I can't go for being twice as nice. I can't go for just repeating the same old lines.

Twiddicts? Never!

After eight tweets in one hour:
[via text]
Meekus: Think I've twittered enough for one night?
me: Nah, go for the gold.
Tweet: Twitter alert! I just twittered.

!!!!!

I've already committed to seeing Paranormal Activity 2 in the theater. I don't know if my poor heart can stand all the screaming and tomfoolery.

Joe: You want a cupcake, Sathya?
Sathya: Nah, I'm diabetic.
Pumba: You too? Me toooooooo!
Sathya: Yeah, diagnosed last August.
Pumba: I was diagnosed last August too!!!!
[high five action]
Joe: What the hell are you high-fiving about? That's not something to be proud of.

[via twitter]
jrroykovich: Sleepover in the studio tonight. Work must be finished by tomorrow. If only someone was here to paint my toenails and talk about boys.
vinasana: @jrroykovich: I'll gab about boys with you any day of the week but I draw the line at painting your toenails.
jrroykovich: @vinasana no! I want to be pretty!

I would have left that tool the second he bought that Ouija board in Paranormal Activity

Steph: ouija boards = demon chatrooms...and someone stilllll always asks "asl?"

When you start that hocus pocus, boy, things get out of focus.

I love this movie. Vintage Lewis/Martin was so great before the greed and jealousy hit.

Puttin' on the Ritz action. Oh, the coattails!

The day was bright, the air was sweet. The smell of honeysuckle charmed me off my feet.

Vous comprenez, ça?

This just turned into a TCM sing-a-long. Yes!

Friday. Lots of exclamation points today.

I think I'm going to roast a chicken tonight. Couscous with golden raisins and slivered almonds. Cilantro sauce? Yeah, cool.

Must buy yellow spray paint. The jury's still out on neon v. pale. Justin! We can have matching bicycles!!

So happy that Pa and I are going to have burgers for lunch. No lie, we've been craving them for at least a week. Red Robin, heyyyyyy. Avocado burger? Swiss cheese? It's so on.

I hope you have a lovely lovely weekend. It's not sweltering outside, even better!

Bee tee dubs, I'm finally getting over that cough! YES!

Mayyyyybe Inception again. Speaking of Inception- check out the Pixar recut. Thanks, Collin.

Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.

Bowls make me happy. You know what else makes me happy? Finding my gym boyfriend on Facebook by sheer accident. Gotta love that "People you may know" section. So hot.

Barnacles, Whitebait, and Cocoa Puffs

full flickr set

+ getting our annual Amish lemon bar fix

+ sweet sweet air conditioning

+ Gramma in the pool!

+ posh Easton shops and antique book store cats

+ feeding half a loaf of wheat bread to the fish population

+ falling asleep to the reflection of the full moon on the water

+ creepy-ass gazebos

Three nosebleeds in two days?
Man, I'm THAT kid?
Summer heat, you's gotsta go.

Y'all just don't know.

[via gchat]
Stephanie: Yesterday was awesome because i went to an all day workshop at this place where they teach t-shirt screenprinting

Stephanie:  like stuff they do with high density inks. It was incredible.

Me:  omg I love inks!

Stephanie:  with the high density ink, they printed a 3-D mini guitar a good half inch off the fabric and they slipped a teflon rod underneath where the spoke thingies go

Me:  whoa

Stephanie:  so that they actually do not touch the shirt and just hang there. Then there was this one where it was a 3-d effect. It was made up of tiny goblets of ink, like a tiny dome of ink,

and a third of the ink was white, a third blue, a third black. So if you shifted one way, the design appeared all white.

me:  whaaaaaaat

Stephanie:  if you shifted the other way, the design appeared all blue. Yeah, it's amazing.

me:  Man, can you imagine if we had this conversation in public? People would be like “omg, nerds.”

I want this kid to be my friend.

via Boek

Tomorrow

annual family trip to St. Michaels!

