theme song

Lately I've been loving the song "Mushaboom" by Feist (music video here). I particularly like these lines from the lyrics:

Unpacking the bags and setting up
And planting lilacs and buttercups
But in the meantime I've got it hard
Second floor living without a yard
It may be years until the day
My dreams will match up with my pay

You may know that I'm generally not a fan of female singers. I've written about Feist before, I like her voice because it is unique, though I'm not sure I could listen to an entire album straight through without getting sick of it. The lyrics of this particular song are optimistic, yet realistic at the same time. That's how I feel about my life right now. This song is my perfect theme song for fall 2008.

finally

Design*sponge has finally done a Madison design guide. Click here to see it.

Note: I absolutely love the design*sponge blog. It includes sneak peaks into designer/artist homes and links to new trends and items. Check it out if you are in need of some interior design inspiration.

a tisket, a tasket, put your f*ing clothes in that laundry basket

The house is a sty. The man is winning his battle against the clothes hamper in the bedroom - clothing is strewn everywhere. Even over the doors of the closets and on the cat's bed. This weekend I'm going to have to try to wrangle him into the realization that if he would like the lovin' to continue, he has to at least attempt to place dirty clothes IN THE FUCKING BASKET. Right now, as I type these words, the basket is sitting there empty, with a moat of dirty clothing all around it. That laundry basket is the castle keep of laundry baskets, an impenetrable fortress.

This weekend will be all about cleaning the house, or rather, urging the man to do his own laundry, relinquish control and allow me to do his laundry, or wake to find himself being smothered by the weight of his dirty clothing. I may even stuff a sock in his mouth for good measure.

conversation upon my homecoming

Me: did you just wink at me?

The man: yes

Me: since when do you wink at people?

The man: that's just for you. I don't do that for anyone else.

Me: okay...

The man: I'll give a thumbs up or a wave to just about anyone, but that wink, baby, that wink is just for you.

Sweet? Yes. Out of the ordinary? Definitely. I don't know if leaving the man alone for four days is such a good idea. I will spare you the details of how he kept feeling me up, claiming that he was checking to see if my t-shirt was printed or if the logo was an iron-on. That, too, was followed by a wink.

best yet

I'm back. I've been absent due to overload of work and (if you can believe this) extra-curricular activities.

I had the best birthday ever. Seriously. Ever in my life. Perfect day, perfect gifts, perfect boyfriend making it a perfect day. It was wonderful. I have fabulous friends.

In the weeks since I've posted I've been somewhat stressed due to work and hip problems, but I've been in good spirits. I'm liking being 27. I think it is a good age, and so far it has brought me many happy times.

I bought my first items off Craigslist the other day, and it was a fabulous purchase. I bought a bed frame and 9-drawer dresser for $45. I threw in an extra $20 so they would deliver to my house (after determining that they weren't crazy wack-job nutters). I love the dresser/mirror and I'm happy enough with the bed. We already had a nice mattress, but it is a full-size and I wanted to upgrade the headboard (or lack thereof) as cheaply as possible. Some day we might get a queen, but right now our Serta is fine with me. Anyway, I didn't want to spend a lot of money and I got away with a pretty good result for very little expenditure or effort. Photos to come.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Detroit for my nephew's baptism. I'm taking Amtrak, which is another first for me. While in Europe I took EuroRail everywhere, but I've never been on a train in the US, so I'm a little nervous. I figure if I could handle the trains in a variety of countries where I didn't speak the language, I should be fine here. Taking a train will allow me the option of getting up to walk around intermittently, which in turn will allow my legs to function by the time I roll into Ann Arbor.

I'll post more when I get back and will have photos to share with you.