Agenbites

Ridiculous.

Ethereal reverberation of the lethargic swashbuckler.

What kind of image does that conjure? When word meaning, use, and representation blur. Hmm.

Fun Fabulous Frocks

If money were no object, I'd load up on pretty dresses for a variety of occasions from Marchesa, Milly, and Thread Social.

Marchesa strapless embroidered dress, €6,318.
Looks like the cocktail dress a fairytale princess would wear... I love it! I would probably wear it with silver strappy heels, carry a silver clutch, and wear my hair up in some kind of twisty yet loose romantic style with a thin silver headband.

Milly eyelet embroidered dress, €446.
Such a cute daytime dress that could be worn with sandals during the day and fun, colourful (perhaps red) heels at night... though I'm not sure if I could pull off the bright yellow. I think I'd have to be really, really tan and even then I think this dress would look way better on a brunette. Hmmm...

Thread Social ruffle trim dress, €688
I've been really into really girly things, like ruffles and bows recently, so I think this Thread Social LBD is supercute and really fun. I saw it somewhere recently in pink as well and also loved it. I would wear it with round-toed black heels. No necklace. Not sure on the bag and the jury is still out on earrings and bracelet and hairstyle.

DKNY Floral appliqué strapless dress, €300
This one is fun too, and I feel like it could be worn more casually, perhaps with flip-flops and a fun Vineyard Vines, Lilly, or even L.L. Bean Boat and Tote to a waterside lunch. Teal jewelry might be fun. Something enamel. Love it.

Tip Top Tapdancing Tuesday, (Y'all)

What a lame post title. Tapdancing? Alliteration is fun? Y'all seemed like an appropriate ending address? More thoughts (wait? there can be more? oh, yes.) on the title after the following news story:

Woman 'married' to the Berlin Wall for 29 years.

Mrs Berliner-Mauer, who lives in Liden, northern Sweden, said: "I find long, slim things with horizontal lines very sexy.

"The Great Wall of China's attractive, but he’s too thick – my husband is sexier."

WTF? In the United States it's difficult to even marry a human being of the same sex, let alone a frikken' graffitied Communist wall! But, then again, she's a Swede (italicized because now that I live in Denmark I'm required to talk about our Northern neighbors with only utmost disdain), or at least lives in Sweden. I'm not surprised she's a Swede. Swedes are weird.


Ok, so back on the topic of alliteration and the title of this post, sort of... I guess I could have used a thesaurus to find a better t-word that means something similar to news, because that wall article is all I really intended to post about but, alas, I didn't because I got distracted when I Googled the word 'thesaurus.' Ever since I was little, the word thesaurus has reminded me of some kind of dinosaur. I know it's obviously the saurus ending, but the the part also makes me look at the word and think "the saurus" and then, nearly instantaneously, "the dinosaur" ... and then I get this really weird image in my head of a dinosaur spelling bee.

Wait. What?

... mmm yeah. Well, I've been working too hard for too long today. Time to leave. :)

Before I go, on one last 'saurus note:

The above ramble reminded me of this card from someecards, which I sent to a friend earlier today...


... I'm hoping my friend sees this post, because then posting the following wouldn't be a completely futile waste of bandwith sucking hyper text markup language:


... told you. :)

Desktop Wallpaper of Joy!

While I was homing from work this morning I made a cute new cupcake desktop wallpaper using some of my favorite cupcake pictures from all over the web. It makes me smile, even when I have to sit inside working at my desk all day. :)

check it out:
http://i26.tinypic.com/20ru3p5.jpg

* side note: I don't know if making your own desktop wallpaper makes you a big dork or what... Oh well. :-P

Wardrobe Woes

One of the hardest things about moving overseas for thirteen months has been leaving such a substantial part of my wardrobe behind. (Illustration of "substantial": I asked my little sister to bring me a certain pair of pants when she came to visit me in Denmark over Christmas and New Years. I was on the phone with her while she went into my bedroom and I tried to instruct her on likely places where she could find the pants I wanted. After looking for about ten minutes with me getting more and more desperate and irritated on the other end of the phone, she gave up. She gave a loud, frustrating sigh into the phone and remarked "Did you actually bring any clothes with you!?" Yes, I did. Three big suitcases full. And my drawers in the states were still overflowing. Like I said, substantial. Not an understatement.)

It was such a challenge to pack clothes for thirteen months and two seasons (one being the dreaded Scandinavian Winter the other being the mild Danish "rest of the year," during which the weather fluctuates between high 40s at night and mid 60s during the day) into three suitcases. (Iceland Air allows two. I enlisted my dad to come with me and act as a pack mule for the third.) But, with my best friend Michele's "expert" help, I managed the daunting (and fairly quixotic) task and, in the end, was proud of myself for being realistic in what I brought. I had to choose pieces that were classic enough to wear frequently (in other words, all trendier, bold colored or designed, or less-oft worn items had to stay stateside), well made, and capable of being worn during different times of the year (ahem, LAYERS). So far, I've been pretty satisfied with what I've brought. Yeah, of course I've bought some new stuff here, but more or less I've actually been able to create and remain entertained with a variety of outfits out of my three suitcases for the past ten months.

That's not to say, unfortunately, that I haven't missed certain items. There have been a number of occasions that I've longed for my three strand turquoise and wood necklace, knowing it would be a perfect accessory for my outfit du jour. (Check it out in the left hand picture of me in the pink cardigan. Painfully, that picture was taken last time I was in Denmark (in 2006)... a time I look back upon fondly not least because I had my fun necklace! That pink cardigan made it back for Denmark: Second Round, by the way.)

