Peaces, Peaces, Peaces of Me

Wrap bracelet is by Accessories and Beyond, found on Shopbop.com.

I have a piece that is similar with a wine leather braid and silver charms from Neiman Marcus, but I think this piece is more versatile since it can be worn as a necklace as well.

Coo, I Like. Gimme.

My boss, despite being obviously annoyed with me, was thoughtful enough to bring me back a swag bag from Saint Louis Magazine's Best Dressed event last night. A contact of mine through work was named Best Dressed for this year, so a couple of people at work went to the party to represent.

Let's see, there was: the Mercedes-Benz travel clothes hanger, a mauve nude lipgloss, handcream from a local spa, biscotti, a sample of Armani's liquid foundation, and a 15% off coupon for Saks 5th Ave.

Tomorrow, I am getting microdermabrasion on my face... courtesy of Miss Kaci! She won a package at some event last month and decided to share... More like, the sound of microdermabrasion doesn't sound too pleasant and she knows I will put up with anything in the name of vanity as long as it yields results.

But back to the first topic, um... why am I completely incapable of filtering what I say? It. Just. Comes. Right. Out. Maybe I should just walk around stuffing Twix candies in my mouth... wouldn't that raise a few eyebrows?

How did that movie Liar, Liar end? Jim Carrey didn't end up losing his job, right?

Deep down, this is who I am.

I was just chatting with my friend Drew Miller about how funny it would be to show up at a Furry convention, donning an animal suit and turn down suitors as a "furry that's not into furries, only NFL athletes."

Well, he did some research and apparently, there's a Midwest meet and greet... with a beer pong tournament. This sounds so rich, it must be fattening.

But it leads to a bigger question... if we crash this sort of thing, what kind of costume would I wear? On a deeper level, if I had an animal soul... what would I be?



Totally. Seriously. Came to this conclusion, without peyote.

If only the prey were packing.

Backpack by Stella McCartney for LeSportsac:



Con: A hunter might shoot you. You know, like Dick Cheney's "friend."

Pro: It might ward off predators, like mountain lions or wolves.

Yes, I think so too.

First things first, I should not drink coffee. As if I weren't already a two year old trapped in a 24 year old's body (which explains my candy purchases and about half of my wardrobe)... once I drink coffee, I feel like all of Mr. Kimball's kindergarten class (Kindergarten Cop) all up in one.

Cannot focus. No filter on my mouth. Even worse, on a day that my DM is on a store visit... there was nothing to do. I made personalized post-cards for my client list and they're ready to ship tomorrow. I window shopped for shoes via the iPhone with Carol and Geena. And I talked to Zach who is babysitting Moris Fashions next door (while the owners are at Market) quite a few times.

Funny enough, we're chatting and Zach asks me about Chloe bags. And he told me I should carry one. I agree... I should carry one. Specifically, a black Saskia satchel one... oh, in a medium size. But alas, I cannot affords.

There are a few pieces that I am stalking online, for when they are marked down I can pounce on them like... Eh, any large cat that they show on Animal Planet.

Such as Marc Jacobs' florescent yellow clutch with removable shoulder strap.

But really, I'm a shoe whore at heart. I've fallen hard for these the moment they hit the Botkier main page:



I could never drop $475... but marked down, hubba hubba. Come to Butthead.

Speaking of which, this top is absolutely fabulous:



The top is by Lochers, a designer based in Paris. The embroidery reads: Will Fuck For Shoes. I wanted to purchase some of the more tame pieces like "I Hate Children" for when I worked at Anthropologie, but Justin wouldn't have any of it...

Eh, one of these days I'll just order one and throw it in the closet. In that vein, one of these days I will get a cat. And um, not throw it in the closet? I've been telling him for years that one of these days... I'm just going to bring home a cat. This way, when I do he won't really be surprised. Pissed off, yes. Surprised, no.

Time for Bravo!

Praise it.

Finally! My whole computer fiasco is fixed... and now I have my dream machine. When I get around to it, I'll take pictures of our office space... our desk looks awesome. Like a desk should.

While I've been considerably grumpy the last week or so, here's a list of what I'm loving lately:

- sheer red lipstick
- spinach in everything
- plaid and motorcycle jackets
- bangs
- warm, but not sweltering, weather
- Hamlet 2
- others' happiness, friends' successes
- Arrested Development
- Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
- new seasons of other trainwrecks on Bravo, E! and Oxygen
- TheDirty.com...
- Mac Mini and the fact I can download my iTunes to my iPhone
- more "me" time
- Chanel's Blue Satin nail polish on my toes
- the fact that Louis C K is coming to town...
- the fact that I met Lewis Black and he's awesome
- documentaries
- post-war German and Austrian art
- flavored mineral water for the gym
- new residents' lounge with a Wii
- sourdough bread and butter
- the painting in my kitchen

Seriously.

