Updated apartment pictures

My mom was in town a couple weeks ago. For those of you who know my mom, this will come as no surprise. For those who don't, well, here you go. My mom is an interior designer, not by profession, but by talent and interest. She also has a touch of OCD when it comes to design not being "quite right" or quite finished. I have a tendency to want...things...right...now... And I come to it rightly.

So needless to say, my apartment had some updates and finishing touches while she was in town. I had already added the chair and the throw pillows to the living room. Mom added the shelves over the TV, rearranged pictures on the wall, bought me a side table, outdoor pillows/cushions, placemats, lantern, and planted flowers (which Ava promptly ate).

Here are the updated pics.

Ava

I went on a hike last week and encountered a fallen tree that Ava could not get over or under by herself. So I had to help. Thanks to my friend Zach for photographing because it looks pretty cute.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

I am in love with this album - in a completely new and different way than the way I love Arcade Fire's older albums. Honestly, I think this is the way a band should be. I should love each album for new and unique reasons, otherwise a band is just repeating itself over and over. I love when a band can retain their own sound, yet recreate it for each album. The latest from the Arcade Fire doesn't have the epic, larger-than-life tracks like "Wake Up" and "Rebellion (Lies)" or the overdramatic tracks like "Intervention" and "My Body is a Cage" but it doesn't need them.

Perhaps I am simply buying into their package, but it really fits as a whole piece titled The Suburbs. Listening to Funeral or Neon Bible sort of feels like when you're talking to your best friend about HOW THAT GUY WAS SUCH AN ASSHOLE or THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD JUST HAPPENED TO ME, but The Suburbs feels like your everyday best friend. It's the general conversation that makes life comfortable. There are some climaxes, but overall, it just...is.

In sports, if you play the sport perfectly, truly to perfection, there shouldn't be any "highlights" because there wouldn't be any "so close" moments. It would all be clean and smooth and appear like every moment was orchestrated just so. To me, that's how The Suburbs is. Played just right, so nothing stands out as a highlight. Instead, the whole thing is orchestrated just so, so that while you're listening, you feel as if life is supposed to be...just like this.

Scala and Kolacny Brothers

I recently watched the trailer for the new Facebook movie (ok, it's actually called The Social Network). The music fits perfectly, and is a beautiful rendition of Radiohead's Creep. So I looked it up. It's done by Scala and Kolacny Brothers, which despite the masculine name, is actually a Belgian girls choir. They have a few albums where they cover pop music, and if their version of Creep is any indication of what their stuff is like, I would like to buy their discography...immediately.

If you read my music posts much or ever listened to my radio show, you know there are some specific characteristics of music that will suck me in pretty assuredly. Beautiful, layered, choral harmonies are included in that list. So this is sort of a sure thing.

By the way, the movie actually looks really good. My first thought was, "A movie about Mark Zuckerberg, really? Who the hell cares about that guy?" But it really does look good. So I guess the answer is me. I guess I care...or at the very least am intrigued.

How to get ignored for a restaurant job

Please note that this may not apply to restaurants like Hooters or sports bars or other somewhat trashy establishments. But today at Coffee Bean, I sat next to a girl and her mother who were discussing the girl's attempts to get a job at a restaurant. She listed a few high class restaurants in LA and noted that they basically ignored her or made her wait a long time before talking to her. My assessment? Perhaps if you did not wear a shirt so low-cut that I could see almost all of your lace bra underneath your shirt you might get a little more respect. I realize that this could be a style thing - maybe she thinks it looks cute to show off the lace? However, she kept pulling her shirt up to cover the bra, only to have it slip down again 2 second later revealing the bra again. Brown shirt. Lavender lace bra. Not cute. Sorry chick. You better start applying to places that match your look a bit more.

I moved!

I posted the before pics. And here are the after pics. There are a few things on my "to get at some point" list, like a chair for the living room, and a few things on the "to do" list, like plant flowers and organize the balcony a bit, but overall, it finally feels like an apartment.

Ava loves the balcony

To do: do something with that microwave cord

Den or Study or whatever you want to call it...

I know those last 2 pictures were barely different...but the whole thing wouldn't fit in one frame!

Hall

Final 2

I am so sick of looking at rugs, so this is it. I'll explain my dilemma and then am open to thoughts.

I like this rug:

But it is expensive compared to this rug:

I worry that the first one might not go with my couch, and I worry about finding the right greens to go with the second rug. So neither one is perfect. When I started this whole rug thing, I wanted something that would give me a bright pop of color. Both of these will do that, I think, although yellow can sometimes come off like a neutral. But maybe that's ok? I really love the style of the pattern on the grey/yellow rug. Simple, modern, but with a natural feel. The green one feels more whimsical and not as sophisticated for some reason.

That said, this is a big price difference. $390 versus $564 (after a 25% off discount). If I was certain about the first one, then maybe it'd be worth it, but I'm not sure...

So - what do you think?