Also, I've had a number of terrible pink pants pangs. I have two pairs of pink pants stateside (who doesn't need multiple pairs of pink pants, right?). One pair is summer weight and hot pink from J.Crew (check them out in the vintage picture of me (from Sophomore year of college!) at the right. Note my bling-tastic gold belt and heels. haha. I think I was also carrying a gold clutch that night. Glam!). The other is a pair of dusty rose chinos from American Eagle Outfitters that fit like a dream (this was the pair I was trying to instruct my sister to find because it is a heavier weight and much more practical when it comes to sheer "number of times it is possible to wear taking into account the weather, etc." in Denmark). I have missed both pink pairs a number of times during my time here. Probably because they would both go great with my largely black and white top collection, though would also look great with my recent found love for brown.

Finally, I have this yellow a-line shirt with a very faint flower pattern on it. I miss this too, though I think it's largely because one of my American coworkers has the same skirt and I feel a pang of longing every time she wears it. Dumbly, I brought only one a-line skirt with me to Denmark (black). I also miss my white eyelet one. :(

The only good thing that will come from all this wardrobe woe-ing is that I know when I get back to the U.S. it will feel like I have tons of new clothes again. The options will be endless... for about two days... because after that time, the jet lag will wear off and I'll probably head straight to the mall to celebrate how rich I am on the kroner to dollar paycheck exchange. I'll spend it all, one fell swoop, guaranteed. :)

Enamel & Wedding Bells

So, I surfed on over to J.Crew.com today because I've been really loving enameled jewelry recently (a lot of magazines have been crazy about Kenneth Jay Lane pieces). I haven't gotten anything yet, but I think the bright, super shiny colors are so fun for summer. I especially love enamel pieces in turquoise, coral, and yellow because all three colors are pretty much nonexistent in winter and look terrific with a tan. I also still want a tiny silver anchor necklace, but I still haven't been able to find one I love. :( The search continues!

As far as wedding bells go, mine won't be ringing anytime soon (step one: fall in love!), but if they were, I would definitely consider J.Crew's gorgeous Genevieve silk radzimir gown. Now, I feel that it's important to note that I am absolutely NOT one of those girls who has dreamed about every little detail of her future wedding since she was six or anything... In fact, quite the opposite. I have given it hardly any thought at all. I guess I've always kinda felt that if I think about it too much I'll jinx it ever happening. (I can be such a pessimist.) But, in the iota of thought I have given it, I've always thought I would probably wear a strapless dress, possibly with a princess neckline, so the Genevieve is a bit of a departure from the daydream. I just like the elegant simplicity of the dress. It would work in a chapel or on a beach. And, as you know, I tend to like dresses from J.Crew. :)

On that note, I'm off to commence with step one! :)
(After I, you know, do my laundry...)

Maryland Cupcake Videos

Still sad I missed this at Maryland Day 2008!

YouTube videos via Cupcakes Take The Cake

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!

May everyone in America celebrate with fabulous beach side barbecues, fun, festive cupcakes, and fireworks!! ... while hopefully driving as little as humanly possible (boo, $4/gallon gas!)

p.s. I've been loving Denmark, but for anyone who cares, let it be known that I will be returning stateside in less than 100 days. See you on the flip side of the Atlantic. :)

Happy Saturday

I have to be at the office today, Saturday, boo. Luckily, I don't have anything to do until the party for the new students tonight, so until then I can entertain myself with a bit of blogging. I haven't had any time to blog recently because I've been super busy at work. It's been a bummer. Anyways, here's what's up:

01. Religion and Law School just don't mix! Gee, must be all that logic. God doesn't really fit into all that, does he/she/it? I'll (I'd?) probably do great in all my Godlessness glory. For a laugh, I want to especially draw your attention to number four in the abstract: 4) the presence and strength of the view that entry into the legal profession is a divine calling. Good God (pun intended), do people actually think that?!

02. So you say you're fat? Your career ain't down with that. Actually, unless you are a sumo wrestler, being overweight (you know, actually being fat and not just saying you are, like me) probably won't bode favorably with reaching the upper stratosphere of your chosen profession. A few random thoughts I had while reading the article:

"And there's not much preventing companies from acting solely in favor of their bottom lines." hehehehe. Bottom lines! Get it? Zing!

Though overweight people may receive some protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act... BEING OVERWEIGHT IS NOT A DISABILITY UNLESS IT CANNOT BE HELPED (thyroid problem, etc.) Sorry. I know this is probably an asshole perspective, but I hold strong. Also, even if the problem is rooted in genetics, I'd be willing to presume that most people wouldn't be 'genetically obese.' There is a huge difference between a little junk in the trunk and disgusting obesity.
... or society's anti-fat sentiment fades... never.

... Lynn McAfee, director of medical advocacy for The Council on Size & Weight Discrimination... weighs about 400 pounds... [She] recalls how she was once asked to apply for a new position within the auto insurance company where she worked. Though it was a better job, McAfee didn't go for it because she knew it would involve a lot of cross-country flights.

"I knew as a large woman that I would need two seats," she says. "I was too embarrassed to even say that."

No comment. But if you know me or have read more than one entry in my blog, you probably can guess what I'm thinking. Actually, no, one comment. If McAfee was asked to apply for the new position, why wouldn't she assume that her employer already knew that, by giving it to her, she would need two seats?! 400lbs isn't exactly the kind of resume 'shortcoming' that you can, you know, hide. Maybe it was a phone interview.

03. Leave it to the thugs in Oakland to figure out how to ghostride a bike!! Remember when I was talking about how this in my Copenhagen Biking A-Z post?! (see 'G') Yay!

