the fruit of my labor..

 

because i get over 7,000 catalogs delivered to my mailbox each month

i thought i would share my favorites so that you can buy them for me.

 

 

 

1. west elm souk rug/ 2.UO brass tiered pendant shade / 3.west elm wood knot lamp (i would paint mine white) / 4. wisteria handwoven rug / 5. frette for garnet hill hotel bedding / 6. anthropologie curtains/  7.anthropologie watercolor peony wallpaper / 8. ballard rylan sconce9. anthropologie mineral and might dining table / 10. garnet hill bunny hooked pillow 

 

 

downton recap in progress.

cool your jets.

 

my dad texts me this last night:

if every brit soldier got as much leave from the front as matthew does

they'd have lost the war in a fortnight. (yes, he really said 'fortnight')

i could have done without him joining in the singing. schmaltz.

 

you love my dad.

 

now go buy me that table!!

 

 

 

this just in..

 

2 things...

1-

i was COMPLETELY grossed out by taylor bringing that oily therapist with her to the restaurant opening.

who fucking does that??

 

 

2-

antidepressants?

really?

she must be on 700mg of 3 different flavors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

just kidding that's gwyneth.

 

 

also, how set up was that whole cedric thing?

bitch please.

 

 

and how badly does brandi want a 3 way with lisa and ken? 

 

 

 

discuss.

 

more carpet things.

first off..

good talk yesterday.

it would seem that a few of you love the ikea tarnby rug.

saying that it's softer than most sisal/sea grass options.

and at $99 for a 5 x 8, not a bad price.

 

the majority of you agree that carpet is nasty bc of how dirty it gets.

and that something so permanent can't be good.

 

some of you like flor carpet tiles but say they are not cushy.

and since what i am after is cushy they aren't an option for fiona's room.

neither is the tarnby FYI.

but i would consider it for my dining room.

 

many of you would sell your soul to the devil for some stark antelope.

i concur.

 

though i did find, thanks to you all, that here in atlanta there is a place called myers carpet and apparently karastan (sold widely) has an antelope carpet..

$5.85 sq ft.

AND it can be bound to make an area rug.

 

how does it differ in price from the stark, i wonder?

 

 

almost everyone agreed that a carpet remnant bound at the edges with a super squishy pad underneath is the best idea for obtaining the look/feel that i want in fiona's room,

and when the time comes i am pretty sure that's the direction i will go.

 

so yeah.

good talk.

 

in other news...

 

 

 

have an awesome weekend.

 

 

 

carpet talk

5 years ago i would have punched carpet in the dick.

but not these days.

these days i kind of want carpet in places (that's what he said).

my bedroom and fiona's room, namely.

but i wouldn't kick it out of my living room either.

 

there is something about it that is a little bit nostalgic for me and i like that.

NO I DO NOT LIKE THE CARPETS OF MY PAST..

not the dirty, cheap shags;

the whores of the rug kingdom. 

 

plus i think there is something luxurious about it.

 

oh, carpet has it's drawbacks.

one- it holds dirt and dust and other gross stuff and you have to have it cleaned a lot..

and truth be told until 1 of my cats dies (i'm talking to you naggie) we can't even have rugs.

we have 1 rug, a cowhide, in our whole house.

and let me tell you...cowhides are the most practical rug to have if you have pets.

and children.

nothing penetrates them (that's what she said).

spills just wipe away.

sorry some cow had to die but that cow honestly is doing a great service to my floor.

so, thank you cow.

 

but i digress..

this is about carpet.

wall to wall in fact.

here are some delicious shots of wall to wall carpet..

 

 

this carpet is ridiculous.

that whole room is ridiculous.

i'll bet the carpet alone cost more than my house is worth.

 

 

not all carpet of the past is shag and/or puke green.

this one from daivd hicks is circa 1960's and it still is quite awesome.

 

it would seem that the majority of wall to wall carpet i found out there had some sort of pattern..

and i like that.

 

k.w. is not afraid.

 

 

miles is definitely not afraid.

 

so why don't we use it more?

these are our design heroes, right?

so why do none of us have carpet?

and i'm not talking about the builder grade bullshit that came with your house.

most of us need to rip that shit out immediately upon moving in.

but i'd say only .4% of us design savvy people would even consider replacing it with more carpet.

is it bc the pretty ones are unaffordable or are we just giant carpet pussies?

or am i the only one who likes it?

or is it too permanent?

 

katie ridder uses carpet like a champ.

 

 

then there's the natural choices.

like sisal or jute or sea grass...

 i love this option the best for living rooms and the like..

 

 

it's such a great neutral and offers up so much texture.

but don't think for one second that it's cheap.

cuz it's not.

 

 

so...the point is...

fiona needs a rug.

and i have no idea what kind of rug i want to get her.

and the more i thought about it the more i realized it was less about the rug and more that i wanted a feeling of luxury underfoot.

the kind of padded luxury that carpet allows.

