Want.

This is the Epson Stylus Photo 1400. It can print borderless 12x12 pages. In other words, it can make all a scrapbooker's dreams come true. And I want one.

I haven't even had a working printer in my home for two years, because... I have no idea, just never got around to replacing my broken one and if I desperately needed something printed I just had to do it at work. Suffice to say, it would be a big jump, going from no printer to this sweet sweet piece of machinery. But you know what? I think I can handle it.

So, Santa Clause Claus*, if you're reading this, Amy wants to see this under the tree come Christmas morning. I promise I'll be good.

*Thanks Heather for the catch!

This One Got a Snort Laugh

Oh my darling Toothpaste for Dinner, how you make me laugh.

PS. That is straight up what I would order at Wendys.

needtobreathe

On Saturday night I went to my second concert in four days. Which now brings the number of concerts I've been to this year to... about three (not including GMA Music Week and MIR shows). The moral of this story is, for all you musicians out there, if you see me at your concert it means I am a REALLY big fan!

Needtobreathe from left: Joe, Bear, Bo, & Seth

In a nutshell, I am a really big fan of the band needtobreathe. I was first introduced to them through their second CD, The Heat, which came out last summer, but I'm always a little slow to the game, so I got my hands on it early this year. I don't think I have taken that cd out of my car's cd player since then. If I am going to take Ben's car to work, I bring the cd with me. I already wrote on this blog back in March how I just fell head over heels for their sound and even now I'm not sick of it yet. Even though they play "Washed by the Water" about once every hour on all the Christian radio stations. Don't care, still love it!

So the show was at Exit/In here in Nashville. This means that now after seven years of living in this city I can finally say I've seen a show in one of its most well-known venues. The openers were a guy named Matthew Mayfield (he was okay, sounded like Jon Foreman's solo stuff except with ten years of smoking under his belt) and local boy and fellow Belmont grad Andy Davis (fun bouncy-piano catchy songs, good stuff). It was a late show, so it was already 11 pm by the time needtobreathe came on. But it was worth the wait! They had lots of energy and good... searching for the right word here... sync... as a band. Everyone was together, they did some little interludes of just jamming happily away. The front man and the lead guitarist are brothers (Bear and Bo, loves it), and I always think it is interesting to see and hear siblings play music together. It's like there is a little something extra between them that just makes it click. Plus I think it makes for really interesting harmonizing between the voices since they usually have such similar (to use a dorky music word) timbre. And, let's be honest, they were easy on the eyes, too. My girlfriends from work were particularly taken with younger brother Bo and his hip shaking.

Also apparently big fans of the band? The two (three until the bouncer removed one of them) drunkest girls I've ever seen, a few rows of crowd in front of us. Now I haven't had much life experience being around really drunk people, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say they were about as far gone as you can be without actually passing out on the floor. It was simultaneously awkward, annoying, and also amusing. And they weren't just there by coincidence - they knew every word to all the songs and the names of the guys in the band. Which they enthusiastically hollered throughout the show, bookended by the classic drunk girl exclamation "woooo!" As in, "Woooooooooo! BO!!!! We love you!!! WOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Beers and fists held high (when they weren't falling all over each other and dancing around erratically), they seemed to be having a good time, I guess. All this had me wondering, do they not know that the guys are Christians? I mean, they were playing a song called "Yahweh" in a bar, for crying out loud. It was just a little... incongruous. If the band felt it was awkward they didn't let on, but it was kind of distracting for the rest of us.

Also distracting was the amazon couple that decided to stand right in front of me. She was easily over 6 foot, as was he. And while I totally appreciate wanting to be closer to the front... dude, you guys had half a foot on the rest of us! We couldn't seeeeeeeeeeeeeee! (End of rant.)

They ended the show with their big single "Washed by the Water." It was very cool - they climbed up into the balcony of the venue with just their acoustic guitars and no mics or amps and everyone was very quiet and they played from there, standing on chairs so everyone could see them.


It was a great show and I hope I can see them again soon. Wooooooooo!

More Than Swell

Last night Ben and I were able to go to see The Swell Season at the Ryman here in Nashville. It was such a great show! Some people know I'm not a huge concert goer... it probably has to do with my bouts of socially crippling homebody-ness and my crowd-induced claustrophobia. Hmm, that last sentence made me sound a little neurotic - I'm exaggerating a little!

However, the Ryman is such an amazing venue - the atmosphere of the place just gets to you. You must in your lifetime make an effort to see a show there. And I was familiar with the Swell Season from their association with the movie Once. If you've seen that movie, then you know who they are too - the guy and girl from the film, Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, tour as an actual musical group called The Swell Season, often (as they were last night) backed by most of Glen's other band, The Frames.

Anyway, that was a lot of build up to say that their music is really beautiful and emotional, a la their fellow Irishman Damien Rice. So even though I only knew a few of their songs, from the movie, going in, I still really loved the experience.

One very cool part was when Glen opened the show with the song that opens the movie, "Say It To Me Now." He walked out to the very front of the stage with his guitar, and without plugging in and sans mic, he just started playing. Everyone was pin-drop silent, just enraptured listening to his voice ringing out through the auditorium. Goosebumps moment!

