Game of MASH

Do you remember those childish games you used to play in elementary school? You know, like dots, hang man or that one game where you unfold origami until it revealed a secret? Why did we ever stop playing them? Sure, they're not legitimate fortune tellers, but they're fun.

My favorite game- by far- was MASH. The game that decided your future husband, home, career and pets to name a few. {We always added more categories.}

I played a game of MASH on the train and thought I'd share my results with you! I am going to marry Hayden Christensen {the best part of the game is that I can choose guys like Hayden} and live with him, our three kids and dog in a house in San Francisco. I drive to my job as an architect in my GMC Acadia. We vacation in Italy. Not a bad life, eh? What does your future hold?

Here are the rules of the game according to Wikipedia (keep in mind there are many variations):

1. Write down five of each of the following: names, types of cars, colors, number of children, places, and careers.
2. One person starts drawing a spiral on a piece of paper and the person whose fortune is being told tells her when to stop. Then, you count across the spiral top to bottom to get the magic number for the game.
3. Count through your lists of items and the letters M-A-S-H, eliminating the ones that you land on with your magic number. The last one left in each group is your winner. Keep counting through until you have only your last choice in each category left.

{photos via 1. Jax&thebeanstalk 2. Wikipedia 3. Architecture.com

4. GMC 5. Dog Breed Info 6. A+ Images 7. Patrick Webb}

I'm On A Boat

Andy Samberg is one of the funniest performers I've seen {on TV}. I can't stop watching clips of his SNL skits and The Lonely Island videos. The music videos are the best! {Because of Andy Samberg, I almost like Justin Timberlake. Almost.}

Downtown Madison

One of my favorite blogs {Reading My Tea Leaves} has a recurring 'downtown' theme that I absolutely adore. I love traveling and seeing new places so I really enjoy when she also posts other's downtown photos. I thought I would also post a few photos of my downtown...

This is Madison, Wis. and though I moved away a year ago, I will always consider it my second home.

Saturday Morning Tradition

Why wake up early on a Saturday morning? To go to the farmers' market, of course. When I was in college, I used to buy all of my vegetables at the farmers' market every week. The market was so big, you could find EVERYTHING there.

The market this morning was smaller but still made for a perfect start to the day. I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed downtown to do a little fresh food shopping: potatoes, onions, peppers, corn, squash and apples {to name a few}. I'm excited to make some great meals now!

{photo via Flickr}

Design Style in One Picture

Alek from the blog From the Right Bank to the Left Coast created a 'What's Your Style in One Picture' challenge. I love imagining what my house will eventually look like so I thought I'd try it. However, finding one photo to describe my interior design style was much more difficult than I thought it would be.

I know, it looks pretty boring but I love the cozy, welcoming feeling. Plus, I hear blues and browns are very calming, which is definitely what I want in my living room.

My favorite details:

Lots of natural light.

Huge couch- perfect for reading all afternoon.

Mostly solid colors, not distracting patterns.

And the colors- all neutral.

Very casual.

And I love using books as decoration.

I like to think that I can always add a little more flair to other rooms in the house.

{photo via potterybarn}

I Miss My Pen

I'm all about the interwebs and new technologies, but I have to say, sometimes I miss the simplicity of a pen and a notepad. Don't ask me why, but I feel that thoughts are more 'mine' if I see them in my own handwriting rather than some bland font on my screen.

So I was extremely excited when I found out that I can actually make my handwriting into a font! YourFonts let's you upload a sample of your handwriting and converts it to a personalized font. I'm really excited to try it. I think I'd be much more excited to send emails and create projects.

Bouquets of Sharpened Pencils

It's that time of the year when store aisles are filled with notebooks, pencils, glue and crayons. Kids are picking out new backpacks and preparing themselves for early mornings. It's almost time for school to begin again.

Usually, this time of the year makes me happy. {I may be a nerd, but I love school. Like Tom Hanks mentioned in You've Got Mail, I wish I could send people bouquets of sharpened pencils to brighten days.}

However, this year, the sight of pens, paper and erasers makes me more sad than happy. This is the first Fall in 17 years that I won't be in school and I'm having a hard time dealing with it. I guess this truly is a sign that I'm growing up and I can't fight it any longer.

{photo via Flickr}

Playing with Guns

My friend is what many people would call a gun enthusiast, but I think he's a nut. He owns almost 30 guns of all shapes, sizes and caliber.

His friends ask to use his guns all the time, but for personal and safety reasons, he only lets them shoot once a year. As much as they want. At a variety of targets and explosives. It's a shootout at Hack Farms.

