Meowy Christmas!

Christmas cheer for you: here's some Morrissey with Meowrissy! This charming cat . . .

Hey There, Four Eyes!

I recently received some glasses from Warby Parker. If you have terrible vision (I'm at -4.something in each eye) and a flair for obnoxiously thick glasses, this site lets you choose five pairs to be shipped to you at no cost to try on at home before you buy. They're also hip like TOMS in that when you buy a pair, another gets shipped to a less-monetarily-fortunate and vision-impaired individual in need. After receiving my five, I've narrowed it down to these two:

The Fillmore
Pros: fits my face very well (as in nice and snug), ridiculously hip right now
Cons: might be too much of a novelty, more quirky than attractive on me

The Colton
Pros: Fashionably classic, attractive on me
Cons: not as snug as I'd like--they slide forward when I look down, but this can be fixed

And here are some crappy photos courtesy of my camera phone:

Thoughts? I've got some: I seriously need a bang trim.

Good grief.

This little diddy showed up in my email this morning as a promotion for UO to shop shop shop or whatever since there's only 9 days left till Christmas. Thought I'd feature it on the ol' bloggy because Seve and I bought this exact tree last night at Walgreens, where it was only $10, whereas UO sells it for like, what, $30? The "mini" version sells for $15. Anyway, yay for a full size Charlie Brown Christmas tree on the cheap!

Workin' like a dog

I recently judged an advertising competition on the BYU-Idaho campus. At first I was pretty nervous, and thought I'd be too nice and just Paula my way through the whole thing, but it turns out there's a little Simon in me after all.

Seeing how keyed up and nervous some of the students were got me thinking that there's some post-graduation myths I'd like to clear up, or at least relay my personal experience with.

Life is only going to get busier after I graduate.
Depends on what you're doing. The fact that homework is no longer an issue has opened up my schedule and I feel I have plenty of time for whatever I want after work. My job never comes home with me, it's strictly 8-5 p.m., M-F. The rest of my time is mine.

My inexperience will disqualify me.
Sometimes just stepping out from the crowd and making yourself known as a candidate is enough. We're looking for your enthusiasm to learn and work, not expecting you to already know the business by heart. So many students I've interviewed have been utterly stressed over their lack of real world experience. Relax, I'm impressed that you've made it this far.

Well gosh, I guess those are the only two I wanted to address. Maybe more later.

I'll just put this here:


Howlin' cyclist via Pat Perry.

In the bat's mouth

I love this print by Francesca Montanari. I originally wanted to get it for myself as a personal pat on the back for finishing the NaNoWriMo (especially since I listened to a lot of Bat For Lashes during the process), but now I think it will just be a Christmas present "from Seve." He already knows what I got him, haha. A tight budget where we're both privy to who bought what, where, and when kind of kills the surprise of gift giving for us. But maybe I'll manage to sneak in a nice anniversary gift that'll knock his socks off. Hmm . . .

And my name would be Bumble Boo

If I was a cartoon character, this would be the outfit I'd wear everyday:

Ever see that Doug episode where they gave you a peek into his closet? And it was just an endless sea of green vests and white tops? Imagine row after row of red Hawaiian shorts and string bow ties. Perfection.

What would your outfit be?

Down down baby down by the roller coaster

I know what you're thinking. JULES ITZ TOTES NOT SUMMER WTF WITH THE BEACH PICTURE OMG.

Ever since it was made official that Seve and I will be going to Florida for Christmas, it's all I can think about. Rexburg's snowy winter slush is nothing compared to my white sand euphoria. In anticipation for the trip, I've been enjoying surfy beachy trippy music rather than Christmas tunes. The Drums, Heavy Hawaii, and the Cults dominate my playlist. Don't worry, I won't pretentiously name drop and leave you empty handed. Dream with me now:

Shewolf

Guyz look another wolf in glasses!!!!11one

It's here. November 30th.

Many of my bloggy buddies have been participating in 30-day challenges, including a photo for every day and 30 items of clothing to be worn in 30 days. My 30-day challenge has been the NaNoWriMo - write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. And I'm about to ride this wave out in glory, people, GLORY.

I have consistently written 1,667 words every day. I had some NaNo friends who ran hard in the beginning, boasting impressive word counts of 20,000 at day 3 when I was only at 5,000. But some of them burnt out after such energetic sprints, and I'm here to say that slow and steady wins the race.

I attribute this success to my job. I write 1,000 words on average daily. It's all draft work; only about 200 ends up being publishable. With that in mind, the majority of my NaNo novel will probably never see the light of day. But writing comes easy for me. And I am so happy that I've crossed the finish line! And GUESS WHAT the story isn't anywhere near being over. Yay '50s doo-wop werewolves!