AND...she has a lot of toys and books and kid shit..

and that stuff gets dustier than an old, taxidermied beaver.

 i believe that carpet would help absorb some of that dust.

seems logical.

and i vacuum like a boss.

that translates into i legitimately enjoy vacuuming.

 

 i rent so i obviously am not going to lay down carpet.

but i can get some padding and a carpet remnant and have it edged or whatever it is you call it.

and have it fit to size.

right?

can't i do that?

 

 

who has experience with this?

 

let's talk about carpet.

 

 

downton recap : episode 2 : with impressions

WOW.

this week was packed FULL of stuff, right?

characters changed right before our eyes!!

 

 

 

my brain will explode if i try to recap this in prior recap fashion, so i won't.

instead i will recap with pictures and thoughts.

like bill cosby and picture pages.

 

here we go!!

 

 things are starting to get uncomfortable for the crawleys, aren't they?

rich folk sharing their home with strangers?

unheard of!!

fortunately for the wounded soldiers the crawleys are crazy nice.

mostly. (molesley?)

 

 

 poor edith.

she doesn't know what to do with herself..

 

sybil tells her she has a gift she just needs to find it.

sybil rules.

 

 cousin isobel is barking orders at everyone as if she owned downton.

 

 bark, bark, bark

 

the countess along with spooky-eyes rosamund are trying in their corseted rage to rid the world of a certain lavinia swire.

 

 

bates is sneaking around in the village like chris hanson in a chat room.

 

 

anna sees him and runs to discover that bates can disappear like a scooby doo ghost.

 

meanwhile cora is as dumb as ever.

i mean seriously?

bless her heart.

 

"no, really...thomas would make a great house manager!"

 

 

anna is busy curling lady mary's hair with some new-fangled hot stick of metal. 

she is confused bc she thinks she saw bates in the village.

mary's like ...my boyfriend is the boss of spying. 

he will totally find out anything you need to know.

 

 

 systematic bullying.

 

 

meanwhile all branson wants is to fight and go to jail?

huh?

obviously all i could focus on here was that moss growing on the roof.

it makes me very happy.

 

"prison is the place for me.  and your butt." 


and again...my focus is on that rushing to the right of branson's poop colored suit.

that's like a fence or something and i want it.

 

oh lord.

poor lang.

could someone please get him some xanax?

 

 sweet mrs. p tells him in a private moment that she lost her nephew in the war.

lang totally shits all over her later.

 

 meanwhile thomas is leaving a cloud of swarth on everything he touches.

o'brien convinces him that he needs to be house manager.

so long as he can give orders to mr. carson he's all in.

 

 

 blah blah i'm the boss.

 

fuck you say??

 

mrs. p cries bc somebody (hard side eye to lang) mentioned that her nephew offed himself

on account of cowardice..

 

mrs. hughes reminds him he isn't the only one affected by the war.

 

this war is a dick y'all.

 

 

meanwhile the crawley's are gonna play some ping pong maybe.

 

 

oops no time for ping pong. 

here come the wounded to conva...convil...connvuh..GET BETTER..

 

 who's that guy ??

 

 it's corporal moustache. 

 

 yaaaay! 

matthews back from war'cation!

 


 d'oh!

 

 meanwhile branson has a heart murmur and can't fight in the war.

 

 downstairs cousin isobel is throwing it down like charles in charge.

 

not so fast scott baio..

those eyes mean business.

 

 

so does lord g..


 

 nothing sexier than a man who will beat your ass down for upsetting his wife.

happy wife=happy life.

believe it.

 

 

outside ethel is talking about her tucking skills to major moustache..

 

 

i think the sneak peek of next week would indicate that that actually happens.

 

later, blissfully unaware of captain moustache's ball tucking plan, ethel tells anna that she thinks he really likes her.  

meanwhile anna curls her hair for mr. bates to practice for lady mary. 

 

freshly curled, anna shows up at the red lion in yorklorien..or whatever.  diagon alley. 

to lure mr. bates into her vagina maybe.

 

but mr. bates is like, no that's not your path.  

translation for modern times: you aren't a slut so stop trying to act like one.

we will be married soon.  

be patient.

not slutty.

 

 

 here we go again.

spooky eyes and the countess are still trying to convince mary to tell matthew that maybe lavinia had an affair with sir richard or her uncle or something during the macaroni scandal.

 

KILL LAVINIA!!!!!!

 

"really rosamund  there's no need to be so gleeful.  you sound like robespiere lopping off marie antoinette's head. hhoo hoo hee hee." 

( i made this gif btw.  isn't it your new favorite gif?)

 

back at downton...

captain stumpy wants to write a letter to his parents..

except he can't..

 

 

 

branson is plotting a murder maybe...

"i will serve your dinner.  a dinner of MURDER and death!!!!!!!"

