Quick!

Just enough time to tell you that I don't have any time!

Things are brutal for me at work right now, so I can barely squeeze out a hello. But I made my promise to post every day in November, so as lame as this is, it's my entry for today.

Despite being swamped at work, I have to rush out of here, go home, change, head to a "wine and cheese" at a friend's home, and then go to the Polyphonic Spree show tonight. Egads!!!!!!

"A Song to Pass the Time"

Last night was the first of three shows this week, and what a great start. Bright Eyes is one of my favorite bands, by far. And not to sound like one of the 13 year old girls from the show last night, but "I love you, Conor!" And I'm grateful to him for delighting my ears and breaking my heart.


If you're unfamiliar with him, here's a song to pass your time.

Bright Eyes – A Song to Pass the Time

Oh, and if you're interested, I have a really crappy video from one of my favorite songs last night. The visual sucks, but the audio isn't so bad. click here

It was completely worth the little sleep I got. Now where's my Starbucks?

O Christmas tree!

Okay fine. I know I keep going back and forth with our holiday party, but I think we're sticking with the December 15th date. And it'll be less of a "family" type thing and more of a "friend" type thing. That's fine. So now we need to figure out our guest list and catering and all that other party stuff.

With the party in mind, I was browsing around Crate and Barrel's website yesterday (while sitting in front of the fire with a cozy blanket.) The outlet section had so many great bargains! I really had to stop myself from going all out. I promised Rob I wouldn't buy a bunch of new junk that we'd only have to pack and move in March. But hey, I don't have any entertaining pieces. And my holiday decorations are limited to a tree and a Santa figure.

One of my favorite buys was this set of eight porcelain tree dishes for only $10. What a deal! They'll be perfect for little snacks like cashews or hershey's kisses.


I also picked up these goodies.

Holiday Shapes Cake Pan
Snowflake Ice Cubes
Cinna Sparkle Pinecone Bag
Five Pillar Candle Holder

Thanks HOW!

I didn't mention this earlier because I wanted to wait until I showed my parents. I held off until the issue was released, just in case there were any delays (or anyone changed their minds.) But anyway, I was featured in the December issue of HOW! (On newsstands now.) It was way cool, and I'm grateful to HOW for this opportunity.


Despite that, I think I'm taking a little break from melissahead. I'll still have my shop, but I probably won't have any new items any time soon. And since I don't really receive any orders, it's not going to be much of a change. But I think I need to focus on the job that pays my bills, especially since it's been so high-stress lately. I'm still going to craft, of course. Although I think it's going to be for personal purposes. In a few months, or after we move into our new home, maybe I'll get back into it.

Tomorrow starts our "concert week". Bright Eyes tomorrow. Polyphonic Spree and Rooney on Wednesday. And Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on Friday. I'm going to be very tired next weekend.

2 hours to spare

I was afraid I wasn't going to make a post today, but I'm squeezing in a short one.

Atlantic City was a success! After many struggling hours, I was able to convince my mom to go. The only catch was that we'd have to take the bus. Easy peasy. And my mom was a big winner! She hit a $1100 jackpot! And somehow I stayed on the plus side, even after some bad roulette rounds. So all in all, a very profitable birthday trip. Yay! Although I have to say, casinos are some of the ugliest places I have ever seen. The carpets. The graphics. Icky.

On another front, our party might be moved or cancelled. Just found out that Rob's family is going to be busy that day. Hmm, so maybe a New Years Eve party instead?

Jackpot!

For my mom's birthday, I'm going to offer to take her to Atlantic City tomorrow. She loves that place, but now that her dog has taken over her life, she won't leave it at home for longer than an hour or two. So since Rob and my dad will be around to puppy-sit, I might actually get her out of the house.

My mom is a big gambler. Video poker mostly. And I can see how addictive it is, but I try my best to avoid casinos. One too many bad roulette incidents. Damn that "0" and "00"!! Maybe I'll bring a book and hang out at the bar.

So anyway, I promised I wouldn't be diary-like, so let me share some shopping notes. I want to have a holiday party on Dec 15th. Despite my challenges regarding what time to hold the stupid thing, my other big question has to do with paper plates. Well they have to look nice! Here are some of the ones I was checking out.