I hope you guys don't mind my boasting, but writing is my only real talent, aside from this one time when I made a prom dress out of duct tape.

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's a cat crashing a car

Do these boots make me look fat?

I've had some really crappy online shopping experiences lately.

Ever since Russia, I've been looking for a pair of rich, luxurious, over-the-knee suede boots that wouldn't remind me of a pirate or stripper. And were in my budget. So, I bought some boots recently. They never showed up. In fact, 2 days after ordering them I received an email saying I'd been refunded, with no explanation as to why.

The site was the sketchy AMIClubwear, an "in da club" store that's pretty ridiculous, so it's not like I can allow myself to be shocked at the matter in which they handled the transaction. I'm still bummed, though. These boots were only $16, an amount I didn't mind taking a risk on for boots that would either look super cheap or just fine. I was banking on just fine. Guess I'll never know.

I put a frame around that so it wouldn't just be a boring picture of dancing legs in boots.

Poo. I really wanted some $16 boots. Screw you, AMIClubwear, screw you.

At the ballet

I come from a long line of ballerinas. My grandmother owned the Newgren Ballet School in San Jose, CA. My mother, aunts, and uncle all danced in it. My great grandmother was a ballerina, so was my great aunt, and so on. I grew up with photos of them in their dancing heydays all around my home and played dress up in their old costumes as a girl. Ballet is very prominent in my family and I sometimes feel guilty that it all ended with me and my sisters. I didn't have the feet for it - literally, I have extra bones in my feet that don't allow me to go on pointe (which isn't an uncommon thing, actually). That, and, well, I don't remember ever being very good at it.

And I always hated wearing a bun because my ears stick out and kids used to call me "Dumbo." On the brighter side, I'm pretty sure it's the reason for my thin frame and small stature; I'm 5'2'', size 0, and have yet to hit 100 pounds.

Anyway, all that being said, I'm totally intrigued by Black Swan. Or, as I like to call it, Were-Swan.

This helps me write my wolf book

For my face

Oh, how I want these. They'll probably be very expensive, poo. More at Janz & Cooper.

The Book Smart Wolf

Well gosh crap it's snowing.

My new office window!

So, I recently completed my goal of reading and viewing all Harry Potter literary and film installments. Thoughts after reading: I wish I was Harry Potter.

Writing the NaNo while finishing Harry Potter has given me a whole new perspective on world and character building, and the scope by which Mrs. Rowling managed to juggle so much in such a perfectly executed fashion. It boggles me that her mind was able to store so much, though I'm beginning to learn that with the power of Microsoft Excel anything is possible.

My own novel is struggling with elements of brooding darkness and quirkiness that don't seem to mix. I'm getting the word count down for sure; writing isn't the issue, it's feeling accomplished in what I've written. My wolves are wearing glasses and listening to '50s doo-wop music one minute then debating the handling of a severed head the next. They're dealing with a haunted canoe, falling in love, missing their moms, hunting down ghosts, discussing the merits of devouring the haunted canoe . . . I guess it's silly of me to expect anything real to come of this project. I went into it knowing it'd be just for kicks. But since when am I a werewolf novelist?

Also. Due to my husband's fervent dislike of the title On All Fours, here are some other titles for your consideration:

Red Riding (turns out this is the title to a TV series)
The Book Smart Wolf (serious consideration at this point)
Muzzle (boring)
Wolf Like Me (TV On the Radio song title)
Haters Gonna Hate Now Let's Go A'Howlin (made this one up on the spot while typing this post)

I worry that anything with "wolf" in the title will be tossed aside as another Blood & Chocolate or Twilight knockoff. Lord help me, if I ever attempt to publish this thing I'll need a good query letter to sever that connection, but when you're an agent with a daily slush pile to tackle, the wrong title can set a bad taste in the mouth that spoils the rest of the letter. Hmm.

Oh, and for the record, Harry Potter was a much better boyfriend than The Hunger Games. By far.

Sh*t my coworker says

So so busy. Work + NaNo have me writing writing writing. I shouldn't even be taking this blog break. I love this Barnaby Ward sketch as it's a good reflection of my mind right now. Just busy and cluttered. But I'm getting everything done! That's what counts. Seve's incredibly busy too. Read: TWO PLAYS AT THE SAME TIME. Plus school. Crazy.

Oh, and we're officially going to Florida for Christmas! Didn't think it would be possible, but my Mum and Bum-in-law have very generously secured the trip for us. Trying to think of how on earth I can ever repay them for their kindness.

Also, I was daydreaming about how funny it'd be to have a "fashion blog" dedicated to people in pajamas and sweatpants, but in really sexy poses and pretty photo shoot settings. They'd act like it's real fashion, and list where they got each item. Winnie the Pooh onesie - $15 - Walmart.

