mostly nonsense

I noticed that they're selling beer pong kits at 7/11. And my local grocery store has put ping-pong balls in the refrigerated section, next to the beer. Seriously, people? Seriously?

I feel like this should be a sign that the end is nigh. Not in a laughably-masturbatory-special-effects-display kind of way (Exhibit A: 2012), but in a more unfathomable how-does-Ashlee-Simpson-continue-to-find-employment-as-an-actress? kind of way. Either way, it can't be good.

Also, we seem to be "officially" past The Gatekeeper, and therefore in escrow. Believe me, it's taken more self-control that I thought I possessed not to pillory that ... creature ... here. (I just might get back to you once the deal is sealed.) But meanwhile, here's a pic of our very own little corner of Los Angeles:


Why yes, it is freaking adorable -- thanks for noticing!

stuff that makes me happy

I tried to embed the videos, but for some reason there was no code to make that happen. So follow the links -- they're worth it.

1) Cats are awesome.

2) Did I mention that cats are awesome?

3) We're not officially in escrow yet, but we seem to have made it past the Evil Gatekeeper of the House That Might Become Ours. News update to follow, as soon as there's anything to report ....

dance, monkey!!

Things that make The Bank displeased:

1) They told us to get a pre-approval letter from a bank (not them), basically stating that yes, we really can get the loan. They told us this Friday night at around 8pm -- well after business hours. We said sure -- 1st thing Monday morning. By 10am today they were throwing a hissy fit at our "failure to perform."

2) They don't like that one of Mr. UB's financial documents is more than 30 days old ... even though we've explained that he only gets quarterly statements.

3) They claim that one of my signatures is "illegible" ... but since I've sent them about 80 different signed things, I'm hoping they'll get a little more specific. On a side note: it's a freakin' signature -- isn't it supposed to be a little sloppy (aka hard to copy)?

Like our realtor-babe said, "it's ALMOST like a party!" Wheeeee!!!

playlist of the week: red carpet/ evening gown

I swear I'll get around to posting a "random" (aka non-assignment) list one of these days. But in the meantime: here's what I came up with for "Evening Gown/Red Carpet". Mr. UB has questioned my methodology ... but even if you can spot it (duh), I think it makes for a pretty good list. Any-whatsit ...

Star, Star by The Frames
When The Stars Go Blue by Ryan Adams
Wandering Star by Mazzy Star
Andy, You're A Star by The Killers**
Starry-Eyed Surprise by Paul Oakenfold
This Evening's Great Excuse by Seven Mary Three
Starshine by Gorillaz
Superstar by Jamelia*
If Love Is A Red Dress by Maria McKee
Starstruck by Santogold
Superstar by Sonic Youth
Battleflag by Lo Fidelity Allstars

*this is the song that started the playlist/theme, and yes, it is from the Queer Eye For The Straight Guy soundtrack. Damn, I miss that show.
** while making this list, Mr. UB said, "I like that song, 'Andy, You're a Killer." Yes, really.

WORD, Grover.

It seems that Muppets are in the air. Not only did my friend The Nerdist post a beyond-fab retro scene here ... but I found this lovely bit on the inimitable Meg's site. And I choose to re-post it here. Because after 3-ish months, this is just about the best darned summation of things all married that I can find.*

*And also because I showed my darling husband where the Jim Henson Studios are located here in town, complete with Kermit Statue at the gates, even though he'd driven by countless times without noticing before I intervened ...! (No, I dont' know how he didn't see that, either.)


Seriously people -- Iowa is now officially more progressive than my dear, sweet, native California. What gives?!?

things are afoot ...

I've been wanting to post all week ... but I'm afraid to jinx anything. But if I were to post about the "things" that are "going on", it might look something like this:
... but that's all I'll say for now.

However: anyone out there with spare fingers/toes/eyes to cross ... we'd appreciate the extra happy thoughts.

playlist of the week: 80's version

Some of you know about my awesome, silly day job. (And if you didn't, now you do.) One of the things I do for said job is make playlists. And I've decided to start posting them here -- just because. Let me know if you like/hate/aren't even vaguely amused/wonder when the hell this stopped being a blog about weddings. But be nice about it, 'k?

