Friday LOLs

I have gushed many a time about how wonderful the internet is. Just when I think I've found the awesomest of awesome, the internet goes and pulls something out of a back pocket I didn't even know it had. Stumbling on these little treasures is both a blessing (duh) and a curse (I'm usually about 7-10 topics/websites away from what I was originally looking for. And that original topic/website has been long forgotten about by now).

So last night, I came across yet another internet awesome: Pinup RDJ.

Says the site:

Vintage pinups are the pinnacle of art. Robert Downey Jr is the pinnacle of sexy. It's not rocket science.

Rocket science it is not. Hysterical? Um, yes. Times two.



The site is peppered with these morphed images of Robert Downey Jr, and, well, 50s-era pinups. In between that awesomeness are answered reader questions (for example, How do you not explode from your awesomeness? Answer: oh believe me, I suck at plenty of things to keep it balanced.)

Thank you, internet, for the gift of awesomeness that just keeps on giving.

From the intern

What up traciedesigns readers??!

It's the intern here. Checking out what my paren--ahem, bosses--mean when they talk about "blogging." I still don't get it, but Momm--er, the bosslady--tells me to keep typing. Like I don't do enough around here.

So what exactly have I been doing all week? Well, lucky for you, I kept a photo diary of a day in the life of the intern. Read on...

We start out with the best intentions; working of course:



But it's much more fun to just press all the keys on the keyboard and play around with the mouse (Of course, it totally helps throw the boss off of any suspicious activity if you look real cute and smile. Like, A LOT):



After all that exhausting work, I need to relax a bit:



Since we're on a whole technology "theme" at the office, it's super fun to play Robot. How do you play? You just throw a shopping bag over your head and talk in a monotone voice. I made this game up. I know, I am SO ahead of my time.



All this playing wears me out though. I hear much work gets done while I'm napping; but for all I know, the boss is sleeping, too.



PLAYTIME! Nothing sparks my creativity like the swings.



Finally, lots of days at traciedesigns end with ice cream. Today was one of them.



As I am known to say: "Yummy, yummy in my tummy."

More books--again!

One of my most favorite bloggers out there is Oh Joy. I love her sense of style; she has a great eye for design, fashion and decorating. So when I heard that she wrote a book on freelancing (with fellow freelancer Meg Mateo Ilasco), of course I bought it.

Creative, Inc. arrived a few weeks ago, and so far it's been a great read. Like me, Joy started her freelance business 5 years ago, and says: "This is the book I wish I had when I started my freelance business..." Amen, sistah.

To promote the book, the ladies made the most adorable stop motion short:



And--squeal!--they're doing a 3 city book tour that just happens to stop in NYC. I'll totally be there.

In the meantime, if you're currently freelancing, or even thinking about it, put Creative, Inc at the top of your to-be-read list.

More intern

For quite some time, I have been whining about getting an intern. Someone to help with the day to day at traciedesigns, another set of hands (and eyes).

What I got was definitely another set of hands (and eyes), just not quite what I was hoping for in the help department.

Folks, my almost 3 year old intern is back.

So the eyes aren't for bouncing ideas off of, so much as scouting Nickelodeon for good shows. The hands? Well they actually need *my* help with changing all the dolls' clothes.

But don't get me wrong, this intern has her benefits: she's pretty instrumental in not letting my ego get too big. She forces me to take work breaks and do fun stuff (see above re: dolls' clothes. Have you ever played dolls with an almost 3 year old?). And all that fun stuff? Well, it gets the creative juices flowing in ways that a 5 minutes outdoor "break" has yet to do.

So while I'm completely thankful for the help I have throughout the year, those times when the intern gets to stay home and "help" is a blessing as well.

Oh, and PS: The intern has been talking non-stop about guest blogging this week. Stay tuned...

Scenes from a dinner

So in the year that I have owned it, my iPhone has come through for me in big ways. Like, HA-YUGE ways. Sure, that whole email/internet/phone thing comes in handy, but I'm talking necessity here. Necessity--like, I brought all three children out to dinner, and I have nothing to amuse them. Come on, I know all you parents out there are going, OMG. WHAT was she thinking??!

Cue the phone.

Because not only do I have game and amusement apps ready to go, the phone also comes equipped with a camera. For any budding photographers. Such as the 7 year old.

Take, her Self Portrait, for instance:



Waiting for a Table:



Portrait of Chocolate Milk:



Elbow:



It amuses me to no end to find these "secret" photos on my phone; and she knows it. So... well played, middle child. And, well, thanks, Apple.

Not so new office, not so great floors, and the intern

So today I was going to blog about my new office. I was going to tell you guys all about how I was finally going to have a space of my own, maybe even post a few pictures.

So notice in the above sentence I used past tense: I WAS going to blog about my new office.

Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication; and our floors--well, they didn't turn out as expected. So here I sit, at my desk in the temporary digs, still waiting on my office. The good news is that the painters are there today, painting it all up nicey-nice. The bad news is that whole floor thing.

Hopefully it will be fixed soon, because all week long, I have an intern all excited to go and help me move. OK, she probably won't be much help, but she'll certainly make it more fun.

Friday LOLs

While I'm not a fan of violent movies, I really loved Fight Club (and not just because of Brad Pitt). That said, I would totally go and see Jane Austen's Fight Club. Totally.

In miniature

Love, love, love tilt-shift photography.

Love, love, love NYC.

Love, love, love this tilt-shift video of NYC.

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

Lovely.

(Thanks to Twitter friend Meg Mateo Ilasco for the link!)

Friday LOLs

OK, don't judge, but one of my favorite-ist websites ever is Go Fug Yourself. It's HILARIOUS. The entire premise is photos of celebrities--sometimes A-list, sometimes Z-list; they don't discriminate--wearing their worst. But the Fug Girls, as they are known, are not super mean about it; it's fun--definitely not Mean Girls.

So while I share the Fug Girls' taste in fashion (and Diet Coke, and old-school Brenda Walsh, for that matter [I said, DON'T JUDGE]), I am not of the same level of knowledge as they are about Jennifer Love Hewitt. Or Lifetime movies, apparently.

Did you know that, a few weeks ago, Jennifer Love Hewitt was in a made-for-Lifetime movie called the Client List? Did you know it was NOT based on a John Grisham novel? It is actually a movie about a woman FORCED into prostitution--not because she's held captive by terrorists or anything, but because her husband has a bum knee.

I'll just sit here while you re-read the above sentence.

The Fug Girls knew this, and reviewed the movie. People of the internet, they told us there was a Dashboard Angel of Judgment. They used the term "kind touching" in lieu of prostituting. There are lessons learned:

This is the first lesson of the movie: Totally Let a Dude Look Down Your Shirt If You Think It Will Help.

And this is the second lesson of the movie: If You Say You're Trained In Shiatsu And Your Prospective Massage-Therapist Boss Looks At You Like, "Whoa, She's Into Dogs? Ooookay," Do Not Think Anything Of It; She Probably Just Misheard You And Is Totally Not A Secret Prostitute.

This is the third lesson of the movie: Kind Touching Is Totally Okay If Your Husband's Bum Knee Basically Forces You To Do It, Because Really, Then It's Sort Of His Fault.

OMG, the review of this movie--which, a-duh, was truly awful from the start--is freaking HILARIOUS. Seriously. Take 15 minutes and read this review. Because it is peppered with things like this:

Have you ever wondered what it looks like when you decide to Kind Touch your way to salvation?

Yes, this is 15 minutes of your life that you will never, ever get back; but my God will you laugh. Plus, think of the 2 hours that the Fug Girls had to spend actually watching this thing.

Magic shoes + quick fixes

Ladies, I wish that toning your thighs and butt were as easy as popping on a pair of "magic shoes" (LOVE that) and doing normal daily activities--don't we all? If it were that easy, I'd own 10 pairs of Fit Flops, Sketchers, Reeboks, and more. I would be the queen of magic shoes!

However, seeing as they're being referred to as magic shoes and all, I just can't bring myself to buy a pair. Which I think is OK by Nike, who does not make a pair of magic shoes. Instead, they make sneakers. Plain old, non-magic, sneakers. And in their ads, they come right out and say it: This shoe works if you do.



Gotta love the honesty, right?

(Read the full article on Ad Freak)

Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce awesomeness

Like millions of other people, I love, love, LURVE Mad Men. The writing is amazing, the characters so well-developed; and that Don Draper... well, let's just say SWOON.

Season 4 is only two episodes in, and while I am love, love, LURVING it, I am absolutely love, love, LURVING the set design the most--specifically, the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce offices. 60's Modern? I'll take 2.

Seriously, those sofas! The tables! Forget the fact that last week they had no conference table at all, or that there's non-existent second floor offices, I want the room that Peggy's always working in--the one that doesn't seem to be her office (or is it?). The one with the Helvetica poster in it (awwww, yeah).



You can check out more of the SCDP office photos here. And in case you feel like surrounding yourself with Mad Men-esque furnishings, head on over to Knoll for more drool-worthy stuff. Yummy.

Oh, one more thing: can we talk for a second here, about how fantastic Peggy's hair is this season? Holy cow, girlfriend looks good!

More books!

I swear, you guys, this is not becoming a literary site. However, in doing a little purse research (coincidentally, my friend Becky prompted said purse research, and she is a ferocious reader), I came across this:



Kate Spade is all literary clutch crazy, with new bags depicting awesomely-designed covers of Great Expectations, The Great Gatsby, and the Importance of Being Earnest.

Adorable? Yes, please.

