Happy Valentine's Day! Love, Evil Dictators (and me!)

In honour of Valentine's Day (a day which seems to polarize society into thinking they must take a stand and identify as either Pro-Valentine or Anti-Valentine), I share with you, the worlds most discomforting valentine messages. "Don't Embargo My Love" has to be my personal favourite...

From I Can has Cheezburger....I think...

J'accuse!!

I don't want to sound like a total conspiracy theorist but here it goes: Someone stole my coffee mug.

It's POSSIBLE that I misplaced it but no, I'm sure some mean jerk took it. I had it on my desk when I left the office last Friday and it was gone when I arrived on Monday morning. I checked around all the offices that I used on Friday, and even the coffee station and cafeteria but to no avail. I'm totally bummed. I know it's just a mug but it was a cool mug! I got it a few years back from the Crow Bookshop in Burlington, Vermont. I adore the bookshop, it has the ambiance and layout of the kind of quintessential bookshop that you just want to spend hours perusing. Not to mention the fact I love the graphic design of the namesake crow that adorns their store front. I was all too happy to pick up one of their branded mugs. I have a thing for quirky or interestingly designed coffee mugs.

So, in ode to my mug, I give you the image it was etched with:

The Crow Bookshop Logo

If anyone has any information on said mug, I would appreciate it. No reward, but you may be lucky enough to witness me giving hell to the person responsible. Woe to the person who gets caught drinking from my mug.....

Okay well, it makes me happier...

Sooooo, the forecast indicates that another snow storm is on it's way tonight. I'm guessing that's because tomorrow is Friday and I made plans to go out and actually do things in the world. I keep giving myself pep talks, like "it's normal that February is the coldest month of winter", and "March, in like a lion and out like a lamb!" but who am I kidding? My dry, ashy skin and static charged hair tell the truth about the weather conditions.

Sorry about that but I had to bitch just a teensy weensy bit; this winter is kicking my ass. I'm going to try and make up for it with this:

Read/Watch: The Game of Thrones dilemma

I recently started reading the Game of Thrones series and I am absolutely savouring it. Now that I have a basis of comparison, I realize how pitch perfect the adaptation of the first book was to the first season of the HBO show. I am fully up to date with the show which is two seasons in, with the third season  starting on March 31st. I am giddy with anticipation! But here is my dilemma; once I read the first and second books to catch up with the show, should I stop and wait until I have finished the 3rd season before I start the third book?

Normally the answer to this is easy because with movie/book adaptions, I prefer to read the book first. This way, I can imagine what the characters and scenery look like in my own head before seeing how someone else envisioned it. But with a serialized show like GoT, I am having a hard time deciding which version I want to treat as the 'master' version. The show is just that good. Knowing that GoT is my absolute favourite show on TV right now, I am torn about whether or not I want the read ahead and ruin the surprises that will come with each episode. I was told that the story veers so much in the second season that I probably won't have to worry about plots being ruined, but I will undoubtedly be making comparisons throughout the show. For example, during the break between the first and second seasons of The Walking Dead, I went on a blitz and read all of the comic books without really thinking it through. This put me way ahead of the show and I'm guessing this made for a frustrating experience to watch the show with me (I know Marc, I know). I have no ability to restrain myself from constantly comparing my interpretation to what is on the screen. Com-puls-ive.

Does this sound totally neurotic, or are there other bibliophiles out there that struggle with the same (first world) problems?? It's like I'm trying to pre-empt my own idiosyncratic behaviour. I have a few hundred pages to read before I make my decision, but I'm leaning towards waiting until after the third season is over...

BTW, if you respond to this, PLEASE don't ruin any of the story lines, spoilers and Heather don't mix!!

Shop: Banana Republic's Monique clutch in Coral

Another day, another sale at Banana Republic. Every email evokes a Pavlovian effect in me to scour the site for new goodies. I have been better about my retail spending but it's got less to do with a conscious effort to stop spending and more to do with the fact I'm not feeling particularly attractive these days (bloated and ouchie from my lovely UC*). Being in a UC flare up tends to have a direct correlation to my disinterest in clothing. You can always tell when I'm not feeling the self-esteem because my purchasing turn towards accessories. Lovely items that do not require a Small, Medium or Large size to fit into my life. One size fits all....and will continue to fit whether or not my belly bloats. So.....a 40% promo code and no interest in clothes? Jewellery, scarves and purses, oh my! I have already beaten this point to death but winter is getting to me.  I really wanted something that said 'Spring' to me so the colour of this pretty little thing really caught my eye. I love the lattice work of the leather as well as the gold tone of the hardware. At 40% off, the Monique clutch was too hard to resist. Is it too much to hope that it's arrival will bring with it some spring weather as well?

* NOTE: I will forever after refer to Ulcerative Colitis as UC, so that I avoid having to spell it and make a million typos. Besides, even typing ulcerative colitis is yucky. Boooooooo....UC sucks.


Photo courtesy of BR

Photo courtesy of BR

Eleanor Binky Wigglebottom

Just a small sample of the oodles of bunny photos that reside on my iPhone. I can not stop gushing about how cute she is. Don't get me wrong, she's naughty and at times, just pure evil. But she can win you over with a simple hop in the air or nibble of hay. It's really interesting to see how people react when they meet her. I can see the sckepticism at first, but after watching her binky and play, I can tell people are pleasantly surprised by how fun she is.

I am in love with this little bun and boy, do I have the scratches on my forearms and chest to prove it ...she doesn't love being picked up nearly as much as I like holding her.

 



 

Listen: Not quite the soundtrack of Silver Linings Playbook

Last week I went with a friend to see Silver Linings Playbook. I enjoyed the film, particularly the awkward dynamic between the two main characters and the cadence of the dialogue. Well, that and fact I could stare at Jennifer Lawrence for nearly two hours....that girl is downright luscious. I was really hung up on a song that they used in the film. It was a song I can remember listening to a million times over as a teenager and I was 100% sure it was Led Zepplin...but how could I have forgotten about such a good song? It was killing me that I couldn't place it.... what album? what song? I was angry with myself for having forgotten it. When I got home I searched iTunes for the soundtrack only to discover that there were no Led Zep songs on it. I couldn't be THAT wrong, it had to be a Led Zep song. After a few key word searches, I discovered that I was correct; the song, which was excluded from the soundtrack was 'What is, and What Should Never Be". What a relief it was to have found the answer, I thought my brain was going to explode. I thought I was all 'Led Zep'ed out' after years of listening but I think I need to add Lep Zep IV back to my music rotation.