I Have A Crush...

Yesterday, someone at work told me I reminded them of Zooey Deschanel.

Incidentally, it was one of the same girls who told me she didn't like my hair yesterday, which sparked a middle-school-drama-esque/hormones induced meltdown on the phone with my mom ("Mommy! She made fun of my hair!"). But I suppose the Zooey comment evens everything back out.

But for real. That's probably the best compliment I've ever received, even though I wouldn't say I agree. For one thing, my eyes are way too small.

http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2009/stylewatch/blog/090302/zooey_deschanel_300x400.jpg

And my hair is certainly nowhere near as fabulous.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdcgcMDo0luEInxmDFbdsIJI2011P-17UvB95jz4wGPWqDhTDnT4q9OkgkhFbUFNtkFmnzX2-AaLbNIMEoR0W9Wgl07rxw29f4a18qTG-50F8sfQmzrYkOIHI19SVbAkZIYVl8XUVGRVvA/s1600/z4.jpg

But fr'eal. I know I'm not the only one who has a girl crush. I know I'm not the only one who bought 500 Days of Summer on demand and watched it three times. In a row. And then raved to my boyfriend about how good it was and made him watch it with me again and want to break out into dance when I hear Hall and Oates on my ipod.

Or who blasts She and Him on my way to work in the morning and sings along like I'm bopping in a coffeehouse. 

Have you watched New Girl? It's not that good. Really, it's not. But somehow I always end up watching old episodes on Hulu that I missed because there's just something about Zooey that is so enticing. 

Eek, she's just so ADORABLE!

http://divergentmusings.com/2011/04/18/style-inspiration-zooey-deschanel/

She truly inspires me and the outfits I wear to work. Lots of polka dots, tights, and dresses. For instance, yesterday I was wearing a red polka dot skirt (that was once a Goodwill find for a Minnie Mouse costume) which I think might have sparked the comment. Let's just say I walked with a little extra bounce in my step every time I got up to get coffee!

Unfortunately, I can copy her outfits 'till the cows come home, but I will never, ever be able to pull off her perfect bangs. Sigh. I hate her like poison. 

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gnRv6FkqiIJUv0Mgbw6ZR_p-wnGEG8pCetyOlDZFwb7X1fhA7H3bL2bIsGDACbvjGCtISyYbUGs3EWO-4VkwR9jnvo7mB2nH_wN1RejyRWG_Mn1EC3fu3Zjx5b6jCNfv71Giv-ds1gg9/s1600/new+girl+poster.JPG

In other news, Ian must have caught wind of my girl crush because he cooked me dinner last night.

Which is almost as good as perfect bangs. Right?

Scary Movie Fail

So last night, while flipping through the channels looking for our Thursday night Family Guy fix, I saw that Children of the Corn was on ChillerTV. And it had just started ten minutes earlier. Score.

We had both never seen Children of the Corn. All I knew was creepy kids=no sleep for Bren. But sometimes that's kind of fun, right? Especially around Halloween. And last night was the perfect night for a scary movie: cold, windy, and leaves blowing everywhere.

As we watched, Ian commented on how new the movie looked. I looked at the info and stated that it was made in 1984. But as we watched, we commented on how good quality the movie was--they were using some film techniques that were before its time. Ian, the film guru, was amazed. Bren, the fashion guru, was amazed at how the outfits were surprisingly not outdated. Because fashion makes a full circle, dont'cha know! They were wearing the same clothes back then that we do now! How creepy!

It all seemed a little fishy Ian wondered out loud if there was a Children of the Corn remake. "No!" I refuted, "it says 1984 on the TV! There is no remake!"

As usual, when a movie factoid is in question, Ian pulled up IMDB. 

Turns out we were watching the 2009 made-for-TV Children of the Corn. All of a sudden, it just didn't seem so scary. In fact, it was pretty lame.

So we flipped to On Demand to try and find an actual horror flick. And in doing so, found old episodes of Nickelodeon's Doug. SUPER SCORE.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Curl up and watch a scary movie!

Our Wedding Day: The Photographic Tour

I took a stack of wedding photos into work yesterday. I didn't want to make a big show of it, but the two girls I sit next to had wanted to see them. But it quickly turned into someone walking by, saying "oooh what's that?" "Wedding photos!" "Oooh, I want to see!"

So how could I say no to showing off the photographic evidence of the best day ever? 

