in 5th grade my teacher told me that I “was the reason god invented spell check”

i bring this up, because one of my new obsessions is the iPhone app Words with Friends. (download it here: ) This app is basically a free if the ads bug you too much) version of scrabble where you can play with friends, strangers or just pass the phone to the person next to you.

All this to say Words with Friends is a great application. The user interface is slick, it has push notification and it lets you know when you’ve made up a fake word or just plain spelled something wrong (which is often my case). I’m a pretty easy target, due to the inventive spelling and all, so come play with me! My username is 3liz4b3th, of course!

By the way I’m not sure when online scrabble became such a big thing. A few months ago my mom, who I affectionately refer to as Cindy, developed a severe addiction to the facebook scrabble application scrabulous (?). It got so bad that she would sit staring at the computer waiting for her cousin to make a move, neglecting her two beautiful, talented, smart adult children.

Since college I have wanted a pair of hunter wellies, but the price point was just a little too high. After some research I discovered that my size 6.5 foot would fit into a pair of children’s boots for a mere $60 (compared to the adult price of $115).

I ordered a size 5 youth from Zappos.com on Saturday morning. They were even nice enough to upgrade my free UPS ground shipping to overnight for free! The boots arrived right when I got home from work and fit my short calves perfectly. No one would ever be able to tell that they are technically children’s unless they noticed the reflectors on the back.

With all the heavy rain we’re supposed to get tomorrow in Boston I can’t wait to tromp through some puddles on my way to work.

So ladies, if you’re a size 8 or under I would highly recommend forgoing the traditional Hunter boots and getting yourself a pair of children’s. You can spend the extra $55 on another pair of shoes!

-ps- here’s where mine came from:

Because of this, I’ve acquired a large number of makeup brushes. Yesterday, after a mass room cleaning I decided that I needed a cheap and easy way to store my brushes so I don’t have to dig for them every morning. The result was the following:

I simply bought a cheap glass vase and some “mini-river rocks” from target and made something that not only complimented the aesthetic of my room, but was also functional. The best part was it all cost under $10!

For Christmas I would like 2 sets of round trip plane tickets to California in March (one set is for Cori). Also, some tickets to Bamboozle left would be nice.

I have not been a good girl, but I think you can cut me a break.

Elizabeth

JON’S CHRITSMAS LIST

Tickets

-Red Sox

-Something cool like opening day or a yanks game. DON’T WASTE MONEY ON BAD GAMES!! Like one that I could just easily walk up and buy day of game tickets to.

-Bruins/Celtics

-I’m reluctant to put these on here because I wouldn’t buy these because I feel you don’t get your moneys worth but just be reasonable if you get these. Again no boring games please have it be of some significance. For example v.s. Lakers/Cavs/Magic or Otawa/Habs/someone cool (dad can explain who the Habs are btw)

-College Basketball

-NCAA TOURNEY. First and Second Round games are in providence this year!!

-Later rounds (semis and finals, no early rounds) in the Big East Tourney maybe…

Clothes

-Dress Shirts

-16.5 and than 36/37 or even 37/38 works

-Ties

-Nice pants

-Nordstrom Rack has really nice pants for good prices and they custom fit them @ the store. You could always just get me a gift

-Other places to give gift certificates for

-Men’s Warehouse

-Jos. A. Bank

-Dress shoes (I guess)

-Could use some snazzy black ones the ones I have are a little  worn out, but no urgent need here.

-Dress Socks, Black and brown I guess. -A DRESS BELT THAT FITS. Not an Abercrombie belt, A DRESS BELT Electronics -Cool T.V. -Nice flat screen maybe if you find any good deals don’t waste  money on something small though. -Sound System for the Buick

-The bass sucks and hasn’t worked for a long time…

-The 6^th Season of ENTOURAGE on DVD. I’m not sure when it comes out on DVD though.

Gift Card things (ugh)

-Sonic!

-Any other cool places your could think about.

