Twins

I have a confession. I cannot tell the difference between the Olson twins. I see them in the style and fashion sections of the websites I peruse from my phone - E!, People, US Weekly - yet I still can't tell them apart. People say "one is taller" or "one is blonder" but I just can't figure it out. I had this same problem as a teenager; I babysat for a pair of twins and could tell them apart. They would get upset about it. Oops.

I'm trying to find inspiration online for paint colors, but I've been finding that most interior room pictures feature white painted moldings in modern or vintage homes, or dark moldings in bungalow-style homes. I never find the strawberry blond honey oak moldings and doors that my house is full of. Although we looked at both new and old homes while searching for a residence, our need to move quickly prevented us from picking a real "fixer-upper", so we purchased a home built just two years ago. Since everything is new, it's hard to justify replacing or painting the current shiny-new wood moldings. So I'm on a hunt to find images of homes with 90s moldings.

Old. Navy?

Oops! I've been gone for a few days. I had an interview yesterday, so I'd been prepping for that pretty intensely.

I haven't worked out yet this week and my plans for today consist of a phone interview, afternoon errands, and then maybe a drink with friends. I'm not sure where my workout is going to fit in. Maybe walking my dog?

Is is just me, or has Old Navy's quality hit an all time low? I haven't been there for a couple months since the location closest to me closed, but it seems like they've really amped up the amount of thin, boxy and poorly made items in their stores. Don't get me wrong, I understand that they're Gap's low-end brand. But they seem to be falling into a new realm of crappiness. Ugh. It's like they're daring you to look cheap.

Photo - oldnavy.com

Canvas

I've just discovered Lands' End Canvas, Lands' End's attempt at updating itself, thanks to the folks over at J.Crew Aficionada. So far I'm a fan. Some of the stuff definitely reminds me of Martin+Osa (American Eagle's grown up line). A couple of the Canvas models I recognize as former Delia's models from my high school days. Yes, I actually recognize them. Odd.

I'm thinking about adding a blog roll to my Frenetic Studio; I figure if you see where I'm spending my time you might understand my ramblings. Although, I might seem less frenetic then...

I have a William-Sonoma gift card from Christmas that I've been itching to spend. However, I am super cheap and don't want to spend much over the $20 card balance. I've been hunting the sales at all the sites in which the gift card will work - WS Home, Pottery Barn, PB Teen, PB Kids, and West Elm - without finding any sale items I'm in love with. Well, scratch that. Sale items I'm in love with that aren't $699. Like I said, I'm cheap.

Lenten mumbling

So, I have decided that for Lent I will indeed give up simple carbohydrates. So far, so good. Day one.

Not much else new...walked through Target, TJ Maxx and Hobby Lobby today without finding much of what was on my list.

On the topic of directors being ejected from airplanes due to size, I will say that for those of us who have purchased a seat only to have a large person next to us smoosh their body under and over the armrest into the 17" we have paid for is terribly annoying. Whether it's a safety issue or an I-don't-want-the-person-next-to-me-to-invade-my-space issue, I'm sorry Mr. Smith but you'll need to buy yourself another ticket or a spacious first class seat. That may mean you'll have to plan ahead.

Another week

I've been watching Cougar Town since the beginning, mostly because it follows Modern Family and I never bothered to change the channel. But now I've become a fan, partly because it's nice to have a light-hearted comedy that doesn't take much thought and partly because I love the set design. In looking for a great picture of the set design to share with you, I stumbled across a blog in which the author feels the same way I do, and has featured all sort of pictures of the sets on Cougar Town. I like how they have used florals without being annoying, girly or elderly. I'm always telling my husband about how much I like the bar stools in Courtney Cox's character's kitchen. I particularly love the floral E A T letters in the kitchen, which it turns out are from Anthropologie. I may try to recreate this in my kitchen, only using fabrics that are more graphic and in keeping with my color scheme.

