Everything Matters!

Well, well.  This book is not like anything I've read in quite some time.  As you can glean from the flap, the world is ending relatively soon, and only young Junior Thibodeau knows it.  You can imagine how this might affect any person, much less a child, and it's an interesting predicament to ponder. 

Extremely bright but often misunderstood, Junior seems to grow up with most everyone else at arm's length.  To further complicate the sitch, his silent, absentee father works non-stop, and his mother has drunk herself inert.  Then (cue the predictability factor) he meets Amy, a fellow smartie/similarly troubled youth.

Everything Matters! by Ron Currie, Jr. is not a book I'll read again too soon.  It does have a few poignant (and sometimes funny) moments, but overall it didn't speak to me.  Although Junior is privy to the when and how of the apocalypse, he doesn't seem to do much with it.  For my time, I'd just as soon spend the hours I read this book on watching back episodes of Lost. 

Choice quote from this book, by Junior:

So instead of venting my anger, which is really just hurt dressed up for a night on the town, I ask if anyone needs a drink.

Lust List: CB2 Spring 2011

What is it about the impending spring that makes one want fresh linens and a house?  I'm not sure, but these catalog people certainly know.  Because they milk it.

I posted about CB2 before, but 'tis a new season with some fresh products that inspire lust in this heart.

What can I say?  I love a task lamp.  I wish this one came in other colors--namely, a really dark gray.

Are you sensing a theme?  As with anything, you get the good staples, you will go far.  This shower curtain would be really cool in a bathroom with charcoal gray paint on the walls.  You could go with ice blue towels.  Not bad, huh?

These glasses are so simple.  I could see one holding ice water, a cocktail, a pound of paper clips, or a toothbrush.  Not at the same time, hopefully.

Doesn't this sconce have that mid-century flair that's so nifty? 

I would like this whole tableau, please.  Yes, I just said tableau on my blog.  The light fixture is a major enhancement here, and those chairs make such a cool contrast againt the boxy table.

I couldn't quite get the pictures to cooperate with me this time around, but if you like any of what you see, please click on the links.  You'll be directed to the product page, where you can see enlarged images.  Tah dah.  :) 

Lust List: West Elm Spring 2011

This is how my Lust List idea started--a new West Elm catalog.  Guess what.  I got another yesterday, and I'm loving the new direction this company is taking.  It's very Americana with a twist.  Very Etsy (literally).  Very clean and fresh.  So I had to kick off a new season of the Lust.

How could I not?  Look at this.  It's almost enough to make me want to break my first-quarter-no-shopping resolution.

This is like my favorite sheets, but it's in a friggin' duvet.  What?!

You have to appreciate a simple task lamp.

Here's an awesome metal-framed mirror.  I would like to take this, turn it on the horizontal, and hang it over my couch.

Typically I shy away from red.  But this black/white/red rug is calling my name. 

Oh, wow.  This industrial metal bath cabinet blew my mind.

Ok.  I know, with the stripes, but I love them.  They make this cool shower curtain in the same gray color as the duvet.  There's a good chance I'll own it before the year is up. 

To make the resolution-keeping that much harder, I got a coupon from West Elm in my inbox today.  *sigh*  I'm trying to stay strong.

Oh, It Begins...

First off, happy new year!  Thanks for reading, as always.  I can appreciate humor in advertisements, but for some reason, this one struck me as wholly un-funny.

It's from Kenneth Cole and was waiting in my inbox today.  At first I wondered why I even get e-mail from Kenneth Cole.  Oh yes, I thought, the ads are usually pretty choice.  Not this one.  I guess I can't totally blame KC.

It's that time of year again.  I'm doing another first quarter of no extraneous spending.  It shouldn't be too difficult, really, but ads like these are just shy of irritating.  It's akin to already seeing Valentine's ephemera on the shelves. 

Other resolutions: Exercise more.  I started today with 45 minutes on the treadmill; tonight I have a date with the yoga mat.  My plan is do that tomorow and the next day.  I go back to work on Tuesday, so let's see what happens after that.

Get more informed about money.  I'm counting on LearnVest and (no kidding) The Complete Idiot's Guide to Personal Finance in Your 20s and 30s.

Take the time to be more thankful for people and things in my life.  It's so easy (too easy) to whine and moan about what sucks, so I'm challenging myself to look at the alternatives.  Thanks to Megan at Pink to Green for the inspiration.

I think that's about all, but they're fairly major ones.  Do you have any resolutions?  I hope that your year is an excellent, healthy, happy one.