things that make my day

A sweet surprise from Monapie.

happy weekend!

At long last, Friday has come to the rescue again! It’s been a dreadfully busy week, but we’ve got lots of happy times in the near future to redeem us. Sadly, none of them involve Santorini (shown above). I’m looking forward to: a birthday dinner party, a sleepover with some newlywed friends from Virginia (in town on their way to their honeymoon), LA brunch, drinking copious amounts of coffee, movie dates, a trip to the farmers market, cutting up the fat watermelon in my kitchen, researching Labor Day trips, and much more.

What about you?

three word phrases to help your relationship

Today I’m cheating. And by that I mean I’m reposting something written by someone else, because quite honestly, she (Deena Munsamy) says it better than I ever could and you really don’t need me chiming in with more input.

Three-Word Phrases, can be tools to help develop every relationship.

There are many things that you can do to strengthen your relationships. Often the most effective thing you can do involves saying just three words. When spoken sincerely, these statements often have the power to develop new friendships, deepen old ones and even bring healing to relationships that have soured.

The following three-word phrases can be tools to help develop every relationship.

~ Let me help:
Good friends see a need and then try to fill it. When they see a hurt they do what they can to heal it. Without being asked, they jump in and help out.

~ I understand you:
People become closer and enjoy each other more when the other person accepts and understands them. Letting your spouse know – in so many little ways – that you understand them, is one of the most powerful tools for healing your relationship. And this can apply to any relationship.

~ I respect you:
Respect is another way of showing love. Respect demonstrates that another person is a true equal. If you talk to your children as if they were adults you will strengthen the bonds and become closer friends. This applies to all interpersonal relationships.

~ I miss you:
Perhaps more marriages could be saved and strengthened if couples simply and sincerely said to each other “I miss you.” This powerful affirmation tells partners they are wanted, needed, desired and loved. Consider how important you would feel, if you received an unexpected phone call from your spouse in the middle of your workday, just to say “I miss you.”

~ Maybe you’re right:
This phrase is very effective in diffusing an argument. The implication when you say “maybe you’re right” is the humility of admitting, “maybe I’m wrong”. Let’s face it. When you have an argument with someone, all you normally do is solidify the other person’s point of view. They, or you, will not likely change their position and you run the risk of seriously damaging the relationship between you. Saying “maybe you’re right” can open the door to explore the subject more. You may then have the opportunity to express your view in a way that is understandable to the other person.

~ Please forgive me:
Many broken relationships could be restored and healed if people would admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. All of us are vulnerable to faults, foibles and failures. A man should never be ashamed to own up that he has been in the wrong, which is saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.

~ I thank you:
Gratitude is an exquisite form of courtesy. People who enjoy the companionship of good, close friends are those who don’t take daily courtesies for granted. They are quick to thank their friends for their many expressions of kindness. On the other hand, people whose circle of friends is severely constricted often do not have the attitude of gratitude.

~ Count on me:
A friend is one who walks in when others walk out. Loyalty is an essential ingredient for true friendship. It is the emotional glue that bonds people. Those that are rich in their relationships tend to be steady and true friends. When troubles come, a good friend is there indicating “you can count on me.”

~ I’ll be there:
If you have ever had to call a friend in the middle of the night, to take a sick child to hospital, or when your car has broken down some miles from home, you will know how good it feels to hear the phrase “I’ll be there.” Being there for another person is the greatest gift we can give. When we are truly present for other people, important things happen to them and us.

We are renewed in love and friendship. We are restored emotionally and spiritually. Being there is at the very core of civility.

~ Go for it:
We are all unique individuals. Don’t try to get your friends to conform to your ideals. Support them in pursuing their interests, no matter how far out they seem to you. God has given everyone dreams, dreams that are unique to that person only.

Support and encourage your friends to follow their dreams. Tell them to “go for it.”

~ I love you:
Perhaps the most important three words that you can say. Telling someone that you truly love them satisfies a person’s deepest emotional needs. The need to belong, to feel appreciated and to be wanted. Your spouse, your children, your friends and you, all need to hear those three little words: “I love you.” Love is a choice. You can love even when the feeling is gone.