Crate and Barrel - Samovaari Paper Plates
I love the pattern, and square plates are a nice change of pace. But it might feel like too much red.



Plum Party's Solid Scalloped Plates
These might be fun with a funky patterned cocktail napkin. Not crazy about the shape. Plus, I don't even know if I want to do red and green. I was thinking maybe a deep red and ice blue. Then again, I'm a sucker for a lime green.




Plates & Napkins Funky Diagonals
I think I'd like these with a solid color dinner plate and solid napkins.



Or, on a totally different level.

Bambu's Veneerware
They don't scream "Christmas", but they are very earth-friendly. Who knows? With the right napkins, these could be very cool! It's not glitzy, that's for sure. But I could decorate around these, I think.



What do you think????

Happy Birthday, Mom!

It's my mom's 50th birthday today! I'll be heading up there this weekend to "celebrate." By "celebrate" I mean lie around and do nothing, except maybe take a nap. I just have to say, I am so proud of her. I just found out that she quit smoking a month ago! I have been pestering her for my entire life. I really hope she sticks with it because I need her to stay around as long as possible.

In other news, I spent 4 hours of my life nearly crying over Leopard yesterday. The stupid thing screwed me all up. It ended up just being minor, and easily fixable issues, but it was high stress. Especially since I'm swamped at work. So my advice? Upgrade at your own risk!

Oh yeah, and we bought a new tv last night! It's a 26" LCD that was on clearance at Circuit City. Not that big, but way better than the 20" tube from the 90's that we had in our bedroom! It's so thin and light. Purty cool. So we said that's our Christmas present to each other. A little early.

This is gonna be hard!

Things are so busy for me right now, so even if I have to post something small, I have to make sure I post something.

So I have three things to mention for today. First, I just installed Leopard on my Mac. Operating systems are never a huge deal to me, and this one is no different. But there are some neat features that I'm sure to become dependent upon. "Spaces" being number one. And "Stacks" in the new finder is pretty sweet as well. What I really need, though, is a new desktop wallpaper. Anyone have any good resources for that?

Number two. Here's a photo I took out of my work window yesterday.



My old office had a view of the hubbub of center city. Now I have a calm view of the northeast, but it's still pretty cool. I can see much further without all the skyscrapers in the way. I liked how graphic the parking garage and buildings looked when I punched up the contrast and saturation. I wish that's what it looked like outside, instead of being so...brown.

And finally, it's date night! Rob quit his third job, so now he's down to two. Yay! That means we can still go for weekly sushi, but it won't feel like he's never home. So tonight we're going to see Lars and the Real Girl. Should be fun!

I hope you all are doing well this fine Wednesday!

I can't contain myself!

I am ecstatic about the opening of the new Container Store in Cherry Hill, NJ! The grand opening was Saturday, so of course I dragged Rob out there. The wuss couldn't take more than 20 minutes of crowds of people excited about organization. I have a feeling I'm going to make regular stops there. Thank goodness it's on my way home from work. You know, if I take a different route home.

I picked up a few things.

A little pocket record book from Buttoned Up. I always worry that I'm going to get into an accident and the cops won't know who to notify. I know, I'm weird.

But not as weird as Rob. His paranoia is intense. Even though we have an alarm on our home, he insists on barricading the bedroom door, since it doesn't lock. He wants a few extra seconds to prepare himself to fight the burgler, I guess. So for him, I bought this little travel door alarm. He loves it! I thought this would help him rest easy, without creating a fire hazard. But I woke up this morning to my vanity stool propped up against the door. *sigh*

I also picked up some new microfiber dusters, since I just read how great they are in the latest issue of Real Simple. New file folders, even though I don't need any. A greeting card organizer and ribbon container. Everything is so delightful! And I went back last night for a portfolio to hold magazine clippings (mainly of decorating ideas), and two canvas bins for towels.

In a few months, I'm going to be an organized fool! At least I have the fool part covered.

NaBloPoMo?

Yes, it certainly is fun to say. I think I may name my first child NaBloPoMo. Or NaBloPoMa, if it's a girl.

