Wii all have an embarassing childhood memory, don't Wii?

I nearly fell out of my seat when I discovered that a new favorite blogger, City Mama, is hosting a Wii Fit Giveaway! The challenge? Submit an embarrassing fitness story. Surely I had one of those.

Upon thoughtful reflection, I believe the most embarrassing detail about my exercise habits are that I do not exercise. Sure, I get exercise – I work on my feet 8 hours a day, I try to walk instead of take the subway, I take the dog out, my apartment is a 4th floor walk-up… I’m sure this counts.
And to be fair, I’ve given it some goes:

High School was fitness walks with friends & cigarette breaks, a personal trainer with my mom, and Sweating to the Oldies.

All I need is to hear “Hot town, summer in the city, Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty ..." and the moves come flooding back.

In college I’d come home on breaks and spend an hour running (okay, fast-ish walking) the treadmill in the basement at my parents house, watching Sopranos, getting hungry for ziti, trying desperately to run back in time to erase the all-you-can-eat heart damage of the campus café.

Putting aside failed attempts, deep inside I feel like I could be an “exerciser”.
I want it, my heart wants it.
I love the sound of my voice saying “I’m off to do Yoga” or “I’m starving, I did a 2-hour hip-hop class this morning”, but really, eh.
No time, no drive, no confidence.
What’s my issue?

Exploring this thought like any good therapist would, I have found, like any good problem, that it is routed in my childhood.

I was a little pudgy in the years before puberty.
I possessed a love for Lay’s Ruffle potato chips and cheese sandwiches like a young girl loves a Barbie. This being realized as a key component to where it all went wrong. . .

I had been hearing some whispers between my mom and my grandma one summer, much like the whispers between parents when Christmas is on the horizon. Secrets, excitement, a trip to the mall. . .
we’re in the movie store (remember when they had those at the mall?)…
I get a present. Is it Christmas?
NO. NOT. AT. ALL.

But it is a Barbie.

Yup, that’s right, Dance Workout with Barbie!
While they never told me I was fat, I did hear a lot of “this’ll be fun!”.
I guess it did star Jennifer Love Hewitt. . .

sometimes interesting things are right outside the window...

I have been curious as to why advertisers will sometimes have their ads painted on the side of a building rather than a print. To me, it seems as if this would be much more expensive and I'm not sure it is more visually appealing. It is still an ad. There is one such painted billboard right outside a window in my apartment. I thought it would be fun to track its progression.

Day 1, about two weeks ago. What is it? I bet it's for The Hulk. Look at that arm muscle.

Yup. I'm seeing some green and, wait, is that Edward Norton?

And a helicopter!

Today I see they are on to the text. But where did their scaffolding thingy go? Are they done? Wouldn't it be funny if they were like "Yeah I think that's good 'nough. People will get the idea."?

"And then I'll get a piece of wood, cut-to-size..."

It has been a long standing joke between, no, for me that whenever we need something for our house, be it shelves, a kitchen table, a headboard, a loft bed, whatever, Alex's solution will be to "get a piece of wood, cut-to-size". But never before have I seen a cut-to-size project, leaving me to smirk a little while browsing Ikea.com for an alternative, and often final, solution. Until now...
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, Our New Headboard:

Zen wanted you to know his tongue is pink too.

We teamed up on design & color, but he gets all construction/make it happen credit. The colors were selected to match the colorful pillow on the bed we love (far right) that also happens to coordinate with the large painting we have on the opposite wall (not pictured). I think it came out fantastic and I love it. Three cheers, heck, Four Cheers for DIY!

May I share these with you?

Mother's Day flowers for me?!

Alex bought them but supposedly Zen picked them out.
I hope all the Mamas out there had a wonderful day!

I've been treated pretty good lately; last weekend:

Say you had to chose a book by its cover, wouldn't you chose one of these?

I try to contribute to a wonderful lifestyle,

with banana bread. In two sizes.

and then they started dressing alike...

I noticed a silly thing while walking home with my love, DC, yesterday.

While we're talking fashion, I noticed this ad in the paper yesterday and thought it quite curious...
SO designer lines created for Target to reach a wider market are being debuted for an exclusive market.
Sarah Jessica Parker is bringing the well-to-spend to $8.98 racks at Steve & Barry's, Forever 21 is the latest for impulsive, throw-away trend pieces for celebrities and socialites... the line is being trampled and I'm not sure yet who benefits from this. Will those with tighter purse strings feel elevated in their fashion & confidence or are those with unlimited credit just slumming for a giggle and bragging rights (‘Fourteen dollars! H & M!’) at dinner parties? Eerrgh. . .I need a DC.

I can't help it

I love making Zen look cute & mildly ridiculous.

In business news...

Nevermind that it was a few days ago, having one of my pieces on the front page makes me feel like a million $$$'s. Especially when featured along side such great work, thank you Spongetta(maker of really cute handbags)!

Lauren Haupt jewelry can now be found in live-action 3-D in two NYC boutiques:

Elizabeth 260 on the lower East Side and Brooklyn 1:46 in Williamsburg. Both owned & operated by two great young women, which is awesome.

Have a great weekend!

Oh, Oh, P.S.: LaurenHaupt.com has been updated slightly, I have a Contact page!

Please contact me for my address as to where you can have this shipped.
Thank you!

Normally,

I don't buy sunglasses because

a) I hardly ever find I pair I look half-way decent in
b) I'm usually wearing glasses and not contacts
c) I can't seem to spend the money to invest in a nice pair, even a prescription-lens pair

BUT I became overcome with want for a pair so that on these glorious days of sunshine I can sit outside and read a book without the glaring of the white pages.
SO last night I randomly came across a pair for $5 that looked good on me! I nearly lost it, bought them immediately, delicately put them in my bag and continued the rest of the evening to fantasize about how today I would sit in central park with my book and sunglasses and how amazing that would be. Well, what do you know? I get home, open my bag. . .




Go figure. I know, I know, only $5, but I was so excited. Aaargh.



Luckily this did not deter me from a wonderful little (purchased) picnic and read in the park. Yes, those jeans again.





Anyway, on to something you might care about:



Beg, borrow or steal to get yourself to the Met to see Jeff Koons on the Roof. I can not describe how much fun it is to see these in person. The. Best. Time.