Also, in case you're interested, Becky also let me know that the entire Penguin Hardcover Classics line of books is available at their site. Read on!

Friday LOLs

Today's LOLs are brought to you by:

Awkward Stock Photos: How is it that when I am looking for an image of say, a toaster, it's next to impossible to find. Yet a lovely photo of a frozen chicken posing seductively with an egg exists. Huh?

Photoshop Disasters: "Clone out her bellybutton. It's completely useless, and nobody will miss it!" Other disasters include exaggerated body parts, missing body parts and 50 foot women.

Clients from Hell: I hope that some of these stories are made up. They have to be made up. People don't make these requests, right? Right??!

Yummy books

Can we just stop for a second and talk about how much I love, love, love Anthopologie's line of classic books?

Literature's great works ditch their stuffy dust jackets for smartly embossed canvas covers.

Because I don't think I'd ever pick up Great Expectations on my own. However, with this cover? Um, I'll take 2.



And you guys--they've got a ton of them: Sense and Sensibility, Wuthering Heights, Lady Chatterly's Lover... there has to be 15 or so titles. And they are ADORABLE. Seriously. I totally judge books by their covers; and these look great.

Thanks to the always awesome Justin and Mary for keeping me in the know!

Inspire me, Main Street

Last week I was in Westport, doing the very important task of buying make up. In and around Main Street, there was all kinds of crazy inspiration:

Ann Taylor: First of all? Yes, AT, a sale is a girl's best friend. Second, how much do I love these colors? Something about the bright yellow, coupled with the bluish teal dress on the far right (of course the photo isn't doing the color justice at all. You all simply must run down to AT to view it in person. And, perhaps pick yourself up something nice while you're there). These colors scream summer to me. Well played, AT.



Lulu Lemon: There's something wonderfully playful about the handmade letters--especially since LL is a chain, and lord knows how the chains love their helvetica (yeah, I'm talking to you, Gap).



Coach: OK, the only reason I went into Coach is because they sent me a 25% off coupon. And who doesn't love 25% off? Or Coach, for that matter? Or, the colors on this bag?

Seriously, while I don't think I would buy this bag for myself, I do love the pattern, and the colors. I'm a sucker for all things silver and shiny, and the pewter/purple/yellow is just lovely for fall.



J. Crew: J. Crew, on the other hand, did not send me a coupon, but I went in anyways (because that's how much I love J. Crew). More hand cut letter love: the woman in the photo was cutting those letters out as she was hanging them--adorable. What the picture doesn't show all that well is that quite a few letters were cut out of patterned paper. Love. It.



PS. Coach's website says it's time for new fall shoes. Um, OK. If you guys insist...

Political madness

Tuesday, August 10 is primary day here in CT. Since the spring, we've been inundated with political ads on TV and the radio, as well as direct mail, and most offensive--the political phone call. I get the political phone call, I really do. However, as good telemarketers do, they never call at a convenient time. As a matter of fact, if they're not calling at dinner, they're calling at the kids' bedtime. We've had them call after 9, which in my book, is just plain wrong. Is nothing safe from the telemarketer?

But that's not what this post is about. This post is about the political lawn sign. They're not everywhere--yet; but they're out there. And as usual for political lawn signs, they're pretty blah. Or are they?

Rick Torres: As far as political signs go, this one is pretty unoffensive. Sure, you've got your red, white and blue; but the size is not typical, and the lowercase letters feel more relaxed. Also, white space? Yes please. Points taken off, however, for no website--because the url is ricktorres2010.com--not ricktorres.com, as one might think.



Nitzy Cohen: Nitzy has tried to distinguish herself using not red, white or blue, but purple! If anything, it makes her stand out in a sea of political colors. Everything else? Yeah, notsomuch. The atrocious line spacing, fonts... ugh.



Dan Debicella: Again, with the no website! What is up with that? And the shooting star? Ugh. Definitely not my favorite.



Rob Merkle: Rob's got a good thing going with his last name here. Tasteful font, decent layout. I could do without the star and stripes, but whatever. It's not terrible, which is setting the bar pretty high as far as lawn signs go.



Tom Foley: OK, say it with me, people: If your name is not your url--yea, I'm talking to you, Tom Foley--your website should be on your lawn sign. Trust me, it helps. Plus, you've got the room. Like, really--you have the room. This one to me just blends into the background.



Just one more pet peeve to wrap the whole thing up: political candidates--all of you--get a consistent graphic designer, for the love! For every bad lawn sign, there's a somewhat decent website--and vice versa. There's all kinds of font inconsistencies (hint: Futura is not Helvetica--yeah, I'm talking to you, Rob Merkle), it's just painful to look at.

Book fair!

