes, packing has commenced and I actually like it.  Along with my a bag of clothing that I am filling to take to Goodwill, I picked out 4 books to donate.  Purge people purge.

- Christmas shopping.  No seriously, I already found something for someone next year.  Yesss.  So ahead of the game.  Now if only it would come back in stock.

- Braving danger each and every day.  Because this is what we're dealing with here in snow plagued CT:

Ginormous icicles... 

...that are right above the door to our apartment. 

Everytime Will goes under he puts his arm over his head.  Every time I do I just to try to move quickly while not sliding on the 2 inches of ice right outside the door.  It's quite a feat.

Anyways, that's my life.  Nothing exciting or particularly great in the last week.  Here's to next week - and a much better one at that.

month-by-month memories

I just saw this short and sweet list on Courtney's blog and decided to do one myself.  So here goes my list of 2010 highlights:

In January, I enjoyed an awesome roommate-free weekend that involved walking down the street to pick up a delicious Four Seasons pizza and watched lots of shows that are not boy-approved.

In February, I had a birthday and Will totally caught me off-guard by getting me a Wii and Wii Fit.  And we saw Mary Poppins on Broadway on Valentine's Day!

In March, I joined my new gym.

In April, I surprised my parents and showed up on their doorstep at 11:30 on a random Wednesday night.  Best. Surprise. Ever.

In May, we saw Promises Promises on Broadway.

In June, Natalie visited! Will and I went to Chicago (and fell in love with the place) for the very first time.  We also saw an Eagles concert!

Natalie and I at Rockefellar Plaza!

L to R: Eagles concert at Soldier Field; Standing in a glass box 103 stories high outside of Sears Tower!; View from the Sears Tower observation deck

In July, I had all 4 day weeks: I spent 2 weekends in a row with my parents (one in CT and one in Pennsylvania) and Will and I flew to California (my first time there!) for a fun-filled wedding weekend.

My mom (clearly) rocking out at a George Clinton concert

Flying into LAX!

In August, Kelcey came to visit!

We were at the bar til closing time... which, um, led me to sleeping in Gumby position outside Grand Central.  Still too soon to share that picture.



In September, Will and I spent Labor Day weekend at his parent's lakehouse with both of our families - and it was wonderful.  We also celebrated our 3 year, went on a dinner cruise, and we went to a Train concert!

In October, I went to the Bobby Cox tribute which was held during the second-to-last Braves game of the regular season.  And my parents were there too!  Also, Chris and JP stopped by CT for a short visit!

L to R: Lots of lots of former Braves players; It's not just Braves fans that are impressed by Bobby; Bobby's speech!

In November, Will's parents came for a visit! And Courtney came to visit too!  Then Will and I ate a ton of awesome food with his family at his grandma's beach house over Thanksgiving.  Bonus: it was 78 degrees. 

In December, we went to the Christmas Spectacular, I met Ginger, spent a wonderful week at home in North Carolina, and started getting excited for 2011.

a dog named ginger

For those of you that don't know, I had a dog named Sandie for almost 15 years.  When I was in 2nd grade, I spent the night at a friend's house.  Since my friend's aunt worked at the humane society, we of course went by there - something that my dad still can't get over.  "Who takes 8 year olds to see all those dogs?! Of course they're going to fall in love with one!"  And I totally did fall in love with this little chub-a-lub of a puppy.

Rather than break my poor 8 year old heart, I found her waiting for me in our laundry room when I came home from gymnastics practice three nights later.  She lived a long and happy life and had to be put down just 2 days before her 15th birthday this past January.

We miss her dearly.  However, right after Thanksgiving, a new dog moved into our house.  Let me introduce you to Ginger.

She is part border collie, part golden receiver, full sweatheart and is 4 and a half years old.  She's just a love who constantly wants you to pet her.  As far as we know, we are her 3rd family, and there's really no telling how many she had beyond that.  In the first month that my family had her, neither my mom or dad ever saw her play with a toy or play at all really - no matter how many times my dad tried to get her to chase him.  However, all 3 of us witnessed her charging at both a ball and a snowman she got for Christmas (and as soon as she knew that we saw her, she quickly dropped said toy and came over wanting to be pet), so I think Ginger is finally starting to feel like this is her home.

