i heart [ghetto life]

So when people ask: "Do you really live in the ghetto?"
I answer: "No, the apartment I was looking at in the ghetto was $50 more a month."

Tonight two cop cars pulled up in front of my house and they searched a guys SUV.
(Lana, if you are reading this, I hope you witnessed this too, I was too riveted to find my phone to call)
Erin and I sat in our living room watching (and trying to photograph) the 30 minute 'situation' happening out front. Sadly, this isn't the first time I watched cops outside my window. I am just pretty impressed they weren't there for one of my more illustrious neighbors.

Still, this doesn't top the time I stepped off of my stoop and onto a hypodermic needle, or the time someone killed an opossum and left the bloody mess in front of my house. (Where do you even find a woodland creature in this part of town?)

i heart [Greene St]

I took a walk down South Street today, with the idea of buying new-to-me frames for my grandparents wedding photos and couldn't stop myself from wandering in to the Greene Street Consignment Shop. I ended up blowing my budget on some spring designer wear.



First, a pair of Marc Jacobs jeans. Marc Jacobs line has been hit or miss the past two seasons, but these pants are fantastic. I think the soft blue is nice for spring.
Retail Price: $200
I Bought It For: $28



The other piece is a Elie Tahari floral dress. It's not really my bold pattern, bright color style, but I love it on, and gets me in a warm weather mood.
Retail Price: $400
I Bought It For: $24


Total Spent: $52
Total Savings: $548
Hell Yes!

i heart [tradition]

My parents came to Philly this weekend and took my grandfather and I to the Green Papaya. Everytime they come up we go there, sit at the same table, and order the same thing. I get the Green Papaya Shrimp with the GP salad, just like my grandfather.
I used to do this with my father's family at the Happy Family Chinese Restaurant in CT, it's funny how, with the right people around, even a restaurant can feel like home.

i heart [the 80s]

But: oh honey, NO.


Spotted: acid-washed denim in Target
FYI-
Neon: O.K.
Side-ponytails: pushing it
Acid-Wash: NO! just...NO!

i heart [Long Distance Phone Calls]

It doesn't have to be important or long.
Sometimes just hearing someone's voice for five minutes can make your day.
Even if it costs $0.80/minute.

i heart [Hillary Clinton]

Since there are thirty-five more days till the PA primaries, I decided to climb up on my little soapbox here and announce my support for Hillary Clinton. I believe everyone should be researching the candidates to find one that fits their ideals of what it takes to be the leader of this country for the next 4-8 years, so I won't list all my talking points.
The important thing is to get out there and vote!

If you don't know who to vote for yet, or are easily swayed, Tina Fey makes some good points in favor of Clinton:

i heart [morals]

WARNING: This may offend. And I probably won't feel bad if it does.
So I think my personal problem with atheism and agnosticism is how theists believe it is an amoral way of life. Both my parents were atheists and I don't think I was raised with any different morals than people with religious backgrounds. I can't steal, cheat or lie, and any minor use of those acts makes me feel extremely guilty and usually ends in a quick confession. But constantly, when talking to a religious person about why we need religion, Moral Values will be invoked into the pro-religion argument. The moral tune is also sung by Republicans when the words 'gay marriage' are brought up.
Personally, I think that morals should be learned through a way of life, not as a part of faith; they should be everything we do, not everything we believe. But that may be just me.
This has been an internal struggle for me, but a plane ride between Cincinnati & Philly kind of bothered me enough to make me verbalize it. After a 9 hour flight reading "The God Delusion" (a pretty good read, i would recommend) I boarded a puddle jumper to get to my hometown and was seated next to a really nice woman, who's in flight reading material was "Living through the Bible" (i am 80% sure that was the name, if not, it was really close). Near the end of the 1.5 hour flight, she puts down her book, and picks up Sky magazine and opens to the sudoku page. She whips out a pen, flips to the back page, then fills in the sudoku puzzle with the answers from the back! Completely copied the answers to make it look like she had done it! I took approximately 5 years of Catholicism classes studying the Bible, have read the whole thing, and while I am a non-believer and pretty rusty, I kind of recall Jesus, God, and maybe even the Holy Ghost being against cheating. For some reason the whole scene rubbed me the wrong way.
I mean maybe I doubt the existence of god(s). Maybe I think gay people should be allowed legal marriages, and be allowed to have and raise children. Maybe I understand the need for abortions and stem cell research.
But at least I don't cheat at Sudoku.

