America’s 25 most expensive restaurants. This is absurd… as the editor said, I can’t imagine why anyone would pay upwards of $1000 for a single meal. Everyone’s got their thing to splurge on, I guess, but… what a waste!
DC Earthquake Devastation. I admit, I was cracking up at everyone’s response to the earthquake in VA yesterday, just like the rest of the silly Californians. I realize they are no joke, but I suppose living on the West Coast has desensitized me. Glad everyone is ok, though the Washington Monument may be cracked (super sad).
Did you know Charlie Bucket from the original Willy Wonka film (aka Peter Ostrum) grew up not to be an actor, but a large animal vet?
Kittywood Studios Incorporated! This is really funny. “We need another Maru video before his contract expires.” If only there were such a thing. At least we know there is a market…?
Photo: No idea the original source, TinEye brought up about a million results, but found here.
DIY of the day: thrifted frames with corkboard. Such a brilliant idea! I need something like this for my new office (but they look great as jewelry racks, too…) Now to find some decent frames…
10 most amazing public pools – ah, public pools. I miss being naive enough not to care about swimming in the same pool as snotty kids with open sores who are DEFINITELY peeing in the pool.
Which reminds me of this great post from Sarah Wilson… how to travel & not fall apart, health-wise. So much great advice here! Super helpful if you have ever fallen ill whilst traveling… and that’s pretty much all of us.
I am thoroughly obsessed with this outfit. The thing about vintage is that while it’s wonderful in so many ways, it’s entirely frustrating to not be able to rush out & buy the same thing! I guess that’s what makes finding a cute piece so awesome. Not that I ever go thrifting – I just like to look on from the sidelines & admire.
Scanwiches… for all you sandwich lovers, scans of – ready for it? – sandwiches.
Scale of the Universe. Unbelievable interactive tool that shows just how teeny tiny we are in comparison to the entire universe. Really makes you think about how much we do & don’t know.
Hilarious video of a cat door – and an unexpected visitor! (P.S. I don’t recommend using cat doors – or keeping cats outside in general, especially here in coyote country, or any place with busy streets/harmful predators.)
6 beloved characters with undiagnosed mental illnesses. This is brilliant… I especially love the one about Belle from Beauty and the Beast, because that is definitely my fave Disney flick of all-time. Thanks to my ‘long lost friend’ Lauren for finding this one!
CTL+ALT+DEL: The 15 Worst-Dressed Men of Silicon Valley. Priceless. And though I agree with (most) of their picks (Ben is a friend of mine and I happen to think he dresses just fine!), there is puh-lenty of untapped material should they want to do a 2nd edition. Geeks and fashion just don’t go hand in hand, unfortunately.
Kitty Cloud hanging bed – our friend Tyler sent this to me because he thought of our cats. I thought, forget the cats – make it human size & I’d lay in that thing!
7 Bad Beauty Habits to Break – I’m guilty of a couple of these. Namely not flossing enough & biting my nails too often (a lifelong bad habit that comes & goes).
Patterns in wood - not all hardwood floors have to be uniform & boring – look at some of these pretty patterns!
Sex & the City writer wants nothing to do with prequel. Thank goodness! I am all for more SATC, but I really don’t like the idea of new actresses playing these characters – esp when they were talking about Blake Lively as Samantha & Selena Gomez as Charlotte. Just, NO!
It’s a little late in the day to be posting this, but I spent the better part of the day trying to recover from a head-splitting jaw ache (thank you, TMJ). I try not to nap often because it throws off my sleep schedule, but sometimes there is just no better cure, and might I add, thank God for earplugs? We moved in next door to a temporary construction zone because of a remodel, and thanks to the earplugs, I was able to sleep through what sounded like a circular saw cutting through wood every 7 seconds. But now I’m all better! So onto the links.
Adorable couple of a photo finding out what the sex of their baby is. They had their doctor write ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ on a piece of paper, then gave it to a baker, who baked a pink or blue cake based on the sex. They had a cake-cutting party with friends & family to do the big reveal. What a cute idea!
I so want to watch this new documentary I May Be Frank. About a 54 yr old man in terrible shape who lets a bunch of raw vegan hipsters in SF take him through a nutritional and spiritual journey to a better life. Sounds terrible right? But it’s actually got really great reviews!
