A Type-A Control Freak Walks Into a Blog...

You can find Shoestrings & Daydreams at its new home, http://shoestringsanddaydreams.wordpress.com/

Glamour Magazine Saved My Life (Well, Sort Of)

It was just a small blemish in the middle of my forehead.

At least, that’s what I thought at first. In fact, I hardly noticed it at all. A week went by, then a month, and it was still there. Just a seemingly innocuous pink mark, mostly hidden by my bangs.

I probably wouldn’t have paid it much attention if it hadn’t been for the issue of Glamour Magazine someone left in the break room at work; I grabbed it on my way out of the office one day, having finished my book that morning on the train. Halfway between Philadelphia and my apartment I came across an article about skin cancer, and one of the graphics looked sort of, kind of, a little bit, pretty much exactly familiar.

I've Got a Bridge in Brooklyn I Can Sell Ya'

I never knew seasons before I moved to the East Coast.

I knew hot and dry, not so hot and dry, and the terror of driving San Diego freeways in the *occasional* rain. Before living in Philadelphia, I thought cold was 55 degrees.

It takes about 6 years of living in a region with four distinct seasons to really appreciate Perfect Weather. I’m not talking 72 and sunny, take-it-for-granted Southern California weather, but that crisp, on-the-verge-of-a-new season, mild sun, bright-blue skies weather that bookends summer.

Adolescent Carrot

It was then that he realized: He wasn't a baby carrot anymore.

Adventure in the Kitchen (Or: I Just Wanted an Excuse to Wear My Frilly Apron)

Scott loathes my rice cooker.

I added it to our wedding registry online and sort of neglected to tell him about it, thinking (foolishly) that he really wouldn't care if we got one. Whoops.

When we opened the big box delivered from Macy's, his reaction: "What is that?"

Me: "It's a rice cooker."

Him: "We have a rice cooker. It's called a pot. We have a few of them, in fact."

These are My Obsessions

What I’m Watching
Is it healthy to love a T.V. show so much that you actually feel a skipped-heartbeat of sadness when the next disc doesn’t arrive on time from Netflix? That’s how I feel about The Wire. Yes, yes, yes, I know it’s a program that ended way back in 2008, but we the HBO-less (and now cable-less) only recently discovered it.

The Wire is Awesome.

Art for Life's Sake: The Barnes Foundation

For most of my life, I had no idea the Barnes Foundation existed. For the most part, or at least, as far as I can tell, if you’re not from the Philadelphia area and/or are not an art historian/uber-enthusiast, you probably have never heard of the Barnes Foundation either.

It's a shame, really, because the Barnes Foundation is home to one of the most significant collections of art in the United States, if not the world. Wait, let me pull from the Barnes Foundation website so I can get it JUST right: 

“An extraordinary number of masterpieces by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse provide a depth of work by these artists unavailable elsewhere.” -- Barnes Foundation Website (link below)

Saying Goodbye to Bethenny and Her Other Desperate Friends

About a month ago, Scott and I decided to 86 cable. 

You must be thinking, "Wait, what!?! Cut cable? But what about Mad Men? What about Millionaire Matchmaker? HGTV? How will you live without the petty bickering of the Desperate Housewives of New York City?"

Everything I Know About Canada I Learned from “How I Met Your Mother”: Road Trip Day 2

Canada is different from America. Logically, we knew that -- it is a different country after all -- but I guess in a way we didn't really believe it.

Scott: "The green light is blinking. I don't know what that means. WHY is the green light blinking?"

Me: "I think it means you can turn left. You know, because the car in front of you turned left when the green light started blinking."

The little green crosswalk man is different in Canada too. In a good way. Isn't he SO CUTE!

Confessions of an Undomestic Goddess

I’m kind of a cluttered person when it comes to my living space, or at least I used to be. OK, I still am, but I'm better monitored these days. I like piles. Please let me clarify that I am a great CLEANER (I love the smell of cleaning products…mmmm…Lemon Pledge), but I am a bit messy. Lucky for me, I married to a bit of a neat freak. It is kind of awesome. For me. Probably not quite so much for him.  It’s a good thing he thinks I’m cute, I guess.

Compatibility Testing: The Road Trip, Day 1

When Scott and I decided to embark on a mini-adventure road trip to Niagara Falls and Toronto over Fourth of July weekend, we didn’t really consider what being in a car together for very long stretches of time actually means.

This Day is Bananas

Every so often, I will walk into my office’s break room and find a banana on the table, sitting innocently, just…there. Today was one of those days.

A few months back, finding a banana on the break room table was a weekly occurrence. In fact, one of the bananas was accompanied by a note: “Eat me! I’m a banana.”

There is no real point to sharing this on my blog (hello random), except I find the banana mystery strangely perplexing. Who is this mysterious banana dropper? What is wrong with the bananas that they have been abandoned in the break room? Does the banana dropper think that some of us in the office are potassium deficient, leaving bananas as a public service?

Also, is the banana dropper the same person who left a Barbara Streisand CD on the break room table one day, with a post-it noting: “FREE!”

