Love is a Mix Tape: Book Review

So it’s been a while. Between work and summer and life, it’s been a bit hectic. Since June – I’ve been to Philly, Colorado, and Vegas for work. Which has its ups and downs…the downs being that I’m a bit busy.

Upside is that airplanes do give me quite a bit of time to read – and I just finished reading Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield.

Anyone that knows me knows I am obsessed with mix tapes. I remember recording songs off the radio on the old school boom box that my sister and I shared…being very, very quiet so you don’t make noise that records onto the tape. Epic, right? Then it was mix cds, which I still refer to as mix tapes. Same goes for mp3 playlists. It’s always a mix tape.

Which is one of the reasons I first wanted to read this book. The subhead is “life and loss, one song at a time.” Chapter by chapter, each with its own cassette of songs in the intro, tells the story of Rob and his wife, who sadly passed away early in their marriage.

Reading the track listings is one of the best parts – the music goes from the late 80s to the early 90s. The story is told through Nirvana, the death of Kurt Cobain, Tupac and Biggie, R.E.M., Hanson, and plenty of other obscure bands that sound slightly familiar but in reality I’ve never heard of.

What I liked about this book was that it was funny and sweet, meaningful without being too sappy. And it wasn’t so sad that I couldn’t read it, but made me tear up just enough.

And Rob’s descriptions of the different kinds of mix tapes? Epically awesome. But I won’t ruin it. I’ll let you discover these on your own.

My next mix tape? Not sure what will be on it. But I keep a running list on my phone of songs I like and ones I need to put on a mix.

But the best mixes aren’t the ones I make. They are the ones I receive.

Happy listening.

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It could always be worse.

Alternate title?

I’m not the only one who has been dumped via text message.

Although, I’m not so sure I’m in good company, given that it’s also happened to K-Fed, Charlie Sheen, and Simon Cowell. Full details here.

In other news…HuffPo is all up in my grill and posted their own story on wedding photo fails, which you can check out and then determine that mine is clearly better. And was posted first.

Lastly, can we all just agree that Hillary’s Twitter description is simply the tits? Because regardless if you love her or hate her, it’s pretty awesome that even as Sec of State, she’s not afraid to take life too seriously. Her profile photo is the epic “why so serious on your blackberry Hils” image and the description? Wife, mom, lawyer, women & kids advocate, FLOAR, FLOTUS, US Senator, SecState, author, dog owner, hair icon, pantsuit aficionado, glass ceiling cracker, TBD..

Love it. Because really, life is just too short to take that seriously.

Book Review: Work Trip Reading

So I’ve been on the road for the last week for work. Which kept me away from doing things I like (i.e. writing on my blog) but it did give me some time to catch up on my reading.

I just finished Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman.

Being totally honest – this book isn’t anything mentally mind-blowing or life-changing. It’s more of a good thriller read – sort of like beach reading meets Richard Castle.

It’s set in a small town in the Adirondacks area of New York — and centers around Nora, whose husband kills himself in the opening pages of the book. Then there is an uncovered fishing hole, hidden basement rooms, the lurking police force…if you have ever been to a small mountain town, you should be starting to get creeped out…

The start of the book was a bit slow, but it picks up halfway through. I won’t give more of the story away, but I will say it has a few twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting.

It’s not as good as Gone Girl, but I would give it a solid B+.

Now, I just need a new work trip and a new book to read…

Five Songs that Make Me Get Up & Dance

Bad day?

Just get up and have a five minute dance party.

You’ll feel better, I swear.

Need some jams for a soundtrack?

Here’s what I’m loving right now.

