The reason that this blog has been seriously and sorely lacking my attention and tender, loving care solely boils down to the fact that I had nothing of interest to say.

I try not to blog when I don’t have anything interesting to say.

What I’m saying right now is not particularly interesting, but I’m saying it anyways because I missed you guys.

I have been feeling quite uninspired of late. Blogger’s block, if you will.

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I am alive.

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For the summer, my already part-time schedule will get even more part-time. And I have been struggling with ways to fill up the new, extra time in ways that also nourish my wallet.

The more time I have, the more I worrythink about the future.

Worrythink is a new word I made up just now. This is why blogging is important. Even when you have nothing of interest to say.

My uncle told me  to stop thinking so much about whether I am using my time in the best way. I agreed with him mostly.

But I cannot stop myself from the worrythink. I am compelled by my compulsions.

Sometimes I think the only thing standing between me and enjoying life is me. Not that I’m not enjoying life. Or maybe I’m not so much right now. Can I say that? Is that allowed?

Saying I’m unhappy makes me feel ungrateful and I am afraid being ungrateful leads to losing the things you should be grateful for.

I am grateful.

I am also confused about my life.

I just rewrote the above sentence. I had something about “swimming in a sea of confusion.” It was too hyperbolic for my taste right now.

Hyperbole about the root of your stress is only funny sometimes.

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This cat makes me smile on the regular:

I discovered these blogs lately that I like, including this one tonight that I proceeded to read straight through.

-Bad Words
-Hyperbole and a Half
-i am baker
-THXTHXTHX
-the city sage

I really like reading blogs.

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I am not over the miscarriage. Some people might say you can never get over something like that. I think you can. You will never forget it, but you can move on and feel okay about it inside when you think about it. I still feel a fresh batch of sadness when I think about it.

I think I pretended I was okay for a long time. I pretended so well I believed me.

Father’s Day and Mother’s Day sucked for us this year.

This picture makes me ache. It’s from when I was pregnant and I was so tired all the time.

I’m scared that if I blog too much about the miscarriage you’ll all stop reading. Because it’s too sad.  Because people don’t talk about these things. Because it happens to so many people and… do they just get over it? No one really talks about it so I don’t know.

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I’ve shared a lot here and yet, I haven’t?

Sometimes I think I have to be bright and shiny when I show up to blog. Even though I know that’s not real. Even though I hate it when people aren’t real. Even though I know that it’s the realness that attracts most people to particular blogs. And even though it’s other people sharing their real – their happy, their sad – that endears me to them most.

I need to blog more. I will try.

{2010 Letterpress Desktop Calendar by Kirtland House, $22}

{2010 Letterpress Calendar by delphine STUDIO, $38}

{2010 Letterpress Calendar by Albertine Press, $29}

{2010 Letterpress Calendar by seesaw designs, $28}

{2010 Letterpress and silkscreen calendar by ilee, $22}

{2010 dutch door press calendar by dutch door press, $30}

Finally, this little non-letterpress but equally lovely gem from one of my favorite Etsy artists of all time, Yellena.

{2010 Wall calendar by Yellena, $28}

{by lepiaf.geo on Flickr, etsy here}

Made this little ‘On the Go’ mix on my way in to work this morning. I knew I had hours of mindless Internet research ahead of me and for some reason, knowing I had a lovely little list of songs made things seems a bit more bearable. I’m still loving Regina Spektor’s new album Far, hence the many songs from it in here.

Too bad the playlist finished long, long before the work. ::sigh::

