wishin'...

Sorry if this ruins your preconceived notions about me being a totally original human being. I'm basically just a big copier (just like the rest of you), which is why I've decided to jump on the early bandwagon of bloggers posting holiday wish lists. (Note: I am NOT one of those people who refrain from offending people by avoiding using the word 'Christmas' and substituting some 'holiday' crap. I only call this my 'holiday' wish list because since my birthday is 2 weeks before Christmas...then this list is encompassing multiple holidays. So it's appropriate. "Holiday" is more concise than saying "birthday and Christmas"...although this paragraph-long explanation is much longer, so really...it's not like I saved myself any typing or anything. MOVING ON!)

Right, so, wish list. Just wanted to go ahead and throw it out there into cyberspace in case Santa (or relatives, or generous blog stalkers) were wanting to get a jump start on things. As per usual, I will provide plenty of commentary to go with each item...so let's get to it!

1. A "Big Girl" Camera:

 

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 OK, if there's anyone who should be wanting me to get a decent camera, it's probably you people. You're the ones that have to suffer through all of my half-assed pictures taken with all manner of point-and-shoots (that seldom find it in their hearts to be working), webcams, and uhh...like, drawings on Paint when all of my other cameras are failing. My camera issues have been ROUGH this year, and I'd like to apologize to all of your eyeballs. This does mean, however, that for roughly the past year, Matt and I have been toying with the idea of getting a decent digital SLR camera. This is not because we are photographers or have any delusions that we are going to be. I will be the first one to admit that I have no idea what SLR even stands for. But I do know that even with my lack of knowledge...when I use a friend's 'real' camera and just snap a shot...it looks WAAAAY better than the same picture taken with my point-and-shoots. Also...we just want one. We have these plans that we will LEARN about photography (and what all the initials stand for, and what f- something means, and shutter speed, and all the other things that blow my mind when I'm trying to 'research' cameras) and it will be a hobby that both of us can enjoy. And, naturally, we will be awesome picture-takers by the time we give birth/bring home our fantastically photogenic offspring, and then we will high-five ourselves for thinking to do this in advance. That's the plan, anyway.


So really, we're getting a camera (note: not sure which one. The picture above is only an illustration of one of the many possibilities). We're planning on getting it as our gift to each other. Unless someone else is dying to get it for us, in which case, be my guest! We have been zealously scoping out the leaked Black Friday ads already, and have a game plan that begins at midnight...because if there's anything that will get me even more excited about owning a Big Girl camera, it is the thought of getting a great deal on it.



2. A 21st century phone!!

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 I know...who is this girl and what has she done with Erika? Like, if I own both a working camera AND a non-ghetto phone, what will I have left to complain about? (Answer: Infertility, obviously!!!) I guess I have decided that smartphones are probably NOT just a passing trend and therefore I should get on board. Like the camera, I have been decidedly lusting after a phone for a solid year now, so to me, that means I should get one. Unlike OTHER THINGS I have been lusting after for a long time (like, ya know...babies...)...this year I decided that the things I CAN get? I just think I should. So, a smartphone it is. I'm tired of texting with one finger (YES, I have the kind of phone that DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A QUERTY KEYBOARD. How I've made it this far, I don't know). Like with the camera thing, I'm not so picky about what KIND of phone? As long as it's smart. So if you have lots of experience and advice about things like phones, you can feel free to let me know your opinion. My main question is: does it matter how many GBs there are?? I'm having a hard time imagining why I'd need more memory on my phone than I have on my computer.


Note: in addition to the phone, I would also like $360 to cover the cost of one year of the data plan. Thanks, Santa!


Phew! This is a technology-filled wish list, so far. That doesn't feel very "me," so let's change directions.


3. All the things on my Pinterest.


I know, not very specific...but just go peruse around. It's safe to assume I want everything I've pinned, so you can craft it or just buy it, whatever! I just need it. Thanks so much!!


4. Toms!

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Hahaha, that is the smallest picture ever. Not exactly representative of the actual size I will be needing (9.5, thanks for asking. Don't judge! I'm tall! My feet are proportionate to my height!!). Much like cameras and smartphones, Toms are the kind of thing everyone else has had for 5 years and I have been busy squinting my eyes and trying to 'get it.' Now that probably everyone else has decided to stop wearing them, I have adjusted to seeing them around and have decided I might like to have some myself. Perferably in a neutral-ish color and pattern (like plain gray), because I like my shoes to be versatile. 




5. Plane tickets.

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 Do they make airline gift cards? That would be perfect. Basically, I have lots of friends/family that live far away and I would like to see them all. So...plane tickets it is! (A private jet/pilot would also work, rich stalkers.)




6. Bath stuff.

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I know, not very specific. But here's the thing. I haven't really ever been a 'bath girl.' We've lived in this house for 2.5 years, we have a HUGE garden tub thing, and I've taken maybe like...2 baths. Until last week. Since last week I've taken about...30. And I have come to the realization that I have an embarrassingly tiny amount of products to give me the ideal spa-like experience. I'm actually a little ashamed about the whole thing. SO, pick your favorite bath product (what...salts, scrubs, soaks, bubbles...aren't there like a million things?) and help start the Erika Bath Collection. Promoting relaxation since 2011. 