04. And for you automobilers: The Official Shotgun Rules. Doesn't really apply to me because I have only driven a car once (for a week in Ireland on the wrong side of the road and car) in the past ten months. I miss my car.

05. With enough money, you too can be come a brand!!

That's all for now. I thought about posting a few things from my growing wishlist, but I don't feel like it now so it'll have to wait. Hopefully I'll have more time to blog again now that a huge rush is over at work. :)

Have a nice weekend!

The Shower Curtain of Broken Dreams

My first memories of using a computer involve navigating a Cartesian plane with Logo turtle graphics on old Macs at Annapolis Elementary School and pay-by-the-hour AOL 3.0. I remember the fear that shook my soul every time my dad would let me go on AOL for an hour and I'd learn at sign off that I'd been online for 1 hour and 3 minutes (OH NO, WE'D BE BILLED FOR 2 HOURS!!). I remember a/s/l/pic? (AOL chats were largely the reason I usually went over my hour limit. I was busy describing my imaginary bikini to some guy that was probably 37 and creepy but said he was 14/m/florida/no.) I remember making a Geocities page with an obscenely colorful background and a bandwith sucking amount of moving graphics. I remember being sad when the character I had named after my crush-of-the-moment died during a rousing game of Oregon Trail. I remember Ski Free and thinking that THIS TIME I would FINALLY outrun the Abominable Snowman that inevitably chased you at the bottom. I remember MS Paint. Wait. Do you remember MS Paint? Unlike Logo, AOL 3.0 (+ awesome chat rooms!), Geocities, Oregon Trail, and Ski Free, I still use MS Paint. Religiously.

I currently work for an organization with a pretty large architecture department. All the in-house designers try to get me to use Adobe InDesign for ALL my compu-design needs. I hate Adobe InDesign with a passion. I've never used a program that is so completely user unfriendly, and I consider myself relatively skilled with computers. Unfortunately, my job requires that I actually do use InDesign for a number of projects and publications, but that's where my use ends. (side note: I can't imagine if my mom tried to use InDesign, God forbid. Like many people over the age of 50, my dear mom doesn't have the greatest computer skills in the world... though, to her credit, she seems to have finally mastered e-mail!)

Anyway, as a result of my InDesign hatred and my love for all things classic, I still use MS Paint for all my compu-picture drawing needs. I love it! I recently received accolades from my friends for the graphic I attached to the following letter to my landlords. For your viewing pleasure, I give you The Shower Curtain of Broken Dreams:

Hi Julia,

I was really hoping that we would be able to go all six months without having to write you that anything went wrong in the apartment... and we almost made it!! Unfortunately, while I was showering this morning, the shower curtain rod detached from the ceiling and fell on me! It looks like the little plastic piece that was holding it into the ceiling just snapped (maybe it was old?) and it's now just hanging from the wall at an angle. (I've attached a rendition!) Sam, Rachel, and I decided that, since the shower is really difficult to use with it hanging at the angle that it is and it doesn't look like it can be put back up without glue or a new fixture or something, we are just going to use a philips head screwdriver to detach it. I hope this is okay. It doesn't seem like a huge problem, but we thought you should know!

I hope you're getting excited about moving back in in about a week! We've really enjoyed living in the place and we'll miss it when we move out!! :)

Have a great day!
Sarah

MS Paint is so handy. Long live it.

Survey Says...!

A number of surveys have been floating around the forum and blogosphere in the last few weeks. I'm bored so I've combined a few. My turn!

Three ways you are stereotypically a girl:
1. It takes me at least an hour to get ready. I don't like to go out without makeup and I feel naked without a spritz of perfume. (Though I will argue until the day I die that I am NOT high maintenance!)
2. I've always liked wearing dresses, high heels, the color pink, and generally looking and feeling pretty.
3. I overanalyze things and can be completely irrational and emotional sometimes.

Three ways you are stereotypically a boy:
1. I think computer and video games are rad and spent a lot of time playing them when I was a kid. I still would, but my time is vastly and unfortunately sucked up by doing grown up things these days.
2. I think I could match a guy in eating bite for bite. This might be a better answer to the 'Three ways you are stereotypically a fat kid, at least on the inside' question, which is suspiciously absent from this survey...
3. I love cars. I love going to auto shows. On the road, I can identify almost all American cars and I'm getting much European ones (Citroen Berlingo! Fiat Multipla! (<-hideous car) TWINGO! (Renault. What a dumb cutesy name... though it is a cutesy car)). When it comes to Volkswagon, I know all the engine types and options in different models and trims. Two years ago I was offered a job at a Volkswagon dealership.

Three of your everyday essentials:
1. Perfume/scent of some kind
2. Cell phone
3. Palmer's Cocoa Butter lipbalm

What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was thirteen, so probably getting pretty excited to finish 7th grade, enjoy the summer on the swim team at the swim and tennis club and taking sailing lessons at the Annapolis Yacht Club, and come back to be a supercool, big fish 8th grader! The following summer, on the other hand, I was probably getting nervous about starting high school!

What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
It's after 10pm here, so I'll answer for tomorrow. Get a lot done at work, have lunch with Lib and Rachel, make a PR time in the Femina 5k in the evening, get laundry detergent, come home and relax.

Snacks I enjoy:
Celery dipped in cottage cheese with Old Bay, yogurt with granola, apples with peanut butter, popcorn.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Travel. Buy real estate in cool places. Go shopping for whatever I wanted (clothes, shoes, jewelry, accessories, gadgets!!). Treat myself to a number of spa and beauty treatments. Oh, maybe do something philanthropic with a bit of the money... ;)

Places I have lived before:
Charleston, South Carolina
Annapolis, Maryland
College Park, Maryland
Copenhagen, Denmark

Favorite part of your personality?
Confident, creative, forward-looking. I also like to think I'm pretty fun to be around.