Ginger is most definitely my dad's dog.  She loves my mom too (especially since my mom gives her the treats), but Ginger hardly leaves my dad's side.  Since he took time off around Christmas, he's been taking her to dog part at least once, and often twice, a day.  He takes her on tons of car rides - whether he's going to my Mema's, to a work site, or even just to the store for a quick minute, she rides along.  And she loves cuddling up beside him to get her belly rubbed.

She also sleeps on her back (and I had never seen a full-grown dog do this), always tries to get her paw or chin on you someway or another, and occasionally decides she doesn't like the backseat of the car and brings her 70 lb self up to the passenger seat - even if there is a passenger (aka me) sitting there.

I hated saying goodbye to this sweet girl, but I'm so glad my parents found another dog that fits right into our household.  Just look at that face.

twas a merry merry christmas

And I'm back.  I hope you had a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!  I had a great Christmas and hope you did as well.  There's nothing quite like getting to hang out at home with your parents and their new dog Ginger (!!!) and getting to see friends that you no longer get to see everyday.  It's even better when you're me and being in North Carolina makes you a million times happier than being in Connecticut does.  A week in NC definitely made me feel more like me than I have in quite some time.  Plus, 2011 has some promising plans...

Anyways, time for some Christmas pictures!  More specifically, pictures of the gifts that I loved - both the ones I gave and the ones I received.  I would put a family picture first because that was the best gift of all (awwww), but it wasn't until we were standing outside the security line at the airport on Thursday that we realized we hadn't taken one single picture of the three (four with Ginger) of us.  Oops.

To my mom and dad: XM radio because these two really like their music.  A lot.  And because now my dad can listen to Braves games and UNC games when they aren't on TV.  Plus the screen is big enough that it's parent's-eyes friendly.  Perfect!

To my mom: hey look, a family picture!  I had this picture turned into a 16x20 photo canvas (via canvaspop with a coupon from Living Social).  The canvas quality is awesome.  Oh, and there was an adorable picture of me and mom when I was little, but since she attacked it with designer scissors it wasn't usable.  Good thing the picture above survived.  PS check out my Dad's mullet.  Hahaha.

To my dad: some warm cozy Rockport moccasin slippers (found at Marshalls!) because he had old school, high top, green and black plaid flannel slippers that are older than me.  I figure after 23+ years, it was more than acceptable to introduce a new pair of slippers to the rotation.

To me from mom and dad: a mouse sander! My tool box just gets cooler and cooler every year.  That yellow thing in the back?  A perfect beginning sewing machine.  Not pictured?  A hand-me-down drill from my dad.  So many awesome toys.

To me from Will: an awesome adjustable easel that folds up into a nice little carrying case!  And it even has a drawer that can hold paints and brushes while I'm painting.  I didn't even know easels could have drawers! Oh, and it came with one of those paint pallets that you can hold while painting, so I'm totally going to Bob Ross it up. (Will had never heard of Bob Ross, so when I told him that I had to follow it up and tell him about painting "happy trees" in a super soft and soothing voice).

To Will: I was unbelievably excited for Will to open this Fathead up because a) I was pretty positive he was going to flip out and b) I didn't take it out of the box when it arrived for fear that I would never be able to get it back in the box.  It's even better than I imagined and Will loves loves loves it.  Yes, it is 8 feet long and yes, it came with bonus Fatheads (on Will's end).  Oh PS, say hi to our roommate Tom!

Early birthday present from mom and dad: My birthday is in early February, but they gave this to me early because they started to get nervous that I was going to go out and buy this guy myself after I didn't get it for Christmas. I can't wait to go to my next Braves game!

Again, I hope you had a great holiday and had time to relax, hang out with friends and family, and play with your new goodies too!

hey hey hey beret

Do you remember when I took some pictures of some yarn and said one day it would be a beret?  Although I figured Heather would just hold on to said beret until I got home for Christmas, I got an early surprise when she put it in the mail (and really, with the temperatures I have to look forward to, I'm very glad she felt compelled to do this)!

Heather and Paul are doing a literary themed Christmas (Paul is an English professor!), and this wrapping and bow was just adorable.  I took this picture with my phone in my car in the parking garage at work which should explain the darkness and weirdness about it, but I was just too excited to wait for my camera.

And there she is!  Looking all cute.  PS: how in the world do you photograph a beret? I clearly had no idea.  Anyways, I love her way more than any other winter wear I own.

