Things-I-Love Thursday

During our freshman year of college my best friend Sara and I both worked at a jewelry stand in the Cottonwood Mall (may it rest in peace). This job was hellish on so many levels, but what really drove both Sara and I to the brink of insanity was the Christmas music the mall chose to play during the holiday season.

Man alive was it bad. One song that mall management seemed particularly fond of playing literally had no lyrics besides “Rock and Roll Christmas, Christmas Rock and Roll…” Over and over and over again. Another classic was a rendition of “Santa Baby” sung by a dude, with terms like “sable” and “decorations from Tiffany” replaced with more masculine items such as shotguns or guitars. To me it conjured up images of a wifebeater-clad man drunkenly singing karaoke on Christmas Eve. Not exactly festive.

There was one bright spot in the midst of this musical Christmas graveyard. Every once in a while the mall would bust out that guilt-inducing classic “Do they know it’s Christmastime?” (Sara and I always referred to it as “Feed the World”). I had never really cared for this song before, but that winter it became one of my favorites. After hearing “Have Yourself a Skanky Little Christmas” or whatever abomination was blasting through the mall speakers, it just felt good to hear something recognizable. Even if it did make me feel like kind of a jerk for not donating my paycheck to Africa.

A few days ago I found this video while browsing on YouTube:



It goes without saying that my Christmas is now complete. And can we all just agree on the fact that the ‘80s was a magical decade for men’s hair? Because that much is glaringly obvious. In this video I recognize Sting, Bono, and Boy George. If anyone could tell me who the rest of these peeps are I would greatly appreciate it.

Other things I am loving at the start of this holiday season:

Reading this book and laughing:

Reading this book and crying:

Sipping on this:


Topped with a scoop of this:

(And don’t tell me I could save myself the trouble and just drink mint-flavored cocoa. So not the same thing).

-Watching Mike put Christmas lights up and hearing him scheme about the Griswold-esque spectacle he is going to create next year (inflatable penguins are most likely going to be involved. Get excited).

-Opening a new window of our Advent calendars each night (one of my favorite traditions).

Now if it would only snow...

In Good Company

A big "thank you" goes out to Max Hall for overshadowing Utah's loss on Saturday with his astonishing case of verbal diarrhea. Stay classy, dude.

GO UTES!!!

(In case you have been living under a rock and haven't seen it yet, you can watch the zoobie rage here)

Gratitude

“Let us rise up and be thankful,

for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little,

and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick,

and if we got sick, at least we didn't die;

so, let us all be thankful.”

-Buddha

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

(P.S.-If you're making yams as part of your feast, you should try this recipe)

Things-I-Love Thursday

Sara and I just got through showing Butch our new favorite YouTube video. His response? "You should have put this on your blog for Things-I-Love Thursday."

Apparently my husband actually pays attention to what I post on this blog. Our marriage is full of surprises I tell you what.

Since it is still Thursday for the next couple of hours, here is the video (Freaking YouTube won't let me embed it but I'm posting the link):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUO0gd7cr9o

I fell in love with this song last year, so I was thrilled to find this beautiful little video. And best of all it's a "winter song" so I can technically listen to it now without breaking my No Christmas Music Before Thanksgiving rule, and keep listening to it as long as there is snow on the ground. That my friends is what we call a win-win situation.

See this little dinosaur?

Once upon a time she was my baby sister, but then she grew up and became this gorgeous thing: Today little Masha is turning the big 2-1. And, even though it's weird for me to think about how old we are these days, it makes me happy to know that we haven't outgrown our friendship or our hyperactive tendencies (even if it means that our significant others can't handle being in the same room as both of us).

Happy Birthday Smash! Remember that no matter how old you get, you will always be my favorite little sister.

Because I am fresh out of nice stationary

Dear Kneaders All-You-Can-Eat French Toast,
I have lived just a short drive away from you for months now, yet Saturday morning was our first introduction. It makes me sad to think that my life was void of your cinnamon-y goodness for so long, but rest assured that we will be seeing a lot more of each other in the future:

Dear Friends and Family,
Most of you know about my owl fetish. In fact, I have even alluded to it on this blog. Over the years many of you have given me an incredible amount of owl merchandise. You are lovely people.

Thing is, given that owls are super trendy and therefore widely available these days, my fetish has gotten a little out of control. A while back I told Mike that it would cool off once I got my most sought-after item: an owl cookie jar. Being the thoughtful husband that he is, he presented me with this little guy as an anniversary gift:

So in the interest of being true to my word I think I am officially done collecting owl items. Just in case you were wondering.

Dear Residents of Cottonwood Heights,
You know those white lines painted at intermittent spots across our roads? You may think that those markings are just there for decoration, but that is not the case. They constitute what is known as a crosswalk. Meaning that next time you see my dog and I waiting patiently by these lines you should probably stop and let us cross instead of speeding by in your Escalade.

Dear Butch,
I like it when we have buffalo wings and salad for dinner. Let’s do it more often.

Love,
Dasha

Anniversary

"There is only one happiness in life: to love and be loved."

-George Sand

Tomorrow Mike and I celebrate two very happy years together.

I sure do love you Butch.

What kind of strange karma is THIS?

I am not a successful thrift store shopper. I have always wanted to be, and really wish I were one of those people who, when asked where they got a certain ultra-cool piece of clothing or home decor, can just casually respond with “I found it at DI” or “I picked it up at a yard sale.”

To compensate for my lack of thrifting skills, I tend to shop at secondhand stores and online antique shops; same unique items, less browsing and sifting through crap in suspect conditions. A few weeks ago I was looking on eBAY and found these little dears:

Mere days after I got these brass owls in the mail, Mike and I went to Savers (yes, we are classy like that). As I was browsing through the home décor section I spotted a pair of owls identical to the two smaller ones I just bought. I looked closer, and, sure enough, they were exactly the same. Don't believe me? I have proof:

WHAT ARE THE FREAKING ODDS? I swear stuff like this just does not happen. I am the only person in the universe who finally finds a cool item at a thrift store only to have it be something I just bought for twice the cost. I am also probably the only person that is stupid enough to then buy the thrift store item for no logical reason. So I now have two sets of identical 1970s owls sitting in my living room and no idea what to do with the spare one. I win at life.

Happy Halloween

Love,

A homely librarian and her nerdy admirer

Things I Am Excited For

1) The start of another season:

And the opportunity to sport my Millsap t-shirt tonight while eating junk food and screaming at the TV with friends. GO JAZZ!

2) Going to a real concert for the first time in almost a year. I know. I'm probably getting old and boring before my time, but what can I say? Three hours surrounded by sweaty bodies and the aroma of weed just doesn’t scream Time Well Spent to me the way it used to.

So what band has gotten me out of this funk, you ask? The freaking Sounds!!! I have been dying to see them live for years, and it is finally happening this Friday. In my opinion, there is good music, and then there is good concert music. There are many musicians I love that I wouldn’t care to see in concert, and then there are bands like The Sounds that just beg to be listened to while dancing wildly surrounded by a mob of people. Don’t believe me? Check them out:





3) Watching creepy old horror movies like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? this weekend. You can keep your slasher flicks and M. Night Shamalayn weirdness, because to me nothing says scary like a black and white movie about a crazy former child star trying to feed her wheelchair-bound sister dead parakeets and rats. They just don't make 'em like they used to...

What are you all excited for?

P.S.- New recipes posted here