It's Monday....but its the best Monday of the Year

Ugh.  Month end sucks for lawyers.  Especially lawyer procrastinators.  But now that all that is behind me, and October has been fully accounted for in 6 minute increments…..its on to more important thoughts. 

What do we think…marvelous, or American Gypsies level atrocious: 

 

 A bonsai carved out of stone…..I probably won’t hit buy, b/c some expensive holidays are coming.  But I’d like to throw it out there for general consumption.  And speaking of things taking up space on my ebay watch list, 5.1 yds of backed silk have been on the list since last winter.  To hoard or not to hoard, that is the question: 

On to the interwebs:  Audrey shared this delightful video  http://www.upworthy.com/see-why-we-have-an-absolutely-ridiculous-standard-of-beauty-in-just-37-seconds

It is only 37 seconds, and I watched it 3 times.  In a row. 

Oh, and College Humor’s literature with click-bait titles was pretty good:  http://www.collegehumor.com/article/6923989/if-popular-books-had-clickbait-titles

And on the topic of humor—Kevin says the fact that I read the McSweeney’s Decorative Gourd piece annually, and still snort-laughed in my office this year is terribly telling about my sense of humor.  I’m not sure what it tells, but I got a sense that “different than most” was being implied.  But since everyone I'm related to (i.e., all you readers) seemed to like it, I was reminded of this quote ( from this David Sedaris article): 

“….for though I’ve often lost faith in myself, I’ve never lost it in my family, in my certainty that we are fundamentally better than everyone else. It’s an archaic belief, one that I haven’t seriously reconsidered since my late teens, but still I hold it.”  

 

I still hold the archaic belief that we are fundamentally better than everyone else, and the fact that we all love decorative gourd season is just one more data point supporting that.    And btw that’s my new favorite family quote.  Too bad they don’t sell that shit as a stick and peel wall graphic, or a jigsawed wooden keyholder thing that hangs on your wall.  Well not that bad, because I am morally opposed to both wall graphics and keyholders from inspirational or family based quotes.   

We should do a Halloween recap, even though I was too underwater to email on Friday, a far more appropriate time for such recaps:

Jenny over at MFAMB had the best Halloween pic: 

Yeah.  Creepy as shit. 

And for those of you not following Audrey on Instagram, she had the best holiday punch: 

  Apples carved into heads?  I mean, did you ever?

While the video of Molly in her LED wings

gives you the general idea of her costume’s trick-or-treat upgrade, it reminded me of this YouTube video--pretty genius, and sort of viral:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkBDRUO8hAo

I’ve got a full weekend up ahead.  Friday I have my “Helen Frankenthaler” themed date night art class at the Indianapolis Art Center, which I am pathetically attending alone.  On Saturday, handymen are coming over to re-install my pocket door, which was stripped and refinished glossy black by a nice guy in my office.  Thank God, b/c apparently he had to take a heat gun to it—the chemicals didn’t work.  And now I have extra toxic chemicals I don’t know what to do with….So, after approximately one month the first floor bathroom will have a door on it.  Stairs are such a pain...as are people with no need for privacy.  

And Sunday I’m headed to IKEA.  Sadly, only for dishes and a RAST…but that means a full week of googling RAST hacks: 

For those who don’t speak Ikea, the RAST is the $35 unfinished pine dresser from Ikea.  Infinitely DIYable, and super tiny.  It is nightstand size really, and just about the shallowest set of drawers on the market.  A few examples: 

 

Just google “Ikea Rast Hack” and you’ll find a ton.  Somebody even has a pinterest board on the topic:  http://www.pinterest.com/lauriejoneshome/ikea-rast-hack/

Incidentally, the last one is almost identical to the one I did (except mine is raspberry pink with the same gold overlays).  I’m thinking French Directoire style, and adding some legs for height, so engineering is involved.  For those of you coming for turkey-day, expect to see it in its pine glory (the girls stole the pink one, and now I have no spot for necessities like bug spray, lint rollers and paper napkins…chaos is reigning).  My favorite source of easy Ikea upgrades is overlays:  http://www.myoverlays.com/  Its one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-it businesses:  CNC’d pieces of fiberboard stuff (whatever they make crown molding out of these days)….sized to fit Ikea furniture.  They also will do custom sizing, so you can spruce up found pieces or ugly kitchen cabinets.  

What doesn’t need a little greek key border?