Right away after that Marketa came out and they played "Falling Slowly," which was the main song from the movie and the song they performed (and with which they won) at the Oscars. I was a little surprised that they didn't save it for an encore or something but it was just lovely.

Here is a picture I found online so you can see the crazy damage to his guitar!

Glen told a really funny story of walking around Nashville and stopping in Gruhn's Guitars. He said since his current guitar was bound to give out at some point (the top is practically swiss cheese from years of aggressive strumming), he'd been on the lookout for the next one. He sat and played a vintage 1939 Martin for what seemed like hours, trying to justify the pricey purchase. As he talked with the staff he said, "I don't know, I just can't spend $6000 on a guitar." To which the staff member replied, "You read the tag wrong." He looked again and realized it was $16,000!!! The audience spent the rest of the night trying to convince him he deserved it and to go back and buy it. I guess we'll find out if he does!

He also played a cool Van Morrison cover of Astral Weeks (I had to google it, I didn't know that was what it was off the top of my head!) where he was literally strumming so fast and so hard that I thought his guitar was going to turn to sawdust. He did break a string!

Anyway, if they are coming to your town any time soon it was a great show and I highly recommend it! And if you haven't seen Once I recommend that too... although their Irish accents are so thick you'll have to watch with subtitles. And they say the F word a lot... because, well, they're Irish. :)

Emmy Fashion Rundown

Alright, boys and girls, let's rock and roll. After the Oscars and Emmys I like to go over all the fashions that caught my eye - for better or for worse on the red carpet. And while the actual Emmys last night were a total snoozefest, there were some interesting looks on which I will report. So away we go!

First stop, Kate Walsh.

She didn't make my "no" list for looking bad... in fact, I think generally she looks good. But everything together - the heavy fussy dress, the dark sleek hairdo, the sharp makeup - is just coming off a little costumey and also a little serious. Like she's going to a fancy benefit for a solemn occassion. Maybe if there had been more dark dresses or "evening" looks it wouldn't have stood out, but amongst the happy colors and bright sunshine, it seemed a little off.


Next up, Olivia Wilde from one of my favorite shows, House.

Last year Jennifer Morrison, the other young pretty one from House, was my top pick from the Emmy red carpet, and it looks like she passed the glamour baton to Olivia this season. I am coveting this dress and those lovely unique cap sleeves. Her make up and hair are so soft and really compliment her whole look. She looks classy but still young and I just love it.

Our favorite funny lady looking foxy... Tina Fey!

Her wins and acceptance speeches were a highlight for the evening, and I was happy she got to do it all while looking great! The color is subdued but the purple was a nice change from her typical black, and I like that she had a dress that was sexy but still seemed like her. Kudos, Tina!

I love you, Jenna Fischer, but...

...but I do not love this look. Let's start with the bad and we'll wind back about to the good. Something is just not quite right about the cut here... maybe it is the natural waist? Jenna is obviously a skinny-minny but the way the dress is hitting her isn't as flattering as it could be. I can't figure out what is contributing to the boxy effect - the folds in the fabric? The placement of the colors and the center detail? I just think I'd be feeling completely differently if it was an empire waist, or even a dropped waist. Hmm... anyway, the good news is the colors are really beautiful and almost mermaid-like on her and it is hard to see in this picture but she has on a really awesome gold cuff that I like.

Mariska Hargitay shows us how to do yellow.

Bam! She looks AMAZING. One of my favorites from the night. It's no secret that I'm a sucker for yellow, so I might be biased. But it is the absolute right shade and looks fierce with her skin and her hair and her purple nails. And maybe most importantly, the style is so age appropriate and sophisticated. You'll see later (coughTeriHatchercough) a less-successful yellow dress, so just remember why Mariska's works - the shade, the cut, her styling. A+.

Heidi Klum, outfit #1 of 800 for the evening... Heidi's hosting skills left a bit to be desired, so let's just cut to the fashion, eh?

Her red-carpet look was something only Heidi could pull off, and she looked great, of course. But for once, let's focus on Heidi from the neck up, shall we? Her make up looks great and I'm especially liking her hair. What really caught my eye - and how could they not - are those INCREDIBLE earrings. It makes me want to march right to the mall, into Claire's, and demand to have my right ear pierced. Just the one that closed up, the left one is fine. I don't understand how they aren't so heavy as to pull her ears off her head, but I don't even care. I WANT.

Okay, and now Cynthia Nixon will demonstrate an important word in fashion fitting, and that is... HOIST. As in, "Alright Cynthia, now I'm about to pin this in place before we sew it, so just go ahead and HOIST those girls up there so we get them in the right place. Perfect." Apparently Cynthia's tailor didn't remember that step and thus we have a loooooooong way to go from Cynthia's chin til we get to the Calvin Klein dress, which is actually quite pretty. I even think the color is a cool choice for her skin tone, but man I just want to get her a good bustier already.

