tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42171514358212538562024-03-18T19:47:28.066-07:00Emotional MagpieA.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-84977526492412859812014-09-16T10:46:00.000-07:002014-09-16T10:46:00.217-07:00Fingerprint Words
Last week Slate had an interesting piece about "fingerprint words"--specific words that we use with such frequency that they are part of our signature speech style--and about how we react both to others' fingerprint words and to other people copycatting our own.
It made me wonder what my own fingerprint words are. I play right into the stereotype of Southern Californians by being an egregiousA.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-49956019008987404812014-09-11T12:45:00.000-07:002014-09-11T12:45:25.753-07:00Saving Water in Unusual WaysGrowing up in San Diego, I had the importance of saving water drilled into me constantly from a young age. Conservation is especially important right now, considering the entire state of California is in a severe drought (check out these disturbing before-and-after photos--scary stuff).
But I know a lot of people who don't live in a drought-stricken area but are still looking for ways to save A.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-62407028174276907392014-08-26T08:00:00.000-07:002014-08-26T08:00:07.025-07:00Book Storage at HomeSpeaking of books, Design*Sponge has a great post on the best ways to store books in the home. My own house is a mere 850 square feet, and as a huge reader (and longtime publishing professional), I'm something of a hoarder when it comes to books. I've gotten better over the past few years about keeping my collection to a minimum (and getting rid of books that I admit to myself I'll never read A.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-81934053248407713092014-08-25T10:54:00.000-07:002014-08-25T10:54:01.799-07:00Crying Over BooksDo you cry when you read books? I'm terrible about it--a description of a character dying will always elicit at least some sniffles from me, and usually worse. It's one thing when I'm at home, alone, and can look like a fool in private. But several years ago, I finished Cold Mountain while riding the T in Boston and was such a blubbering wreck that strangers were eyeing me like I was A.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-17190142733561240522014-03-24T18:57:00.001-07:002014-03-24T18:57:28.271-07:00Spring Has SprungThis past weekend was the first of spring, although from the looks of my yard you'd think it was already summer! Granted, Southern California was the one area of the country that had zero winter-like weather this year, so it's understandable that my plants are confused.
One of my favorite plants is hibiscus--they're easy to care for and add so much dramatic color to a landscape. I have at least A.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-65621821819269468892014-03-03T12:49:00.000-08:002014-03-03T12:52:41.244-08:00House Guests and IntrovertsMy mother-in-law has been staying with us for several days. She's a sweet woman, and she lives several hours away so my husband, K, doesn't get to see her as often as he'd like, so we were happy to have her come visit.
The problem with visitors for us is that our house is tiny, so any guest has to either sleep on the couch or on an air mattress in the office (a room so small there's barely A.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-78113664325025895202014-02-24T08:31:00.000-08:002014-02-24T08:31:00.573-08:00Worth the Money: New MattressI'm a pretty frugal person. In some instances, kind of cheap. I've had the same bed for about 8 years, and it was originally my sister's--she slept on it for about 6 years before I inherited it. It was always too firm for my liking, and wasn't a quality bed to begin with. After 14 years, it was looooooong past the point at which it needed to be replaced. But I just never wanted to pull the A.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-74957192443508983712014-02-14T10:46:00.001-08:002014-04-21T12:37:48.472-07:00Beautiful Movie TheatersI went to college at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and one of my favorite places in town (there were several, because Santa Barbara is a beautiful city) was the Arlington Theatre. Besides having a historic organ that plays live on Friday and Saturday nights (am I a geek for liking that?), the theater has a ceiling that looks like the night sky and is lined with adobe-style "A.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-47819255823196124622014-02-13T15:55:00.000-08:002014-02-13T15:55:08.870-08:00100-Year-Old BFFsI don't think I've ever watched the Steve Harvey show, but if he has these ladies on more, I might start.
On Justin Beiber: "He's not doing something right." Ha! That's for sure.
How cute are these two? I only hope that when I'm 100, my bestie is still around to sit beside me...and that I'm still as much fun as these gals are.A.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-39017648908155930402014-02-12T15:12:00.000-08:002014-02-12T15:12:16.120-08:00My First (and Last) Stitch Fix OrderI finally gave into the hype and placed a Stitch Fix order. I won't be making that mistake again.
I had one coworker sign up for Stitch Fix several months ago, and she's raved about it so much that at this point half my office is using the service. For anyone who doesn't know, Stitch Fix is an online personal-stylist service. You complete a comprehensive questionnaire detailing your sizes and A.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-11498540568974795522014-02-06T13:25:00.000-08:002014-02-06T13:25:22.203-08:00Figure Skating, Vintage StyleI love watching Olympic figure skating. I've been looking forward to tomorrow's Olympics opening ceremony for months and have the full figure-skating schedule written on my calendar. Of course I also adore all things vintage, so I'm smitten with these photos of figure skaters from past Olympics from Life.
Check out Peggy Fleming in mod color--and dig that hair!
You can A.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-76221269273621414812014-01-22T14:07:00.001-08:002014-01-22T14:07:19.548-08:00Book Blind Date
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Because one of my new year's resolutions was to read more, I've been looking at a lot of book lists and perusing the bookstore. I love fiction, mostly classics, but since I stopped working in trade publishing several years ago I haven't kept up with current literature as much as I used to. One of the fun things about being a copy editor at a trade publisher was getting a manuscript andA.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-50494008338065904952014-01-08T10:13:00.001-08:002014-01-08T10:13:10.005-08:00MCM for BarbieHow awesome is this midcentury-modern home? The color scheme, the sleek modern lines, the decor--I could totally live here.
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Except I physically couldn't fit, because this cool MCM home was built for Barbie.
Maryann Roy builds incredibly detailed, beautifully designed rooms and furnishings with a vintage feel, all on a 1:6 scale--the size for Barbie and other A.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4217151435821253856.post-61039668404596462502014-01-03T14:42:00.000-08:002014-01-03T14:42:23.445-08:002014 Resolutions
At the end of December, I told myself I wasn't going to make any resolutions for 2014--I always set goals that are either very specific or very broad, setting myself up for failure either way, and I tend to make the same resolutions year after year related to my health, my finances, my dislike of vacuuming...
But I've been giving some thought to resolutions over the past few days, and I thinkA.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15890007836861782961noreply@blogger.com