December 17, 2010

Friday's Happy List

1) Karen O. I've decided: Road trips are the best place to find new music. Specifically, road trips in other people's cars. When I went to visit my friend Brittany in Louisiana in October, we decided to visit the Abita Brewing Company in Abita Springs, Louisiana, en route from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. We unwisely skipped the causeway and took the (very) long way to Abita Springs (which was such a super cute little town), and we had lots of time to play her mixed CDs between our talking about boys. Anyway, through that ride I "discovered" Australian bro & sis Angus and Julia Stone -- and Karen O. I mean, I'd heard of Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and I liked that song "Maps," but Nekos had said something once about not liking the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and I generally take his opinion about music pretty seriously. He was wrong about this one though, folks. This band is the shit!!! Karen O is a freak of nature and force of nature, and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been on at my crib all week. 





2) GoodReads. I really love this website. Are ya'll on it? Be my friend, won't you? I have the memory of an 85-year-old so this helps me keep track of what I've already read and what I want to read next. Plus, I can see what my friends are reading and get good recommendations. I vow not to read any more books that I'm not insane about. There are too many good ones out there.


3) More ReadyMades + my first blog snail mail! One of Nekos' best friends from high school sent me a stack of old ReadyMade magazines this week. Thanks so much Alison! I can't wait to dig in. 



4) The Way Tessa Smells. Like milk and soggy Cheerios and Burt's Bees baby bath and dog kisses and sweat. It's hard to explain, but I just want to inhale her. It's amazing. 



5) Microdermabrasion. There's nothing that makes me feel worse about myself, physically-speaking, than a zit. (In my world, these are called Mt. Saint Ellen's.) I'd seriously rather be 10 lbs. heavier than have a honker on my face. Then again, I am just really into pretty skin. A couple years ago I looked into quitting my day job to go to beauty school to become an aesthetician. I'm prone to hormonal acne on my chin, have tried everything, and this year finally found a key to keeping zits at bay: microderm. My skin is still far from perfect, and microdermabrasion (and the chemical peel that follows) is one big OUCH but I feel so much happier with my skin since I started having this procedure done. I've had it done by three different aestheticians at three different spas in Nashville, and my favorite is Heather Hull at Skin RN. That's also where I go to do my tattoo removal. :(



6) This fort! I want to go nighty-night here. 

Source: Fuck Yeah! Forts

7) Mint.com. Nekos and I met with a financial advisor this week, and one of the things she suggested is that we use Mint.com to manage and plan our budget. I got everything set up yesterday, and I think it's awesome. Among other things, it syncs up all of your accounts and automatically categorizes all of your spending into a pretty little pie chart.  



8) This inky black bathroom. Our upstairs bathroom is the final frontier. Every other room in our house has been conquered, but it is still beige. I don't necessarily think that this would be an appropriate color choice for a couple with a young child, but I love it because it screams Glamorous Big City, Tiny Apartment to me. And I love glamorous big cities and tiny apartments. I want to take a hot bath and get ready for a night out in this bathroom. 

Source: Lonny Mag

** This blog is a happy place, but I need to make room for one unhappy thought. WHAT THE F*** is up with my electric bill this month? I heard it's the coldest December in Nashville since 1942, but seriously? A mama has to keep her baby warm!