56 Inches and Hard

Colin and I came up with a new game whilst moving from one apartment to another this past week that I think you should try.  


Here's what you need:
(1) A retractable metal tape measure, and 
(2) Some lightning-speed reflexes.


Directions:
The purpose of the game is to extend the ruler as many inches as you can without bending it whatsoever. An unbent ruler is referred to as "hard." A bent--or "flaccid"--ruler docks you three inches.


Examples of proper form:

So far Colin is the Reigning Champion with a reading of 56 inches and hard. I'm comin' back with a vengeance, though, just you wait!

Feel free to e-mail me any hilarious photos of you mid-extension and I'll post them on the blog for all the world to see.  :)

**I'll be updating the blog... soon?... hopefully with some photographs of our new apartment once it's put together properly.  We've made the move from a bro-ridden bumpin' and grindin' sorta beach town to a quiet tree-lined suburb near Balboa park and we are loving it!  I've also just found out that I got into graduate school so I'll be moving yet again from San Diego to Los Angeles within the next couple of weeks while Colin holds down the fort until I'm finished with my two year program.  It's been quite a whirlwind of a month!

Mabel gives you her love !

Hodgepodge

Cutest Girl in The World.  (!)  --That's been Mabie's nickname lately.  She's surprised us with a new trick recently: the high-five.  Turns out she's had this trick up her sleeve the whole time.  And she busts it out at the most opportune moments, which is often when she wants up on the couch.  She'll look at me pleadingly, offer her paw for a high-five, and wait.  When I'm too absorbed on the Internet, she'll strategically high-five the power cord out of my computer so that I'll have to acknowledge her pleas.  She may look thick, but don't let her act fool you; she's one smart girl.

I have a confession to make: I may have quite purposefully started today's post with an irresistible photograph of Mabes hammin' it up and a description of her too-cute ways as a means to make you forget how terribly inconsistent my posts have become.  Did it work?  Anywho, I do apologize for the sporadic nature of my blogging.  I'm in a very good place right now, though, which may be why I've turned to the computer less often for solace.  But I love blogging nonetheless so don't go thinking that I'll be leaving for good anytime soon...  You're stuck with me for a while :)

And look what else I've got for you: an outfit post!!  ...Am I forgiven yet?

Over-shirt: J. Crew (Colin's)

"Men Should Come with Directions" T shirt: The Betties

Riding pants: American Apparel

'There's No Place Like Home' shoes: flea market

'Look Here!' necklace: thrifted

You may recognize this T shirt from the shop.  I try not to wear shop items because I tend to get supremely attached once I make an outfit out of them, but this shirt's been sitting alone for too long and I thought it could use some air.  

I just may have to keep it for myself, though... (!)  It goes much too well with my arrow necklace.  And I very well can't separate them now, can I?

A week--or two?--ago I went to the library with a friend from work while on our lunch break, and ended up leaving with a slew of delectable books.  Among the books I managed to snatch up for a whopping nickel a piece was an old copy of The Wizard of Oz, complete with some incredible pen and ink drawings inside.  The first couple of pages have seen better days (it seems one of its previous readers had it out for "O"s and decided to scratch out every "O" on the first three pages of the book) and a single page in the center of the book has been ripped out.  Apart from that it's in great shape.  I also left with a book about medieval romances (right, in photograph) and a book that provides synopses and ratings for nearly every early mystery/spy/suspense film--from the 1920s to the late 1980s (left).  

The pile of books I've accumulated on my side of the bed seems to be growing by the week...

Lastly, to be fair, some cute photos of Beels, who's been getting the shaft since Mabes' arrival.

And Mabes... again...  Because she's The Cutest Girl in The World.

Sorry, Z.

Oh yes, one more thing.  I was downloading some videos off of my Flip when I came across this funny one when my sister and her husband had visited us for a weekend a few weeks ago.  We'd all had at least one drink at this point so we were pretty entertained by each other.  Colin spent much of the night speaking with a Boston accent so all you Bostonians out there, please forgive his sorry excuse for an accent.  

I <3 my family. 

Family Portrait, Minus Beels

Chummy Mabes...

...Slickin' it back, as usual

We forced Beels out of her pimp chair for this shot, hence the terribly disgusted face.

No one else exists when she's on her throne.