By Deena Munsamy
Macronamystic Coach
“I Choose Today to give Myself the Best Life Ever”
®Aneed4life ©
Coaching
Life -Sports – Business – Family
Personal & Corporate Programs

Things I Love Thursday

What a week it has been – I feel like I have had new life breathed into me! Maybe it’s the fact that Spring is juuuust around the corner (get here NOW), or perhaps it’s exciting new ventures that await me. Whatever it is – I have so many terrific things to share and rejoice about. First things first, my new wallpaper (new as of Friday, anyway) is truly amazing:

credit

• fried pickles (it’s a Southern thing)
• BBQ lunches out with coworkers
• wearing thrift store t-shirts with the name “David” on it
• having Lauren back in the office (it was WAY too quiet while she was in Hawaii)
• Real Simple magazine
• everything from Aveda
• this vegetarian chili recipe (seriously so good, try it)
• the way Pepper and Scout’s fur smells – not gross, I swear.
• having clean laundry
• Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm – so awkward it makes you cry.
• going to bed early on a Friday like an old person and waking up earlier on Saturday than I do on the average weekday
• watching Scout jump from cardboard box to cardboard box, ready to captain the Hardwood Floor Sea
  
  

• movie theatre popcorn
• my 6 year old Uggs that have paint on them but that I still wear anyways
• living next door to a television star – it’s really quite entertaining, he always has something fascinating or strange going on. He also has a fantastic pompadour.
• when Julian willingly goes grocery shopping with me
• laughing hysterically in the aisles with him and then grossing everyone out by kissing. What? We’re young and in love.
• making lists of fabulous things I want to buy
• the adorable Jeannie who mentioned me in a little blog featurette! ♥
• doing my taxes – in less than two hours – boo yeah!
• late night viewings of Shutter Island
• elaborate dinners with Clay & Molly
• early morning cuddling
• strawberries, strawberries, strawberries
• wedding invitations being done!!! ♥
• opening fruit leathers like an old person (with scissors)
• ME: “easy peasy Japanesey,” LAUREN: “it’s easy peasy lemon SQUEEZE-y.”
• polo shirts
• wedges
• dreaming of Spring & Summer
• coupons for 100 free business cards (only $11 for shipping) – used for wedding invite inserts!
• birthday parties at Jones with $2 beer specials
• finally getting to see the sensational Cesca after WAY too long
• my pink CHI flat iron
• HIM: “you rash easily” HER: “rash isn’t a verb!”
• leg warmers
• thinking about getting back into drawing
  
  fashionnation
  

  and most of all…..

• new career moves.

What are you loving right now?!

Bits ‘n Pieces: February 24, 2010

Ready to take a trip down Random Lane? All aboard!

-The most incredible postcard on Etsy – it’s sold out, but I want it so very badly as a poster! It is just so “me.”

- I’m mildly obsessed with the website OnlineSchools.org, which features fun, easy-to-read educational illustrations and graphs about everything from the History of LEGOs to The Global Financial Crisis to 15 Things You Should Know About Breasts (hey smokers – check out #15! Saggy boobs!) Take a second to check it out and learn something!

- Gummy Worm Chromosomes – if learning about DNA was this delicious, I might have taken a more passionate interest in biology in middle school. Imagine me as a biologist. Solving medical mysteries. Mixing things in a lab. Not wearing makeup. All jokes aside, I did briefly consider a career as a veterinarian – until I realized it’s harder to get into vet school than it is to get into med school. And that my heart would break everyday watching animals suffer.

- Top 10 Books Perfect For The iPad. Haha…. this one is for Julian, who thought he was doing me a favor by suggesting I get an iPad instead of a laptop. PLEASE.

- The wedding invitation of our friends Kayla and Tyler, who are getting married just a couple months after Julian and I. It’s the sweetest and most creative wedding invite I’ve ever seen – plus I got to watch Julian and Tyler making it while they were in LA!

- Babies with laser eyes. An entire site devoted to the meme. Anatomy of a laser baby brain – cute.

- Kitchen of the Year. I’d say! That place is making me salivate, it’s so gorgeous.

- ChatRoulette is all the rage these days. Even Ashton Kutcher is on it, and one math student in Calgary took a screenshot of the convo he was having with Mr. Aplusk. I can see the appeal of the site, that randomly connects you via videochat to people around the world, but I don’t see why I would use it. It would have provided hours of fun in college, though.