This weekend was the annual Pequot Library Book Fair--all year long, the library takes book donations, and then twice a year, sells them under a tent in a big, book fair extravaganza. I took the teenager, who is a ferocious reader; and while I didn't find much (she found some books that very well might be in our cellar), I had a great time snapping photos of the good, the bad, and the just plain odd.

This series, The Bibleot, was full of poetry and prose, published in 1901. I love the gothic spines all together like this.



Hours at Home: This was a handy reference guide to... pretty much everything. I guess if you had hours at home, you read this series.



In the "Old and Interesting" section, Jim Norton's Happy Endings. I would imagine this falls under the "interesting" heading.



Also in "Old and Interesting" (and definitely a little bit of both). I love the design of the cover; the colors and layout are great. The quote at the top? I could probably do without (I could definitely do without all those em dashes):

Dig you must—this fascinating excursion under the sidewalks of New York—where you will find wires and sewers, stores and subways, men, mains, and even alligators—

Missouri Life: Love the typography on this one:



Love the vintage, retro-y feel of this. Hate the scary scratchboard half face in the upper left:



Record album covers! One of my favorite sections of the book fair! Here we have the good...



...the bad...



...and the ugly. See why I love this section?



Finally, I took a photo of this one because I thought it was interesting, if anything: an unedited copy of Emily's Reasons Why Not. I though the back FPOs were amusing (National Print Advertising! 25-City Radio Campaign!). Sadly, Emily and her (ticking) biological clock did not make it home with me.

Seven years later...

7 years ago today, Madeline decided to grace us with her presence. Happy birthday to the coolest 7 year old I know!

Friday LOLs

I don't get many jokes via email these days. I'm not sure the reason (are people still doing that? Or do we now just tweet the funny stuff?), but my email is looking pretty serious these days, what with projects, and clients, and actual WORK.

However, my mom changed all that last night--she forwarded me a list of "Comments made in the year 1955." The thing that struck me as funny is the way this email is worded. It's title--Comments made in the year 1955--suggests that it might be famous quotations or something along those lines. However, it's much more in the vain of "I walked to school 10 miles everyday, uphill both ways, in the snow, even in August." In other words, 1955 was very culturally different than nowadays, let's all have a laugh. An example:

I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas.

It's interesting to read how different things were way back when, but what cracks me up the most is the manner in which they're written. I wonder if Don Draper has ever uttered these words:

I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $10.00.

Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $1,000.00 will only buy a used one.

If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. 20 cents a pack is ridiculous.

Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging 7 cents just to mail a letter?

When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 25 cents a gallon. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage [note: if only we did leave the car in the garage!]

I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying DAMN in GONE WITH THE WIND, it seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it [This one may just be my favorite]

I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now.

It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet [Scratch that--this one's my favorite]

I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business.

The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on.

No one can afford to be sick anymore, at $15.00 a day in the hospital, it's too rich for my blood.

If they think I'll pay 30 cents for a hair cut, forget it.

I can't wait to watch the season premiere of Mad Men Sunday night--for many reasons, but one of which will be if anyone on the show actually says these things.

Lights out!

So if you live in or around the NYC/Fairfield County area, you know that this summer--this week particularly--we've had 2 types of weather: incredibly, unbearably, hot, humid and sticky; or torrential rain, thunder, lightning and tornado warnings. Seriously, there's no in between. Either or, take your pick.

As I mentioned, this week has been particularly bad. Monday night the rain/thunder/lightning combo was so crazy, we ended up losing power for a few hours. No biggie; unlike some of our neighbors, we had ordered take out that night, so dinner wasn't half made; there was enough natural light that we went on doing our normal evening activities--sans electricity of course (OK, almost all of us continued our normal evening activities--the teenager had to suffer through a few hours of no internet access). Power was restored by 9 and all was fine.

Tuesday and Wednesday was a return to hot, humid and disgusting, and then last night, the biblical rain came again--resulting in power outage #2 for the week. Dinner was already made, so again, no problems there, however... the power did not come on a few hours later. 9:00 came and went, and there was no light. No nothing. The worst part is that apparently we live at the very edge of our power grid, because the street next to us and behind us had power--a dirty little tease: "Look at all our lights!"

Fortunately there's no shortage of laptops in our house, so we popped a movie in the one with the most battery life and watched it until the battery ran out. At that point, it was late, and we settled into bed, only to be woken up a few minutes later by every light in our house turning on (along with TVs, radios, appliances... I always forget to turn stuff off in a power outage, so it's always a funny reminder of what we were doing when the lights went out, when they come back on). Ahhh, electricity.

Oh, but the story doesn't end there. We woke up this morning to a cable outage--which means no cable, internet, or landline. Since both Mattio and I work from home... well, the electricity may as well have gone out again. Sigh.

I remain hopeful--today's weather couldn't be more gorgeous: the rain left, and took the humidity with it. It's hot, but not unbearable. Hopefully this is the start of summer weather that I could really get used to. And also the end of the power outages.