Friday, July 29, 2011

I'm Missing You Like Candy

Not really. But any excuse to reference a Mandy Moore song is good enough for me.

I was realllly tired at work on Thursday. I was yawning every three minutes. My hair was scroungy. Didn't get enough protein at breakfast. My defenses were down. Whatever. I could not stop looking at Candy Blog.

I wasn't even really craving candy, but reading about it seemed to be the absolute best time of my life and use of my day (waaaay better than actually doing my job).

I love candy. Truly. I want to do a blog just like that... mainly so I have an excuse to try every new candy I can get my hands on.

My current love is Reese's Whipps. They're too sugary and the chocolate is fake and too sparse, but I can't get over the "peanut butter flavored" nougat. Clearly, I'm no purist.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Me + J.Lo = Twinners


When I walked into my sister's house with my new haircut, our conversation went like this:

Sister: Your hair! You look like a movie star! I almost didn't recognize you.
Me: (Bowing) Thank you, thank you!
Sister: What movie star am I thinking of? Who do you look like?
Me: J. Lo.
Sister: Really?
Me: Yes. I look just like J.Lo.
Sister: Alright.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

On bad days

I want to sit in a dark, large, warm auditorium and listen to poetry. On a particularly bad day, a few years ago, I got to do just that. Billy Collins came to BYU and I found a seat. It was the best place for me and all my cement feelings. And it seems like the best place for me now, today. Not that today is particularly bad, but mostly just particularly taxing. A day when it seems like my veins are frayed and everything seems off—every action and thought is a dress that doesn't fit.

So I’ll invite you into small, quiet auditorium that I built myself. Let’s sit together and listen and not say a word.





At the reading I went to, Billy introduced a poem by saying, "If you are majoring in English, you are basically majoring in death. Death is our thing; it's what gets us up in the morning." I remember laughing out loud—because it’s true.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Soundtrack #6

Today we have music featuring John Mayer.

I used to know him mostly for the song "Daughters," which is lovely and nice and most girls and women like it. But a few years ago I lived with a roommate that introduced me to a lot of his other stuff, stuff that didn't get quite as much radio play, but was better than some of the stuff that got a lot. I was rarely home during the semesters that we lived together. I was spending most of my waking moments at the apartment of a boyfriend, and by the time I got home she was often already in bed. But some nights I'd walk into our shared room and the lights would be off but candles and incense would be burning and she'd be working on an art project. Sometimes her speakers would be billowing acid-trip-inspired-sounding indie music. And other times it was John.

So today I bring you some of my favorites.

COMFORTABLE
This song used to kind of break my heart. The "why'd I have to practice on your heart" addition isn't in the regular version, but it makes it even more poignant, don't you think?

Disclaimer: Watching John Mayer sing may make you uncomfortable... I usually look away and go for the straight-up audio experience.


IN YOUR ATMOSPHERE
Just love.


COME BACK TO BED


FREE FALLIN'
This the best kind of cover: it takes the original and changes the sound, mood, impression.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Having hair cut = wearing a smock

I love to talk about hair. My hair in particular, but anyone else’s too. (Just ask any of my friends, they get to hear about my earthy tresses all the time. Forbearance? Yes.) In fact, I’m pretty interested in your hair routine (dry shampoo? Heat protectant? Perm? Coloring? Big-toothed comb?). I think this fascination might be partially hereditary, because my sister, Julie, likes to talk hair too. And my eldest niece, Maren, is AMAZING when it comes to doing hair—just like her namesake, my other sister. Every time I visit my niece, she gets out her brushes, hairspray, clips, and spray bottle, and I go home looking like I’m ready for the junior prom. She’s ten. Jessica Simpson’s stylist/bff got nothing on her.

I’m getting my hair cut tomorrow. I’ve been toying with the idea of bangs for a while. Big, dramatic bangs. Bangs that will hang over my eyebrows and allow me to do the head swoop to swing them out of my eyes. Bangs that I can use as a curtain to disguise my face during criminal acts. Bangs to make young Anna Wintour jealous. Bangs that will change America.

But bangs probably would not look good on my face. (I told my friend, Courtlin, “But the lower part of my face isn’t very attractive!” She said, “And your forehead is going to help that?”).

So I think I’m going to go for it. It’s probably a mistake, but a mistake with my hair is a mistake I can afford.

There’s this YA book by Louise Plummer called The Romantic Obsessions and Humiliations of Annie Sehlmeier. The main character, Annie, humiliates herself in a way that isn’t cute or endearing, but makes you cringe and want to look away. After she does this humiliating thing, months later, she gets her hair cut—lopped off actually. She tells the hairdresser, “I feel like a new person!” And the hairdresser says, “Sometimes that’s necessary.” And sometimes it is.

From the lovely blog, CUP OF JO.


From A Beautiful Mess. Just scroll through and breathe in the aroma of really, really glorious hair.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Summa Time and Soundtrack #5

Today I bought this nail polish. NYC's take on this orangey-coraly color is called Spring Street. Please. It should be called Summer Street. If there was a way to dip my whole body in this color, I think I'd do it. And then I'd eat a snow cone.

In honor of this hot July day, I bring you this song. I have yet to hear it done better than Corinne Bailey (in fact, most of the covers I've heard are braces-and-head-gear ugly). This song makes we want to put on some-cut offs, grab a glass of lemonade, and ride in the passenger seat with the windows down, cruising through the canyon and thinking about how good life is. Mm hm.

PUT YOUR RECORDS ON