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.)

Wednesday Words

"As you get older you find out the place where you started out pulls at you stronger and stronger."

-The Shipping News, Annie Proulx

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

About That Jolly Holiday Thing

I failed. It only took two weeks into the new year and I failed. It was going great, I was having fun, I was inspired, I was ready. Then I went to London for work. With 3 days notice. And I was going to be living there for 6 to 9 months. So things got really crazy really fast and I could barely get through every day much less find a reason to celebrate each day.

Now I'm not going to be living there for 6 to 9 months. And it's entirely my choice, my call, my decision. Because I didn't want to be there for an extended period of time. I didn't want to be away from home home in NC and home in DC and my family and my friends and my Tivo and my crafts and my perfect queen bed and my hot hot shower. I loved living there at 22 but I also hated it. It's so far away and I missed so much while I was gone.

By saying no, maybe I'm missing out on an adventure and maybe I'm missing out on a great career opportunity. But I don't think so. I feel so right about this.

I've been 30 for almost exactly one month. So I'm not pretending to suddenly be looking back at my 20s like they were so long away. Or like they were even that awful because, really, they weren't. Yet I know that 5 years ago, maybe even 1 year ago, I wouldn't have had the strength or confidence to say that I'm more important than my job.

In the words of Forrest Gump, that's all I have to say about that. I don't want to abandon Jolly Holiday entirely so I'll think of ways I can incorporate it while actually writing regularly again. I need to be writing regularly again.

January 15: Hat Day

If I don't wear a hat in the winter, within two minutes outside I feel like the inside of my ears are bleeding. It can take a good half hour for them to stop hurting. It's not pretty. Needless to say, I have a lot of hats. (I just started keeping them in my vintage Eastern Airlines bag my mom bought me a few years ago. My Poppy worked for them for many years and it makes me smile.)

So even though I wear a hat every day, to celebrate this day, I wore the very first hat I bought, either as a senior in high school or a freshman in college. It's an oldie but a goodie.

Wednesday Words

"Quiet people have the loudest minds."

-Stephen Hawking

January 14: Dress Up Your Pet Day

Confession: I don't hate when people dress their pets. I mean, I don't approve of tutus or glitter--even animals deserve some dignity--but I think a cute sweater or funny t-shirt is just adorable.

Our first Peanut had a red sweater with black diamonds on it. It even had a bit of a turtleneck. It was so cute. And a few years ago we bought second Peanut* a pink argyle sweater because she is a Southern girl, after all.

She also let me put a bow on her as a pretty necklace.

I couldn't find any pictures of Dimples dressed up, but she was terrified of the camera so that could be why.

Since Peanut girl is home in North Carolina and I can't really dress her up today, I thought I'd go for a little virtual dress up.

 

She'll be ready for the runways of Paris in no time.

*My sister gave first Peanut his name and when we got Peanut and Dimples they were already named. Out of respect for dear Peanut the First, we always refer to him in as Peanut One or First Peanut or Peanut the Magnificent.

January 13: Rubber Duckie Day

Conversation I had at work today:

Me: Do we still have that giant rubber duckie?
Her: I haven't seen it lately. I think [Name Redacted] may have taken it when he left. It might be on the other side though.
Me: Ok, I might look later. I'm not crazy, btw.

The point of this? We used to have a rather large rubber duck at the office. I planned on using him or her to celebrate this day, but my plan was dashed. Instead, I just took a listen to this lovely song that just has to make you smile.

January 12: Clean Off Your Desk Day

There's some dispute on the holiday sites as to whether this day is today or tomorrow. But since I cleaned my desk at home today, I'm saying it's today. Yay productivity!

Yes, that's clean. You should have seen it before.

January 11: Step In a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day

What an odd holiday. I love to joke with my friends as much as the next gal, but I'd never jump in a puddle and soak them. However, it did happen to rain alllll day today, and since I was out running errands in it in my awesome wellies, I thought I could jump in a puddle and splash someone else: me! I am my own friend, after all.

It's a puddle, I swear. It just didn't photograph well.