- Book Cover Purses – perfect for the literary nerd like myself.

- Butch Cupcakes – this bakery in NY designs cupcakes with men in mind, because everyone deserves to enjoy a nice cupcake, but how masculine is it to eat a pink cupcake with heart sprinkles? Camo or wood-grain patterns are so much more macho.

Shown: The B-52

- How the new credit card laws will affect your account.

- Twitter strikes a deal to bring free SMS tweets to Haiti.

- Coffee splash Flickr pool is pretty awesome – the photos look amazing, but my OCD side is tensing up at the thought of the aftermath (can you imagine the stains?)

- Study shows cat owners are more educated than dog owners. I’m feeling a bit of justice to all women who have unfairly been called “cat ladies” now. By the way, I love dogs too. Just not as much as kitties.

- Why I’ll Never Live in a Rich Neighborhood. That Neil Patel – he’s got a good head on his little shoulders!

- Another new study about how awesome Boulder, CO is. This particular one states it is the happiest city in all the US. Apparently Boulder knows how intellectual, healthy, bicycle-friendly and clean their city is, because I found a hefty list of credentials on their website. Proud, maybe. But I’d still move there in a heartbeat.

- Speaking of awesome places to live, check out this little house on a cliff in Iceland. Talk about breathtaking!

- Austrian millionaire gives away his millions, claims they are making him “miserable.” Great story!

- Depths of the Ocean, Scaled to Human Size – this is both crazy and terrifying, especially for people like me who get the heebie jeebies about deep, dark water. What’s DOWN there?!

- New species of dinosaur discovered in a quarry in Utah.

- Oh the cuteness! Bunny ring from Fred Flare. Hop hop! Only $12 and available in silver and gold!

Lauren, who is in Hawaii this week, requested we play this loudly in our office on repeat. For the record, this is on the wall of our office:

I thought this video of two koalas bickering was super cute at first, until one of them provokes the other and it breaks out into a nasty fight. My maternal/animal-lover instinct kicked in and I wanted to scoop up the babies to protect and calm them down. Then I realized, they’re just like kids… fighting and picking on the other for no good reason.

My Little Ponies performing musicals – LIVE! MLP hold a special place in my heart, even if this is extremely strange.

Things I Love Thursday

Ew! I almost let another Thursday slip past me without documenting my list of glorious things that I appreciate and looooove this week. All in all, I’ve had my mind and body busy with other shtuff so I haven’t been able to blog all week. Sad face. I know you’ll forgive me, because, not only is it the right thing to do but – well, you ain’t got no choice! Muah!

etc

Above all else – the weather in LA lately! Think “the perfect week in Spring.” It’s so fantastic, I open my bedroom windows every morning and cherish the fact that I live in a place where you can wear tank tops in February. It could be a little warmer, but all in all, I’m stoked. It’s got me closing my eyes and trying to will Springtime to get here FASTER! Speaking of, I think I found my swimsuit for this year. Behold:

Some other stuff that is pretty incredible:

unexpected phone calls (a lot this week, actually); being able to spontaneously spend a night chatting and hanging out with my Step Mom who was in town on her way to Vegas for a wedding; getting super inspired; trying three new recipes this week and LOVING each and every one of them (Julian, too!); surprise love letters and boxes of Valentine’s Day chocolates; watching so many movies; real, Southern fried chicken (Honey Kettle in Culver City – I DIE); cute white puppies at work that look like stuffed animals; being inspired by Sara Janssen’s Simplify Saturday post and filling three trash bags with clothes I don’t wear, need or want; rearranging my bedroom (rearranging a room can make ANYTHING better!! Top 100 favorite things to do, easy.); finding out my brother and his fiance will be spending the weekend with me in LA (first time for him meeting Julian, eee!);

gayle t

making the decision to step outside my comfort zone, challenge myself and trust in my abilities; the French windows in my apartment; Bath & Body Works room sprays; getting our invitations all designed & ordered (thank you, Danny!!!); window shopping for clothes online; when work orders groceries, and Wednesday lunch; boyfriends who do the dishes for you everyday; quick pump-me-up phone calls with my girlfriends; heightened excitement and anticipation over my friend Julia’s upcoming baby; seeing Julian after his first ever professional deep tissue massage – CUTE, and hilarious; this raincoat; perfecting the art of pancake-making (wipe the pan with an oil-soaked paper towel); a garage full of firewood for fires in my fireplace (it might be warm during the day, but it’s still cold at night! This is the desert, after all!); not caring about NY Fashion Week and being totally o.k. with that; helping a homeless man buy a large coffee instead of a small (I realize how trivial this sounds, but it still made me feel good);