Some playlists relate to a certain "assignment" (aka theme), and sometimes they're just the music that's moving my body that week. This is one of the former, and the assigment was "80's Rocker Chick." I thought it would be hard, but as it turned out this could easily have been 3 hours long. Since my classes are only 2 hours long, I had to do some painful culling. Here's what I came up with:

Cyndi Lauper - True Colors
Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is
Wham - Careless Whisper
Jane's Addiction - Jane Says
Beastie Boys - Brass Monkey
David Bowie & Queen - Under Pressure
Peter Gabriel - Big Time
En Vogue - Free Your Mind
Rolling Stones - Start Me Up
Prince - Kiss
Michael Jackson - Man In The Mirror
Daniel Ash vs. Zak Ambrose - Rock On (Dirty Queen mix)

that was the warm-up ... the rest of the list was everything else I couldn't live without:

Def Lepard - Pour Some Sugar On Me (some songs are cliches because they're awesome)
Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion
Robert Palmer - Addicted To Love (those models couldn't even fake-play guitar, but they were hot)
Duran Duran - Notorious
George Michael - Monkey (yeah, technically he was already in here w/ Wham ... you got a problem with that?)
AC/DC - Back In Black
U2 - Pride (In The Name of Love)
Madonna - Like A Prayer
Guns 'N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle
Whitesnake - Here I Go Again
Journey - Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
The Police - Every Breath You Take

A shout-out to Mr. UB, who has a chronic 80's rock problem* and provided much assistance.

Also, I know that En Vogue song is from 1990. But a) technically a decade ends with the "zero" year so it totally counts, b) it's bad-ass, and c) it's my effing list. So there.

*he says it's not a problem

stuff I've gotten done

We've been a little slow on getting out the thank you cards. Like, a snail-race-through-molasses slow. But it's for a good reason. Or at least, a "good" reason. Mr. UB had the breel-yint idea to send each person a photograph of us using their gift, so as to make them feel like we really appreciate it. Or at least like it's not just gathering dust in an attic somewhere. (Not to worry: we don't have an attic!) A few people had to get left out of this fabulosity, because their gifts are in our storage unit (yes, we will remember them at Christmas), but for the most part, we "thanked" our people for their generosity thusly:

J, who bought us the luggage set, got this:

And S, our wine hook-up, received this little gem:
I'm sure they realize just how worth the wait that all was ....

In other news (aka Shopping Success Stories), behold:
$219 at Restoration Hardware

$10 at a thrift store in the valley. Hell no, I'm not saying which one.

Can world domination be far away?

new project!

(in which I discuss my transition from "obsessed with planning wedding" to "obsessed with finding a place to live", or We Attempt To Purchase a House)

Greetings, oh followers of this blog. If there are any of you left, given my post-nuptual slacking (2.5 months and counting -- woo hoo!) I am happy to report that my days are no longer consumed by finding affordable venues, caterers, et al. Oh no, children -- I've moved on. Evolved, even.

Now, my days are consumed with weathering the slings & arrows of entry-level Los Angeles real estate. Let the celebration begin!

Things I've learned thus far: when a listing describes the square-footage of a property as "tax assessor's data lists X", what they mean is "previous owners added onto this house without a) permits, b) taste, c) a moment's thought to how said addition would affect the property's resale value, or d) any shred of understanding as to how actual humans reasonably use their homes -- you know, for living in, and such."

Also, the favored building materials of the Great Unwashed are (in no particular order):
*stucco! because those 1910-built Craftsman homes look better without all that pesky wood

Or even better, a look I've dubbed "WTF-Chic"

*ceramic tile! on the floors/walls/anywhere you shouldn't have to clean or maintain ever again

(living room)

(bedroom)

*concrete! because we're not cheap, we're green -- you can't argue with 6000 square feet of concrete in leiu of anything that needs water, now, can you?

So far, we've put in offers on 2 places. The first one we didn't get ... we're in "back-up position". Which basically means we're hoping that by Saturday the other people's loan falls through. No schadenfreude here, folks!

And the second one ... well, the second one features ceramic tile throughout (in every. damn. room.), and concrete covering at least 80% of the lot. Also, the previous tenants absconded with the air conditioning unit, which should only cost $3-4000 to replace. And we've offered $14K over the asking price. We couldn't be more excited!

(all pics are knicked from public real estate websites ... if that turns out to be not-so-legal, I'll take 'em down)