As I have mentioned before, I have a history of becoming mildly obsessed with a specific group of songs that I unofficially dub my playlist of the season. And since the last time I have bestowed these highly useful musical recommendations on you was back in March (so two playlists ago) I figured it was time for an update. Since it’s officially 2014, I thought it was a good time to recap on some of the tunes that made the end of my year and are still in heavy rotation on my playlist. 

“The Wire” by Haim
The first thing I thought when I heard that there was a band called Haim that it was an attempt by an offspring of 80’s heartthrob turned cautionary tale Corey Haim. Turns out they are three sisters from Los Angeles and it’s actually pronounced like “hi-me” (as in rhymes with “time”). So no relation. But besides this super fun song, my favorite thing that I learned about this up and coming band is that they were once in a tween girl group called the Valli Girls, whose greatest claim to fame was an unforgettable ditty, “It’s a Hair Thing.” I’m not joking. You can watch the video here. It may seem corny, but it just makes me love them even more now that they have been reborn as like supercool folk-rock chicks. Just remember kids- it’s 2014. There’s no escaping the internet. 

“Best I Ever Had” by Gavin DeGraw

You guys, I don’t know if I can express how in love I am with this song. I have listened to it multiple times everyday since I added it to my playlist. Ryan Tedder can kind of do no wrong- do know know how many songs this guy has written? Regardless of his talent as a writer and producer, I really like the stuff that he does with OneRepublic, but unfortunately I think they get totally overplayed (i.e. ruined) by radio stations, making me resentful of their once-revered songs. Even though his super-smooth voice is always on par, for me it’s all about the background music. I love the beat in this song, especially when they get to the bridge and it really speeds up. I just can’t say enough about this one.

“Demons” by Imagine Dragons

Okay, before you completely disregard any credibility this list may have had (and if that’s what you were looking for, you are probably in the wrong place to begin with), just remember, that above all things, music is supposed to be fun. This song is pretty identical to every other club-thumper that Pitbull has done, and Kesha’s not exactly the Barbra Streisand of our generation, but hello? The main feature of this song is a sick harmonica riff. Because if there’s anything the music industry is missing right now, it’s more crossover between hip hop and country, amirite?

“Closer” by Tegan & Sara
I’m confused by these two- are they sisters or lesbian lovers? No matter, I die over this song regardless. It reminds me of a really great 80’s pop song, which I am always okay with. Bonus points because the video features the duo performing karaoke on a vintage television.

“All Night” by Icona Pop
By the end of the summer, I was slightly over “I Love It,” even though it was a really fun song. So I was extremely excited to hear a follow up single from this Swedish female duo, and I think that it’s even better than their debut song. It’s like the perfect “getting ready” song. It reminds me of something my college girl friends and I would put on while primping for a night out. They also used this song in the promos on E! for their coverage of the Emmys, so I knew it was meant to be.

“Give It To You” by Robin Thicke ft. Two Chainz & Kendrick Lamar
I know we’re supposed to be mad at Robin Thicke for agreeing to be a part of Miley’s VMA horror show (and for his affinity for supposedly “rapey” lyrics), but I can’t get enough of this song. What I can get enough of is Two Chainz. God, I can’t stand him. But his presence on this track was somehow not enough to stop me from liking it anyway. 

“We Own the Night” by The Wanted
The Wanted has kind of slipped off my radar since none of them are rumored to be sleeping with Lindsay Lohan at the moment, and also because I couldn’t hear “Glad You Came” one more time without wanting to tip over a double decker bus. But after a little break, I was glad to hear this new song. It reminds me of the kind of tune you find yourself drunkenly singing with your friends at last call. It’s the perfect tempo for people who have spent the last five hours partying but aren’t really with it enough to follow a beat.

“White Walls” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Schoolboy Q & Hollis
I have always liked this song, and by “always” I mean since I first discovered Macklemore after seeing him on SNL last year and downloaded “The Heist” in it’s entirety. I know nothing of cars or rap music, but when I listen to this song, I don’t feel like I need to. I just sit back and enjoy every second of it.

“TKO” by Justin Timberlake 
I have never been a huge fan of JT, but I do recognize him to be a great performer (no matter how much crap I give my college roommate KB for it). I’m not crazy about all of the songs on his new album (“Suit & Tie” being my least favorite) but for some reason I really took to this one. I think it’s something about the tracks he does with Timbaland that are always a win for me, a la “Cry Me a River.” 

What were your favorite songs of 2013? I still enjoy these tracks but am totally ready for some new tunes for the new year. 

~L

After finally continuing my family’s stroll down Christmas card memory lane yesterday, I was inspired to soldier on and finish this series once and for all. If you have missed any of the previous chapters in this compelling story of “How I Developed an Unhealthy Obsession with Christmas Cards,” then you can catch up on Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five and Part Six. 

When we last left, I was finally out of high school, which you think would possibly begin the inevitable demise of my involvement in the family Christmas card. If anything, it just made everything more involved, as we were no longer children who could only be expected to get along and pose for so long.

2005

2006

2007

I’m not sure why the quality of this card is so bad, but I’m guessing that the good ones were sent out to people and all that was left for the book was this reject one. This was another double whammy of a year in the Scalera family, as it was my sister’s first pageant title and I graduated from college. Becky had begun her freshman year at Plymouth State University as I ended my senior year, hence the t-shirts. Since I didn’t actually walk in graduation, I didn’t even have the official garb, which meant I had to borrow this mortorboard from someone. I mean, the tassel doesn’t even match the PSU colors! (Again, continuity hasn’t always been one of our strong points.) This also marks the first year that we tried to get Felix the cat to be in the picture, which has actually proven to be more work than taking photos of children. First of all, he is completely black, resulting in only his creepy eyes to be seen in pretty much every photo we’ve ever taken of him. Also he’s kind of a jerk and tries to scratch us to get away, so we usually end up with about four usable photos. 

