(caution: may not be safe for work) oh. my. god. it is a trainwreck and i can't stop looking. i hate RR even more now as i imagine her nervous nasal laugh as she poses in her skivvies with the turkey there. oh god. turkey will never be the same for me. i might vomit.

sorry about that.



5 reasons i'm happy today:

1. i had a wonderful birthday yesterday, as hubb presented me with......A SMALLTHINGS NECKLACE! finally! i've only been hounding him for one or two years. it is beautiful and i love it.

2. hubb also took me to avec, which was amazingly delicious and wonderful. i literally dreamt about the chorizo-stuffed medjool dates with smoked bacon and piquillo pepper-tomato sauce. oh my god. but in a good way this time.

3. tord boontje for target. awesomeness at an affordable price. i want the wine glasses (like i need wine glasses...) and the multi-color dessert plates and the red mugs (like i need more mugs...). ooh ooh, the wine glasses can be used for little tealights! oh my god i'm ordering them right now.

4. speaking of tord, my wonderful bro in law, completely on his own with no hints, requests, or demands gave me a wonderful transglass vase for my birthday. i can't begin to express my happiness over it.

5. it's halloween. happy spooky day!

work in progress turned three this week. happy birthday, buddy.

holiday linky.

1. a holiday ornament swap! how much more fun could you have? it will be like receiving 8-10 little suprise gifts. i am so totally thrilled, i can't even put it into words. i'll post a photo of the ornaments i make...i'm thinking a nature theme and felt.... sign up now, the deadline is November 01.

2. i don't want to buy any more dishes, and i'm not very happy with west elm right now*, but i love Love LOVE these branch dessert plates from west elm. and the cute silver garland on the table next to them? a little tord boontje. a little retro. a lot of need to be in my house this holiday.

*we purchased a floating wall shelf recently to act as a fireplace mantle, and in the process of installing the nonsensical thing, three large holes were made in my wall. the shelf came with three huge metal anchors and screws that couldn't seem to keep the shelf secure and level, and even if we had secured it to the wall successfully, i would have fretted every day about the stability of it all. the shelf is on its way back to west elm, (along with a set of three "organically shaped" shelves that are nothing of the sort) and i will not be purchasing anything else from them that requires wall mounting.

3. i don't mean to keep referencing w.e., but i am inspired by this pillow, and the numerous references to needlepoint and cross stitch that i continue to run across. i used to do quite a bit of cross stitch as a youth, and i think i might take it back up by fashioning some sort of trendy patterned pillow for our living room to go along with this fabric i purchased for sofa pillow covers. if all turns out well, i might attempt some holiday gifts.

4. i'm already putting together my thanksgiving menu, which will include a roasted butternut squash and pumpkin soup served in a roasted pumpkin, inspired by this recipe. i also plan to make the port vinaigrette from the same show. yum. now i just need some port.

5. i'm sort of slow with my holiday shopping this year, as usually by this time i've already finished half of it. so far i have one item, a small trinkety thing for my step-mom. i need to get on the ball and come up with something creative and versatile and inexpensive (because we're responsible and have a mortgage now) that i can give to everyone. easy. ideas?

first of all, i don't have a tumor. my headache went away, then it came back, and now it's hiding behind my eyeballs somewhere, but my brain is healthy according to my doc. i have a healthy normal brain. that's a relief.

hubb and i ran around the city on marathon sunday to catch alex at various mile markers, at 10, 16 and 25.2. he finished in an awe-inspiring time of 3:09:44, just seconds before the cutoff to qualify for the boston marathon in the spring. watching our friend, and over 35,000 other runners was absolutely breathtaking and brought me to tears more than once. if i only had such strength, courage, and stamina. congratulations, alex. i am so incredibly proud of you.

now i will change tunes and talk about selfish materialistic bullshit.

holiday season is upon us and i need outfits for parties. i have at least 4 occasions planned that call for something cute, and i can probably recycle one outfit for two of them. i need a cute top to wear with a pleated semi-poufy cotton skirt, and two dresses. i really like these:

sensible chic black jersey with a flattering V and a fun empire tie waste. festive red, maybe too deep in the chest, maybe a little unflattering in the tummy? pretty pretty green. i can't decide.