Least favorite?
I dwell, over-analyze, and can be insecure. On the flip side of insecure, I think I can also be a bit stuck-up and full of myself.

Favorite part of your body?
Smile, eyes, shoulders.

Least favorite?
Stomach and thighs.

Favorite way to spend a Monday night?
Eat a delicious dinner (in or out) followed by curling up on the couch with snuggly blankets and candles to watch a good show or movie. Preferably with a good friend or boyfriend.

Least favorite?
Stressed out and busy writing a paper that either my heart isn't into or I don't find intellectually stimulating enough.

Favorite way to spend a Saturday night?
Dressed up and out for a few drinks and a lot of good times with friends.

Least Favorite?
Working in a restaurant assigned to a crappy section.

Favorite scents?
In addition to many perfumes and colognes, I love the smell of baking cupcakes and cakes and making breakfast. Also, the smell of the beach, fresh laundry, clean grass, lingering scents of certain people (historically males) and lots of other things!

Favorite places to be?
In bed with a loved one. Drinking coffee and eating something sweet in a cute cafe. Annapolis, Maryland. Bornholm, Denmark. Georgetown, D.C. Charleston, SC. Vienna, Austria. Ireland. London.

Favorite color?
Black, pink, blue. Used to be orange, but not so much anymore.

Favorite drink?
coffee: probably an extra-hot caramel soy latte. Mmmm.
alcohol: gin & tonic
beer: Hoegaarden or Abita Raspberry Wheat
other: classic water with lemon, Crystal Light Lemonade, TANG! :)

Favorite frame of mind?
Accomplished, happy, confident, proud, excited.

Least Favorite?
Disappointed, bored, disenchanted, and pessimistic.

Favorite genre of food?
Japanese, Mediterranean.

Favorite genre of music?
Mashups, classic rock, jam bands, classical, rap, punk.

Favorite movies?
Independence Day, Legally Blonde, Clerks, Muriel's Wedding

Favorite books?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, A Wrinkle in Time, Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About, lots of things philosophical.

Favorite recent moment?
Sunday brunch with friends and cheering on (more athletic) friends running the Copenhagen Marathon (I'm such a fat kid. Of course my favorite recent moment revolves around food.)

Least favorite?
Standing on the scale this morning. Eew. I hate weighing myself.

Favorite emotion?
Loved and in love

Least favorite?
Disappointment.

Favorite way to start the day?
Slowly and with an enormous cup of coffee and a delicious omelet covered in Old Bay.

Least favorite?
Rushed and stressed.

Favorite way to end the day?
With a delicious dessert or coffee or hot chocolate + sex.


Tah dah! Now you know me slightly better. :)

I'm not sure I believe in evolution.*

There are way too many dumb idiots in the world acting as counterexamples of 'survival of the [OBVIOUSLY NOT MENTALLY] fittest' to support it as a valid theory. Seriously, shouldn't all the dummies have been phased out over the past, oh, millions of years? Down with Dummies. Step it up Darwin. You won't catch me reproducing with a dummy. Everyone do your part. The future starts now!!

*I really do. (Especially if the other option is God. Psshh!) This is a blog post out of spite and frustration. I'm feeling incendiary.

Cool if you like bikes... and slime.

Apparently some students at my Alma Mater are trying to start of an 'innovative bike rental program, weBike,' which is really not innovative at all, because they have (and have had for years) similarly "innovative" bike rental programs in a number of European cities (including, but not limited to: Copenhagen, Paris, Oslo...) and even one notable U.S. city (Portland, Oregon, though nearby Washington, D.C. just got one!) for years.

WeBike is 'a bicycle-sharing program that prides itself on eco-friendliness, innovation, community and fun.' The students want to set up bike stations around campus and the surrounding area with "easy-to-ride, semi-powered bicycles." Now, this is where I have my first problem. (My second, if you count my irritation over their overzealous use of the word 'innovative'...) I don't know how a semi-powered bike can be more eco-friendly than a normal, use-your-legs, lazybones! bike... I mean, any bike (provided it's not a Vespa-style scooter or motorcycle) is more eco-friendly than a car... but don't even try to say a bike that uses any kind of power besides manpower is actually eco-friendly, given the alternative!

Secondly (thirdly?), I hate to break it to you WeBikers, but the University of Maryland - College Park does not have the most bike-friendly campus layout of all time. Trust me, I know from experience. The only time ever biked when I had my bike on campus senior year was if I had to go to CSPAC (from South Campus). There are way too many stairs and curbs, biking is downright dangerous with the thousands of students walking around the mall during a mid-day class change, and that hill by Stamp Student Union would be a KILLER to go both up and down. I vote we rename it Suicide Hill.

Oh wait, is there a proposed plan to conquer Stamp/Suicide Hill?

The bikes the company plans to use cost nearly $500 each, since they have an electronic infrastructure to help users get up steep hills. The weBike team said they were happy to find a light-weight, partially electric bicycle; if they hadn't found one, members said they would have designed one themselves.

Or, wait. Maybe we can inspire students to beat the notoriously noxious freshman 15 by getting some good old fashioned exercise and pumping hard up those hills! Yeah!! Rally!!

