Crafty

I'm not a very crafty person. I watch Martha Stewart and am envious of what she does, but every time I try something similar with glue sticks or glitter it looks like an actual 5 year-old did it. And thats not something I'm proud of. But recently I've come across a series of books.. if you can call two books a series.. full of crafts that seem to have been thought up just for me to do!

The books are called Simply Green. One book is Simply Green Parties and the other is Simply Green Giving. I know, I know. Enough with the "green" stuff already! I know it's a subject that some people don't even care about, but the ideas in these books aren't what you're probably thinking. You don't have to wear burkenstocks while you do them, nor do they call for you to eat only beans and rice or give up on your daily hygiene routines. Rather, the ideas given are just suggestions on how to reuse items you already have or items that cost next to nothing. It's being resourceful and creative at the same time. A win-win situation! Plus it's super cheap and gives you a reason to buy weird things at Goodwill or garage sales.

Here are a couple of projects I did last night. The chair project is from the Parties book and the luminaries is from the Giving book:

I have these two chairs along with two others that I got with a small round dining room table for super cheap. They were in great condition, but the seat cushions were a little ugly and dirty and I've been wanting to reupholster them for a while. The Parties book gave the idea to take an old sweater you don't wear anymore, cut it open and use it to reupholster the seat for a "Winter Warm-Up" party. Even though these aren't specifically for a party or any kind of entertainment, they look good! And I didn't have to give away two perfectly good sweaters that I haven't worn in at least two years.

The cost of this project: FREE!

These are three luminaries I made from birthday cards that were given to me and I had kept because they're pretty. But my bulletin board was getting a little overwhelmed with so many things stuck on it. This idea was in the Giving book and is one of my favorites. You take two cards near the same size (I like it when they're a little off) and line up the outside edges. Take a hole punch and punch as many holes in it you like then set them up in a square shape. Then you thread some twine or any kind of thread through the holes to keep them together then set them over a candle! So easy and super cute.

Cost of this project: again..FREE!!

"You know you love me.."

The TV season is in full swing! And while I have to say I'm not as into it as I have been in years past (possibly because I have too much to watch that my focus is spread too thin), there are a few shows worth watching. I've divided everything into categories to help anyone who still isn't sure what they should tune into:
"Must Watch New Shows", "Must Watch Returning Favorites", "Biggest Disappointments" and "Why is That Still On?!".

Must Watch New Shows:
possibly my favorite category. It's so fun to find new characters to invest a lot of free time in!

1. FRINGE. The latest from creepy suspense mastermind J.J. Abrams. And to top it all off it's Joshua Jackson's TRIUMPHANT return to television. Yes. The one-two punch of my two favorite J.J.'s. While I'm not sold on lead actress Anna Torev yet, the combination of J.J. #2 with John Nobel who plays his father Walter, is hilarious! I find myself laughing more than once every week from some type of interaction between the two. Also, in true J.J. #1 form, the supporting characters are just as good and each week we're left with a cliff hanger that actually makes you want to watch more.

2. Gossip Girl: a.k.a The O.C. on crack in NYC. I know I know. This isn't technically a new show, but it's new to me. I caught up with it a couple weeks before the new season premiered and I. Am. Hooked. The cattiness of these girls and their spoiledness is unbelievable. The best part of the show? An underrated actor by the name of Ed Westwick. Just watch and you'll understand.

3. Worst Week. I never actually planned on watching this show, but I caught it on demand one night and was pleasantly surprised. It's actually kind of cute and you feel REALLY bad for the lead guy played by Kyle Bornheimer. He's actually the best part of the show. I think if this show doesn't make it (which I can see it being pulled soon), then he should have a good career anyway. He's like a toned-down version of Vince Vaughn. I think he, John Krasinski and Zachary Levi should make a movie together. They're like the same person. Jack Pot!

Must Watch Returning Favorites:
This is a favorite category for me as well. It's like a little family reunion every fall when these shows come back on.

1. The Office. This is just a given. Even when the show was kind of in a slump (all thanks to Karen Fillipelli and the Stanford branch) it was still one of the funniest shows on tv. Each week Jim Halpert sets my future husband standards even higher. The Office has just started it's 5th season so the standards are through the roof at this point.

