DVR'd Royal Wedding

And wine.
=
What's on deck the second I get off of work tonight.

Can't wait for all the hats and carriages and trumpets!
(I might even hang a salad bowl all cockamanie on my head and pretend it's a fascinator.)

Curious if Kate was true-to-self and wore a non-pretentious wedding dress?!
Just kidding -  I already know the answer to this, Alexander McQueen.

I turned the TV on while getting ready for work yesterday just in time
to see her walk down the aisle.  It was just like Cinderella!

I watched until I saw William whisper
"you look beautiful"
then turned the TV off then because I couldn't stand  it!!!
I'd have been late to work if I watched anymore.

Could Will.I.Am handle being in the same place as his beloved mum's funeral?!
And did he actually buck the tradition of wearing a wedding ring?
(seems a little Charles-like, if you ask me.)

Regardless,

I cannot wait to watch it all unfold.

(Alex is up north for a stag NFL draft party, so I can revel in the girly spectacularity for HOURS on end.)

Cheers!
Brianna, The Duchess of Carol Stream



P.S.  I discovered this show the other day.  It is TERRIBLE. 
I was secretly hoping for it to be like The Hills.  But it is not.
(The fact that it's on VH1 should have tipped me off.)

Audrina seems like a genuinely nice person,
but seriously,
who knew there was white trash in Orange County?!
(Oh wait, Real Housewife Tamra.)
Do not waste your time with this nonsense.

~Images via yahoo~

It's Friday!

(I'd be smiling bigger if I didn't have to work.)

It's FINALLY going to be in the 60's and sunny.

Day dreaming of spending the day outside

reading this & sipping basil lemonade.

Digging these hammered acrylic tumblers from West Elm:

~ SayingImages, West Elm~

Sayonara, Michael Scott!

Hoping tonight's ep of The Office is going to be "Jim and Pam Wedding" worthy.

But seriously, what's The Office without Michael Scott?

It's like Seinfeld without Seinfeld.

Even though he's annoying, he's kind of the whole purpose of the show.

And is Will Ferrell really going to be a permanent fixture?

If so, he needs to be a helluva lot funnier.

Don't get me wrong, he's usually a hilarious actor and all,

but so far on The Office,

the funniest thing about him is his name - Deangelo Vickers.

Sounds smooth, big, and black...

...that's what she said.

(Sorry, I couldn't help myself.)

James Nares

What are the odds I could score a James Nares print when we're in London?

He's British, right?

I just LOVE the fluidity and punches of color.

I can't get over how the pair below compliment each other. 

(Kinda like a + b, no?  Even more reason to add one (or two) to the wishlist!)

But seriously, they really make the room pop.

The one in the van der Woodsen's lobby has sure been getting a lot of air time.

Did anyone else notice?! Or am I just a freak?!

Damn you, Gossip Girl!  Why must you possess so much that I covet?

I can't wait until I can afford real art.

(That'll happen someday, right?)

...9 G's means a snack for me, but it means a big deal to you...

Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for

the affordable, sentimental vintage finds we've been fortunate to come across,

(I'm looking at you, Skier Man.)

 and for all of our travel photography.

(60% off custom framing at JoAnn Fabrics rules!)

But seriously, these pieces make me swoon.

In the meantime, maybe I can try to re-create one of my own?

Get my James Nares on and dangle from a homemade pulley?

The technique looks F-U-N,

very scouring-the-yard-in-"Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"...

However, I would totally lose the battle to gravity and drool on my own masterpiece...and probably benefit from wearing a diaper while at work.

If all else fails,

perhaps AllPosters.com won't let me down??

~ known images from jamesnares.com, durham press, the man of style ~

(Disclaimer:  Most of these photos were collected for my own home inspiration files and I do not know their source of origin. 

If you know, please inform me & I will correctly cite!)

Viva la Vida

Somehow during a period of procrastination,
I came across something truly spectacular.

In the wake of the education upheaval in WI, it especially hit a little too close to home.

The kids in the video below are not only extremely talented, but lucky.

How unfortunate to envision a world with fewer remarkable educators like Mr. B!  (And Mrs. Walsh!)

Moreover, I cannot GET over
these kids' sweet, dramatic moves.

Look out, Stevie Wonder!  You better check yo'self, Celine.

But seriously, I want to be a 5th grader in Mr. B's chorus! 

I definitely wasn't akin to such high caliber music when I was 10. 

(NKOTB was my bebop of choice. And I'm pretty sure the only thing I was this passionate about was jam skating at High Rollers...and maybe Gushers fruit snacks??)

You can feel  how much singing means to them,

and how much of a shining example their teacher is.

They have SO many performances on YouTube.  And a blog. 

If you're sucked in like me, be sure to check out their versions of

Phoenix's Lisztomania and Adele's Rolling in the Deep.

SO good.  Chills!  Blown away by their passion. 

An hour of my life gone, but well spent. :)

Weeknight meals

Requirements for cooking weeknight meals:

• Quick
• Relatively healthy
• All food groups included (usually heavy on the veg)
• Note:  Wine is part of the "fruit" group.  Eat your grapes, kids.
• Relatively inexpensive
• Semi-homemade

Trader Joe's never lets me down in these categories.