Make Sure to Wear Your Waterproof Mascara

A slow, steady mist rises in the distance, obscuring the view of the city on the other side.

"Is that from the falls," we wonder? Indeed, it is our first clue that the Niagara Falls are just moments away. (You know, that and all the signs announcing Niagara Falls! This way!)

We hear them before we see them, a low thundering static sound, drowning the voices of the other tourists.  Over the ledge we catch the first glimpse, a cloudy white cascade of foam, sunlight throwing rainbows into the spray.

Words I Never Thought I'd Say...

Last night, Scott and I stayed at the Motel 6 near the Buffalo, NY Airport.

I haven't stayed in a Motel 6 in ages, and I didn't come in expecting much so I won't spend much time discussing its merits (or lack thereof). If you're in the mood for a road trip to Buffalo (come on, I know you are!), here's the best I can do in terms of a review. It's quiet, it's convenient, there's free morning coffee in the lobby, and the TV remote control is bolted to the bedside table.

Life: Reflections in the Blue Glow of a Computer Screen

Did you ever think how much LIFE is online?

We record our lives on line, communicate with each other online, meet new friends/boyfriends/girlfriends/spouses online. I spend at least eight hours a day with my eyes fixed on a screen, a blinking cursor, a bright search box. (OK, sometimes I look away, you now, when my vision gets blurry.)

For My 29-Year-Old Friends

List of Things We are Too Old For*

Baby-doll mini dresses
Anything non-accessory from Urban Outfitters, and most accessories as well
Neon trendy Ray-Ban Sunglasses
Anything glitter
Mary Janes (under most circumstances)
Colorful/over-adorned Barrettes & hair accessories
Items of clothing/accessories with animals on them
Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, Charlotte Russe, Forever 21, etc.
Florescent tights/leggings
Tube Tops or tops that reveal our midriffs
Brightly colored eye makeup
Experimental hair color (ie. blue, pink, orange)
Calling out hungover from beer or hard liquor consumption (wine is borderline, but at least a *bit* more mature)
MTV 
Loud bars (Two words: Moderate Volume)

List of Things We May be Too Old for but I Can’t Come to Terms With Yet

Chuck Taylors

List of Things I Used to Hate but Now I Like, Probably Because I’m Getting Old

Lily Pulitzer
Jack Johnson
Ann Taylor (the REAL Ann Taylor, not just the Loft)
*some* Vera Bradley
Stuff that is monogrammed (but only in moderation)

*This list is subject to change. Items may be added at will. Some exceptions may occur due to circumstance.

This Grand Adventure We Call Life: Musings

When I was 26, I went through an inspirational quotation magnets phase. Did you know there was such a thing? I think it typically coincides with the “I’m 16 and nobody understands what I’m going through” phase. I’m probably a late bloomer.

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

I’m moving.

And moving, as you may know, just plain sucks.

I’m past the point of meticulous organization and box labeling, and have resorted to throwing all non-breakables into oversized blue Ikea bags. For a moment by my closet I pause. The bedroom is a mess. My shoes are everywhere.  It’s déjà vu all over again.

I’ve thought this before. I stood in this very place, looked down at a smiling, earnest face, a man on one knee, holding a ring.

And my initial thought at that moment was this: The bedroom is a mess. My shoes are everywhere. He’s proposing and my shoes are EVERYWHERE.

For the first time in my life I was speechless.

An antique ring in a black velvet box. A man on one knee. Shoes everywhere. Nine months later my heart still flutters at the memory.

Four simple words: Will You Marry Me.

A turning point – I guess this is growing up.

The Grand Master of Tetris: The Post in Which I get Competitive with my Husband

Somewhere between the two-left footedness of childhood, the apathy of adolescence and my life today, I became a very competitive person.

I think maybe it’s because I was never very good at sports; I didn’t score many (OK, any) goals or runs or points or whatever you get when you kick, throw, hit or run after a ball. I didn’t ever play to win. Apparently, now in my grownup life, that has come back to haunt me. I tackle Scrabble with a vengeance, murder my opponents in LIFE, and my hippos are way hungrier than anyone else’s.

But my weird, relatively new-found obsession with wining came to a head last night. With Tetris.

Where "We" Came From: The Post in Which I Wax Poetic About Relationships and Make you Vomit a Little in Your Mouth

On very rare occasions, we as people are lucky enough to meet another individual around whom we immediately feel completely and totally comfortable. You trip over curbs or accidentally spit when you talk or make an inappropriate comment at the worst possible time and it doesn’t matter. After a few short weeks, you really can’t imagine your life without that person involved in some huge way … and even have trouble remembering your life before him or her. That’s how you know you’ve found a best friend. Or future spouse.

My relationship with Scott is like that.

(Yes, I can hear you retching. Believe me, I never thought I'd be such a sap.)

While we don’t see eye to eye on everything (he doesn’t like cake….yeah …. I know), for the most part we share similar values and goals. We both love theme parks, reading, biking, hiking, and exploring the world around us.

This blog is a bit of a mix. You know, like kitchen sink cookies, with everything thrown in for taste, texture, or just because you have it in your pantry. Confused? Stick with me, I'll do my best to at the very least entertain you.