A New Obsession

Several months ago, from some other blog or link or something, I discovered the website Darby Smart.They're a craft website offering DIY kits that you order by the project. Each kit comes with everything you need to complete the project. They also have a monthly subscription box that sends a mystery project each month; I've done this twice.

All the projects are reasonably priced, in my opinion, and they frequently offer coupon codes and deals. (I'm not sure I've ever paid full price for one. Though I gladly would.) So far I've completed four, ordered two for my sister's Christmas gift, have two waiting for me to complete, and one more on the way. (For the latest three, I had a coupon code for one, a gift card from my brother, and a $10 credit for coming in second in one of their giveaways.)

I also just submitted my own idea for a project. If they like it, and can source the materials, they will offer it for sale as one of their projects. I'll let you all know if that happens. For just being considered they gave me a $30 credit to use in their supply store. I got paint, jewels, and stencils. I used the paint and jewels and submitted this wine cork memo board as my project idea.

Projects waiting for me: Cutting boards to woodburn, pillows to embellish, and champagne flutes to dot.

 
And these are the four I've completed so far.

I just loved these tilted teacups. It came with two and I made one for me and one for my sister. These are the first candles I've ever made and they smell so good. It came with hot pink spray paint but I used the gold paint pen I got with another kit.

There were so many options for what to do with this states stencil. I finally decided on stenciling all of the states and coloring the ones I've visited. I look forward to coloring in more. (Provided the paint doesn't dry up.) The stencil is reusable too.

I don't have the Darby version for this as it was the December DIY For mystery box. Once the supplies were revealed, I snatched it up, knowing it would be great for my 20s party. It came with a full stencil alphabet, though I connected the lines for a cleaner look. (Those stencils are also resuable.) It came with two sets of battery-operated twinkle lights, which you can sort of see. I added the cursive words using my Silhouette machine.

This kit was also bought for my 20s party. The glitter got out of hand so I strung the balls like beads for a garland instead. Had they been used for cocktail stirrers, I feared my party guests would be drinking glitter.

With no easily accessible or fully stocked craft store near me, I love that everything you need comes with it. I also love that while they give you a photo and steps, you can still exercise your creativity to customize. There's also a showroom where others post what they did, giving you even more ideas.

Things I Learned This Weekend

A new escalator not moving looks the same as an old escalator not moving.
About four months ago, Metro closed one of the entrances to our metro to replace the escalators. They were unveiled on Thurdsay morning and by Thursday evening when I got home one was already not moving. I had predicted it would last until at least Friday, and Karey was generous and gave it a week. It turns out we both have more faith than we thought in our embarrassing metro system.

Sitting at home reading and watching a Carolina tournament game is a good way to end a crazy week.
I watched the game from home on the couch with my PJs and my book. It was a good start to a weekend that would end not good.

Reading even a slightly scary book makes sleeping slightly difficult.
Last week I read "Night Film" and as a result had some trouble sleeping. I just can't handle even a little mystery. Luckily, a trash can in front of the door helps keep out even the mightiest supernatural threat. Or so I tell myself. It was a pretty good book though.

Everything really is better in miniature.
Even mid-century modern furniture, which isn't my style but I do appreciate the aesthetics of, especially when tiny! I broke down and bought this furniture for $2.50 at one of my thrift stores. It's been there my last few trips and when the whole store was 50% off last week, I took it as a sign. It's from the 80s so it has a record player, big speakers, and giant headphones. We had a similar setup at home.

Carrying flat pieces of wood is only marginally safer than carrying a dowel.
A few weeks ago I carried a dowel and almost killed myself/others. This week I carried a few pieces of balsa wood, which was still kind of dicey.

Duke students don't say thank you.
This unopened box of thank you notes was at my thrift store for 50 cents. I assume it's because Dukies never say thanks. Or maybe they just don't write. Remember the sad memo block I found?

It's really important to realize the effect your purse strap is having on the buttons on your shirt whilst shopping at a thrift store attached to a church.
Can you read behind the lines on that one? Yeah, I think I inadvertently flashed the elderly workers at my fave religious thrift store. But it's Episcopalian, and they're super liberal, so it's probably ok.

Spring is trying to arrive.
These little buds were just trying to bust through that stubborn winter ground. After today's snow, they've probably retreated and are considering never busting through again.

