I love cute dresses. And cute tops paired with cute skirts. I love cute clothes. I just can't afford them. Every girl goes through a season in her life when she is completely dissatisfied with most of the clothing she owns, and all she wants is an entirely new wardrobe. I am going through that season right now.
And then I find the website modcloth.com. They have some of the cutest dresses, tops, skirts, and accessories ever. And of course I can't afford most of it. So my solution is to make wishlists. It's just like shopping, only I don't actually get any of the things on the list. But if I ever have an extra $30 to $80 (the average cost of a dress, with a few reaching the hundreds of dollars), I can just go to my wishlist and pick a dress I've already pre-selected as cute. It's a great system!
Only one problem: after a first sweep of adding all the dresses I found cute to my list, the grand total came to 399 dresses. That is way too many to choose just one from! And that's just dresses, not even including tops (130), skirts (41), accessories (150) or shoes (17). The good news is, a lot of the dresses are very similar in style and color. I went through the list and narrowed down all of the dresses in the same style, same color, same pattern, or just way too expensive. I managed to get it down to 220. Still a ton of dresses, but at least it's not more than one dress a day for a year and couple months.
I will probably never end up buying more than a few of those dresses. If any. I'm not much of an online shopper. I prefer to be able to try a dress on, or at least see it in person, before making the commitment of paying for it. I also hate to pay shipping. If ModCloth had a physical store, I'd be all over that.
I'm also more of a bargain shopper. My first stop at any store is the sale rack, and if a cute piece of clothing is too expensive, it immediately loses it's cuteness in my eyes. But the site also has clothes on sale. One of their cutest pieces, a vest dress, is on sale for about half it's original price. Still slightly more than I can afford right now, but I'm seriously considering it.
Maybe one day I'll own each of those items on my wishlist, but I'm not holding my breath. A small percentage would be enough to completely revitalize my currently boring wardrobe. But a wishlist is just that, a wish. Not holding my breath.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Apartment in Transition
I've lived in the same apartment almost since I moved to LA, over 3 and 1/2 years now. I've gone through about seven roommates and a puppy. Earlier this year my roommate and I realized that we were embarrassed about the state of the carpet. It hadn't been changed since at least a year before I moved in, and 3 years, 7 roommates, and puppy can really wreak havoc on already-old carpet. So we decided to ask our landlord about changing it.
We caught him a good time, right when he was trying to rent out the empty unit next door and realizing that people like hardwood a whole lot more than carpet. My roommate and I are two of those people who love hardwood, and jumped at his offer to hardwood the entire apartment. A month later, the disgusting carpet was a distant memory.
Not long after the flooring was finished, we found out that our apartment building (which had been on the market for the better part of 6 months) was "in escrow." Neither of us knew what escrow was, but presumably it meant it had been sold. As evidenced by the parade of inspections that happened over the next 2 weeks.
And then two more weeks went by, and we didn't hear a thing. And then on a Wednesday night, my roommate noticed our sink had been leaking and then we found a cockroach, and it became imperative that a landlord come IMMEDIATELY and take care of the situation.
So the next morning I call our landlord and find out, he doesn't own the building anymore. Now, we had never received anything telling us that we officially had a new landlord and who that was and how to contact said landlord in the even of a COCKROACH INVASION. So former landlord gave us the number for the realty company, who gave us the number of the new landlord, who was told he wouldn't become the landlord for 2 more days.
But it turns out that our new landlord is AWESOME. He came over to fix the sink and rid our world of evil that takes cockroach form, and also to let us know all of the great ideas he has for the place and see what our thoughts were for possible improvements. And his ideas were AMAZING (insulation and a new a/c unit to keep place cooler in summer? Yes, please!) and he seemed fully willing to do our ideas as well and basically, our apartment is awesome now.
It all started with a fresh coat of paint, and my roommate's friend who is an amateur interior decorator. The fresh coat of paint was joined by two dark gray walls, rearranged furniture, a few new lampshades, and a couple of strategic new pieces of furniture. Add to that new shades and curtains and some art on the walls (instead of full-sized movie posters), and it looks like adults live here. I love it. We're probably going to have a house re-warming party, because it literally is like a whole new apartment.
