rachelpink rides the bus

Not a Lazy Saturday

It's DIY Saturday at apartment 6D. This is the first time I've been off my feet since 10am with the exception of a 15-minute break for leftover tacos. Here I offer the photographic evidence:

First, let me present my new walls. They are yellow or 'lemon merengue' according to my fine friends at Benjamin Moore, and the whole room feels sunny and bright. After weeks of trying to choose the perfect color, I made the right decision.

And now that the walls are painted, I can put some pictures up. I've placed Grandpa Mousey's racing photo above the doorway.

This is kind of a messy picture, but it's full of happy. Notice I've placed my wand (made at Harry Potter Place when the final book came out) on my cabinet handles. Magic. And I've got my Heidi Kenney art up. Donuts and ice cream by the microwave, broccoli over the stove.

Here's a small little DIY project. This switchplate used to be two little kids kissing or playing the saxophone or doing something similarly creepy (it was the kind of thing Angela from The Office would enjoy). With Vince's help, I found a customizable switch plate. Today I popped in an Ashley G. postcard that came with one of my Etsy orders and viola!

Last weekend I bought these hanging bud vases from CB2. They're on the wall facing my bed. I need to get some flowers, it's a little lame with leaves.

And the final project of the night? I hung up some hooks in the hallway. I decided that I'm going to get a vinyl wall sticker thing from Blik instead of painting. It costs about the same as painting, and I found a pattern with tree branches that I love.

Cat in a Bag

Cupcake spent most of the day locked in the bedroom while I painted the living room. When I set her free, she headed straight for this empty tote bag.

Unaccustomed Earth

Last night I started reading Jhumpa Lahiri's new book, Unaccustomed Earth. I made it through the first three stories, and for a fleeting but happy-making moment I convinced myself that I should stay up and finish it. I didn't because I don't get paid to read books, I get paid to get up in the morning and publicize them. I tucked a french flap into page 84 and went to sleep.

Tonight I was eager to commute home so I could read more. And I was eager to finish dinner so I could read even more. And now I'm finished.

Unaccustomed Earth is a beautiful, beautiful book. Here's a bit I liked from the New York Times Review: 
Lahiri handles her characters without leaving any fingerprints. She allows them to grow as if unguided, as if she were accompanying them rather than training them through the espalier of her narration. Reading her stories is like watching time-lapse nature videos of different plants, each with its own inherent growth cycle, breaking through the soil, spreading into bloom or collapsing back to earth.

Yeah. What they said. Just read it.

Vrroom

In the morning my parents leave for Arizona. I'm not happy about it.

Some Thoughts

1. If you have a leaky sink, don't leave the dishes in the sink to soak overnight. You will wake up to face a mess of wetness.

2. I stayed up all night to finish I Am The Messenger. I've had v. good luck with my books this month. Can't decide which one to start next, and I also have a pile of Vertigo comics tempting me. . .

3. Cupcake wants some action. Anyone have a tom cat for hire?

4. Anna has the most beautiful boots in the world. Seriously--she looks like a superhero in the best possible way. Don't f with her. I'm betting those boots are dangerous AND beautiful.

5. I am FINALLY back in control of my work life. Oh that feels good. Busy but good.

Just Lucky

I told myself if I could make it through the mess that was April, everything would be alright. Make it to May, make it to May--that's what I thought on the worst days.

Now it's May and I was right. I'm in the happiest apartment (that soon will be painted "morning sunshine"--a sweet pale yellow). My cat loves the new windowsills. I just did my budget and discovered that I really truly can afford to live on my own without working a side job at Starbucks. I got a tax refund that will give me the cash to pay off a credit card and buy an air conditioner. When I look out my window, I see plants and flowers (and a screaming man--but only sometimes). I've discovered the love that is BSG. I'm starting to enjoy the N train.

Just to be on the safe side, I'm knocking on wood. But who needs superstition when things feel so grand?

Guilty Pleasure: Extreme Makeover Edition

Last week at the laundromat I got hooked on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I was a captive audience because my clothes were wet and needed 30 more minutes in the dryer. The family getting the new house had lots of foster kids and I cried, right there in the laundromat, when the little munchkins opened the doors to their new rooms.

So tonight I decided to give it another whirl, and I've got to say it's kind of awesome. Emotionally manipulative and chock-full-o' product placements, it's a source of design inspiration and catharsis. Ty Pennington seems sincere enough in an I'm-a-frat-boy-who-likes-volunteering way. They give the kids fantastic theme bedrooms with slides and sparkles and giant wooden dinosaurs.

If I were on the show and I were a small child, I would ask for a unicorn and rainbow themed room with a working swing. Strike that. If I were on the show it would mean that some horrible tragedy had befallen me, and there's a chance I'd be a limbless torso with a house full of sad and sick orphans. Looks like I'll make do with my bird curtains and green couch.

A Warmer House

The new apartment needed a party. I obliged, and I'm glad I did because my friends couldn't be more marvelous. I almost had enough seats for everyone, and the whole apartment glowed with happy. The food rocked and everyone stayed for a good long while. And there was a baby! Babies are amazing--especially babies who lot my cat as much as I do. I didn't know a Saturday could be that good.

A Little Learning

I know I'm a year late to the party, but The World Without Us is a gift of a book. This ol' brain of mine can hardly keep up with the theories, history and speculation. It requires a thimbleful of concentration, and that's generally more than I can offer during my commute.

If you haven't heard about the book, the title says it all. What would happen if humans vanished from the face of the earth (ala Left Behind)? What would happen to nature, to structures, to the atmosphere? Weisman, the author, also considers what life would have been like had humans never inhabited it at all. I'm only 60 pages in and already I'm feeling smart and enlightened.

Here are two of my favorite bits so far:
"Long before, the wild predators finished off the last descendants of pet dogs, but a wily population of feral house cats persists, feeding on starlings."

In other words, CATS RULE.

And here's a bit that confirms my (not-at-all) irrational fear of monkey beasts:
"To stare into the eyes of a chimpanzee is to glimpse the world had we stayed in the forest. . . . Dr. Wilson vouches for their strength. He has watched them tear apart and devour red colobus monkeys Superb hunters,about 80% of their attempts are successful kills."

Hmmm.  So next time you're with me at a zoo, you'll understand why I break out into a cold sweat when I see a terrifying creepy monkey beast. Huzzah.

Food Thoughts

Sweet
Delaney: Do they have toys in New York City?
Me: They do! I buy them for you. And if you want ice cream, you can have ice cream too!
Delaney: Do they have strawberry ice cream? I like strawberry ice cream.
Me: Yup.
Delaney: OK. I don't like strawberries, but I like the pink ice cream. But with no strawberries.

Savory
Me: I'm having a BLT for dinner.
Donovan: Mmmm. Bacon. Salty salty fatty bacon I love bacon. Mmmm. Salty bacon.
Me: Well, it's actually turkey bacon.
Donovan: Bacon bacon bacon.