camera

Sweet Jesus. Every now and again every girl needs to watch a power lass stomp on the aggressive male gender. It’s not something I can do – I get breathless carrying the groceries up my front steps… but good lord does Kim kick some ass in the Camera video by Matt & Kim.

This girl is a beast! Look at those arms! Are those drummer arms? If so, I’m hear me now – Pound out the Pump, the Drummer’s Diet – will be the next insane craze. And I can’t say I’d object. Enjoy a daily dose of girl power mixed with some good tunes from this co-ed fight club video.

Matt and Kim - New Music - More Music Videos

no recess

Poor Miss P… She gets so excited when I bring her to work. I guess she forgets that work is really boring, even though she got a delicious bone this morning that she gobbled down in a matter of minutes.

She’s been sitting behind me, staring at me for the last hour and a half. I refuse to turn around any more – the guilt is crippling.

I can’t play with you right now! Stop looking at me!

nocturnal nuisance

It’s only 2:00 p.m. but I’m already internally debating whether I indulge in a fourth cup of coffee or splurge on a soda. Regardless, I’m going to need another caffeine boost very soon. The weariness is worrisome because with every new cup o joe or cola I am fully aware that I’m ingesting yet another healthy dose of aspartame/toxic sweetener (toxic sweetener is a weird thing to type).

However, I will have to deal with the guilt of sweeteners later, because of these guys:

I’m serious. These guys live in my attic. Plus like, four more of their friends. You would think after a childhood of watching Bambi that these guys would hibernate all winter, but they don’t. Not even close. Instead, they stay up all night playing tag and having dance parties and chattering about their less fortunate squirrel friends that don’t have a nice warm attic to scamper about in at the wee hours of the morning.

I have no idea what they’re doing up there, but last night they were literally shaking the house. Penny and I woke up at least six or seven times – each time coming to in a panic that there was an intruder or an earthquake or some other horrible disaster pulling us out of sleep.

Landlord says there’s nothing she can do until spring when the party is finally over and they have to get moving on with their productive squirrel lives. Otherwise they’ll die in the walls and we’ll have to smell rotting squirrel carcass for months on end. Although I can’t say I would be super regretful for the loss.

Any suggestions for how to silence these intruders before spring has sprung?

I’m not sure I can take much more of the sleep deprivation. It’s going to be the end of them or the end of me – death by exhaustion and Sweet N Low…

tentra domination

When I first heard the word “Tentra” I immediately thought: dinosaurs. I know nothing about dinos, but I’m pretty sure a Tentradactle is a real thing. And if it’s not, it probably just hasn’t been discovered yet.

Turns out I’m not far off with my associations. Apparently, Starbucks is traveling into Big Gulp territory, rolling out the Tentra-sized beverage option. Starting May 3rd, for 50 cents more than a Venti, you can get 31 oz. of pure addiction in a super cup.

Apparently this size-on-steroids is geared toward iced beverages like lemonade, tea, and iced coffee, but still… I’m not sure offering a larger dose of caffeine is a step in the right direction for anybody. And I can almost guarantee this will bump up my wait time.

Muy gordo. Muy mal. This is a guilty pleasure I will need to overcome.

auburning down the house

Tami, a co-worker of mine and maker of some of the finest Guinness cupcakes known to man, is an Auburn alum and the president of Auburn's Alumni Association here in Denver. A die-hard college football fan to the core, it was no surprise that Tami attended the national championship in Arizona on Monday.

In case you didn't know... Auburn won.

Auburn is home to so many school traditions... Tiger Walk, War Eagle, Wreck Tech Pajama Parade... but when you win a national championship in football, those traditions tend to kick it up a notch. Tami told me that every time Auburn wins a home football game they "roll" (aka "t.p." in lou lingo) Toomer's Corner, the intersection of Magnolia and College streets where Auburn's downtown transitions to the campus.

Take a peek at the chaos that ensued when Auburn won, and the beautiful disaster that resulted. Now if only the Missouri Tigers could pull off a national championship...

got the world in a frame, colors of the rainbow

I mentioned earlier that I've been on a quest for a large, vintage map of Denver or Colorado from the early 1900s that I can frame to put above my fireplace.

I've just decided to save this project for a day when I have a "study" or an "office" and instead opt for the below map of the world. In the not-so-near future when I have a place I can call my own and actually start decorating, I have always wanted to do a blue and yellow happy living room. I think this map made by These Are Things shall go perfectly.

Does anyone know where I could get a large white, vintage-looking frame to showcase this bad boy?

Update: I came across this 20x30 frame on etsy and thought the Pumpkin or Mango version might be a nice fit. Thoughts?

eager youngsters enjoy watermelon day

Boys & Girls Clubs here in Denver will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary in 2011, and to accompany an announcement article I'm writing for their print newsletter, I wanted to find an old school photo from way back when.

Out of the woodwork appeared this amazing, giant scrap book full of articles dating back to 1961 when the clubs first opened. All the articles used incredibly over dramatic imagery and language - describing the boys as living in dank, underground dark caves. There were quite a few "In Remembrance" pamphlets and articles for boys who had died in the war.

My favorite article was the announcement of a check presentation from the Playboy Bunnies to the Boys Club for $43 that they had raised selling "Rich Boy" hamburgers.

I also am in love with a photo from 1970 of three boys enjoying "Watermelon Day" at their Boys Club. I don't know what Watermelon Day is, but it looks delicious. Ah, the good ole days.

boiling blood + bubbling bliss

There are a lot of video Save the Date's in this world, but I've only seen one or two executed to my liking. I am obsessed with the idea, but I have never seen one that truly wooed me... until now.

When I pressed play on the following video, my initial reaction was, wow... this is perfect. I watched with a lovesick grin until I slowly realized that it was too perfect. Way too perfect. All I want to do is recreate this, but I will never be as cool as the two in this video that came up with this on their own. 

And now, I'm upset. It's simply not fair how amazing/romantic/clever/beautiful this video is.

january's jonesing

A Friday at work would be complete without some light non-work-related internet browsing. For months I've been on a mad search for a very large, very antique map of Denver or Colorado that I can post up in an intricate frame and mount above my fireplace. I want it, I need it, oh baby oh baby.

Today while on my search for this ever-evasive map, I came across an extraordinary etsy seller, January Jones, and promptly became enthralled with too many of her lovely prints. I am thinking about ordering at least three, but I'm telling you I could dedicate a whole wall to miss Jones.