All that's left is to include my room in the apartment update. I already rearranged and got rid of a papazan chair I love but doesn't fit in the room anymore. But I'd like to add some color to the walls, put a few things on the walls, and generally make it look like a room I've lived in for 3 years and not some place I'm crashing for now. We'll see if the budget can cover that kind of makeover.
Bottom line, I love my practically new apartment!
We caught him a good time, right when he was trying to rent out the empty unit next door and realizing that people like hardwood a whole lot more than carpet. My roommate and I are two of those people who love hardwood, and jumped at his offer to hardwood the entire apartment. A month later, the disgusting carpet was a distant memory.
Not long after the flooring was finished, we found out that our apartment building (which had been on the market for the better part of 6 months) was "in escrow." Neither of us knew what escrow was, but presumably it meant it had been sold. As evidenced by the parade of inspections that happened over the next 2 weeks.
And then two more weeks went by, and we didn't hear a thing. And then on a Wednesday night, my roommate noticed our sink had been leaking and then we found a cockroach, and it became imperative that a landlord come IMMEDIATELY and take care of the situation.
So the next morning I call our landlord and find out, he doesn't own the building anymore. Now, we had never received anything telling us that we officially had a new landlord and who that was and how to contact said landlord in the even of a COCKROACH INVASION. So former landlord gave us the number for the realty company, who gave us the number of the new landlord, who was told he wouldn't become the landlord for 2 more days.
But it turns out that our new landlord is AWESOME. He came over to fix the sink and rid our world of evil that takes cockroach form, and also to let us know all of the great ideas he has for the place and see what our thoughts were for possible improvements. And his ideas were AMAZING (insulation and a new a/c unit to keep place cooler in summer? Yes, please!) and he seemed fully willing to do our ideas as well and basically, our apartment is awesome now.
It all started with a fresh coat of paint, and my roommate's friend who is an amateur interior decorator. The fresh coat of paint was joined by two dark gray walls, rearranged furniture, a few new lampshades, and a couple of strategic new pieces of furniture. Add to that new shades and curtains and some art on the walls (instead of full-sized movie posters), and it looks like adults live here. I love it. We're probably going to have a house re-warming party, because it literally is like a whole new apartment.
All that's left is to include my room in the apartment update. I already rearranged and got rid of a papazan chair I love but doesn't fit in the room anymore. But I'd like to add some color to the walls, put a few things on the walls, and generally make it look like a room I've lived in for 3 years and not some place I'm crashing for now. We'll see if the budget can cover that kind of makeover.
Bottom line, I love my practically new apartment!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Food Blogs
I love food blogs. Especially dessert blogs. Pretty much anything with pictures of delicious-looking and adorably designed cakes or cupcakes or pies or cookies, I'm a sucker for it. I look through the photos, imagining situations in which I would use a cake decorated like a happy cloud with a rainbow scarf, or cupcakes with cartoon character faces on each one. I look at the incredibly beautiful, intricate, and creative wedding cakes and try to decide which one I want at my wedding some day. I imagine that I can decorate something that beautiful, and even seriously consider taking a cake decorating class, just to see if would actually be able to pull it off.
But, there are some cakes and cupcakes that, though I appreciate the artistry, I don't think I'd ever be able to enjoy them. Those cakes decorated to look like non-cake food, such as egg salad sandwiches or hamburgers or steaks on the grill, never ever look appetizing to me. Even if they're made out of the sweetest, most delicious cake ingredients in the world, I still wouldn't be able to bring myself to eat it.
Mostly, probably, because of how realistic they all look as whatever food they're not. If I want to eat delicious, sweet cake, I don't want to be putting what looks like mashed potatoes and peas in my mouth. Conversely, maybe I see a mouthwatering hamburger, and when I take a bite, it turns out to be cake?