People were especially amused or confused by our picks for our posed photo spots. Reactions from some of our photos ranged from "Your bridesmaids look so young!" to "Why did you take a picture in the middle of the street?" to "You walked all over campus in your dress?" 

But for real, they loved them. And I loved peeping over their shoulders with the biggest smile on my face while they flipped through, and I got to relive our wedding day--again. That's pretty much the best thing ever.

Several weeks before our wedding, I met with Meagan Jepson, our photographer, to show her the church and give her some ideas I had on where I wanted to take photos. Throughout my four years at Penn State, I had been slowly gathering potential wedding spots in my mind as I would walk to class every day. The side of Old Main on the steps? Yes. In front of the restored State Theatre? Perfect. On the stools of the College Diner? Hmm...too much? Nah. It'll be awesome. I had even come up with the perfect route for making sure to hit all the wedding spots in the short period of time that we had. Meagan excitedly scribbled them all down in her notebook, also pointing out spots in the church that would be great for indoor photos. 

It was when I went to share the ideas with other people that I had one of my only Bridezilla-esque moments. A lot of folks, including my fabulous fiance, weren't sure that we would be able to hit all of those spots in the hour that we had to take photos. The plan involved getting all 20 guys and gals of the bridal party up to Old Main, situated for photos, and then working our way down College Avenue to get the rest of the shots I wanted. Even our wedding coordinator at the Elks was hesitant to say it would work.  This might have caused a bit of a meltdown. I had been dreaming of having wedding photos at these spots for years, and I was going to make it work. Dammit. 

So after stressing the importance to everyone of how we were going to have to move quickly (and sending out a wedding day itinerary that included all the photo spots so there would be no confusion) everyone hopped in the cars and headed up to Old Main on campus after the crowd had began to disperse at the church. We had to take turns with a few other wedding parties, but we got the shots at Old Main. And they were amazing.

*Photos by Meagan Jepson Photography

Next, the bridal party got back in their cars to head up to the reception, and Ian and I made our way downtown with the photographers to get the rest of the perfect shots. And stopped for some impromptu ones along the way.

We popped into the Diner and got some of my favorite vintage-y shots.

And then made our way to the State Theatre, which just happened to have just let out of a movie so the lights were on (!!!!) and took some more of my favorite pictures. OK, they all are my favorite.

With the last snap of the camera, Meagan said it was time to head up the reception. 

Proving that, while in all other areas of my life my timing is terrible, it was spot-on for our wedding day. And I got to take our photographic tour of State College in my wedding dress.

My Most Hormonal Day Ever or: I Made Monkey Bread

Some days I think I'm a really cool wife. Other days, no matter how many times I ask my dear husband, "I just want to be a cool wife. Am I a cool wife? Are you sure?", I let my hormones get the best of me and my emotions and I turn into Bren the Weird Wife.

This is nothing new to Ian. Once he survived my first dumb meltdown (was it over a baking disaster? A stubbed toe? A glass of spilled milk? I'll have to ask him...) several years ago and assured me that he still loved me and didn't think I was crazy, I knew that he would be a keeper. However, it wouldn't have been too far beyond me to sneak something into the vows about sticking together through PMS or non-PMS-related meltdowns. You know, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, especially during that time of the month...till death do us part.

So today, I was just feeling a little cranky for no particular reason. Which is typically solved by eating food that's terrible for me. After perusing the web for a Dutch Oven Cinnamon Bread-type of recipe, I decided that it would be a fabulous day to make monkey bread. After church, I trekked down the road to Giant to pick up some yeast and the sunshine lifted my spirits a bit.

I returned home and laid out all the ingredients on the counter as gunshots and loud noises emerged from Ian's new Playstation. I rambled to him about how I was still getting used to living with a boy after coming from a house where the TV was ruled by TLC and HGTV, not video games and football (I had a lot of coffee this morning). I had my computer perched on the counter with the Dutch Oven Monkey Bread recipe and ran to the bedroom to get the chord for it. I yanked the chord from the wall, but must of yanked a little too violently, because the next thing I knew the glass of water sitting on my nightstand was all over everything near it, including the floor, some books, and our framed engagement photos still sitting on the floor.

Like I said, too much coffee.

