Slappin' da bass

First off, this is not a love letter to Paul Rudd. But if it happened to be one, I would totally gush. My love of his absolutely hilarious body humor is just kinda outta control. I loved him in F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and I have loved him in so many movies I can't even count! The way he can move his body all crooked and snap his neck to the side and pronounce his words to bring laughter to his audience is just unparalleled in my book. It's good old fashioned goofy comedy. Not that this is a love letter. Just sayin'.

Before I move on, you should watch this clip of Paul Rudd and that good old fashioned goofy comedy. Be sure to watch the entire scene of him and his fiancee after they've discussed one of his favorite hobbies, slappin' da bass (which she had no idea about) and one of his favorite bands, Rush (which she has never heard before):





Now on to what happened the Thursday night.

I was lying on the sofa, just minding my own business semi-watching Hollywood Week on American Idol. It was the first time the contestants were performing on the Hollywood stage by themselves. I was suddenly interested when contestant Casey Abrams's presence on the show was already being chronicled (only a few episodes into the season). Was this crazy-interesting performer going home already?? His audition with the air blown keyboard thing was one of my favorites! The kid wasn't afraid to be crazy and have soul at the same time. I liked him because he was really different.

He was being chronicled because of his crazy audition attitude and crazy audition musical instrument, all because he was about to make another crazy move: this guy had a bass in hand and had planned to use it on stage for his next performance! I'm not talking about a Paul Rudd rock band bass here, either. I mean, this guy was wheeling out a taller-than-himself string symphony style string bass.

This is gonna be... interestinnnnnnng???

And then this happened:




Yes, I realize his voice was pitchy and off tune and pretty much all over the place about half the time. But what a performance!

I'm a true stickler for a few select songs. You've gotta sing them right. You've gotta have the right voice. You've gotta have the charisma. And in a few cases, such as Georgia On My Mind, you've just gotta be Ray Charles. No excuses!

Well, unless you're Casey Abrams, apparently. I hate it when singers have pitch and tone problems--who doesn't! He was pushing himself when he selected this song to sing. But the performance overall literally got me to sit straight up, clap, laugh in disbelief, renounce my Ray Charles or die rule, and rewind it to watch a few more times thanks to TiVo.

I've just gotta say this: I'm a fan of Casey Abrams. What a performance! I'll keep watching the show this season just to wait for another performance by him!


P.S. This experience has happened to me once before and I wrote about it here. Adam Lambert stole the show when he sang Mad World, a creepy-beautiful song featured in the cult film Donnie Darko (which I'm bothered that I love so much), and I watched American Idol that season just to see what Adam Lambert was gonna do next.

P.S.P.S. I do really like Paul Rudd, though. Like, a lot. Don't tell Carlton.

Christmas 2010

Thanksgiving night, lighting the Christmas lights at Moultrie's Courthouse on the Square

This year's Christmas festivities were fast, fun, and frenzied. Unfortunately, I had to work on Christmas Eve until 1:00. But as soon as I was home from work, we loaded up all the presents and headed for Cartersville. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera along for our Christmas weekend in Cartersville because of our rush out the door from Moultrie, but I'll gladly show pictures that others took! We drove straight to my parents' house where we dropped off Vespa so she could rest up for Santa's mid-night visit. Then, we drove straight to my grandpa's house for our traditional Christmas Eve gathering.

 My tabletop centerpiece, arranged just in time for the Teller Christmas Gift Exchange and Dinner Party

Papa's front yard was covered in his traditional white wooden reindeer, and accented by lots of lights. Papa had a tiny tabletop tree this year, topped by a countrytastic Santa Claus, speckled with bass fish ornaments and sprinkled with white lights. We had our usual spoiling of Trisha and Kristen by Leslie and Papa. Among many gifts, I opened a beautiful black pearl necklace from Leslie, and then a set of pearl earrings from Papa which match a long pearl necklace he gave me last year for Christmas. Once 10:30 or 11:00pm came around, it was definitely time for Carlton and me to head back to my parents' house for some much needed sleep. I was exhausted!