Dremel-brand bits fit my generic-brand Dremel and routing is fun.
I basically want to rout all the wood in my apartment. But I won't. For now.

A new lamp can really brighten things up.
See what I did there? The cheap medusa lamp I've had since the summer after college was sort of burning itself. I bought this pretty thing from Target and had to do some rearranging. It was also a good spark to get some organizing done.

Organizing can lead to found and lost things.
I had to move my bookcases in order to accommodate the lamp where I wanted it. This meant I was able to retrieve two of my Breakfast at Tiffany's posters that fell several weeks ago. In the process, however, the wrap and purse for my Holly Barbie fell behind the bookcase. But doesn't it all look so pretty and clean? And now another found lost thing...

It's easier to save money when you remember you're saving it.
Short story: I found $60 in my saving place in my room.
Long story: About 4 years I lost my college class ring. I was devastated. Even more so when I learned Carolina had started offering only one "official" class ring, which I didn't like. Then last summer I saw that they were offering some additional options, including my original one! My first instinct was to buy it immediately and put it on my credit card. Instead I took out some cash every paycheck and kept it in my secret saving place in my room. By the end of the summer I had enough saved and ordered (and received) my ring. I must have decided to keep saving for something else, but then must have forgot after one withdrawal. Oops. On the upside I found $60!

Pantone's color of the year -- radiant orchard -- really is quite radiant. AKA bright.
I'll write about this later this week, but I'm working on a DIY project for my favorite new website, Darby Smart. I got comped some supplies to make it and one was a pot of Pantone paint. It really is a lovely, and bright, color.
 

 
Having friends turn 30 is way better than turning 30 yourself.
I was the first of my close group of friends to turn 30. Now the others are starting to fall over that hill, too. Finally. This was the first of at least four 30th birthday cards I'll have to make this year.

I hate basketball.
Sunday evening wasn't good and I don't really want to talk about it. Except to say that it kind of sucks caring about something sometimes. And sometimes I want to go back to when I didn't care about sports. It'd be easier.

Things I Learned This Weekend

There's a reason I've worked across from two thrift stores for six years and only went in for the first time last month.
Because I love thrift stores and having one so close five days a week is dangerous.

A mere $2.65 can provide a lot of happiness.
That being said, I scored an awesome deal at one of these stores on Friday: a dollhouse that I thought was going to be $5 but ended up being a mere $2.65. Yes, I just turned that big age. Yes, I have friends buying actual houses. But dammit, I love miniatures and I love crafts and I'm excited about this! Plus, there is a thriving dollhousery and miniatures market out there, just google and see. I feel like I can still be normal as long as I don't: 

1. Buy dolls and start re-creating, or re-imagining, my life.
2. Spend a ton of money on (admittedly fabulous) dollhouse furniture and accessories.
3. Ignore my actual life in favor of a potential dollhouse life.

Not everyone loves chaotic shopping as much as I do.
On Saturday, I gathered a group of friends for the Old Town Boutique Warehouse Sale that was held at the "towering George Washington Memorial Masonic Temple." (That's how the free trolley that runs in Old Town describes it.) I'd heard of this sale but this was my first time attending. Old Town has a thriving boutique district and each year a bunch set up shop at the memorial with some deeply discounted wares. To say it was chaotic is probably a bit of an understatement, but I LOVE chaotic shopping. The more I get to dig and hunt for that elusive thing I didn't know I wanted, the happier I am. That's why I love thrift stores so much. My friends weren't quite as thrilled as me, I think, though just about everyone bought something and all had a smile on their face when we left.

A Nutella and strawberry crepe just is not an adequate lunch.
For lunch we made the somewhat-lengthy trek down King Street to a crepe restaurant I've only been to once. We just had a good time relaxing and laughing and I think everyone enjoyed their meals. I enjoyed mine but, considering I get a Nutella and strawberry crepe as a snack on a normal day, making it a meal meant I was hungry exactly five minutes later. It was good while it lasted, though.

Working in a place for six years makes you have a lot to say about it.
Most of my friends had spent limited time in Old Town and it was fun to explain my favorite haunts or odd stories about this bar or that alley. I even took two of my friends up to my office to show them around. It's both odd and fun to have my worlds collide like that.

