show stopperR

this may greatly change how i feel about haftahaftahafta going to see 30 seconds to mars in september.

hopefully that's more than enough time for jared to come to his senses. oi.

fill in the blaNk fRiday: RaNdom

1. my favorite thing about this week has been having hours of self-reflection while driving back from my impromptu trip to nj for the weekend. i am in awe of what the next decade can bring, once i stepped back and took a look at everything that has happened in the last ten years. shit, the last ten DAYS have been pretty interesting!

2. the weather this week has been the same as everywhere in the northeast. i actually don't even want to talk about it. BUT, we just had a fantastic storm! the kind that really make me wish that i had a real, covered porch so that i could sit there and watch/listen to/feel summer thunderstorms.

3. the last (interesting) item i received in the mail was a birthday card from my friend's parents; totally unexpected and incredibly sweet.

4. the last movie i saw was uh... we watched so many movies last weekend!! i'm going to have to say that brick was the last one we watched? this was my second time watching it and i must say, it's  a pretty amazing movie (as far as my standards go).

5. if i could be doing anything i felt like today i would definitely be en route to a beach, no question.

6. as a teenager i was a freaking angsty nightmare. but also really headstrong and independent... to put it mildly.

7. i wish i could trade lives for the day with someone waist-deep in the fashion industry. i'd love to work at a magazine one day, or be backstage at a fashion show, or help a designer pick out fabric, or watch a great fashion photographer. i don't think i have it in me to fight to get into that world, but i'd love to just observe for a day!

(check out the original and many more over at the little things we do)

oN the feNce

i'm not sure how i feel about this. forever 21 has launched a maternity line...

now. i am all for stylish, affordable clothing for pregnant women. even without needing to explore the options of cutesy preggo duds for myself, it is clear that there is a hole in that market - though i have found myself, more than once, excitedly grabbing up clothes in target, only to find that i've wandered into the maternity section again and should leave those cute dresses and tops to the ladies who really need them (side note: should i be concerned that i would rather admit that maternity clothes are better designed for my figure than to simply exercise?).

however. this concept nags at my little brain because of forever 21's target market. certainly, 21 year-olds have every right and typically no moral questioning in being pregnant (though i could never have imagined it for myself), but i'm concerned with the tweens shopping in the same stores as twenty-somethings... which, if my eyes and ears have any validity (at my ripe old age of 30) while browsing stores, is happening more and more. will this line make teenagers go out and get knocked up so that they can purchase from it? no, of course not. but could it potentially send the wrong, semi-glamorous message to my little 12-year-old cousin about the reality of needing maternity clothes? well - probably not, again. but.

i'm still on the fence.

UPDATE: see stylist's interesting take on this... more fuel for my fire. 

i would make fuN of you

if you showed up to a party, or anywhere, wearing this:

fill iN the blaNk fRiday: schoolgRRRl

i'm sure this is fully open for interpretation, so i'm filling in according to high school, because i barely remember my "college" days, more from working at least two jobs while i was there than any kind of partying, and because it wasn't really college, rather full-time business school. kind of takes the fun college experience part out of the whole scenario. so.

1. The best thing about being in school was: seeing my friends (almost) every day. and i would have to say that the worst part of "growing up" is NOT seeing them every day. i'm not exactly a social butterfly, but i do love me some fri-ends!

2. The worst thing about being in school was: teachers telling me what to do. i've never really dealt well with micromanagement, and this was my first understanding of that fact. i believe "fiercely independent" is what often comes out of my mouth when trying to explain myself. you'd never imagine the offense that was taken once when i used it to explain to my date (whom i had asked out) why i was going to, at the very least, go dutch on lunch. whoa - back to the question! my immediate memory of this feeling was a teacher yelling at me to put my shoes on while walking down the hallway. it was pretty freaking normal for me to not wear shoes, so why did it bother him that one time? doesn't matter; his threats were ineffective.

3. My favorite subject in school was: art. is art like gym, where people will argue that it's not a class? it sure was for me! the structure of our art room, being complete lack thereof, was much more akin to my taste, and i spent more time there than anywhere else, despite lacking any focus or drive in my projects. all i know is the peace i felt while throwing pots or getting my hands filthy with pastels or joking as my friends and i drew each other over and over and over again. peace, i tell you!