quote in image is by Mark Twain

i heart ['reality']

Since I consider everything I write on here Pulitzer worthy I have kept from commenting on The Hills, but since the NY Times had an article about it today I figure its now safe territory for the online literary world to conquer.
The season opener was a hot mess. First, how can Whitney, working at Teen Vogue for 3+ years mispronounce Givenchy? I mean my granny mocked me for pronouncing Hermes wrong when I was 8 and today at work I made an ad for an outdoor heating unit. What kind of karma/ blowjob ability must one have to get a job at Vogue, since-let me just throw it out there- they may not be going on qualifications.
Since Lauren & Whitney gave forgettable performances, lets move on to Heidi & Spencer, who took up all the awkward glances that are usually saved for LC. Heidi bitching out Spence lead the NY Times to call her a "feminist," cause it seems like the fact checkers at the Times didn't look at the fact they are still together or made a HandyCam 'music' video of her rolling around on her fake tits in Venice Beach.
Groan. The worst part about The Hills is my desire to watch it every Monday.

The Hills can give me reality tv street cred compared to my secret obsession:

I think it is the way his Sylvan-Learning-kid-that-is-figuring-out-how-to-read-by-narration diction is oddly comforting to me. I feel like if my life were to be narrated and James Earl Jones was too busy counting his Star Wars money, I would want Ryan Scheckler to do it, just so everyone could understand......
everything.....
that was going on ....
in my life.
Plus, the way he is just over-sharing of his thoughts and feelings with his guy friends and brothers combined with the fact that they tolerate him at all, simply astounds me what people will put up with to be on tv.
All this being said, I have seen every episode online, cause I don't want even my OnDemand customer service to know that I watch that show.

i heart [my childhood in front of the tv]

Ok, you can say as much as you want in defense of organized sports, stay-at-home moms, dinner at 6 and family camping trips, but as a product of a childhood with a single working mom, then two full time working parents, I can fully say that late 80s/early 90s childhood television shows were truly a great substitute for Dr. Spock-approved child rearing.
Take the fabulous "Teeny Little Super Guy" featured above, who was one of my favorite segments of the formerly great Sesame Street. Sure he was a recovering chain smoker with a trach box and harbored some agoraphobia issues (did the dude ever leave the plastic cup?) but he was a champion of early childhood education, teaching us hardwork, determination, and perseverance all from his resin little world.
Enjoy!

i heart [the UK]

I am back after a prolonged trip to the UK to visit tara.



I had some good times & good laughs with great friends.



Fell in love with more than just the scenery.



Oh yeah, and it rained alot too.

i heart [vacation]

So I am leaving for London tommorrow, YAY!
I'm taking notes for this blog and the Weekend Traveller, but for now, I will leave this thought:
Who owns more stock in MAC Cosmetics?
Pete Wentz or Brendon Urie?
Discuss:

i heart [finales]

Christian Siriano is IN!
"but, hello, did you have a doubt? c'mon. what up."

Thank god Posh was there and helped the judges make the best decision this year.
And wasn't she looking fabulous?
As Posh said: Christian's line was MAYJAH.

Now how do I get him to be my gay boyfriend?

Congrats Christian!

i heart [divine inspiration]

So maybe it is the early onset of Spring, but I have had no less than 3 conversations in less than 24 hours (or blog conversations too) about how your outfits can make you feel so much more confident and alive.
My one friend just bought a new outfit cause she was going to see a guy she liked and asked me if she thought that was weird-for future reference, I am never the right person to ask if buying clothes was a bad idea. I have seriously bought new outfits to break up with guys (which actually aided us to stay together for a few more months), for first dates, and definitely for the first time I see the guys right after we stop dating (the you-could-of-had-all-this outfit). Of course I tie all these outfits to memories too, so the generally get reused for the same purpose-Just ask me about my exboyfriend dress, it is just the black version of my 'third-date-hoping-to-get-somekind-of-action' outfit.
So sometimes when I get in hopeless slumps, and I can't afford new clothes (cause saving up to visit friends is way more awesome!) I look at The Sartorialist for inspiration of how I can make rockin outfits out of my wardrobe. There are just too many great ways to layer clothes or mix colors or maybe its just inspiration for feeling good in whatever you wear. But the best part about it is that is isn't just models in carefully edited spreads, these are real people with real wardrobes, some even have real budgets, out in the world. For example, I love the girl above color and layering choices. I don't necessarily have those pieces, but I do have a blue blazer, and a purple full skirt, and a printed scarf that would look good together, that I may not have put together on my own. So I guess my style secret is that I look at The Sartorialist for ideas when I am bored of what I have, buy clothes that fit, and when in doubt, just Work It!

