Spotlight Saturday 04.18 to 04.24.10

Spotlight Saturday

Here are FIVE of my favorite posts from the past week. Each week I will be highlighting some of my favorites. I have many blogs in my reader, as I have many friends with all different types of “niches” or “non-niches”. I will post serious stories, fun stories, pictures, recipes, etc. They will most likely be in a random order.

1.  The Bitchin’ Wives Club-Prepping for BlogHer ’10: The Popular Blogger

Amy made one of my most favorite vlogs ever.  It’s hilarious.  She talks about being a “popular” blogger.

2.  Controlling my Chaos-I’ll Never Buy Another Font Cartridge Again

A post on how to adapt your Cricut without buying additional cartridges.

3.  Hostess with the Mostess-DIY Parasol Topiaries

These would make awesome centerpieces for spring/summer parties.

4.  Trenches of Mommyhood-Comment Moderation and Word Verification

Sarah says it plain and clear, “Don’t do it”. Amen Blogging Sister, amen!

5.  Today’s Creative Blog-Photo Wall

Kim has posted some great decorating ideas.  And the photo wall, I totally have a blank one, just waiting.

My Ode To Zima

Do you remember the 90’s? I barely do.  It was ten years which included: high school, college, work, marriage, and graduate school.  But, I had many memories return recently when Mishi posed this on Aiming Low.  What made these memories return was one word: Zima.  Do you remember Zima? Gosh, Zima was like a fine wine compared to the wine coolers that we had been drinking before it arrived onscene.

Zima was this awesomesauce.  You could add things to this clear alcoholic beverage to make it customizable.  I used to add cranberry juice and even Kool-Aid.  Zima was introduced in 1993, how convenient that it was the same year that I graduated high school.  Wow, now I sound like a total underage drinking fool.  We all learn things from our past.  And it was discontinued in 2008.  I survived four plus years of college drinking Zima and umm the classy stuff called Boone’s.

Remembering Zima

I immediately texted Mishi, to tell her that I even had a “horrible” photo of Angry Julie and her pal, Zima. This is my friend, Melissa and I (I’m on the left) in 1993.  I was clutching my signature Zima, and Melissa was grasping her wine cooler.  This is how we rocked in the early 1990’s.

Do you remember the 90’s? Was your 90’s, the 80’s? I have some awesome stories from the 80’s also. I just need to remember them.  They usually involved the filming of Back to the Future and Kid’s Incorporated though.

Earth Day 2010

earth-day

“When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves.”-David Orr

Today is the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day.  If you haven’t been thinking eco-friendly already, today is a great day to start. I may not always be the most eco-friendly person, but I do try.  We recycle when we can, I use re-usable grocery bags, Angry Kid uses all re-cycled paper at school, and we also use many of Ecostore USA’s environmental friendly cleaning products.

I searched the web and blogosphere to find more great posts relating to Earth Day 2010. I hope you enjoy them!

Kaboose-Earth Day 2010

The Modchik-Eco-Chic Earth Day

Moms Wear Your Tees-What Earth Day Means To Me and My Earth Day

Hoosier Homemade-Earth Day Bug Cupcakes-How To

Socal Mom-Forty Earth Days Later

Mashable-5 More Ways to Go Green for Earth Day

Life Behind The Curve-The Lazy Family’s Guide to Going Green

Real Simple Magazine-9 Eco-Friendly Fashion Finds

Earth Day picture from lulinhapato10

Wordless Wednesday: iPhone & iTouch at Dinner

ITouch and iPhone and our family

Welcome to  “Angry Julie Monday’s Wordless Wednesday MckLinky”! If this your first time here, HELLO! I am doing a link-up every Wednesday! Post a picture(s) that you took in the past week and link back to it here.

Decorating with Skateboards

I think we have been working on Angry Kid’s room redecorating for at least two months now.  My goal is to have it done by his 5th birthday.  We still have a month to finish it with this deadline. I’m a complete planner and control freak. So I won’t post pictures of his room until it is completely done. I’ve been giving little tidbits along the way, by showing his closet, and then the vinyl sticker on his wall.

