Ooh preeeeeeeeetty!

I think this would look lovely with my green winter coat.  The blue is gorgeous too, but I would have nothing to wear with it:

Cashmere Squiggle Scarf from Anthropologie.

Updates around the casa

Two of the four walls in the den are now this color:

The other two walls will get painted when I get around to it.  Also, later today I should be receiving this (in chrome) for the guest room:

And this (as a runner) for the hallway:

I'm very excited.  I love me some bold zig zags!

Office Inspiration

Last weekend I was watching The Devil Wears Prada (again) and among all of the shoes, bags, and other fabulous accessories, what grabbed my attention was Miranda Priestly's office. It got me thinking that it would actually be really easy and not necessarily expensive to recreate. A Parson's desk, a pewter lamp, and several Ikea Ribba frames with black and white photos is really all it needs. Some chic accessories like the fabulous mirror and a green vase with white roses and voila! It's all making me feel like the futon and bargain-basement desk in our den is so very...ick. The desk needs to go. Soon.

Best. Show. Ever.

Hands down.  We're currently watching the entire series for the second time, we're that obsessed.  Yes, it came out a few years ago, but it holds up well.

Favorite characters?

Omar:

Bubbs:

Stringer Bell (yum):

Full series available here. 

(photos from HBO.com)

On Repeat

A little random this week, but if you've never listened to Steve Earle, you should.  He's got a really unique voice and his music runs the gamut from rock to bluegrass.  I happen to like his bluegrass stuff the best.  My favorite off the "Townes" album is the song "Lungs."

Drinking

This has become one of my new favorite wines.  It's jammy and big and instantly gratifying.  It's also totally smooth and incredibly easy to drink.  It usually runs $14-16 and is available at most of the chain grocery stores around here or you can buy online here.  I've also tried their Shiraz and the Malbec, but the Primitivo far and away my favorite.

A few things on the ol' wishlist

OMG

YES!!!

Odd

Garden and Gun magazine. Yeah. Go figure.

It's published every two months and they have fascinating articles, mostly not about gardens or guns, but mostly just southern stuff, like where to find the best barbeque in North Carolina, the resurgence of moonshine, and the Blind Boys of Alabama. Pretty neat!

Goin' veg

I've decided for no real reason in particular to go vegetarian for dinners this week.  I could use some more vegetable-based meals in my repertoire, so I think this will be fun.  So, on tap for dinner this week is:

Vegetarian lasagna, made with mushrooms instead of ground beef
Quinoa-stuffed squash
Roasted vegetables over creamy polenta
Cheese ravioli with walnuts, cranberries and dates
Tofu (not sure what I'm going to do with it)

I'll report back.

On Repeat

The songs "Well Well Well" and "Mother Pray" are particularly good.

Movies I Want to See

Where The Wild Things Are

New Moon (shut up)

Coco Before Chanel

The September Issue

WTF JCrew?

$325 and no, they're not prescription.



Hot pink anklets? These are just all wrong.

Jenna, you're much better than this.

Awesome

Oh Bono, I love you and your weird glasses:

Photo from U2.com

"The Claw"

Saturday night's set list in Raleigh:

Breathe
Get on Your Boots
Mysterious Ways
Beautiful Day
No Line on the Horizon
Magnificent
Elevation
In A Little While
New Year's Day
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Stuck In A Moment
Unforgettable Fire
City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy - Remix
Sunday Bloody Sunday
MLK
Walk On
One
Where The Streets Have No Name
Ultraviolet
With or Without You
Moment of Surrender

Back! And now with more cat!

Well, after 5 years of marriage, we finally decided to step up our commitment level by adopting a cat.

I visited the SPCA of Wake County a few times in late August and ran into this little girl in the shelter. She had come into the shelter as a stray and looked like crap: her coat was matted down, she had a string of drool hanging from her mouth, was totally scrawny and smelled kinda bad. But she jumped into my lap and stole my heart and it was all over from there.

We brought her right before Labor Day and she settled in pretty much immediately: she started eating right away, slept on our bed the first night we brought her home and found the litterbox with little problem. The SPCA estimated her to be around 10, but we think she's about 3-4. We'll know more when she gets her teeth cleaned next week (I guess checking their teeth is like counting rings in a tree). Aside from bad teeth and some tape worms that have now been taken care of (side note: GROSS!) she seems to be perfectly healthy and is gaining some much needed weight.

Her name is Grizabella, but she also goes by G-Dizzle, Grizzle Dizzle, G-Money, or Li'l Squirt.