And OH YES Halloween was fantastic! Though Seve's "Proud to be an American" t-shirt drew a fine line between Garth and Joe Dirt. Luckily, Trent scrawled "Aerosmith" over it.

k TIME TO WRITE MORE bai.

Oh it's a skull that's neat

Oh, hey guys! Hope you had a Happy Halloween. I've just been busy noveling and such with the NaNoWriMo. So far so good! Oh, and I did a little redesigning here on the ol' bloggy. Anyway, more blog stuffs later, time to novel again.

Stupid's got the balls

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about advertising. This Diesel campaign has been going on for a while but it never ceases to humor me. The “Be Stupid” campaign is one of my favorites. And there have got to hundreds of these ads.

Take note, if you go searching for more of these ads, some of the them show BOOBIES.

Oh, and btw, PANACHE GIVEAWAY.

Frump it up

Frumpy is the new sexy, and I'm all for it.

I thoroughly enjoy the Fall and its wardrobe. Cold enough for a sweater, but warm enough to still bare some skin. Too bad I live in Rexburg and this season is mere days away from being over.  I hate ice and snow.

OMG what's this? Is it the Shins? Click:

How nice. Takes ya back, doesn't it?

On All Fours

Well, I think ya'll know by now how much I love this wolf by Rosie Music. While procrastinating plot outlining I made this little cover for my NaNoWriMo novel. Seve thinks my title suggests an innuendo; my friend Daniel said if I wanted an innuendo I should have named it Doggy Style.

Well, I'm here to say that I hope my cover and title alike suggest a werewolf novel without silly full moons, silver bullets, or innuendos; but rather awesome Buddy Holly references and book smart wolves.

But, you know, without being all hipster-pretentious. Actually, this cover doesn't really convey my story at all, I just thought it was cute. Maybe too cute. Because there's scary stuff in the novel too, like getting your hand ripped off, accidentally eating your favorite horse, and whatnot.

That sweater's really big

Oh look it's hipster Harry Potter & pals!

Who hasn't heard of the NaNoWriMo? You? K, click on that link and then come back.

I attempted my first National Novel Writing Month back in high school. I've done it few times since, but feel a strong conviction to really go for it this year. Not as in write a serious novel and submit to publishers with bleeding heart but to just write a novel for fun, see how it turns out, and share it with friends if they care. Make it cheesy on purpose or something.

Sadly, I can't remember just how many years I've participated in NaNoWriMo . . . I know it's a lot, and I've only reached the 50,000 word count once. That was for my own personal retelling of The Nutcracker . . . trust me, it was pretty awesome. Well, I had fun writing it, anyway (have you seen the trailer for that nutso steampunk little-kiddy Nutcracker? Not sure how I feel about it).

This year, I'll be writing about [drumroll] werewolves! And please take your mind off Twilight werebros, this is SERIOUS BUSINESS. You can check out my NaNoWriMo profile here, and admire the swanky new badge in my side bar. Oh, and October is officially National Outline Writing Month. What's left of October, anyway.

So who's with me? K. See you there.

Lord shake her bones and make her mine

Finally got around to posting this! About a month ago, Seve and I saw Joshua James. This shouldn't seem like such an amazing feat, but it really is. We've been trying to go to a Joshua James show together before we even started dating.

The first time, Seve and I had only just moved on from making eyes at each other in class to openly flirting and getting to know each other. I thought he was cute and invited him to attend the show with me. He said yes, but then ended up having to deal with an unpleasant ex-girlfriend situation. Another time, I was avoiding an ex-boyfriend who I was sure would be at the show, and declined Seve's invitation to avoid an awkward encounter. I regret not being brave and just going with that cute Seve fella. After that, Seve and I missed out on Mr. James several times by simply being out of state (Texas, Missouri, Russia ... yeah) but here we are, a couple years later, and we finally got to see this artist we love so much - he's one of "our" artists, so it was about time.

For you, Seve. I know I can be selfish sometimes, and grumpy and scared and silly and lame. Thanks for loving me anyway. I happen to love you just as much. I'm trying everyday to be the person for you that you are for me.

Original image via.

Easily adaptable

These dresses from Rainbow Winters have water-reactive ink that disappears to reveal color underneath, and sun-reactive ink that changes hue depending on your environment.

Want.

New Button

Hey! For my more blog design savvy friends out there, I made a button for my blog. Enjoy!

<center><a href="http://ohnojules.blogspot.com"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/sleater/blog/indianjulesbuttonsmall.png" /></a></center>

For Halloween Seve and I will be . . .

Little List: Artsy Internet Crap Roundup

Enjoy: via, via, via, and via. And yeah, those are earrings. And that video came out 2 years ago, not 25. Happy Friday!!

Oh Frankie how I want you

Australian magazine = $109 for a yearly US subscription.
I'm beginning to take the fact that I can't afford a subscribtion to Frankie personally.

