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

A UNC win over Duke and a celebratory outfit make for a great Friday.
While I have worn just a plain UNC t-shirt to work before, and will surely do so again come March Madness, I thought I'd fancy it up a bit on Friday in honor of the joyous events of Thursday night. (Ignore the spots on my mirror; I clean on Sundays.)

Fun nails also make for a good Friday.
I painted my nails during the first half of the game. I rarely do anything complicated so this was a nice change.

A perfect blue-skied day is a great antidote to the Winter blues.
On Friday I was so sick of the weather and city and people that I thought about maxing out my credit card and flying somewhere warm. Luckily both Saturday and Sunday were clear and warm and put a little pep in my step.

Fill-a-bag day at the thrift store is as good as various bloggers have said. 
My fave thrift store had $7 fill-a-bag last week. By the time I went on Saturday, it was pretty picked over, but it was still awesome to not even look at the price of things and just toss it in the paper bag. I got a skirt, shirt, two books, vintage hot curlers, a board game, a small picture, and I think that’s about it. 

Carrying a dowel around is dangerous. 
It really is a miracle I didn’t poke my eye out or the eye out of someone else. 

If I need help at a hardware store, I should just call my Daddy. 
I needed to buy drill bits for my drill but was confused by all the options. I’ve written before about the over-eagerness of employees to help me at said store, and this time, when I actually needed help, they didn’t know what I was talking about. Calls to the four different phones of my parents—and finally a call back later—I got help from the father. 

Just because you were born in the ’80s, doesn’t mean you actually know anything about the ’80s.
Included in my fill-a-bag was Trivial Pursuit: ’80s version. Karey and I played it Saturday nite and it was hard. Really hard. We called it a draw after a few hours and after I had been in and out of the center circle for the win so many times I lost count. And the most upsetting part to me was that I completely bombed at my best and favorite category: News/Headlines/Events. 

It is difficult and exhausting to try and attach casters to vintage wood. 
I don’t know if it’s my wood, or my drill, or my cheap casters, or just me, but there’s a good chance that this soda crate is just going to have to make it on one wheel. 

There's only one way to celebrate the closing ceremonies of the Sochi Olympics.
With a slightly offensive banner, some vodka, and a Mexican dip. (Because there was no Russian food that seemed appealing.)

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

Things I Learned This (Long) Weekend

Dante was foreshadowing the Crystal City underground when he wrote "The Divine Comedy."
Because Crystal City is a circle of hell. There were many metro delays on Friday evening that had me stuck on a train for about an hour at the CC station. I finally gave up and thought I'd find a bus. Wrong! I wandered around the impossible underground maze of stores, which were eerily devoid of shoppers and owners, for a half hour. On my third trip outside to find a bus, I instead found a cab. Best $25 I've ever spent.

If you love fruit dip and have no self control you shouldn't make fruit dip.
Especially when you're the only one around. But that damn fluff/cream cheese/vanilla mixture is just heaven on strawberries. And a fork.

They really mean "rummage" at a Rummage Sale.
A church at the end of my block had a rummage sale on Saturday, my first rummage! And they really mean rummage. They had tons of clothes in heaps on tarps. I skipped them at first, heading for books and housewares, where I picked up 4 books, a "Votes for Women" packet, a basket, a divided tray, and a solid tray. I then meandered back to the clothes and after spying some nautical flag napkins -- I'm kind of obsessed with nautical flags -- decided to jump in to the heap and dig. (I didn't actually jump, but there was digging.) I found 1 hat, 2 skirts, 1 dress, 1 pair of pants, 2 J Crew wool sweaters, 1 Old Navy sweater vest, and a child's Vineyard Vines polo dress I thought I could wear as a dress. (See more on that below.) What was the grand total for all of this? A whopping $16! (Actually $20 because I donated the change. It's a church!)

I have a big head.
Or at least a head that's too big for a child's dress. I gave it to my co-worker for his daughter. At least it was only a $1.

