DC Digs [the fireplace]

AKA the dirtiest thing ever. I posted this shot right after we moved in, which shows our cute little white brick fireplace.

Yes, the bricks in front were dirty, but I didn't realize just HOW dirty until I decided to go at them with a sponge and some dish detergent.

Ugh! Check that out! I had to have D take a progress shot because it was so unreal to me. After a solid scrubbing, I thought I'd go back over everything with bleach and a toothbrush, but instead I decided just to paint over it. My scrubbing actually tore up a few small specks of paint (you can kindof see the black holes on the right side of the fireplace in the photo above), so it needed to be touched up anyway. Our landlord brought over a fresh can and I got to work. Now it's all shiny and new.

I don't think I realized what a big change sprucing this up would make. It's so much brighter in the room now, and more of a focal point. D and I realized that the firelight flickers off of the smooth service in the evenings, and looks lovely. Yay for cleaning!

link it up

Now doesn't that look lovely? I've been on the road for too long and plan on spending all weekend in bed recovering. Even for the most extroverted and talkative among us, it's hard to be switched on for two weeks of meetings and events with a reunion in between. I hope you'll all be cozied up as well.

I'm making this drink all summer and bet my brother will come running (both for the drink and the name).

There is a lot of shame around obesity in the US, and a common belief that an overweight person must lack discipline...after all, it's calories in vs calories out, right? This article from the NY Times gives some perspective and data that shows how losing weight, and keeping it off, isn't about willpower (well, not all of it anyway). Also, why you shouldn't exercise to lose weight (but you should do it for other reasons).

Bet you haven't thought to add this ingredient to your scrambled eggs (!!)

Did you know that B12 is the only nutrient you can't get through a vegan diet, without supplements or fortified foods? It's only in animal products! Nutrition is endlessly interesting.

Finally, I was in a kickstarter campaign video a few months ago, and the fund is live! They hit their goal in about 2 seconds, since it's a truly fabulous line of women's work wear, but they have lots of stretch goals. Check it out over here, and don't miss the blazer, it's amazing. (Full disclosure, I didn't like my hair and makeup, HOWEVER, I am the hand/body model for a few shots, and am super proud of how well I seamlessly rotate while sliding a hand in my pocket. #skillz)

bibliophile...or audiophile?

Audio books. Love 'em or leave 'em? 

Personally, I much prefer reading when it's a novel, but when it's a memoir/non-fiction/comedic, it can be fun to listen in instead. I've done a few audiobooks over the past year that I'd recommend. 

Tina Fey (Bossypants) and Amy Pohler (Yes, Please) seem to have the best, most supportive relationship two workin women can have. Of course they wrote books within a year of each other! Both read their own work, which is hilarious; they would have little asides (Tina included extra jokes, Amy berated listeners for being too lazy to read, etc), and their own voices and timing add much to their comedy. I'd recommend both of these, but probably liked Tina's better...then again, Yes Please included one of my favorite phrases (Good for her! Not for me.), so maybe it's a tie. I bet Mindy Kailing's books would be fun to listen to as well.

Lena Dunahm is someone I admire very much, but I didn't like her memoir, Not That Kind of Girl, as much as I had hoped. That said, she is a writer before anything else, and it shows in the quality (compared to most of these other audiobooks).

I ADORE BJ Novak, so it was easy for me to like his book, One More Thing. It's nothing like the others- not a memoir at all, but rather short comedic stories. The audiobook is definitely the best way to go, because he has famous friends read each story, most of whom are from The Office. A few are laugh out loud. Give it a listen.

This one is different as well: Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Fantastic to listen to. It's written like a letter to his young son, and his reading makes it sound like poetry. Coates is probably the most famous writer on race relations in America today, and while I don't agree with everything he produces, I always learn something. Not terribly long, either.