With the Fourth of July behind me and an enormous stack of moving boxes in front of me, I haven’t had all the time I’d like to be finding neat articles online. But I did manage to find a few worth sharing. So have at it! In the meantime, I’ll be over here, eating fruit roll-ups while procrastinating and crying about how much I hate packing.
Bionic cat walks on prosthetic legs. This is a year old story, but things like this never really get old! Watch the video – it is so amazing. That kitty now has a second chance at life!
I’m a ‘Have Run-er.’ Especially in the beginning stages of a running regime, it really kind of sucks. And at least for me, 95% of the reason I keep it up is for the feeling you get AFTER having run.
Oops… I completely forgot to post this on Wednesday. That’s what happens when you leave a post in draft format and forget to schedule posts. Anywho, happy July, happy Friday, and happy 4th of July weekend to all. It kind of snuck up on us this year, trying to plan our move & all, so we really have no idea what we’re doing. Hopefully some kind of celebration will appear out of nowhere! Enjoy these links. xo
The best & worst foods for weight loss. The worst? Potato chips, sugar-sweetened beverages, red meat, and processed red meat. The best? Yogurt. The study also says the quality of your food is strongly linked to weight gain – i.e., eat organic!
Nat Geo graphic about our dwindling food variety. Warning: quite depressing. If you happened to see my post about Heritage Seed Co, this is what they are trying to fix, working to preserve heritage seeds and prevent the extinction of all these wonderful foods. (P.S. Thanks to my sister in law, Jes, for finding & sharing this one!)
Carrie Bradshaw’s budget in real numbers. I mean, of course it’s just a TV show, and we all know that TV shows are not accurate indicators of real-life spending & earning… but this was still pretty funny.
I am SO excited for Project Nim to come out! If you aren’t familiar with Nim Chimpsky, look him up. Absolutely fascinating. Bonus, the documentary was directed by the same guy who did Man on Wire, which was another fabulous movie.
Most Americans couldn’t come up with $2,000 if they had to. This frightens me. So many people making a good living yet still living paycheck to paycheck. I understand life deals us hands that we can’t choose… but for the sad majority of us, we choose to spend above our means and push saving to the bottom of our priorities list. My honest opinion? Not budgeting & saving is just plain stupid.
How not to get hit by cars (while on a bike). Important safety tips… literally nearly everyday here in in So Cal a cyclist gets rammed by a careless/distracted driver. You have to be up on your game if you’re going to ride alongside the automobiles.
Anti-foaming agent found in Chicken McNuggets – this made me kind of nauseous. And also sad, because I’ve eaten many a McNugget in my life. I’d hate to find out what’s in that sweet & sour sauce that I love so much.
95 yr old cancer patient forced to remove adult diaper by TSA agents. Ok, this is getting a little out of control now, isn’t it? The worst part is they complained that the diaper was ‘soiled.’ Well of course it is! It’s a DIAPER! What would you expect looking inside an infant’s diaper?!
Filmmaker asks Trader Joe’s to stop wasting food. This guy has a new documentary about food waste coming out, called Dive! He’s also got a petition going at Change.org to ask Trader Joe’s to stop throwing out perfectly good food, instead asking them to consider donating to food.
And one last shameless plug asking you to all give a vote for Trey so he can land the cover of Parents Magazine. I’ve seen this baby in person, and trust me – he’s way cuter than the rest. No signup needed, just click & vote! Thaaaank you friends!
Happy Saturday everyone. This is the first Saturday in a while that I haven’t had serious plans, and boy am I excited about it. I hope your day is plenty relaxing and fun.
It’s been too long since I’ve put one of these together. It’s more work than you think, if you aren’t online all day long, clicking & saving links. And since I’ve stopped working a 9-5, I spend less time at my computer (at least I try). I know I usually do them on Wednesdays, but, I have a few worth sharing now, so here we go.
Best door sign ever, above. Oh Salt & Pepa… reminds me of my elementary school cafeteria.
10 biggest money wasters according to CNN. I’d have to agree with most if not all of these… even the daily deals, which have recently become more of an annoyance than a money saver. I’ve already had two of them go unused, and that’s two too many. I’m thinking about unsubscribing from the emails and just letting the power of Twitter notify me if there is a can’t-miss deal (like the $10 for $20 Amazon deal a while back).