2008

As the years went on, it became increasingly more difficult to schedule the card photo shoot. With me living an hour away and my sister being in college, the day you planned to take the photo was the day you took the photo. I’m guessing the weather must not have cooperated on this day, because otherwise it doesn’t seem to make much sense that we were crammed in the corner of our living room when we could have been outside at one of my father’s many man-made photo ops. My mom thought this one was really cheeky because you were supposed to question who the “nice” one is (I think we all know the answer to that). There was actually an entire series (complete with costume changes) of naughty vs. nice that, thanks to the age of digital, I have found and created a small collage for your holiday enjoyment:

an afternoon of our lives we’ll never get back

Like I said, it only gets worse with age…

2009

Once you get to 20+ years of Christmas cards, it’s almost impossible not to recycle an idea here and there. My mom is also a big fan of the “then & now” motiff, as illustrated by the picture in the upper left corner of my sister and I as angels in our church Christmas pageant (which was probably the last time both of us were at a church together). Being on a church budget, we weren’t rolling in fancy floating halo money, hence the gold garland that was simply bobby pinned to our heads. My mom had the ultimate vision that we would recreate the photo with the same garland and white tops, but it would be totally ironic because we were all grown up, therefore, no longer “angels.” This was also the year we got it together and realized our random living room backrounds weren’t going to cut it, so we graduated to posing in front of a curtain. This was another one that involved a series style photoshoot, the likes of which actually made it onto the card as apposed to the 2008 pictures that ended up on the cutting room floor. 

We’re starting to approach a very exciting time in Christmas card history… the year that Steve and I started our very own card (but don’t get it twisted, we are still heavily featured in the family card, much to Steve’s dismay of having to do all of this twice).

Stay tuned!

~L

Aarrgh. I am so behind on holiday blogging. According to my Feedly, I am supposed to have handmade forty-five glitter ornaments, professionally photographed my entire home filled with festive decorations, shared the perfect Christmas cookie recipe, and crafted at least fifteen super specific and oddly expensive gift lists (for everyone from your significant other to your second cousin’s dog walker).

I haven’t done any of it. Well, I’ve done many holiday-esque things, but you know what else I’ve done? Enjoyed them. Meaning I haven’t had a lot of extra hours to hang out and write about them. Not to mention, December was still a pretty busy month for me at work. When I moved to Nantucket, everyone was all, “Get a hobby or start drinking, because you’re going to be pretty bored come winter!” I have yet to understand what they were talking about (but I have a feeling it’s called… January). So needless to say, my time off has been spent taking in all that the holidays on this little island have to offer, which is a lot.

However, I still love blogging and I want to be able to keep up with this in a timely fashion. I always thought my reason for irregular posting was because of the nature of my last job, where I had no set schedule and spent the end of October-January mentally and physically exhausted, ready to give up on the human race (mass retail during the holiday season can do that to a person). I always thought that I once I had a job with a set schedule, I would be able to blog on a regular basis, and even if I couldn’t, I would write all my posts on the weekends and schedule them, what a concept! But you know what regular people do on the weekends? Laundry. Errands. Activities. Sometimes, they have fun. At this point I’ve accepted that if I spent all of my time blogging, that’s less time I would spend actually doing anything worth blogging about.

So here we are, four days away from Christmas. I am approaching my first Christmas “break” since college, where I will have almost two weeks off. I don’t even know this girl anymore, but I like her and want her to stick around. 

Despite my lack of recapping December’s festivities, we all have our holiday traditions, and I have been looking forward to sharing this with you all month. I planned to continue this series much earlier in December, but there’s no time like the present to continue…

The Scalera Family Christmas Card Anthology. Part Six (take that, Rocky).

You may remember last year, when I started sharing the year-by-year progression of the Christmas cards my family sent out growing up. If you need to catch up, you can check out Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five.

When we last left the Scalera sisters, they were showcasing their talents in a musically-themed photo. Also, it was smack dab in the middle of my awkward years. But as we entered the new millennium, my sister and I began to take control of our hair, our style, and our destiny.

2000

Please tell me someone else remembers these sweaters. I know I do, because I will forever be traumatized by the journey it took for me to get one. This was the era of really cool Gap commercials and print ads. The year before, this striped sweater was like, the item of the holiday season that they were peddling to consumer-driven teenagers like me that tried to convince our parents that a $70 sweater was a totally appropriate gift for a rapidly growing high schooler. It was probably the first time I ever asked for something that was kind of expensive (not counting Kirsten, of course, but that doll paid for itself eventually with the education I received from her book series). 

I remember being so excited for Christmas morning, finally feeling like I was going to be one of the cool kids when I rolled into school after break rocking this baby. One of the traditions in my house is that you save the biggest and best gift for last. My parent’s would act like gift-giving was over and as you started to throw away the discarded wrapping paper, they “remembered” that there was maybe one more thing left. Gift is pulled out of secret hiding place, children squeal and Christmas is complete. I was absolutely convinced that my Gap sweater was lurking in a closet somewhere, ready to be pulled out at the exact perfect moment. Except that moment never came. 

After about ten minutes, I finally broke down and asked where our “extra” gifts were. My mom told me that we were officially done with gifts and it was time for breakfast and the Disney parade. I thought she was really piling it on that year and gunning for an Academy Award for “Best Performance while Pretending to Hide a Present.” She wasn’t. She informed us that after all the years of pretending, she thought we had outgrown the need for a secret gift. I.was.crushed. I know, it’s totally awful and selfish. I had just opened like twenty other gifts that were awesome and I still wanted more. But I remember even then thinking that it wasn’t about the fact that it was an expensive gift. She could have hidden a tube of Bonne Bell lip gloss and I still would have been excited; it was the novelty of thinking that you’re finished and finding out that one thing remains. I’m almost thirty, and my mom still hides one gift for us because we never let her forget that year that Christmas was almost ruined (yes, I’m being overdramatic- Christmas was still wonderful and I am not that horrible of a human being). 