October 6, 2009
Blue Lips – Regina Spektor
Mr. Pitiful – Matt Costa
Comes and Goes (In Waves) – Greg Laswell
I’ll Be Yr Bird – M. Ward
Middle Distance Runner - Sea Wolf
That Dress Looks Nice on You – Sufjan Stevens
Armchairs - Andrew Bird
Hiding - meiko
Here in My Head - Tori Amos
Engine Heart – Mirah
Killing for Love – Jose Gonzalez
One More Time with Feeling – Regina Spektor
Nude - Radiohead
Love Keep Us Together – Martin Sexton
Magic - Ben Folds Five
Time is All Around - Regina Spektor
And Then You – Greg Laswell
My Piano (DJ-Kicks) – Hot Chip
Superstar - Sonic Youth
Plasticities - Andrew Bird
I Don’t Know - Ruth Brown
You Really Got a Hold on Me – She & Him
I Found a Reason – Cat Power
Cruisin’ – Huey Lewis & The News and Gwyneth Paltrow
Hey Ya – Obadiah Parker
Because - Across the Universe soundtrack
Grace Kelly – MIKA
Happiness is a Warm Gun – Across the Universe soundtrack
My Number – Tegan & Sara
Gray or Blue – Jaymay
The Calculation – Regina Speaktor
Cooling (Live) - Tori Amos

I was referring to the list of wedding blogs I read (and yes, it is a big list, as you will see in a moment). Twice now I’ve been asked for this (I guess I’ve blabbed so much about how many wedding blogs I read, folks want to see if I really walk the walk), so I figured there must be some sort of interest out there.

Before you scroll down and your eyes start to bulge like this lady or you freak out and jump into a wall like this dog, know that I read all these through my Google reader, which is much easier and more manageable than going to all these individual websites every day. Also, some are better than others, depending on what you’re looking for. But they’ve all provided me with an interesting tip or idea at some point in time, and that’s why I continue to read them. At the bottom of this list I will give you my top five favorites.

One more note, this list represents but a tiny fraction of the number of wedding blogs out there. If you or your mom or your boyfriend’s sister’s aunt writes a wedding blog that’s not on this list, it’s not because I don’t like it! It’s probably just because I haven’t come across it yet.

And now, the big list of wedding blogs I read (and links to their feeds).

100 Layer Cake
http://100layercake.com/blog/feed

a $10,000 wedding.
http://tenthousandonly.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

A Bryan Blog
http://abryanphoto.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

A Practical Wedding
http://www.apracticalwedding.com/feeds/posts/default

Adam and Eve Wedding Consultants
http://adamandeveweddings.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Always a Blogsmaid
http://www.alwaysablogsmaid.com/weddingfaq/atom.xml

AN ATLANTA BRIDE
http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/KWdx

Blue Orchid Designs™ :: Wedding Advice from the Pros
http://feeds.feedburner.com/BlueOrchidDesigns

Bridal Bar Blog
http://feeds.feedburner.com/bridalbarblogspot

Brooklyn Bride – Modern Wedding Blog
http://bklynbrideonline.com/?feed=rss2

classic bride
http://classicbride.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

DIY Bride
http://feeds.feedburner.com/diybride/mnwe

Don’t Be That Bride
http://dontbethatbride.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Elizabeth Anne Designs: Inspirations & Creations
http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog/feed/

etsy wedding
http://etsywedding.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Grant-Riley Weddings
http://grantrileyweddings.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Green Wedding Shoes – Wedding Inspiration for the Stylish Southern California Bride
http://feeds.feedburner.com/GreenWeddingShoes

Grey Likes Weddings
http://greylikesweddings.wordpress.com/feed/

HaselBride
http://hasel.typepad.com/wedding/atom.xml

Isnt She Lovely
http://feeds.feedburner.com/IsntSheLovely

IT’S A JAIME THING…
http://justjaime28.wordpress.com/feed/

Modern Vintage Events
http://www.modernvintageevents.com/journal/rss.xml

Kate Rose Photography
http://katerosephotography.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

kiss the groom
http://www.kissthegroom.com/?feed=rss2

modern romance
http://modernromancepdx.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

My Wedding Report
http://www.myweddingreport.com/blog/?feed=rss2

Once Wed Blog
http://www.oncewed.com/rss/

perfect bound: bridal, style and design
http://feeds.feedburner.com/PerfectBound

Petalena: Creative Designs for Weddings and Special Events
http://feeds.feedburner.com/PetalenaFlowers

project wedding blog
http://www.projectwedding.com/blog/feed/

realweddings
http://www.weddingchicks.com/realweddings/atom.xml

Rock ‘n Roll Bride
http://www.rocknrollbride.com/?feed=rss2

snippet & ink: daily wedding inspiration
http://snippetandink.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Something Old, Something New
http://kenziekate.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Southern Weddings Magazine
http://www.swsmag.net/blog/atom.xml