Alright.


That should be enough to get you started on your shopping. Consider this Part 1. Still to come: specific clothing items, makeup products, and crafting supplies! Could you BE any more excited??!


(Note: I mentioned this earlier, but seriously: if you have relevant (or not relevant, I don't really care) advice/opinions/recommendations about anything I mentioned, feel free to share! Share slash buy me whatever it is you are recommending, of course.)

the easiest christmas craft ever

Anyone else in the mood to start crafting their Christmas decor? Anyone else lacking extra wads of cash to spend on aforementioned Christmas decor? Well, today is your LUCKY DAY!!! Welcome to my first ever step-by-step DIY craft tutorial. And possibly last ever, too. We'll just see how it goes.

Yesterday, I was dying to get crafty. I'd done some crafting with my friend Friday night (photos of that still to come), and Saturday morning I woke up itching to get my craftiness on. And no, before Pinterest was invented, I had never woken up with that particular itch before. But that's beside the point, I think. Anyway, it just so happens that yesterday there was a home game in Athens, which meant that driving to a craft store was just not going to happen. I don't need ANYTHING badly enough to deal with that mess. So I was stuck at home, trying to think of something I could make with what I had on hand. And then it came to me. 

Why not make a Christmas tree out of sticks? I've seen lots of stick projects on Pinterest. I think I've even seen Christmas trees made out of sticks. But I couldn't find anything that quite suited my current mood. So I did what all crafty pioneers do: I made up my OWN project. And it was good. Feast your eyes!!

If you feel underwhelmed, it's only because you haven't made your own yet. But don't worry! In case you are completely lacking in brain function can't figure out how to make this, I have taken the liberty to create a step-by-step pictorial guide for your convenience! Possibly the only reason I did this was because yesterday I discovered Picnik, but that is also beside the point.

Here we go!

 Step 1: Find some sticks. This should be extremely easy, unless you live in a city or something, I guess. For me, this involved finding shoes (the longest part of the process), putting them on, and walking around the woods in my backyard for a few minutes. Challenging!


For extra artistic points, you will want to find sticks that don't all look the same (aka don't pull 10 sticks off the first dead tree you see). Different textures/barks/widths will make your project look more interesting.

Step 2: Break or cut your sticks so that they are all different lengths. Find a sturdier one to be your 'trunk.' 


Step 3: Arrange sticks so that it (duh) looks like a Christmas tree.


Step 4: Hot glue sticks onto the 'trunk.' I would definitely recommend doing this outside, since I was getting the long 'webs' of hot glue EVERYWHERE. I was very glad that I won't be vacuuming those things up for the next year. Also, the sticks are going to be crumbling and generally making a mess as you handle them. Better to keep mess outside.

Step 5: Cut and arrange some smaller twigs to make a star. No tree is complete without a star, right?? Hot glue the points of the star together. Then hot glue the star to the top of your tree.

Step 5b (not pictured): Hunt around your garage for a suitable pot to 'plant' the tree in. Then go get your rock bucket (where you collect all the rocks you find when you're tilling the ground in the summer to make gardens, of course) and get some small rocks. Fill up the pot with rocks and your tree's trunk, arranging rocks for maximum tree stability.

Don't have pots in your garage and/or a rock collection? A) What kind of person are you? B) You might have to figure out something else for display purposes. You could just lean the tree against a wall or shelf? Use string to hang it up? You decide!

Step 6: Enjoy your handiwork. Obviously.

Step 7 (optional): Spend the rest of the day congratulating yourself for your amazing creativity, your cost-effectiveness as a crafter, and your commitment to using locally sourced materials. Not that I did this or anything. You just might want to.

Total money required for project: $0 (cost of hot glue consumed is negligible).

Total time required for project: 1 hour, including picking all of the hot glue webs off the finished tree. (24 hours if you spend the rest of the day doing Step 7)

Total awesomeness of project: Infinity.

easily amused much?

Hello and HAPPY SATURDAY! I am only a tad bit excited about it myself, as you can tell.

Last night I had an awesomely fun and crafty night, but I can't post about it just yet because the craft is not quite finished...so look forward to seeing pictures of that soon.

But SPEAKING of pictures...

Recently a few friends (Lisa and Amanda, I believe) mentioned using the online photo editing program Picnik. Today I thought I would see what all the fuss was about.

It's about FUN is what it's about!

In case you don't know, you can do all sorts of useful things with Picnik...like maybe make some sort of picture thingy to use on your blog? If you know how to do stuff like that?? Like I figured out the part where you make the thing. It would be a whole 'nother thing to figure out how to make it become something useful on the blog. Another project for another day, right??

But more importantly, Picnik allows you to unleash your inner four-year-old artistic side and turn semi-boring pictures like this...

 ...into freaking FANTASTIC pictures like THIS!!!!!!!!!

