Lisa: front porch, creeper edition

More voting! This time (as threatened) I went around our neighborhood taking photos of porches like the ones we've been considering. It should help that they were designed (some with more skill than others) for houses in a similar style and scale. My Photoshopping, however, has not improved.

Also, please tell me in the comments if there are things you like or don't like on each one.

Lisa: front porch fun

I wrote in 2008 and again last spring about ripping off our current front porch and awning and replacing it with something nicer and more welcoming. I'm ready to get serious about deciding what we want, figuring out how much it will really cost, and getting some plans rolling. Will you help?

The first photo is the front of our house when we bought it. The next three are fairly terrible Photoshop mockups of porch ideas I collected on Pinterest. First, we've got a pointed roof option with an arch over the door, white pillars supported by an asymmetrical wooden deck and wide stone steps leading to some irregular flagstones. The second has a small extended roof overhang supported by two big corbels, and a large stone base including low walls on each side. The third option has a little fenced-in front porch off to one side that's totally covered by a larger roof overhang. Check out the photos, and vote on your favorite one below! If you have another idea altogether or want to suggest a tweak to one of these three, share it in the comments.

Next I want to go around our neighborhood photographing the porches I like, and do the same thing. Too creepy?

Sarah: Living in New York

Tonight, I'm looking for an apartment on PadMapper. I've found that most of the time you have to choose between location, size, and price. I say "most of the time" because I just discovered the complete package:

I know I'm not male, but you can start sending housewarming gifts anyway. Just as long as they aren't pants.

Sarah: Wild Heart

I have funny stuff to share with you, I promise. But right now it's 10:30 pm on the night before I start working for 12 or 17 days straight, and I'm feeling overwhelmed with all kinds of feelings.

Excited to start a new job, relieved that the job hunt is over. Appreciative beyond words for the support and love of my family and friends.

I've also been thinking about dreams, and how they sometimes change and shift over time, so slowly and subtly that you don't even notice. Sometimes they get more solidly fixed in your mind when other interests and distractions wear away like sand around a harder stone.

And sometimes your heart breaks a little when something that you thought would be perfect isn't so perfect anymore. That's a little of what happened in my professional life I before I decided to move to New York.
I don't think that New York was the only solution to this problem, but I think it was a question of what if that had to be answered. And while I'm still working on that answer, I am learning that part of my heartache was because I didn't want to walk away from a situation before it was fixed.
I decided that I couldn't fix that situation for everyone, but I could fix it for me. And once in a while, that has to be enough.

When I accepted my job in New York (and had a bonus job offer, to boot), it was a confirmation that perhaps that dream-job-that-became-not-a-dream-job wasn't the only option for me. There are other options that will get me closer to the big dream in different ways.

This is all a vague way of saying that I'm excited about my new job. And if all goes according to plan, it is going to teach me some skills that I'm eager to learn, and I'm going to be paid to do some of the things that I love along the way. This is such a lucky, wonderful thing to be able to say.

And now, without any real segue, here's a little song I have in my head. Thanks for the heads up, Orangette.

Lisa: fever all through the night

Some people need their phone taken away when they get drunk. Maybe I should have mine taken away when I have a fever. Here's what happened when Sarah texted me, concerned, after reading my tweet a few nights ago. (Original questionable spelling and grammar choices preserved for your enjoyment.)

Tweet: Low: tried to turn down electric blanket because it was burning my face; it was unplugged. High: invented new videogame
Sarah: Oh no Lisa, YOUR FACE.
Lisa: Told you
Lisa: Don't worry blanket turned on now. I AM INVINCIBLE
Lisa: Also nanotechnology just became self aware. So loud
Lisa: Small comfort: it seems to be chaotic neutral. Hhahahahahhha
Sarah: I don't know what that means but I hope you wrote down your video game
Lisa: Easy, first person shooter where the camera is actually a separate character
Sarah: Dave thinks that maybe you should see a doctor.
Lisa: Too cold there
Sarah: What is your current temp?
Lisa: No idea. I wwould have to find thermometer. Blake left with girls
Lisa: He made me take advil i'm sure i'll be better soon. The nanobots
Sarah: Lisa, please don't spontaneously combust. It's very important to me.
Lisa: Mwah

Lisa: Google search: Google search

Some days are just like this.