THE BRIDE’S CAFE
http://thebridescafe.typepad.com/my_weblog/atom.xml

The Bride’s Guide: Ideas from the Editors of Martha Stewart Weddings
http://blogs1.marthastewart.com/weddings/atom.xml

theunbride.com
http://theunbride.net/?feed=rss2

Tinywater Photography
http://www.tinywaterblog.com/?feed=rss2

VintageGlam Weddings
http://feeds.feedburner.com/VintageglamBlog

We Met in a Bar
http://wemetinabar.com/feed/

Wedding Chicks
http://www.weddingchicks.com/blog/atom.xml

Wedding Invitation News, Etiquette & Planning Blog
http://blog.weddingpaperdivas.com/feed/

Wedding Library Buzz
http://weddinglibrarybuzz.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Wiley Valentine
http://www.wileyvalentine.com/blog/feed/

{ritzy bee blog}
http://ritzybee.typepad.com/my_weblog/atom.xml

Whew! Okay, now, I have two fingers. Oops, sorry.

Okay, now, the fun part! Here are my top five favorites (in no particular order):

- Atlanta Bride: This is the personal blog of a woman that’s getting married in – obviously – Atlanta in just a few weeks! She is the ultimate in organized and thoughtful brides. Reading about her planning process, her struggles, her conquests, endeared her to me and I can’t wait to see the photos from her wedding!

- A Practical Wedding: I got hooked on this blog after they did a fantastic series called “Words to Read When you Wed.” Since then I’ve found that they consistently offer up great bits of practical advice, tips and ideas.

- Vintage Glam: If this list WERE in order (which it is not), Vintage Glam would definitely be higher than number 3! The vintage style weddings and ideas they feature here are right up my alley, and what’s even cooler? They recently started a section where people can buy and sell wedding-related goods, like dresses, accessories, decor items, etc. Sweet!

- Rock n’ Roll Bride: Talk about eye candy. This blog always features what I’d call “alternative” weddings, meaning anything that differs from yuppy, chicken-or-beef, Vera Wang and Manolos weddings. The brides on here are always rockin’, whether they’re tattooed up the ying yang or just have some serious vintage style going on. And I totally dig it.

- Southern Weddings magazine: This blog is so polished and sophisticated and always has beautiful weddings and creative details to share. I love the way they feature real weddings with the interview at the end. Wanwisa Wednesdays are always chock full of inspiration as well.

Needless to say, I have a wedding to-do list. I actually have many wedding to-do lists. I’ve got my overall to-do list, of course, but I also make one at the beginning of every month so I can see specifically what I need to get accomplished in the weeks ahead.

For a few weeks there, my to-do list hit a jam. Because we hadn’t completely nailed down our venue (and de facto, our date), things weren’t getting checked off and that nearly caused me to self-implode.

But! This little tale has a happy ending. We have officially secured our wedding venue and I couldn’t be happier.

Ready? Drumroll please…

I am thrilled to share that we’re going to get married in the Grand Lobby of the historic Wang Theatre in downtown Boston!

Andreas being silly in front of the Wang

It’s such a gorgeous space that had everything we were looking for in a venue-and believe you me, it was a tall order. First of all, we knew we wanted to get married in the city. Actually, scratch that. We realized, over time and after visiting several lovely, garden-type places outside of the city, that we really wanted a classy, downtown, night-time wedding. Second, we knew we didn’t want to get married in a typical place. So we had to scratch off hotels, function rooms, and all other such places (not that there’s anything wrong with those venues, but they just weren’t for us). Third, we didn’t have the biggest budget in the world, so that ruled out a lot of otherwise perfect venues (ahem, Boston Public Library). Fourth, we wanted to be able to have our ceremony and reception in the same place (easier on the guests and the environment, not to mention our wallets). And finally, we wanted some place historic, a place that had some sort of cultural connection, and if at all possible, a place where our dollar would be going to a non-profit organization.

