Good Eats:

Picked up this book yesterday:



Made some bruschetta and a baked ziti dish for dinner last night. Yum yum yum! This book is huge and has lots of glossy photos of the delicious recipes... just the way I like a cookbook to be.

This Made My Day:

Oh yes. It's coming October 27th... there will be a celebration. (Involving Yuengling, no doubt.)

Mmmm, Fabrics:

Amy Butler strikes again with a new line of amazing fabric designs. I posted about the August Fields collection that came out a few months ago, but another has been added: Daisy Chain! Surprise, surprise, they are soooo cute.




And my favorite series in the collection:


I really need to get on the pillow making... especially since Emerson got into one of my current ones this morning. (I can't decide if he's just an asshole or if he is trying to motivate me... hmm...) Maybe these will help to inspire me to break out the sewing machine again!

Design Inspiration:

So my Domino decorating book came in today! Wahoo! The biggest surprise: the book comes with a free year's subscription to Domino, the magazine! Yay! I'm so excited to see more awesome rooms to hopefully inspire me. It's a great deal for $25!

The book is not only filled with beautiful photos, it is a great how-to with a breakdown of types and terms of everything from drapes to the legs of couches.

One of the great ideas that I can't wait to try: Framing wallpaper as art. Since wallpaper is back in style nowadays, there are some really great prints out there that would be beautiful.

From here.

From here.

From here.

I have found that I am so picky about art, this could be a really great (and inexpensive) remedy to my pickiness! It's such a great way to stylishly fill a large space.

Etsy Shop of the Week:

Oh my goodness I wish I could make cards like Etsy shop Paper Parasol! These letterpressed cards are just too cute...













Wow, I can't get over the cuteness! I totally love every single one of the cards in this shop. Maybe letterpress should be my next crafting endeavor... hmmm...

My Personal Opinion:

It's no secret that I went through a time period in which I was basically addicted to WeddingBee. I read every post. Even though I have no plans for nuptials in the near future whatsoever, it was fun to read!


News broke yesterday that WeddingBee has been sold to eHarmony.com. Although I was very happy to see Miss Gingerbread, Miss Cream Puff, and Miss Sweet Tea stand up to this site's policies against matching same-sex couples, this definitely makes me look at the site differently and although I previously was certain that I'd apply for a Bee position when that day came (if the site still existed at that point, of course), I won't be doing that given their new affiliation. I'd be working (for free!) for a company that goes against everything I believe... no thank you.

And now I feel like it's my duty to stick it to the man and withdraw my devotion to the site and set off for greener pastures (i.e. design blogs). In mourning of WeddingBee's principles, here is a list of some of my favorite and not-so-favorite Bees over the past:

Favorites:
Miss Lovebug- Her wit and word play often got my laughing out loud, not to mention the fact that her dress was flat out gorgeous. Somewhat unconventional but totally creative, I got a lot of awesome inspiration from this talented lady!
Miss Cream Puff- After I saw the wonder that was her invitation suite, I was hooked. As a graphic designer she had some great things to bring to the table, and I really enjoyed following her crafting endeavors.
Miss Pineapple- This Bee just seemed so gosh-darned down to Earth, which I absolutely love!
Miss Meatball- Sassy and fun-loving, this veggie and I have different taste but I still loved reading her posts! She's one of those gals that I'd be friends with... ya know, if I actually knew her. ;)
Miss Lemonade- A true Southern belle from Texas, this Bee is absolutely gorgeous and I have loved a lot of the things that she shared.
Miss Candy Corn- Her endearing quirkiness was just so refreshing and fun to read. Plus, the girl can draw... a talent that I am so sad to not possess myself.

Hit and Miss:
Miss Avocado- This woman had the nerve to plan her wedding before she even got engaged! I'm talking booked the venues, bought the dress, the whole nine! It really is embarrassing. Not to mention the fact that she's a Mormon... which I can't really get down with.
Miss Pinot Noir- Her taste is deplorable. From her invitations to the guestbook in quilt form (no seriously, a full on quilt will be made)... I would cringe every time she made a design choice.
Miss Flip Flop- Sorry but I think that a Disney wedding is lame.
Miss Ballet Flat- I just wasn't feelin it (not only because she is a LSU fan/alum, either).
Miss Sea Breeze- Her posts were entirely too long-winded.

Miss Flip Flop did slightly redeem herself, however, when she withdrew her membership from the hive due to the eHarmony affiliation. Major props for that.

(Again, these are my opinions and I don't mean any disrespect to anyone over at WeddingBee.)

Choke:

This was the other book that I finished this weekend:



I read Fight Club back in high school and had heard great things about all of Chuck Palahniuk's books, but I originally went in for "Invisible Monsters". That was until I saw a little sticker saying "Now a major motion picture". Oh yeeeeeah... I heard they were making it a movie! I thought might as well read it before the movie comes out. I can get to "Invisible Monsters" later.

Well, come to find out the movie starts next Friday! Woot! The only things is, it will only be in selected theaters. I have yet to figure out a way to see if any theaters here in Athens will even be playing it. I guess I'll find out next week!

I really liked the book and am definitely interested to see how graphic they get with some of the sex scenes... but after watching the trailer, it looks like it'll be pretty raunchy.

Oh La La:

I was in need of another Wallflower from Bath & Body Works for my living room, so last weekend I stopped in during an impromptu shopping trip to Commerce, Georgia.

They have a new scent that they are marketing as "Our Sexiest Fragrance Ever". It is called Black Amethyst and it is amazing. I liked it enough to by said needed Wallflower in it, but as I was driving home, the scent on my hands from the lotion that I was given really struck me and I am officially sold.

I moved my old Wallflower with the Pineapple Orchid scent into the living room just so I could have the Black Amethyst next to my bed. You've gotta have the sexy scent in the bedroom, right? Anyways, I love walking past it because it smells oh-so-good!

