Blood Suckers vs. Brain Eaters

I don't know about you guys, but I am OVER vampires. O.V.E.R.  I still love and always will love Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as far as I'm concerned that is the only vampire universe that I need.  I don't need Twilight (a vampire that gets all glittery in the sunlight instead of immediately bursting into flames?  that is just stupid) or The Vampire Diaries.  I've seen the first season of True Blood and I'm looking forward to the next one, but it still pales in comparison (no pun intended) to my girl Buffy.

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It seems that the newest trend is zombies.  I saw 28 Days Later when it came out in the theater and thought it was pretty good.  Now The Walking Dead is on AMC and I am loving it!  I was wondering how they would be able to make a continuing series about brain-eating dead people, but so far it is holding my interest and leaving me wanting more.  Not to mention the special effects are incredible...and disgusting.

This chick has definitely seen better days.  

But in light of this zombie phenom that we are currently experiencing, I am enthralled with these beautifully grotesque creations from Jessica Harrison.  At first glance they look like figurines that my grandmother may have kept in her curio cabinet, but upon closer inspection they are seriously disturbing and Grandma would have nothing to do with them.

She has many more creations on her website.  Check them out here!

I'm a pepper, are you a pepper?

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I have a great love for Dr. Pepper.  It started as a child when I used to drink the glass bottle version at my grandparents store.   There was nothing better on a hot summer day than a cold bottle right out of the icebox.   With a moon pie, of course.

The commercial was super catchy too and always made me want a drink.



Then when Bonne Bell started making the jumbo Lip Smacker I was hooked. Anyone that knows me is aware that I ALWAYS have a Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker on hand.  And for years now, I have been buying them in bulk for fear that would stop making it.

I don't drink Dr. Pepper anymore.  Now that I'm older, I try to pay a bit more attention to the types of sugary substances I put in my body (it's typically limited to my daily iced coffees).  BUT, while researching for this blog post, I found this:

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WHAT?!?!?!  It's only sold in the UK as far as I can tell.  DAMN.  I would possibly drink nothing else if I could get my hands on this.  Anyone want to start a petition to get it stateside?

Home is a state of mind...

It's early November and the time has come for me to start the daunting task of finding holiday gifts for all of my loved ones.  I am trying to be a bit more organized this year and am using a great website called Wishpot.  I started using it for a online wish list that I send to family on my birthday and Christmas, but they also have a great gift idea section where you can save anything that you come across online that you think will be the perfect something for that special someone.  During my "window shopping", I've discovered a theme that is striking a chord with me.  States.  Your home state, your lover's state, the state you live in.  All can be found in a variety of crafty items.  

Like these adorable pillows by Love, California:

my home state, represent!

my honey's home state

and where our hearts are

And I just love these colorful prints from {q.a.}Design:

These are actually on my wish list for any family that might be reading this (wink wink).

If you think you might like something a little more understated, these necklaces from Truche are beautiful.

This shop doesn't seem to have an Alabama necklace which is probably a gross oversight, but I still love them anyway!  

I suppose I could get this one from Wooden Nickels.  It's pretty darn cute, too.

So there are a few ideas, if you are far from home and want to feel a little bit closer or you are home and want to celebrate it!

Friendly's wants to make you fat...or possibly kill you.

I walk past Friendly's everyday on my way to pick up my daily coffee.  And I am consistently amazed by the posters that they have in the window showcasing unbelievable and unmanageably large sandwiches.  I can only imagine that they are tasty, but I could never bring myself to eat one.

Here is a sampling for you: 

Soft Pretzel Bacon Burger

I love a soft pretzel (not as much as my boo does, but I come in close second), but this seems excessive.  Have one or the other, you know?

Grilled Cheeseburger Melt

Now, let's talk about this beast.  This is not one, not two, but THREE sandwiches in one.  Two grilled cheeses and a burger.  For all things gluttonous and greasy, share this with a family of four but don't eat it all by yourself!  This should come with a side of embalming fluids because if you eat if, you are going to DIE.  

Maybe you aren't convinced that Friendly's wants to make you fat, so let's take a peek at their breakfast menu.

Apple Caramel Walnut Pancakes

It's not enough to have pancakes slathered in butter, caramel and syrup so it is imperative that you have a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream to top it off.

Caramel Cinnamon Swirl French Toast

The description right off of the Friendly's website: 

"A cinnamon roll split in half and prepared like French toast. Served with sweetened Philadelphia® whipped cream cheese, warm caramel topping, our new Maple Syrup ice cream, and whipped topping."

Yep, cream cheese, caramel and, you guessed it, ICE CREAM.  I get it.  You are an ice cream parlor, but save it for dessert.

This leads me to the coup de grâce of the Friendly's menu:

Giant Crowd Pleaser

This is only 12 scoops of ice cream with your choice of 6 toppings.   I know they mean to have you share it with at least one other person, but why not go for the gold?  Dig in, fatties.  

Ok, ok, I'm not some crazy hippie that is going to tell you to eat only organic, home grown veggies washed down with wheatgrass juice, but just take care of yourself people.  Eat pancakes with syrup and blueberries, but hold the caramel and ice cream.  Moderation, kiddies.  For realz.

(All pictures courtesy of Friendly's informative website)

Come on, get happy!

image credit:  Gregory Gibbons

This is the Dymaxion, a concept car developed in 1933 by a US inventor and architect named Buckminster Fuller who is best known for designing the geodesic dome.  Well, actually this is the newest version of the Dymaxion car that has been re-worked by Fuller protégé, Norman Foster.

I totally love it because it reminds me of my favorite camping vehicle (says the woman who never goes camping), the Airstream.  If I owned the Dymaxion I would feel obliged to have 8 kids and tour the country singing songs about love and happiness and all things mod.  Or maybe I would turn it into a traveling pop up shop and sell all kinds of nifty gift items.  Who wants to contribute to my newest business venture?  Silent partners with fat wallets need apply.

Facebook killed the blogging star....

It has been almost a year since my last blog entry and that is just ridiculous! What have I been doing, you may ask? Well, I have been enjoying married life and working like a crazy woman and, oh yeah, I joined Facebook. Maybe you've heard of it? I tried my damnedest not to conform to the ways of over 307 million people worldwide, but alas I did.

At first, it was fun. Seeing how many people I could "friend". How many old high school pals I could track down (not as many as I would have liked for only have 42 people in my graduating class). How many old boyfriends I could find. Not to mention having a contest with my husband to see who could get the most friends the fastest. He totally creamed me. He is one popular dude. Anyway, once I had accomplished all of these incredibly important goals, I found my free time being sucked dry by the endless stream of updates about a bunch of nothing. I will admit, it can be entertaining and I find out about the latest celebrity death faster than ever before, but honestly it isn't enhancing my life. And I've stopped blogging. Now when I find some interesting tidbit, I immediately post it on Facebook and anxiously await someone to "like" it or even better actually comment on it! It is such a thrill to have someone acknowledge the useless bit of information I just plugged into their brain. Even worse, now when I see friends that I haven't seen in a few weeks, I can't tell them anything that they haven't already heard about through FB. Damn, this social network! (Speaking of, the movie is brilliant and I totally recommend it.)

So what is my point? I'm not sure really, since I'm a little rusty with the blogging bit, but I think I'm going to try to Facebook less and write more. I hope you will follow me and feel free to comment (I need your approval, obvi!) and I promise, more pictures and less text next time!