2. Brothers & Sisters. Man I love this show. The addition of Emily VanCamp a couple of seasons ago was perfection, but reminded me how much I miss Everwood (may it rest in peace). In every episode it's obvious the writers are just trying to think of ways to get the entire cast together so they can all argue in either comic or dramatic fashion, but it works and it's not gimmicky which is a huge reason i love this show. Ensemble shows should use their ensembles together. Don't split them up! They work best together. Example: every episode of Friends where all six actors were in scenes together. Pure comic genius.

3. Chuck. I've loved this show from day 1. Zachary Levi is too cute and would NOT be considered a "nerd" or a "geek" in real life. That's the only unbelievable aspect of this show. Oh, and also the whole secret spy story line. But it doesn't take itself seriously so it's successful.

4. Dirty Sexy Money. Why are the wealthy so fascinating?! This is another show with a great ensemble cast. I'm trying to think of more good things to say about it, but there are too many. Just watch and you'll see. It's such an addictive soap opera worth getting involved in.

Honorable Mention:
Pushing Daisies. This was dead even with Dirty Sexy Money, but this gets honorable mention. Why you ask? Because I'm not as excited to watch it before the viewing begins. With DSM I'm pretty much counting down the minutes before I get to fire up the TiVo. But I do love Pushing Daisies. Lee Pace is fantastic and could be a good addition to my movie starring Kyle, John and Zachary.

Biggest Disappointments:
1. 90210. Honestly I didn't think it would be all that successful in the first place, but I'm still a little disappointed that I don't like it. I care about none of the characters; the story lines are completely predictable and done and everyone on there needs to eat a sandwich or two. That is all.

2. Desperate Housewives. I was hoping DH would come back this season in full swing, but it's just plain dumb. I don't like how they went 5 years into the future.. Really?! Teri Hatcher doesn't change AT ALL in 5 years?! Plus her boyfriend isn't attractive at all and Lynette needs to loosen the reigns on her poor husband. Let him have a life. She used to be my favorite character, but over the past couple of seasons she's become almost unlikeable.

Why is that still on?!
1. Private Practice. I'm kind of eating my words on this one. I had a lot of hope for it; I have defended it endlessly and have watched every episode. There are good things and bad and I'm finally realizing the bad outweigh the good. I liked Addison Shepherd on Grey's (more on that soon), but her move to L.A. wasn't good for her. I only really care about one of the supporting characters (thank you Paul Adelstein!), but naturally he has an awful ongoing story line and isn't used enough. Some of the story lines involving the patients (when the show actually focuses on them rather than the skanky personal lives of all the doctors) are actually pretty good, but they should have stayed at Seattle Grace to help out...

2. ...Grey's Anatomy. Yikes. Again I had high hopes for this show, but I agree with everything Katherine Heigel has said about the show over the past couple of seasons. The writing is pretty awful and the patient's stories, while still the best part usually, aren't as great as they used to be. I've NEVER been a fan of Meredith and I'm sick of hearing her constantly talk about her and Derek. Poor Christina. I wouldn't want to be Meredith's "person".. EVER. One thing that may keep me coming back for a little while at least is the addition of Kevin McKidd. He was on the short-lived and underrated Journeyman that premiered last fall. While I don't like that he immediately hopped on a cot with Christina, I dug his character in the one episode I saw him in.

Honorable Mention:
Lipstick Jungle. Granted I've only seen the first episode of this season, but I never fell in love with that show anyway. I don't care for any of the lead actresses let alone their characters. And who is named Neiko or Victory in real life over the age of 30? I don't buy it. I preferred the almost identical Cashmere Mafia that got the quick ax last season all due to the curse of Lucy Liu. Let's hope she doesn't do the same to DSM.

And that's it for me for now. It's taken me two nights to write this and I'm al tv'd out.. plus my red sox are losing 11-1 and i'm not happy.

More analysis' to come soon!

XOXO

This looks like an ad for the worst sitcom ever!

I bet it would air on CBS.

What would it be called..?