The Grace Experiment, Part 7

My weekly attempt to amaze and, incidentally, annoy you with 5 little things for which I'm feeling grateful.

1.  My little brother* actually buying his plane ticket to come see his object du lurking  me.  Turns out the whole arranging transport thing is a critical component to visiting someone halfway across the US.  I trust those of you with younger siblings can relate.

*Show of hands - who lives in southern California & wants to date a super-adorable, twenty-something military officer?  Also, am I writing this just because I know it would embarrass the life out of him?  

2.  Sprinkles Cupcakes

3.  This March J. Crew catalog, which I want to frame and cherish forever.  Reads more like a gorgeous photo album than a catalog, although I am of course covetous of most contents.

4.  A good dose of perspective.  Turns out my not being able to afford the J. Crew canon - or any of it, if we're being all factual and stuff - isn't the biggest problem going.  I know!

5.  Reveling in this early spring weather:

The (Un)Grace(ful) Experiment, Part 5

This is my weekly attempt to start things off even though it's Tuesday night already and basically mid-week on an appreciative note for the little things, with varying degrees of snark-free success.

Since I am of late cranky and feeling tired and sore and haughtily superior but not in a witty  way and insecure about the Big Grown Up decision stuff I've had to deal with and stuff and flagrantly doing the run-on sentences thing yet again and pondering my reality TV watching issues- ((deep breaths)) - frankly, I'm struggling this week to be grateful.  However, in my more Oprah, fuzzy-lighting moments, I know these are the times to struggle through - *cue the soaring movie music which tells us to start feeling pensive* - realize I am in fact very fortunate, and act like a grown-up, so . . .

1.  Upcoming visit from my active-duty little brother, despite the fact it is wholly motivated by a lurrrve interest nearby. He will deny this, which is part of why I still adore him.  

2.  Speaking of lurrve, finding my new Good Paper crush.  I know, I know - paper?  Yes - this is grace in the little things, and Good Paper certainly qualifies.  In any event, introducing the Crane Plum Blossom line:

(Credit:  Stationery Style)

I am of course referring to the notecards, and not the wedding invitation sample listed above - although whenever I do get around to marrying those other husbands Hugh Jackman, I'll definitely take this one into consideration.

3.  2 Pugs are better than one:

The HRH and temporary foster Pug enjoying a cuddle.  Love in a snorting, shedding pile.

4.  Chatting with my Twitter girls during our Oscar night snarkfest, which made the Geometry-class* long ceremony nearly bearable . . although I'd like to thank the Academy for the lingering hangover exhaustion I suffered as a result, not to mention the High School Musical nightmares.

*No offense intended for any high school math teachers out there, although I'm presuming you aren't a power crazed nerd working out his daddy issues on the class. Just a thought.

5.  This, which I happened upon today during one of my internet rambles.  In turns offensive, adolescent, ridiculous, silly, voyeuristic, and funny, it was just what I needed on my commute.

The Grace Experiment, Part 4

My attempt to start each week this year by listing 5 things, little or big, for which I'm grateful.  I'd say I try to do this sans the usual snark, but, well, um . . . that's even less fun than attempting to act appropriately thankful here.  

Would you believe I'm feeling grateful for more than 5 things this week?  The least nauseating five, if you can believe it:

1.  Friends who exclaim upon my entering a party, "Oh, good, we can open the champagne now!"  YES WE CAN!

2.  Recchiuti chocolates.  Trust me.

3.  The HRH Pug spent his Valentine's Day weekend clad in a festive holiday-themed scarf, so the Anonymous Husband threatened both divorce and custody proceedings if I post a recent photo.  Therefore, I attempt to earn your reader love by posting a puffy-hearted picture of the HRH as a puppy:

We're still working on our entry for Mrs. Jetplane's Pug contest . . . these things cannot be entered into lightly, after all.

4. Proof that I haven't been 100% sucked into my latest Type A Minus obsession, car shopping*, in the form of this DVF dress that is now on my stealth sale watch list.

*Although this is arguably more socially normal & productive than the teenaged vampire problem, no?

5.  That I met the AH in that time honored, old-fashioned way**, versus the current reality show means which primarily involve hot tubs and spray tans***.  Not that I'd know this from religous "Bachelor" watching.  Nooooope, not me, tra la la la . . . 

**In a bar, naturally.

***Bikinis?? On a first date?? 

The Grace Experiment, Part 3

My weekly attempt to play nice and list 5 things for which I'm grateful - because I may be too coolly superior for the Facebook Meme, but I'm no stranger to hopping on every other bandwagon like this one.

1. Top-secret fabulous news from one of my best friends, and not only because it will allow me to make multiple trips home to shop and indulge my Good Paper needs. So elated about this one I might even break from my icily elegant demeanor and let out a - YAY!

2. E!'s Grammy Red Carpet coverage, for clearing up a Pretty household mystery - turns out there IS television so insultingly dumb that even I will not watch it. Thanks, Giuliana!

3. The HRH Pug spent most of his weekend barking. And barking. And barking. Which inspired me not so much to photograph him as to utilize my latent soccer-playing abilities and drop kick him into my neighbor's yard. Important Note to PETA, etc.: No kicking was involved - we just went on a long walk while I administered a Stern Lecture. For serious.