And there I am, in full morning-Allison-awkwardness, wearing my new beauty.  I love it I love it I love it. (Oh, and the color is more accurate in the first picture - you can thank lighting + flash for the odd change of color).

PS: I had a bit of adventure picking her up.  I forgot to tell Heather that I moved recently so she sent it Fed Ex to my old address.  I showed up the day it was suppose to arrive and didn't see a note on the door or a package on the porch, so instead of bursting into tears like I fully expected to do if this happened, I took a shot and knocked on the door.  Turns out, the sweetest little family has moved in already and in all my rambling and trying to explain why I was randomly knocking on her door and asking if she had a package for me, little momma of the house interrupted and said, "Allison?!  It arrived yesterday!"  What a sweetheart.  And Heather too.  So many sweethearts.

christmas time is here

A few weeks before Christmas Will and I were at Wal-Mart (unfortunately) and I told him I don't like decorating for Christmas.  By the look he gave me, I wouldn't have been 100% surprised if he broke up with me on the spot.  He looked heartbroken.  Then I told him that what I don't like is having to unpack things, pack up normal decor things, put Christmas stuff out, and then in 3 and a half weeks pack it all up again only to have to get your normal stuff out again.  I partially blame my mom for this feeling because she too feels this way and has left more and more holiday decorations in the attic each year.  In her defense, we have some very crafty family members so each year my mom was given more and more decorations and the amount she accumulated is pretty overwhelming.

Anyhoo, surprise of all surprises, when Will and I got back from Thanksgiving I couldn't wait to break into my Christmas box.  I'm pretty sure I was excited because it meant that our plain we're-only-living-here-for-3-months-so-why-bother-decorating apartment was going to look a little more home-y.  So, here's what I managed to do with an Italian styled apartment, no mantle, and little money:

The book case

Some of these vases were out already, but I went to Michael's and picked up some fake flowers to add some holiday color and picked up the Christmas candle from Target.  Coolest thing about the candle: it has a wooden wick so when it burns you can hear it crackle.  The first time I lit the candle all I could think was "Chestnuts roasting over an open fire."

The coffee table

I didn't do much here partly because I never got around to doing this pop-up book art Christmas scene that Kara Paslay shared on her blog and partly because I just didn't want much on the coffee table.  So it's simple, but I do love that gold glitter candle.  Oh, and in my defense, at one time the other votive (that is now on the bookcase) was also on the table and there was another white candle exactly like the one above, but it found it's way to the trash can because it now looks like this:

The "mantle"

Cheap-o stockings from Target with glitter paint yessss.  Classy.  Oh and Tom's medals he's won in races he's done because those are always out and I wasn't going to be mean and take them down. This was about all I could do because our mantle actually consists of 5 spaced out, protruding stones:

Cool huh?

The fire place

Next year I definitely want a life-size real tree, but I do have a special fondness for baby tree.  It's sitting on a bar stool that I wrapped in a paper table cloth from Target.  Oh, and only 4 of these presents are for Will and I (the rest are for our parents!). My NC Christmas ornament found a new home with my UNC snow man that my mom sent me last year on the fire place gate.

The kitchen doorway

Another thing I took from my mom: taping up Christmas cards on the doors (or in my case, marble walls).  Most of these are for last year, but I'll be adding this year's as they come.  Cards are the best.

The dinner table

And finally, the table cloth, plate, santa mug, and napkins that my mom gave me last year.  Please ignore my almost bad bananas - those are going in a smoothie tomorrow morning - and my veggie and coozie bowls (and don't worry, that weird pumpkin bowl that's holding the coozies does not belong to me).  Oh, and that plate should have cookies on it, but I postponed baking until tomorrow.

So maybe it's pieced together and a bit cheap, but I'm okay with that this year.  Besides, nothing will ever top this:

This picture is actually missing 2 stockings because I took this on July 27 (yes, it stayed up that long because we loved it that much) and they had already moved out.  Sorry Beth and Kelsey!

