the baby bangs

1. Sticky Buns. A delicious dessert you can make multiple jokes about. 

2. Stevie Nicks. She is a living legend. Plus, she was on American Idol and Up All Night this week. She’s out of control hilarious. 

3. Sixteen and Pregnant. A guilty pleasure for both of us that we don’t feel that guilty about. The episode we watched this week was about rodeo lovers. We can summarize it up by the fact they sold a pickup truck full of empty cans for cash. Also, her dad was missing maybe all of his teeth. 

4. If we already didn’t love Ben Schwartz enough… PADDINGTON POWER! 

5. Safety Not Guaranteed. Please watch the trailer below.

“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. 
Delicious Ambiguity.” 
― Gilda Radner

I was born and raised in the Lone Star State. Texas is a strange place to say the least. The majority of people think it is a giant land filled with tumbleweeds, cows, rodeo clowns, hillbillies drinking Coors Light out of lukewarm cans and thanks to Friday Night Lights widespread football mania. All of these things really do exist. I went to a school in the middle of nowhere. I can some it up with the fact there were only six people in my graduating class and I was the only female. I’m pretty sure that hasn’t happened since Little House on the Prairie. I knew people that wore nothing but starched Wranglers and spit tobacco in plastic cups, while cruising around in their huge trucks. My childhood best friend and I have eaten an entire pecan pie in one sitting. I will always love horses. I will always believe “the bigger the hair, the closer to God.” 

However, growing up I rebelled. I despised country music. I refused to eat barbecue. I never owned cowboy boots. Even though I was a bona fide Texan, I usually tried to make it seem that like my parents I was born in Illinois and was much more proud of my Midwestern roots. This all changed when I moved away. Suddenly, I was a blonde in a sea of Northeastern brunettes being told I looked like Taylor Swift. (Ironically, TSwift is from Pennsylvania not Texas, but I understand most people aren’t creepily aware of all things pop culture.) People were so interested to hear what the South was like and if I grew up on a ranch. They thought I said certain things such as water with an adorable drawl. I’m sure a lot of my sudden nostalgia has to do with the cliche of the grass being greener on the other side and realizing how great something was after it is gone, but I think it also has to do with growing up and being comfortable in your own skin. I think overall I’m a less judgmental person. I can embrace loving all sorts of things. I’m not embarrassed to say I’ve listened to Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood’s “Remind Me” seven times, seven times in a row just this morning. There is something so sweet and simple about all things country. The songs summing up Southern life usually revolve around true love, drinking with your buddies and dancing in a field will always have a certain purity that techno pop songs can’t offer.

Certain things come full circle. Certain things you never thought meant the world to you do. Manners and chicken fried steak have proven to be more important to me than I ever imagined. I have the urge to ride a mechanical bull and line dance with a good ol’ boy from Georgia. I’ve been wearing plaid shirts and blaring Jake Owen as I drive down the highway with my windows down. Instead of ordering a fruity cocktail, I’ve been ordering beer. Getting a tattoo of Texas somewhere on my body is becoming increasingly less of a joke and more of a possible reality. All of this to say, embrace where you came from and be okay with home being where the heart is. Hopefully, I’ll become rich enough to have a ranch in the country and the fancy loft in the city. Realistically though, I’ll be the girl in Philly you see with a pissed face because Target was sold out of Luke Bryan albums.     

Ash just wants you all to know that when she feels upset, the thought of Steve Carell dancing is literally one of her first go to’s to feel better. Enjoy these two examples.

1. Nyquil. Would we all die without it? Seriously, it is a magical liquid.

2. Spring! It seems overnight every tree has bloomed. 

3. Phillip on American Idol. Is there such a thing as talking about him too much? Preferably him not listening to the useless advice of Tommy Hilfiger and P. Diddy this week. 

4. Groups of elderly people at the movies, who laugh at the same weird moments you do.

5. Erasable pens. Bought them by accident, can’t stop using them.

6. Whole rotisserie chickens. Stop playin’, ya’ll love them. Tay may have eaten part of one straight from the container in her underwear. Living the dream! 

