Monday, August 25, 2014

Music Monday- "Won't Stop" by One Republic

I ran across this older One Republic CD (Dreaming Out Loud),  on my Ipod on a run last week, and have been listening to it every day since.

The whole thing is awesome, and it makes me wonder how it never really got into my head as much the first time around... But let me tell you, my listening habit over the last week has made up for my lack of attention before.  I am all over it this time.

And this song, "Won't Stop" in particular.  In fact, I've been sitting here looping it over and over and over, and learning to play it on my guitar.  What a sweet song, first of all.  But secondly, and more importantly, THAT VOICE! Ryan Tedder's voice is my favorite male voice of the moment.  It's sorta similar to Adam Levine, but less nasal-y and a little rougher around the edges in the best way. 

I do think the studio version is better, but here's a live version I found that someone had posted on YouTube.  Enjoy.  Surely this will make your Monday, or any day for that better, a little easier!

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Estate Sales in DallasThis Weekend


My friend Allyson and I have agreed on a theory we have, that usually proves to be true.  If the first estate sale of the day is a good one, it's more than likely going to be a good estate sale day in general.  The reverse is true as well: If the first few estate sales sucks, you might consider going home before wasting the day away! 

It's weird, and doesn't make sense that there would be any truth to this unproven theory of ours, but on MOST days, in my experience, it's true.

I skipped going to any estate sales altogether on Thursday.  But on Friday, I found two close to home that I wanted to go to.  One in particular, because it mentioned vintage jewelry, always, ALWAYS, a key word for me.  I also had a few other sales that I thought I might go to, but would just see how it went.

The first one was awesome!  I did score some great vintage jewelry, for great prices!  The marked prices weren't so great, but because I went several hours after it began, and they barely had any business at the time, the sellers really wanted a buyer to help kill their boredom.  I use to go to sales right when they opened, but realized the people there were mainly resellers, and they were a little aggressive and combative about getting to the good stuff.  It just made me feel stressed (and aggressive and combative!), and I decided I needed to set a little boundary for myself.  These days, I go a couple of hours (or more) after the beginning of the sale.  Sure, I miss a lot of good items, I'm sure, but what I don't know doesn't hurt me.  I pretend there was nothing I would've wanted that walked out the door anyway.  And on some lucky days, I find I get a better price than I would have, had their been a crowd around.  Here's what I found at the first sale I went to:
estate sale #1 vintage jewelry- pins, earrings and a watch
Pretty awesome, I thought!  And if Allyson's and my theory holds true, it was going to be a great day!

The next sale I went to was also very close to my house, and was also worth going to.  I found a few little vintage trinkets there as well- And I didn't even feel like asking for a discount, and doubt they would've given me one, because the prices were already so fair!
estate sale #2- even more mintage trinkets- earrings, pin, necklaces
I think the flower pin is just exquisite- It's in great shape, with such beautiful detail.  Here's a closer look look!
vintage mixed petal flower pin
Because these first two sales were so rewarding, I decided to head over to the area were the other few were, thinking it was going to just be a great day at all estate sales. But I should have quit while I was ahead.  They were awful, and one even smelled so bad I headed out after about 1 minute. But you never know.  And that's the magic and the mystery of estate sales and hunting for treasures.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

The Punny Man at the Library (A.K.A. Witzelshucht)

No, today's blog post title is not me misspelling the word puny, in reference to a small and weak man at my library. Instead, it's punny, as in "no pun intended".... rhyming with the word "funny".

I go to my local library at least once a week.  So, I chat with the people that work there on a pretty regular basis.  One man is always quick with a smile and a pun.  Always a pun.  Sometimes clever and funny, often nonsensical.  But I like him.  He's friendly~ Like I said, quick with a smile.

Today, he made about 3 puns in a row about the shirt I had on.  Something about a "pocket full of posies" (the floral print of the fabric), another one about stripes, and I can't even remember the other, because to me, it didn't even make sense.

And then, I said, "Well, you're really quick with the...."- and I couldn't think of the word, pun.  But rather than fill in my blank, he just rattled off about 4 more puns, related to the title of the book I was checking out.  Then he said "Pun", and then kept on going with the weird puns.

His face got a little red, as if he was embarrassed.  And just couldn't stop himself.  All of the sudden, I thought to myself, "okay, this is some kind of neurological disorder."

So, as usual, I just laughed at his silly puns, said goodbye, and was on my way.  To my car.  To get out my iPhone and google "disorder when someone can't stop saying puns", and I found a title and description of what I'm pretty sure he has.