Thanks to Mary over at suffix.abuse, I have a reason to blog. I joined this group, still not really sure what it's all about. All I know is that I'm supposed to post every single day during the month of November. Okay, so I'm a few days late, but I'm sure you'll forgive me.

I was thinking earlier yesterday how I need to get back into blogging. But I don't want it to turn into a giant bitch session or a diary. I'd rather get back into sharing things that you might be a tad bit interested in. Mainly crafts, design, and shopping. Hence my posts about the brooches and woodgrain stuff. I promise to have a little more substance.

And also, I think I'm going to attempt to have a holiday gathering of family and friends this December. And I can't just call people to come over for chips and beer. I have to make it an event. So I may blog about that. Cheap, festive decorations. Easy food prep. Fun holiday activities.

So, thanks for popping in! And special hello to any new folks that came over from NaBloPoMo!

Is wood is the new black?

I've stumbled across woodgrain patters in three different blogs today. Is this the new trend?

Wood Fabric
On the Craftzine blog, they link to this awesome wood fabric.


Wood on Paper
Then Paper Shop ink made mention of this print from Geninne's etsy shop which features a pile of wood.

Woodgrain Folders
And also, from one of my favs, Hostess with the Mostess, there was a link to these gorgeous woodgrain folders from delight.com.

So, is wood going to be the "bird silhouette" of 2008? Hmmmm.

Rhinestone Cowgirl

I'm always on the hunt for my new "trademark." Now that the novelty of my hair has worn off, I need a trend that I can latch on to. So I think I'm going to become a brooch-wearer. Sounds like fun, yes? I've been wearing so much black lately, that a splash of color might be nice. Eye candy.

I bought these two lovlies from raineydays on etsy.



images courtesy of raineydays

10 Things I Love About My Home

It's my place of residence for 6-8 months. A gorgeous townhouse in a beautiful town. There's lots to love about it. But it's the little things that I'm really enjoying right now, a number of which our new house will also have. So here's my list of 10 things that make me happy about my current residence.

1. An ice maker in the fridge - It's so minor, but having ice at my disposal whenever I want it is just awesome! (Thankfully, I upgraded our future fridge to one with an ice maker in the door.)

2. A garage and garage door opener - There are two scenarios that make this great. Coming home in the rain without getting wet, and the ease of unloading tons of groceries from my car. (We will have this in our new place too.)

3. Giant walk-in closet - Yes, I have a lot of clothes. But it doesn't look like a lot when your closet is ginormous. (My closet in our new place will be big, but not as big as my current one.)

4. Proximity to work - It used to take me over an hour. It still takes 30-40 minutes during rush hour, but it makes loads of difference.

5. Proximity to shopping - Dang. There is every store imaginable in a five mile radius. The best is the AC Moore and Michaels about 1.5 miles away.


6. Window seats - The master bedroom has a small one but one of the other bedrooms has one that spans the wall. I took a nap on it the other day.

7. A pantry - Living on my own, I've never had a pantry. So finding space for all of my groceries was always a challenge. Not anymore! (Our new place also has a pantry and I've been excited about it since we put down our deposit!)

8. Fireplace(s) - This place has two gas fireplaces. Our future home has one. I can't wait until it gets cold so I can sit next to it.


9. A laundry room with a full size washer and dryer - An entire room dedicated to laundry? So cool! Okay, I hate laundry. But having a laundry room right next to the bedroom makes it much more convenient. (We will also have this in our new place.)


10. A fan in the bedroom - I'm glad I requested a hookup for a fan in our future bedroom because it's really nice falling asleep to the sound and breeze of a ceiling fan.

We are the Bjork invaders!

After a very busy Saturday, I finished the costume I had been waiting a year to make. Not sure how it came to me, but after last Halloween I thought that if I had any reason to dress up this year, I wanted to be Bjork in her swan dress. Kind of ambitious, but being a crafty person really comes in handy around Halloween time.

I made a complete mess of my kitchen. Feathers were everywhere! But in the end, it was worth it because I think it came out pretty well!