7. The streets of Philadelphia on St. Patty’s Day. Utter chaos. 

8. Not being able to hold in laughter. This is the perfect example of smiling at the wrong time. (Yes, we love Raymond, get over it!)

Ash here. Yesterday at work a man came up to me and told me the following statements. “You need to get educated and go to college. Get a job where people don’t ask whether or not you work there. Get educated.” HEY BUSTER. YOU DON’T KNOW MY LIFE FOOL! I am working this job in order to do so. Thanks for raining on my parade and being a super big bummer. Not.

Why is this real? Found on a board game box at Cracker Barrel. 

Tay here. My maternal grandparents are 71 and 74 years old or should I say years young. (I actually just laughed out loud at myself for writing that.) It sounds incredibly cheesy, but they are two of the few people I know that actually grab life by the balls. They always seem to be doing something fun or exciting or simply just enjoying each others’ company. My grandpa’s mustache alone screams party. Plus, I especially love them because they laugh at all my jokes. 

The following pictures should give you a glimpse of the kind of shenanigans they partake in on a regular basis.

What can we say? He is hilarious and a true gem of a human being. Please follow him immediately:

https://twitter.com/#!/ecareyo

http://careyodonnell.tumblr.com/post/12178794312

http://www.youtube.com/user/careyodonnell3

I did not watch LOST when it was aired on TV. It wasn’t that I was against it really, but by the time I was intrigued I felt like I had missed way too much to ever catch up. Plus, I am usually not super into tropical locations, crazy action plots and random monsters. However, I did watch the series finale. Yes, the episode that filled everyone with every possible human emotion. I was dressed as Claire (pregnant belly and all) at a costume party, filled with intense LOST fanatics. I had no idea what was happening, but I fell in love. I cried the entire time.

Could they get any cuter?

I think the very obvious reason this show had and still does have such a huge following is that the entire focus and theme of it is people connecting with one another. Everything is character driven. It wasn’t about the mysteries or the bizarre stuff, it was about the people you encounter in life and how all of us are intertwined. Story telling has always been my greatest love, thus a TV program that captured peoples’ attention and hearts by weaving individual stories together will always be magical and extraordinary to me.

One summer in between high school and college I worked at a Blockbuster. It was a pretty beat job. The 5 free rentals a week were incredible but things like a manager named Nathan who only wore baby blue and had pictures on his cell phone of him and his favorite recording artist, Jesse McCartney were not so incredible. (His movie recommendation for the entire summer that I worked there was “From Justin to Kelly”) Anyway, this was the summer that the show LOST became available on DVD. Everyone at work was so excited to watch it again and I was the only moron there who hadn’t been watching the first season as it aired. They told me that I had to rent it, and that it would become an obsession. I didn’t really believe them. Then I rented the first disc.

I went out the next day and bought the entire season.

Saying that I love this show would be the understatement of the century. I am still, almost two years after the last episode aired, madly in love with it. If an episode is on, it has my full attention. I weep in the car by myself whenever I hear a song on the radio that is associated with any of my favorite moments. I passionately argue for the sake of it’s characters. It’s probably pretty excessive. But it is incredible. If you’ve never seen the show, I’m so sorry. But I’m also so excited for you. I’m sort of jealous. I wish I could watch it again for the first time.

I realize that this might sound a little insane. But it’s too good.

Again, if you haven’t seen the show I’m sorry. Get yourself a Netflix account like YESTERDAY and start watching them. Pronto. Then come back and read the rest of this so that I don’t ruin amazing stuff for you.

Let me start by saying that describing a show as a bunch of people stranded on an island does not peak my interest in any way shape or form. Gilligan’s Island. Been there done that. But Lost is basically about that, and everything else. Classic Good vs Evil, Right vs Wrong. Spinal surgery. (Angel hair pasta.) Convicts, con men, and Charlie Pace. Round glasses, magnetic forces, freighters and time flashes. Don’t forget about the smoke, The Swan, and a ton of symbolism. It’s simply my favorite.