1. “Safe and Sound,” Capital Cities. The opening chords just make me smile. 
2. “Internet Killed the Video Star,” Limousines. Infectious. Positively infects you with happiness. Plus you get to be a total hipster when you listen to this.
3. “Va Va Voom,” Nicki Minaj. Not a huge Nicki fan, but damn she makes some catchy songs.
4. “I Knew You Were Trouble,” Taylor Swift. I’m a girl. By default, I like Taylor Swift.
5. “Always on Time,” Ja Rule & Ashanti. Whenever I hear a really bad rap song, I think, ‘whatever happened to Ja Rule?’ The good news is he gets out of jail in a month. Don’t judge, I love me some Ja Rule.

Feeling Liberated.

Good thing I have no fear of walking headfirst, eyes open, into disaster.

Have an amazing Thursday.

xo,

CP.

Dear 2012…

To say you were, well, disappointing, would be an understatement.

2012 blew goats.

More specifically, I’ll say my 2012 dating life blew goats.

We started the year off with the “you overwhelm me” guy.

We went to dinner with Mr. Wrong…more than once…shame rattle.

And I was a bit of a good luck charm. Which culminated in my college bf getting married and my dad telling me I “missed the boat.” Bridget Jones much?

I received THIS in the mail. And THIS over email.

Even the NYT got in on the action. (Don’t worry, I haven’t yet turned into a pantless alcoholic…YET.)

We laughed a bit with the “I’m trying to have a creepy airport hookup in the sky lounge” guy.

And I was righteously angry at the “I’m ending it over text message less than 24 hours after telling you I really like you” guy.

Oh, and 2012 closed itself with a bang with the “you didn’t fake offer to pay for parking” guy. (Stay tuned, details to follow.)

2012 was a Bridget Jones meets a Taylor Swift song.

But I have high hopes for 2013. So I’m making some relationship resolutions.

1. Develop a dating bill of rights. Every girl should have one. It’s the list of non-negotiables in a relationship. For me? It starts of with I deserve a phone call and not a text message, and that yes, titles do matter no matter how much you tell yourself they don’t. No grey areas. I’m also going to add that I need someone who supports my job, has a life outside of me, and likes my family (or at least is really good at faking it.)
2. Read the writing on the wall. If you think things aren’t working, they probably aren’t. So walk away. It takes a lot of walk away, because you keep thinking that the other person will change or things will get better or it will be different in the new year. I’ve stayed in relationships for too long (and probably too many tear-filled phone calls to girlfriends) because I wasn’t willing to admit that I wasn’t happy and things weren’t working out. So read it, believe it, and act on it.
3. Keep taking chances. It’s a rough world out there, and it takes a lot to keep putting yourself out there. Some days it will feel like you are feeding yourself to the wolves. But keep doing it. I haven’t found the right person yet, but I’ve learned a lot about what I like and what I don’t like, and about what goes on the dating bill of rights. So keep taking chances.
4. Don’t recycle. If it didn’t work out the first time, there was probably a good reason. Don’t recycle relationships. It’s bad news bears.

So good riddance to bad rubbish 2012, and get ready 2013, because it’s time to rock on.

Coffee Anyone?

So a few months ago I sold my soul helped out a friend on a charity photo shoot.

Said friend happened to by John Myers of Myers Creative Imaging.

He takes beautiful photos. His thing is portraits. And characters.

And every year he makes a really cool book of all his character portraits.

Simple, right?

Well, I’m pretty sure I’m owed some residuals off this favor.

I did the book.

And then ended up in the homepage slideshow.

As the main image for the portraits section.

And in an e-blast.

But in all seriousness, this was pretty much the coolest thing that happened to me all week…or quite possibly maybe ever. John takes beautiful photography and he is a blast to work with. Except I’m not sure I like all the getting bossed around that comes with being a model.

The more amusing part of this story is the day after the e-blast went out, John and I were freezing our asses off in a 30 degree horse barn, traipsing through dirt, straw, sawdust, and everything else that comes with a horse farm, because our lives are just that glamorous. Of course, I brought coffee.

And no, I do not look like this in real life.

I look better.

Watch out for the Nice Guys.

Watch out for the nice guys.