i'm having trouble living in our unfinished apartment and i'm finding myself searching comfort in shopping, which is not so good considering we just paid a fortune with 3-day blinds to furnish our windows. on the up-side, i now have lots of jeans that fit me. and plenty of shoes for these holiday parties.

first: limbo. i'm ready for my house to be finished already! we still don't have vent covers, a top to our peninsula in the kitchen, or a working jacuzzi tub (which i am incidentally in desperate need of using.) i'm ready for the boxes to be gone, the shit to be put away, and the furniture to be purchased and put in place. i hate living in limbo.

second: oprah. i went to a taping and it was exactly what i expected and i left unsatisfied and jaded. it was interesting, and energetic, but oprah wasn't as friendly and talkative as she seems on the show. now i'm not a huge fan of any celebrity enough to jump up and down and scream as some of these women did, but i could have used a little wave and "thank you" and genuine smile. at least i got a free book.

third: tumor. i've had a headache for 5 days now, and my doctor has ordered me to have an mri. i'm a little freaked out about that, and i'm not sure i really want the test. would you want to know if you had a giant inoperable tumor? i wouldn't. now i'm sure it's nothing, just pain caused by stress as my doctor thinks, but still....what if. what if my brain is all funky and broken and diseased? i don't want to know the results unless my noggin is perfectly normal. although we all can tell stories about me that may prove contrary.....

fourth: stress. i'm under it and it's consuming me to a point where i just want to stay in bed for a few days while things sort themselves out and little old ladies organize and straighten and clean my house for me. and entertain my guests and cook my meals and maybe even go to the gym for me. i just want to stay in bed and drink tea and eat pizza. for a week. can i please do that? no. because work is busy and the house needs some love that i can't afford to hire other people to give it. and because i am the only one who can take care of my shit. and i can't even take a relaxing jacuzzi bath because the builder of my house is too busy. please pass the wine.

fifth: baby. the newest member of my family, my new little niece Brenae, was born on thursday in virginia. she is an adorable sweet little thing and i can't wait to meet her in person this holiday season. happy birthday, little angel! your antie em is looking forward to hanging out with you.

sixth: responsibility. we scheduled our first mortgage payment(s) and association dues, but i still don't feel like we've really purchased a house. i guess i thought we'd be acting more mature and knowledgeable and smart somehow just for buying a home. instead we just whine about how much blinds cost. (i am still in shock over the amount of money we gave away so that we can have a little privacy.)

seventh: 26.2. my good friend Alex (the guy that hubb and i owe our marriage to by introducing us more than 7 years ago) is coming into town tonight for the weekend. he's here to run the chicago marathon, so on sunday you'll find us bar hopping, drinking bloody marys in between screaming with 1.5 million other fans for our favorite runner. GO AL!

so. we are homeowners! yay! three cheers for responsibility and debt! and incomplete pipes and scratched floors and closets that won't close! our punchlist is at least three pages long, but we're promised that it will all be taken care of. in time. in the meantime, we absolutely adore our 2 bed/2 bath condo and i just want to stay home from work every day to hug the walls and kiss the counters. and cook. i haven't really made a proper meal in my new kitchen yet, and i'm dying to do so. namely, pozole rojo. man, that sounds delicious. and i think i might be the only person i know who always has hominy in my pantry. er...cabinet. what i wouldn't give for a pantry....

i've learned more in the past two weeks than in the previous two years, i think. about mortgages, homeowners insurance, inspections, sump pumps, garbage disposals, security systems, washing machines, the returns process at home depot. and what NOT to do next time. but it is all wonderful. and i can do laundry in my OWN HOUSE! and shower in my choice of two showers. and knock a hole in the wall if i want to because it's mine, all mine!

so i might be absent here for longer stretches than normal while i finish making my home and get over this cold/allergy/sinus infection thing that seems to have settled into my face. maybe i'll run into you at home depot or the container store.