Hello, Jonathan Groff!

GLEE's latest "Hell-O" episode certainly made me say hellooooo. They cast Jonathan Groff (squee!) as Jesse St. James, a character who ends up at least temporarily as Rachel Berry's interest on the show. This was, I'm sure, a funny way of pleasing broadway fans who loved the two actors playing opposite each other in Spring Awakening-- not a good show, but Groff has the most incredible voice.

Personal request for Rachel Berry: If Jesse turns out to legitimately like you, take him instead of Finn. He's finitely more dreamy and a much better singer.

Anybody else like this guy on the show? I certainly fell for his tactics. I should have supervision while watching next weeks episode-- to remind me to breathe, of course. Hee hee.

Precious Lost

When we first started dating, I grumbled about needing a keychain and Dylan gave me the Eiffel Tower. It looked so lovely with my keys (even though I still hated Paris at the time). Since then, I've grown to love France and the idea of going there with him. Slowly I began to cherish the keychain. Whew, am I sappy.

It hath slipped from it's place on my keyring. *sigh* I could replace it, but it costs too darn much to have it shipped. Lost, lost! My precious is lost.

Eric Carle Makes Fabric Too

Look! It's just too perfect for a baby quilt.
baby quilt + book = coolest present ever.

Baby Showers

Fabulous "Baby Blues Set" on Modern Organic Fabrics

So many of my friends are having baby showers. What I'd love to do is make baby quilts to give to them-- but I've only made one quilt before and I need practice. Suggestions?

My plan is to get quilting books from the library (Alicia did that, and I thought she was amazing) and use simple patterns. I'd love to make a beehive-ish baby quilt with these:

"If I Could Work My Will,"

from Anthropologie

A simple cardigan and these dresses-- free,
All summer long I would wear them!
You'd see.

Beautiful Dreamer*

You never know what to expect while dreaming

I have strange dreams. Last night one involved me transforming (through ancient magical incantations) into a renaissance-clad harem dancer for a reincarnated mummy's royal court. The mummy was Will Wheaton-- a kid who used to be on StarTrek that I saw on TV last night while babysitting my nephew.

Maybe if I didn't study ancient history and stayed away from old movies/scifi tv I wouldn't dream that a bunch of Phillipino business tycoons crashed my family's 4th of July BBQ to kidnap and present me to their mummified lord. Maybe. (No joke, that's how the dream started.)

Nah. Besides-- the mummy thing was so original. And being a harem dancer is a non-stressful occupation. Especially during REM sleep. :) Hahahahaha, my head is SO MESSED UP. Promise I'm not taking hallucinogens.

So help me if Greg Rawlings comments to say "a dream is a wish your heart makes" I will trip him at the PAC meeting tonight. That is all.

*does this remind anyone else of Mrs. Frazier? Because she used to sing that song over and over in our class.

Board Game Set

This library looks like the perfect setting for a movie involving a creepy board game. It's almost identical to the Alan Parrish home in Jumanji anyway-- and just think! You could literally say "Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench!"

Famous Tupperware? Ah, Still Good.

The Dead Sea is a really fun place to be. The water's saltiness makes you so buoyant you can't even swim through it-- you can only float on it. A number of people I know say they'd never get in because they'd be afraid of tasting it, or that it would sting too much.


Do you see how happy she looks? It's my friends Emily (with the magazine), Maggie, and Karey. Do you see the huge grins slapped on their faces? That's because the Dead Sea is FUN! Not just a place to fear salt water getting into your eyes, but FUN.

Seriously! I've never had more fun in water in all of my life. I floated vertically, and even rolled from my back to my stomach to my back without ever getting my hair wet. SWEET.

Wow. Not Easy.

This is not your ordinary room.



Mostly because of the colors: who has a black painted banister? I don't know who designed it, but they're imaginative. Who else but a creative mind could successfully envision pewter floral accent pillows + a red vase + cobalt* velvet couch + orange candlelight walls = every single feature striking, but not vulgar. Wow.

It certainly isn't cozy, either. Bring out the cocktail dresses! Architectural Digest eat your heart out, we're hosting a black tie event.

*Who in the world would find, let alone purchase, a blue-velvet couch?

Visit a Library, Please!

2/3 of Americans have library cards! You'd better too, otherwise I'm sadly shaking my head in your direction. Libraries are high on the list of my favorite places.

The "Adult" Picture Books

Last week when Dylan & I went to the library I begged him to come with me to the "adult picture book section," but he gave me a shocked look and muttered something about porn in a library. Ha-ha-ha.

In all sincerity, I invite you to visit the picture-book section of your library (aka oversize), likely located in adult non-fiction. You'll find inside photographs of the Louvre and Valley of the Kings, architectural photographs of cathedrals, Cookbooks, diagrams of 18th century shipworks, knitting patterns, and even comic book encyclopedias. I highly recommend this book: Sacred Places of a Lifetime, by National Geographic.

Arthur spells: "A-A-R-D-V-A-R-K"

I love grammar. I'm pretty dang good at it, too. But this rule gives me grief. It's funny, since I get it right just by instinct, that I still don't understand the awkward concept. It's just so... aggravating.


*Okay, so I was way off on the Bundt reveal. You'll just have to wait a few more weeks. Trust me though-- I have the coolest Bundt pan. You're gonna love it.

BUNDT

People do amazing things with gorgeous Bundt pans. Tomorrow I'll show you what I've done with mine.

Bundt is the American name for a German coffee cake that is traditionally baked in an elaborate mold with a center tube. This tube conducts extra heat to the middle of the cake, allowing it to bake more evenly.

Currently My Favorite Twins!

Amy & Emily are showing off their Serbian costumes from FolkDance. You've just got to love them!

History Rhymes

Jason Powell has done remarkable work with his "Looking Into the Past" set on Flickr. Using Library of Congress photos, he has gone to where they were taken and posed their images over where the present now stands. It's incredible.


This one is my favorite.

Music is What Feelings Sound Like