I'm still not a fan of guns, but it was exhilarating to finally hold and shoot one.

Stella's Style

I'm a huge fan of her dad but I have to say, Stella McCartney has much better style. {Especially when you consider the Sgt Peppers costume disaster.}

I absolutely love Stella's Autumn line. It's so fabulous, I wish I could afford to buy all of it. {Or any of it.}

Movie Reviews: Thumbs Up and Down

Like I said before, I appreciate hearing friends' opinions on movies more than a critic's. Here's my thumbs up or down on a few movies I've seen recently.

I Love You, Man: Thumbs WAY up

Hilarious movie throughout. I wasn't a fan of Paul Rudd until a few years ago but now I swear he can't make a bad movie. They're all so funny. And Jason Segel is great also. Best part of the movie? The way Rudd's character Peter Klaven trips over his words... "totes my goats."

Plus, I'm developing a crush on SNL's Andy Samberg.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Thumbs up

I'm not as into the books as other people (for instance my sister who was far more critical than I), but I thought the movie was very entertaining and well made. I don't remember the small details of the book to notice the inconsistencies so I loved the movie. (But the second will always be the best.)

Ron Weasley is by far my favorite character in the books.

The Ugly Truth: Thumbs up

Hilarious movie and definitely one for the guys as well as the girls, though it does has the typical chick-flick ending with no surprises throughout. Entertaining.

17 Again: Thumb up and Thumb down

It was an entertaining movie but could have been much better. I guess I wasn't expecting an Oscar-worthy movie though considering it starred Zach Efron. I suggest watching it if you're looking for mindless entertainment.

I've seen a lot of movies lately but there are a few that I'm still dying to see: (500) Days of Summer, Funny People, Julie & Julia, G.I. Joe and, most of all, The Time Traveler's Wife.

The Best Part of My Day? Making New Friends...

...that happen to be less than three feet tall.

I stopped by my best friend's daycare this morning to hang out with her and her 2 year old friends. I met a little pirate, a speed racer, a mime, an accordion player in a rock band, a silly goose and the cutest little boy with absolutely no trace of a short-term memory :)

I thought coffee was the best way to start a day but I change my mind, short little friends are.

{photo via Flickr}

Words Are Flying Out Like Endless Rain Into a Paper Cup

Maybe it's because I'm a Beatles nut, but I think everyone should watch the movie Across the Universe. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing. I was a little worried that I wouldn't like hearing someone other than John, Paul, George and Ringo play their songs, (I generally don't like covers) but everyone in the film was amazing. It's a great story also. Watch it.

p.s. I know I'm about 2 years late on this.

{image via coffeecoffeeandmorecoffee.com}

My Calendar is Covered in Black Ink

Every day this week has been booked solid for me- morning to night with no breaks- and even though most of that time was enjoyable, it still freaks me out.

I like having a few free minutes or hours a day to just breathe. Whether it's for reading, laying down or dancing around my living room to 80s hair bands, I like to have a little "me" time. I always make lists. I plan ahead, but I usually do a better job planning time to relax and do nothing.

I'm really going to work on scheduling things better next week. I'm looking forward to a little more free time.

Music, Friends and a Microphone

I was in band for years. I loved playing the flute and piccolo but mostly I was in band because I couldn't be in choir. I have a terrible, terrible voice. The kind of voice that makes dogs howl. (My friends actually tease me about it.)

They, however, still ask me to sing karaoke. We haven't gone in a little bit, but I'm sure we'll go soon and so I've been practicing. I have a few songs that I've been working on and think are finally 'karaoke ready.' (I have a few just in case the bar has a limited selection.)

My best karaoke songs: "Piece of My Heart" by Janis Joplin, "Me and Bobby McGee" also by Janis Joplin (sidenote: Pink's cover is also surprisingly good), "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles, "Alone" by Heart, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston and any Backstreet Boys song, because I can.

I think they're all solid choices. I'll let you know how it turns out.

{image via Flickr KennethMoyle}

Can I Tell You a Secret?

Every time I get on a plane, I panic for a minute after the flight attendant locks the door and I seriously contemplate throwing off my seat belt and running for the door. Every time. I don't think I'll ever get used to flying, I hate it so much. I'm just a bundle of nerves the entire time.

I think I'll have to conquer my fear of heights before I feel comfortable in a plane. I've been working on it though.

I heard the best way to learn to swim is by just jumping in (with supervision of course). This is my new method. Last week, I even climbed a mountain! OK, so I had a minor panic attack at the top, but I still did it! I even use ladders now.

{photo via Flickr p.joran}