As for the sweater, I obviously didn’t get it for Christmas ’99, so how did I eventually acquire this multicolored masterpiece? 

At an outlet, of course. 

My mom was perusing some discount store probably six months later, when she discovered that the sweater that ruined Christmas was not only still available, it was marked down to a level that a parent couldn’t resist. So she bought three- one for my sister and I, and my best friend Hannah (which there is a photo shoot of the three of us wearing, you’re shocked, I know) and the matching hat. As much as I loved this pattern, we felt the hat + sweater together was a little much, so why not put it on a random bear?  

This photo was probably shot again in October, which explains the lack of snow. Fun fact: I planted that tree the year we moved into our house when it was just a tiny, twig-like fir. And to this date, I still have the sweater. 

2001

All of our family Christmas cards are stored in this holiday-style scrapbook that you slide pictures into, with room for you to write in your own captions underneath. Under the year 2001, it simply states in my mom’s handwriting, “No card due to 9/11.” Because when you send out a Christmas card, the terrorists win.

2002

If nothing else, you gotta give Doreen credit for being crafty even in the days before it was so easy to just slap your card together on the computer. While the themes for these cards weren’t always something blatantly festive (I believe this one was “turtleneck sweaters”), many of them were centered around just trying to capture a nice moment between sisters. Unfortunately, that moment didn’t occur in the same photograph, forcing my mom to superimpose my image onto the existing one of my sister. I swear my photo was taken on the same day, during the same photo session despite having completely different lighting. I refuse to believe that is my hand on my sister’s shoulder, even though I know that it is. I’m not gonna lie, there is something creepy about this one. But hey look, my hair is getting better!

2003

If at any point you were wondering during this series, what is going to be like, the card of all cards, then this is most definitely it. The 20th Anniversary MEGA CARD. It was a big year in the Scalera household- not only was it the platinum anniversary of Christmas cards, but I my sister and I both celebrated our graduations that year, mine from high school and hers from middle school. What better way to capture the biggest year in our history to that point than with this all-powerful collage of every card since the family’s inception? Slight hiccup- our graduation dates were a solid two weeks apart. But that wouldn’t stop Doreen, oh no, she got out her trusty scissors and faux-Photoshopped images together of us in our white graduation bests. There’s a slight continuity error that can be seen only by looking at this in person, when you realize that it’s actually my dad’s hand that is clutching my sister’s shoulder. 

2004

Upon first glance, it may seem like we are overdoing it with the sweater theme, but we totally mixed it up in 2004, with gloves, duh! Not sure if you can tell what season it is in this one- I will give you a hint, it definitely ain’t winter- but at the time I went to school six hours away, therefore scheduling Christmas card photo shoot was increasingly more difficult. I think it was like, “Oh my God, it’s nice out! Quick! Throw on your sweaters and winter accessory sets and get out there!!!”

I don’t wand to overload you with excellence, so I will leave the remainder of the Christmas cards for another day. Hopefully it won’t take me a year to write the sequel this time.

~L

Yesterday I posted the first half of my Christmas wish list. Again, I’ll reiterate that I do not need nor expect a zillion presents under my tree, however, I keep getting asked what I want by extended family members, so I figured, why not make a list? I mean, isn’t that what most bloggers do three to five times a week anyway and disguise it as “currently crushing” or whatever the hell we are calling it now? (No judgement, after all, one of my favorite days of the week is Friday’s Fancies.) 

Not to mention, I had to continue my photo collage list tradition for my mother. She seemed sad when I told her that she could just look at my Pinterest board for inspiration.

I’m all for organization, except for when it comes to like, bills or shoes or whatever. So the theme of yesterday’s list was clothes/makeup/jewelry/general girlyness. Today we’re going to with books, DVD’s, decor, etc.

Nautical office supplies– I have been making small attempts to decorate my first ever solo cubicle with nautical elements. My mom was awesome and actually got me a few of the things I pinned for my birthday, but there are a few other adorable pieces that I would love for my desk. Such as…

A nautical letter opener– I can’t explain it, but I have always wanted a nice letter opener. I just think they scream, “I am a totally pulled together adult who efficiently and stylishly opens all the very important grown-up mail that I receive with just a flick of the wrist.” A little oceanic doodad would only sweeten the pot.

Assorted whaley things (that are also semi practical)– I may have mentioned before that I work at a whaling museum, specifically focusing on sperm whales. And how cute is this stapler and tissue box?! I think they would be perfect additions to my existing red, white and blue accents. Also I have the ugliest stapler in the world currently and it bends all of my staples in half. (It’s a non-profit, we aren’t just like, swimming in an excess of fancy staplers.) Steve is offended by the price of the tissue box and claims he could make me one instead, but I feel like the chances of that happening in this lifetime are slim to none (not because he’s not talented, just because he’s like too busy cooking me dinner and cutting down Christmas trees and stuff).

A chic business card holder– I realize this serves no actual purpose, but this is another thing that I thing makes it you look profesh. It’s like yes, I have business cards, and oh, would you like one? How convenient, they’re right here. Mine are currently still in the box in my desk. I always love a good monogram but I’d also be happy with just an interesting “thing” that falls into the nautical color scheme.

Decorative folders– Manila folders make me want to die at work. I have one of those holders on my desk so they are always exposed, and every time I look at them, I get the sads. I have been looking all over the place for fun, nautically patterned folders and I am just convinced they do not exist. So even just to get different patterns in red, white and blue would make me so happy.

Kate Spade pencils– I KNOW THESE ARE NOT PRACTICAL AND EXPENSIVE AND THEY ARE PENCILS but I don’t know why, I just want them.