"...Witzelsucht is a mental disorder that causes the sufferer to compulsively make inappropriate jokes or puns — all the time..."  Here's a link to read a little more about this interesting disorder that may sound like a cute one, but probably gets pretty annoying pretty fast.

And as I thought back to the many, many conversations I've had with this punny library man over the years, I realized all of them involved me saying some kind of a greeting, and him saying a few little puns.  Every. Single. Conversation. 

Witzelsucht.  Who knew?

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Ricky Ricardo's New Gig

Ricky just returned home after his first gig as a male escort!  How awesome.

A lady down the street from me had had her fence removed earlier in the day- and her husband was out of town.  She mentioned that she knew she'd be a little nervous over night without a man in the house, so I volunteered Ricky for the job.

I knew he'd love to sleep in her bed and snuggle, and if any bad guys even considered trying to sneak around in her fence-less backyard, he'd have something to say about it.
Ricky on the job... in another woman's bed. 
I was told he did a great job.  I'm so proud of him.

The funny thing was, Lucy seemed completely unfazed this morning (and for that matter, last night!) when Ricky was still at his lady friend's house.  I figured she'd be looking for her constant companion wondering why he wasn't there.  But nope!  She seemed very happy to be the only 4 legged friend around!

 It's possible Ricky might get another job tonight... We'll see how far along her fence gets today.  Ricky's a lady's man- He'll be up for the task if called I am sure. My little gigolo...

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

California Dreamin'- Summer Vaca!

Me and Fermin on our trip to Carmel, California
Fermin and I spent the last week in Monterey and Carmel, California.  Such a great trip.  And such a nice break from the summer heat here in Dallas.  While it was in the 100s here, it was in the 60s there. Ahhhh...

I hadn't been to that area of California since I was about 10 years old, and Fermin had never been.  It was just beautiful! All of it!  I think my favorite was the 17-mile drive.  We kept calling it "17-mile ride in a jiffy, because we felt so rushed.  We needed a day there, and we only had an hour before we had to catch our flight home. Hopefully, someday we can go back and Fermin can play a round of golf at Pebble Beach, where this will be his view from the course!
17-mile drive/Pebble Beach
Beaches, for me, are especially nice when you have to wear a scarf and leggings!  This is the beach in Carmel that was just a short walk from where we stayed.
Carmel Beach

We also made it to Capitola one day for lunch, and walking around.
Another beach, where a scarf was required.
Loved these tiles along the wall of the beach!
Of course, I found my way to a bead store one day.  And it was a great one!  They had lots of vintage beads-  and a shop cat named Marshmallow.
Marshmallow, the cross-eyed cat, was a great host at Paradise Beads.
One other spot we made it to was Big Sur.  So picturesque, my iPhone really didn't do it justice.
Fermin and Me- Big Sur
We'll be back, California!  So much fun we just didn't have time to get to all we wanted to do and see...Including the Hearst Castle.  Or the Aquarium. Not to mention, 17-mile drive NOT in a jiffy, but at a long, leisurely pace. Next time...

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

50 Songs in 90 Days- Progress!

As I mentioned at the beginning of last month (and oh! how the month flew by!), I am participating in the "50 Songs in 90 Days" songwriting challenge that runs July 4- October 1.
the necessary tools for songwriting (for me, anyway!)
Today I wrote song #21-  So LET'S GO TO VEGAS!  No, but really, I DO feel like celebrating.

It's funny how this random, online challenge lights a fire under my booty.  I've written 21 songs in 31 days that did not exist in the world before.  I think that is pretty cool.

What I've learned, and relearned, each time I've participated in this challenge, is that as impossible as it seems, I really can churn out a large amount of songs in a short period of time by simply planting myself in my room, putting a guitar in my hands and just screwing around.  It's really fun, and not painful at all.  In fact, whatever the opposite of painful is, that's what it is! 
part of what most days look like for me

I think perhaps it's so un-painful, when I do it in this fast and furious way, because there's really no pressure to write a good song.  I know, with absolute certainty, that I'm not going to write 50 good songs in 90 short days.  But I have started to believe that with every bad song I write, I'm that much closer to the next good one that's worth keeping!

21 songs down, and only 29 more to go.  And 57 more days to get there...


Monday, August 4, 2014

Music Monday- "Bang Bang" Jessie J, Nicki Minaj, and Ariana Grande

What in the world is happening to me?  Lately, for my Music Monday selections, I have been picking such mainstream pop songs, which is so not my normal thang, but something has come over with me.  I guess it being summertime,  I just feel like dancing around in my bikini!

This is the song of the week(end) for me!  Bang Bang!  Sure to be a huge hit, and overplayed until we all can't stand it anymore.  But for now... I love it!