Right now I am stocked up on lotions and everything (I don't think I'll ever run out after my year-long stint as a B&BW employee), but come January when the semi-annual sale hits, I'll be primed and ready for some new stuff. And can you guess what I'll be buying? Yup, Black Amethyst. I'm excited already!

New Fabrics:

I don't think I have touched on my love of Amy Butler fabrics yet, which is truly a travesty. The woman has got skills.

I have used two of her fabrics for pillow sets and I absolutely loved them. Now, I'm in need of some inspiration for couch pillows, so of course I turned to my old friend to supply me with some great designs. And what did I find when I reached the website? A new collection! Wahoo!

Here are a few of my favorites from Amy Butler's new August Fields collection:











The only thing that is kind of annoying with these lovely fabrics is that you cannot buy them through Amy Butler directly... you must make your purchase through some third party. Personally, I use Fabric.com for all of my Amy Butler needs.

I'll let you know what fabric I choose for couch pillows once, ya know, I actually make a choice. (Don't expect it to be soon... they're all so cute!)

Weekend Goal:

Finish this book. Even if it kills me.



It's not that I'm not enjoying the book. It's not that I don't hang on every pertinent point that Hitchens makes about the ridiculousness of religion. It's not that I don't have a spare hour here and there that I could spend reading instead of flipping through the channels and grumbling about how everything on television sucks as of late. I just hate reading. There, I said it.

I blame it on my reading-intensive history major... but the truth of the matter is, I've never been into reading for pleasure. I just don't find books so wildly interesting that it pains me to put it down... never have. I'm trying though. I truly am.

So my goal for the weekend (aside from cheering on the Dawgs and getting caught up on a little homework) is to finish. this. book.

Local Etsy Love:

I just stumbled upon a really great Etsy feature... local seller search! Sa-weet!

I started to browse through the local Athens artists, and I was surprised that some of the items looked familiar... Oh yeah! WeddingBee! I knew it. Miss Hummingbird got a necklace for her wedding day, and Miss Cream Puff got bridesmaids gifts from seller Meg Leigh's shop! I didn't realize she was a fellow Athenian though!

Here are a few of my favorites:











She'll even adjust the chain lengths on necklaces if you want. Ah, the wonderful customization that only Etsy can provide! Definitely check out her shop... totally cute stuff.

Etsy Shop of the Week:

I just stumbled upon Joom's fabulous pillow designs on Etsy... Wow. I'm totally a sucker for birds as of late, and these are totally giving me my much-needed fix. Observe:








She has all sorts of colors and sizes... all of which are incredibly adorable!

Remember, buy handmade!

I Couldn't Help Myself:

I finally indulged myself and bought a Longchamp Le Pliage bag while I was downtown catching some lunch with Chris and a friend...

They had to get the one out of the window since they had no more in the color I wanted... It's a medium blue-grey that I have never seen anywhere else. The woman was surprisingly pleasant since most of my experiences at Heery's have left a sour taste in my mouth (and I'm not the only one). To be honest, part of the reason I took so long to finally buy it was because I didn't want to give them business and Nordstrom didn't have any cute colors in store. I am so glad now that I got it and the cute old woman definitely brightened my day!

It's Showtime:

The new season of Californication starts September 28th! I'm not going to lie, I'm skeptical though. What made season one so great was the fact that Hank had absolutely no shame when it came to his sexcapades... but with his riding off into the sunset with his ex at the very end, I fail to see how they will maintain the raciness of the show while maintaining good story lines... I'll still tune in though to find out what happens.

Entourage begins a new season on September 7th... but let's be honest, the last season sucked. Every episode kinda went like this:
-Vinnie: "I want to do this movie!"
-Ari: "They want some other actor."/"There isn't enough funding."/"The director hates you."
-Vinnie: "But I really wanna!" *pouts*
-Ari: "Oh wow, we figured out a better movie!"/"We struck up a deal, and now you can do it!"
Yawn. I'll tune into the first episode or two, but the first time I end a show with the feeling of "Wow, that was awful." I'm out.

Both Weeds and Secret Diary of a Call Girl are well into their seasons, but with how busy I've been and my lack of access to Showtime/HBO this summer, I only managed to catch the first episodes. Hopefully they'll do a marathon or something at the end of their seasons... because I will watch every one.

Basically, I love anything on Showtime or HBO. Mainly because they are able to be a lot more racy than the lame-o network shows. Apparently Dexter is absolutely amazing as well... I've just never caught an episode... Maybe I'll make it a point to watch and see if I like it...

Interesting Facts:

About San Francisco! If I'm really serious about relocating to the city by the bay, I figured I should get to know it a bit better... and here's what I found!

It is the birthplace of fortune cookies!


Angel Island is like the Ellis Island of the west.


The infamous cable cars of San Fran are the only moving National Historic Landmark.


17 ironworkers and 38 painters work constantly on the Golden Gate bridge to keep it from rusting.


"Alcatraz" means pelican in Spanish. 5 years of the language and I never learned that... It is also where Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly were incarcerated. Sweet!


San Francisco's Jackson Square Historic District is home to the first Ghirardelli factory. Yum!


Yosemite is only fours hours away!


"If you're tired, you take a nap-a, you don't MOVE to Napa!" -Ms. Bradshaw to Mr. Big
Napa Valley is only an hour away... which makes this wino super pumped!


But I also found out that they have the most homeless per capita... damn. Oh well, you win some, you lose some I suppose!

Hair Product:

This is the epitome of perfection for lovely locks:


The minty scent is relaxing yet invigorating at the same time. Don't ask... just enjoy the goodness. I splurged one day on the shampoo and conditioner and am reminded every time I shower that the $20 were totally worth it.