Ceiling of the Grand Lobby (pardon my camera shakiness)

Amazingly, the Wang Theatre fits the bill perfectly, and because we had been moving things forward with other vendors while we were waiting to secure it, once we did we were able to lock in our officiant, photographer, caterer and band within the span of about week, along with printing up our save the dates.

And you know what that means? MANY CHECKS OFF SHELLEY’S TO-DO LIST.

AKA sanity.

More wedding updates to come but for now, a bit eye candy.

Clock in the Lobby

Looking out over the Lobby from the second floor

Andreas and his mom at the Wang Theatre

-I love the holidays. Love love love. Maybe it’s because I celebrated two of them growing up (both Hanukkah and Christmas). Maybe it’s because I love the feeling of a full house. But either way I embrace it all. The music that starts playing in grocery and department stores weeks in advance, the inevitable weight gain, the sticky hands and pine needles everywhere, the emptying of my bank account. I love it all.

-My Christmas CD is the best ever. It’s got Nat King Cole, Otis Redding, Judy Garland, Joni Mitchell, the Drifters, and oh yeah, the Harlem Boys Choir. I could sell it and make millions. Instead I give it away to loved ones for free.

-My office holiday party is tonight. It’s in this cozy little pub in the Financial District. Low key, yes, but I’m looking forward to grabbing some drinks and passed apps with the CC family.

-What I like least about the holidays? The sense of anxiety that sometimes accompanies them. The shake up of the routine. The “what I have I accomplished this year?” The “what’s in store for next year?”

-What I like most about the holidays? The love. The sense of community and good will. The opportunity to reflect. The cards. Giving. Receiving. The hugs. The sweaters. The lights. The colors. Singing. Dancing. But mostly, the love.

-This won’t be the easiest Christmas for us. It’s the first year we’ve not gone to New Orleans for Christmas since about 1990. Now that my grandmother has passed away there’s not much point in flying seven people hundreds of miles south. I’ll miss seeing a lot of people. I’ll miss the crazy, elaborate lights on houses, the beignets, driving down St. Charles Avenue, shopping in the Quarter. Just our little New Orleans Christmas traditions. We all know we’ll be back. We know we’re going to try to establish a new tradition that gets us down there once a year. Maybe Jazz Fest or Mardi Gras. Still, my heart will always be in New Orleans at Christmas. But generations change over. And new traditions begin. You have to start somewhere.

-I feel incredibly thankful for the people in my life I love dearly who love me.

But considering the fact that it’s after Labor Day, and considering that I live in Boston and the morning air is already crisp around the edges, and especially considering that fall is hands down my favorite season, I’ve decided to go all Meg Fowler Friday Love List today and give you a whole slew of reasons to get excited about fall.

So without further ado…

Fall love list or Things I associate with Fall and am excited for:
apple picking
scarves as accessories
mountains of foliage
chai tea
crunchy leaves under my shoe
Pumpkin Delights
sleeping with the windows open
boots
nutmeg
jeans and a sweatshirt as an acceptable outfit
hearty soups and stews
Halloween
Thanksgiving
tights
hot beverages in the cool air
butternut squash on restaurant menus
cool bike rides
leaf piles
the smell of burning firewood in the air
hoodies
apple pie
pumpkin pie
months that end with -ber
going home

What do you love about fall?

Then, inevitably, their sidekick-y friend steps in with the perfect solution: make a list! List the things you like about both people, and whichever column is longer, that’s who you go with. (Of course we all know in “real life” that tactic doesn’t work. “Gives great massages” doesn’t carry as much weight as “makes me feel like a million bucks.” Although, some might argue, it depends on the massages.)

Anyways, over the past few weeks I’ve been using both the Plurk and Twitter micro-blogging platforms, and I find myself going back and forth on which one I like better. Most of my friends on Twitter are leery of Plurk and refuse to sign up, or they’ve signed up but don’t actively use it (I’ve heard Plurk called Twitter’s annoying stepchild). Likewise, many of the people on Plurk have almost completely given up on Twitter and use Plurk exclusively. Always one to defend the middle ground, I see the value in both, so I’ve outlined for you the five things I love about Twitter and the five things I love about Plurk.