I’m still in love with the characters. Hate me forever, but I’ve been a fan of Jack ever since the very first episode. Hey, if you’re stuck on an island, you’re gonna side with the handsome surgeon who isn’t afraid to call the shots. (So stop demanding he makes decisions for ya’ll and then getting so darn angry when you don’t agree with him. Sheesh!) Who doesn’t love Sawyer? We all love to hate Ben. (Michael Emerson should be in everything.) Charlie and Claire. You have me in tears time and time again. Desmond. You are our constant. The show is amazing enough to provide us with flashbacks (and forwards!) of all of the characters causing us to be even more invested in this group of strangers. Everything from Charlie’s “Greatest Hits” (I am on the verge of tears. This is ridiculous.) to Richard’s largely discussed and super mysterious island roots, I am obsessed with them. You will be too.

I get seriously amped up thinking about Jack’s “Live Together Die Alone” speech. I get goosebumps thinking about Desmond sprinting around after “Make Your Own Kind of Music” blares in the hatch. Thinking about Ben locked up attempting to con everyone with his Henry Gale tales makes me antsy. Juliet slipping from Sawyer’s hand. Not. Penny’s. Boat. Never in my life have I seen a show that has made me feel this way. It is magical.

When the final episode was airing my husband and I threw a Lost party. We went all out. All. Out. Outside of our apartment you were greeted by cases of luggage with custom name tags for the passengers of Oceanic 815. We transformed the whole space into an island and sprinkled it with little props like Kate’s tiny airplane and a Dharma failsafe key. We ate Mr. Cluck’s chicken and polar bear cupcakes. You had to be dressed as a character to attend. (I was dressed as Kate, probably my least favorite character. I had really long hair that is easily disgustingly frizzy and and freckles are easy to fake.) It was devastating to know that it was the end. But I was satisfied with the way they closed the show. I could talk for days about how much I love it and why it means so much. But you have to watch it to understand. I know I act this way towards many things/shows/characters so this is nothing new. But Lost is in a league of it’s own. I’ll leave you with a clip. Do not watch this if you haven’t seen the show. I promise you, it’s worth starting with the very first episode. Then tell me what you think. But if you have, enjoy this scene from an amazing episode that is one of my favorites. See you in another life.

Love, Ash.

I was going on 12, when this movie was released in theatres. I fondly remember going with both my parents and younger brother. All of us loved it. It was silly, heartwarming and surprisingly believable (I’m American, the only royalty we have is Oprah and if she has a secret daughter, she is definitely a princess.) To this day, my brother and I can recite entire conversations from it. I can watch it at any time. It is one of those films that is a perfect choice to watch, whether I’m in a “Life is great and I am a one of a kind gem mood” or “I’m going to eat an entire loaf of bread and cry into my over-sized hoody mood.”  

I learned quite a few valuable lessons including the following:

1. NEVER trust a Backstreet Boy wannabe. Pretty boy blonds aren’t really my type anyways, but avoid posers. Duh!  
2. ALWAYS groom your eyebrows. This does not mean over-plucking them. They are the frames of your eyes so take care of them. I cannot express what a difference they can make for your whole face.
3. Don’t leave your BFF in the dark. When you leave your soul sister out of secrets and don’t update her on new things occurring in your life, life is going to seem a thousand times worse.
4. If your BFF has an adorable, sweet musician brother, SNAG HIM UP GUUURL!

Although these are all very important, I think the most beneficial one came from the precious limo driver, Joe. There is a pivotal scene, when he catches a glimpse of Princess Mia shedding a tear. As she exits the car, he quotes the great Eleanor Roosevelt and says “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” I’m not entirely sure if I got the depth of this in junior high, but at 22, it really hits home. I feel as if I’m telling myself this constantly.