Last but certainly not least, what the hell is up with the picture the Diamondback chose to run alongside the article? (Color has not been altered to benefit this blog posting!) Someone call Ghostbusters, because Slimer has gone mad on campus. Or, maybe they've decided to start filming old school Nickelodeon game shows on campus. That would be pretty rad. Sign me up for Guts and Legends of the Hidden Temple.

View the original article here.

Bestie Birthday!!

In honor of my best friend's 23rd birthday, 23 things she can do on her birthday in my absence...

01. Go to Stamp Student Union. Have the Magi make you a iced white chocolate mocha (with whipped cream!). Mmmm…!

02. Dress up like a ‘Native American.’ Miss your counterpart cowgirl.

03. Go to Rugged Warehouse. Buy something by Juicy Couture (socks are a great choice). Think about the $98 towel dress and feel superior.

04. Drive to Tennessee. Visit Frat Rock on the way. Look for sea monster friends. Have a Diver in Memphis, throw fireballs around in the hotel room, and scrawl “leprechaun” on the mirror in lipstick.

05. Call everyone a h8r. Who isn’t these days? Bonus: Speak Smich all day. Find yourself unable to stop.

06. Go into Georgetown. Treat yourself to an expensive dinner at Mie N Yiu. Go get trashed at McFaddens afterwards.

07. Sneak attack a priceless work of art or a statue. Bonus points if said art or statue has a huge peen.

08. Go to Ikea. Pretend every display room is part of your “home.” Lie in the beds, try on the clothes in the closets, ask people what they would like to drink in the kitchens… Try to avoid getting in trouble in Småland.

09. Lie in your bed naked and thank God it’s you and not me.

10. Ask Mickey if he misses Minnie. I bet he does. Say hi to Sir Loin.

11. Go on Safari.

12. Have a dance party! Listen to Luda and pretend you’re thug. Continue speaking Smich.

13. Take lots of MySpace-esque pictures of yourself from above. Pretend you’re at The Happy Pig. Be shocked when you review the sheer quantity the next day.

14. Watch the ‘Can I get mah earz pierced’ SNL skit, anything Brian Fellows, and the Alabama Leprechaun newscast.

15. Make cupcakes! :)

16. Find a Chinese Friend. :)

17. Hop a flight to Paris. When you get there, visit the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. Bring a picture of Ray Charles with you to the ET. Have your photograph taken with Ray Ray. At Notre Dame, wait until mass begins. Put your bag on your back under your cardigan. Run around pretending to be Quasimodo.

18. Hop a flight to Italy. Get on a train and go through Bologna station two or three times. Try to get your backpack stuck in the doors of the train. When you get off the Italian train, put on some DaVinci’s David boxers. Run around the train station making the “suck it” sign on David’s marble peen.

19. Go to Joss and order enough sushi to fill a boat. Eat it all.

20. Go out and purchase baby clothes (specifically, a chicken costume onesie for Halloween) for your unborn and yet-to-be-conceived baby.

21. Go spend an inordinate amount of money shopping for things you don’t really need.

22. Go to Starbucks. Get a sugary, indulgent venti drink and a dessert. Take pre and post feast pictures.

23. Listen to Saves The Day’s You Vandal. Air guitar on the chorus and think of me whenever the lyrics say ‘miss you!’ Allowing your spleen to drip from your pants: totally optional. (not recommended).

Happy 23rd Birthday, Mich!!

I miss you and can't wait to see you in a few months!!

xoxo.

So SaRadar

It's been awhile... here are some things that have interested me recently.

01. Brandtags.net - Strangely fascinating site that contends that 'a brand exists entirely in people's heads. Therefore, whatever they say a brand is, is what it is.'

Here is the one for Starbucks:Via swissmiss.

02. A Modern Twist on Pointe Shoes! As a former ballet dancer, I can say with certainty that this technology is long overdue and surely coming as a major relief to both prima ballerinas and podiatrists!

03. The 'What do I do with my stuff when I'm in public and need to go to the bathroom?' dilemma. Funny article in which the author plays around with the options he has when he's using his laptop in public and he has to run to the bathroom. ... A situation I frequently found myself in throughout college, given my propensity to lug huge amounts of junk around town and campus with me to study coupled with my notoriously small bladder.

04. Timex Death Watch. Uses biometric stats from your skin to predict how many years, months, and days you have left to live, barring freak accident. Yikes.

05. The Row, by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. Old news, but still one of my favorite YouTube videos (I just rewatched again today). Cool footage of a model walking around being glamorous while trying on different pieces from the girls' high end line. Love it.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Happy Wednesday!

… and it is! Laying in bed last night, I was a bit nervous about how today would pan out because insomnia struck again with a vengeance. I really hate insomnia and I, unfortunately, have had it A LOT recently. I'm not sure why and I haven’t figured out how to beat it yet, either. I think my overall uncertainty about it is part of the problem and definitely adds to my mounting frustration.

The general pattern is that I'll feel tired, get ready and go to bed, then lay in bed in the dark, frustrated because I keep thinking about things and therefore can't sleep. Like a dummy, I end up adding to the things I'm thinking about by brainstorming things I could do to coax myself to sleep. A cup of chamomile tea with honey? Warm whiskey with lemon? Peanut butter on crackers? Warm milk? Go for a walk? Go for a run? Listen to Philip Glass? Take some sleep inducing meds? [insert blog inappropriate other physical activity here - c'mon. you can guess!]?

Last night, after brainstorming through my usual list and deciding against all of them for one reason or another (too many calories late at night. too much effort. glaring light from the computer will wake me up more. should save meds...), I guess I finally drifted off into sleep. I, MIRACULOUSLY, woke up feeling rested and ready to start my day. Amazing, considering I probably got about two hours short of the seven hours I feel I need to function best.