Last month, when we went to The Clash at Clairemont IV, we came home with a signed skateboard deck.  I already had an idea for the deck before we even stood in line to get it signed.  I knew the perfect spot where I wanted to hang the skateboard deck on the wall.  Angry Husband even knew about my plan and agreed with me.  I showed Angry Husband the skateboard deck, and he instantly said, “first thing we do, is to clear coat the board to preserve the autographs”.  I had not even thought of that.  Angry Husband sprayed approximately three coats of clear spray paint on the deck, and let it dry for about a day.

I had ordered a skateboard deck mount from Store Your Board, previously.  This led to an entire argument in our house, because Angry Husband wanted to make something himself.  Seriously, I did not want to wait for the multiple hardware store runs to find the right size of wood/screws/etc. He was not a happy camper, but he installed the mount and deck. Please ignore some of the messy paint on the edges of the closet.  We haven’t done our final touch-ups.
Mounted Skateboard Deck for DisplayThe second project that involved skateboards in Angry Kid’s room, was his shelves.  Last year, ironically at The Clash at Clairemont III, we won two skateboard decks in a raffle. They have been underneath our bed for a year. I knew that they would be way too big for Angry Kid, and one of them was signed.  I knew that somehow, they had a future purpose.

We bought four l-brackets, and used them in mounting the decks for shelves.  We did not want to damage to actual boards, so we had to drill some additional holes in the l-brackets to properly align with the holes on the decks. We mounted the brackets on the wall first, using dry wall anchors, and then the decks were placed on.  I think they are a great addition to this extreme sports room.

Skateboard Shelves on the Wall
Close-up of Skateboard Shelves

I need to find a cover for Angry Kid’s plain duvet still, and some other odds and ends.  I’m still debating on crown molding for the ceiling also. I think this room screams for crown. Angry Husband agrees. Now we just need to find the time to finish it all.

Sweet Shot Tuesday: Backyard Flowers

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This is my first time participating in my3boybarians “Sweet Shot Tuesday”.  I’ve haven’t taken many pictures in the past week, but I did snap some pictures in the backyard last week after I watered the plants.  I just saw how the light and water hit the plants, and I ran for my camera.  I didn’t have to run far since my camera is usually on my kitchen counter.

I’ve been trying to concentrate on my photography lately, so this was just the right moment to get some photographs.

Be sure to check out more photographs from Sweet Shot Tuesday at:

Sweet Shot Day

Department Store or Dog Park

I went to the mall today with my mom and Angry Kid.  Our intention was to go to the new Nordstrom here at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. It had just opened on Friday, and I love me some Nordstrom.

Angry Kid was quite wild but we tamed him with a new belt from Peek Kids and a Build-A-Bear. Don’t judge, my mom bought him off today, not me.  She’s a grandmother, that’s her job.

It was a beautiful day outside in Southern California, and this is an outdoor mall.  We rarely go to this mall, as there is an outdoor mall closer to my house with almost the exact same stores.  Within minutes of arriving at the mall, we immediately noticed something. There was an overabundance of dogs. I get it, it’s an outdoor mall, they allow dogs.

I’ve lived in Orange County since I was eleven. I’m used to the so-called “yuppie purse dogs”.  I have Chihuahuas.  But these were not the cute sweater wearing highly accessorized purse dogs, these were big dogs. When Angry Kid was dancing around the big fountain in the center of the mall, I saw two English Bulldogs, a Chihuahua, a Boxer, and an Australian Shepherd. All of these dogs were on leashes, but there were at least twenty five children in the area.

After feeding Angry Kid, we headed towards Nordstrom.  I immediately noticed patio tables outside the store with families and young children.  I also noticed more dogs.  I’ve been going to Fashion Island for a long time. I have NEVER seen this many dogs there.