A sewing machine and a little patience can lead to a new wardrobe.
Or what feels like a new wardrobe. On Saturday I took in six skirts! Two were from the rummage sale and four were from my closet that I've been making fit with safety pins for the last two summers. It was alarmingly easy to take them all in and I'm so happy to have six new (to me) skirts in my repertoire.

The inside of an iron with a retractable cord is a mess.
I dropped my iron for the 100th time, but this time from a distance of about 3 feet on to hardwood floor. The iron still works, but the cord can no longer be stored neatly within.

The Jonathan Adler store is pretty.
And expensive. His store opened in Georgetown in the fall but this was my first visit. I only took one picture, as inspiration for what I can put under my own new (to me) cloche. But the entire store was lovely and modern and bright.

You know you're in for an interesting show when you have to take off your shoes and wear these.
This is B and I before a dance performance at the Kennedy Center. We knew ahead of time we would have to remove our shoes, stand for 45 minutes, and there would be nudity. Wowza was it a show. (See more on that below.)

Some people play fast and loose with the word "art."
I won't get too specific out of respect of the "dancers," but we saw what was billed as a dance show. We walked in to a long, white room with various large squares on the floor. Some squares had plastic cubes, some had piles of paint, two had a disgusting amount of fake, dark hair, and most squares had a person, wearing only flesh-colored undies. Yep. For 45 minutes the crowd walked around and amongst the squares, watching the performers dance, move cubes, freeze, and eventually roll in the paint. (And the hair, which was awful.) It was different, to be sure, but at least we have a good story to tell.

I seriously love a weekend trip to pool.
As I blogged repeatedly last summer, I'm sure I'll be blogging the same this summer in terms of trips to apartment pool. I just love it so. And this year they have new chairs that can lay completely flat! Hello, easy reading on my stomach.

I seriously love a weekend trip to the pool...even if my knees look like a "weird butt."
Or so says an FB friend after I briefly posted this photo. Umm, pretty sure everyone knows those are my knees, and not my butt.

Too much foot soak + electronic foot bath = bubble madness
I made three trips to the kitchen sink with a handful of bubbles before giving up. I bought the bath on crazy sale on Sunday, thinking it would be great for use with all my assorted foot products. I'm hoping it was just user error or else this thing will be going back.

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.

Things I Learned This Weekend

Nordstrom has very pretty dresses. 
Friday night was our first attempt at finding bridesmaid dresses for B's wedding. Since we'll be wearing black, we're trying out a few national chains in addition to the standard wedding sources. We haven't found "the one" yet, but it was fun to try pretty dresses on. 

It never gets easier to watch your team lose.
Oh, Carolina basketball. I'll love y'all forever, but you're kind of killing me.

Never let your freakishly strong friend handle the wine stopper.
I have the cutest/tackiest wine stopper with a woman's legs coming out of the stopper. Brandie, who you'll recall is an arm wrestling beast, was trying to get it out and ripped her poor legs right off! 

Playing Wii games with friends is a good antidote to bad basketball.
This was our second Wii Game Night and it was another success. I finally got a second remote and we played Wii Sports. And laughed a lot.

We're a little too good at punching.
The boxing game is awesome for pent up aggression. Which we had a lot of apparently.

Tennis is really really hard.
For me. B and K did great. We may have to credit B's commitment to the game, as she's seen here pretending to bounce the tennis ball, just like the pros.

Rameses makes a good bowling partner.
At least according to Brandie.

Vindication can be found in Wii bowling. 
For years, my family's made fun of the way I leap a little when I Wii bowl. My friends were making fun of me too, until I had 2 strikes and about 6 spares, all because of the leap. How do I know it was the leap? Because as soon as K and B tried the leap, they too, scored higher. It's all in the leap, people! 

 
I can quote the vast majority of "Clueless." 
And not just sporadically. 

