3.09.2012

Saved by the meme:

It's been a while, busy, busy, blah, blah, blah. Keeping up with a blog is hard, y'all. Lucky for all of us, I've been tagged to participate in a meme. Lazy, I know. But, also! Fresh, new content!


How do you mark the end of the week and the beginning of the weekend?
Popcorn and a movie. Mattio got a popcorn maker for Christmas this year, and I swear I have never eaten more popcorn in my life. With real butter melted on it. Mmmmmm. And beer. Almost always beer.

What is your idea of luxury?
My idea of luxury is an agenda-free afternoon of quiet. I could shop, get a mani/pedi, sleep... the idea of multiple hours uninterrupted is complete and utter luxury to me. By the way, I would just like to say, on the internet, for the world to read, that I give Mattio my version of luxury once a weekend in the winter (we all ski, he doesn't. Guess who stays behind all. By. Himself.). I think I am owed some luxury.

Tell me a book, a drink and a food that all complement each other.

Uh oh. So this meme is courtesy of Ms. Musings--she who likes to read. Like, smart books and stuff. I can recall 4 books I've read this year, and only because they are on my iPad right now. Probably 3 of them were for book club, and the 4th is Mindy Kaling's book (which is excellent, by the way). So I can give you a food and drink that compliment each other... but throw in a book? Eh. But since I mentioned Mindy Kaling, I'll go with her book, and a super girlie drink, like a cosmo, or bellini or something (she is a total girlie girl). To eat? Cupcakes. Why cupcakes? I don't know, why not?

What is one thing you love about the house (flat, apartment, yurt, whatever) you live in, and one thing you would change?
Ooooh, we just went through a major house renovation 2 years ago, so there's LOTS I love in my house: my upstairs bathroom, my closet, my super cool charcoal grey sectional that is comfortable as HELL... If I could only name 1, it would probably be the upstairs bathroom. It's average sized, but it's ginormous compared to the 1 we had BR (before renovating). The entire room was designed around these blue glass tiles I found--the warehouse the store ordered from was temporarily out of stock when I went to order them, and I searched Fairfield County high and low, and not one other store carried them. The original store finally got them in stock, and I love them so, so much. The bathroom itself is nothing crazy, no spa shower, or fancy tub... no double sink, or special toilet. I just love the color, and those tiles. And having an actual linen closet in the bathroom. That's nice, too. 
Since we changed so much with the renovation, it's hard to think of something I would change at this point. The original footprint of the house is teeny-tiny, as is our lot. I would love to change that... but having a bigger yard means more to take care of, which is so not happening (not a dig at Mattio, who does a lot of taking care of the outside, but more of a complaint about how much care the outside needs). Realistically, the one thing I'd change is I would finish our attic. After 2 years, I'm still looking for more room. 

What is something about yourself that you have made peace with?

At 5' even, I would have to say my height. Not much going to change there, so I may as well accept it.  


If you’re browsing in a real world bookshop, what will make you pick up a book that you’ve never heard of by an author you aren’t familiar with?
Anyone who knows me knows that my answer to this type of question will always be cover design. I've found some really great (and not so great) books that way. I am far too guilty of judging books by their covers.

If you could (or do) have it your own way, what’s your decorating style? (Plain, floral, girly, austere, classic…?) 
I'm a sucker for most anything mid-century modern (see above: super cool charcoal grey sectional). Before we renovated, we had saved and saved and saved for new furniture--so after the house was done, we were able to toss a lot of our old hand-me-down furniture (which did us well for 10 years, make no mistake), and decorate the way we really wanted to. West Elm was (and still is) a great resource for clean, modern lines.

What never fails to cheer you up? 
My kids' laughing--like, deep, hearty, laughing. Shoes. Shoes on sale. A bike ride to the beach. The beach, in general. Dinner with friends (wasn't that a movie? Because I think it was, and that's not what I mean. I mean actual dinner, with actual friends). Dessert. Cupcakes. Vodka and soda with a splash of cranberry. 

What are you going to do when you retire that you don’t have time for now? 
Take more pictures. I'm always envious of those people that do a photo a day--who has time for that? I try and keep up with Instagram, but I always fall short. 

Given the chance, which house in literature would you move into, and why?

Uh oh, another literary question. Again, my mind is blank. I'd say--after much thought--that it might be cool to live in the Hogwarts castle, from Harry Potter. But--after even more though--I'd really miss electricity. And I'd probably be spooked out of my mind. So maybe I'd just like to visit Hogwarts. I just read the first chapter of the Great Gatsby (the teenager is reading it for her literature class), so the Buchanan's house might be cool... but there's so much sadness there, so maybe not. See? I'm not so great at these questions. Ask me a questions about shoes, or clothes...

What don’t you wear, not because it doesn’t suit you, but because you don’t think you’re the type of person who wears that style/colour/a poncho? 
Ah, see? This I can answer. Well, I wouldn't be caught dead in a poncho for sure. Unfortunately I was blessed with rather large, uh, girls. So nothing billow-y on top, unless I'm feeling like looking like a tent. Also, I always steer clear of ankle strapped shoes. That whole 5' tall thing... anything that cuts me off at the ankle makes me look like I have stubby legs. Which I do, because I'm 5' tall. So let's not call attention to that, K?


I think I'm supposed to come up with new questions, and tag people... but, it's been a while! Busy, busy! Blah, blah, blah. Keeping up with a blog is hard, y'all, so I'm going to leave it right there and and offer these questions to anyone who wants to answer them. Shoot me a link to your blog in the comments if you do.