It’s advice that your mom/best friend/sister/therapist/Bridget Jones probably never told you.

But I’m letting you know.

BEWARE of the nice guy.

The nice guy is easy to fall for. He makes dinner reservations. He waits until you get inside the house before leaving. He asks about your day and is legitimately interested in hearing about it. He pulls out your chair, buys you flowers, and has a glass of wine waiting for you when you arrive. And not a glass of wine in the “I am making decisions for you and am trying to control you” way, but in the “I’m being thoughtful” way.

The moment you find yourself thinking, “this is really nice” and “wow, I need to go to finishing school so I know what to do when he pulls the chair out next time” remind yourself of this: The nice guy is easy to fall for. I need to watch out.

That way, when the nice guy calls it off with you over text message less than 48 hours after doing something amazingly sweet and less than 24 hours after telling you how much he likes you, you won’t be surprised.

I’M WARNING YOU. Watch out.

Also? “Hi!” is not an appropriate greeting for a let’s just quit while we are ahead text message.

An exclamation point? Are you sh*tting me life? Didn’t realize you were THAT excited to be extracting yourself from my life.

Beware. Of. The. Nice. Guy.

(I won’t even get started on the fact that I DESERVE A FREAKING PHONE CALL and that text message is only an appropriate form of communication if you are under the age of 14.)

At least when you fall for the d-bag, you know he’s going to consistently be douche-y. He’ll cancel plans (if he even bothers to make them in the first place), he’ll only call you after midnight (and nothing good happens after midnight), and he’ll probably tell you that he ‘forgot his credit card’ as soon as you show up to the bar (but do you mind spotting him? Just this once?). He won’t commit and he will forget your birthday. But he will manage to keep giving you just those few amazing moments every so often that you are always thinking “it’s going to be different” and “he’ll change.”

Like I said. Consistent.

Be careful out there ladies. Don’t let yourself fall for a Mr. Wrong. Keep your heart and your eyes open. WIDE OPEN.

And watch out for the nice guys.

Last Day! Snail Mail my Email

Fact: I love paper.

I love sending paper. And I love, love, love receiving paper. Getting the mail is one of my top ten favorite things to do. So much that I actually dislike days that the mail doesn’t come.

Like Sundays. And who dislikes Sundays? It’s like disliking Christmas. Blasphemy, folks.

Back to paper.

Today is the last day of ‘Snail Mail my Email,’ which is pretty much one of the coolest things ever. And it’s free.

The idea? Send an email (100 words or less) to snailmailmyemail2@gmail.com, along with the recipient’s physical address.

They’ll handwrite your note, make it all artistic, and send it in the mail for you. You can even select custom options for the note, like doodles or perfume sprays or lipstick kisses.

(Although the idea of some stranger kissing a note with lipstick that is then sent to one of my friends is sort of…creepy. Not to mention the germ contamination…sad side effect of paper mail.)

Did I mention that it’s free?

How did this all start? The project was started in 2011, with the goal of rebuilding personal connections in our digital world — and more than 10,000 letters were illustrated and mailed to over 70 countries. You can see many of these in the Snail Mail book.

So get writing!

Closet Hack: Hangers

So one of my summer bucket list items is cleaning out my closet. And as we all know, I’ve been hard at work making it happen thinking about it.

Which is why I’m going to employ one of my favorite closet hacks to help me get the job done.

Like every good life hack, its inelegant but effective.

All I’m going to do is turn my hangers the opposite direction.

Seriously. That’s it.

I normally have my hangers in the closet like this.

Which is the normal way to do it.

Closet hack?

Turn all the hangers around. Work in progress below.

When you wear an item, put it back in the closet on the hanger the correct way. After a few months, you can see at a glance what you have and haven’t worn. Which can help with the “I really love this…I’m sure I’ll wear it soon” justification for keeping clothing.

Hopefully in the next few months I will have culled my closet of items I no longer wear.

Good luck!