Getting into the holiday spirit

This is really incredible.  Try closing your eyes while you're listening!

xx

Novembeard

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Reminding myself of this lately...

Priorities

“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."

Forest E. Witcraft

xx

Relaxation by the Page Numbers

Being a college student is stressful.  Being a commuter-college-student-with-a-part-time-job who has to fulfill credit requirements for major number three is exhausting.  Last night, I had a nightmare that I showed up to work ten minutes late, and it was unreasonably horrifying.  Despite the fact that I work really hard to get eight hours of sleep a night, I still wake up every morning feeling like I slept for eight minutes.  Thankfully, I have a de-stressing system that helps me power down before bed.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned a list of library books I had on reserve.  There's still one book that I'm waiting on (116 other people to go!), but I've gotten through a lot of books since then.  I spend 30-45 minutes reading every night.  I'm not very good at starting new habits, so this is one that I'm very proud of.  Since school started, I've read the following:

1. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

2. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson

3. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (just meh)

I'm now working on Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson, the third book in the Jackson Brodie series.  I love these books.  I'm a sucker for mysteries, and these stories aren't the least bit predictable but are also believable.  No deus ex machina alien abductions or dream sequences.  I highly reccommend them!

Read any good books lately?
xo

One-half of the world's funniest couple

Amy Poehler's genius cannot be denied.  Here is a testament to her versatility.

xx

define: Marriage

Click here to see the original image.

xx

New Condoms

Brilliant new tumblr that just started up: New Condoms.  It's a site devoted to photoshopping the best slogans and logos onto condom wrappers.

Here are my favorites to get you started:

Hehehe...

xx

Books

Floating

Sorry I've been MIA!  School started last week, and I've been much, much busier!  Posts will be more infrequent from now on, so I hope you'll be patient with me :)

This is a really cool video, but I have no idea how it works.  Feel free to fast forward through the slow parts.

xo


Flottille (detail) from Etienne Cliquet on Vimeo.

Long first week back to classes.  Lots of walking, riding buses, and speaking French.  So, this seemed extremely appropriate:

Quality nostalgia right there :)
Enfin vendredi!

xo

Cranberry Country: Part 2

As promised, here are more treats from Wisconsin.  Food wasn't the only thing offered in Tomah.  They also had a fantastic array of other goods.

First, the clothing:

"FASHION SCARVES

EVERYONE NEEDS

ONE Or TWO Or THREE!!!"

"REVERSIBLE JACKETS

FASHION AT IT'S FINEST

TRY ONE ON

ONLY $79.98

(COMPARE WITH $149.98)"

Some miscellaneous items that were too good to leave out:

Clockwise from top left:

- One candle + candle rings = many looks!

- Caroll's Cranny: Original Cranberry Designs

- Stories & Recipes of the Great Depression Volumes IV and V

-"'Berry' Good Baby" Teddy Bear

Now, people obviously put a lot of hard work into these things, so I'm not trying to mock them.  Really, I'm just appreciative of the creativity it takes to figure out that many things to do with cranberries!

Speaking of creativity...the coup de grace:

"Cranberry Wings: Where creativity, imagination, and cranberries fly"

I hope all of my American readers are enjoying their day off!  And to those of you who don't have a national holiday today...I hope the weather's nice? ;)  Happy Monday!

xo

Cranberry Country: Part 1

Last weekend, my BFF Michelle and I (yes, we're BFsF ;) went on an epic adventure across the Midwest.  We ventured from our native Twin Cities to Madison, Wisconsin, then to Chicago, Illinois, and then back again.  We did a lot of things on our trip, but a definite highlight (other than driving through Ho Chunk nation) was stopping in Cranberry Country on the way home.

A couple of hours into our drive, we decided to stop in Tomah, Wisconsin, to take in the sights of Cranberry Country.  The region is famous for its cranberries, so we stopped at The Cranberry Mall and the Cranberry Discovery Center:

Both locations offered a brilliant array of products, so it will take a few posts to share all of them with you.  But first, take in the amazing selection of foods that hail from Tomah:

1. Cranberry Wasabi Sauce

2. Cranberry Simple Syrup

3. Cranberry Salsa (taste tested this...crasins + Tostitos = bad idea)

4. Cranberry French Toast mix

5. Cranberry Maple Syrup

6. Cranberry Sausage

7. Cranberry Mustard?

8. CRANBERNET: a delicious mix of red wine and cranberries

Like I said, this is only the beginning, so you can look forward to more amazing options in upcoming posts.  Hope everyone's having a great Labor Day weekend!

xo

Worthy, Wealthy, Open

via Wide Open Spaces

What to Wear

100 years of what to wear in 100 seconds...this is great.

I love the clothes circa the '40s!

xo

Best. Roommate. Ever.

First of all, I'm sorry it's been a while since my last post!  I spent Thursday night through today in Madtown and Chitown on a Visa-acquring excursion with some friends.  More on that later.  For now, here's a wondrous little post from Craigslist that will be good for a laugh :)

Having trouble seeing the whole image?  Click the "Refinery29" link below to see the original.


via Refinery29

I Love the French

Yeah, hate to break it to you, but I'm a bleeding-heart socialist :)

Read the full story here.

xo

Post Secret

Most of the time, my favorite part of Post Secret isn't actually the secrets themselves...



It's the responses :)



xo

Bad Dates...

A journalist decided to start a thread on Twitter with the question, "What's the worst date you've been on?"  Hilarity ensued, as well as some great British slang.