One of the harsh realities of life is sometimes people are rude. Sometimes for unknown reasons, people are jerks. Their behavior is most likely caused by a hurt or insecurity they haven’t dealt with properly, but you don’t have control over them. All we have control over is how we treat others and our reaction to how others treat us. Be kind to everyone you encounter. When you wrong someone, apologize and make it right. 

Now, if someone is a plain old ass to you and refuses to apologize or mend anything, move on. Seriously, whether it is a stranger, pal or crazy ex, don’t let their immature actions bring you down. I have wasted so much time being upset over people that I shouldn’t even keep in my life. Life is too short to spend moments needlessly frustrated, angry or heartbroken. Forget the haters and press onward, champion. Focus on the encouraging relationships that cause you to grow. Strive to be a better person and make those around you better people. 

Truly yours, 

Tay

1. Parades. Tomorrow we are going to sit out front of Ash’s apartment and watch what is being advertised as the parade of the century. They better throw candy.

2. Grilled cheese sandwiches. Let’s not act like we don’t all love them a ton. Still.

3. Giant sweaters & hoodies. Is there anything cozier in this world? We think not.

4. Drinking water. Supposedly it makes your whole body work better?!?!?! In all seriousness, drinking a lot of it throughout the day does make a difference, guys.

5. Jason Schwartzman. With every passing year, he only gets cuter and funnier. 

This is one of our favorite scenes in all of television. We’ve raved about this show before, and if you haven’t seen the wonder that is Freaks and Geeks, either do yourself a favor and just buy the series, or get on over to one of our apartments so we can have an excuse to watch them all again. This scene doesn’t really require much of an intro, just that it is pure brilliance.

Everything about this video. Yes. Yes. Yes. 

Today I was thinking a lot about the movie Mean Girls. Remember when everything gets completely out of control and everyone is rioting in the hallways forcing Tim Meadows to yield a baseball bat because of the Burn Book they had uncovered? In the next scene we see all of the girls being held in the gym while Tina Fey gives a brief yet awesome speech, then has the girls do trust falls from a platform while they apologize to others for harmful things they have said. Ridiculous, hilarious. Iff you’ve never seen it, here ya go!

Anyway, all of that to say this. I just really love what Tina/Ms Norbury says. She’s totally right. The more time I spend around girls, the more I realize how absolutely vicious we can be. I act that way sometimes without even realizing it. I don’t want to sound super feminist-y or act like I don’t have ridiculously great friendships with some of the coolest girls I’ve ever met. But let’s not deny it. We’re all pretty crazy. So this week, I’m going to make an effort to tone down the chaos. Let’s be a lot more Ms. Norbury and a lot less Gretchen/Regina. Cheers ya’ll!

                                   Apparently this is what passes for a fairy nowadays.

I am usually an outgoing person. I am a loud mouth. I can be obnoxious. I have definitely said things without thinking. 

I haven’t heard this much since I was a kid, but I love being asked, “What’s wrong with you? Did you get dropped on your head as a baby or something?” Because I did. Not just once, folks. I had at least three accidents involving my fragile baby head. Don’t worry, I still blame my parents. Maybe these occurrences caused my face to be slightly disfigured (I know I’m not ugly, but I do look way too much like a gnome princess to be normal.) Perhaps these tumbles caused my brain to shrink. It will always be a mystery…

Here are the head traumas I am aware of happening to me.  

- My then exhausted 23 year old mother fell asleep, while holding me in a recliner. All she remembers is waking up to me crying. I had fallen out of her arms and was on the floor. 

- On a beach trip, my stroller tipped completely over and I fell face first into sand. This probably explains why I avoid beaches and tanning for the most part. 

- Last but certainly not least, I loved when my dad would put me on his shoulders. Unfortunately, one time was not so enjoyable, because my 6 foot tall father unknowingly walked too close to a ceiling fan. A moving ceiling fan (they say it wasn’t at full speed, but we shall never know) knocked me directly in the forehead. A giant egg instantly appeared. My mom says it was the first time she saw my father cry. I’m not disappointed that this happened, but I am very disappointed that neither of them took a picture of me looking like an alien. 