Bits ‘n Pieces: February 10, 2010

Ready for some super awesome and mind-blowing random stuff that will send you down a rabbit hole of internet clicking? Hold onto your keyboards ladies & gentlemen, it’s time for Bits ‘n Pieces! Man, there is always so much I could put in this thing – I could do one every single day. But then when would I have time to work, and cook, and sleep, and brush my hair?

Bear

- How AMAZING do these Pie Pops look?! I want one in every flavor, but especially cherry!

- IGotNoTV – Ever since I gave up evil cable TV, I’ve been reliant on Netflix and Hulu for entertainment. It’s not half bad. Aside from not getting to watch the Grammy’s, but I’m sure I could have streamed that online if I had cared to even look. IGotNoTV is an alternative to Hulu and streams classic and new shows for free, online. Why preach about giving up cable if you’re just going to watch TV online, you ask? To that i say, shut up and watch the entire first season of Beverly Hills: 90210 with me.

– Bill Gates Foundation Donates $10 Billion in Vaccinations. This just goes to show you how long I’ve been trying to get this Bits ‘n Pieces up – this news is pretty old. But giving BILLIONS of dollars to help obliterate some of the world’s most deadly diseases will be worth talking about for years to come! This is almost as cool as when good old Gates released a jarful of mosquitoes on a room of TED attendees. He was illustrating the urgency in finding a cure for malaria, btw.

- Ever feel like you’re the only one working while everyone else gets to take a load off? Me too.

- I think I could really get into these Argentinian espadrilles by MYMU this Spring. Why are South American girls so undeniably chic?

- Here’s one way to cut costs on your wedding – DIY fabric flowers. Way presh, but I think I’ll stick with the good old fashioned kind this May. Could be super cute around the house, though!

-So they’re making another Free Willy movie, only this time, Steve Irwin’s daughter, Bindi, is the star. Apparently this time there are Pirates involved. File this one under “ENORMOUS WASTE OF MONEY.” My only question is – based on the DVD artwork – WTH kind of pirate wears Teva sandals?

- It’s funny how you never realize how badly you need something in your life until all of the sudden one day it magically appears and you wonder how you ever lived without it. That’s kind of how I feel about black glossy doors.

- A reality show about hipsters in Silver Lake? Oh brother. This is going to be ridiculous. I love that the ad for cast members specifically calls out rich 20-somethings who dress like they are homeless. There are a LOT of these in LA, take my word for it!

- I love fashion, but I rarely follow Fashion Week or new collections from designers. Who has the time? I did manage to catch a glimpse of Chanel’s SS10 collection, and all I have to say is, I wouldn’t turn ANY of these clothes away from my closet.

- Elena Kalis photography, found via Gala Darling’s TiLT. It’s like an underwater circus, and is truly magical!!

- Still trying to figure out why Julian didn’t give me the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond for an engagement ring. It’s touted as the most expensive diamond in the world and all 31.06 glorious carats are on display next to the hope diamond in the Smithsonian for the next eight months or so. First public appearance in 50 years! Just like JD Salinger! (ok, bad joke, bad joke)

- Business Advice in Three Words – my man Neil Patel brings it again. Reading his blog makes me understand how he became such a rich and successful VC by his early 20s. Even if he is super annoying at parties and tries to (physically) pick me up too much (creepy).

- The Bike Book Caddy – Quite possibly the worst idea ever. Whatever happened to “staying alert” when you’re riding a bike alongside much-more-powerful cars driven by much-less-aware people? SAFETY FIRST! ENTERTAINMENT SECOND!

- The Dirty Dozen – a list of fruits and vegetables that you should ALWAYS buy organic. Everyone knows that things like bananas and avocados have thick enough skin that you can get away with buying conventionally… but things with thin skin, like tomatoes and LEAFY GREENS should always be organic. Unless you don’t mind ingesting pesticides.