Also The Sartorialist just takes fantastic photos. Seriously, whoever is banging the man below is my personal hero. The face, the hair, the style. It may be a little 90210, but who didn't love that show? This is what a man should look like, hot, and yet know how to dress himself to make it that much better.

Photos by The Sartorialist

i heart [art collecting]

Here is some artwork I have hanging around. The girl on the duck was a lovely xmas gift from Tara, the etching on the left is the first 'expensive' piece of artwork I bought on Cape Cod one summer, and the Sea Otter pencil drawing was a gift from my parents probably 15 years ago.
Having these things hang above me where I sleep definitely makes my world a cheerier place.

Also my charcoal wall looks Hot with the colors of these.

i heart [painting]

So I get spurts of inspiration where I paint and do other art things.


I like large scale graphic images the best.


Where you can't tell what is going on in the details.


The final project hanging on my wall.

i heart [supportive friends]

One of those emails from Heidi, when I read in the morning, totally makes my day:

"just restart the 5 year clock. i say it bluntly because you just have to have hope. if things were meant to be..they were meant to be. even if it means we'll all get married, then divorced, then finally get with them when we are 30 or 40. you just have to have hope. or that is what i tell myself. love is only half the battle. and right now in our life it is important to put emphasis on ourselves and our careers..because that is the only thing we can really guarantee will be there for us in a few years. it is important to get ourselves established and enjoy life without needing to make huge sacrifices at such a young age. dont beat yourself up over this. i always think that im glad it hurts this much because it means i love someone that much...and a lot of people out there our age dont know what it is like to experience something like this.
so appreciate it, despite the pain. LOVE YOU!"

i heart [the next chapter]

I can't believe in 72 hours I will be starting on my trip to visit Tara in London.
What started out as a "i miss you, i want to see you soon" switched into a last minute flight booking vacation, and now just as suddenly turned into a journey into the next part of my life physically and emotionally.
So I guess I have a few more days to wallow, before I pack my bags and move on.

For this jouney, I am sticking with my current favorite female singer, and London- Dweller Amy Winehouse, its time to move ahead.

i heart [adoption]

Asian Baby Sings Hey Jude - Watch more free videos
Who would want to bother with the morning sickness and laparoscopy when you could buy one of these for 50 bucks?
"Tag a sagg sog an make it barrer..."

i heart [Facebook offical relationships]

So I got the best email from a friend with these blog inducing lines: "How did Facebook get so culturally powerful? Having a boyfriend is just so different from having a birthday."
This is of course because of a relationship invite from a guy she was seeing to be "Facebook official." But she didn't see the point in having their relationship put right in there under her name, birthday and hometown. Cause, when it comes to it, out of those four things, he is the only thing that can change.
I see it in another way. Like if I am single and I wouldn't call this guy I am dating a boyfriend, but I don't want to date other people or him to, so do I have the option to put:
Relationship: is sleeping-with-and-going-out-on-dates-with-but-really-it-is-too-soon-to-see-how-compatible-we-are-in-the-long-term-sense-so-we-don't-have-a-title with John Doe.
Is Mark Zuckerberg forcing us into relationships we aren't ready for?

NEWS UPDATE
This is mayjah:
Facebook deleted the Looking For: options of Random Play & Whatever I Can Get.
How am I supposed to advertise my desire to be slutty?
Dear Facebook,
If you are going to post all my failed relationships in Newsfeeds, can you just leave me the Random Play option?
Thanks,
danielle