Updates in the fewest words possible

Sick.
Coughing but otherwise ok.
Can't sleep or sleeping for twelve hours straight. Horrible.
No breakfast/lunch in awhile. Also horrible.
Mucinex helps. Mucus gross.
Need more meds. Chloraseptic throat spray = bullshit no worky.
Went to gym yesterday for forty minutes. Sweated like a whore in church. Almost passed out. 
Body sore now. Good job, vina.
Hungry but not hungry. Sucks.
Top Chef Las Vegas marathon on Bravo.
Maybe nap.
Loopy loopy texting. Please ignore or play along.
Must get better before weekend.
Roasting acorn squash while I go buy meds.  
kbye.

Oh, Mark Wahlberg.

me: I watched Four Brothers for the first time today. S'pretty good.
Meekus: with Marky Mark?
me: yes
Meekus: He used to rap!
me: haha I know
Meekus: It's funny!
Meekus: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xksvz_marky-mark-good-vibrations_music
me: lol
Meekus: C'mon, swing it!
me: Don't make me laugh, man. It makes me cough!

-internet failure-

[via text]
me: awww, my internets went out. couldn't swing it, apparently.

Mmmhmm.

You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.

I'm usually against seeing a movie on opening weekend. Correction: I'm against seeing any movie in a theater. Eleven dollars, really? Fourteen dollars for a (probably not worth it) 3D movie? Total bollocks.

I did however see Inception which was completely worth the Manassas teenagers, the tools in their popped collars, and the whole “Can our entire group exchange our tickets for a later showing?” mess.

It was good. Exceptionally good. I'm a sucker for well-cut suits (Joseph, damn. Hotness.), gunplay, Édith Piaf, and cheeky English accents. 

You should see it. That's all.

+ The trailer 
+ Music for Kids Who Can't Read Good's Songs for Dreamers (Inception Mix)

Hello!

Catchy intro song, Roland Garros, a Wes Anderson feel, AND Novak Djokovic?
Love.

Another favorite by Martin Solveig:
the happiest song about Rejection ever!

Sentimental Street, Gratitude Gully, and an Update U-turn.

Hey everyone.

It's been awhile, I know. Aside from the sporadic post, I have not been bombarding you with my usual "This is what I ate! This is where I went! Listen to this! Watch this!" madness. I'm not going to lie, losing Lucky has been hard. Lately I just don't want to be home. Too many memories. 

And, I know I said this earlier but I want to thank everyone again for their kind words about Lucky. Thank you for sharing your Lucky memories or listening to mine. Thank you for feeding me when I'm not hungry or feeding me when I am. Thanks for the six hour conversation about everything and nothing in Wegmans. Thank you for telling me about epic adventures about Star Trek and broken beer pong tables and making me laugh when crying was a definite possibility. Thank you for the pot roast and teaching me how to capture flies with wine. Thank you for spending almost seven hours with me in the studio when the only productive thing we did was tear and tab paper (even so the tabbing was just you). Just, thank you.

Ok. That was heading down Sentimental Street aka "Good job bumming yourself out, vina" so we're going to turn this car around.

What else is new? 

- I got a haircut. I'm not going to tell you all the gory details but my hair is shorter. Why is it that hair will look awful for days except on haircut day causing you to question said cut? Total BS.

- Seriously good quality time with Natalie including breakfasts and America's Got Talent. 

- Pa is away at her annual week at Lake Anna.

- AVT bbq this Saturday, excited!

- Watched The Botany of Desire and Surfwise. The mouth on Doc Pascowitz, my goodness. Profanity left and right. 

- I do NOT recommend Black Sheep or Diary of the Dead. New Zealanders, really?

- Sold my first book on Amazon, huzzah!

- I want to have a yard sale on the 31st. We'll see how that goes. 

- St. Michaels on the 23rd, eeeeeeeeeeeeee.
- I've been sick and coughing my lungs out for the past two days. This is not going to stop me from a delightful dinner on the balcony tonight with Stephanie. Abstaining from the brie has been difficult. 
- A lovely summer song sent to me by Miss Libby B.