Justin Bieber needs to stay away from my "Saturday Night Live."
I've seen every episode of SNL since 1997. Even the ones where Eminem was the musical guest. So I feel confident in saying that Bieber seriously needs to leave my show alone. 

Every Sunday should start with "Sabrina" on the big screen. 
My friend Sasha alerted me to the fact that a D.C. theatre was showing Audrey's "Sabrina." I, of course, leapt at the chance to see it and to introduce Sasha to another Audrey film—it's only her second one! (Her first being BAT outside a few summers ago.)

I could listen to "The Weight" on repeat forever. 
I found myself really enjoying the Grammy's this year, no part more so than the collaborative tribute to The Band's "The Weight." I seriously love that song

Things I Learned This Weekend

Even a Friday can't help me enjoy snow.
My love/hate affair with snow has been well-documented on this blog. And even though it's been three years since Snowmageddon I and II, I'm still not quite over my hatred of the white stuff. Even when all I have to do in it is make it to the metro, then the mall for a haircut, then back on the metro over the Potomac, then a bus home. Actually, yeah, even that stuff is annoying when there's white and wet stuff everywhere.

There is such a thing as a good haircut.
Another topic I've exhausted on this blog: my hair. But I think I finally found a good hairdresser up here, and it only took me five and a half years. She cleaned up my tragic split ends and then gave me some good face-framing layers. Pieces are still a bit scary short and don't quite stay up in my ponytail, but it's actually a good haircut, which really makes all the difference.

There's nothing like a bunch of pro-life high-schoolers to ruin the taste of Taco Bell.
One of the main reasons I'm able to handle the tourist madness that is Pentagon City Mall is because of the Taco Bell in the food court. On this particular visit there was a large group of Catholic high schoolers in town for the pro-life march held earlier in the day. One boy was quoting Revelations and there was a Father trying to round everyone up for the buses. As I fought the urge to instigate, they got up, leaving some of their trash beyond. Would it have been wrong of me to stand up and tell them what to do with their trash, since I so despise them telling women what to do with their bodies? Or would it have been a public service to remind them to work harder to protect this planet they're trying so hard to populate.

Taking down Christmas decorations makes a room seem very empty/clean.
Finally took down my decorations on Saturday, a week earlier than the end of January but I had the time and got to it. At first the room just felt very empty, now it just feels right.

There's nothing quite like watching a Carolina game with a room full of Tar Heels.
The ladies and I went to this year's new Carolina bar to watch the Carolina v. State game. There was lots of room, drink and food specials, and lots of fellow Tar Heel alums cheering on our (less than stellar) Heels.

Buffalo Billiards has an interesting interpretation of "side order of fries" .
Karey said side order of fries, and she got fries on the side of her chicken fingers. I said side order of fries, and got this massive basket for $6.99 that we ate off of all night, and still never saw the bottom.

If your team can't look good, at least you and your friends can look good.
Not that we looked good, that would be cocky. But compared to the team, we looked like super models. Except for my demon red eyes, which I can't get rid of.

The best way to mourn a bad basketball loss is with Krispy Kreme.
Carolina girls can't turn down the "hot now" sign. Thankfully, Krispy Kreme is always a win.

The coolest bumper sticker ever is in NW DC.
Doctor Who for the win!

Ikea thread is not very good.
Among other sewing problems I had on Sunday, the thread I bought from Ikea kept breaking. Apparently the Swedes don't sew as fast as I do? Or they buy their thread somewhere else, too.

The "Shawshank Redemption" is amazing.
This was the first time I saw this movie and oh my word was it amazing. Now I know why it was one of my Poppy's favorites.

Too much foreshadowing can ruin the moment.
This is in reference to this week's devastating "Downton Abbey" which didn't make me cry once. And I cry at everything. I'm going to blame it on all the dramatic moments that preceded it which made it not a shock to me. But I'm still a bit worried I'm broken.