{ Nicki Smith }

The other day this e-mail arrived in my inbox. It was written by my boss to a new client coming in to meet with me, and I was copied on the e-mail so I was reminded of the meeting. The e-mail read as follows:

"Josh,

When you get to the office tomorrow morning ask for Nicki Smith. Nicki is the designer that will be working on the new presentation..."

What the?! Nicki Smith?!?

I wrote my boss of three years back with the reply:

"Remember when I changed my last name to Smith? That was fun..."

Awesome.

{ Fun-core }

As opposed to the term "hardcore," the term I like to use to describe my life is fun-core. If it's fun, I'm in. And this, my friends, is definitely fun.

{ Terrarium 101 }

Terrariums are pretty, so I decided to gift one to my friends Ali and Dylan for their wedding (NOTE: Present still pending delivery, so, if you see this Ali, please call me so I can come drop it off :) ). I chose more of an open container because of it's attractiveness, but you can use bell-jar and small-opening containers too. Here's a step-by-step of the simple process.

Step 1 place rocks in the bottom of the container for drainage. I am sure there is a certain height you should clear with the rocks, but mine are about an inch and a half in depth.


Step 2 place a covering over the rocks before you put in the dirt so the dirt doesn't infiltrate the rocks. I chose moss cause it's pretty and multifunctional, but you can use a cut piece of screen (like the screen you use in windows) too.


Step 3 cover with at least a few inches of dirt. I think I used about 2.5 inches; just enough to pot the plant. You could probably do with using more, but I didn't have a ton of space. Make a hole for your plant.


Step 4 plant the foliage. I chose and ivy cause they like a moist environment and they are low lying. I added some moss to the top of the soil (as pictured above) to add some more color. I think I may add a couple rocks or a piece of nice bark before delivery. So lovely.


Here are some other pretty ones from other people:
Bell Jar example
A Collection example
Water Jug example
Cactus example

-------------------

UPDATE


After a few days in its new home, the terrarium has earned a new name and a special, set-apart place in my friend's home.

The terrarium is now affectionately referred to as the "taranchelarium" and it rests on a wood end table in a sitting nook in the kitchen. It resides next to a reading chair and a painting of a scantily clad woman, which is now affectionately renamed after me in honor of the plant it keeps company with. Thank you Ali :)

{ Oh...Hello Beautiful Longboard }

OK...I know it's just an object, but isn't this longboard beautiful?! It came up today on whiskeymilitia.com and I fell in love. I already own a long board, and I don't really have a lot/a little/any cash to spare, so I just admired it from view of my computer screen. So classy. So lovely. So awesome. Nice work Gold Coast. Someday, when I'm rich, I may ride your longboard along the coast and take pictures, cause really, how could I help myself.

{ We Can Do Halloween }

Who says randomly purchasing a pair of coveralls at a thrift store doesn't pay off? I got these blue bad boys at DI a little less than a year ago with no particular use in mind, but they came in very handy this weekend; and, bonus, I didn't need to buy any extras for my costume! Check it:

coveralls = sweet DI purchase
hair scarf = previous belonging of my lovely grandma
eye lashes = who doesn't already own false eyelashes? (I bought them for high school prom, and they're still going strong)
yellow "we can do it" pin = paper cut out I created in 1 minute or less

I spent Halloween this year with Mike at a Neon Trees concert. He's buddies with the guys in the band, so we went to support and enjoy. The show didn't disappoint -- rockin fun with dancing and a 6'5 man dressed as Captain Crunch (man -- I wish I had gotten a picture of him). After the show, friends convened at my place to play speed scrabble and guitar. I knitted. All in all an awesome night.

Strangely enough, I boycotted dressing up for Halloween from the ages of 12 to 25. I think I thought it was stupid. But let me tell you...I was wrong. Dead wrong. Ever since I have come back, I just can't get enough. Next year, I may even have to get some false ears involved (see picture example below).

Pictures from the night:


Katy the Penguin, Beth the Ladybug and Fletcher the Convict before we parted ways temporarily for the evening (they went to the stake dance in a barn down south)


Neon Trees show, complete with audience member dressed as Animal from the Muppets on the stage.


Me with Chris, the guitarist from the Neon Trees, in his black and gold bird-ish costume. Sicky sick.


Awesome girl who let me take her picture cause I loved her costume so much. I thought she was Mother Nature, but she said she was a woodland creature. I can handle that. Next Halloween, here I come.


Close up of her eyes.


Julia serenading us at the end of the night.


Beth and Fletcher holding it down at speed Scrabble (Katy not pictured)


Nicki-Rosie-Nicki knitting

Great end to a great night.

{ Pictures long forgotten }

Once upon a time I had a lame Gateway PC laptop that, while it served me well for at least six years (and I am very grateful you bought it for me, mom), decided to crash one winter day in late 2006. With it's crash, it obliterated years of photos (No, I did not have them backed up on any other source, thank you for asking). Gonner photos included pictures from a trip to Europe, all my digital prints of a friend of mine who passed away, and lots of other fun memories that would have been long forgotten if not for my RAD FRIEND JOHN CHO who took a few hours a couple Saturdays ago to retrieve them from my brokeny computer. Oh. My. Fantastic. I love that 1. There are people out there who know how to do things like that and, 2. I know at least one of them.

I took some time out to look through the pictures the other day, and was even more thankful to have them back after re-discovering some gems that had sadly slipped my mind. Here are some of the highlights (along with the photo at the top of the post of me and Mr. Matt Cobabe riding his scooter 3 summers ago -- he definitely had just purchased those scooter goggles off ebay):

NOTE: pictures are now safely saved on my Mac. Still no backup versions. I should probably look into that.


Playing with the pigeons in St. Mark's Square in Venice.


Handsome dog in Florence.


Handsome Nicki in Florence.


Nicki and Lindsey breaking the rules in an Italian train station.


Old woman in a suit riding a bike in Rome.


Between buildings in Venice.


Bike riding at the Palace of Versailles.


Abbey Road in Florence.


The cutest dog in Paris -- taken outside a subway station near Notre Dame.


Golden Gate Bridge in 2002 -- taken on a drive back from a backpacking trip with my brother, Andy.


Favorite picture of me and aforementioned brother, Andy. Taken at our family reunion 3 years ago.


Dancing with my mom in my brother's living room in Seattle.


Me in front of the house I grew up in.


Katy with her icicle bicycle.


Katy and Amy on a summer ride with their non-icicle bicycles.


Nicki and Brian as dinosaurs. With red eyes.

{ Pancakes in the mail }

The other day I was talking on the IM with my friend Bryan Potter who lives in New York when he said something like this:

"I made pancakes from scratch for my roommates this morning. They were delicious. Do you want one?"

I, of course, answered yes. And in response, he, of course, sent them. To me. In the mail. Awesome.

As a helpful bit of information, it costs $4.95 to mail two pancakes from Postdam, New York to Provo, Utah in two days. And it just so happens that they are still delicious after the journey. Mmmm..mmm...mmm. Pancakes in the mail. Can't beat that.