[via text]
Justin: There's some kind of fire at the School of Art and the Photo 1 students are treating it as a photo op, trying to get the firefighters to pose.
me: hahahahahahaha
Justin: Art students! Don't embarrass me!

Get to the choppa!!!

Pa: Hey, can you spell unnecessary for me?
me: Oh, one collar, two sleeves.
Pa: OMG THAT'S FUCKING GENIUS.

Lucky passed away today (yesterday considering I'm writing this at one in the morning). He was fifteen years old. You would have liked Lucky. He was a quirky guy. He galloped when he was excited, even in his sleep. His archenemy was George, the neighbor cat. His ears flopped up and down when he walked. He liked it when people napped on the floor with him. He had beautiful dark eyes that made him look like a seal. In his later years, he started to moan and groan . I still think he started this to amuse himself. Maybe he had aspirations of being a singer. He hated baths but learned to tolerate them, even lifting his paws so I could wash between his toes. He was ruthless about sneaking food though he knew damn well it was wrong. He trembled during thunderstorms and napped on rainy days. He was a klutz. He liked playing hide & seek. If you were sad, he'd place his head on your knee. His favorite toys were tennis balls. He had horrible mouth-eye coordination. Catching tennis balls was not his forte. He had a habit of falling asleep while holding objects. He liked wearing bandanas.  So debonair, our Lucky. 

When Lucky was eight years old, Mom and Pa adopted Sammy. I was wholly against this. I didn't think Lucky would take kindly to another dog so late in life. They were wary of each other initially but grew to be friends. Lucky once locked himself in my bedroom when no one was home. Upon our return, we discovered that Sammy had tried to rescue Lucky by digging/clawing clear to the baseboards outside of my door. The hole in the carpet is still there. 

I bought two spinach knishes awhile back. The filling was ok, the crust kind of dry. I ate the filling from one and left the other on the counter. Two days later, I chucked it in the trash. Ten minutes later, I came downstairs to find Lucky snacking on the leftover knish. I yelled a bit but stopped when I saw that he too had peeled off the crust and eaten the filling. Like owner, like pet.

Lucky would sit next to me if I sat on the top step. He'd lean his body under the crook of my arm and place his snout under my chin. I regret never taking a photo of this. He's been gone for less than a day and I miss him terribly. I expect to see him whenever I walk into a room or hear the clipclop of his nails on the floor.

Also, I want to thank you for your very kind comments about Lucky. It means the world to us that so many of our friends have Lucky in their thoughts on this sad day. He loved you all.

He didn't even mind when I turned him into a hipster dog.

“Sorry, I'm going to need a few more minutes.”

Words that catch my eye in restaurant menus
à la mode (Frank, shut up.)
andouille sausage
arugula
asiago
avocado
bacon
brie
broiled
brunch
buttery
camembert
capers
caramel
cheese and fruit plate
chorizo
chowder/bisque
coconut
Cointreau
corn
cream
crème fraîche
crispy
dijon
fresh-baked
garlic mashed potatoes
goat cheese
gnocchi
grapefruit
horseradish
lamb
lemon zest
loaded nachos (only if guac is involved)
mango
microsalad (I only like microsalads when they're on top of protein)
mint
mushroom
pad sa ew
pancakes (buttermilk with butter pecan syrup)
pan-seared
pappardelle (I'm a big fan of wide ribbon pasta)
peaches (favorite fruit, hands down)
peppery
pepper jack
pie
quiche (Florentine, not Lorraine. I made a good roasted corn quiche once.)
reduction
ricotta
seared scallops
slow-roasted
spicy
spinach
spring mix
steak fajitas (s'what I usually order in Mexican eateries)
Stilton
tart (both adjective and noun)

This is why it takes me so long to decide what to order. I really like menus.This list is just off the top of my head. I'm sure there's more. Good thing I just ate otherwise I'd make myself hungry.

“I am not sure why this summer seems so vivid, with each day somehow more beautiful than the last. I only know that is the way it feels. The days are moving as if each hour is two, and every detail – a salad, a bunch of sweet peas or box of tiny broad beans – is somehow more rich than it would normally be. It is as if the colours, sounds and scents of summer have been turned up a notch.”