CD’s… did you know they still make CD’s?!- Not sure why, but I still enjoy popping a good CD in the car and cranking the volume up to twelve. I also like monetarily supporting artists that I actually believe in. There’s a few new releases that I’ve been eyeing these days:

Guys… it’s that time of year again! Okay, so it was probably that time of year about three weeks ago, when people actually started asking me what I want for Christmas, but anyone who knows me knows that I am never on time for anything. 

I said this last year, but I would just like to reiterate that I know that this is not what Christmas is about. I get it. I am not that selfish, I promise. I by no means think that I should or will get all of these things as gifts. As I said before, I have been making a very detailed visual Christmas lists since I was a teenager and I started asking for things I saw in magazines and my mother was just like, “what is this and where do I find it?!” (This was also pre-internet days, people.) And ever since I got married, I have a whole other family who asks me what do I want what do I want and I just like to be organized about it. Plus you’re nobody on the internet unless you have a gift guide these days, I guess the difference is those are usually for other people.

Also I was asked by a very generous uncle-in-law (is that a thing?) to specifically pick out things from certain stores where he possesses credit cards, hence items like a furry Russian hat. Although I do think I really need one of those.

I completely understand that it is crazy that this list is so long that it warranted two separate graphics. I divided things into categories, I like to pick items that are from a wide variety of price points, as well as being available in stores vs. solely on the internet. And since the dawn of Pinterest, it’s been very easy to keep lists of things that you randomly find on the internet that at that moment, you just can’t live without. That comes in really handy at the end of November when you have to start thinking about stocking stuffers. But maybe, just maybe, this list will help you shop for the super-fun lady in your life, because things like sparkles and lip gloss are totally universal.

Any color of the J.Crew Factory Pencil Skirt in Double-Serge Wool– I have this in tan and it’s the perfect weight for a winter skirt. I now want one in every color. The only color available online right now is the cabernet, which I would happily accept.

A fuzzy hat that makes me feel like a sexy Russian spy– Is it weird that I have always wanted one of these hats? Steve tried to find me one before we went to Canada for our first anniversary and ended up getting me one of those furry bomber hats with earflaps. Cute, but I never stopped wanting one of these babies. 

Tall, warm socks– It has only taken me 28 years, but I have finally figured out that even though I have four different styles of boots, wearing paper thin ankle socks still doesn’t keep me warm when I’m out and about during those chilly winter months. I would love a few pairs of thick, neutral colored socks that I could wear peeking out of my less practical winter footwear.

A gray blazer– I have two of the J.Crew Factory schoolboy blazers and they are just the most perfect wardrobe essential to throw on any outfit to make it a little more profesh. This one is a slightly different cut, but I tried it on in the store and it was still to die for. I have to go a size smaller in these because the arms are kind of long on me, so it’s one of the only times in my life where I can pretend I’m a size zero. 

Duck boots– I may have just mentioned that I have about four pairs of different types of boots, but half of them came from Payless and its a miracle they are still in one piece. Also, I live in New England, on a windy rainy island to be exact, so I think a girl can never go wrong with another pair of practical shoes. I know that the L.L. Bean Bean Boot is a classic, which I wouldn’t mind, but I just loved that these have a kicky color- I envision it being the perfect thing to brighten up a slushy day.

Statement necklaces– I mean really, I just can’t get enough. I would love a blinged out crystal version or a multicolored one that could go with lots of different things. All jewels, all the time. 

A cheeky sweater– I mean, cause why not?

Kate Spade earrings– Because they are always fun. And sometimes cheap. Okay, well cheap in comparison to the other stuff they sell. But wouldn’t these be the perfect accessory for New Year’s Eve? Or you know, a Tuesday?

J.Crew Super-Opaque Tights– I love wearing tights but no matter how trim I keep my toenails, I always rip them. I got a pair of these at the outlet last year and they are amazing. They are just stretchy enough that they stay up but aren’t like wearing head-to-toe Spanx.

Nars Lip Gloss in Orgasm– There’s a reason this is one of their most popular lip colors. I tried it on the last time I went to Sephora and it was heaven. But my sister-in-law talked me out of it, because she is after all, related to my husband, and knew that he would not be so convinced for $25 a tube. Also the name. It’s hard just getting over the name. But it.is.worth.it.

A super cool folding board– Yes, I’m a nerd. Yes, I like my clothes organized. And YES, I WANT A FOLDING BOARD. My father-in-law got one last year and I was totally jealous. I have so many things that are folded now with the storage situation in my apartment and I just imagine myself whisking out one perfectly folded sweater after another with this baby.

Sparkly sneaks– Steve keeps telling me I need to wear more practical shoes now that I’m almost 30 (come to think of it, he’s probably been saying that for a few years). Since sneakers are ugly and boring, I am requesting these. 

Smokin’ social media slippers– When Kate posted these on her blog a few months ago, I knew I had to have them (and use them in one of my Friday’s Fancies). They are a fabulous price point and mom’s love shopping at Kohl’s. 

Mac Small Eye Shadow in Sumptuous Olive– This may come as a shock, but I previously owned this shade of eyeshadow, and I broke it into a million tiny pieces on my bathroom floor. I cried because this was my favorite shade and I got compliments on it every time I wore it. I just couldn’t swing spending the money on it when I have hundreds of lesser eye shadows that I could use. Also, I am not within stalking distance of Sephora anymore. 

Vineyard Vines Winter Whale Mittens– Yes, I get it. These are ridiculous. They are $50. But they have whales on them. And I work at a whaling museum. Get it?!

A pair of brightly colored leather gloves– I got a cobalt pair last Christmas and I love them so much, I would love a set in a bright fuschia or purple. 

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain– Guys, I might have a problem. I have four of these already, but I want them in every shade. They are just the perfect amount of color and they last for hours. I have read a bunch of reviews online and it seems like Honey is an all-around flattering color for every skin tone. 

Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tint for eyes in Ample Amber– Okay, this is a very stupidly named product. But I do love Clinique bronzy eye shadows, and I always have to use some sort of cream/stick thing underneath to make it last longer. This looks like the idea shade for a little bit of shimmer or as a good base for blending multiple colors.

Stay tuned for part two!

~L

There’s something about Facebook that constantly reminds you of moments from your past that you either wanted to pretend never happened, or makes you depressed that they’re over and you’ll never experience them again. This weekend, I felt both of those feelings upon seeing a gazillion pictures of college students moving into their dorms. This week marks exactly ten years ago that I moved into a tiny room at Cazenovia College and began the first decade of my adult life (still working on that). 

Two years ago, I accompanied Steve and his family as they moved his brother into St. Anselm’s in New Hampshire. On the drive up, I just kept thinking about how sweet it was to be a college student. You get to live next door to all of your friends and you spend a solid three hours a day in class, and the rest of the day doing whatever the hell you want. Immediately, I was a little sad that I was so far past that stage in my life that I was now closer to my thirtieth birthday than I was to those years. 

And then, we got to the dorm.

Immediately, I was reminded of why this situation is (and should be) only temporary. There are people everywhere. Like you live in a 12 x 12 room with another human that you have never met and you share a shower with at least twenty other people. As we walked down the halls and observed an assortment of kids bumping rap music out of ridiculous speakers (let’s be real now guys, you’re at a Catholic school in New Hampshire, not the Bronx) and smelled all sorts of upleasantries (ugh, boys), I realized that you couldn’t pay me to go back there. 

Most of all, I couldn’t help but think how different things were when I went to school versus kids that are starting now. I guess it’s only natural, it’s been a decade after all. But of course, I couldn’t help but reflect a little bit, especially now that I’m looking back as super successful mature adult (right?).

Then: You had to have a really deep, emotional goodbye with everyone because you will never ever see them again.

every piece of mail i received freshmen year. yes, i am that cool.

via

I mean, seriously. It’s a dorm, not a meditation room. And if you think there’s room for extra furniture in a dorm room, you are out of your freshman mind. 

Then: You filled out your roommate survey and prayed that you wouldn’t be paired up with a murderer. You spoke on the phone exactly once, decided what each of you would contribute to the success of “the room,” and met for the first time on move-in day. 

My first roommate was from Maine. I don’t even remember talking to her on the phone, but I do remember we met up with our families at Friendly’s the day before we moved in. I also remember meeting her and thinking we had absolutely nothing in common, which I thought was weird, because I so carefully filled out the information on my roommate survey. I did get along really well with her mom, and realized that she was the one I actually should have been living with, because in a shocking twist of events- she filled out the form! Needless to say, we did not stay roommates and lifelong friends (which, unlike my husband, basically never happens). But the great thing about college is once you get the swing of things, you actually make friends on your own and are able to choose who you would be compatible with (like an adult! Crazy). 

my first chosen roommate kb- watts 216 fo life.

Now: Okay, so I don’t know if that much has changed, because unless you are going to college with people you knew from high school, I’m pretty sure that they still randomly pair you up (no matter what you fill out on that stupid survey). At least now you can friend each other on Facebook and find out prior to living together whether or not they’re a psychopath. 

I can’t tell you whether it is better or worse, easier or harder to start college in 2013 versus 2003. I can tell you that if you dwell on the negative stuff, it’s going to be awful no matter what. So relax. Use the Internet sparingly (unless it’s getting ideas for your really awesome dorm room, something I did not have the luxury of) and sign up for every activity that allows you to meet people in person. DO NOT go home every weekend. If you need to do that, save yourself the money and commute instead of forking over more than what you would pay for rent in the city, just to live in a room with no shower. And I know it’s impossible, but try, just try for me, please, to not do things that ten years from now, you will look at and be like wtf? After all, your shiz is already all over the Internet anyway. Think about how not to embarass your almost thirty year old self.

But just have fun. I know it’s super annoying and every adult tells you, “this is the best time in your life,” as they wistfully wipe away a tear, but seriously, they’re right. You will never be able to nap midday just because you feel like it, eat a bunch of horrible food and only gain fifteen pounds, or live within ten seconds of your closest friends. So just enjoy it.

But don’t be an idiot. I don’t want to see any more of you on the news. 

~L

So when we last left our Fourth of July recap, I had just had my dreams dashed with the cancellation of the fireworks. Although I was completely bummed out, there was no time to dwell on such things, as my sister Becky and her boyfriend Freddie were set to arrive the next day! Also, Steve and I both had to work on Friday, so we returned to the real world while Alisa and Rocky set off for the beach. 

I was going about my regular work day when I was shocked to see my photo on Nantucket BlACKbook. Well, not like, totally shocked, because Holly had sent me her style survey to fill out. But still shocked, nonetheless because I had no idea when it would run, if at all.

island infamy.

So needless to say, that was my greatest accomplishment that day. 

My sister and her boyfriend Fred arrived that afternoon, and after I was finished with work, we all met up for dinner. Unfortunately, in doing so we kind of missed out on the rescheduled fireworks. Correction: I saw one single firework while we were waiting in line for ice cream.

oh say can you see.

Yes, we had ice cream everyday. IT’S THE FOURTH OF JULY.

The next day was Saturday, so I finally got to go to the beach- YAY! But Steve still had to work- BOO. Regardless, we all packed up our beach essentials and headed to Surfside. 

you have yours, i have mine.

The beach was amazing. If you can believe it, it was the first time I had gone and sat on the beach since I moved to Nantucket.

Unfortunately, it was also the first time I got severely and horribly sunburnt. Apparently, event the strongest SPF needs to be applied immediately after getting out of the water. Needless to say, there were a lot of references to Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire.” Because that’s what I was for the rest of the weekend. 