Upon entering the store, through the mall entrance, I saw how crowded the store was.  It was the third day since it had been open, and business was good.  The entrance, which was technically the second story, placed us directly in the shoes, handbags, and cosmetics departments.  I’m a huge shoe addict, so I headed toward the shoes, naturally.  There were tons of pretty couches laid out where customers were receiving excellent service from Nordstrom employees (seriously, they have the best service). But I noticed something about the shoe department instantly.  I saw several people had their dogs sitting on the couches in the shoe department.  On one of the couches, I saw two small dogs bouncing around.  The owner was ignoring them and getting fitted for shoes.  I just looked at my mom and rolled my eyes.

I wanted to explore the store more, but I had to push my way through the crowds.  Like I said, it was a beautiful day out, and everyone in Orange County seemed to be at Nordstrom. But seriously, pushing our way through the crowds, meant walking around the people with their VERY BIG dogs within the store.

When then headed downstairs towards the children’s clothing and women’s apparel sections.  Angry Kid immediately ran towards the children’s shoes department, which had an awesome salt water fish tank. As I was heading over there, I heard a woman exclaim very loudly that “her child (a wee small one, probably one-ish) was eye to eye with a larger type dog.  I knew instantly what she was thinking since I also had a small child in the store.

I’m just trying to understand how people think that this is ok? Why does Nordstrom and the rest of the merchants in this mall allow this? I would think that this would be a huge liability.  I’ve seen dogs look at each other wrong before and start fighting.  Sometimes, dog owners are not strong enough to pull their dogs out of these fights and can also get injured along the way.  This is a shopping mall with tons of small children running around.  People also have allergies to dogs.

I have two small dogs, less than 15 pounds each.  I would never think to bring them to the mall. We’ve taken them to dog beach, and to several dog parks.  All of those experiences were not good.  These dogs wouldn’t harm anyone, but got somewhat “bitchy” in these dog meet-ups.  I have nothing against pitbulls, boxers, or other large dogs, I really don’t.  But seriously, not everyone is comfortable around these types of dogs, and does not expect to come into contact with dogs like this at the local mall, in an actual department store.

Apparently Fashion Island has the unofficial title as “Orange County’s Dog Mall”. I guess I did not realize that.  I don’t think that I will be going to Fashion Island unless I’m meeting someone there now.  I used to love going there, as they have beautiful landscaping, and I practically grew up running around there. I’m just too worried, that I might accidentally step in poop while shopping for the new shoes or simple a teddy bear for my son.

I’m not the only one irritated by this.  My friend Suzanne, is also writing a blog post about Nordstrom.  When I came home from the mall earlier today, I sorta vented on Twitter.  I got a reply from LA Stylist Mom about a post that she wrote a month ago, about The Grove in Los Angeles.

My mom was completely freaking out and almost had a panic attack about the entire situation.  She was calling her friends and venting on her cellphone, the entire way home.

Do you think it is odd that they are allowing dogs and/or these big dogs in Department Stores?

Spotlight Saturday 04.11 to 04.17.10

Spotlight Saturday

Here are FIVE of my favorite posts from the past week. Each week I will be highlighting some of my favorites. I have many blogs in my reader, as I have many friends with all different types of “niches” or “non-niches”. I will post serious stories, fun stories, pictures, recipes, etc. They will most likely be in a random order.

1. Petit Elefant-Make Homeade Bath Bombs

Allison shows the step-by-step process on how to make homeade bath bombs.  They would make greats for a girlfriend or a baby/wedding shower.

2.  Tip Junkie-Teacher Appreciation Gifts

It is almost the end of the school year. Laurie shows some great gifts to give that teacher in your life.

3.  A Southern Fairytale-Blackberry Lemon Coffee Cake

I will always Rachel for her Tervis Tumbler.  She was carting it around at Blissdom this year.  When she posted this recipe, I almost died and passed away in blackberry heaven.  I still need to get a proper pan to make it, but I will soon.

4. Blissfully Domestic-How To Make A Custom iPhone Icon For Your Blog

This is a great tutorial. It was done by my favorite blog designer too, Judith Shakespeare.

5.  The Vintage Pearl-Feather Babies

The pictures of the goslings are adorable!

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