Julia Louis-Dreyfuss also looked great in, what else, Narciso Rodriguez:

Not much to say here - she looks great, the color is nice, fits her like a glove. I'm not wild about the little peek-a-boo tummy but, you go girl. However, aside from the color, this is kind of the same dress she keeps wearing, over and over again. And while I understand that when you find something that works for you its easy to go back there (like me and chicken fingers), I'm getting a little bored. As in, "oh I wonder what Renee Zelweger will wear to the Oscars oh what a strapless Carolina Herrera dress zzzzzzzzzzzzz" bored.

Moving on to Ugly Betty's obviously so-NOT-ugly America Ferrera:

America is lovely and as I've said before I think it is great that she is marginally more normal sized than other of television's leading ladies. Having said that, something about this look is just a little weird to me. It's kinda fussy... so much dress, but then the length is weird. And then there is a lot of hair, a lot of makeup, a lot of necklace, even a fancy lookin' shoe. Each piece, I like. All together, it's a whole lot of... lot. But I still think she's great!

Mary Louise Parker will be forever a favorite of mine for her role in Fried Green Tomatoes. And now she is on Weeds, which is a show I have never seen.

But surely she could've done better than what looks like a prom dress any high school girl could pick off the rack from Macy's. Yeah, I said it. I think it is the jeweled straps that are ruining it for me. On the plus side, I really like the color of her lipstick!

Brooke Shields was there presumably to promote her show, Sex & the City Lite aka Lipstick Jungle.

I actually really like this dress and it isn't just because I like pink. Brooke is 43 and she looks ah-maz-ing. I think she was wise to leave her hair down so as not to be too shoulder-riffic. I love the style of the dress and how it is sophisticated enough to still look mature. Also it is pink.

Teri Hatcher also wore a yellow dress.

And yet, I do not think it works as well as Mariska's, and the main reason is the style. Like Brooke, Teri is also 43. I just think the style of the dress is too youthful. Teri looks pretty - her hair is soft and natural which works well for her. She is looking toned and tan. The dress itself is very pretty and the color is a nice bold happy one. But the strapless frilly frock is just more along the lines of something for the thirty-and-under set.

Like Evangeline Lilly could totally be rocking that yellow dress. But her choice was more a study in how to wear a lovely neutral shade:

This isn't the best dress I've ever seen in my life - it's a little brocade-y for my tastes - but she looks perfect and somehow keeps this dress looking young and sexy but tasteful. The lack of jewelry and the hair and makeup are a win-win-win. I think her coloring is a good example of why brunettes sometimes have an easier time wearing colors in the creamy/beige/champagne category.

Well, that wraps it up for my thoughts. Who were your best dressed and in-need-of-assistance looks for this year? Who just can't wait for all our favorite shows to start again? Like The Office, this Thursday, hip hip hooray!

It Was An Accident

I really and truly did not set out to revert back to being a 14 year old girl. It just happened, because I was kinda curious to see what the big fat deal was with these vampire books.

And then, without understanding why or how, I had read all four books (had to have been a good 2000 pages total) in less than four days, and I was compelled to go on the internet and look up everything that could possibly have anything to do with these books, and also the movie that is coming out November 21 (now circled in red on my calendar).

And I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS HAPPENED TO ME, and I'm sorry to all my friends and family who expected better from me. I'm an English major for crying out loud, I'm supposed to be all high-brow and hoighty-toighty (sp?) about my literary tastes, and raving about the new Philip Roth novel and its elegaic postmodern brilliance. But all I can think about is will Stephenie Meyer change her mind and finish Midnight Sun?!

And if that last sentence made no sense to you, it's probably for the better. But if perchance you read that sentence and said, "OMG me too! I need to be inside Edward's head," then I love you and let's make "Mrs. Cullen" bedazzled t-shirts and go see the movie together and maybe afterward we can braid each others' hair and play MASH, if your mom is cool with that. Text me later!

See?!!! SEE WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME!

This could either be the best or worst news ever...

Third Ghostbusters Film in the Works? http://www.variety.com/VR1117991624.html

The Bible: Good for Your Heart

A lot has been going on around me lately - sad and confusing and frustrating and heart-wrenching stuff that has me simultaneously feeling numb, feeling like crying, and feeling like screaming. Knowing God is in control makes the hurt meaningful, but it doesn't seem to make it hurt any less. One thing I hope is that it drives me back again and again to His words. Two days ago, I said that my heart hurt; I felt like my heart was breaking. Today it seemed like everything on the open page of my Bible was there just for me, to bind up my hurts and give my heart comfort... some excerpts:

From Psalm 27
Hear my voice when I call, O Lord;
Be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"
Your face, Lord, I will seek.

I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.


From Psalm 28
Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.


From Psalm 30
I will exalt you, O Lord,
For you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
O Lord, my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.

You turned my wailing into dancing;
You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
That my heart may sing to you and not be silent.


From Psalm 31
Praise be to the Lord, for he showed his wonderful love to me
when I was in a besieged city.
In my alarm I said, "I am cut off from your sight!"
Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.
Love the Lord, all his saints!
The Lord preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full.
Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.