Since we clearly needed some cooling off, our next stop was Cisco Brewery. Even though there was what seemed like 40,000 people there, somehow I managed to snag us a shady seat where we spent our afternoon sampling an array of delicious beverages.

just a couple of f yeahs & madaket mules.

and peach wine, for the lady.

I appreciated that even Cisco showed some patriotic spirit. 

accessories are important.

The rest of the night was pretty relaxed, as most of us were sporting some serious sunburns and aimed to move as little as possible. Steve made us a delicious pressure cooker meal and we dined like kings around our Ikea coffee table. 

But with everyone leaving the next day, we couldn’t resist going out… for ice cream. Yes, one last time. And of course, we couldn’t resist a photo op with a reminder of our PSU days:

what’s a few hundred miles?

Finally, it was time to head home and come to terms with the fact that that holiday was almost over and everyone would be leaving us, which was really hard, because it was the first time that we had had any friends visit since we’ve been on Nantucket. 

Before seeing everyone off to their boat back to America, we took a quick stroll around downtown to make sure that everyone got their full island experience. Which obviously meant souvenir shopping.

meet nantucket’s newest rap duo.

I also took all the ladies to one of my favorite stores downtown, C. Wonder. I love this place, not only for all the nautical items and brightly colored baubles, but also, free candy.

i’ll just have a few sweet tarts for the road.

Unfortunately, my sister’s most favorite item in the store is not for sale:

her pageant talent may or may not be balloon animal-making.

As we approached the Hy-Line docks, we realized that my sister and I never took a picture together. Not one, the whole weekend! That needed to be amended real quick.

like my granny cardigan? it’s to keep my flesh from burning.

We finally said goodbye and prepared to return to our normal lives, sans four house guests and boozy fruit. 

But it was still the weekend, and after seeing a posting about it on Facebook, we headed to Sconset for a free event from Theatre Workshop Nantucket with Tom Meehan. Why who is Tom Meehan, you say? This guy:

who doesn’t love a man in a seersucker suit?

Don’t recognize him? You probably wouldn’t. But you know his words, as this is the guy that wrote only my favorite musical of all time, Annie. He also wrote Hairspray, The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Elf the Musical, and even the new Rocky musical that is currently showing in Germany (opening in the U.S. March 2014!). He’s a summer resident in ‘Sconset and it was so inspiring to listen to him talk about his work (he’s simultaneously writing four shows right now) and writing (he’s 83 and he spends hours each day just doing what he loves) and even though it was like 95 degrees in that chapel, I clung to every word. 

and yes, that is blair waldorf’s dad conducting the interview.

These are the types of things that makes me love this place. On any given night in the summer, there are at least six events going on like this (and some of them are even free!). 

Did I mention I love ‘Sconset?

got my church on.

After that, I kind of thought that our weekend was over. Until this happened:

claire-aoke.

What can I say? I can’t resist an evening of belting out some solid lady-pop songs. 

this time i’m not leavin’ without you.

Was that the longest four-day recap in the history of recaps? I almost never do these, because unlike all my blogger friends, I can never seem to write up a recap in an appropriate amount of time. Hence why it is now almost August and I’m just finishing up what happened on the Fourth of July. But I just couldn’t resist after such a fun-filled weekend sharing some of the amazing-ness that had ensued. I may have exhausted the amount of fun I’m allowed to have in a short time period, but I’m okay with it. And I’m definitely okay with not getting sunburnt ever again. 

~L

Guys, this is it. My favorite season. My favorite holiday. My favorite color combination. 

Except this year, it was going to be different. We live on Nantucket now, afterall, therefore making our usual pilgrimage to Portland, Maine not exactly feasible. 

But seeing as this island is like, one of the Fourth of July capitals of the world, it seemed crazy to be anywhere but here. So they came to us. They being Alisa and Rocky, the other half of this annual patriotic party, and then later, my sister Becky and her boyfriend Fred joined as well. 

But Lindsay, didn’t you move into a super small apartment over a garage down a dirt road in the middle of the woods? Why yes, yes we did. So what did we do? We had everyone over anyways. All six of us. One bathroom. 

But let’s start at the beginning, shall we? 

We moved about a week before our guests were scheduled to arrive. There’s nothing like impending company to force you to unpack. Without them, we’d probably be living in a box fort right now. We spent all our waking hours trying to get organized and make our place at least livable, if not presentable. It was less than a mere 24 hours before Alisa and Rocky were set to arrive that we even got our couch set up:

yep, that’s right. we didn’t have anywhere to sit for an entire week.

As we neared 2:00 A.M. on Tuesday evening, I attempted to put away some stragglers of my wardrobe that hadn’t found a home yet. As I opened my dress closet, I felt a strange wobble, and before I even had time to react, this happened:

there aren’t enough tears in the world.

The game hadn’t even started and I already lost. For those of you that don’t know, there is a very long, love-hate (me being the “love” part and Steve being the “hate”) relationship with this particular piece of furniture that I am feeling deserves its own post. However, I still haven’t processed my feelings on that yet, so it will have to wait until I have completed the seven stages of mourning and am emotionally stable enough to tell my story. 

So there was a set back. But we soldiered on. And finally, on Wednesday night, we were reunited for the first time in what felt like forever:

forgive our weird pupils.

After a little dinner and after-dinner drinks, we headed to Stop & Shop for a few necessary essentials:

inappropriateness. not on the list.

PS- Did you know if you go to the grocery store super late at night, it is all neat and organized for your shopping pleasure? I may have to start cooking. 

i wish my life was this organized. color me jealous.

That night, we prepared some lovely sleeping accommodations for our guests. I.e., sheets on either end of our newly cleared off sectional couch. Of course, that meant that violations ensued:

this shit is bananas. b-a-n-a-n-a-s.