Wow. So fucking annoyed.

First, I got my Park Vogel order today... I accidentally ordered a size bigger in one top on a final sale item. Carol offered to buy it from me if I decide I don't want it because she loves the color grey and organic cotton pieces... it doesn't look bad. I need to see how it looks with leggings...

But then they just didn't ship (or charge me for) the one item that I really wanted, a dark grey racerback tank dress to wear under some of my more sheer dresses this fall (that way you can't see where my black tights end). Of course, I hate paying shipping so I bought three other tops to justify it. And I didn't get the one that I really, really wanted.

Which brings me to my next rant: I have to pay the full shipping for two sweaters I ordered from the company outlet. I don't have a problem paying for the shipping... I have issue with paying $9.95 when it's two tissue thin merino wool crewnecks that weight half a pound together and they're just going to use a crappy reused box because I'm another employee and they are just shipping it to my store. If the tables were reversed, we would just charge them the true cost.

Then I received my DVI to ADC adapter to finally get my computer working. And motherfucker... it said on Amazon it should work. It said on the fucking box it works. The fucking idiots at the Apple Store told me this piece of shit would work...

No, totally not compatible. But I didn't realize this until I took it out of the box to hook it up, that come hell or high water... it wasn't going to fucking work. Not one end would work with either machine. Motherfuckers. And of course, the vendor says "no returns" on electrical components taken out of the original packaging. Fuck them.

So I'm filing a claim with American Express. Because I am not eating $40 on something that specifically claims it will work... and is just two pieces of FAIL connected by one wire.

And I had to walk home in the rain because Justin said he was going to pick me up to Harrah's Lucky Break, but then our friends cancelled so he just didn't show up.

And I'm annoyed that he doesn't want to go to Harrah's Lucky Break which I've been looking forward to ALL DAY because he doesn't want to go without Steve and Janet.

Yes, feeling seriously annoyed tonight.

Just back from Memphis :)

We went to Memphis for the weekend for a change of scenery. I don't have work tomorrow and Justin has an interview at 1pm... so we were able to spend a good amount of time there today.


We spent a few hours on the road yesterday before stopping in Cape Girardieu, MO for lunch. Our friends of McGinty Jewelers are originally from there, and we figured there would decent lunch options. We chose a restaurant called Saffron that's pan-Asian cuisine.

We booked a night's stay at the Westin, a block off of Beale Street. It is definitely a very nice hotel and the location is pretty awesome. While we valeted our car and had free in-and-out privileges, we pretty much walked everywhere until we ventured into Germantown.

Across from the hotel was both the Gibson guitar factory tours and the Smithsonian's Rock and Soul museum. Since you can see them making Gibsons in Nashville... we chose the Rock and Soul museum. I wish they allowed photography, because the stage clothes they had were absolutely amazing. They have this diamond encrusted "piano" watch that belonged to Isaac Hayes that is the ultimate bling. Like, hurt my eyes bling. Like, makes me want to dance on a yacht while a rapper "makes it rain" bling.

We left the museum for some coffee and a walk around the block, along with a quick visit to the Peabody Hotel lobby. It really is a gorgeous hotel. It's a shame that when we tried to book a room, they only had the 117sqf ones left...



Justin and I got hungry and opted for patio dining at Silky O'Sullivan's on Beale St, home of the world's weirdest patio. I had to order a shrimp po'boy since I have yet to find a place in the Lou that serves them (the one at Bar Louie is a shrimp sandwich, it's different) and I of course had to get dry rubbed ribs. Add in some Yazoo Pale Ale which I haven't had since I lived in Nashville... and it was easily a good meal to start off the night.

Now back to the weird patio...



Goats! On the weird structure thing!


We headed to Beale Street for the public intoxication we've missed since moving out of New Orleans.

Along the way, we encountered an awesome Elvis impersonator.



Muck Sticky performed outside of the theater, on the sidewalk. He was amazing. I couldn't get a great picture... so I took one of his name so I could purchase some of his music later. I definitely recommend checking this guy out!

We headed back to the Westin and fell asleep watching the Olympics. Since we thought we booked a deluxe room package that included breakfast, we woke up to eat said included breakfast. We ended up spending $20 for each of us to have a crappy pastry, coffee and orange juice. This is the beginning of "There Will Be Blood--- at a Westin" that I won't go into detail until I call their corporate office tomorrow.

We checked out and decided to walk near the cute boutiques and galleries on Main St. While most of them were closed, the American Apparel has to keep corporate hours and I got some leggings with buttons on the sides. Believe it or not, Saint Louis doesn't have an American Apparel... it's like, the GAP.



The painted graphics are one of my favorite features of Main Street.

From there, we headed towards the Civil Rights Museum... housed next to the motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered.




And apparently, someone is really pissed off that there's gentrification near the Civil Rights Museum.