 Yes, that actually IS what I'm doing on a Saturday morning. Try to contain your jealousy. And for a small fee, I am willing to awesome-ify your OWN picture!! Just think of the potential!!

So long, and happy Saturday from me and the mustached King of the River, holding the world and a hotdog in his hand beside his two beers on a rock.

a time for kankfulness

You probably thought I'd given up on Way Back When-sday, didn't you? Well, you would be wrong. It's just that I forget a lot, or I run out of time and/or creativity. But today-- you are in luck. Or you're about to be bored. One of these.

A long time ago, back in the year 2003 (can you remember back that far?), I was a junior in college and I shared a townhouse with some of my favorite people in the whole world (and also one girl who was NOT OUR FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WHOLE WORLD, but I think that by this point she had left and anyways, I'm not bitter or anything still. Hahaha. Girls, are you with me here???) (OK, seriously I'm NOT bitter still. I hadn't even thought about that in a long time. It just came to me.) ANYWAYS, getting back on track. We were, as all college-aged girls living with their BFFs and living the American dream (my American dream, anyway), very thankful for our many blessings and our friendships and our sweet kitty-cats and our amazing hostessing and cooking skills, and so- much like our ancestors before us (although not MY ancestors, because my ancestors were still living in Italy until like 15 minutes ago or something)- we decided to host a feast in order to celebrate all of the good things in our lives. And YES, I should receive an award for the World's Longest Sentence (see previous sentence).


No doubt, we all loved our families very much. We looked forward to spending 'real' Thanksgiving with them, and we still do. But there's something to be said for having a special event just for the friends and roommates and neighbors who make your everyday life so worth living. So we set a date, and we made invitations, and we planned and cleaned and cooked and decorated within an inch of our lives, and this is how Kanksgiving was born. Kanksgiving: A Time to be Kankful.


It is possible that you don't understand the whole "kank" thing, and that's probably because you weren't a part of my circle of friends from 2001 until present, and for that I am sad for you. To define 'kank' would be to strip it of its glory, so I will have to move on without further explanation and leave you instead to ponder and wonder about the meaning.


We celebrated Kanksgiving in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2008. We planned and prepared to celebrate it in 2007, but were unable to due to the sudden and unexpected death of a good friend of ours on the very day of Kanksgiving. That year, our joy turned into mourning, but the mourning was 'better,' if that is possible, because it was in the company of the friends who had all already traveled to be together that weekend. We ended up cooking our turkey anyway, that day, because he was already defrosted and seasoned, we were all hungry, and what the heck else were we supposed to do with a 15 pound bird? I have no pictures from that year.


But in the other years, there was never been a shortage of pictures at Kanksgiving. Trying to narrow down the pictures to post here was really tricky, especially because these early years of Kanksgiving were PRE-FACEBOOK (which will no doubt one day be an actual designation of time, just like B.C. or something) and it occurred to me that some of the roomies actually might not have seen these pictures in a really long time/ever!


 First of all, the hostesses ALWAYS take pictures of themselves cooking. It's just the way things are done. And also, the Santa apron was an essential.

Me, 2003

Kristina, 2003

 

The hostesses/roomies: Kristina, Elizabeth, me, Catherine (2003)

Our banquet table, food, and friends (2003)

Most years (except, I guess, 2003) we remembered to take pictures of the ceremonial Stuffing of Tom. (Every turkey is named Tom, by the way) This is photo-worthy because, as suburban-raised 20-year-olds, we hadn't had much experience touching raw poultry, and this gave us huge amounts of Mom Points to do this nasty thing. I'm pretty sure, actually, that ONLY Kristina and Elizabeth even touched the bird for the first 2 years. I was a little slow to jump on board THAT fun-train.

Elizabeth and Kristina stuffing Tom, 2004

Me stuffing Tom, 2005

James, stuffing Tom, 2008

 

Kristina and Elizabeth with a nicely baked Tom, 2004

Hostesses, 2004

Hostesses, 2005

We used to wonder, as young, pre-marriage, pre-"real life" adults, whether our future "real" Thanksgivings would ever measure up to the greatness of Kanksgiving. We even discussed one day, when we were "real" adults in charge of our own families and lives, choosing to continue celebrating Kanksgiving...perhaps even on THANKSGIVING DAY (instead of a convenient weekend in the months surrounding Thanksgiving: yes, Kanksgiving has been celebrated as early as October and as late as December! Note: it really sucked trying to buy a turkey in October!! No one had them!). Because Kanksgiving was the perfect mixture of friendship and love and laughter and teamwork...exactly the kind of drama-free fun that every Thanksgiving should be. And so really, I'm still hoping that one day we do it. :) Or at least that we re-institute our tradition, even if it's not on Thanksgiving Day. EVERY day is a good day to be Kankful, after all.

Stine, Lobello, and Ray: Writing this made my heart feel very happy and also made me miss you all very much. And miss posing for pictures in that corner of the living room. And miss the Santa apron. And the 115. And Elizabeth's sofa-bed with green and white checks. And lots more. I love you girls!