- The Bible of Fashion according to Cornell’s Pi Phi Sorority - This is hilarious but terribly true, I’m afraid. They make some good points – “No satin dresses. No one looks good in satin dresses unless they are from Betsey Johnson or Dolce & Gabbana, you weigh less than 130 pounds, have spanks [Ed: I think she means "Spanx" the brand] and it’s New Years Eve.” Also, no “Muffintop” and “No Sleeveless, unless you have really great arms.” Great find, FB!

- New Alice In Wonderland stills. I can’t decide if I’m getting more or less excited about this movie. One thing is for sure, the “unofficial official” soundtrack Almost Alice is kind of disappointing. Really? Avril Lavigne? These stills, however, are darling… especially this one.

- Cupcake knit hat. Cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Spotted on a little boy at Griffith Park a couple weekends ago and made J get all paparazzo so I could show my cupcake-loving-former-roomie-who-also-happens-to-be-incredibly-cute-and-sweet, Jacqueline.

- A British cat who was run over by a car received the first ever feline knee replacement surgery. So. sweet. I love happy endings! And cats!

Things I Love Thursday

Okay, so this isn’t going to be the most full-of-life post I’ve ever written, because for the past four days I have felt like I could puke at any moment. Now that you’re completely grossed out, let me just assure you that I am absolutely 100% not pregnant, which seems to be everyone’s opinion when you say you feel nauseous. However, I haven’t felt much like spending time writing (outside of work- and volunteer-related duties), so please forgive me if this isn’t as flavorful or colorful as my posts usually are. Sometime soon, though, I do have to paint you all a hilarious picture of my night last night – it was super crazy and full of coincidences. Like, out of this world. Alright, on with the show!

- Finding out one of my BFFs and bridesmaids (Julia) will not be leaving for Italy (Navy husband) until AFTER my wedding!

- This quote, and all of Van Gogh’s love quotes. The man was a lovesick fool, but you have to admire his way with words. And a paintbrush, I guess.

- Cute tweets like this

- Surrendering myself to the stress of wedding planning and going to get a real, honest to goodness massage at a massage parlor (is that what you call them? Sounds kind of weird saying “parlor” for some reason, what is this, 1924?). I don’t know WHY I don’t go more often! Oh right, the cost. Well, it was worth it. I’ll say that much.

- Substituting meals with snacks all day – and hello, why did I ever stop eating grapefruit? It is nature’s candy!! I love grapefruit so much! No sugar, pls.

- Minimizing my social networking circle on Facebook – which I wrote about more in length about here.

- This sweet shower display that I found on WeddingBee:

- Spending an entire week with our good friend Tyler who was in town from Nashville filming with Julian – would have been even better if his lovely love fiance Kayla was here with him!

- Being old and going to bed before midnight on a Friday, and waking up before 9am on a Saturday.

- FINALLY booking a wedding venue (HALLELUJAH!), having a very productive meeting with our wonderful wedding planner (Nashville brides or brides-to-be – you must use Austin Floyd, the woman is a God send), getting one step closer to finalizing details like dress, food, cake, guestlist and invitations.

- Oscar the Grouch – he is just awesome. Sure he’s full of nasty comments, but you can’t help but love him. Especially his ratty hair and the fact that he lives in a trashcan. I think I remind myself of him in the mornings.

- Finding an ancient folder of pictures from when Scout was only about 4 months old. She’s about half the size she is now and looks anorexic! She is such a cute baby.

- Comments from readers! Cannot tell you how much I love these. This is in no way a plea for comments. But I really enjoy reading valuable feedback on something I wrote from people I know and don’t know. It’s really awesome.

- Groupon. Especially the little cat with a gold blingin’ “GROUPON” chain that gives tips for how to get the most from your deals. If you aren’t using Groupon yet, you must must must sign up. Everyday they send you a wildly good deal, straight to your inbox, but the trick is, you won’t get the deal unless enough people commit to buying it and “tip” the scale.

- I’m not one to publicly talk about underwear or lingerie, but I have to say, everything at eberjey is adorable.

- Finally watching Glee – I’m hooked, and I’m only two episodes in!