 Our Christmas tree, cut down at the tree farm by Carlton himself!

On Christmas morning, my sister and I woke up according to our usual Christmas morning ritual: at the crack of dawn. The sun wasn't even up yet! After we walked the pups, it was time to open all the presents that Santa had magically brought in the middle of the night. (Yes, Santa still comes to our house!) Carlton and I were overwhelmed by all the great gifts we were given! Some of my favorites were the new Shark steam mop, some sweater sets and cardigans, a new pair of snazzy shoes, and gift cards for buying home decor. Carlton racked up on new shirts for work as well as gift cards for games and dining out, buy his favorite gift by far was from my dad: an automatic shooting Nerf gun complete with tons of ammo and even a shield! We gave my mom a new travel cosmetics bag, and we gave my dad a 6 month subscription to Netflix to try out. By 9:30, we had inhaled our once-a-year treat of my mom's amazing coffee cake and were on our way for a second Christmas morning with Carlton's parents and Grandmama.

 Two new tree ornaments, and they're two of my most favorite!

Carlton and I both racked up again on excellent gifts from his parents. Carlton opened more collared shirts for work, a nice pair of Smith&Wesson sunglasses, and some cold, hard cash. I opened up some more beautiful, professional sweaters that got me excited about going back to work, a new set of bamboo knitting needles, a beautiful set of table linens from Grandmama, and a luscious fleece king-size heated blanket for our bed. Score!!! We gave Carlton's dad a sleep wireless mouse for his livingroom recliner netbook internet surfing, and Carlton's mom and Grandmama got matching handmade jewel earrings. Surrounded by boxes and bows and crumpled paper, Carlton and I collapsed into a Christmas morning coma... until it was time to meet my parents and drive through the Christmas white snow to Kennesaw's Imax 3D cinema to watch Tron.

That night we went back to Carlton's parents' house where we played with his little cousins Hannah and Justin, opened presents with them, and had some delicious chicken pot pie made by Vicki. Hannah loved her Ribbon Dancer, and Justin couldn't wait to play with Hannah using the new walkie-talkies we got him!

One of the two wreaths that framed our sliding doors which lead out to the back porch, fashioned with a glittery reindeer!

On Sunday morning we woke up at Carlton's house and prepared for our last hoorah of opening presents--with Katie Anne, baby SJ, Saunders, and Katie! I was sooooo excited to spend the morning with Katie Anne and play with her. She opened her gifts very slowly, making sure she got to see everyone else's facial expressions as they opened their gifts, too! My favorite gift to give her this year was a playtime grill, complete with all sorts of food to cook on it, grilling tools like a spatula and tongs, salt and pepper and bbq sauce, and even a propane tank hooked up my a hose to the grill! She cooked and cooked for us and the grill made awesome crackling and sizzling sounds. Then, surprise!!! Katie Anne opened an entire new kitchen, complete with pots and pans and dishes for Doc and VJ's house! Katie Anna racked up on homemaking tools.

My favorite gift to give to baby SJ was something made by hand over a number of nights. I sat, studied my computer, and picked out what I thought to be the most darling (EVER!) little baby boy's sweater vest. I picked out yarn, sat on the sofa, and just knitted my little heart into that sweater vest. I would ooooh and aaaaah over it every time I'd stop and look it over. Of course, I had to take time away from knitting when I randomly decided to paint my living room and dining room, as well as when I made intricate plans for a Christmas dinner party at the house. But I got straight back to work and finished sewing the snaps on the shoulder of that vest the morning little SJ came over to open it from its gift box. He was so excited, he vowed to wear it for his upcoming professional pictures! Auntie Trisha can't wait to see the vest on that cute little Hambone!

It wasn't long after that last splurge of opening gifts (only 2:00!) that Carlton and I loaded up the car and headed back home to Moultrie where we collapsed into the bed and napped. Christmas weekend was exhausting and hectic, but it was so much fun to share the white Christmas holiday with our families!

I've gotta Rush Home with my great finds!