We shall cook again and our bellies will rejoice

Well, well, here's another foodie post. Looks like I cook after all. A week or two or three or FOUR ago I made some "Texas-style" stuffed jalapeños. They were delicious, but don't make my mistake: wear GLOVES when you slice jalapeños. My hands were on fire all night, and the next day. The peppers weren't actually very spicy when we ate them; it was the seed removal that got me. That's where the punch is stored; DO NOT touch the seeds with your bare hands. And, uh, don't accidentally touch your eye afterwards, either.

My own photos this time, that's why they're less than stellar.

Recipe:
5 big peppers, cut in half.
1 package cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Whatever spices you happen to enjoy
Bacon!

Mix the cheeses & spices, stuff the peppers, top with bacon and bake at 350° for however long it takes to get the bacon nice and crispy. Like 10-15 minutes. Done! Now eat!

In other news, Carrie gave me a blog award! This is my first ever blog award and I feel very loved and flattered. Also, I get to spread this love and flattery:

Rules:

1. Save the image above and post it to your own blog
2. Pass the award on to 12 fellow bloggers
3. Link the nominees
4. Let nominees know they have won this award by commenting on their blog
5. Share the love and link to the person you received this award from.

1: Lindsay at Love, Lindsay
2: McKenzie at This Ain't a Surfin Movie
3: Seve at Papa Shark
4: Mallory at Eager Eye
5: Sammy at Mermaids, Etc.
6: Elyssa at The Imagination to Improvise
7: Chelse at Sunshine Everyday
8: Michelle at meish.photography
9: Nathaniel at You Remind Me of Home
10: Maria at Running Alpha
11: Kara at white.carnation
12: Jen at On Meat and Ruin

K THNX BAI

Did you see the words?

These are only a handful of the bajillion shots we had taken a few months ago by Tiana Godfrey. Thanks Liz & Jacob for turning us on to her!

I know this is long but read it anyway

Hey so yay Banned Book Week! How can I not put in my two cents with all the great blog posts out there?

My favorite banned book is A Clockwork Orange.

For those of you picturing the sleazy 70s film, you’re probably all WELL YEAH IT WAS BANNED but let’s hear some words from author Anthony Burgess:

"We all suffer from the popular desire to make the known notorious. The book I am best known for, or only known for, is a novel I am prepared to repudiate: written a quarter of a century ago, a jeu d'esprit knocked off for money in three weeks, it became known as the raw material for a film which seemed to glorify sex and violence. The film made it easy for readers of the book to misunderstand what it was about, and the misunderstanding will pursue me till I die. I should not have written the book because of this danger of misinterpretation.”

In a nutshell, A Clockwork Orange is about a violent teenager doing violent things who is captured by the government who make him an offer: go to jail for your crimes, or enter into our 2 week experimental program to "cure" the violence out of you. Alex (the name of our anti-hero) accepts the latter, and is then strapped to a chair, given severe nausea-inducing drugs, and is forced to watch extremely violent films with his eyes wired open so he won't miss a thing. The experiment works - whenever Alex considers an act of violence, his body falls into an aggressive bout of nausea and pain. As a little we-hate-you, the police also played Alex's favorite music - classical - while they were conducting the experiments, so now that makes him nausea-crazy too. Later when he’s in the top floor of a building some classical music starts playing; the nausea and pain is too much to bear so he flings himself out the window in an attempt to kill himself. He doesn't succeed, and the blow the fall gave to his head has reversed the experiment. He is free to do violence again.*

But does he? Yes, which really blows the whole message of the story IMO. You see, the 21st chapter of the book was omitted from the American release - the publisher thought a redeeming ending was too wishy washy. The backbone of the story is moral choice - how choices don't matter if they're forced upon you; you must choose good or bad for yourself. Back in 1960s America, we were all led to believe in what Burgess called a "badly flawed" ending, where Alex decides to descend back into his dark nature.

To remedy this, Burgess wrote a stage adaptation.**

K so you’re probably thinking JULES GET TO THE POINT OR SHUTZ UP so here we go: Seve has been approved to direct a play at BYU-Idaho in between Arsenic and Old Lace and Marriage of Figaro, and we're thinking it'd be cool to do A Clockwork Orange . . . with an all-female cast.

It's not the play he'll actually do, because of time (it has to be a one act), money (budget is tight), and pending approval (this is BYU-I, after all) but we're thinking it'd be a sweet project to pursue in the future. Thoughts?



* this plot was off the top of my head, so some things might not be exact, but the basic plot is accurate.
** the setting is a dystopian England and the novel was written in Nadsat, an English-Russian hybrid slang language invented by Burgess himself. Take that, Tolkien.

Yeah um I want this

All hail Scout Holiday.