Tootsie roll

Cardigan: Inherited from grandfather

Checkered Button-up: Stolen from Colin's closet

Jeans: Hand-me-down from Jess

Shoes: Secondhand 

Bow: Craft store (I've worn this ribbon in my hair so often, but I don't think I've ever mentioned where it came from!)

I had a real, cheese-filled Valentine's Day this year!  

Colin surprised me by taking a half day of work on Monday, and the first thing he said when he came through the door was "Pick a number 1 through 5."  So I picked 4 (obviously), which was an awkward picture of a couple jet skiing.  But we decided it was a little too cold for jet skiing so I picked another...  

...which was unfortunately Segway-ing and there was No Way I would be caught doing that.  

So he flipped over the pictures of all the options and I decided to go tandem biking, even though our last attempt at tandem biking ended pretty badly (it turns out you have to communicate well with your bike partner for it to work, something we aren't particularly good at, especially when we aren't looking each other head-on).  

I had the brilliant idea of putting Mabes in the bike basket, an idea I had gotten a few days ago when I'd seen a frenchie of her stature doing the same thing with her owner.  So I stuffed all of Mabel into the basket and off we went.  

And I think you can guess what happened next...

Mabes decided to evacuate from the basket while we were peddling full speed on the pavement.  Luckily she flung her body to the side of the bike and rolled (several times) to safety.  She popped up from her tumble looking like a tootsie roll, painted black from the dirty street.   

Luckily she wasn't hurt. You'd think a dog who's afraid to jump off of the couch wouldn't even dream of jumping from a moving bike.  But then again I should never underestimate her stupidity.  (She's a little thick sometimes)

Mabie before the "Incident":

And Mabie after:

Just kidding.  

I happened upon this dog while pretend shopping for another Boston.  If you're into sad, geriatric looking dogs you should adopt this little guy.  Help put a smile on his face, will  ya? Adopt here.

Colin's Gin Journal turned out pretty well.  I made a cucumber gimlet that evening, one of the many recipes I included in his book, and it was DELICIOUS!!!  I made... uh, a few?... of them that evening, and then sloppily went to bed.  I think I've found my new favorite drink.  I encourage you to (responsibly, of course) try it out for yourself.  Here's the recipe:

2 oz fresh cucumber meat (muddled)

1 oz fresh lime juice

2 oz gin (Hendrick's is my favorite)

1 oz simple syrup (we make our own using 1C sugar and 0.5C water; stir over heat until the sugar dissolves)

Shake everything together, and WALLAH!  Heaven in a glass.

A little photo for you of his valentine and his journal:

I'm working on getting some more clothes put up in the shop so hopefully you'll see some fresh items up by the end of today (if not today, by tomorrow)!!  And, as always, I will upload merchandise photos on the blog before posting them on the shop!

Hurray for Fridays!

Cats and Dogs

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We haven't seen the sun here for several days now; the rain hasn't stopped pouring!  It's like it's... what's that word?... oh yes, winter!  (How very exciting!)

I spent the whole day sewing Christmas gifts (while listening to Christmas music of course) and I think I just might finish them in time.  I'll be posting photographs of the results after the 25th.

Speaking of rain-spattered windows [see last photo above], Mabel spent the entire two hour drive from LA to San Diego yesterday staring at the rain droplets as they scurried across the window of the car.  At one point, she tried to eat them but much to her dismay wasn't able to.  She most certainly has an obsession with food, which I used to find sort of endearing and altogether amusing, until it put her life at risk...  

Mabel developed a routine during the evenings where she'd scour the kitchen for remnants of food (she found the mother load of stray popcorn in the corner of the kitchen after I'd made a bowl for myself using the air popper and hasn't forgotten it since).  While making dinner one night last week, Mabes had managed to wedge all but her two little drumstick back legs underneath the cabinet that we put our microwave on.  I wasn't aware she was stuck until I realized that she wasn't able to move... at all.  That was when Operation Free Chunkster McMabes was put into place.  She still forages while I cook, but has learned to stay away from the Big Bad Silver Box.

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(These photos remind me of our cloud babies, which have unfortunately been dwindling in number.  I'll have to inspire Colin to make a project out of them... he loves LOVES loves working on projects.  [Note to self: buy more SuperPlus tampons to replenish cloud population.])