Photo - alltheshadesofgrey.net

Coffee update, et al

Following up on my coffee maker cleaning: I put a couple glugs (three or four tablespoons maybe) of vinegar in my coffee maker and filled it up with water. I ran it through with the vinegar, which seemed to move some mineral deposits through. I then ran it with just plain water, and it wasn't until my second water-only round that I realized my coffee maker has a Cleaning setting. ((hand on forehead)) So I turned it to Clean and ran the last round of water on that. Now it's sparkly clean. Yay!

Yesterday I ran through The Limited to check out the sale. I have a gift card that's been burning a hole in my pocket since my birthday, so I figured now's as good of a time as any to use it. The sale in the store was not as good as online however - very picked over. And the full priced items that I loved were a variety of tweed jackets that didn't make sense for me to be purchasing at over $100 each. Maybe once I can wear them to work it will seem less unreasonable.

I have yet to hear back on any of the jobs I've applied to recently, which is disappointing since some of them seem like perfect fits. I wonder what the other candidates look like. I'm guessing there are plenty of people out there with much more experience than me. Time to lower my standards?

Photo - thelimited.com

What day is it?

I haven't worked out yet this week, although I spend one and a half hours shoveling snow yesterday and that ought to count. I'm feeling a bit under the weather, so I'm guessing this won't be a power workout week anyway.

I realized this morning that my coffee maker is in desperate need of a very thorough cleaning. I've always refused to use those chemical coffee maker cleaners, since I'm always afraid of residual chemicals in my machine. I've never tried vinegar, and we seem to be out, so that has gone on my shopping list. I'll run it through with a vinegar and water mix and let you know how that goes.

My house seems to get messy really fast these days. You'd think with my being home, I'd be able to keep it super clean. But no, more time in the house seems to mean more time to create messes. I need to set aside a day to do a full-house deep clean. One of these days...


Photo - immaculate-collection.blogspot.com

Small steps

I would like to point out that I've added my first book to my list of books read for 2010. It's a jumping off point.

Lent

I'm trying to decide whether to go meat-free for Lent, or to go refined carb-free for Lent. Votes?

Missing the comforts of somewhere

I recently relocated, and am missing a lot of things about my old city. I'm going to put them out there, in hopes that I can just get over it already!

1. Easy access to natural, organic, and alternative foods
2. The arts scene
3. White girl dreads
4. Ann Taylor Loft, Banana Republic, White House Black Market, J.Crew, DSW, and other favorite stores that are now a much longer drive.
5. A few of my girlfriends
6. My Alma Mater
7. The political climate
8. The local television stations
9. My favorite Chinese restaurant
10. The good people-watching bar
11. My favorite fish fry
12. Trader Joe's
13. Downtown in the summertime
14. Knowing all the streets
15. My favorite coffee shops

Out and about

I was out running errands today - oil change, tax software, and heading back out on the hunt for home goods. Black and white bathroom accessories, green lamp bases, and a simple modern mirror; I have this idea in my mind of what I want in furnishings, but it just doesn't exist in the marketplace. Does this happen to you?


Photo - countryliving.com

Grammy wrap up

I'm not going to go into too much depth with my Grammy fashion post since I did not watch the awards show. I was distracted by the Pro Bowl. But here's my quick roundup:

Best dressed - Taylor Swift; perfectly cut dress, well chosen earrings
Worst dressed - Ciara; I have no idea what that is
Best hair - Keri Hilson; love the twist
Worst hair - Katy Perry; 1992 bangs are not cool
Best accessorizing - Miley Cyrus; rocker chic but not over the top
Worst accessorizing - Malin Akerman; those boots are terrible
Best use of color - Jennifer Nettles; the color-blocked red gives her an amazing figure
Best use of neutral - Carrie Underwood; lovely in white without looking bridal

You might be asking why I left perpetual freak show Lady Gaga out of the mix. Well, because her style isn't really worth discussing. She's no longer edgy for the sake of taking a fashion risk; she's just a train wreck for the sake of getting attention. I have no need to discuss her further.