Lobster Ravioli ($2.99) -

To which I made a homemade butter/olive oil sauce with sauteed shallots, walnuts, sea salt, cracked black pepper, and a pinch of Old Bay. 
Topped with a bit of grated Parm (as no pasta should be without cheese).
Note: This pan sauce works well with b-nut squash or pumpkin ravioli, too.

Paired with one of my favorite salads - spinach, bleu cheese, pears, vidalia onions, and sliced almonds.  Topped with organic Sesame Goddess dressing.  You can get it at Whole Foods - $3/bottle and full of garlicky deliciousness.  They also have a wide variety of reasonably priced gourmet cheeses.
(I'm kind of on an Iowa Maytag kick, myself.)

Washed down with a wine recommendation by the creepy, pushy Italian guy at Binny's (located conveniently next-door to TJ's).  After snooping in my cart, he found out I liked Rombauer.  I rolled my eyes at the Kendall-Jackson label he harrassed me into purchasing (yes, I'm a wine snob), but gosh darn it, their 2008 Grand Reserve Chardonnay was pretty tasty. I mean, it was no Rombauer...but what is, really? And the $30-bottles-of-wine-on-weeknights-habit has
GOT. TO. STOP.

From kitchen to table in less than 20 minutes.

Domestic diva!

And by table, I mean coffee table, so the huzz and I can watch last night's ep of Khloe & Lamar.

(I'm pretty sure LO called her fat last night and I, personally, cannot wait to view the fallout.)

~photos by b~

Happy Easter!

One of my all-time favorites...

Jesus has resurrected out of his cave and I couldn't be any happier.
(Take that, Romans!)
And Alex and I can eat meat once again!
(Toodle-oo Lent!)
I take that back. Alex cheated and ate sausage pizza on Thursday. 
Apparently he was under the impression Lent ended early.
The Last Brunch vs. The Last Supper, if you will.
Lord, have mercy. 
Church and family gatherings all day
(and maybe some Cadbury Creme eggs) 

to celebrate all things spring and new!

Happy Easter!

~image via city-data~

Fort Myers Beach

Last year at this time, Kara and I were relaxing in Fort Myers, FL.

If you're ever there, eat the mussels here. 
(Happy Hour price of $4.95, a.k.a the best 5 dollars you will ever spend.) 
And if you stick around through the evening hours, you can play wing woman and weed out imbeciles for your hot friend
with the 3-check system:

1.) Bud Lite? Try again.

2.)  Ohio State hat? Not good.

3.) Bore me with your lame ass job description? No, thank you.

And if your incompatibilities don't send him packing,

bidding him adieu like this will always do the trick:

"Bye! Have a nice... life!"

To avoid this lame (and mostly Baby Boomer) crowd,
you're probably better off going here.
Minor league baseball headquarters. 
After a few ML's, you probably won't mind/notice that they're only 20 years old.
(You're on vacation after all.)

My wing work is done when they realize I am married (= major old balls) and an RN
...a.k.a. flirting with me comes to a screeching halt and does a 180 into a mass removal of shoes and flaunting of slivers and callouses. 
"Nurse Bri, what do you think I should do about this?"
(Insert festering blister here.) 
Next thing you know, I'm providing counseling on smoking and chaw cessation. 
I digress...and accept what I've become.
True story.

 Back to day dreaming

about sun-kissed hair
and coconuty skin
and lying on a white sand beach

with nothing to do

(sigh)

(other than sip mid-day Ron Ron juice
out of 1990's Jolly Green Giant coffee mugs
and watch fat, pasty, half-naked, old ladies dig holes in the sand
for their big bootylicious behinds).

Summer, please come soon!
Ok thanks love ya bye,
b

~ photos via b & anthropolgie~

Commute chats

Grateful for my mom and dad,
for countless reasons,
but today,
especially,
because my 0530 and 1945 commutes would be unbearable without them.

~ xo

~SayingImages~

Warm weather dreams

I know it's only April,
but it's been a LONG winter.
And this current "cold November rain" weather sucks.
(Copy that, Axl? Es el fin.  No mas.) 
Wishing for 70's/80's and sun again,

So I can wear things like this...

(Who am I kidding? I look squatty in shorts.) 
But the sentiment remains.

+

I am LOVING these sandals from Anthro...

Too bad the price tag of two hundo plus isn't in my current budget.

A girl can dream.

...and, I suppose, work hard to finish school (to achieve desired budget)
and master pilates (to lengthen out said squatty gams).

~images via madewell & anthropologie~

Joshua Radin

This dream keeps recurring...and it RULES.

It's a girls' weekend in Minneapolis...we had just gone to a Joshua Radin concert at the Pantages Theater.  

We are now at The Local (where else?)...and it's characteristically crowded.

It's about 12:30am, and "Big Gingers" are flowing like the River Shannon itself.

All of a sudden JR (I feel I can now call him that) and his band show up!! Get out!!

...including that big, boorish Norwegian drummer, but sans Schuyler Fisk
(they're still on the outs).

He's here to play a top secret set! Lucky us!

JR sets out this little "request" bowl.

