Love & Memories

Why do some songs pull on your heartstrings? Why do some songs resonate in the deepest part of your gut? They ignite flashes of memories in your brain. You remember the first time you fell off your bike. Hit your head (you were wearing a helmet) and scratched up both knees (two giant strawberries). The first time you cried over those sharp pains in your heart (you really loved him, how could you live without him??). Hugs at the visitation (why am I consoling other people? you thought). Blink of the eye lucid images appear. Your mom’s laugh. Your friends at the beach. Your visceral reaction toward tragedy: 9/11, shootings, Katrina, tsunamis, tornadoes, warfare…bursts of color. Red hues. Black smoke. Blue skies.

Maybe you can relate, maybe you can’t.

For us, music has always been profoundly personal, private, shared and deeply loved. It began with a summer of Kurt Cobain fascination (an entire summer of music video watching: Soundgarden, Blind Melon, even Snoop and Dre). Inspired crushes with each verse, notably “She Loves You” by the Beatles per a grade school chorus concert solo. Our heart soared and lept. We might have even wept a little.

We clung to DMB in high school, just like our friends. We wore only clothes from Express. Just like our friends. We secretly adored Ani, unlike most of our friends. We secretly wanted to go to art school, unlike our friends. We wore mostly black for a while, our math teacher (Algebra III, don’t ask) pegging us the “Princess of Darkness.” Rebel phase. We progressed and developed devotional crushes on classic rock. Van Morrison. The Stones. John Hiatt. The Doors. Bonded with Rick Springfield, Joan Jett, Bob Marley, Zeppelin, and Cougar Mellencamp at all our local college bars. Bonded with them more than a few of our college crushes? Definitely. Seeing as this relationship lasted longer than the inevitable 2 am last call.

Now? We breeze through hip-hop, jazz, sultry soul, and mellow indie rockers. Music ignites us, always excites us. And we love, love this song by Oren Lavie. It’s a LOT Badly Drawn Boy. A little Postal Service. A little Nick Drake. A little Hellogoodbye. A little John Mayer-ish with deeper, more poetic lyrics. It’s a resonator and definite stimulator. Lovestring-tugger and heartfelt melodic dreamweaver.

Jason & Colbie Foreva

Are you:

*heartbroken?
*in love?
*wistful? lustful? dreamful? romantic?

you'll love this song.

*f & j

Hot Karl

website love & lust

"I hate children, charity is boring, I hate to be touched"
-k. lagerfeld

oh, lord. what kind of person....what kind of robot....what kind of alien is mister lagerfeld? hahahahaha.

*f

Manic Monday

website love & lust

"they suggested the manic weariness in their promise, capturing the moment whent the sheen wears off and your newfound gift becomes something more closely resembling a burden."**
-david sedaris

**we are obsessed with this quote, and the forever enjoyable d. sedaris. what a gem.

*f

Happy Monday.

art love

"let us be grateful to people who make us happy. they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
-marcel proust

*f & j

Messy Thrilling Life

photo love, via cup of jo

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We. Love. This. Photo.

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It calms.

It breathes easy.

It represents all that is not loneliness.

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And we know that that last sentence doesn't really make sense, and we know that we don't always really never know what we're talking about, but it still feels good to put it out there, put it all out there in full heart and breath and moment.

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We feel tired and a little meloncholy today, and we're not going to re-spell melancholy with the 'a' because we just don't want to, and because it's okay to misspell and misread and mess up. Often and a lot, again and again. We spilled our coffee on the way to work today, after sleeping in but before second-guessing ourselves. It happens. Some days you brush it off and giggle, other days you look down with a frown.

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We referenced Messy Thrilling Life this weekend, quite the book of all girly books. And sometimes - okay all the time - we feel that that title is our title, the lead of our story that says it all before anything's been written. If you haven't, go check out that book, dearies. It's a page-turner and a heart-sweller.

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And that's all for now. But know this: we. love. this. photo. And at the end of the day, we can look about and think, what a wonderful world we live in.

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Happy Monday, maniac magees.

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*j

Drink Champagne Everyday.

because everyday is a celebration!

*f & j

End of Ze World.

All we need to know we learned from YouTube.

Have a laugh, it's the beginning of the week.
Have a laugh, put it on repeat.
Sometimes Mondays we feel like a bitch.
Sometimes Mondays we are like the western witch.
But ya gotta suck it up and get over the hump.
Eat your turkey sandwich and stop being a grump.