Five Things I Love About Twitter:

1. It’s clean and simple — Some people like the timeline setup of Plurk, but I find it a little overwhelming and confusing at times, even now that I’ve been using it for a few weeks. Twitter is much cleaner looking, and the simple building up of tweets with the newest on top just makes more sense–spatially–to me.

2. It’s more professional — We’ve all heard of the countless ways in which Twitter has been used for professional purposes, from hiring (@prjobs), to creating new client relationships, to large corporations using it to monitor and send messages to their customer base (@zappos). I’ve yet to hear of Plurk being used for professional purposes, which, to be fair, may simply be a symptom of its young age. But so far, to me, Plurk seems like more of a place for fun, personal connections. An advanced version of the chat rooms of yore, if you will.

3. It lends itself to making real connections — This may be a result of the fact that you can’t search for fellow Plurkers by location, but I think there is also a Twitter culture of moving the chit chat in to real life and turning online relationships in to real relationships, which I haven’t seen on Plurk. And as I’ve said here and here, that’s my favorite part of social media.

4. It’s bigger – There are just more people on Twitter. And in this case, size does matter. More users means a greater potential for making connections that matter, be they personal, professional, or a mix of both.

5. It’s more “grown up” — I’ve heard some chatter, and observed myself, that people tend plurk a little more freely than they tweet, meaning they don’t filter the overly personal/superfluous/mundane things that you just don’t see on Twitter. Call me old school, but boundaries are there for a reason, and some things just aren’t meant to be shared with the world.

Five Things I Love About Plurk:

1. It fosters more frequent and more in-depth conversations — Plurk’s capability for mini chat rooms to pop up in response to specific messages allows for more frequent and more in-depth conversations. On Twitter, I’d estimate that one out of every five of my tweets gets a response. On Plurk, it’s rare that my plurks go without at least one response (and sometimes, more than 100 responses).

2. It’s more carefree – Okay, I realize this directly contradicts my “it’s more grown-up” point about Twitter, but by the same token, sometimes it’s nice to micro-blog without abandon, without worrying about being witty or informative or quirky. Granted, on both platforms, you need to be some of these things some of the time. But Plurk is less demanding. Indeed the most mindless plurks are often the ones that spark the longest response chains.

3. It rewards frequent use — Some may disagree with the concept of “karma,” an arbitrary number that essentially measures how active you are on Plurk, and I do see both sides of the argument. A high karma rating obviously says nothing about the quality of your plurks. That said, you can’t help but want more. And with more karma, you get greater privileges. I know it’s silly, but it’s also a lot of fun. Of course the flip side is that Plurk punishes infrequent use (karma works both ways, kids. Kind of poetic.).

4. It automatically previews direct links to photos and videos — Not a life-shattering feature but as a visual person, it appeals to me.

5. It allows for faster community building — Because you can see anyone’s responses to the people you are following, it’s easier to locate members of your general circle and expand it. And the responses to even your ‘good morning’ and ‘good night’ plurks makes you feel like you are conversing with a community of caring friends, not just a mass of mute followers.

**I must point out that Plurk has yet to make mobile updating available, and so, for the time being, you can only update your Plurk timeline using a web-based service. In my mind, this is a major disadvantage for Plurk, since life doesn’t always happen in front of a computer.

For now, I’ll stick to splitting my time between Twitter and Plurk. Ultimately, they fulfill different needs. And that’s the wonderful thing about social media. You can engage as much or as little as you please, depending on where YOU want to take it.

These were the days of sprinting home at the first sound of the ice cream man as he rounded the corner on to our street. Sitting on our front porch stoops with our girlfriends until the sun went down.

Now I’m old. Well, not really. Not at all. But I’m all grown up and living in the city. I don’t have a stoop, and if I want to swim I have to drive an hour and pay just to step foot on the beach.

Not that I’m complaining. Not at all. I love my life. I’m very blessed. I’m just saying. This time of year makes me yearn for surburbia. And childhood. And home. And:

-bare feet on grass
-red toenails
-lemonade
-crickets chirping
-dinner outside
-neighborhood BBQs
-company picnics
-fireflies
-watermelon for dessert
-turning in my books and cleaning out my desk
-packing for summer camp.

And a stoop. Did I mention stoops?