My roommate and I have the best Saturday nights of anyone.
I'm not a going-out-on-Saturday-night type of person. If I'm out it's usually on a Friday night after work and even then I'm home by 10. Luckily, the roomie/best friend isn't a Saturday-night partier either. For the second time in recent history, we spent our Saturday night doing various things whilst also watching episodes of the brilliant CNN series Crimes of the Century. We are some serious history buffs and true crime lovers and this series is just made for us. So far we've seen the episodes on the Unabomber, Oklahoma City, Waco, Reagan assassination attempt, and DC snipers. And we still have a few waiting for us on the DVR. Try not to be too jealous of our hopping lives.

My cough syrup is the best sleep medicine ever.
I don't sleep and I have weird reactions to medicine so to find one that actually knocks me out and helps me sleep uninterrupted never happens. I'm going to have to find out what's in the medicine, pray it's not codeine or morphine or cocaine, and see if it comes in another sleep-aid form.

You're not a real woman until you buy a saw.
Watch out, she has a saw! I've written before about using Daddy's table saw and wanting my own, but it's just not good for an apartment and also probably not good for my fingers. So this cute little one will have to do for now.

I love my local hardware store but also kind of hate it.
I love it because it's close, has tons of stuff in a small space, and it has a rewards card so I get coupons. But I also kind of hate it because it's not possible to walk in and NOT be asked if you need any help. Why is this bad? Because a lot of the time I'm looking for something to be used in jewelry making or, like this time, a dollhouse. I don't know if it's because I'm a woman or because I was walking up and down every aisle, but I must have been asked five times if I needed something. Even when I can't find what I'm looking for, I still prefer to just look for it myself because you never know what else you'll stumble across. I'm thinking of getting a tshirt that says "I've been going to hardware stores since before you were born. Leave me alone."

There's an amazing toy store with a robust art supply department within walking distance of my apartment.
I get to support a local business while buying fake fur and duct tape sheets. (Also for the dollhouse and also I think it was killing the cashier that I wouldn't tell her what I was making.)

The best reason not to take a Sunday nap is to have a video chat with best friends.
This may have been the first time all four of us have done a video chat together. It turns out we were more caught up on each other's lives than we thought, but it was still great to just all be together for a bit.

It is possible to cry at a sport that's not Carolina basketball.
I can't help it, I just love the Manning boys so much and so wanted Peyton to win. I only teared up for a second after one of Seattle's (way too many) touchdowns. I just hate to see any team (except Duke) flounder so poorly and lose by so much, but especially a Manning-led team.

It is possible to build a (roofless) house in a weekend.
Bam, progress! From box to this in just two days. Thanks to some discounted "oops" paint at the hardware store, it even got some color

Pinterest Challenge: Tiered Organization Edition

I missed the last one but I'm back and linking with Young House Love, Bower Power, Sparkle Meets Pop, and RedBirdBlue for a Pinterest Challenge.

Confession: This is how my bathroom counter looks most of the time.

Shameful, I know. But, if you'll notice, I at least have a container of some sort for just about everything. I do this in all areas of my life and is my not-so-secret as to how I rarely lose things. My most common bathroom items were in little bowls from Anthropologie.

Cute, but they take up space. They also sit by the medicine cabinet organizer (that has never been in the cabinet) and the contents of bowls and organizer would seem to jump out and mix up and just make a mess.

I've seen a number of DIY tiered organizers on blogs and Pinterest for awhile, and have casually looked for white plates. When the ladies announced this season's challenge it kicked me into gear to find some plates, find the candle holders I already had, and get to building.

Here is the pin from Brooklyn Limestone that I've had on my DIY board for 41 weeks. I did it on a bigger scale in a different way, but hers has been in my head for awhile.

The Crate and Barrel outlet near work had plates on clearance that happened to be three perfectly different sizes. They happened to be from the same line, which meant they were all the same shade of white, which soothed this OCD perfectionist's heart oh so much. (And probably soothed the minds of the employees as they wondered why this woman kept going from one side of the store to the other, comparing seemingly identical white plates, and holding them out in the air in different formations.)

I didn't start taking photos until after the spray painting, but I bought some pretty plum paint and taped the center of each plate so just the rim showed. I also painted two silver candlesticks I had but were no longer using. Then I glued everything with Gorilla Glue and let it sit for a day.

Enter cute horizontal storage that still has room for individual containers. (I still have the bowls and thought about using them, but I like the cheap acrylic containers I grabbed from The Container Store.)