*f & j

Shoes=Sex.

They just do.

It's true.

And sometimes we wish we were the shortest midgeling in the jungle so that we could put these on our tootsies and say sayonara to being anything close to average! 

*f

The Golden Gate City Treat.

USELESS Popcorn Culture Fact #4565: In the highest grossing youth-aimed rated R comedy of 1998, the Farrelly brother's sleeper hit 'There's Something About Mary' (which catapulted Ben Stiller into the limelight) Pat Healy (Matt Dillion) claims to take a job with Rice-a-Roni in Miami.  Which of course everyone knows is the San Francisco Treat.  He's such a dirty moustached liar* trying to sneak attack poor unassuming Mary in that film.

USEFUL Popcorn Culture Fact #4566: Go to www.freerice.com and expand your vocabulary, beeches.  For each word you get right, the United Nations donates 20 grains of rice to help end world hunger.  It's fun. You'll turn into a wordy gurdy.  And if you ever wanna take the SAT's again, you'll probably get a better score. 

That = cool.

-f   

*all opinions are totally and completely unsolicited and in no way associated with the makers of Blogger dot com, Tom of Myspace, those rich ivy league fuggers of facebook fame, Liza Minelli, or the makers of Maker's Mark.  Mmmm, whiskey.

Just Push Play.

3 Life is to be lived.

If you have to support yourself

you had bloody well better 

find some way that is going 

to be interesting and you 

don't do that by sitting around 4 
-the one and only katharine hepburn

You Tell 'Em, Fancy Nancy

book love

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No one knows class like Nancy Drew.

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*j

Poop Jokes Are Funny.

Where: The Walnut Room in the old Marshall Field's. Err, Macy's (cringe).
Who: Our mother Jenniballs; Us.
When: Saturday. During the Christmas-shopping-mad-combat-like-rush-of-mayhem-and-desire-and-people-dive-bombing-like-birds-and-walruses-into-aisles.
Why: Your guess is as good as ours?

Jballs:....So we were having dinner in Evanston last night. This really great Italian place, and I ordered the calamari. I've never had calamari....
Fran: YOU'VE NEVER HAD CALAMARI?!???
Jballs: I know! I know. That's exactly what your dad said. Anyway we had calamari and wine. And split some salmon and pasta. And the next morning I was just in the bathroom and it was just....
Fran: Why are you telling me this. Seriously, do I need to hear this. No really. Do I. Do I. No, really.
Jballs: Well anyway, I told your dad- I think I pooped a squid!

*f

The Charlie Browniest.

Lucy Van Pelt: Are you afraid of staircases? If you are, then you have climacaphobia. Maybe you have thalassophobia. This is fear of the ocean, or gephyrobia, which is the fear of crossing bridges. Or maybe you have pantophobia. Do you think you have pantophobia?
Charlie Brown: What's pantophobia?
Lucy Van Pelt: The fear of everything.
Charlie Brown: THAT'S IT. 

Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, we are the Charlie Browniest.  We eat, sleep, and breathe A Charlie Brown Christmas, this time of year.  We play the soundtrack on repeat and tickle the fake ivories in the air.  So, we spose it's just like fate or something that right now we are in the mood for chocolately slouchy boots.  A brownie sundae dress- yet to be designed- but oh-so floaty and warm.  Oozing with wintery goodness and yum.  A pair of tights.  Maybe even in purple or blue.  Come on y'all, let's shake up the winter blah blah blacks.   Even if we do stay in again, curl up by the fire, and watch Charlie and Lucy hash out life's quandaries in all their philosophical and psychological undertone glory.

*f

Eat Your Wheaties.

*f

Reading Rainbow for Grown-Ups.

Chickity-check this book out, yo.

And buy it for your Chicago born-and-raised Uncle Ned. Your Polish American cousin Little Ted. Or hang on to it for yourself, and peruse it in your king size bed (or sofa sleeper, whatevs).

Richard Nickel, what a pimp. Nickel was a true lobbyist and preservationalist for architecture all around Chicago. His photos are intriguing, realistic, and capture an important time in Chicago history- when most 19th century buildings were being destroyed. He sought to preserve and capture their art and legacy (especially the work of his idol, Louis Sullivan). This dude even died while forgoing his passionate but ultimately dangerous art.