And that's where the floodgates burst. After yelling a few bad words, more coming each time I saw a new thing that was now soaked, I stormed out to grab a roll of paper towels. Tears streamed down my face as I tried to salvage the wet photos and wipe up the wet glass. Ian heard the ruckus and came in to help, while I wailed about ruining the beautiful photos he had framed for me, and cried some more about the fact that I was crying over spilled water.

In truth, nothing was really ruined. Ian gave the pictures a few quick blasts from the hair dryer, and laid them out to dry on the floor. Other than a few wet spots on the carpet, it turned out that the world wasn't actually ending.

I emerged from the bedroom to grab a handful of tissues to wipe up my very attractive snotty nose. When Ian followed behind me, he said (cautiously), "You alright?".

I fell into a hug and then the tears started all over again. This time, maybe because I was so happy he was my husband? Or that he saved our precious photos that could be printed again from Walmart from their soggy death?

As I burrowed my face into his shoulder, I said "I'm going to make something that's really bad for us."

"Awesome", he said.

"It has two sticks of butter in it."

"Go for it."

"I'm a weird wife."

"You're not a weird wife."

And then we moved on with life. And I made monkey bread. Not until after I realized halfway through that I hardly had any flour left in the cabinet (contrary to popular belief, once you move away from home there is no magic flour fairy that makes sure your staples are always stocked) and made yet another trek to Giant sans meltdown. And realized when I got home that I was wearing my grungiest, most see-through shirt I own. You're welcome, teenage boys of the Springfield Giant.

Several hours later, the most amazing combination of yeast, cinnamon, and butter I have ever laid my little mouth on popped out of the oven.

She might be weird, but she sure can bake. Sometimes.

An Unplugged Weekend in PA

Ah, my late shift days at work. Sleeping in, lounging in the morning, arriving home when it's time to go to bed, and seeing the husband for about two hours.

On the upside, I've got time for blogging!

This weekend we had a lovely time in our central PA hometown, and let me tell you, after being away from home for as long as I ever have been, it was a much-needed return. Being in the comfort of the town that I was so ready to get out of two months ago was an odd feeling. Approaching the exit on the highway to drive down the familiar roads, where most things have gone unchanged. Seeing neighbors at the store, eating lunch at a favorite childhood spot, Mom's sticky buns on Saturday morning, coffee with girlfriends, and a night on the town with more girlfriends, including one that made a surprise trip home. Poppyseed roll from Aunt Joan and baked goods from my sister, Sunday morning in the church that we hadn't been in since our wedding day, and brunch in Amish country with Ian's family. And of course, the trip to the spa on Saturday morning wasn't bad either.

I brought my camera, but didn't really take any photos for the weekend. Sometimes, I get caught up in documenting my life for the sake of the blog, rather than for myself. Sometimes, it's nice to enjoy your days through your own eyes, and not through the camera lens.

Maybe it makes for boring blog posts, but sometimes it really is nice to spend a weekend unplugged.

(Although I did snap a few shots of the pretty trees on the way home.)

The Funky Junkie Goes to Work

You know you're a blogger when you dress for the day with your blog in mind. Only problem is, usually by the time I'm dressed in the morning for work Ian is already long gone down the road to school, which means no photographer. I've tried several times to master the self-timer-on-top-of-the-trash-can, but it usually fails.

So sometimes I snap phone pictures of myself when I'm enjoying the morning commute.

But yesterday, when Ian had a the day off, was finally the day I got some real photos of my working woman attire! Of course, this might have meant I picked out my outfit with a little extra care...

Nevertheless, I love having a job where I get to dress up (although I sometimes feel a tad overdressed!). Having only ever worked in a restaurant-related jobs, I'm now getting used to a job where my day consists of mostly of sitting in a chair, with a few trips to the printer and copy machine thrown in there. But I love skirts and heels and pretty shirts. And good hair days. And that I don't come home from work smelling like hamburgers.

I found this H&M skirt at the State College Goodwill several years ago. It's been one of those items that cycles its way in and out of my life. Now that skirts have become a weekly routine, it's found a lasting place again in my wardrobe. I love pairing it with this vintage-y looking top from Kohl's; it kind of reminds me of what you'd see on a 1970's tux.

I also love that it's Fall, and that this weekend we will be in our hometown for homecoming weekend, which means football for Ian, and spa for the Saylor ladies. Let's make this week go fast!

Hair

The result of my usual Fall hair boredom:

As long as the humidity, rain, and heat stay away, me and my hair will be very, very happy.