Also, I’d just like everyone reading this to know that right now I’m currently listening to my fiance outside screaming “Where you goooing? Bye byyyyyyyye!” like a mentally handicapped person. It’s for a sketch, but I’m sure all my neighbors are thinking he’s lost it and are praying we decide to move out of the neighborhood when we get married. Which we aren’t.

what’s the value in having 5,000 friends?

Let me ask you all (ya’ll) a question – how many friends do you have on Facebook? How many of those people are actual friends that you know, care about “what’s on their mind”, and want to converse with? How about Twitter? Do you strive to have more followers? Do you follow everyone who follows you? How often do you get to read all the tweets in your Twitterstream?

We’ve created a monster.

Inspired by an article in the latest issued of Wired he read on the flight to LA this week, our friend Tyler just announced he had cut his Facebook friends list back from more than 2,000 to around 300 total. The article, by Clive Thompson (In Praise of Online Obscurity), analyzes the way we have turned social networking into something very unsocial. No longer are we using social networking as a means of fostering relationships with people we actually care about – we’re using it to create new relationships with people (and “reconnect” with people from our past) and quite frankly, we can’t keep up with it. We’re faced with countless hurdles to jump to maintain these relationships, weeding through updates from networking contacts we barely know, distant friends from our childhood, friends of friends and ex-boyfriends. All people who, the second you click accept, can see all your info, as well. As Thompson points out, when your list gets too big, social networking is no longer a possibility. Social networking starts to break down.

Nowadays, people use Facebook as a means to notifying their friends about developments in their life (and granted, some stuff we could care less about – “Makin’ quesadillas tonight!” – I’m guilty of that.) In the last week I found out that I missed news from two of my good friends because their updates were lost in my enormous feed. One of my friends adopted a rescue puppy and the other one got engaged. Both are things I actually would have liked to know, but because of all the noise in my feed, I didn’t.

So what was the result of Tyler’s massacre on his friends list? A list of status updates that he – SHOCK! – actually cares about. Imagine truly wanting to read each and every status update on your list, instead of clicking “Hide” on that person you added, but only because you had 30 friends in common, all of whom are people you met at conferences. Imagine not having to worry that you’re missing something important, funny or interesting because your feed is filled with information and people that honestly, you could care less about.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Thompson emphasizes the value in obscurity – of keeping your network small and manageable, because once it grows to a certain size, the conversation dissipates. It becomes silent. Mark Zuckerberg famously declared at the recent Crunchie Awards that living publicly and having minimal online privacy is “the social norm, now.” I disagree. Living a public life is not something everyone should be obligated to do, just because they want to use social networking to keep in touch with friends. Now, online privacy is an entirely separate issue as far as I’m concerned (albeit a very, very important one, I have quite a bit to say about this what with having my identity stolen online several times). But aside from the security aspect, I can’t help but agree with Thompson’s stance on online obscurity – how on Earth are we expected to keep up genuine relationships with 3,000 of our closest friends? It’s just not possible. Not unless you give up your job, your family, your hobbies, eating and sleeping. And then what would you have left to talk about, anyway?

In a way, it’s just like high school again – one big popularity contest. So many people striving to be the next Gary Vaynerchuk, the next “online celeb” who millions turn to for entertainment and advice. First of all, this isn’t realistic. That kind of fame is just not feasible for most of us. And whatever happened to good old human relationships – conversations – not soapboxing?

I’m not suggesting everyone go on an “unfriend-ing” rampage or to stop trying to gain followers, I suppose it depends on the purpose of that particular network, but I do think that if you plan on using social networking as a tool to strengthening relationships, you might want to scale back or segregate your relationships by dividing them on different networks (LinkedIn, for example). I know many are of the opinion that in order to create a successful business relationship, you have to first start with a personal relationship, and to some extent, I agree. But you’ve got to make it genuine. Adding me as one of your 7,000 friends on Facebook does not make me feel like I am getting in a close, personal, trusting relationship with you to where I would ever want to enter a business partnership with you. The same way I would feel if I were one of 300 people invited to your birthday party and only had 5 minutes to celebrate with you.