Nickel sought after shots of women decadently dressed or those displaying a 'significant' attitude. His shots are interesting, have depth, and a passion for his hometown that well, inspires us to learn more and celebrate our hometown, too. But you don't have to take our word for it...

Butterfly in the sky. You can fly just as high. Take a look, it's in a book with F & J's bloggggg favs.
*f

We Like Lilly.

"I drink champagne when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise- I never touch it unless I'm thirsty."

- Madam Lilly Bollinger

*f

The Fridge.

cartoon love

Are you the kind of person who walks by dumpsters, checking them out for any forgotten or buried treasures? Do you wonder why Daughtry is famous? Do you believe, to this very day, that Carmen Sandiego is still out there somewhere? Do you feel kinda guilty about that? Guilty cause your inept computer skills at the Super Sleuth level just didn't cut it. Do you ever wonder what you wouldn't do for a Klondike bar? Do you tend to make friends with those that are smart, thoughtful, drunk, and slutty? Do you ever catch yourself wondering sometimes 'I am wondering what ever happened to Sally Jessy Raphael. I wonder about that sometimes. Then I catch myself wondering about that, sometimes.'

Good. Us too. And we love that about you and us. We share that really special connection. It's just like, with some friends you don't have to talk everyday. You just get each other. And in our case- we mostly just talk and talk and talk, digitally. And you, being the good friend that you are- just listen quietly, digitally. Sending us support in a silent, yet ultra cool and uber-supportive way. We guess what we're trying to say is, you're a really great listener. You really are. Love ya like a sister or L.Y.L.A.S. We love you 'til the rain bows and the butter flies, girlfriend. Friends forever.

Anyho.

Where are we going with this?? Um, Monday fuzzy Monday. Umm...oh yeah. Well so, do you ever feel that sometimes you just go days. Minutes. Decades. Or eons (for you melodramatic folks), just feelin' like nothin' ever happens to poor little you? You sift through your day to day life like flour poured into the Sifter of Life. Sifted together with The Butter and The Sugar (The Good Times) and The Baking Soda and The Salt (The Salty Times) all to contribute to The Big Cake (Your Life)? We know! Us too. God we are like twins or something. Blood brothers, at least.

But then BOOM! You get a new refrigerator (we have named it Perry. It's so big and muscular, how could we not? It has more strength than that of 1000 fridges combined!) And like, your life totally changes for the better. Your dude actually wants to hang at your apartment now. Your friend Tom doesn't get food poisoning any more (Sorry Tom. We still feel just terrible about that). And you are like a real person now, man. You kinda wish you could do a little jig with Pinocchio, hold hands, and celebrate your realness together. You have appliances. And they are fuckin' cute as shit too.

Appliances are just the neatest thing. We just really love our new refrigerator. It can make so many things cold. It's big and white and clean. It has tons of shelves for drinks. Two huge drawers for veggies and fruits. Even a cute little like put-your-eggs-here-kind-of-egg-hole -thing. We love it so much, we might just fuggin' marry it.

Do you love appliances? Yardwork? Your washing machine? Have a household item fetish? Do you name inanimate objects kinda often/all the time? Please share.

*f

How To Know If You Grew Up in the Midwest.

if you are familiar with yard decor such as this,
chances are you grew up in the midwest. aka
The Land of the Lawn Ornaments.
this one is aptly entitled 'fancy lady bum.'
now that's some classy-ass muthafuggin' shit.
Happy Monday y'all, Midwest Love.

*f

All We Want for Christmas

Well, Halloween is over.
(moment of silence)
Thanksgiving is on the way.
(we have begun jogging* in anticipation)
And we think it's about time to to get in the spirit of All Things Christmas.
Penny pinch and save.
Hum carols to ourselves.
Write our Dear Santa letters.
Yet, we think we might be on The Naughty List this year.
(not that we've been mean...just maybe have had a little too much fun slash champagne?)
So we will create our own personal lists this year, in case um, Santa decides to skip our faux-fire Urban Outfitters chimney.

1) American Apparel Hoodie
We crave the women's purple variety (with sleeves! come on you donghole, we are not Juliette Lewis. like, we kinda dig her i-don't-care-kookiness...or is that The Drugs...but her style is like Say What?). Anyway, the purple hood is so gorgeous and bare bones. Kinda like the fella above. Maybe we crave his bones too. See? Naughty List.

Sorry, Santa baby. But yes, we'll have another extra dirty peppermint martini.

-f

*thinking about jogging