After our walk, we went to the original Corky's Barbeque in Germantown... to see my old college roommate, Liz!



Poor girl just came back from studying abroad in Australia... completely jet-lagged but came out anyways for love and BBQ. She gave me the cutest key chain and kaola shot glass from her travels... Did you know how inefficient the Internet is in Australia? Given that I'm about to rip out the hearts of man and reign terror on Earth over the fact that the Westin's wifi wouldn't let me opt out and use the Edge that I already pay for on my phone... I think I would just smash stuff. Maybe only ugly stuff, like some of the lizards they have running around.

Upon Liz's suggestion, we ended our tour of Memphis with a visit to the Pink Palace museum for the natural sciences... No, we didn't see the shrunken head. We did catch an IMAX film on sea dinosaurs and I found this:



Oh yes, like that guy on Futurama. But infinitely more awesome! The most interesting thing in the entire museum... is that someone at some point in history thought it was a good idea to wear that. In public. Fucking amazing.

We had an easy drive up, with a stop back in Cape for Culver's.

All in all, a great weekend!

You either go skinny, or you go home.

I got these AG-ed skinny jeans by Adriano Goldschmied a few weeks ago, and I am fully obsessed with them.



They look great with my flats and 4"heels in this weather, but I can't wait to tuck them into boots. I might be crazy... I pine for winter clothes when it's 100-degrees outside and buy my spring and summer pieces when they are delivered in late January. Crazy? Probably.

New Haircut.

I took these pictures while at work with my iPhone. Waving my hair this morning with my flat iron was a little weird (new technique where you curl your hair into a circle and then press, it should give a more modern texture than barrel curling irons) but I think I really like the cut!

It looks really cute thrown back in a ponytail or messy bun as well. Perfect for slow moving mornings.

Go child-ninja, go! Go child-ninja, go!

First, let me ask: if I recognized all the memes from Weezer's "Pork and Beans" video... does that make me an Internet nerd or just culturally relevant?

We had a pretty quiet evening in. We made vegetable korma, a side of saag paneer, white rice and garlic naan bread. We watched the Olympics... especially since there's a controversy regarding the Chinese female gymnasts' ages. Some of them seriously looked like, nine years old. I've renamed the tiny, good one "child-ninja." She's insane.

I get why there is speculation of China cheating, but how would it benefit them to have athletes that have been practicing for a least amount of years? If anything, having the girl who has only been practicing six years versus 10 years is a disadvantage. It's kind of like them taking away medals over marijauna use... if you can win a gold medal while baked, I say you should be able to keep it.

One of the American gymnasts fell right on her bottom during the floor gymnastics round. I felt so bad for her... America lost it's lead at that point. But in the scheme of things, those Chinese girls' floor routines OWNED so America was going to get the silver medal anyways. The worst of it is being known as the girl that fell on her ass while the whole world watched... and really, at least you aren't Tara Reid showing your dissensitized Franken-breasts to the world at large...

I got an email this morning about the Park Vogel sale and was shopping the site via iPhone within three seconds. While I did pick up some tops for fall on the cheap, more importantly... I loved the model's haircut so much that I went to the hair school upstairs on my work break and had it replicated... down to the bangs! I love it and with all the funky/choppy layers, it should bed-head well.

I'll post pictures tomorrow, probably.

At least I don't speak Klingon or wear a chipmunk suit!

My friend Jess and I were just giggling over the phone about the time that we made the huge mistake of enrolling in a class called Gender, Sci-Fi and New Technology.

We were easily the coolest people in the room, and the professor hated us for it. Actually, she turned to like Jess because one day Jess wore a very fuzzy hot pink scarf. Me? I like Futurama. I like the original Star Wars. When the Muppets do Pigs In Space. Bladerunner. Aliens. But I was pretty open on that I wasn't going to waste my time reading Shadowman, a sci-fi novel that required its own annoying dictionary that you had to reference every third word because they made up their own language.

So I came across this geek hierarchy today and it's pretty spot on:

http://www.brunching.com/images/geekchartbig.gif

Jess informed me there is a new mutt-mix called a ChiPug. Google image search it... the cuteness is strong with that one.

Full of the awesome.

Today, I met comedy legend Lewis Black.

Giddy doesn't even describe it.

He's a very nice guy!

Daily Cuteness.

Dan, my boss, has two schnoodles that guard our store.

They steal hearts and break wills.

My whine ain't $3 Chuck.

Well, my day started off at 8am when my sister called me to let me know that our Grandpa Jack died last night. I'm not really sad, since we've known he was dying for a while and unfortunately, the Altzheimer's killed the "Grandpa Jack" I knew growing up years ago.