It even inspired me to finally put the organizer inside the medicine cabinet.

It's basically just transplanting the mess a foot higher, but what remains is pretty.

Things I Learned This Weekend

Sometimes you just need a Friday to yourself.
I woke up Friday morning very late, with a headache, as it poured outside. So I made the executive decision to work from home. It cleared up as the day went on and I took a long lunch to just be out and run some errands. It was perfect.

Having a craft store accessible by metro is going to change my life.
A variety store re-opened in Bethesda about a block from where one of my close friends lives. I checked it out for us on Friday and OH MY WORD it's got a huge craft section. I didn't have my full list of ongoing craft needs but I did buy fabric, bobbins, embroidery floss, and other things. I'm probably going to be here once a week.

A clean home is a happy home. Unfortunately.
I hate cleaning. Hate hate hate it. But sometimes you just have to. So I picked up a bunch of things on Friday night, made a mess again on Saturday, and then re-cleaned with broom and vacuum and swiffer and spray all over again on Sunday. It sucks but it is nice to come home to.

My first writer's conference was awesome.
On Saturday I attended my first writer's conference. It was held at a Johns Hopkins building in Dupont Circle and was created by Barrelhouse literary magazine. It was an all-day conference with a keynote speaker and three breakout sessions. I learned so much and got a lot of inspiration for my own work. It was very reasonably priced and so close to home that I couldn't not go, and I'm glad that was the case.

Working out and crafting are great ways to end a busy Saturday.
I was very tired on Saturday after a 9-5 day of conferencing, but I still made myself exercise and do things. After a brief nap, of course.

There's just no good way to spray paint indoors.
In this week's installment of Bonnie Attempts Spray Painting In Her Apartment, this is what I tried:

I saw on Pinterest where someone created a sort of spray tent using a cheap hanging garment bag. I attempted the same thing only I didn't want to pay for a bigger one so I got this smaller one. Which, as you imagine, didn't quite work since there wasn't exactly a lot of room to spray. I also didn't take into account how I would hang it. Thank goodness for (UNC) duck tape and bungee cords. On the upside, I haven't been able to spray paint in awhile but I got to use my sprayer and tarp and mask. Yay!

D.C. is confusing, maps suck, and spray paint might hurt your brain.
I was meeting Brandie for brunch and a movie on Sunday and got so turned around and kept going in the wrong direction in roundabout ways. She blamed my spray painting from the previous night. I blamed maps and D.C. and the fact that I move so much faster than the little blue dot on my map app.

All restaurants should be housed in former fire stations.
Whilst hunting for brunch options, I came across Sixth Engine, a restaurant near Chinatown that is housed in a former fire station. 

It had such cool ambiance and decor, not to mention delicious mimosas and chocolate chip flapjacks. (And they were flapjacks, not pancakes, as the waitress corrected Brandie.)

Ryan Gosling is attractive even with tattoos, bad hair, and bad clothes.
But it can't make up for the depressing, heavy handed, and long winded "A Place Beyond the Pines." B and I had to see it, of course, as we do all Ryan's movies, but this was not a good one.

Don't get angry at Barnes and Noble when you can't find the book you're looking for. When it hasn't been released yet.
I have a B&N gift card that I keep forgetting about and thought on Sunday I'd use it to buy the new Audrey book written by her second son. Well, after fruitlessly searching the store for it and about to haughtily ask for it and mention that Amazon had it in stock, I realized it wasn't out yet. Oops. At least I realized it before huffing and puffing.

When you find yourself hand painting the horns on two ram figures Carolina blue, step away from the crafting.
They look adorable though and are going to make awesome bookends eventually. I have no regrets.  

Things I Learned This Weekend

Being in charge of a Happy Hour is a bit stressful. But also kind of awesome.
It was my work friend Shana's birthday and since she is the usual office HH organizer, I organized this one for her. I got really irked that people replied and didn't go, or went to a different bar instead/first, but it ended up being a good small group celebration for the birthday lady.

You're never too old for balloons.
I don't know exactly how it happened, but one minute a guy was carrying a bundle of the bar's balloons followed by a young girl, and the next minute the young girl was bringing three balloons over to Shana. It may have had something to do with our group yelling, "Look, Shana, balloons for your birthday!"

