And I’ll be MARRIED! I’ll be a WIFE. With a HUSBAND. A hot, funny, sweet husband, but still – a husband. How crazy is that? What a year this is going to be.
Leave me comments with all the best things to do and places to go in Paris!
image via etc
Be still, my heart! The Pioneer Woman is holding a contest for the best cat photos. It’s pretty much the best thing I’ve seen online all week… if you are a cat lover like me, you’ll want to check out these photos. And these. And these and these. I wish I had some better photos to submit of Scout & Pep!
I love everything about this whimsical and playful wedding! From the Tim Walker-esque parade, to the colors (magenta and navy), to the stage, to the vintage photo booth. I am so jealous. But mine will be super fabulous, too. 
The way men see colors vs. the way women see color. Hilarious… and true!
A Mystery Science Theatre 3000 haiku. I recently fell in love with this show thanks to Julian, though my Dad has been a fan since the beginning of time.
Leave it to BestWeekEver.tv writer Michelle Collins to provide the most hilarious Oscar awards recap, ever. She said all the things us less-witty-people wanted to say.
How to Organize Huge Copywriting Projects: A cute, clever and believe it or not, practical way to organize your data & thoughts before jumping into a big copywriting project. I love the image of index cards and clothespins.
OH EM GEE – if you haven’t laughed yet today, take a look at these squirrels playing astronaut with coconuts on their heads. Now close your eyes and be thankful that such things exist. There are no words.
5 Rules For A Better Life: I love this! Among my faves: “Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about” and “Life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum.”
A 26 Gigapixel panorama of Paris. Thankfully, I’ll be able to explore the city on foot in exactly two months from today, but if you aren’t so lucky, feast your eyes on all 2,346 of these photos, which add up to a high-resolution panoramic view of Paris.
The Sex and the City Guide to Blogging: As Julie Roads points out, if SATC premiered in 2010, Carrie would have been a blogger. This article takes dating advice dished out by Ms. Bradshaw and applies it to the current blogging industry. Not nearly as silly as it sounds – read it!
The cutest robot I have ever seen, in my entire life. Made out of a matchbox and other recycled items. A-dorable!
L’Oreal has a new ammonia-free hair dye system called INOA. Supposedly, it allows you to dye your hair without all the yucky damaging side effects. It does cost about 15% more, and is being tested in about 200 salons. I’d love to see how this pans out. I am obsessed with pastel hair right now.
How To Make Homemade Bubble Bath – a nice little tutorial! Way cheaper than you’d think.
This dress from Marc by Marc Jacobs – at $600, it’s a bit out of my price range, but I love it so. When will I learn to sew?
- Too funny.
How have I never seen this video? It is supremely incredible – look at those sequins and trailing lights! Spectacular!
Kudos to this creative and geeky couple, Darino and Niko, for making a video game wedding invitation. The Mario Brothers-esque game requires viewers to complete the game to get the invitation.
The gamer-geek appropriate packaging for the game:
Very adorable, but I don’t think I could get away with sending something like this. For starters, I think half of my friends are too lazy and/or busy to play a game just to get info about my wedding, and the last time I checked, none of my Grandparents knew what 1337 meant.
via Offbeat Bride
Well this is the worst news ever. Anthropologie, only my favorite store in the entire world, is launching a wedding brand next Spring – a full YEAR after my wedding. It feels like just yesterday (oh wait, it was) that I was whining about how Anthropologie didn’t have wedding registry services. Anyway – this is great news for future brides, who will be able to take advantage of their whimsical wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses, jewelry, invitations, lingerie, decorations and gifts. Basically everything you’d ever need to have the most awesome wedding ever.
Great move on their part – this is going to be WILDLY successful. But no Anthropologie wedding gown will EVER measure up to the masterpiece my Mother and Grandmother are currently cooking up – it’s going to be incredible, I tell you!!!!
via Fashionista
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:
and most of all…..
What are you loving right now?!
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?
- 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!
About 50 of my friends have sent me this video. I wonder what they’re trying to say?
I love these guys infinity, and this video rules. Someone give them a lot of money.
The adorable and talented Arian Armstrong and her husband made this animation for Owl City’s music video contest. Vote for them here!
Each week that goes by that I’m planning my wedding, I take on a new and exciting task that becomes my new favorite. First, it was registering. Then, it was picking a venue. Then, it was designing my wedding dress with my Mom (who is making it by hand, a replica of my favorite multi-thousand-dollar work of art), and now, it’s putting together our wedding website. Still in its humble beginning stages, we have a long way to go, but I’m prouder than a mother on her child’s first day of school. I feel like by the time all is said and done, we should win some kind of award. They give out awards for “Wedding Website of the Year,” don’t they?
I made sure to put a little something special in each and every section to make it feel a bit more like our guests are actually talking to us versus looking at a Lisa Frank-esque site with not much more than a date, a bad headshot, and list of registry stores – “here, now buy us something.” I had a LOT of fun customizing each section to tell a special story or include a bit of information about who Julian and I are as a couple and as individuals.
So now it’s ready to be unveiled, though it will still be tweaked in the coming days and weeks, especially as we add more content and finalize wedding details. Check it out: thesmithsarehere.com.