 

later in the night.. 

lang has a horrific dream about the war.

sweet lord in heaven this poor bastard.

i have to tell you i cried a little bit in this scene.

this actor is killing it.

 

o'brien obviously secretly loves him.

and loves her hair so much that she wears a sweet diaper to bed to protect it.

 

 

next day..

 

 

the general arrives to see if downton is a legit convol...kornvil...coonvuhl...HOSPITAL!!

 

matthew is there too.

he stops to talk to mary about how annoying his mom is.

 

and throws serious shade onto lavinia..

by totally ignoring her!

 

lavinia confides in mary about the scandal that she can see brewing in the eyes of all these bitches..

 

 oops.

that's gonna fuck all the plans up.

 

at dinner branson delivers the "soup"..

 

anna finds a letter branson writes to sybil.. 

 

 carson rips him out of the dining room before any shit can go down....

 

 

downstairs we find that the pot is full of poocano..

 i.e. ink, squid ink, pants, poop, corn, poopcorn, darts and guy fieri's boob sweat.

 

at dinner general such and such determines edith wins the prize for most awesome crawley!

 

"TO EDITH!" 

 

elsewhere...

william proposes to daisy.

gross says daisy.

 

but mrs. p is like... 

and that's that. 

 

outside..

 

lang loses his cool in front of everybody.

that's the last straw.

 

yer fired.

 

and we end with lord and lady cuddles... 

cora and L.G. discuss the war sads.  

try not to choke to death in your sleep lord g....jesus. 

 

 

and now..

last week a few of you thought i was not paying homage to the awesome one line zingers that maggie smith delivers each week.

well..

 say no more.

from now on i will record myself delivering said one liners AS lady violet and you hookers will vote for your favorite.

i do everything for your happiness.

 

 LINE 1

 

 

LINE 2 

 

 

LINE 3

 

 

LINE 4

 

 

master-bates,

 

globes review

 

not so much:

 

turd/tord.

 

 

knope.

 

 

squuuaaaaawwwwwk!!!!!!

 

 

curtains.

 

pocahontas bandaid.

 

it's hard to focus on the dress with that strange orange glow raping my eyes.

 

 

seriously?

with your body THAT's what you wear??

 

 

i mean....food much?

he, on the other hand, looks outstanding. 

 

 

 

mildred. 

 

 

ottoman.

 

 

you don't fool me with that tennis dress disguised as fancy. 

 

 

blah blah. she always looks the same.

put your hair down and wear something that doesn't look like a princess. threw up on you.

 

 

ba ba ba ba ba ba bah bah bah..bah bah baa ba bah!!

(dancing with the stars theme)

 

 

face!  face!!!!  FACE!!!!!!!!!

penis arms!  PENIS ARMS!!!

( i would kill for those penis arms)

 

 

temple grandin won again!

 

 

 what. the. fuck. 

 

 

this dress sucks a million madonna arms. 

 

 

brussels sprout.

 

 

it's a turtleneck, yo!

 

 

 

 

grace skellyton.

julie bones. 

 

 

hey grammaw!

 

 

zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

 

 

sleeping bag.

 

 

oh hey other grammaw!

 

 

"my 2 yo picked out this dress!!"

duh.

 

 

heeyyy girl,  what'cha doin?

heeeyyy girl,  where ya' goin?

"oh just goin to get some mutton chops cut onto my face."

 

 

 

riding the fence:

 

it's a lot going on...hair, dress...but she looks beautiful.

maybe if she had her hair up, with some loose waves around her face it would have been better.

 

 

i mean she's certainly stunning, but i would have rather seen her in something edgier, and with more color.

and i HATE headbands!!!

they are so juvenile.

period!!!  

 

 

this sort of makes her body look weird but i LOVE the color of those earrings with it!!

 

 

hmm...on the one hand she looks so fresh and fancy-free!

on the other hand she looks like she just rolled out of bed.

and it doesn't fit so good.

and stop smiling so much!!  it's not that awesome!

 

 

better.

 

 

she always does the structured look really well but her torso looks mega long in this dress.

and i thought the make-up was too strong.

 

 

 

favorites:

 

it's young, it's sexy and girly and she looks beautiful. 

the belt is cool.

 

 

totally age appropriate but still sexy.

66! 

 

gorgeous.

 

 

she looks 10 feet tall and she's like 3'4.

totally glamorous and beautiful.

 

 

pretty much perfect across the board.

she gets it.

 

 

bitch please.

you wish you were this cool.

 

 

girl can rock a fish tail.

also this is what i look like in dresses.

 

 

best dressed??

 

salma's boobs.

 

 

best dressed dude?

 

 

as mike left for work this morning he says,

"i'll leave you alone to do whatever you will do with your ewan macgreggor pictures".

 

ha!

yeah, like rub my scent on them!

 

 

 

 

 downton recap tomorrow.