I'm just hoping my insomnia stays away for a bit. I just can't figure out the underlying cause. I'm pretty positive it's because I'm thinking about something, but I'm really not sure what. I feel like it's probably more of an unconscious thought that I block by "thinking" about other random things. It's like a REM thought or something, except I'm awake (when I, ahem, should be sleeping!). Weird. I have suppressed thoughts. I guess I'm a total psych case. Meh.

* * *

This morning I tried my new Biotherm Multi Recharge Moisturizer that I splurged on yesterday. It. Is. Awesome. The ginseng does automatically wake your skin up and make you look all glowy and gorgeous. I applied it under my usual make up and, come 12:21pm, there is no sign of greasiness or anything. Awesome. I'm excited to see what the 'super-activated anti-oxidants', vitamins, and plankton do for me in the next few weeks. I've read that you have to use a new beauty product for something like 21 days to really see how it works for you. Added bonus: It has SPF15. I never thought I'd need daily SPF in Denmark (I know, I know, you're supposed to use it everyday, but I ran out of my normal SPF-infused moisturizer in November and that was that for the winter. hmpf.), but the sun has been shining recently and (with every passing year, ugh.) I'm increasingly anti-wrinkles and age spots, thanks. I noticed a few new freckles around the bridge of my nose this year. They are kind of cute, but overall, no thank you.

* * *

More fun Wednesday things: Perhaps inspired by my tan, glowy skin, newly (okay, three weeks ago) highlighted hair, and my overall feeling of being well-rested, I channeled the American Southwest with my outfit today. No, I'm not wearing cowboy boots. Or a cowboy hat. I'm wearing dark jeans, a long-sleeved white fitted t-shirt, brown leather belt, brown leather Rainbow flip flops, and (get this!!) DANGLY EARRINGS. I NEVER, EVER wear anything but studs (classic pearls or diamonds). But, these particular danglies are pretty small, with turquoise and pearls (the turqouise paired with brown leather is where the southwest feeling comes in, you see...) Fun! :)

* * *

On the topic of jewelry, I was reminded of Dogeared Jewelry today. I like a lot of their things, but particularly this shamrock necklace and this anchor necklace (even though it's mysteriously marketed towards new moms), both of the 'make a wish' variety.

* * *

Last thing, then I swear I'll get back to work! :) These cupcakes were posted on my favorite cupcake blog, Cupcakes Take The Cake, as having won for 'Exotic Decoration' in the Second Annual Cupcake Cookoff. I think 'exotic decoration' is an extraordinary overstatement for these guys. First of all, they look like pot cupcakes. I think it's the (mint?) leaf garnishes. Second of all, they just aren't that pretty. More like Bob Marley Jamaican "Exotic" Decoration Cupcakes, maybe. Yuck. See the rest of the winners here.

Xs & Os

Which is which when it comes to hugs and kisses?

I've always thought the X was the hug, because it symbolizes arms being outstretched and ready to hug.

The O would be the kiss, because it looks most like an open mouth, ready to kiss.

However, I could see the O being the hug too, in this case differing from the X being the hug because the arms would be wrapped around the body instead of just ready to hug.

But if the O was the hug, I can't figure out how the X would be the kiss. I guess I always thought the letters were symbolic, and I can't really see how an X would be symbolic of a kissing mouth in any way.

My friend Rachel is similarly confused.

She says she has always thought the X was the hug because it usually comes first in the sequence. "Like, if you wrote it out [instead of using the symbolic letters], you would say hugs and kisses. And nobody ever writes 'oxox'."

But then she flip flops and says that she thinks the X might symbolize the sound of a kiss (which I don't really get at all!).

Hmmm...

Either way, off to bed!

xoxoxoxo.
oxoxoxox.
hugs&kisses!
kisses&hugs!

:)

Crazy Cupcake Cuteness!

Today one of my lovely roomies, Sam, made delicious chocolate cupcakes with monogrammed powdered sugar tops. I'm going to pretend for a second to be Cupcakes Take The Cake and post some yummy pictures:

Monogrammed Rachel, Samantha, Sarah Cupcakes!!
I'm going to be super sad to move out of this apartment in two weeks! :(

So, Sarah Says... Cupcakes!! :)
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

The lovely Samantha with her delicious cupcake creation!

Because we're on the topic of Sam's creativity, check out the Christmas ornament imortalization she hand painted for me of one of my other culinary loves, Old Bay!

For the record, no, I've never had Old Bay cupcakes. :)

Cedar Point: Worst Amusement Park, Ever.

Over the weekend, my (wonderful. don't let the 'ex' prefix fool you) ex-boyfriend decided that he had to visit Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio. Apparently their craptastic website wasn't quite crappy enough to deter him (Planet Snoopy? Seriously? ...And then the picture following for Group Tickets looks like a montage of SpEd field trips, the 'Castaway Bay' guy looks constipated... I could go on for ages... see for yourself.). Maybe he didn't visit the website beforehand and was just looking for a fun, out of the the ordinary weekend activity? Maybe he just didn't believe it could be as bad as the pictures make it look? Unfortunately for him, it was.

Following his visit, he sent the following complaint, which I have reposted here for your reading pleasure:

To Whom it May Concern:

Opening an amusement park for the season is hard work. The logistics involved must be extremely complex, to which I'm sure your 138 some odd years of accumulated amusement park opening experience must attest. Apart from the inherent uncertainty in early season volume, and the general growing pains of training a new wave of employees, many of whom, let's just be honest, are probably not graduates of "high school" so much as "court ordered rehabilitation." These are the realities that any large business must face. Yet, one thing that you can probably foresee is the possibility that the denizens of your park might, at some point during their visit, want to ride a ride.