I can go to the thrift store and only spend $4.
After not going for more than a month, I went and only bought a loaf pan, two books, and a pair of shoes.

Drills are just freaking amazing.
I got a drill two Christmases ago but only just used it for the first time on Saturday. Before I had it I always needed one, thus the asking for it, but then after I had it was afraid to use it without adult/Daddy supervision. Well, now I'm a drilling machine and just want to drill holes in everything. (Which the roommate is thrilled about, naturally.) I even broke a drill bit! Like a bad ass.

There's something very fulfilling in finishing a craft project started six months ago.
I bought and spray painted these keys way back in October, and then lost them. I found them a few weeks ago and finally found a shallow frame and voila, I have this handy bit of artwork to hold keys. With hooks HAND DRILLED BY MOI and keys secured with ribbon threaded through holes HAND DRILLED BY MOI. 

The only thing better than finishing a project begun six months ago is to finish one in the works since a year ago.
I bought this vintage dancer brooch from an estate jewelry salesman in Eastern Market on President's Day weekend with my sister. In 2012. It was chipped in places and had some missing jewels and pearls. (I don't have a before picture but these look like mine did expect for different colors: Etsy 1 and Etsy 2.) I wasn't crazy about the random mix of colors anyway so I bought a variety of blue and green crystals, cleaned her up with some silver paint, and here she is, finally.

The best way to procrastinate doing taxes is to watch a movie and organize paperwork.
I watched "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" while clearing out all my files. (Pay stubs from jobs held 7 years ago? Bye!) Then I did my taxes. In less than an hour. And the movie was really good, too.

A beautiful day plus a Pier One store closing sale is a dangerous combination.
As a reward for doing my taxes, I set out for a walk on our first real Spring day. (Finally!) Unfortunately, my walk took me right to the Pier One in my neighborhood that is closing. Since I have no self control/really did need fake flowers, I walked out with these beauties. (40% off!) I still have some arranging to do, though.

Top photo: The vase is a Waterford vase I selected as my 5 year anniversary gift at my job. It's so heavy and lovely.
Bottom photo: Please also note the amazing calendar Karey got me and the other ladies for our birthdays. She went way back into the photo archives of our friendship and put together just the best calendar of memories. Each month is like opening a time capsule. I love it.

Standing five rows back at a concert is awesome.
Sunday night I went with three friends to a Frightened Rabbit concert. Shana gave me a bunch of random CDs as part of my bday present and theirs was one I really enjoyed. Since the tickets were cheap and it was Shana's birthday, I decided to see them live. They were really good and being so close to the stage was a first for me and made it all the more intense and enjoyable.

Some people still wave actual lighters.
Ok, I hate when people hold up their cell phones for light at concerts, it just seems so yuppie or something, but, honestly, the lighters made me nervous. I wanted to scream, "Fire hazard!"

Standing five rows back at a concert for 2 hours, in new boots, when you have a bad back and a propensity to feel faint after standing for too long is not awesome.
So I left before they came back for the encore. And I have no regrets about that.

Nothing vs. Anything

I was in a seriously crummy mood for no discernible reason on Thursday. As in, I wanted to murder everyone. And not for very good reasons so it wouldn't have even been justifiable homicide.

I knew I needed to change my attitude so about halfway through the day I stopped working for a about a half hour and tried to just be happy. I wrote personal emails, chatted with a few friends, and read some blogs. I focused on things that make me happy and forgot about all the other crap for a little while.

Part of this happy-making was deciding on a craft to do when I got home as the promise and potential of a creative endeavor always makes me smile. And it did. So I printed off a words to use as a template, picked up some poster board on the way home, set up a light table using my dining room table, gathered some markers, and got to work.

This was my inspiration and this is my creation:

As you can imagine, no, I regret nothing about this mood-enhancing endeavor. (Except for maybe the distracting reflection of moi. And also maybe the too much white space between lines.)

Oh, except, I may regret putting nien instead of rien. Brandie pointed out this weekend that she thought "nein" was German, and after I thought about it, I realized how similar my r's and n's look when I write them. So I consulted the original source and, yep, it should be rien.

So after testing some white paints and settling on a white nail polish, here it is. No, I don't regret anything.

I Used A Saw...

...and I didn't lose any fingers!