Rob went as Survivorman, from the Discovery Channel. Yes, he's a nerd. I suggested it as a joke, but when he got excited, I didn't have the heart to tell him I was kidding. Much to my surprise, a lot of people at the party knew who Survivorman was. Here is it before we left, watching the Red Sox game. He was so disappointed that we had to leave, but Kay was nice enough to put it on at her house.



Some random photos from the party:



It was a great time! Hopefully I'll have a chance to wear my costume again since I put in so much effort!

A Happy Post

I know I've been a major complainer lately. I hate that. I don't want to be a negative person. So I'm going to try to put that all behind me. Want to know something good that's going on? I got a new office at work! They've been shifting people around, and I got super lucky.



1. My Desk, 2. My Giant Whiteboard, 3. My Bare Bookshelves, 4. My Art from The Black Apple

I've had an office with this company for years. But the last one I had was actually half of an office. The other half was empty the entire time, but it still never felt like my own. And something about it was very cold, and not degree-wise. I feel very comfortable in this room. Perhaps it will help me be more productive, yes? Fingers crossed!

More blogging!

I need to blog more because I have so much to share, so much to rant about.

Maybe I'd be more inclined to blog if my internet at home worked. Oh that's right. After 8 scheduled appointments, 6 of which were technician no-shows, we still don't have working internet. I feel as if the Comcast techs have something against me, or they are playing a joke on me because a missed appointment or two seems almost normal. But six missed appointments? That's just silly. ("Hey look, there's an appointment at that address again. Let's skip it and see if the lady freaks out!") At least they are throwing a lot of discounts and credits our way.

I had a small craft show last weekend. When I say small, I mean barely existant. The venue was great. The free food was awesome. Mmm, pigs in a blanket. But they were lacking in the shoppers department. Not counting the things that my grandfather and father purchased (aww, so supportive), I made a whole $43. Wow, that barely covers my gas! I'm starting to think the show circuit might not be worth it for me. And with how busy my life has been lately, I'm ready to put melissahead on hiatus for now. Not that it'll feel any different from NOT being on hiatus, but at least I'll have less pressure on myself.

I know things have felt chaotic for me, but I can only imagine how it is for Rob. He's working three jobs right now, one of which he just gave his notice to yesterday, thank goodness. He spends three weekdays working from 8am until 9pm. As a couple that spent a whole crapload of time together, this is quite a change. In the beginning I was like, "Wow, I have all this free time to myself!" But now I sit at home watching the clock, waiting for him to get home so I can make him a late dinner and spend a short amount of time with him before I crash. Hopefully when he leaves his third job, it'll get much better.

I have to post some photos of our new/temporary home. Word on the street is that they are breaking ground on our new-new home in two weeks. Finally! They are targeting April for completion. In the meantime, my digs are pretty sweet. I'm enjoying living the high life for now.

I also have to post the photo of my recent press. I'll save that info for a future post.

And in the Melissa work world, well, things could be better. I moved to an office last week, only to find out that they changed their minds. But I couldn't move again until today, so I've been a little displaced since Thursday. (Although I must say, my new new office is great. I'll take some photos.) I was "reprimanded" yesterday for wearing an inappropriate outfit. How hilarious is that? My sweater dress was a tad too short. I knew it was short, but I wore leggings, and it's not like I looked hoochie, but I guess I will be retiring that dress. They gave me a company BlackBerry. That means I am now available 24/7, for the most part. That is a little frightening. *sigh* I could use a vacation.

Sorry for this boring text-heavy blog post. I promise to start being more interesting! I guess I just wanted to get some things off my chest.

I was right.

Comcast never showed last night. So four days this week I left work early for nothing. Tonight we have our fifth scheduled appointment to get our freakin' internet and cable hooked up. Rob and I had plans to go furniture shopping, but now I have to go alone because someone needs to be home from 5-9. Guess what Comcast, someone was home 5-9 last night, anxiously awaiting your arrival, checking her doorbell to make sure it worked, and peeking out the window every ten minutes.

Jerks.

RANT: Comcast sucks!

I have never had this much trouble with a utility company. I am astounded at their inflexibility. I am flabergasted at the amount of energy and time I've wasted trying to resolve a very menial issue.