For those who may not know, many years ago, we noticed a pattern in pictures of Steve and Alisa together. And that pattern was some sort of inappropriate gesture in Alisa’s direction. It had become such a phenomenon, that one year, Steve created an anthology of pictures known as the “Violation Album” (Volume 1, of course) for Alisa for her birthday. And so, almost eight years later, it continues. 

We awoke the next morning with only two thoughts in our mind: food and fireworks. Okay, and booze. Three things. 

Let’s start with the food. Steve made his most notorious breakfast item that he only breaks out for very, very special occasions: The oven-baked caramel french toast from the Graycote Inn in Bar Harbor, Maine. If you must know how to make it (and I assure you, you must), you can find the recipe here. We all died a little bit, came back to life, ate more food, and died again. 

there is also an egg sausage thing, but we all know i don’t eat eggs. among many other things.

The best part? There is a caramel drizzle. CARAMEL DRIZZLE, PEOPLE.

breakfast will never be the same.

Did I mention mimosas? Yeah, there were those two. 

nothing like popping the cork on a three year old magnum of champagne.

The weather ended up being kinda meeeeh that day, which really started to concern me after last year’s fireworks got totally rained out and we had to miss them completely. But we couldn’t resist visiting at least a few of Nantucket’s numerous miles of shoreline. 

it’s just like that movie beaches, but with dudes. and less death and singing.

Of course, it wouldn’t be us if there weren’t some more inappropriateness:

from dancing to violating in less than five seconds. a new record.

The weather mildly started to improve, which could only mean one thing: it was time to grill. Slight problem: the grill was in pieces. In a box. In the garage (yes, the very one we live over). Luckily, the men were here to save the day:

like mckayla, rocky is not impressed.

But they did it. And it only took like seven hours for us to feel hungry again. 

you may not be able to tell, but there is cheese inside the burger.

There may have also been beverages. We steered away from the red, white and blue margaritas this year, because unfortunately, I only own one blender. But there was a new addition, which will forever be known as… boozy fruit.  

i.e., steve’s orange sangria champagne concoction thing.

But Steve was greedy, and stole my Nantucket-necessity Lilly Pulitzer coozy and got beer sweat condensation all over it, totally decreasing the preppy girl value of it. 

it takes a very secure man to rock a regatta print.

After conquering our expertly grilled meals, we prepared ourselves for the fireworks on the roof of the Whaling Museum. At the last minute, the entire staff was invited to take in the Fourth of July finale from the rooftop observation deck, which is not only private, but boasts some of the best harbor views on the island. I was so excited to show our guests not only where I worked, but also to beat the insane crowd that heads to the beach. 

And of course, the second we pulled out of the driveway, the fog rolled in. That Grey Lady can be such a bitch sometimes. 

We went to the roof anyway, hoping that as fast as it rolled in, it would just roll right out. 

so happy i curled my hair.

And it stuck around. But so did we. 

fog or instagram?

But the fog, like this shirt that Steve insists on wearing, was relentless. They cancelled the fireworks, rescheduling them for the next night. 

It was mildly depressing. I mean, this was our first Nantucket Fourth, after all.

Nothing a little trip to the Juice Bar can’t fix.

if i could cover my life in patriotic sprinkles, i would.

That’s it for the first installment of Steve & Lindsay’s First July Fourth on Nantucket guest-starring Alisa and Rocky. Coming up next? The arrival of Becky and Fred. And more ice cream. And more drinking. 

AMERICA.

~L

So I haven’t blogged in some time now. I know, same old story. I’m so busy/tired/enjoying my new Nantucket life that I don’t have time to write, right? Well, sort of.

Basically the last few weeks have been an absolute nightmare in which Steve and I have found ourselves living out of suitcases, moving from one location to another for a week at a time, and in a tug of war with landlords and one horrible tenant who doesn’t mind disrupting someone else’s entire life. 

I should start out by saying that we’re fine. Nothing is physically wrong with us. Emotionally and mentally, yes, we may be committed any day now. But we’re on Nantucket, so any form of psychological lock up would probably be on the beach covered in gray shingles. Work has been great, Steve is working full time and doing a show on the local radio station, and gasp we have gotten to hang out together every weekend and explore and visit every beach we can find, taking a break occasionally to enjoy a dinner here and a Bruins game there. It’s exactly what I imagined married life was supposed to be like, and can’t believe that we’ve been doing it wrong the past two years by not being able to spend hardly any free time together and when we did, trying to shake the bad feelings from working in jobs that we despised.

The problem is we’ve been doing all of these things on the island while essentially being homeless. Let me explain.

When I first came to Nantucket, I was warned up and down that the year-round housing situation for normal people (i.e. not millionaires) was awful. However, I was offered temporary housing from my job in order to settle in and figure out where we would go. This is not a place where you go on Craig’s List and dig through potentially sketchy listings. I was told I could stay in a particular historic property until May 15, when I would need to leave to make room for the seven interns that had already been selected. The people I work with put the word out that we needed a place to live, and I quickly saw that they only way find out anything around here is through word of mouth.

We visited countless apartments. Some of them were beautiful but totally out of our price range. I guess if you want to get technical, they were all out of our price range. The least expensive place we looked at was still $300 more than what we had been paying for our previous one bedroom apartment. Some were crazy tiny and still expensive. Of course none of this was unexpected, everyone had warned me about everything being expensive- it’s an island, after all. I was choosing to focus on the fact that with my new job I would be making (slightly) more money and not spending $500 a month on gas commuting, and could accommodate having to spend a little extra on living. Did I mention that this entire time we were looking at apartments, Steve didn’t have a job yet? Yeah, there was that. So it was really hard to think, “sure, I’ll give you $1800 a month” when only one of you is technically employed. I had multiple people who suggested it was time to buy a house, and believe me, if I had $700,000 lying around, I would surely look into it.