After ZipZip was dropped off at the Mother Ship for her annual checkup, I zipped on up I-75 north to Cartersville where my parents live. We settled into the house and I cuddled on pups Charlie, Bella, and (Vespa's sister) Shiloh before my parents and I decided to shop around the square before dinnertime came along.

We made dinner plans with the old neighborhood gang to meet at Moore's Market at 6:15, and because it was only 4:00, we had plenty of time to shop downtown before it was time to eat! My mom and I were first and foremost curious to see if our BY FAR MOST FAVORITE store on the square, Rush Home, was still open... and if she had anything left. (Rush Home is going closing its doors after many years of selling beautiful and well-made high end home furnishings and decorative accessories. I wish I could have helped her stay in business longer by buying from her full price items, but it was never in the budget! I actually made a point to let her know I was sad to see her close the doors, and that I wished I could have helped more in the past.) We made plans to shop at Rush Home first, and to then head on over the railroad tracks and under the bridge to see what the ever-funky and super-chatty Mrs. Richardson had left from her summer wonderfuls at Periwinkle. (I've always admired and appreciated her standard on ordering beautiful, trendy, affordable clothes that fit the average-sized girl!)

So, as it turns out, Rush Home was still open! To my utter delight, she had posted on the double glass doors at the front entry: EVERYTHING IN THE STORE 75% OFF!!!

Wait.

WHAT?!?

75?

%?

75% off?

75% OFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!

"Of course, there will be nothing left worth looking at," I thought to myself. And in we walked. There were plenty of gigantic commercial storage shelves, like, 10' tall. A few pretty napkin rings. A lonely bar stool. I spotted a pretty creamy white twisted wire tray and grabbed it. And then I spotted three coffe table sized interior decorating books. One was Frank Lloyd Wright designs. Score! Plopped those four items at the checkout counter and went back to find any other small treasures. And then I saw...
an armoire.

Not only was it a brand new, hardwood, sturdy, well-built piece of furniture, but it does quadruple duty! Computer desk complete with a pull-out keyboard shelf? Check! TV cabinet? Check! Open, adjustable shelves for folded clothes? Check! Drawers and a high rod for hanging clothes? Check! I made a call to the Hubster, and after a quick and painless "yes" from him I skipped my happy self up to the checkout counter with the armoire tag in hand.

After I handed over the plastic, the nice girl handed me my three books and metal tray, and I left a happy shopper. I felt so accomplished after buying my first piece of furniture! (Hopefully, we'll have a house to put it in soon.)

So, after all my excited stressing of the fact that I purchased everything from this high-end boutique home store for an astounding 75% off, don't you want to know what I paid?!? I knew you would.

Wright Sized Houses, a FLW coffee table book: originally $30, on sale for $7.50

(I know!!!)

Attention to Detail, a contemporary take on home decor: priced at $35, on sale for $8.75 (Woot!!!)

The New Classics, fresh ideas for rooms that endure: original price $45, on sale for $11.25 (You're so jealous, admit it!!!)


Pretty, sturdy, heavy, twisted creamy white wire tray: originally tagged at $85, on sale for $21.25 (This will be really pretty on a kitchen counter, a dining table, a desk, hanging on a wall, on a nightstand, or anywhere else I might decide to put it!


And, the armoire herself. She was originally priced at $1685 which was totally not affordable for us, even though it is sturdy well-built furniture. And a few weeks ago when everything in the store was marked at 50% off, it was still too much for us to spend out-of-pocket. I did take a picture of it then, so that was another reason I was so surprised and excited to see that it was still in the shop and marked down even more. Priced to sell quickly at $421, there was no way I could leave this pretty piece of furniture behind again! I deleted my original in-shop picture of the armoire, but I did find this stock photo of it on the store's web site (this really doesn't make it look all that great, but I swear it is in person!)

My grand total for the tree books, the tray, and the armoire was $469.75 plus tax! I've never been so excited about spending a mass amount of money before, so I'm thinking these purchases were wise ones. Of course, when we went into Periwinkle afterwords, my hands were in my pockets!