Here's our Comcast timeline.

Oct 1-5
four calls to Comcast; 3 of the 4 representatives assured us that we would have cable and internet on Sunday, Oct 7

Oct 7
no cable or internet; spent 2.5 hours on the phone (and lots of unplugging and replugging) to figure out that the cable had been disconnected; Rob argued his way into free HBO for a year; Comcast was scheduled to come out the next day to fix the issue, and agreed to call us prior to arriving so we could meet the technician at our home

Oct 8
no call; got home to a note on the door saying work has been completed; still no cable or internet; another hour on the phone, more arguing; appointment scheduled for next day between 1-5pm

Oct 9
5:30pm, no technician; another call to Comcast where I was informed the technician was running late; 6pm, technician arrives and fixes the screwy cable wiring job that previous residents had done; yay it works; 7pm, while the tech was still there, our cable/DVR box fried; he didn’t have any more and he also couldn’t fix out internet because he wasn’t trained in modems; we were told to go to a Comcast office today to get a new DVR box and cable modem

Oct 10
noon, Rob left work to go to a Comcast office; they claimed they had no cable boxes or modems and there was a 200 person waiting list; Rob had a hissy fit and left in a huff; Rob called a supervisor argued his way into a LIKELY appointment tonight between 5-9 (“they’ll try their best to get someone out there”)

Call me skeptical, but I have a feeling this won’t be resolved tonight. I’m not upset at the fact that I have no cable. I’m upset because I’ve spent so many hours of my life on the phone with and waiting for Comcast. I have errands to run and groceries to buy. But I’m forced to sit at home, most likely listening to hold music while staring out the front door. There are so many better ways to spend my time.

Move it!

Yesterday was the big day. And let me just say, moving is no less stressful than I had remembered.

Issue #1: U-haul
Rob called on Tuesday to see if we could pick up the 26' truck a little bit early. Turns out they did not have a record of our reservation that I had made online (and had a confirmation for) two weeks earlier. So, number one, we couldn't pick up a truck at our desired location; we had to go to a different one. And number two, they only had a 17' truck. Needless to say, even with us bringing over 6 carloads of our stuff prior to yesterday, a 17' truck was not big enough. We had to make 2 more car trips, and Rob still needs to make one or two today.

Issue #2: Comcast
Anyone that knows me knows that the Red Sox are a huge part of Rob's life. So the fact that the Sox playoff game was on tv yesterday at 3pm was a big deal. Rob called Comcast 4 times last week to make sure that we would have cable available to us when we moved in. He was assured that we would.

We were back at the old house, loading up the cars. At 2:30pm, Rob sent me on my way to hook up the tv prior to his arrival. Of course, it didn't work. So I called, praying that I could fix this issue by the time Rob got there. Long story short, they finally discovered that the cable was manually disconnected and has to be manually reconnected (for a fee) today. Rob was ticked beyond belief, and after 2.5 hours on the phone with Comcast, we now have free HBO for a year. Ha!


Other than those two problems, the move was fine. "Temp-house", as I'd like to call it, is insanely awesome. Massive. Luxurious. We'll be spoiled for the 6-8 months that we'll be there. And even though I'm not looking forward to another move in such a short time, I'll be thrilled to finally be in my brand new home...whenever it's ready!

On Saturday, I picked up these gorgeous sunflowers at the farmer's market to make temp-house more homey.

Yay, baseball...

...is almost over! (Shhh, don't tell Rob I said that.) But in all honesty, I'll be happy to get my hands on the remote after the baseball season. Season? Aren't season's typically three months long in mother nature terms? Why is it that in sports, a season really means 7 or 8 months?

But anyway, it certainly is a happy time in Philadelphia! The Phillies have made the playoffs for the first time in 14 years! Woot woot! And Rob and I were lucky enough to attend that game in my company's suite. The energy was incredible. I don't think I've ever been to such a lively (and loud) sporting event. And when they got that last out in the top of the 9th, we all got champagne to celebrate!

So good luck to the Phillies who play this afternoon! (And, um, good luck to the Sox who play tonight.) <-just in case Rob stumbles in here