Naturally, I must admit; your website and advertising don't specifically mention that your seventeen roller coasters and seventy-six rides work. You probably got me on that one; their mere existence is something that I cannot dispute with the limited set of facts gleaned from my visit on May 10. What I can say is that, given the choice of waiting in lines for a combined 7 hours to ride one ride due to malfunction after malfunction, or getting chlamydia, I think the venereal disease comes up the clear winner.

There are many drawbacks to chlamydia. It is estimated that as recently as 1995, 15% of blindness worldwide was caused by the disease. It can cause inflammation that is painful and unsightly, and can disqualify one from, well, "intimate time" with the lady (or gentlemen) of one's choosing. However, if on Sunday morning, rather than having been at Ceder Point all day Saturday, I had simply contracted the aforementioned sexually transmitted infection, the following would be true: (1) I would have had (admittedly clumsy and unsatisfying) sex. (2) I would have, even after the necessary treatments, roughly eighty additional dollars. (3) If economists are to be believed, I would have created a cogent incentive for you to test your rides prior to taking people's money. And, most importantly, (4) I would feel substantially less dirty.

Now more than ever, I of course understand your policy of refusing refunds once people actually experience your product. Even if I were to reconnect with the $42.50 admission, the fond memories of amusement parks from my childhood, which were brutally disposed of at approximately 4:21 PM, are unlikely ever to be revived. Please understand, also, that the next time someone asks if I want to drive several hours to your park, I will assume immediately that they are trying to passive-aggressively destroy our friendship, and will never speak with them again.

Sincerely,
Greg

hahahaha. :)

You know you're Danish when...

I've been meaning to make an entire post of "quirks" and "skills" I've acquired during my last ten months living here in Denmark, but I think I'll work on it and save it for August, when I finally return to the states and can reflect on the entirety of my time spent here.

For now, just a quick "You know you're Danish..." teaser...

You know you're Danish when...

You impress students with your ability to open bottles with pretty much anything.

Danes drink a lot. Because they drink so frequently and the opportunity to drink may arise with little to no warning, Danes are sometimes caught off guard without a bottle opener (they aren't like Americans, where every other person seems to have a bottle opener on their keyring!). Because of this, they have evolutionarily appeared to have gained the skill to open bottles with just about anything in their current surroundings. Slowly but surely adapting to my environment, I am gaining this skill.

Students come into my office pretty frequently asking if I have a bottle opener. I don't have one at my desk (though I guess I really should just get one), but I'm usually pretty cheery about taking their bottle and telling them I will find something to open it with. The student then follows me around as I search the office for a suitable tool. Once a suitable tool has been found, I open the bottle using my Danish MacGuyver Bottle Opening Skills and they are usually pretty darn impressed.

Things I have used which have impressed students opening bottles within the past few weeks:

01. Another bottle
02. A stapler
03. Scissors
04. A huge bread knife
05. A lighter

None of these tools are particularly creative, but I'm pretty proud that I've acquired this "skill" while I've been living abroad.

Science and evolutionary biology are cool.

I missed it!!

The one year anniversary of this blog was on May 6th! In usual forgetful fashion, I missed it, but

*Happy Belated Birthday, So, Sarah Says...!!*

I'm celebrating with a cupcake picture, of course! :)

It's a red bean paste filled cupcake with rambutan frosting and toasted sesame seeds. It actually doesn't sound very good (ahem, sesame seeds should be left to MUFFINS, in my humble opinion), but I thought it looked very pretty.

Wednesday 5.7

Apologies for being MIA for the past few days. I’ve been too busy at work to do much homing from work recently and the weather has been really nice, so I haven’t really been interested in sitting inside blogging from home after work either. I’m still pretty busy at work right now, so this will just be a super quick update.

So, what have I been up to?

Well, I spent this past weekend biking on Denmark’s easternmost island, Bornholm. I was technically ‘chaperoning’ a trip for work, but this is a great trip to chaperone because you basically get to the island, hand all the students bikes, wish them luck, and go off biking with your friends for the day. This was my third time on Bornholm (I’ve been for one weekend a year for the past three years, since 2006!) and, as usual, I had a great time. The first day, some friends and I decided to bike all the way south to the white beaches of Dueodde. The beaches were beautiful and the weather was warm on the island, but not quite beach-laying weather, yet! On the way back, we stopped for some famous Bornholm ‘sild’ (which is Danish for smoked herring). Delicious! All in all, the first day we biked over 68 kilometers (over 42 miles), and Bornholm is hilly (unlike the rest of Denmark).

The second day, Libby, Summer, and I biked up to the Hammershus castle ruins at the northernmost tip of the island. On the way up, we stopped for lunch in Allinge, which is one of the biggest towns on Bornholm. All three of us ordered and conversed with the restaurant people completely in Danish. It was a great feeling because they could understand us all with our super American accents so well (much better than the snobby Copenhageners). Again, the weather was great and we all got pretty nice tans sunbathing among the ruins for an hour! The second day we biked about 42 kilometers (over 26 miles). The best part was that none of us were sore on Monday because we are all super-avid cyclists now. Hahaha.

Monday and Tuesday this week were pretty uneventful, but the weather was great. I can’t get enough of this great weather. I can hardly even remember the Danish Mist of winter! Knock on wood that it doesn't sneak back on all of us poor unsuspectors this summer...!