So I'm recycling an old favorite as a reminder to me & the interwebs why he should very much be left alive, incessant yap yap yapping aside:

4. Apologies for my recent and wholly nauseating Austin love-fest here & on Twitter, but - I really, really puffy-heart adore living in a town again that has enough good food and music and, increasingly, theater, to sate my yuppie needs. If only my invite to the 10-year "Office Space" party here tonight hadn't been lost in the mail . . .

5. That the red-light-crashing driver & I emerged from our wreck this week with no apparent injuries. Thanks to you all again for the well-wishes.

The Grace Experiment, Part 2

This is my weekly half-hearted attempt to set aside the snarkitude & list 5 things for which I'm grateful, with the happy yet unintended consequence of annoying blog friends like The Coconut Diaries.

1. Receiving a completely rad surprise present from a good friend. If I told you this gift had to do with my teenage vampire issues, you would probably stop reading and immediately delete me from your Google Reader, so this had absolutely nothing to do with that. Um.

2. Stumbling upon my excuse to post weekly HRH Pug photos, in blatantly derivative manner of those famous bloggers who regularly pull this sort of Hallmark move:

You're witnessing a daily ritual here at Pretty HQ, in which the HRH Pug embarks on an exhaustive search for the ideal rawhide hiding spot. Please note the somber, stress-filled expression in his buggy eyes. This is a deeply serious business.

3. Spending the weekend with the Anonymous Husband - given his lawyerly line o' work, I don't take this for granted - who voluntarily accompanied me on an emergency Anthro* shopping expedition and only whined once.
*The dress of impossible cuteness? So cute. So mine.

4. American holidays primarily dedicated to overeating and only tangentially related to football, particularly those followed by special episodes of "The Office" (wish you were here to watch, Shabby Princess!)

5. Kerbey Lane queso, and my new hometown in which this delectable foodstuff can be located.

The Grace Experiment, Part 1

No, not that Grace I usually blather on about . . . today's title refers to a blog experiment launched here and as written about by a host of other bloggers far more talented and interesting than little ol' me (like this one). Here's the idea - please brace yourself for the unicorns-and-rainbows, soft Oprah-lighting feel to this one - for 365 days, the blogger posts 5 things, mayjah or minor, which have graced his or her life.

Since I am obviously far too lazy / irreverent / bad at following rules busy and important to do a daily post, let alone one in which I set aside my snarkitude and act appropriately, I'm adapting this to a semi-sorta-regular weekly series. And so - ((deep breaths)) - I attempt to set aside bitter harpy-ness and bring you the five things for which I'm feeling quite grateful lately . . .

1. Men who cook willingly & well. Mine in particular is, at this very moment, making a big Italian dinner all by his very ownself.

2. Surprise phone calls - remember that funny device that makes the odd ringing noise, the one I generally prefer to ignore?* - from faraway childhood friends.
*Not to be confused with my iPhone, for which I harbor unhealthy feelings of devotion and adoration.

3. Overcast Sundays perfect for napping on the couch & starting a new book:

So long as we're getting obnoxiously warm & fuzzy, I'm pulling out all of the shameless stops, including gratuitous puppy photos. Yeah, I know.

4. Witnessing an important moment in American history , regardless of how you or I (you might be surprised) or your mom's gardener's waxer voted.

5. Finding my go-to-jeans on sale.

My Dog Ate My Battery

As in, my AAA real-life battery that powers my remote control - or rather, one of the 5,000 remote controls here at Pretty HQ thanks to the Anonymous Husband.

(Envision a battery instead of a bone, a grown woman shrieking guiltily in the background, and an equally blase dog, and you'll get the picture.)

First, let me say the dog is 100%, completely, absolutely well and fine. His owner, notsomuch, but the actual canine is the picture of health. Listen, I called the emergency vet and do dog rescue and stuff and my dog has an actual Staff that I myself envy and nooo, that is not my terrible dog-mother guilty conscience talking. Aaaaaaaaa.

Second, is there an entrance exam for the parenting of an actual human child? Because I'm a bit concerned about the practical skills portion of my test. Not - NOT! - that I am comparing a dog to a kidlet! I am not, so please don't think I'm belittling you or something! Exclamation point! Ahem. Just saying that similar fears may apply regarding how to avoid, by means of completely random example, getting absorbed in blog reading for 5 whole minutes only to find one's only pet or child chewing on an acid-filled batteryohmyeverlivingGodhowdidthathappen. You know, the average day.

As that inimitable Bridget Jones might say - doom. Doooooooooooooom.

How to Surprise and Embarrass Your Husband in Four Easy Steps

Step 1: Locate the family dog, preferably a foofy, male one. Add not just ONE pretty pastel tutu, but TWO pretty pastel tutus, to said dog.

Step 2: Take pictures of the bedecked family dog while giggling furiously in manner of six-year-old schoolgirl.

Step 3: Without prior explanation or notice, email pictures like this to your husband:

(actual credit: Flickr, and the superfabulous ladies who care for the Pretty Mascot - yes, HRH Pug has Staff - took these photos, not me. I do not - repeat - DO NOT - dress my dog in costume on a regular or even semi-regular basis. I swear. Well, there might be the one sweater, but the Anonymous Husband was involved in that purchase. No, really! Exclamation point!!!)

Step 4: Wait approximately 1 minute or less while husband comes to a full boil; pick up angry telephone/ open furious email; stir, then serve (while giggling furiously in manner of six- year-old schoolgirl). Voila!

PS - Just kidding, Anonymous Husband! Love you! Exclamation point!!!