Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Ellen,

Yesterday was the deadline to sign up to win 2 roundtrip tickets to LA for Ellen's 12 Days of Giveaways show. I never miss a chance to sign up for anything Ellen because I am determined to find a way to get to her show. To enter you had to write a short story about yourself that would be judged on how inspirational it is to others as well as how humorous it is. I couldn't think of any big inspirational moment in my life to write about so I decided to tell Ellen about something I deal with everyday. I wasn't planning on sharing my entry with anyone else, but after much encouragement from my pal Bruce, I've decided to share it with you so you can see just how funny I really am.

"Ellen, I suffer from a severe case of clumsynitis. Symptoms include but are not limited to: sudden impact with wall corners, toe stubbititus, foot function failure and butterfingers syndrome. This is something I have struggled with for several years now and something that has proven to be a daily challenge for me whether it is walking up (or down) a flight of stairs or attempting to hold several avocados at once. I am slowly fighting the fight to overcome this hardship and at the same time I am a walking (and tripping) reminder to others suffering from this illness that it is possible to live a normal and healthy life even if you are as clumsy as I am. I have shown others that it is possible to still be beautiful even with bruised knees from bumping the corners of the coffee table and papercuts all over your hands. I have shown others that it is still possible to be cool even when you miss your mouth when taking a swig of beer and it spills down your chin or when you knock over a shelf of books at a second hand store. I have shown others that it is still possible to be poised even when you trip on the sidewalk while in your hottest outfit in front of the most gorgeous guy. I live my life sharing my safety tips and bandaids with those around me and I will continue to be an inspiration to others struggling with this frustrating condition."

Also on my Christmas list...

this letter scarf from Veer.

Love this!

Design Classics

The Blue Art Studio sells some fantastic design posters including this alphabet poster of classic designer chairs. This would look perfect in my living room and is another thing I would love to receive for Christmas for those of you keeping a list.

Queen Elizabeth

For those of you looking to buy me a Christmas gift, I want this:


This Queen Clock is available online at Modern Dose.

Dr. House vs. Sherlock Holmes

Did you know that the character of Dr. House was largely based on Sherlock Holmes? Here's just a short list of how these two intelligent men are connected.

HOUSE:
Fights disease

Arrogant
Used Vicodin
Apartment #221B
"House"
Keeps to himself
Plays piano

SHERLOCK HOLMES:
Fights crime
Arrogant
Used Cocaine
Lived at 221B Baker St., London
"Holmes" sounds like "Homes"
Bit of a loner
Plays violin

This temple is making me thirsty

A group of Buddhist monks from Thailand have taken recycling to a whole new level and built this gorgeous temple made entirely of around 1.5 million empty beer bottles. Even the toilets and crematorium are constructed out of the bottles!

From far away you would never guess it was made of empty Heineken (green) and Chang (brown) beer bottles, but in this close up of the interior you can see how perfectly aligned they are.

It's a pretty innovate way to clean up pollution! You can see more images at TreeHugger here.

Stylish Recycling

Over at Branch: Sustainable Design for Living, they have a new take on eco-friendly items. Check out this pillow made from recycled seat belts! Probably not the softest pillow, but it still looks pretty awesome. Also in their online store they have this handmade "rug" made entirely of old belts which they prevented going from "waist to waste." I love all the rich colors in this piece, it looks a lot like a faux wood floor.

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

Tomorrow is our Thanksgiving potluck in the office and being an official member (and resident D.J.) of the Party Planning Committee, my job is not only to make the pasta salad but also to make the music play list complete with all songs that include the words "thank you." In my Google searching I discovered that the phrase "Domo Arigato" from the ever popular Styx song "Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto" is, in fact, Japanese for "Thank you very much." Who knew?!? Intrigued by this I switched gears and headed to Wikipedia to find out more.
The song tells the story of the rock opera Kilroy Was Here in which a rocker was put in a futuristic prison for "rock and roll misfits" by an anti-rock-and-roll group called the Majority for Musical Morality. There are robots working in the prison and Kilroy is able to escape by overtaking one of the robot prison guards, a.k.a. Mr. Roboto, and hiding in his hollowed-out body.


Taking that even further I discovered that "Kilroy Was Here" was an American pop culture expression used most often in graffiti accompanied by a little cartoon man peering over a wall. How it originated isn't exactly known but it was really interesting reading up on all the theories as to how Kilroy came about. Throughout WWII this phrase and the little guy that came with it became a symbol of America's presence in the world, appearing everywhere in the country as well as anywhere the military traveled abroad. Pretty interesting huh? Is this news to everyone or just me?!

Paper Source

I love holiday crafts and I love Paper Source. I'm not sure I can compete with all the crafting geniuses out there but this contest might be fun to enter anyway. All the winning entries will be displayed at their corporate headquarters!

Are you a Gossip Girl or a Golden Girl?

Take this fun People Magazine quiz and find out if you're a gossip girl or a golden girl.

Etsy Find

Perhaps the only thing I liked about Kenley from Project Runway was her fabulous hair pieces. I've been wanting to try one out myself but wasn't sure I could pull it off. But a few of these pieces from eecouture's etsy shop are so adorable I'd definitely give them a go.

New Music Crush

Loving Lenka at the moment.

Tricky

These photographs really made me look twice. Wonder how many takes it took before they got it just right? You can see more realistic photos here.

HOT School Musical

I finally got to see High School Musical 3 last weekend and am not ashamed to say that I LOVED it! So much better than HSM2. There were several Grease-esque moments such as when the boys were fixing up their junker of a truck and broke into song and some awesome Danny Zuko dance moves followed. I even noticed a hint of Saved By the Bell when the seniors, in cap and gown, got emotional and sang about graduation. Zac Efron was looking his usual gorgeous self in his prom tux paired with tennis shoes. Elle recently did a photo shoot with Zac, Vanessa and Ashley from the flick. How great are these pictures?? I love the 50s vibe they give off, and doesn't Zac look so dreamy?! Click here to see the rest of the photos.

Sister Act Takes the Stage

This morning my friend Elyse sent me this link to a news article announcing that Whoopi Goldberg is going to be producing a stage version of the 1992 movie Sister Act. Although Whoopi herself won't be appearing in the show, I still couldn't be more excited about it! The show starts next summer in London, giving me the perfect excuse to finally go back!

How exciting would it be to get to watch a bunch of nuns rock out to "My God" live?!

Project Runway Challenge

A handful of our favorite Project Runway contestants were recently given the challenge to come up with a design for the perfect gown for our new First Lady, Michelle Obama, to wear to the Inaugural Ball. A few of them are a little out there but others are simply stunning. Austin Scarlet's was definitely one of my favs. I just love the high-waisted sash. Which one do you like best?

Idol Heats Up

Last season of American Idol was definitely not my favorite season. None of the contestants were as much fun to watch as past seasons. But I got to give it to them, they sure do look good in this photo shoot for Elle. How did they get Jason's hair to do that?!



You can view all the photos here.

More Lace

I am loving this lace tape from MATTER. Can't you just see it wrapped around some solid red and green wrapping paper under the Christmas tree? My sister loves this kind of stuff, it may be the perfect stocking stuffer for her...

Lacey Goodness

Today I came across the unique and gorgeous artwork of Joana Vasconcelos. Don't you just love how she makes everything feel so girly? You can see more images of her work here.

The Princess and the Pea

Seriously, how cool is this bed by Doshi Levien? What a cool way to bring back such a classic book.