Weekend Links- 05.24.13

Let's play the "How Many Pairs of Shoes Can You Spot?" game

My sister grew up in the same house as me (obviously?), so she is completely aware of my natural inclination towards messiness (and I would like to clarify here that messy and dirty are distinctly different. In my mind.) I like to think it is a charming manifestation of my artistic temperament- my housemates (past and present) may disagree on the "charming" part.

However, the first time somebody comes over to visit me in a new place I'm living, I like to pretend that I have matured, seen the light, and keep on top of chores like recycling old magazines and putting the shoes away instead of letting a million pairs accumulate by the front door.

As my sister arrives for a visit tomorrow morning at a time of day that I am usually still in bed if I can help it, that means I'll be spending all day today like Cinderella before the ball... but I don't even have a wicked step-mother making me clean, just a voice in the back of my head that sounds suspiciously like my own (non-wicked) mother dictating what a house being "company ready" entails.

So, please think of poor pitiful me scrubbing and laundering and dusting and organizing while you are enjoying these fun links for the weekend. XO!

I love this idea- has anyone done it? Did people actually do a good job?

Midwest is the best

I'm not sure what I would do in my dreams if I could control them, but I really want to find out

Reason 28- It's Friday (as good a reason as any, yes?)

Park Slope Family Circus? Amazing

For those of us that fondly remember "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?"

I've been telling my mother this for years

MOAR Arrested Development (Yes, even more! I told you people were excited)

Anyone else intrigued by the idea of getting custom perfume made? (Ignore the first paragraph, it made me throw up im my mouth a little, too)

This is super gorgeous and this is super mesmerizing

Young children are sociopaths. It's one of my favorite things about them.

And that's all she wrote. Have a great weekend!

*Note: If you really did try to count how many pairs of shoes are in the picture, the answer is eleven.

Countdown to Arrested Development

Do you remember when Netflix tried to change its pricing structure and was going to spin off its streaming service into another company and people were outraged and left the company in droves and reactionary news articles were trumpeting the end of Netflix?

I like to imagine that, shortly in the wake of that boondoggle, the top executives got together and had a brainstorming session titled "How To Get People To Stop Talking About That Major Gaffe" and some brilliant up and comer proposed bringing back critical darling and later cult favorite Arrested Development as a way of buying back some goodwill.

Whether one decision had anything to do with the other or not (#therearenocoincidences), you would likely have to be living under a media-free rock to have not heard that Netflix has indeed produced a new season of Arrested Development and that it will be available for streaming this Sunday.

Fans are binge watching the prior three seasons in preparation, there has been a huge media blitz of trailers and posters, the Bluth Frozen Banana Stand has been spotted in several major cities, there have been Never-Nude conventions in celebration, and people are clearing their Sundays to binge watch the whole season.

If you, too, want to get excited for the new season's debut, here are a few of my favorite articles to get you in the right frame of mind (Note- I have no affiliation with NYMag, they're just the only website I've found that has the correct level of appreciation for the pop culture that I enjoy)-

Analyzing the Arrested Development Trailer
Arrested Development Superfan Quiz (I only scored a 26- embarrassing)
Arrested Development Emotion Chart
Origins of Classic Arrested Development Jokes
Most Meta Moments of Arrested Development
Best Lucille Bluth Moments and Buster Loves Juice (I'm not sure what it says about me that these two are by far my favorite characters, but it can't be good)
Bluth Family Chicken Dances

Is anyone else super excited for the release this Sunday? What's your game plan- binge watch or savor? Binge watch the whole season once, then rewatch slowly to savor? Never got into the show to begin with? Now might be the time to catch up! Xo!

What to Buy For The Impossible-To-Shop-For Man In Your Life's Birthday

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Okay, okay, if you clicked on the links you (hopefully) figured out that I'm totally joking because the day I spend £235 on 100-year-old balsamic vinegar is the day Scott keels over from a heart attack and dies. And I really don't care to be a 26-year-old widow (can I call myself a widow if we aren't married yet?) Let's not even mention what would happen if I came home with that watch or ring (mammoth bone!).

Don't gift guides always feel a bit like this, though? Full of ridiculous things that you look at and think "Who actually buys these things as a gift?" (And where can I find one of those people for myself, because there's a £300 pair of shoes I've had my eye on?)

Every year when Scott's birthday (today!), our anniversary, or Christmas roll around, I am thrown into a panic because dude is seriously hard to shop for- this is a man that has bought six brown belts from six different stores, taken them all home to compare and try on with various items of clothing, and returned five of them. He gets any music or movies he wants before I have a chance to do it as a gift, his work schedule is too erratic to try to buy tickets to something, and as noted above, he has very definite opinions about any clothes he buys. What's a girl to do?

Every time, I turn to the internet for help and am consistently let down. I keep hoping that one of these days it will get easier, but after almost 10 years together, I've already used up all of my good ideas!

Has anybody perfected the art of buying gifts for men? If so, please share your secret! Otherwise, I recommend you start a business- I'll be your first customer.