Sarah: The Latest in Geocaching

Kaeleigh, Dave, and I did some good work tonight.

Sarah: Overalls

Dear Gap,

Are you sure this is the direction you want to go? Are you sure you want to be the one responsible for doing this to our nation, nay, the world?

Because I really think you should reconsider.

Sincerely (and sincerely considering a denim jumper),
Sarah

Sarah: Camera photos and Napkin envy

Today marks one week of living in New York, or as I like to call it: one week of resisting the empanada place down the block. No seriously, those empanadas call to me every afternoon, but I have stayed strong thusfar. But you will be mine, empanadas, and I won't regret the $1.60 or the slightly tighter pants. If you guys don't believe me that the empanadas are worth at least $2.15, just ask my friend here, who enjoyed one filled with macaroni and cheese.

I've done a terrible job thusfar of documenting my adventures. Let's recap with grainy photos, where available:

Some highlights of the day that I left Salt Lake City. Yes, it was really sad. And yes, the sight of a clumsy woman maneuvering 4 bags out of the airport and into a taxi isn't something you should have to see. But a few cute things include my brother, and my carry-on bag. Tied for first place.

My first day in New York was mostly spent sleeping and walking around Manhattan with Kaeleigh. She took a photo of me saying that New York was too loud for my phone call. I took a photo of the fancy visitor passes required by her building. And then blurred out any incriminating information.

Work:
This week I had my first job interview. I looked like a school marm, but I was fine with it.

Food:
If you're in the area sometime and like things that are delicious and made with butter, try Cafe Katja. They have spatzle. And Austrian meatballs. And we only got slightly yelled at by a drunken homeless man for not respecting veterans. And then my two 20-something comrades and I were home watching Downton Abbey by 8:30. We party hard.

In other food adventures, we discovered you can have a pound of shrimp delivered to your home. Peel and eat, my favorite.

Between fried food and the apartment, I took this photo of Kaeleigh documenting weird, homemade signage. It's almost like catching the Sartorialist snap a photo of Anna Wintour. I'm almost positive that those were all words.

Shopping:
When I got to town, I gave my NY friends their belated Christmas gifts. When Kaeleigh opened hers, she gleefully exclaimed "I don't already have one of these!"

Failure.

Kaeleigh and I also tagged along with Angie while she did some maternity shopping. Baaaaaabyyyyy! That fake belly really suits her. As does the sleeping dude in the Dad Zone. Hey baby? That's not your real dad.

Our satisfaction with Angie's clothing purchases, however, paled in comparison to the ecstatic conversation between these two women over one's paper napkin purchases.

Trust me, she was ecstatic at the time.

Lisa: Well played, Melinda Clarke's publicity team

UPSIDE: If your television or low-budget movie production needs an attractive, seductive brunette of a certain age, you're in luck! There are three nearly identical actresses who have been capably filling that niche for years. One of them is sure to be free (probably Musetta Vander).

DOWNSIDE: If you are Polly Walker or Musetta Vander, all your acting credits are going to Melinda Clarke, because NOBODY KNOWS YOU ARE DIFFERENT PEOPLE.

THE CANDIDATES

Sarah knows Melinda Clarke as Lady Heather, the so-called "Moddom" from CSI. Melinda played another brothel owner on Firefly, but you might remember her best as Julie Cooper on The O.C.. IMDB says she played a Siren on Charmed. Obviously.

When I see Musetta Vander, I can't think of anything but the praying mantis substitute teacher on Buffy. Apparently she also--like Melinda--played a Siren (this time on O Brother, Where Art Thou?) and some kind of corset-wearing villainous lady bodyguard on Wild Wild West.