In other news, today I had an experience that made me realize what a snobby Copenhagener I’ve become. I did laundry last night (at my sweet laundromat with the trippy, drugged out, elven merpeople on the walls!) and hung my grey cardigan up to dry on the hook above where I hang my keys in my bedroom (I imagine it’s supposed to dry flat, but whatever. I’d go ahead and make a comment here about how washing instructions are for overly domestic losers, but I’m still quite sad about messing up the tulle on my white skirt by haplessly throwing it in the dryer…). Anyway, because of my distractingly hung grey cardigan, I ran out of my apartment this morning only to slam the door and realize, instantly, that I had forgotten to grab my keys. Damn. This meant I couldn’t bike to work (my bike lock key is on my keyring) and would be late. I called the office to let them know and started off on what would be a thirty minute walk. Passing the lakes on my way, I noticed a Copenhagen City Bike (bycykel) rack. I seized the opportunity, deposited 20kr in the one remaining bike, and took off down the road. Now, I know I may be overly privileged with my relatively nice, privately owned bike, but honestly, this city bike was the crappiest bike I have ever ridden. The seat was all wobbly back and forth, there were no gears, and only back pedal brakes. SUCH a crappy ride. What was worse was that I looked like a complete tourist riding my city bike with the plastic city map built into the handlebars and gaudy ‘rims’. Ugh. I guess that’s what I get for locking myself out. Luckily, Rachel was heading home for a few minutes after a meeting this morning so I joined her, was let into our apartment, retrieved my keys and my bike, and was happy again. Thank Odin.

Tonight I'm going out for my second Danish Mexican food experience. The last one was disappointing, to say the least. The Danes know nothing about Mexican food. Probably because there are, literally, no Mexicans here. (Shwarma, on the other hand, they've got down to a T!) We'll see. The dinner is on the corporate bill because it's for a extracurricular club I co-run with Rachel, so I've got nothing to lose. (And we're going all out!) :)

Two other things:

01. "Oh, shit! Our planes about to hit Mickey Mouse and I'm pretty sure we just flew through Saul Bass' Minolta logo...!" click! I'm not sure if I think this is cool or just really, really gaudy commercialism.

02. The absolute ugliest, most heinous dress Ralph Lauren has ever made. click!

Is this a joke? No? He should be ashamed. If you're going to keep rolling out stuff like this, change your name back to Lifshitz and stop your fratquerade.

More Friday Love

... because J.Crew e-mailed me. :)

Solid Silk Taffeta Ballerina Dress

Swiss-dot Bobbie Sundress

Cotton Interlock Cross-back Jumper

Cotton Cady Strapless Claudine Dress

* all the hot pink text is linked, if you want to see more of the dresses!

It's Friday, I'm in love!

It's Friday and May! What's on my radar?

01. I've decided my Spring/Summer 2008 colors are probably light grey, light pink, and cream. I've been really drawn to them on recent shopping trips and I love how the colors look together and accented with pearls and silver jewelry. Perfect and fresh for spring. I'll also be incorporating blues into my wardrobe once the weather gets a tad warmer here. I've got two supercute strapless blue dresses to wear (one navy, one bright blue) and last summer's navy twill shorts from J.Crew are dying to be paired with an oxford and my topsiders again soon!

02. Also style-wise, what is the deal with Maxi dresses for spring?! I've been seeing them everywhere!! But who can actually wear them? I haven't tried any on (mostly for practical reasons - a maxi dress would be hell to bike in - but also because I love cocktail length sundresses for summer and they work for me) but I imagine I'm too short to be able to pull off a maxi dress with the kind of Mediterranean glamour I feel they should represent. (like this Missoni day dress or this one by Giambattista Valli that evokes images of an evening at a gorgeous mansion with an infinity pool somewhere on the Mediterranean. Aquamarine is also a beautiful color for spring and would look great with my "palette". ).

03. Best Mother's Day gift EVER!! Cupcakes, of course! :) Sas Cupcakes are a bit expensive ($40 for a dozen, $30 to ship because they need to be shipped two-day to still be fresh and delicious upon arrival), but what better gift could a cupcake-loving girl like me send to her dear Mom? I'm just bummed that I won't be there when they arrive to try a few! The zesty light lemon cake with fresh raspberry buttercream sounds amazing!

I guess that's basically it for now. There have been a lot of things that have crossed my mind to blog about recently, but the weather has been nice so I've been outside a lot and otherwise, I just haven't had time. I'm off to chaperone a bike trip for work over the weekend. Cross your fingers that it's sunny for us! Have a great weekend! :)

Glæde Kristi Himmelfartsdag!!

That's Happy Ascension Day to all you non-Danish speakers (but, really, who doesn't speak Danish these days? It's not like it's an obscure language spoken primarily in a country of only 5 million people or anything.) "Wait, Sarah," you may be asking, "since when are you religious, let alone religious enough to celebrate Ascension Day?" The answer is: since never. Still not. I just think the Danish translation which is, directly, word for word to English, 'Happy Christ Heaven/Sky Speed Day.' And, come on, fart?! Absolutely one of the best words in Danish. I love when I'm on the highway in Denmark (rare, but happens on occasion because I am lucky enough to know people who own automobiles) and I see a sign that says 'Din Fart,' which means 'Your Speed.' Also, elevators with signs like the one in the picture that accompanies this post. Hahaha. :) I bet foreigners walk up to elevators like that, see the button next to 'i fart' and look surreptitiously around, wondering if this is a cruel joke the Danes play on the unsuspecting. Not a cruel joke, but if you're that embarrassed, perhaps it's your first clue you should be getting a bit of exercise and taking the stairs. :)

Happy Sky Fart Day! :)