So we looked and we searched and I talked to everyone about how we were trying to find a place. Finally we were in between two apartments, which is a conundrum in itself because you have to make snap decisions here or else something could be scooped out from underneath you, which totally freaks me out as an emotional over-thinker. One was a one bedroom cottage that was small but beautifully constructed. It was slightly further away from town, but the least expensive option that we had looked at. It had a backyard and a deck and a bed for a garden. And a basement, did I mention a basement? I didn’t even have a linen closet in my last apartment, so any form of storage was exciting to me.

The other was a very centrally located, townhouse style two bedroom apartment that wasn’t as nice but also had a large basement for storage. It was barely a mile from downtown (where I work and don’t have a parking space) but about $300 more a month than the cottage. 

The biggest issue we had was that the cottage we really liked wasn’t going to be available until July 1. I only had guaranteed housing until mid-May, maybe end of May if I stretched it out a bit. We went back and forth for a week trying to figure out if we could find a place to stay for a month. We communicated with the owner about our issue, and he was very understanding and even offered to take money off the first month’s rent for the inconvenience. Finally, I got the okay from my job that they would let me stay in a different historical property for the duration of June so we could rent the cottage.

Elated, I called the owner immediately to tell him the good news. He didn’t answer. I called him the next day. Steve called him and texted him. It had barely been days since we spoke with him before, and suddenly he was ignoring us. At the same time, we had the landlord of the two bedroom apartment demanding that we tell them whether or not we were going to rent from them, as they had many other people waiting after us. We were panicked- do we let the option we really want go for fear of ending up with nothing? After days of back and forth, we finally had to accept that he wasn’t calling us back for a reason, and take the two bedroom. Sure it would be more expensive, but we would have an extra bedroom for guests and easy access to both of our jobs, bike paths, the grocery store, all the necessities. Two days later the guy from the cottage emailed me and said he rented it to someone else. No kidding. 

We had our move-in date set for our two bedroom apartment on May 15, so we could just pop out of my temporary housing and right into this. A few days before, the landlord contacted me and said the tenant had asked for an extension. I said that was fine, because in the midst of all this, we had found ourselves dog sitting for two weeks and the owners let us stay in their house. Two weeks was up, and the tenants were still in the apartment. The landlord told me they signed a letter saying they would be out in 10-14 days. I begged my job to let me stay in the property I had been in before until a few days before the interns arrived. They’re nice and they don’t want me to be homeless, so they agreed. 

Another week went by and the tenants still hadn’t vacated. I was told by many people that Massachusetts rental laws favor the tenant heavily and that it was almost impossible to actually evict someone, and if you do it could take months and thousands of dollars. Steve and I packed up our stuff and moved across the street to an even nicer historical property, where we slept in a room with twin beds and more fancy knick knacks than I’ve actually seen in museums. We would only be allowed to stay a week, as other people had already been booked to stay there after that. We lived out of our suitcases and tiptoed around for fear of breaking anything. In case you’re wondering what that looks like, here’s a visual:

nothing hot about this mess.

I said we’d have to think about it. I immediately started crying in the car and cursed this tenant for being such an asshole to another person. I just didn’t understand. We’re pretty decent people. I mean, I always brake for animals crossing the road and Steve goes to church every Sunday. We worked very hard for many years in jobs that we didn’t care about and never really made any money. We took a risk and moved here for the chance to start over and do something more with our lives and to be able to spend time together. Why was the universe so against that, and us? 

The next day, I told my boss what has happened. She immediately sprang into overdrive and made me call every listing in the paper, even ones that were out of my price range. She said you have to put things out there in the world and hope that you get something back. Less than 24 hours later, she got wind of an apartment that was available immediately for a monthly rate that I didn’t believe existed on Nantucket. She called them and told them what wonderful people Steve and I are. She drove me to look at it when Steve got stuck working late and I was car-less (we currently only have my car here). She was determined to make this work.

When we turned onto a dirt road in a very residential area where you have to drive five miles an hour as not to hit a bunny, I knew we weren’t in Kansas anymore, or at least, downtown Nantucket. Which is kind of an exaggeration, as we were three miles from town. We looked at a tiny one bedroom apartment over a lovely woman’s garage, who- surprise!- happens to work with Steve. When she informed me that all utilities were included, I almost passed out. I have not seen one apartment where any utilities were included. Like none. 

The only real problem is that it was tiny. Like smaller than the place we just left on the mainland. You know, the one we grew out of two years ago? However, it did have a big beautiful backyard and did I mention all utilities included?!

So we were faced with yet another dilemma. Do we take the smaller apartment for the great price, and deal with the fact that we can only take a quarter of our belongings and that we’ll be living in super close quarters with hardly any room for guests, or do we wait for a bigger apartment that could potentially never be available to us, ever? 

For 24 hours, we once again agonized over whether or not we would make the right decision. We were told that we had to decide if we wanted to smaller place by the following day, as the owner already had people basically stalking her over knowing that she had an apartment available. 

After talking to both our mothers, my boss, the manager of the apartment we were supposed to be living in, and the nice lady that owned the small apartment, we just did it. 

Welcome to our (tiny) new home.

don’t worry, the stained couch isn’t ours. although it is a pullout.

And we’re going to be fine. The station manager we’ve been staying with offered to let us keep our extra stuff in his basement, so we can at least have all of our belongings on the island. I am going to read every blog about living in small spaces, and if you want to come visit, you are welcome to, but you’re sleeping on our sectional sofa (it is comfortable, I will say) or on an air mattress (also, more comfortable than I expected). Or in bed with us.

~L

P.S. In case you have figured it out, this is why I haven’t posted any outfit photos this week. I’m lucky I even got out the door with clothes on. I hope to return to my favorite past time at some point, but I just need to get it together a bit at the moment. Hang tight.