Terrible Tuesdays

Well, hopefully yours wasn't too bad. I am really glad this is a short week for work.

Here is a link to the $5 albums on Amazon right now.

Who got to go see Avatar last weekend? My hubby is really wanting to see it in IMAX this weekend. We might be able to work it out. Let me know what you think if you saw it.

I want to see the new movie Did You Hear About the Morgans? It looked like it would be funny.
Vince Vaughn is in Couples Retreat. He is pretty funny and that might be worth watching.

Anyone see Coco avant Chanel? I thought that one might be worth seeing as well.

And last, but not least Sherlock Holmes opens this week.

Here's to hoping your week gets better every day.

Monday Musings

Happy Monday everyone!  I have been utilizing my lunch breaks to listen to podcasts this last week and have really been enjoying myself. The one I have been getting a kick out of is called Electric Sheep. That's right. Electric Sheep. Guess what it is about. No, silly. It is about knitting. I know it sounds really boring, but it is a woman from England (Hoxton) so she has a great accent to begin with and she has various subjects each week and also reviews patterns, yarn, etc for knitting. She adds humor and a great deal of history to her podcasts, which I enjoy. The first one I heard was about tea. As you can imagine the English take their tea seriously and it is a cure-all. The last one I heard she had her younger brother as a guest and he had been riding a motorcycle through India and making leather bags. Anyway, I am coming to really enjoy podcasts and hope you have the time in your busy schedule to allow for a short interruption to listen or watch something that interests you.


Here are a few of my favorites:
Electric Sheep
Wine for Newbies 2.0
Chase Jarvis Photography
The Moth
Stuff You Should Know

If you have a favorite podcast, please advise me.  I am always open for new podcasts.
Have a wonderful week!

Bokeh Town

"What is Bokeh?", you ask. Well, let me explain (actually I will let Wiki explain)
In photography, bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light."  Differences in lens aberrations and aperture shape cause some lens designs to blur the image in a way that is pleasing to the eye, while others produce blurring that is unpleasant or distracting— "good" or "bad" bokeh, respectively. Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field. Photographers sometimes deliberately use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions.
Bokeh is often most visible around small background highlights, such as specular reflections and light sources, which is why it often associated with such areas. However, bokeh is not limited to highlights, as blur occurs in all out-of-focus regions of the image. - Via Wikipedia
I wanted to share a few pictures I took last week around town. I liked the bokeh lights.

 

 

 

I also went up on West Mt and took a few pics down on the town and at the beautiful moon over North Mt. Enjoy and happy Friday! Have an excellent weekend!

 

Photobooth Friday

Ok, so you know how it is so hard to find a good photobooth these days?  Well, Shutterfly has fixed that for us. They created Wink- a site that you can use from your computer (and an app for iPhone/iTouch). You use your photos from Facebook, Flickr and your computer (or iPhone) and create "photobooth strips." (They don't allow access to your Shutterfly photos yet- but they are working on that) They have options of 3 layouts: 3, 4 or 5 pictures a strip.  You can also apply 3 different effects: black/white, sepia or vivid. Once you create and edit you send them off to be printed ($2.50 and shipped anywhere in the world) and they send an email preview of what the photostrips will look like. These strips can be shared immediately on Facebook and Twitter (Yeah!). They arrive in a special photostrip case.

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BTW, they are giving away three free photostrips to the first 50,000 users who download the iPhone app. I got mine loaded and 3 credits I can't wait to use.
(Note: If you don't have the latest version of iPhone 3.1 software, you'll need to plug your device into the computer to be upgraded before you can check out the Wink/Shutterfly app)
Happy Friday and lets have some fun with photobooths this weekend!

TtV Thursday

We went out and braved the cold last week and hubby tried out the TtV photography. I think he would like it more if it wasn't so cold. I think we still had fun. Trying to get the contraption and both cameras in the right order is fun sometimes. Love the look though.

 

 

 

 

 Notice how the parking meters are backwards?  That's what happens in TtV. I forgot to flip it in Photoshop.

Wabi-Sabi Wednesday

Well, this week I am going to veer off wabi-sabi and just talk about decorating.  I have started remodeling my house (and it is such a SLOW process). We started in the living room, and are working back into the kitchen. Once this is done we will tackle the master bedroom and bath (but that is much later down the line). 

So, back to the living room.  I have a sofa picked out and chairs and even a paint color (gray family). The problem is the rug. We want modern style but I am having a hard time finding anything I like to match the style and colors. Do you have any good ideas?  Here are some pics of what I have so far.

-Sofa-

-The chair I wanted-

-The chair I am getting for now-

-the other chair I am getting-

-the rugs-

(I think I like the circle one best so far)

 

So as you can see, I need help. I have a big built-in for books, TV and components that is light gray. I have my books color coordinated in it (yes, really) and I love it. We have wainscoting on the bottom half of the walls that is coming off and we will texture like we did the top then prime and paint. The ceiling also has to be re-painted. It matches the green we currently have on the walls and clashes with the cooler grays we are putting in. As far as colors go, I have gray (obviously), black/white. Those are the main colors.  I want to have pops of red- the real red- not burgundy, yellow, orange and blue- the bright turquoise one. The style is modern. 