I throw in "They Bring Me to You" (me and the hubb's favorite) and another rare, yet personal fave, "Sky."

After a few numbers, JR then does the unthinkable.

"I have a request here from my friend Bri.  She wants to hear a little tune called 'Sky', but I think if she wants to hear it, she's just going to have to sing it with me."

I nearly gag on my Jameson in horror.

What fresh hell is this?!?

The crowd cheers. (What a bunch of assholes.)

Damn you, Schuyler Fisk!  If you wouldn't have been such a sloot, JR wouldn't have to be coercing audience members to sing all his sappy ass love songs with him!!

(I have immediate visions of dumping pig blood on her (ala her mother in "Carrie") and vow to never listen to their duets again.)

I am, by no means, a good singer in real life.  I don't even hum in front of others. 
Regardless, he leaves me no time for a polite declination, and begins strumming away on his vibrating chick magnet...

Shit. There is no chance in hell of backing out gracefully now.

So down the gullet goes another shot of Jame-o.

Public embarrassment be damned!

After telling my girls to video what's about to go down (and send it to Alex because he will geek out in disbelief), I take the stage.

I am horrified to realize that JR is even shorter than he looks from afar.

We're talking David the Gnome, certified Little, s-h-o-r-t.

I frantically whip off my heels to avoid looking like Khloe Kardashian next to this cute little midge (because apparently I'm not vertically challenged in my dreams).  Before it's my turn to sing, I shout something witty, yet rock'n'roll-like, into a hot mic -

"Get ready for your ears to bleed, Minneapolis!!"

To my own surprise, I then proceed to rock the socks off of those lady vocals.  Even better than Ingrid.  Just harmonizing and wailing away like it's nobody's business.  The crowd's hootin' and hollerin' to beat the band.

Despite my real world inadequacies, in my dream world, I am so freaking awesome. I get to sing "They Bring Me To You", and the next thing you know, I'm signing autographs for bar patrons, I get asked to go on tour, and JR and I become bff's.
People are like, Schuyler who?  And songs like "Breezy" and "Sweet Ass" are subsequently written in my honor.

I usually wake up when things start getting weird on tour. (As in, when I start wearing droopy-Bob-Marley-knit hats and stop shaving/showering.).  However, I will sheepishly admit that for a few days following this dream, I always listen to Joshua Radin on the commute to work.  Namely, I listen to "Sky" on repeat and reenact the wailing.  (Carpoolers must think I'm nuts.)

~ images via Music Remedy, flikr, last.fm, oddfilms ~

Madison dream home

Hello, dream home. 

I sure wouldn't mind having my morning coffee and evening wine(s)

looking at the sunrise/sunset over the Capital.

Just imagine the happy hour gatherings!

 Modern foyer and floating staircase? Sure!

 Can you say "natural kitchen lighting"??
(And don't think I don't see those double ovens - drooling!!)

 Is that a giant window wall in the dining room?
Spectacular views come rain, snow, sleet, or shine.

 Check out that huge fireplace!  Another must for Wisconsin winters. 
(I can envision the Tom & Jerry holiday celebrations now.)

 Loft with cathedral ceilings...oh, and just that bomb ass view again!

 Humongous shower...with, surprise surprise, a window!  Don't want there to be one second without that view.  Ooh and a built-in shower bench!  (For when we get old and arthritic and need to sit while sudsing.)

Downstairs playroom/man cave...with it's own mini kitchen!! 
That's right, kids - make your own damn pizza!
Mommy/wifey's busy sunning her buns outside (or baking in her DOUBLE ovens!)

And check out the living room area for movie viewing! 

 More bathrooms, why not? A shitter for everyone!

 Home gym! And is that a sauna?  Expensive Bikram yoga studio (and embarrassing public flatulence during pose changes) no more.

 3-car garage (for family car, Yaris, & Alex's porsche) + a car port for guests!  Ideal.

Now we just need to work on the curb appeal.

And maybe a little more space from the neighb's...unless they're one of you.

Oh, and the price tag.

(minor deets)

Unless someone has a 1.6 million dollar bone they'd be willing to throw us.

~photos via realtor.com~

The return of Gossip Girl

Oh how we've missed the scandalous lives of the Upper East side!!

(Bass Empire ain't got nothin' on the local upper crust better known as The Stream.)

Alex can't get enough of Rufus & Little J, whereas I'm more of a Doroda girl myself.

But mostly, we cannot wait to figure out what happens with these two...

LOVE me some  Lonely Boy + Blair . 
Their dueling wit makes me geek out with excitement.
I literally squeal over their banter!
It brings me back to the Seth Cohen/Summer Roberts days of The O.C.  So good!!

Picking up some Rombauer (we live lavishly on Monday nights)

to enjoy with tonight's ep!

xo xo...  Breezy Girl

~ image via fanpop! ~

ADDENDUM:
This post was written prior to awakening to a raging UTI this a.m.
Instead of indulging in Chardonnay (booze = bladder irritant),
I will be pounding gallons of lemon water
and
popping Uristat & ibuprofen like Charlie Sheen's been popping Adderall & crack.
Fingers crossed, it will be just as fabulous.