4. One subject I wish I could have mastered is: french. all is not lost! i may still give that one a shot. you'd think, after taking three years of it, that i'd have more than a vague recognition (no, not an understanding!) of words. 

5.  I could never get tired of studying: hmmm. i think i'm learning that i tire of just about everything... not so sure that there would be a subject i could stick with. we never had any type of mythology, sociology, or psychology class when i was in high school, but i'm pretty intrigued my the way people work - and think all of these subjects have something to do with that - and so i think that my curiosity could be quite satisfied with unlimited glimpses into these concepts.

6. The most memorable teacher I had was: i can't pick just one, but they were all science teachers. mr. hall had (still has) a crazy mustache, took us on a geology hike, and sold beer at the stadium in the summer. mr. pellis had red hair, a red face, and a loud voice, with which he yelled at me quite often, which i deserved, and loved him for even more.  mr. schreiber... ah, mr. schreiber. he was unbalanced, hilarious, occasionally violent (in a somehow funny way), and oh-so-easy to get off topic. mr. fredericks was our little chemistry teacher that we absolutely tortured but eventually won over. he's such a perfect dork that he has a comic strip about... maybe some chemistry stuff because it's so over my head but hilarious anyway! the problem with all of these great guys: i didn't learn a damn. thing.

7. If I could choose between going to school for the rest of my life or working for the rest of my life, I'd choose probably going to school. it's easier to change your mind, switch gears, and study something new than it is to change careers. that's my final answer.

sweet dReams

try as i might to stay away, i come back again and again to the stylings of j. crew. couldn't tell you the last time i could justify spending money there though, and i feel like their unaffordability has grown in direct, if not greater, proportion to the increase of my income over the last ten years. regardless, i can't help but look... i've been very good and haven't peeked (too much!) at their fall line, which i know i am going to lovelovelove, in some ridiculous attempt to stay semi-current with my obsessions.

and right now, i can't get enough silk:

shorts

jacket

dress

fill iN the blaNk fRiday - movie editioN

1. My absolute favorite movie of all time is the dark crystal. i watched it over and over again while growing up... we also had the read along record and storybook, and a couple of books on it as well. it's no coincidence that years later, i discovered that my favorite artist, brian froud, was behind the design of that movie.

2. My favorite movie as a child was um, well - the dark crystal!

3. The best movie quote ever is  from the labyrinth (gee, finding a jim henson theme here!): "you have no power over me!" really, this is the only movie i've quoted repeatedly in my life. i just love it!

4. My favorite actress is claire danes - going all the way back to (not a movie) my so called life - though she hasn't been in anything in a while. i don't think it hurts that rob and i have this in common...  My favorite actor is well, you guessed it: johnny depp. i just can't help myself. no matter what freak flag he is flying for a role, it just makes me love him more.

5. The movie I could watch over and over is  pineapple express. i have never laughed so hard the first, second, or third times i've watched a movie! an no, i'm not a pothead. this movie has close to absolutely nothing to do with drugs; it's more about the crazy situations that people get themselves into. it is at the same time both completely far-fetched and totally realistic (especially if you have some friends that are either potheads or not very bright. or a combination of the two.).

6. My favorite movie genre is ...is "completely twisted" a genre? maybe that's film noir...? i tend to love really effed up movies that are very artistic and mind boggling. for examplezz: the cell, stigmata, ink, city of lost children... speaking of these movies (if you've seen them), have you seen lady gaga's latest video for alejandro? i'm not really much of a fan of her music, and this song is certainly my least favorite so far, but this video just really reminded me of a combination of the cell and the city of lost children. i've gotta respect the girl for being dark.

7. A movie I'd like to watch this weekend is a horrible chick-flick that i know rob won't like (he's in canada this weekend!). i'm rather tempted to see if valentines day is on the netflix instant queue, even though i've heard nothing good about it. i'm just SO curious how a movie with a cast like that can be bad!