But of course, there was family drama. My grandparents got married way late in life, after both were widow(er)ed. So they each had adult children. Well, unfortunately... Jack died first and so I started off my day hearing family drama. Because Jack's daughters wanted to bury him in Ohio next to their mother. My grandmother couldn't stand the idea of him buried next to another woman, and they had arranged to have him cremated and placed in an urn... which she has next to two other husbands that died. Totally creepy.

I talked to my father later today and he said that fortunately, they came to an agreement: they would split the ashes. Totally fucking creepy. My family is nuts.

I had to fast today so I could get my blood tested for diabetes. The past two days, I was fine having lunch later in the afternoon... but of course, since I woke up earlier than normal I was starving 5 hours before my appointment. After going through the doctor's visit and getting my blood drawn, I was ready to pass out.

I live across the street from the hospital too but combined with the 100-degree heat, I couldn't wait for the cross walk. I seriously went into the Applebee's on Forest Park and ate a salad just to hold me over.

The apartment is almost clean... I've discovered about myself that I am very happy living in small, chic spaces. The downside though is that unless it is absolutely spotless... it's kind of depressing. Once my place is back in order, I'll post pictures.

But while I'm having everyone over here for whine, let me add: I'm also a bit frustrated that I have a sore throat, that my computer monitor was supposed to be delivered today (Fuck you, Fedex), and our leasing office cut us off the $100 gift cards for paying rent on time... since apparently, that was only for the first year of our lease. Justin's pretty annoyed that they didn't tell us that or else we might have negotiated before we renewed. It's not the end of the world, but it was nice to use that money towards groceries (Hello, Trader Joe's and Dierberg's)that aren't the essentials, per se.

The Great Dishes War of 2008.

Here's a recap of The Great Dishes War of 2008:

We've been arguing about the proper way to clean dishes. My partner believes that just putting them in the dishwasher is fine, no matter how long he lets crusty pots and pans and dishes hang out with food on them. I, on the other hand, believe in rinsing them AT LEAST (if we've just finished eating, using dish soap and soaking if I find Justin's nasty crusty plates somewhere random) before putting them in the dishwasher because I think food chunks in the dishwasher is narsty.

Now, when Justin sees me soaking dishes... it just annoys him to no end. Because he thinks that me soaking his dirty dishes and the pots and pans is wasting water and dish soap and is unnecessary energy being expended.

Two points:

First, I'm right.

Second, I'm being nice enough (or paranoid enough) to clean the dishes. Since I am the one that's doing the nasty dishes, he really needs to keep his opinions of how I do dishes to himself.

So you can imagine my annoyance that he left a dozen dishes and pots and pans for me to do while he left town for the weekend. And as I am soaking the dishes, I realized that I needed a sponge to scrub off all of the crusted on food... and he threw away all the sponges! There's none left under the sink... what the hell? Don't throw away cleaning supplies without either replacing them or telling me to replace them. So I'm beyond annoyed.

Ugh, it would be so much easier if we didn't keep food in the house!

Touch of the UK.

The other night, I just could not look away from the BBC's documentaries on women coping with small breasts and one where two women race to see who can go from an UK size 10 to an American size double zero.

I seriously could not look away. I think the biggest difference between sensationalist British programming and American programming, is that it's rather educational. In the US, if a show is about a woman wanting breast implants... it's centered around a really creepy doctor in Beverly Hills and how his wife is upset that he's always doing martial arts in their driveway. Or it's centered around some psychotic freak of nature that's ranting for 20 minutes because the doctor doesn't think it's safe to do the surgery, but magically changes his mind so it makes for better television.

Perhaps this why I don't watch that much television? (Though it's fun watching a good trainwreck with my co-workers, here and there)

Last night, we went to see The Ting Tings at the Bluebird. I knew online tickets were sold out, so Justin and I drove over early to get some leftover tickets from the "box office"... also known as the bouncer that's always there. On a side note, I haven't been to an All Ages show since I was like, sixteen. I was so worried that we were going to be Those Old People that the kids think are uncool...

Kaci, Shea and Marissa met up with us in line and after securing tickets we headed to the Schafly Tap Room. They definitely had an awesome Irish band playing upstairs. Went back to the Bluebird after dinner, meaning we caught the tail end of an awful feature act. I mean, the poor girl was trying but she never got the memo that listening to someone that sounds like Lisa Loeb is tiring... especially if that person ain't Lisa Loeb.

Justin and I forgoed seeing most of the show to be near the ONE fan in the entire venue. Everyone was drenched in sweat since it was in the high 90s outside (at night) and every person there just contributed more body heat. Needless to say, the show was still awesome. Kaci and I both witnessed Justin kind of dancing, so we know for sure it happened.



The set was a bit short... they played their more popular songs. I don't blame the band one bit since that room was hot as hell and the stage lights probably made it even worse for them.

Hopefully, Kaci's show at the Blueberry Hill Duck Room won't be as sweltering.