It's all a matter of not getting what you're expecting. And I don't like that. One time in Sunday School some girls offered everyone a choice between Sprite and Club Soda, but had switched the contents of the bottles. They were trying to demonstrate that people tend to go for the bright, flashy outside instead of what's on the inside. But I know I like Sprite, I was expecting Sprite, and it didn't have anything to do with the out appearance of the bottles. So when I asked for Sprite and got the nasty surprise of disgusting club soda, I was pretty pissed. I didn't get what I was expecting.
And its the same with those cakes. Even if someone were to say, "Look at this cake that looks like steak on a grill, would you like a piece?" and I accepted, still, somewhere, in the back of my mind, when I'd take a bite I'd be expecting it to taste like steak. That's just too weird for me. So, just a tip, if you want to bake me a special cake, don't make it look like dinner food. I won't like it.
But, there are some cakes and cupcakes that, though I appreciate the artistry, I don't think I'd ever be able to enjoy them. Those cakes decorated to look like non-cake food, such as egg salad sandwiches or hamburgers or steaks on the grill, never ever look appetizing to me. Even if they're made out of the sweetest, most delicious cake ingredients in the world, I still wouldn't be able to bring myself to eat it.
Mostly, probably, because of how realistic they all look as whatever food they're not. If I want to eat delicious, sweet cake, I don't want to be putting what looks like mashed potatoes and peas in my mouth. Conversely, maybe I see a mouthwatering hamburger, and when I take a bite, it turns out to be cake?
It's all a matter of not getting what you're expecting. And I don't like that. One time in Sunday School some girls offered everyone a choice between Sprite and Club Soda, but had switched the contents of the bottles. They were trying to demonstrate that people tend to go for the bright, flashy outside instead of what's on the inside. But I know I like Sprite, I was expecting Sprite, and it didn't have anything to do with the out appearance of the bottles. So when I asked for Sprite and got the nasty surprise of disgusting club soda, I was pretty pissed. I didn't get what I was expecting.
And its the same with those cakes. Even if someone were to say, "Look at this cake that looks like steak on a grill, would you like a piece?" and I accepted, still, somewhere, in the back of my mind, when I'd take a bite I'd be expecting it to taste like steak. That's just too weird for me. So, just a tip, if you want to bake me a special cake, don't make it look like dinner food. I won't like it.
Friday, July 09, 2010
Creepy Spiderman
You might not realize this from the title of this blog, but my name is MJ. This really shouldn't be that big of a deal, but for some reason it's a huge deal to comic book fans. I mean, I understand that Spiderman's girlfriend Mary Jane generally goes by MJ. I just don't understand why whenever a fanboy hears my name they automatically think of her.
Three times today, three times, someone said my name and then mentioned Spiderman in some way. One of the guys even had the audacity to tell me that he is Spiderman. Gross!
Kind of got me thinking about cheesy pick-up lines though. Now, I am extremely oblivious to being hit on. Not that it happens very often, but usually what happens is this: a guy will initiate an awkward interaction, and I'll try to be polite while wondering why this person is being so awkward, and then later I'll tell a friend about the interaction, and they'll explain to me that I've been hit on.
The most common sneak-attack flirting is some comment on my name (besides Spiderman, I often get Michael Jackson or Michael Jordan, because, you know, I look like a dude?), or they'll see my (sterling silver) ring and ask if I'm engaged. To which I'll reply, no, and then they'll semi-jokingly ask, well why are you wearing a ring on your left finger if you're not engaged? And I'll sometimes answer and then they'll just kind of awkwardly leave.
I think my life is made up of one awkward interaction followed by another followed by another. Maybe it's not the guys that are awkwardly flirting, or failing at the pick-up lines. Maybe it's me that's failing at... not being awkward. Ah well. I have fun, and usually have some great stories!
Three times today, three times, someone said my name and then mentioned Spiderman in some way. One of the guys even had the audacity to tell me that he is Spiderman. Gross!