By the way – I realize this might sound a bit hypocritical because I have this blog and a handful of fans, but in no way do I tout myself as a “guru” of any kind or someone that people should “turn to for advice.” I’m nobody. Just a random girl with a poorly written, stream-of-conscience blog and a need to share pretty, interesting things. I have no goals in terms of popularity or fame. This concept of scaling back on social networking just resonated with me, perhaps because of my own struggle to maintain intimate relationships these days via social networking. So – I ask of you…

What’s your method when it comes to managing your online social scene? Do you have rules for adding new friends? Do you only use certain networks for certain things? I’m very curious to find out!

Things I Love Thursday

This week’s Things I Love Thursday is going to be a little more condensed, a little more rambley, with lots more tiny stuff. Kind of like a stream of consciousness, but with only stuff that is incredible. Sometimes it’s more fun to think about the little things that happen everyday in between the big stuff – the things you usually forget when you remember that you’re late on a bill or that you have a looming project deadline in front of you. Let me know if you hate this format and prefer the way I have been doing it. I love love love feedback (and e-mails!!), but chances are, I’ll just keep doing it the way I want anyway. Fair warning.

etc

Scout hissing at Julian while he’s trying to get her out from under the bed – hilarious because she NEVER hisses!; girly smelling air fresheners in our office; my Mom getting one step closer to finally launching her online store; fiances who do the dishes for you; Trader Joe’s massive bags of frozen chicken breasts for only $7; Corner Bakery’s pesto cavatappi with red pepper flakes on really crummy weather days (the ultimate high-calorie comfort food); soft lighting in the office instead of fluorescent (SUCH AN IMPROVEMENT); going to sleep before midnight and not waking up to feeling like a zombie; having a wood-burning fireplace; mentally decorating our future newlywed lovenest; collecting inspirational photos of my wedding day; thinking about things to add to our wedding registry (so far my favorite part about planning a wedding. Everyone should get married, if not for the love and commitment part, but for the registry and free gifts part); asking all of our siblings (ten total) to be our bridesmaids and groomsmen; my sister’s reaction to me asking her to be (one of) my Maid of Honor(s); friends who are enthusiastic and willing to help me plan!; perusing Craigslist in search of bargains; coming closer to finishing The Pioneer Woman’s love story with Marlboro Man, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels; “Queen Scooba”; The way Julian looks like a 7 year old playing video games when he’s sitting on the floor working in front of his 42″ TV/monitor; mason jar lanterns and centerpieces;

Breakfast for lunch (Egg-in-a-Hole, to be exact, best breakfast ever, especially when paired with turkey bacon and gallons of coffee), which is way better than lunch for breakfast; finally watching movies I should have watched years ago (Lord of the Rings, Philadelphia); calling everything ‘my precious’; taking all my covers from the bed to the couch; Victoria’s Secret yoga pants; free wedding cakes (thank you, Nicole!!!!); pyrrha jewelry, who is opening a store in West Hollywood in March. Most incredible vintage-looking jewelry cast from 19th century wax seals AND they support local animal rescue farm Animal Acres. Perfection. Thanks to my Aunt Jenny for turning me onto them!; reminiscing about the days of middle school fashion, buying L.E.I.s and shopping at 5-7-9 and Uptons; rumors that Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston are getting back together – even the more “legitimate” tabloids like Us Weekly are saying it’s true. Not going to lie, I really want it to be; yukon gold mashed potatoes from Tender Greens; helping find a home for a girl kitten that a coworker’s friend found in the rain in a parking lot on Thursday (congrats to Stacey and Clement on your new calico kitty!); realizing I know all the words to Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Fishin’ In The Dark; people who help me relax when inside I feel like I’m filling up with hot steam and am about to explode; finding out that my neighbor’s Mom is a big fan of my blog - HI CLAY’S MOM! Mrs. Morrison is it?

MY FRIENDS. My friends, my friends, my friends. And my family. You cannot put a price on having people around you who love you, care about you, and want the best for you. There are a handful of people in my life that I thank God for everyday and honestly do not know what I’d do without.

And, everyone in the world needs to watch this video. Especially if you’re having a “blah” day and could use a little joy in your life.

My favorite parts are as follows:

• the orangutan somersaulting

• the orangutan feeding Roscoe bananas with his mouth
• the orangutan wearing a life vest in the swimming pool
• the orangutan spinning around in circles
• when the orangutan falls flat on his back, just for the fun of it.