Ending Note… Just because there is all this stuff on the list does not mean that I want it REALLY BADLY it just means it’s all I thought of while I was writing the list so don’t go spending $200 on Dress clothes or what have you. Just because that section is the longest doesn’t mean I want that stuff the most. As with gift cards just because it’s the shortest doesn’t mean I want that the least. Please don’t waste money on something look for deals such as with the DVD you can get it real cheap on Amazon or something. Same with the tickets maybe you can get under face value on EBay or somewhere else. As well NEVER GO STRAIGHT FOR OVERPRICED TICKETS ALWAYS CHECK TO SEE IF THERE ARE STILL FAVE VALUE TICKETS ON SALE THROUGH THE TEAM! To finish not all I want is on the list because it’s hard for me to truly write these things down on the spot this is just some things that would be cool to have that I have come up with on the spot. Maybe instead of receiving $30 in scratch tickets that money could be used in a way that the receiver will get more out of the thirty dollars rather than the buyer spending 30 so the receiver can get $10.

*Please note I, Elizabeth, had no part in the color coordination of this list.

FYT: A really bad photo of Jen and I in matching outfits (Paris, France. March 2005)

edit 12.2.09

thanks to Heather I now know that this necklace is actually made by Dogeared. You can purchase it on their website here or at Nordstrom. I picked one up this weekend!

A lot has changed since I last tried to pawn my apartment off on all of you (that didn’t go so well, but you can ask me about it in person). I live at home with my parents and dog. I have a full time job at a children’s book company in Cambridge (after having spent the summer dabbling in textbooks). I don’t go on very many adventures anymore, though I did go on one today. Anything else you want to know, just ask, but those are the basics.

I’ve been at my new job a month now and am settling into a routine. I find that living at home has put me back into the rhythm of things I did in high school. I eat dinner with my parents. Watch tv in the basement with Mike. Drive around in the honda listening to music as high as it can go. The music is all what I listened to when I was 16. I also started reading John Irving’s new book Last Night in Twisted River. Irving, was my favorite author in high school after I read A Prayer for Owen Meany. The way he writes has influenced both my writing style and my ideas of what a good story should entail. Lots of semi-colons, an intricate plot, characters you can empathize with, feel anxious towards, even despise and heaps of coincidences that are never actually a  coincidence.

Here’s a passage from his latest books that maybe you will like as much as I do.

“One day, the writer would recognize the near simultaneity of connected but dissimilar momentous events —these are what move a story forward —but at the moment Danny lost consciousness in Carmella’s sweet-smelling arms, the exhausted boy had merely been thinking: How coincidental is this? (He was too young to know that, in any novel with a reasonable amount of forethought, there were no coincidences.)” pg 135

This scene takes place on Charter St in the North End, my home for 2 years.

I visited a granite quarry today and it took me right back to Owen Meany. On days like today, where it’s not too cold and not to hot, I can love New England. I understand Irving’s obsession with it as his home and as a setting.

I think it’s time I go finish my book.

(Also, after attempting to log into this blog for the first time in months I had to spend 10 minutes trying to remember my password. I then was instructed to update wordpress and after doing so was handed a fatal error on both the front end and back end. karma? Well we’re back now.)

Looking for 3 people to sublet an extremely spacious North End Apartment (3-4 times the size of your average Beacon Hill place). Heat and hot water is included within the rent. We are open to negations in terms of price. If you want to take just 1 or 2 bedrooms we are also open to that, as long as you are willing to have two roommates. Additionally, if you are interested you could sign a lease for now until September 2010 (rent would be negotiated with the landlord)

Features include:
-exposed brick and hardwood floors
-Free private washer and dryer in the apartment.
-dish washer
-hard wood floors
-disposal and full bath
-Apartment is located on the first floor.

Each floor of the building is privately owned so it’s a pretty quiet place. 10 minute walk to the T (Haymarket – green line/orange line)

Rent is $2500 plus electric and comcast. Subletting dates would be ASAP until September 1, 2009 or September 1, 2010

Arkansas is full of bad billboards and drivers. The tailgating and lack of blinkers was like being in LA again. Notable billboards include:

-one for a wine tasting place that said “Like California, but not as fruity”
-”Use the rod on children and save their lives”

Moving on. Made it to Memphis around 5 and checked in to a swanky hotel downtown. We walked a few blocks to Beale Street for some BBQ. All photos are from Mike. You should click on his name to see a secret photo not posted here.