Now, if you're like several of my friends, and upon reading this exclaimed, "Who in the hell let that klutz use a saw?!" Then you'll find the answer several times below. Hint: It starts with "D" and ends with "addy."

When I was home over Thanksgiving, Daddy taught me how to use the band saw so I could cut some wine corks for a Christmas gift. (These particular corks later became cork coasters for my friend, Jan. I also made a cork memo board and a cork necklace holder for my other besties.)

Bottom line: This saw is awesome. And I kind of want one. And as soon as I figure out what I would use it for, where I would put it, and if my insurance covers domestic accidents, I'll just place the call to Daddy and he can pick up the one we already picked out at Harbor Freight. (Because, yes, of course that happened.)

A Practically Perfect Badass

It's only two weeks after the day, but I put it on the to-blog list, so by golly here it is, my work Halloween costume.

At the suggestion of my friend, Sasha, and this inspiration, I set out to re-create Mary Poppins.

Now, lest ye think this costume flies right in the face of Operation: Badass, let me point out some reasons Ms. Poppins is quite the badass herself:

• She doesn't take any crap from Mr. Banks and his sexist ways.
• She does what she wants with the kids.
• Jumping into chalk paintings and dancing with penguins=acid trip
• Spoonful of sugar=some sort of downer drug
• Mrs. Banks is a suffragette and you know Mary was, too.
• She's a free spirit who doesn't let herself get too attached, once the wind changes, she's gone.
• Burt is clearly in love with her but she just keeps him as her friend. While using him for acid.
• She is a master of the exasperated look and eye roll.

Now that that's out of the way, this is me channeling the ultimate badass:

And her accessories. (The hat caused a lot of hot glue gun grief and I hate that you can't see it in the above picture. I'm still waiting for coworkers to post their pictures.)

I think it's easy to put together a costume if you want to spend a little cash. But I set out to do this one for $20 or less, just because I love a good shopping challenge and really don't like Halloween. And I was able to accomplish this. (More or less.)

Shirt: $3, thrift store (This was so perfect and I hope to figure out a less uptight way to wear it.)
Skirt: $2.50, thrift store
Hat: $6, Target/homemade
Daisies and berries: $4, AC Moore/homemade
Bow tie and belt: $4, AC Moore/homemade
Bag, shoes, tights: Already owned (Bag was a tote bag of Mom's that I re-constructed.)
Umbrella: $13, Target (Mom paid so it doesn't count in total.)
Total: $19.50

Not too shabby. Plus, I was one of the costume winners at work so I'll get a nice lunch out of the deal, too.

Now that I've channeled both Mary/Julie and Holly/Audrey, what 60s era leading lady shall I do next year?

Tidbits

Here are a few random things to catch myself up on:

• The only time I left my apartment this weekend was to pick up a pizza. From the curb. I wasn't intending to be a hermit, but with a headache that made me have to cancel movie plans with a friend, and then changing my mind about seeing an intense play, it just wasn't meant to me. I used to feel so lame and lazy if I stayed in, but sometimes it's just good for the soul. And sanity.
• After 3.5 years in the same small office (top photo) with the same two officemates, I recently moved to a new office (bottom photo). With the same two officemates plus the addition of one more. We lost our door but gained more space, more light, and a window. (My officemates do have faces, I just blurred them in the photo. Just in case you were worried.) It's weird after being in the same space for so long, but it's nice to have more breathing room. Literally and figuratively. 

• Toward the end of the month I was happy to help Lauren celebrate her birthday. As she pointed out, we spent Valentine's Day together earlier this year and now her birthday, so we're pretty much dating. We went to an Asian place in Old Town that was very nice. They also brought us a free dessert after I told them it was her birthday, so yay!

• I've been on quite the crafting tear lately, largely because I'm trying to make a lot of my Christmas presents. But as a result of this tear I've managed to hot glue my pants to my knee and then glue an earring I was making to my work surface. I've also broken a sewing machine needle, burned my fingernail with hot glue, and lost some painted keys. Bottom line? I might need a back-up present plan.
• As much as I'm trying to avoid Facebook lately thanks to all the political posts. (Sidebar: When in the history of the world has anyone ever changed their political stance after a FB status? Answer is NEVER.) But I must say I am thankful for the FB politics just for showing me, repeatedly, how happy I am that I didn't marry anyone from my high school. And why it is that that I'm only still actual friends with a few of them. Like two.