PS: I just compared my current stocking with this stocking and realized that the next time I break out the glitter pens, I need to get a little more creative.

let's start a fire

Up until recently, I have had a strong aversion to candles.  Sure I think they're pretty when they're lit and sometimes they're even pretty when they aren't lit, but the candle experience was ruined for me when I was younger. One year my mom decided to tell people that I really liked candles and people just couldn't stop themselves from giving me more and more candles.  I hand candles on my dresser, on my bed side table, on my desk, lined on the shelves in my closet - SO many candles.  I even turned a little pyro for a while and burned candles for 10 hours a day just to try and get rid of them (so what if I also melted pen lids and other plastic things in the baby flames?).  So since 10th grade or so, I have not wanted candles in my bedroom/dorm room/kitchen/living room/any room.  Well, there was the summer and winter I worked at Bath and Body Works and got sucked back into candles, but that was just one weak moment.

But ever since I did a little extra Christmas shopping at Target and walked away with not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, but 6 whole candles, I have been a candle-burning fiend.  I have already gone through 2 votives and just about one whole pillar candle.  I just can't stop myself.  So in the spirit of candles, here are some snazzy ones I wouldn't mind having around:

First up, pretty candles in pretty glass holders.  I want lots of these Sydney Hale Co. candles because there are so many scents that sound just delightful.  And the holder on the right is meant to be hung, so just picture how pretty that could be.

1) Terrain: Vintage Cordial Candle

2) Sydney Hale Company: Mint + Geranium

3) CB2: Whirly Hanging Chandelier

Next, we have pretty candles in tins/ceramic/mercury glass "jars."  I love all of these a whole lot.  In fact, I'll probably be driving to Anthropologie this weekend to check and see if the collared candle is there because it's backordered online - and it's on sale, which is always my favorite.  PS: that first candle is just a candle that someone melted into an old jello mold.  I wish I was cool enough to come up with things like that.

1) Etsy: Vintage Jello Mold Candle in Lemon Verbena

2) Anthropologie: Days Gone By Candles

3) Anthropologie: Haberdasher's Collar Candle, Two Sons

4) Anthropologie: Scintillating Basin Candle

If you thought you were getting out of this without a mention of an elephant, clearly you haven't been following along.  But also, a candle that has a beautiful vintage feeling print combined with a scent called "tea leaf" pretty much screams my name.  And this set of three Oceanic pillar candles are so darn sassy I can't help but smile when I look at them.

1) Skeem: 3-Wick, Migration, Tea Leaf

2) CSN: Blissliving Home Elephant Candle in Metallic Silver

3) Skeem: Pillars, Oceanic

Is there a part of me that hopes I get a candle or two for Christmas?  Maybe.  Is there a part of me that's terrified of getting seven candles for Christmas?  Definitely.  But I think I'm ready to face that fear head on.  Next fear on the list: the dark (which oddly enough, I just realized candles would really help that one out!  Funny how things work out).

tgif

One of my favorite things about living in the dorms was getting a note in my mail box that said "You have a package!"  It was the most exciting feeling. 

Now that I have a PO box for a few months, I get to experience that excitement all over again!  I mean getting a surprise package is great no matter what, but when you have to wait in line, there's a chance for anticipation to build and questions for what it can be fill your head and basically a general feeling of giddiness takes over.

Lucky me got to finish off my Friday with that wonderful feeling!

I got this card in the mail from bff Kelcey:

I immediately starting laughing because Kelcey was there when I hit my first squirrel (I mentioned that little incident here).  I'm not 100% sure if I've hit another squirrel since, but I do remember one running in front of my car when I was on an entrance ramp not to long ago.

Anyways, there was also a package!  Let me tell you, Kelcey wrapped this thing up good and tight.  It took me way longer than I would have liked to get into the thing and I more or less destroyed the brown paper, box, tissue paper, other wrapping paper, and other box the gift was in.

Finally, I got to this ornament, which Kelcey sent me because she knew how much I've been missing NC (19 days til I'm home!!!!!).

The first ornament on my baby tree!  So much happiness for a Friday evening.  Now Will and I are off to try out a new restaurant that we've been eyeing since June.  Happy weekend yall!!

hello world

Okay, so this whole trip through the Atlanta airport on Sunday was the most interesting and adventurous (in a good way) one yet.  Not only did we spot two celebrities, but I became a local celebrity as well.  That is if you consider being interviewed by CBS Atlanta about holiday travel and being on the news celebrity status. 