40 iconic logos and how they’ve evolved over the years. This was actually really entertaining to look through! And just to show how powerful advertising is… I really wanted a coke when I was done. (But I didn’t drink one.)
What it’s like to not sleep at night. Lordy lordy this made me laugh… and unfortunately, most of my Mommy friends that I shared this with all replied immediately with emails about how “omg, soooo true” it is. Just another thing to look forward to in the future!
Study shows long commutes can cause divorce. One thing is for sure – long commutes do not make for a happy mood. Years ago, I used to commute 1+ hours each way to work – and it was MISERY.
The most literate cities in America are college towns. I’m proud to say that three of these cities are near my hometown (Alexandria, Arlington, and DC)! Not that the city I grew up in is particularly literate. Ha.
What to keep in a safe deposit box. Kind of boring, but super important. If you’re into safe deposit boxes, that is. I know it’s not everyone’s fave method of safe-keeping.
Old crab traps removed from Chesapeake Bay by the thousands. There are over 28,000 ‘ghost pots’ (lost traps) that continue to trap & kill crabs. Where I grew up, crabs are part of the local culture, so it’s a bit sad that the crab population is plummeting due to over harvesting, loss of habitat, and pollution. (Edit: I just had to fix my typo from “crap” to “crab.” Hahaha, hilarious. Crap traps. If only they existed.)
Happy Wednesday all! Today feels like the first day in forever that I don’t have an enormous to-do list, which is actually perfect timing because I’ve got exactly 12 hours to finish my library book before it is due back, and I’m only 1/5th the way through. Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Is it wrong to dedicate an entire day to reading in the middle of the week? A beautiful, sunny, “get outside and do something” Spring day, no less? A day when you’re sick, or when it’s gross outside, that’s one thing, but it just feels wrong on a day like today – unless of course you are reading outdoors. Or on a porch…
I wish. Enough rambling, Sarah. On with the list!
Now that Lent is over and we’re allowed to eat sweets again, I have been crushing hardcore on Fran’s smoked salt caramels. They’re a bit on the pricey side, but seriously one of the most delicious things EVER! Buy them as a treat for someone special.
I just discovered this blog, the rockstar diaries, through Gala Darling. I’ve only read a few posts but I’m already a big fan, 1 because they live in my hometown area (they live in Capitol Hill, I am from Northern Virginia), 2 because they’re an adorable young married couple, and 3 because they’re very stylish! I’m already wanting to grow my hair realllly long just by looking at a few of her pics. But I probably won’t. Oh yes, they also have a really beautiful baby & an English bulldog. Cayooot!
While at my (amazing) new vet this week, I bought a Sacred Mouse organic catnip mouse for my cat and she absolutely LOVES it! You have to get one for your fur kid – they’re made from all natural ingredients and benefit Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary. They’ve all got unique names, which is totally cute, and I happened to pick up one named Virginia, which is of course, where I’m from.
Greetings, friends & readers. Hope everyone is having a beautiful day – it’s sunny and breezy in Los Angeles, and I’ve got some especially delectable bites to make your fine Wednesday even better!
More Hunger Games casting news – ahh! This time, it’s Thresh and Rue from District 11. I approve these choices. Anyone else going nuts over knowing who will be cast as who? I’m on board with the picks for Katniss & Peeta, but I’m honestly not loving the choice for Gale.
These gorgeous blue grizzly rooster earrings are amazing… if only I could pull this off. I LOVE that color. Bonus – not only are they cruelty free, but they were made by my dear brother’s talented girlfriend Amanda!
Anyone read The Money Book for Freelancers? I’m really intrigued, but then again I am a dork who likes to spend time reading about personal finance.
More about sugar toxicity by Gary Taubes (author of Good Calories, Bad Calories) – the jury is still out for me on this one, I don’t know enough to have an opinion for sure, but I do know we eat WAY too much sugar!
3 Steps to Make a Bad Day Good - I especially love the quote this post leads with, ““To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.” ~Chuang-Tzu
Really, really loved the documentary Food Matters. It’s streaming on Netflix, you should watch it!
Oh yes, they also have a really beautiful baby & an English bulldog. Cayooot!