 Nigel Slater

photo via blue hour

Like Alice in Wonderland, what is the use of a book without pictures or conversations?

In the world of cookbooks, I really do judge a book by its cover or if it has photos.
I love diagrams, food, and art.
This recipe site combines all three!

via Boek

Man, Clamdiggers won Wimbledon? I GUESS.

Summer, summer, summertime

this summer i have
- gardened with friends
- gone to the beach three times
- picked fresh berries
- dined al fresco with people I love
- cheered and jeered at the World Cup

this summer I will
- drink lots of iced tea, lemonade, and minty citrusy drinks
- not wear jeans
- swim and wade whenever I can
- watch scary movies and documentaries, provided I have something to cover my eyes during the extra scary bits.
- let the sun shine on my (SPF 70 protected) skin
- take any opportunity to see the ocean
- take any opportunity to dine outside
- paint one of my bicycles yellow and the other turquoise. Oh snap, I'll have a bicycle in each of the primary colors!
- day trip adventure like I mean it.
- refrain from cutting my hair, something that's becoming increasingly harder to resist.
- take any and every opportunity to nap
- make a playlist with all of my favorite songs to blast in the car

photo via Another One Bites the Crust

Danger, danger! High voltage!

- Dessert before dinner. Nice.
- Feral cats all up in our leftovers.
- Rediscovering how sugary Snapple is. Oh, man. Snapple Apple was my favorite.
- Bunnies!!
- Watching The Fourth Kind then having to walk to my car in the dark at one in the morning in the middle of the woods.Yeah...
- HBD, Wheatley.

[via text while stuck in traffic]
me: I hate 95 traffic! Screw this, I'm not going towards DC tomorrow.
Justin: Yeah, can you tell that to D please.
me: Tell your boy he has to metro it up early if he wants to go tomorrow.
Justin: I'm not telling him anything. I'm hoping he does get stuck in traffic so I can laugh at him an say “I told you so.”
me: You're such a good boyfriend. 

Torn between saying "awww" or throwing up in my mouth a little bit

Dad: Who's in the shower?
Pa: Mom.
Dad: (yelling outside the bathroom door) OPEN THE DOOR SO I CAN SHOWER WITH YOU!
Pa: That's cute. Kinda gross but kinda cute.

me: I kind of want to shoot/design a Men of SoA calendar. Which month do you want to be?
Justin: August! Cuz I'm hotttt!

Happy Fourth of July weekend!

Crazy things that little sisters send you that make you snort-laugh for two minutes.

[leaving liz's house]
me: ooh, Liz! Your neighbor's hydrangea are so pretty!
Liz: You want some? We could totally stop and get some!
me: (about to say yes)
Liz: The lady who lives there....is dead!
me: NO. Creepy! S'wrong witchu?!

This will never get old

Thursday

sounds like: replay of Federer v. Berdych (sad), Bloc Party, SportsCenter, people mowing their lawns, Ra Ra Riot, Wham!

tastes like: toasted & buttered English muffins, nectarines, bowling alley nachos, coffee, green tea lemonade.

feels like: Damn, Thursday already? I hope I finish my print before tonight (I should probably get off my ass and get ready to amscray). Loving the 70 degree weather and wishing I had time to ride my bicycle in a park near some water, trepidation about seeing the new mulch on our garden beds (asshole groundskeepers).

smells like: lemon perfume, mint in my garden, acrylic screen printing ink, summer wolf in sheep's spring clothing

photo from Cupcakes and Cashmere

[via gmail] 

La: so this is what I'm going to make on Sunday: grilled brisket or flat iron steak, grilled lemon chicken boobies, bratwursts, corn on da cob, mac and cheese, salad, brownie sundaes

me: Sounds good. I hope to see you then. Side note, your food colors are not so patriotic unless we're Jamaican. I'm just sayin'.  

La: I’ll throw some blueberries on that shiznat.