Titles Tuesday

This week doesn't appear to be all that momentous in new releases, but here is the list:

Theater
New- The Princess and the Frog (looks cute)
The Blind Side
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Old Dogs
2012
Everybody's Fine
Planet 51
Anybody see Old Dogs or Blind Side?  Are they worth watching in the theater?

DVD
Julie & Julia (I pre-ordered mine from Amazon so I should have it today!)

World's Greatest Dad
Public Enemies

Music
The Fame Monster by Lady GaGa is $5

Far by Regina Spektor is $5.99

Hello Hurricane by Switchfoot is $5

The Fall (Amazon Exclusive) by Norah Jones is $7.99

The Fall (Amazon Exclusive) by Norah Jones is $0

The Beach Boys Classics...Selected By Brian Wilson by The Beach Boys is $5.99

Waking Up (Amazon MP3 Exclusive - Deluxe Version) by OneRepublic is $7.99 

Memento Mori (Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version) by Flyleaf is $5.99

Glee: The Music, Volume 1 by Glee Cast is $12.99

Coco by Colbie Caillat is $5.99

We Started Nothing by The Ting Tings is $7.99

Believe by Orianthi is $5.99

Here We Go Again by Demi Lovato is $7.99

 

 

Fantastic Mr. Fox (Original Soundtrack) by Various is $9.49

 

 

Where The Wild Things Are Motion Picture Soundtrack: Original Songs By Karen O And The Kids by Karen O And The Kids is $7.99

 

Elf Soundtrack by Elf Soundtrack is $5

Little Letters

Dear Starbucks,
Thank you for providing warm coffee and music while I studied for work. The people watching wasn't so bad either.

Dear sofa,
I think I will be ordering you Friday. Could you possibly be on sale or something? Help me out here.

Dear Photoshop Elements 8,
I LOVE you!  I got to do a few tricks yesterday and I love you. Be prepared for more late nights.

Dear friends,
Thanks for the wonderful night out with stories of boogers and laughing. We should do it again. Soon.

Dear exercise,
I have long since given you up, but please come visit every now and then. I might complain, but don't take it personal.

Dear workweek,
I am, as usual, not looking forward to you, so if you could just go easy it would be great. Appreciate it.

Dear kitty,
I love you and your crazy meowing. I promise to bring you in the house again and pet and hold you. How's Wednesday?

Dear CSCP reading,
You are taxing my brain. I am behind and need to catch up. Please help.

Photobooth Friday

In case you didn't know, I love all things Paris so this week's inspiration is from a blog about Paris. Enjoy and happy Friday!

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Have a safe and wonderful weekend!

TtV Thursday

As many of you have read in a recent post, I am in love with TtV photography.  I was able to go out and shoot for the first time last week and I wanted to share some of the photos with you.  Let me know what you think!

 

 

 

 

And my kitty, Six. Isn't she cute?

Wabi-Sabi Wednesday

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What in the world is Wabi-Sabi, you say?  It originated in Japan in the 16th century when the term 'wabi' referred to poverty and 'sabi' to loneliness.  I have decided to use Wednesdays to share decorating ideas so here is a little more about Wabi-Sabi style. 

"Wabi-sabi is the beauty of things impermanent and incomplete. It contains a poignant ache and a profound appreciation for things modest and humble.
As an esthetic, it honors things imperfect and unconventional. Wabi-sabi is a term hard to define and beautiful to live. There is an inside and outside to Wabi-sabi. The outside is the beauty we see, feel, hear, touch and taste in things fleeting, seasonal, natural and imperfect. A piece of silvery barn wood, a river rock that time and running water has smoothed, a simple meal with a good friend." - Quote from Quinn McDonald of Quinn Creative

"Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity, simplicity, modesty, intimacy, and the suggestion of natural processes.   
Wabi now connotes rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects, or understated elegance. It can also refer to quirks and anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness and elegance to the object. Sabi is beauty or serenity that comes with age, when the life of the object and its impermanence are evidenced in its patina and wear, or in any visible repairs." - Quote from Wikipedia

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山寺や

撞きそこなひの

鐘霞む

From a mountain temple

the sound of a bell struck fumblingly

vanishes in the mist

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Tuesday Music and Movies

What is your current fav music and movie? 

Music:
Here is a link to Amazon's $5 albums.  I already got the Owl City album. I love it. I think I want the album by A Fine Frenzy called One Cell In the Sea.  There is also one from Michael Bublé and The Ting Tings they might be good too!  Wow, there is Heart, Beastie Boys...a little something for everyone.

Movies:
Last weekend I watched The Holiday, The Jane Austin Book Club, What Happens in Vegas and Ratatouille.  I love them all.  Amazon has Psych Season 1 & 2 On Sale For $19.49 and Glee, Vol. One: Road to Sectionals for $24.49 preorder.  


These are the movies in theater right now:
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Blind Side
2012
Old Dogs
Planet 51
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Men Who Stare at Goats      

These are opening this week:
Armored
Brothers
  
These are limited openings:

Everybody's Fine
Serious Moonlight
Up in the Air  
 
These are the movies coming out on DVD today: 
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Paper Heart
  
Have fun this long work week...we can do it!