Even though we were getting in the security line at 1 and our flight didn't board til 2:20, when the news lady stopped us and asked if we wouldn't mind answering a few questions Will said, "Oh sorry, we have to catch our flight." I not-so-accidentally called him a liar in front of her so she jumped in and said oh, you wouldn't mind?! and I said of course not.  Because that's what a fellow journalism student does.

Check it out!  I'm around the 1:05ish mark. 

And now that you've watched it, let's take a second to admire just how good I was looking for my television debut:

CBS Atlanta

Hmm.  Maybe I should have showered after all.

Update: My dad informed me that my link wasn't working, so I fixed it (I think).  Oopsies.

spotted

Celebrity sightings in NYC: 0

Celebrity sightings in Atlanta airport in one day: 2

Here’s what happened: Will and I got off the train (if you’ve never been to the Atlanta airport, picture an above ground subway in the ATL airport – you move so fast through terminals!) and are headed up the long escalator when I hear this guy talking on the phone.  I turn around to look and even though he was wearing big sunglasses, I immediately recognize him as Syrus from The Real World.  I stare for probably longer than I should have, but I swear he smirked a little.  So I turn around and without being too obvious I tell Will hey hey hey Syrus from The Real World is back there!  He looks at me like I’m clueless.  I say you know, Season 5 (later found out it was season 6 – so close!), Boston?!  Nothing.  So I get him to turn around and he immediately recognizes him from all of our years of watching Real World/Road Rules Challenges (seriously good television).  Although he now knows who I’m talking about, he laughs and says he definitely doesn’t think it’s him.  So I turn around again being all nonchalant of course and decide once and for all it’s totally him.

Syrus Yarbrough

But just to make sure, after getting off the escalator I wait off to the side to get one more good look.  As he walks by and I feel myself starting to waver just a bit, I hear a girl behind me say, “Hey who’s that guy?!  He’s that music guy!” and her friend responds, “No, he’s the guy from the reality show!”  I immediately turn around and say “Yeah isn’t it Syrus from The Real World?!” and they both agree that’s who it is.  Celebrity spotting: Allison 1, Will 0.

Fast forward to us getting on the plane.  I get stopped by the flight attendant who has to pass out drinks to the first class people (this has happened to me on two flights in a row now – anyone else?) while Will makes it all the way to our seats.  Once I get there and get my bags situated, he tells me to look at the bald guy in the window seat about 10 rows up.  At first I can’t tell who it is because well, it’s the back of a bald man’s head, but once he turns and I get a profile what do you know – it’s the guy from 30 Rock!

Scott Adsit 

Okay okay, neither of us actually knew his name, but recognizing him definitely counts more I think.  Celebrity spotting:  Allison 1, Will 1.

NYC, I think it’s time you step up your game.

PS: senior year of college Will and I went with our friends Ryan and JP to Time Out – sober (for anyone from Chapel Hill wondering why we would go such a place sober, I have 2 words for you: fried okra).  Will, JP and I were in there with only 2 other people – a man and a woman.  I look at the man for a second and think to myself Whoa that guy looks like Nomar Garciaparra.  Whoa.  So I whisper it to Will and looks over and agrees it looks like him, but it’s definitely not him.  When we get outside, Ryan, who was sitting in the car, says “Hey, did you guys see Nomar and Mia Hamm?”  Does anyone else see a pattern here?

southern holiday

I missed out on the annual “What I’m thankful for” post because of a) non-working internet at the apartment last week and b) spending Wed – Sun in South Carolina/Georgia and not taking my computer along for the ride (which I did on purpose).  But to sum it up real quick, I’m incredibly thankful for my parents and family, Will, and my friends.  There are of course other things, but they aren’t nearly as important as the people previously mentioned.

Having been to Will’s mom’s-side-of-the-family Thanksgiving before, I had an idea of how good the food would be.  But this year they outdid themselves - not just on Thanksgiving, but all week long.  Plus being in the south (yay!!) I got some good ol’ fast food that the silly north doesn’t have available.  They have no idea what they’re missing. 

Here’s a rundown of the incredible edible food that made up the past five days:

-  McDonald’s breakfast: okay, this is in CT too, but those bacon egg and cheese biscuits are just so good.

- Zaxby’s: chicken fingers, texas toast, crinkle fries, and yummy dip.  There’s a good chance that if Will ever had tp pick a last meal, this would be it.

- Fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, fried cod, grilled cod, French fries, and broccoli: Wednesday night dinner.  All so darn good.  The best food of the night though: grilled chicken wings.  By far, the best wings I’ve ever tasted, and seeing as how one of Will’s major food groups is wings, I’ve tasted quite a few.  All food cooked by Uncle Rich. However, following the McDonald’s and Zaxby’s, I’ll admit the fried food overload almost did me in.

- Thanksgiving dinner: deep fried turkey, oven roasted turkey, broccoli, cheese, and slivered almonds, mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, squash casserole, and bread: and that’s only what was on my plate – I left out the other stuffing, corn, sweet potato casserole, ham, and collards.  Smorgasbord is the only word that seems to describe it all.

- Chocolate cake with Kahlua and crème de cacao, pumpkin pie, and chocolate pie: enough said.

- Fresh-from-the-sea boiled oysters: I sat outside with the uncles to eat them and even shucked them myself.  I’m pretty sure I gained some cool points for doing this.

- Bojangles: mainly because I dream about that cajun chicken filet biscuit with cheese all day long.  Unfortunately it wasn’t the best Bojangles I’ve ever been to, but it will tide me over until December 23.

If only I could have had a doggie bag on the plane.  And if only I had realized before Saturday that although I was positive I had forgotten my camera, it was sitting there in my carry-on bag.

Of course there was more than food that made up the week: there were lots of rambunctious kiddies, a 2.2 pound toy Chihuahua puppy, 78 degree weather, a thrilling Auburn – Alabama game that resulted in Will’s mom doing the best victory dance ever, lots of corn hole and football – both on TV and in the backyard, and an all around great time. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving as well!

PS: think the 4.5 miles Will and I ran/walked on Thursday morning did any good considering all this?  Me neither.

autumn blues

Not to be a drag and all, but I’ve been feeling a little down recently.  This usually happens when the weather turns colder and it gets dark so early outside, but this year it’s been especially frustrating.  I think I’m maybe a little too excited for Thanksgiving break and spending time with family, so it’s making each day even that much harder to get through.  Add to that the move and the fact that a) our previous landlord is a sucky person (LC always was my favorite) and b) our apartment still isn’t totally put together, and I’m just a wee bit burnt out.  Okay just had to get that out there.

I’ve started working on a couple crafting/diy projects but have hit a few snags along the way ie I need glue, a ½ inch drill bit, and a place to spray paint.  But if I did have all proper equipment and all the space in the world to work, this is what I would do:

1)  Paint a rug.  Yeah, when I first saw this tutorial by Sarah on how to do it I thought “Eeeks, I don't want to walk on paint.”  But she convinced me that if you do it right, your rug will stay nice and pleasant.  Besides, we aren’t talking about painting a shag rug here so really how much coziness is there to lose?

These are rugs that I think would be fun to imitate:

Rug images from Anthropologie and Surya - and although some have a metallic sheen don't worry, that was just my computer's idea of a funny joke

2) Paint paintings.  I’ve always been crazy over paintings and prints that incorporate letters and words.  Maybe it’s because I used to consider that one of the things I did best in art class – tell me to take my initials or favorite letter and make it interesting and I was one happy happy girl.  I also like flowers though too, but not in the still life flowers-in-a-vase-on-a-table way but more in the add-flowers-but-don’t-make-it-a-painting-of-flowers way.

These are "word" prints that have caught my eye:

All images from Sugarboo Designs

And these guys have flowers:

From left to right: Urban Outfitter's Print Shop, Anthropologie, Anthropologie, Sugarboo (I'm pretty sure I could do something simliar to those Anthro ones, and therefore not pay the combined $1,198 for them)

3) Build furniture.  This is probably years down the line but seriously, how cool would it be to see a piece of a furniture in a store, look at the price tag and think “I could make that.”  It would be so cool!  I just love the idea of building from scratch.  It’s kind of like when I cook: even if it doesn’t turn out perfect, I’m pretty pleased with myself.  And I think since furniture stays around way longer than food does that satisfied feeling would be even better.

Here are some pieces I like:

From left to right: Unknown and unknown (I got both images from RueLaLa), Urban Outfitters

So that’s how I’ve been spending my time recently: dreaming of non-cold, non-Connecticut days when I can paint and sand and drill to my heart’s delight.  While that sounds fine and dandy, I think I need to try and live a little more in the present.