See the rest here.

xo

Planning Ahead

Normally, I buy the U of M's planner because I appreciate that all of the important dates are listed: drop deadlines, holidays, finals, etc.  However, I just looked up this year's "Gopher Guide," and it is ugly as all get out:

Why on EARTH would someone think this was cute?!

So, I'm officially on a mission to find a cute, affordable, practical planner.  I love these planners from Letts of London, but I can't for the life of me find a picture of what they look like on the inside.




I definitely think the first design is my favorite, but what do you think?
xo

Abercrombie is paying the Jersey Shore cast to not wear its clothes.

You've got to be kidding me!

Love Songs

I just watched the french film "Les chansons d'amour."  It's a french musical drama about a love triangle that would easily convince anyone watching it that french people have no sexual orientation; they love errrrrbody!

It was dark, funny, and at times creepy.  I, of course, thought the main character was beautiful (because he's french) and talented (because he's french).  Although I found the whole premise odd, I found myself becoming quite fond of it by the end.  I like this quote from the trailer:

"Christophe Honoré's films aren't just films you like--you develop weird little crushes on them."


So true.  The movie is on Netflix Instant Play, if you're interested!
xo

Couldn't help myself...

He's so ACUTE!

Bibliophile

I just requested six, yes six, books from the library.  Wanna see?



Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
The first of a series, Case Histories recounts the solving of three mysteries by Private Detective Jackson Brodie.  I love me some mysteries, and the fact that there will be more books to read once I finish this one will be great!




Model Home by Eric Puchner
I found out about this author through www.thestaffrecommends.com (aka my new fave website)'s list of best books of 2010.  The reviewer's summary ended in, "Absorbing, emotional, funny. Can’t recommend it enough." That makes it worth reading, right?





The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson
Yeah, I definitely found out about this one thanks to an interview with the author on The Daily Show.  Apparently, everyone else in Minnesota did, too, because I'm the 207th person to request it...maybe I'll get to in October.  Anyway, the premise sounds really cool: Ronson used a diagnostic test to identify psychopaths in American society, and a lot of them were Fortune 500 CEOs...eek.




Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose
The author has a fitting last name.  Also, I've been trying to write more often lately, and I thought this might provide some inspiration.




Ron Carlson Writes a Story by Ron Carlson
Ron Carlson, a well-know short story author, provides insight into his writing process.  Comes highly recommended for writers (professionals and hobbyists).




Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
This is the third novel in the Ender's Game series.  I just finished Speaker for the Dead the other night.  These books are not only compellingly suspenseful, they also use a future society to examine the United States' current political situation (particularly regarding international relations).  I'm a few people down the list for this one, too, so I'm hoping it has a quick turnaround!




What are you reading right now?  Any recommendations?
xo

The Sweetest Video Ever

Set aside 12 minutes for this--it's so worth it! :)

Swoon.
xo

Popsicle Cocktails!

Mint Grapefruit Margarita Pop

ingredients:
• 1 ruby red grapefruit
• 2 tbsp sugar
• ½ tbsp tequila
• ½ tbsp orange liqueur
• 8 mint leaves – chopped into tiny pieces
• 3 oz dixie cups
• small bamboo forks purchased at Target

directions:
1. Place peeled grapefruit and the rest of the ingredients in blender or food processor. Pour into cups.
2. After 1 hour, take the cups out and stick the sticks into the center. Freeze the pops overnight.
3. Enjoy!

makes 4 pops (you can easily double or triple to make more)

via Green Wedding Shoes

The Rules of Flaking Out

Rules to live by.

via Christie Young

You're Invited

I will tell you right now that I am single.  Not dating anybody.  I just really like weddings :)

These wedding invitations are from Minted, a company that focuses on providing modern graphic design.  There are tons of options if you want to take a look, but the following are a few of my favorites:

 

 



I really like that last one mostly because it has my name on it.  Any Olivers out there? ;)

xo

Inappropriate Ad Placement

These "inappropriate ads" from Happy Place showcase serendipity's sense of humor :)





If you want to see more, click here!

xo

Trying to be a French girl

I sold a ton of textbooks this summer, and I just used some of the money to order these beauties:

via

I got the "cerise" (cherry red) ones!  They're scheduled to arrive in the mail early next week, and I can't wait!  Hopefully these sneaks will bring me one step closer to making me a French girl :)

xo

Common Misconceptions

 George Washington did not have wooden teeth. They were actually made of gold, hippopotamus ivory, lead, and animal teeth, including horse and donkey teeth.

These were in his mouth.  They're on display at Mount Vernon.

The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence occurred on August 2, 1776, not July 4.

This happened in August.

Napoleon Bonaparte was not particularly short in comparison to other French men and did not have a Napoleon complex.

Sarko: the munchky man.

Meteorites are not hot, but cold when they hit the earth.

Pssssshhhhhhhhhhhh boom.

Bulls are not enraged by the color red, which is used in capes by professional matadors. The movement of the fabric is what irritates the bull and causes them to charge.

Pink and orange work, too.

Shaving doesn’t cause hair to grow back thicker or darker. Hair which has never been cut has a tapered end and after cutting the hair the taper is lost making the new hair sharp.

This will not prevent balding.

Eating less than an hour before swimming doesn’t increase the risk of experiencing muscle cramps or drowning.

She'll be fine.

Thanks to Listverse for the interesting facts!