Fall-La-La-La-La

Fall is here and I can prove it:
1) First Husker game (and win) of the season was on Saturday. Sorry we wiped the floor with you, W. Kentucky, can't say you weren't warned!
2) Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Salted Carmel Hot Chocolates are at Starbucks. I've only indulged in the first so far but the second promises to be almost as heart-stoppingly delicious and bad for me as the first so it will happen soon.
3) Squashes are starting to show up at the Farmer's Market and the first crop of apples is sneaking into the grocery store and consequently being swarmed by apple loves (I got the last two honeycrisps on the stand last week).
4) I'm already getting the "winter reading itch" and plotting the books I'll read in Winter 2010/2011
5) The weather has necessitated runs back into the house for cardigans and sweaters
6) My favorite clothing Web sites have been advertising shooties (booties + shoes)

7) Peach pies are beginning to give way to apple pies soon (though, the peach pies were fantastic, if I may say so myself—I acheived a lattice top this year too).












8) I've revived my ghost story I'm writing and it's coming together plot wise—now I just have to write the dang thing.
9) Previews for scary movies are coming out; I tell myself I'll go to all of them but really end up just renting one of the not-so-scary ones six months later.
10) Halloween candy is out and I bought my mother a bag of mallowcream pumpkins yesterday.

Ooooh pretty.

Just pretty things from Anthropologie.

The Uniform Project

Ten days and counting left for The Uniform Project! I am utterly inspired by the NYC woman who decided to wear one dress for one year (she had seven copies made), accessorize with only upcycled and donated accessories and blog it out.

Why would she do this?

To raise money for Akanksha, a charity that puts underprivilaged Indian kids in school. Here's the back story:

The Uniform Project Trailer from The Uniform Project on Vimeo.

And the rest is history! Sheena wears some hideous things and some glorious things. I love that she is brave enough to even let viewers vote whether her look is "batty," "brave," "hot," "cute," "try harder," or create your own tag. Some of my Favorite days include:
May 18 and 7; June 20; July 25; August 6 (!); September 3, 5, and 26; October 30 (one of my favorites on my birthday!) & 31; November 27; Janurary 29; February 5; and April 19.


And some duds in my book:
August 12, 28, & 29; September 15; October 2; November 18; December 4; January 30; February 15; and March 13...but you can't say she's not "brave"!

Uniform Project Picture Book from The Uniform Project on Vimeo.

I'll be donating this week—I've enjoyed her efforts and creativity so much that I can't help myself; if you're inspired or feel so moved, donate too!!

Uhmazing Upcycling

Etsy has been covering the The Daily Green's Heart of Green Awards and showcased some of these lovelies on their Web site. I'm basically going to abbreviate the blogpost Etsy did so the following writing isn't all mine; I wouldn't cut and paste if they hadn't said it better than I could.

Plastic BottlesThe U.S. discards 13 million tons of plastic annually — more than 12% of our overall waste — and barely 7% of the plastic we discard is recycled. The biggest proportion of that plastic waste comes in the form of plastic bottles (beverages as well as personal care products, cleansers and the like) and packaging. How about a plastic bottle greenhouse? Or a colorful outdoor wall? That's what this sewage treatment plant in Scotland tried, to great effect:










Clothing
Together with leather and rubber, textiles makes up 8% of the U.S. waste. Hand-me-downs, second-hand shops and swaps can take a lot of those old clothes off your hands, possibly even at a profit — unless, of course, you want to use the fabric for something better, like a door draft snake made from old jeans, or this stylish clutch, made from old neckties by Christine Wick:











Glass
Accounting for 5% of U.S. waste, glass is infinitely recyclable. Just add heat! We still only manage to recycle 23% of it, though. I'm guessing that low rate isn't because everyone is using old glass bottles to make new cups, new roofs, or new serving plates.

LOVE the rootbeer and wine bottles with the sanded lips so you don't cut your pouter!












And how cute would these be if your hubby were in a baseball league by night and a businessman by day?

Monday Must Haves

Better than a spork.


My new thing is owls and this is my favorite girly color ever so this t-shirt is epic to me.