Before some extensive Googling, I'd pretty much forgotten I'd seen Polly Walker as the "elegant" Jane Fairfax in Gwyneth Paltrow's Emma and (much further back) the beautiful but jaded Caroline Dester in Enchanted April. More relevantly, she appeared as Atia of the Julii on Rome, a character confusingly but aptly dubbed Julii Cooper on Television Without Pity. She hasn't played any characters named "Siren," and there don't seem to be any photos of her online in fetish wear. If there weren't so many completely nude stills from Rome, I'd be forced to call her the classy one.

YOU BE THE JUDGE

Honestly, if I told you these were all the same woman, you'd believe me, right?

AS IF FURTHER PROOF WAS NEEDED

I explained to Sarah that I was doing a little research in preparation for this post, and she inadvertently proved my point:

Lisa: "I had to physically stop myself from searching the Internet for photos of Polly Walker in a corset. Ten pages of Google Images results and nothing!"
Sarah: "What? There MUST be screen captures of her in a corset from CSI!"
Lisa: "Yes. The problem is that was Melinda Clarke."

EDITED TO ADD:

Blake peered over my shoulder at these three photos and emphatically stated they looked completely different. Then he pointed at the middle one (Musetta Vander), and said, "That looks like the lady who played Julie Cooper (Melinda Clarke). You know, the girl from Rome (Polly Walker)." SERVED, SERVED, SERVED.

Sarah: And then I moved to New York

The fun part about being a mild hoarder is finding stuff like this, a thank you note from my brother and his new wife from 2008:

It may have taken almost four years, but earlier this week, I managed to get myself and four suitcases on a plane to New York with no immediate plans to move back to Utah.

Hopefully they were serious.

A few observations thusfar:
1. I'm not good at public transportation. I get total anxiety that I'll miss my stop and you haven't seen pure confusion until you've seen me emerge onto the street with absolutely no idea which direction I'm pointed.
2. One good thing about the subway is that I'm afraid to touch my face after I've touched any of the surfaces. It's at least partially due to this photo. I'm notorious for rubbing my eyes until the mascara on the eyelashes of the people around me flakes off, so this is really going to improve my appearance.
3. This is really going to improve the frequency of my blog posts. That last one you've probably heard before.

Sarah: When Parents Text

So there's a website called When Parents Text. I think that the initial idea behind this website is something like "oh parents, they're so old and have a hard time grasping new technology." And that's a little funny, sure. But the best thing about this website is that, possibly by accident, it's more about "parents are actually super funny." And I like that a lot more.

Some of my favorites:

Sarah: On Tuesdays, we wear pink

An otherwise fruitless trip to the thrift store was saved when Valori and I checked out a Series of Unfortunate Events notebook. Jackpot.

When your cheer squad needs a communal notebook, you find the first notebook around and make it work.

See? Fixed.
Now, what belongs in a cheer squad communal notebook?

Obviously. And now, the highlights:

Unconditional love. Except for burn victims (gross).
I support the showering rule, though.

Don't bossy. And also, don't bee a pig.

These are really just rules for life. Thank you, high school girls everywhere.

Sarah: Helpful Tip

I'm reporting from the thick of wedding season with an insider recommendation: if you're attending an outdoor wedding, go ahead and assume that there will be a gravel walkway.

That means it's best not to wear stilettos with shoddy faux-cork covered heels. That covering will get stripped right off when your feet sink into the gravel.

Farewell and goodnight, nude heels.

Lisa: our life now

A month ago, life at our house changed forever, and--I think--for the better. On June 21st at 7:46 pm, Hazel Madeline Smith was born. While I was in labor, Nora wrote Hazel a message in my notebook. Jeff helped her spell it, but I think the idea and the words are all Nora.

There's something so difficult but so incredibly magical about a three-year-old opening up room in her life for a new baby sister. I can't wait to see their relationship grow, and I can't believe how lucky I am they're both mine.