I have said all of this to say, I have an excuse, guys. I always have an excuse for my behavior. I think the only ones that could compete with this are people that were actually born in barns. 

Truly yours, 

Tay 

P.S. My parents were and still are great parents, just a tad bit clumsy.

Thanks to my junior high BFF, Rachel Rush, we are able to share this wild bronco of a man. He kept his Bluetooth on, while dining at a deli, so obviously he is VERY important. 

We both wrote about our trip to North Carolina last weekend. Here are three amazing eateries we enjoyed in Charlotte. Seriously delicious food. 

The Crepe Cellar - They had great burgers, fries and OBVIOUSLY savory & sweet crepes that were to die for. 

The Flying Biscuit- Fresh biscuits warmed our bellies & our hearts. Plus, the best freaking iced chai latte ever. 

Amelie’s French Bakery- Fresh pastries, eclectic decorations & open 24 hours?!? Uhh, sign us up.

Ash here! As Tay shared yesterday, this weekend we embarked on a journey to the beautiful state of North Carolina for a visit with our pal Mary, and to attend the wedding of our friend Juddson. As Tay, Nate and I all piled into our rental car to head out of Philly we were all so excited for a trip out of the norm and couldn’t wait to see some of our college friends we haven’t seen in far too long. It’s probably one of the best road trips I’ve ever taken and was sort of bummed to head back home after only 3 short days. Here are some of the silly moments we encountered.

Friday we arrived in Charlotte, got changed, attempted to find a restaurant, and wound up at the Crepe Cellar. Delicious and super fun. We had a very silly, but overly kind waitress. We passed around food, laughed, and ate a huge dessert. Then we headed out to visit some of Mary’s friends. That brings us to this next picture. This weirdo. He hit on me at a birthday party we went to (I knew two people besides Tay and Nate and we had arrived with them.) Newsflash Buster, pick-up lines about glasses and what your prescription might be are weird and unnecessary. I was promptly rescued by my wonderful husband who proceeded to not only save the day but to take this picture. I think his name was Chris? 

Saturday we had the most delicious brunch ever, and headed out to Greensboro for the wedding. We found ourselves in the middle of nowhere pulling into a long driveway that was surrounded by what looked to be a number of mennonite ladies. (so we felt right at home.) When the only other people we knew arrived, we immediately started yelling and causing a scene as only we know how to do. The wedding was wonderful, short and sweet. The reception was a blast. We all went to a Chili’s and hung out for hours after we all crammed into Mary’s little car and talked about Zac Efron’s newest tattoo and who had to go to the bathroom. Finishing out the night with a fruit pie from Amelie’s bakery? Perfection. Here’s a tiny glimpse.

Sunday we all woke up terribly sad about leaving. Time moved so quickly and we definitely had a jam packed weekend. But for the first time in a trip that I can remember for awhile, nothing felt rushed. We were all so genuinely happy to be spending time together and sharing such a great experience that we all just took it in as it came. I remember thinking so many times over the weekend, I’m so happy to be here. There is so much to get caught up in every day, it was so nice to have just a couple to keep carefree. It felt like a silly movie montage where the old friends meet up again and everything just falls into place for a short period of time. It was too good. I mean, we were driving home Saturday night and Tay and Mary saw a shooting star. Is this a joke? Not real life. I think we might have just spent a couple of days in The Twilight Zone.

All in all, it made me realize that life is honestly pretty great. There is a ton going on. With everyone. Always. But life is pretty wonderful nonetheless. Here are a few more gems from the trip. Hope you enjoy. And if you haven’t done so before, visit Charlotte. It’s a real gem.

Here we are. The three best friends that anyone could have.

Some of the group at the reception.

Sleepy ride home.