things i love thursday

1.homestore3 2.whatbettertime 3.colur 4.thrujenseyes 5.mattiadc 6.adorevintage 7.malingering 8.forever21 9.mwboeckmann 10.kahluacream 11.lidarose 12.zollo

Pool Floats When I woke up this morning (read: afternoon), my dad had gone to the pool supply store and bought new pool floats for everyone. He got me the “Big Daddy” float which I’ve been irrationally raving about for a week, most likely because of the name. The Big Daddy?! That is an awesome name for a pool float. And it comes with a drink holder thing that floats beside it called The Big Daddy Caddy. I get a kick out of this.

Michael Franti & Spearhead I was listening to the Weeds soundtrack (surprise, surprise) and “Ganja Babe” by Michael Franti & Spearhead is by far the best song on the whole CD. I listen to it so much it’s almost sick. I love it. So I checked out their Myspace and LOVED the music. It’s sort of hip-hop reggae-y feeling, somewhat political – he’s very outspoken for peace in the Middle East and lots of social justice issues. The best thing about Michael Franti? He goes everywhere barefoot and only puts on flip flops in places that absolutely require shoes (see last weeks TILT). I love it!!

Sparklers and Fireworks The 4th of July is tomorrow and you know what that means – sparklers and fireworks! You gotta love a good fireworks display. Last July 4th I brought home sparklers for the Summer Haus and we kept lighting them inside and in city park and it was lovely and fun. 4th of July at my parents house means a day in the pool and my dad stationed at the grill, so I’m excited for good eats and good swims.

Keurig Coffee Maker My new favorite toy! My parents got this single-cup coffee maker and it’s so great. It’s very instant, it takes like 30 seconds to make a cup of coffee. And I love single cup because then everyone can get exactly what they want. And you order boxes of the little flavor pods in the mail. I like the variety pack because you get all sort of fun new flavors to try, but I also really love the Island Coconut and the Nantucket Blend. The hot chocolate is to die for too, especially with a little shot of peppermint schnapps (wink!).

How I Met Your Mother This show is so funny! I’ve been watching the older episodes online lately since I started watching it just this past season. I was debating including the whole show or just Neil Patrick Harris on TILT because Barney is by far my favorite character and I just love NPH. I want to be his friend. But I do love Ted and Marshall and Lily – I don’t love Robin as much as everyone else. I mean I do, she’s funny, but…sorry, Robin! Anyway, the show is hysterical so check it out!

Mary-Kate Olsen Um, I’m not afraid to admit that I have deep love for Mary-Kate. I love her hair! I love her style! (Even when she was baglady-ish…) I love everything about her. I just realized that I sound like a really creepy Mary-Kate stalker. But in reality, I tend to respect and love people with great style that I, myself, could never pull off. Also, no offense to Ashley – she is obviously the more talented of the two twins (who has an Emmy nomination…). And come on, she’s a CEO of a company that she’s had since she was like 4, a fashion designer, and she’s been picking up some awesome acting roles lately. So at least she’s not a floozy.

Ugg Boots No matter how hard I try, I cannot get over Ugg Boots. I love them so much. I think they are probably the most rational shoe purchase I have ever made (okay, they were a gift…but…you get what I mean). They are so comfortable and I can wear them anywhere, any time. I’ve had my beloved Uggs for almost 4 years, so you can imagine that they are getting a little grody. It’s definitely time for a new pair. Now all I need is money…

Forever21 Sunglasses I’ve decided that Forever21 is the easiest, and most rational, place to buy sunglasses. I don’t believe in designer sunglasses because of how easily I tend to break sunglasses. I break every pair I buy. Sure, I would love Dior sunglasses, but do you know what would happen? I would break them, and then spend months regretting the fact that I broke $300 sunglasses. Forever21 Sunglasses are like $5, so you won’t feel bad when you break them, and they are all super cute. They come in so many styles, so there is something for everyone. I recently bought 2 pairs (white and black), both of which I completely love.

Ugly Dolls Is it cliche that I love Ugly Dolls? Probably. I’m pretty much a walking cliche. Point is, they are so cute (I mean, ugly)! And, in my opinion, completely acceptable for anyone, of any age, to own. I have Icebat, OX, and Peaco – but Icebat was the first one I bought and he is clearly my favorite. I like to think that he was somewhat of a mascot for the Summer Haus (next to, of course, Cosmo). On another note, if you search Flickr for pictures of Ugly Dolls, some pretty hysterical ones come up =).

Jergen’s Natural Glow Okay, I know what you’re thinking (if you’re Katelin) – “Uh oh, time for that self tanner bullshit again.” But here’s the deal – Natural Glow is really subtle and while I’ve been spending a lot of time outside so much of my color comes from the sun, it’s a good choice of moisturizer because it adds a bit more color at the end of the day. I also recommend their Shimmer lotion because it gives you a nice extra glow. Jergen’s, FTW!

The Public Library The one thing I really missed while living in Nashville was the ocean. But other than that, it was having an accessible library! I didn’t have a car so I never got to go. And our school library, in addition to sending me a weekly e-mail about the late fees I owed them, had a slimited (slim + limited) selection of what I call “pleasure books.” Since I’ve been home, I’ve been at the library a lot. Plus, I’ve challenged myself to read Entertainment Weekly’s 100 Best Reads From The Past 25 Years, so I will be at the library A LOT.

Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” How can you not love this song? It’s so heartfelt and emotional. It’s been covered like a million times, and excerpts of it have been used in many other songs. It’s also on a whole bunch of movie and TV soundtracks. I realized recently that I have 33 versions of the song, all by different artists, in my iTunes. Clearly I love the song. Apparently in the writing process, Leonard Cohen wrote 80 different verses before he chose the ones that were finally included in the song. That’s insane. I personally believe it is one of the greatest songs of all time, but that’s just my opinion.

Loves it!
Pontius

Things That Made Me Happy Today

Photo by Ben McLeod

It was one of those days today, when nothing particular happened, but I found a bunch of little things giving me the warm fuzzies. And don’t they say it’s the little things that count? So, I feel that it is appropriate that I give credit to those little things that made my day just a little brighter.

Coffee It seems that every time I find myself back in Massachusetts, I also find myself a hardcore coffee addict. Every single morning, I wake up and make my daily trip to Dunkin’ Donuts. Lately, my order has been a medium coconut iced coffee with cream, sugar, and a shot of mocha. It’s a dream!! (Thanks to Aunt Jean for the suggestion of the mocha shot!) My morning coffee fix gets me through the day (well mostly) until night falls, when I make a cup before bed with our lovely little gem, the Keurig One Cup Coffee Maker, which I am obsessed with. Lately, I’ve been making Nantucket Blend coffee with either Cinnamon Bun or Irish Creme Creamer. To die for. As of late, I’ve been drinking three to four cups a day. It seems to have replaced alcohol, for the time being.

Weeds Such a good show! Season four just started and I have only been able to catch a few episodes in the past. But lucky for me, my dad has seasons one and two on DVD and season three is up on OnDemand – so I’ve been catching up so I can watch season four (this is like that time I got hooked on Lost…). It such a funny, clever show. And come on, it’s about an attractive white middle aged mom in the suburbs who’s a drug dealer. It’s funny. And Mary-Kate Olsen guest stars in some episodes and she happens to be one of my guilty pleasure favorite actresses. Nancy Botwin, FTW!

Eyebrow waxing Some people dread this “painful experience,” but I honestly think it’s one of my favorite things. I often subconsciously find myself not tweezing my eyebrows so that I will HAVE to go get them waxed. I feel that if you go to the right place and have the right person do them, it’s a really enjoyable experience! You get to go lay down on a nice little imitation bed in a low lit room with music playing and chat with the person who is spreading hot wax on your arches and ripping hair out of your face! But seriously, I just look so much better afterward, it is well worth it. I’ve definitely seen some botched jobs and it’s not a pretty sight. So I would find the right salon by word of mouth, the best advertising a salon can get. If you’re in the South Shore area, I go to Shelley at Glow and I have never had a bad experience.

Phone calls from old friends Well, not really old friends – just people I haven’t talked to in a few weeks. Marv called me last night and it was lovely to hear from him. Sheen called me today and despite what he thinks, I do love him and did not forget about him! I am really bad at calling people. I usually only call if I have something specific to tell someone, not just to chat. Because, ask my friends, I’m awkward on the phone. I never have anything good to say. When most people need to spill their guts and vent, they usually call me because they know I will listen and not interrupt. I’m fine with that. I like listening. And I love hearing from people because I love my friends!

Silver linings I am making a resolution (it’s a little late, I realize) to find the silver lining in all situations. I think I will be a much happier person if I do this. I feel like I AM a happy person, but that I often focus on negative things because I want to change them. And I know everything can’t be changed. Like if someone decides they want to dump you as a friend because their girlfriend is threatened by you – well I would take it as a compliment that someone feels threatened by me! By all means, feel threatened. You should. Also, as much as a situation like that sucks, it weeds out the bad eggs for the good eggs. I am loyal to each and every one of my friends and I respect them all. To sum up how deep my loyalty runs, I provide you with a quote from Hey Chris that sums up my feelings:

The people I call friends are the best of the best. Have I had to stand behind one of them even though they were wrong? Absolutely. And I will until they prove themselves a rotten or toxic person. Rotten and toxic people can do good things and good people can do rotten and toxic things, the true ability is being able to distinguish between the people who deserve your loyalty and those who don’t. Have I harbored criminals? Yes. If [my friends] murdered someone, would I help them? You bet your ass. Call it foolish, fine. Call it blind, okay. Because I know that each one of them would do the same for me.
Disagree all you like, I completely understand why you would. But I think that comes from not fully understanding and truly loving your friends. And maybe you have a different set of values and standards, and that’s fine. But my friends are my family, and just like a mother would protect her kids from danger, the law or harm, I would and will and continue to do so.

I expect the same loyalty back from my friends. And it’s nice to know who doesn’t respect you enough to show you loyalty, because they are a toxic person to your life. And I have somehow gone off on a rant when this was supposed to be a quick blurb on silver linings. Apologies!

Notes From The Universe My note from the Universe this morning totally validated my opinion on living with no regrets, and I love that:

The biggest misconception people have about the past, Aimee, is thinking it can detract from the rest of their lives.
It can’t!
The past only ever makes more stuff possible.

Tallyho,
The Universe

P.S. And while some might then argue that a different past would make possible a “better” future, Aimee, I would gently remind them that they cannot yet see all that I can see, and would beg to disagree.

Loves it!!

What made you happy today? Leave me a comment and let me know!