Kind of got me thinking about cheesy pick-up lines though. Now, I am extremely oblivious to being hit on. Not that it happens very often, but usually what happens is this: a guy will initiate an awkward interaction, and I'll try to be polite while wondering why this person is being so awkward, and then later I'll tell a friend about the interaction, and they'll explain to me that I've been hit on.
The most common sneak-attack flirting is some comment on my name (besides Spiderman, I often get Michael Jackson or Michael Jordan, because, you know, I look like a dude?), or they'll see my (sterling silver) ring and ask if I'm engaged. To which I'll reply, no, and then they'll semi-jokingly ask, well why are you wearing a ring on your left finger if you're not engaged? And I'll sometimes answer and then they'll just kind of awkwardly leave.
I think my life is made up of one awkward interaction followed by another followed by another. Maybe it's not the guys that are awkwardly flirting, or failing at the pick-up lines. Maybe it's me that's failing at... not being awkward. Ah well. I have fun, and usually have some great stories!
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Tattoo Thoughts
I have a tattoo. I got it almost 2 years ago, but I didn't write about it because I didn't want my family to find out over the internet. But now they know, and I don't think they know about this blog, so here we are.
My tattoo is a small blue flame behind my right ear. I got it because of the Madeline L'Engle quote "We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light so lovely they want with all their hearts to know the source of it."
I heard that quote in church a few years ago, and it quickly became my favorite. It perfectly summarizes what I feel my mission is. When I decided to get a tattoo, I wanted to get something that represents that statement, especially the "light so lovely." What better to represent that light than a flame? So that's what I got, and I really don't regret it.
This past weekend a friend of mine was trying to decide what tattoo he should get next month. We didn't come up with anything that he wanted, but I had a few good ideas. I don't plan on getting any more tattoos (those things HURT!), but if I did, here are a few that I'd seriously consider.
Now, the way I came up with these was because I suggested coming up with a favorite quote, Bible verse, or life motto and tattooing based on that. So, yeah, the ideas:
1. A small piece of cake on my hand below my thumb, almost on the wrist. (Because one of my life mottos is "everyone deserves cake on their birthday")
2. A grocery list on the underside of a forearm. (No deep meaning for this one, I just think it'd be clever)
3. Another forearm list - "Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly." (Based on Micah 6:8)
I think I had one more good one, but I can't remember it now. Anyways, since I'm not planning on using any of these, if you loved one of them, feel free to mark your body forever with it!
My tattoo is a small blue flame behind my right ear. I got it because of the Madeline L'Engle quote "We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light so lovely they want with all their hearts to know the source of it."
I heard that quote in church a few years ago, and it quickly became my favorite. It perfectly summarizes what I feel my mission is. When I decided to get a tattoo, I wanted to get something that represents that statement, especially the "light so lovely." What better to represent that light than a flame? So that's what I got, and I really don't regret it.
This past weekend a friend of mine was trying to decide what tattoo he should get next month. We didn't come up with anything that he wanted, but I had a few good ideas. I don't plan on getting any more tattoos (those things HURT!), but if I did, here are a few that I'd seriously consider.
Now, the way I came up with these was because I suggested coming up with a favorite quote, Bible verse, or life motto and tattooing based on that. So, yeah, the ideas:
1. A small piece of cake on my hand below my thumb, almost on the wrist. (Because one of my life mottos is "everyone deserves cake on their birthday")
2. A grocery list on the underside of a forearm. (No deep meaning for this one, I just think it'd be clever)
3. Another forearm list - "Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly." (Based on Micah 6:8)
I think I had one more good one, but I can't remember it now. Anyways, since I'm not planning on using any of these, if you loved one of them, feel free to mark your body forever with it!
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Holiday Weekend
I had a great holiday weekend! I went to the beach, helped bake patriotic cupcakes, watched an amazing fireworks show with some great friends, slept laaaate on Monday, played sand volleyball, and went to the premier of a short film I pa'd. I'm so tired today, and a little sore from volleyball, but it's already Tuesday! Thankfully it was beautiful all weekend, warm and sunny, because today it is cold and drizzly and awful. All I want to do is take a nap. But I'll try to be productive with my time.
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