Oh, and for any of you who may have been waiting for that proposal video I promised you, well, you can find it there.
Xo!
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.
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:
Trying to find a wedding dress that is well made, beautiful, fits my style and doesn’t cost as me a month’s pay is quite a challenge. I’m thinking of saying to heck with it and following this bride’s example and going for the shiny ruffled top and white denim look.
What do you think? Could I pull it off?
In all fairness, the venue itself (”Appalachian Party Barn“) could be pretty if decorated the right way – minus the hay flooring. And seriously, what do you expect to find when you’re looking for wedding venues in the South. The photos of past weddings are half the fun of looking.
A little bit of this, a little bit of that. That’s what you’ll find in this post. Here’s a list of fun/funny/interesting/awesome/educational/snoozeworthy things I’ve come across lately. Enter at your own risk! Happy Saturday everyone!
- First up, this phenomenal Macbook cover that disguises your 21st century device as a vintage book. So distinguished.
- Before the Haiti earthquake, we had the San Francisco earthquake, and a couple weeks before the San Francisco earthquake, thousands of seals disappeared from Fisherman’s Wharf – where they had been hangin’ out for TWENTY YEARS! These smelly yet adorable seals totally knew something was up.
I find this fascinating… animal’s sixth sense! The newsroom security camera footage below shows a dog freaking out a full six seconds before the earthquake actually hit.
- The Flickr set of the Janssen Family’s latest RV makes me think that I’d like living on the road just fine, thank you very much. Boy, can this woman ever make the most of her tiny spaces! She has a couple really great blogs worth checking out, btw – Happy Foody and Walk Slowly Live Wildly.
- Where’s Waldo? On Google Maps! Hah! So clever and cute.
- Calvin & Hobbes snowmen. So much respect for this guy. I know this exact cartoon, too, because my Dad is a HUGE fan of C&H and my brother and I used to read his comic books over and over again when we were tikes. Calvin & Hobbes forever! Sidenote: I miss the snow so bad.
- Some nutcracker actually thinks Stanley Kubrick filmed NASA’s footage of the first moon landing and “revealed” his plan to the world in The Shining. This guy is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs! Imagine the time it took him to figure that out.
- Seven Movie Moments You Didn’t Know Were Improv: This one is for you, Julian!
- My own Mother’s soap kitchen: Isn’t it the cutest? This is where she mixes, mashes, molds, cuts and labels all her soaps that she sells at the Farmer’s Market (and soon, online!) I plan on doing many, many giveaways of my Momma’s soap, because it is BY FAR the BEST soap you have ever washed yourself with. And it smells GRRRRREAT! She even makes man-friendly scents.
- Tweeting Tags for your Dog! This dog tag is a wireless device that connects to a USB receiver on your computer and transmits tweets based on your dog’s activity – barking, sleeping, eating, etc – it’s actually pretty clever! Not technically available for purchase, but when it is, it’ll only be about $25. This is pretty funny because Julian and I were just talking about putting Scout & Pepper on Twitter this morning. I know, the world doesn’t need yet another animal Twitter account, but our tweets would be SO funny I PROMISE!
- I’m totally geeking out on wedding planning at the moment, but a week ago I would have gladly flown to a foreign country and eloped. This PRECIOUS New Year’s Eve elopement was serving as major inspiration behind that idea! Now that’s how you elope in style!
- How To Find A One-Night Stand On Craigslist.
- Urban Outfitters put a unicorn in their logo. Me likey.
- Natalie Portman wearing a $40 dress from Target on the red carpet. Can she get any cuter? That dress is really great, by the way! I LOVE the skirt part, guarantee my cats would snag it within 10 minutes of me wearing it.
- Choosing organizations to donate to after Haiti. Anytime you give your hard earned money to non-profit organizations, especially in the wake of of a natural disaster that has international attention on all levels, you have to choose wisely when deciding who to contribute to. This blog post has some sound advice from aid workers about the best ways to help, what to donate, when to donate and who to donate to. My personal advice is to NOT give to the Red Cross. I prefer Direct Relief, but there are many, many great organizations out there who will use your full donation to provide help.
- 48 Unusually Brilliant Business Card Designs.
- Arguing about whether Heaven will serve Chick-Fil-A or In ‘N Out (Part 1 and Part 2). This is old, but so awesome. And I really miss Chick-Fil-A. 
- A YouTube enabled microwave. It chooses from millions of videos to find one that is the exact length your food is cooking, so you don’t have to just wait around with nothing to do. This is kind of sad, actually.
- Cheap, easy and beautiful Mod Podge projects. I am especially loving the $3.99 tray from Goodwill and the baby food jar magnets. Oh, and the coasters. All of this stuff was found on Flickr!
- Love making lists of places you want to see or go? How about a list of places you’ll never get to go? We’re talking top secret, underground, exclusive places here. Sucks, because a lot of those places look awesome.
The Vatican Archives
Martha Stewart pole dancing. Work it, honey!
This post is dedicated to Casper, the famous cat-riding bus, who wasrecently killed after being hit by a car. RIP, Casper! You gave the world much laughter.