Well this is brilliant! I like to think even I could handle nailing a couple rustic, wire baskets to the wall and filling them with fresh towels. I also just love pile and piles of fresh towels/linens.


Brings a whole new meaning to "climbing the walls"—WANT!


I want to do this! Love love love this idea and I think I have a new "brilliant blogger" to add to the crew, click here to see what I'm talking about.

Five Great Things Friday—Vote!

Vote for your favorite tee!!

I can already feel my quarter-life crisis creeping up on me and part of it is the conviction that I'm not too crusty to wear cheeky tees (a la college students...hey, they can be worn off campus, right?).

Anyway, I'm buying a snorgy tee one way or another but I can't decide which one. Take a peek at this week's five great things/tees and let me know which you like best.

A Hint of Hillcrest

Welcome to the Gay-borhood! This is Hillcrest, or at least a cross section of it, only about two blocks from my beloved friends' apartment (Lindsey, Annie, Tina, Rowan, and Christy's) lay this glorious area where vintage boutiques, bookstores, and restaurants divine are situated. Hillcrest is the GLBT, technicolor paradise of San Diego as this is where there's a high concentration of gay/lesbian residents. There's so much more to this neighborhood, but this is the little corner I explored one Sunday afternoon when the sun was just perfect.


One of the more high-brow vintage stores in San Diego, you can't believe the fantastic couture and bygone fashions behind this fabulously Spanish-themed window display. I just about bought four hats, but remarkably, I was able to refrain (I only own about six vintage hats I never wear already, eek!).


Bluestocking Books is a used and new book store with fabulous tongue-in-cheek gifts, feminist flair, and piles of great lit. As a used bookstore epicure, I give this one five out of five for meeting the following requirements: musty but not bad book smell, creative lighting, wooden floors, mismatched book shelves, and (my personal favorite which I haven't seen elsewhere) rescued and repurposed art prints!



Mural on the side of an elementary school that I enjoyed.

Gone Writing

(this photo is entitled Meg Pontificates)

Hello Dahlings,
To all my faithful (and tolerant) readers, thank you very much for visiting my blog. I wanted you to know that until further notice, my posts will be more sparse than usual as I am working on writing an actual story. I am collaborating with my mother to develop a story she made up for Michael and I when we were little. She'd started this wonderful story and never concluded it so it's time these characters and plot were put to paper. Wish us luck and I offer the following recommendations for much better reading than you'll find here:

The Tao of Pooh is my most recent read, it's a well-thought-out argument that Winnie the Pooh is the West's version of a taoist. It's an academic argument with none of the pompousness and lofty reasonings. Though I, myself don't subscribe to the teachings of taoism, I thorougly enjoyed this short, fun read.

Bleak House, I'm not reading it; I'm watching it. This is a FANTASTIC BBC production of Dicken's book and I haven't finished it yet but I've seen enough to recommend it. I'm hopelessly hooked and thrilled by the film and the language found therein. Rent it from your library, they'll probably have it or order it for you if you ask.

For fantastic tips on everything (and even better recipes), visit the RealSimple Web site by Martha Stewart.

Go to BBC's news site for the very best of the best journalism, in my opinion.

As a former employee of and a current fan, I must tell you that for me, every Autumn's sweater shopping begins and ends with a visit to the GAP, you'll have these sweaters forever.

If you haven't igoogled yet, you must. It's basically a personalized homepage for you to add whatever you'd like (sort of like Mac's widgets, for my fellow Apple mates). I have a banner across the top featuring art by Jeff Koons, a crossword that renews itself every day, places one must travel to, BBC headlines, How-to tips, and more. Now go make your own.

Finally, to the right of my blog you'll see a list of other bloggers. Feel free to peruse their prose and enjoy their thoughts. Mama Mullen is, truly, queen of the kitchen so go there for some yummo recipes, Tiffany is brilliant and sees the world through an imperfect-Christian lens we all need a prescription for, Heather loves life more than most, and Gina is a modern-day Diana goddess of the hunt/fish/climb/camp, just to detail a few.

I'm off to write, cheers!