maribou

Death by cuteness

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 18:08:23 GMT

Ahmygod, all my favorite things in one glorious video: Amy Sedaris, cupcakes and bunnies. ... and Microsoft Office, apparently.

In which I discuss my stupid job, my adorable pocket boyfriend and the current season

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 04:37:54 GMT

Tired of paying rent late every single month and frustrated at the lack of PR job prospects in this town, I have decided to take a job as a customer sales lead at B&BW. Break out your party hats because it's official: I am a douche-bag.
In happier news, guess what kind of coffee creamer I found at the grocery store today. No seriously, guess. Okay I'll tell you: Vanilla Caramel Brownie. Jesus christ! It'll be like having dessert for breakfast.. every day.
My birthday is coming up (22, sort of boring) and all I want to do is go sit in an apple orchard with a heavily-sugared donut in one hand and a basket full of baby pumpkins and shiny apples in the other. If I had a third hand, it would be petting the kitten that accompanies me on my orchard tours because yes, there would be one. Obviously.
Speaking of kittens and things that are cute, Taylor and I will be celebrating our "anniversary" on the 21st of October. I met him right around this time four years ago. Awwww yeah. That's it.
Most important thing last: Good fall music. Please, recommend. I'm begging you. I can only listen to the same two albums in my car so many times.

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:06:59 GMT

If any of you will be in the Detroit area July 4-8, Spoon and Yo La Tengo and a whole bunch of other bands are playing for free at City Fest. I'm going to try to get my super-hip dad to go since I'll be stuck in Livonia, aka most exciting city ever, for the fourth.

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:32:50 GMT

I just put these on the disease known as Facebook last night, so you might have already seen them. Sorry and move along if that is the case.

I brought Taylor home with me for the first time EVER a few weekends ago. Scarlett loved him and showed her affection by kneading her paws into his stomach and drooling uncontrollably all over his shirt.

Kevin had a coming-back party in Narnia. I won't post The Naked Picture because I'm too nice.. or something.

We went to Kalamazoo the other night and they brought us sushi in a boat. I nearly swooned.

Hotel lobby shenanigans.

I really don't know where the rest of my photos are. I know Taylor has a couple that I took at the beach a few weeks ago, but other than that.. hmm.

I'm in a good mood today. See:
1. Taylor comes home tomorrow niiiiight
2. My room smells like fresh flowers/leafy things
3. It's 2:30 pm and I am still in my pajamas, which is probably the only perk of not having a real job yet
4. I'm reading four books right now and they are all at almost identical levels of awesomeness
5. The new Spoon and The Sea and Cake albums are quickly becoming my favorite of the summer.

And you? How have you been?

Very important

Wed, 09 May 2007 04:41:56 GMT

Two pieces of news.

Today I was sitting outside, minding my business and reading Eleanor Rigby when a toothless, dirty, most likely homeless man walked up my front steps and took a seat next to me. He asked if my husband was home. Then he called me Angel, grabbed my arm and asked for money. Taylor always worries that I'll be out at a bar and get picked up by some beautiful man, but I tell him time and time again.. the only men that talk to me either have no teeth, want some cash money, are generally dirty and disgusting, or some combination of the three. As a result my confidence level is practically through the roof.

The other piece of news is that I went to a baseball game today. Let me just say that even though I do not particularly care for baseball, it was very enjoyable. And I ate a hot dog.

Oh, and it's summer.

Shake that baaahhhdy

Mon, 07 May 2007 16:48:46 GMT

Things that are totally making this the Best Week Ever:

New red flats from Aldo. They're fug on the internet, cute in real life. Kind of like people on MySpace, but reverse it.
Eating ice cream and watching Penn and Teller: Bullshit with Taylor
Oh and then we finally got around to watching City of God, which did not disappoint at all. We followed it up with Jawbreaker, because I felt those two films just worked well together. Clearly.
We booked the Alaska trip on Friday. Pops and I fly out of Detroit on July 5th and we'll be back on the 15th. We're staying at the Backcountry Lodge in Denali National Park for three nights, and it's 95 MILES into the park, at the very end of the road. Jesus, I had no idea this place was so huge. I hope we see a grizzly bear, but preferably not while it's eating my face for an afternoon snack.
Finally being able to go to the library again after clearing a gajillion and one half dollars in fines (I still feel really guilty whenever I go in there, like I'm stealing or something)
Finding old mix CDs in my car and thinking I was really cool back in Winter '05.. but not quite. I used to secretly listen to shitty gangsta rap while driving to and from work, which I found to be the musical equivalent of three Red Bulls.
This clip from Let's go to Prison. I think I want to marry Will Arnett.

Nature, other things

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 18:18:55 GMT

I think it's safe to say that we're all obsessed with Planet Earth. I think $56 isn't too bad to own the entire series (and I still haven't seen the Deep Oceans one, oooooh).

Taylor left for Coachella this morning. I think I'm jealous.

I'm walking in Grand Valley's commencement ceremony on Saturday. I feel like a big dork. My entire family will be in town (including Taylor's parents, aw) and we're all going out to dinner. I am planning on it being at least a little awkward.

I keep getting these shooting pains in my lower ribs, and it hurts to breathe. Yayyyy!

We saw Hot Fuzz the other night. There were some hilarious parts, but overall I think I'd just as soon watch Shaun of the Dead again instead.

What are five things that you secretly like? Mine are

Pictures of sunken ships
Using more coffee creamer/sugar than actual coffee
The color yellow
Eyeglasses on young people
Wedding Crashers ... because I pretended to hate it for about a year.

Actually I don't know if any of these things are a secret, but I don't exactly run around yelling about how much I love them.

All up in your friends list

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 01:35:06 GMT

Let's drive to Grand Haven a lot this summer and walk out to the end of the pier. Yes, I'm talking to you!
We can even get ice cream at the little stand across the street from the beach.

My right arm is already a little burnt. Elizabeth's getting a grill and we're fixing our back deck, I say we also have lots of big kid patio parties.

..Because nothing says "I am a grown-ass adult" quite like a patio party.

Anyway. Summer. I'm excited.

Butterflies, sunshine, and so on

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 16:21:13 GMT

From now on, this is the only news I'll be reading every day. The only thing that could make it any better would be if every story was accompanied by a photo of a yawning kitten.

Taylor and I saw John Vanderslice with St. Vincent the other night. It was such a happy, fun show. They were both so sweet and engaging.

I now own Guitar Hero II. Taylor, Rob and I have beaten almost every song on every level. I did the first two levels and then quit because it hurt my hands, but it's still really awesome...ly distracting.

Everybody's in a rotten mood lately. I hope that finals/interviews/whatever else goes well for all of you, and that summer comes soon so we're a little less stressed.

Okay, bye!

lol, technology

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:15:14 GMT

Netflix has a new feature that allows users to watch movies online instead of waiting for them in the mail. I pay 10 bucks a month for unlimited movies, but only get 1 at a time. Now I can instantly watch 10 hours worth of movies per month, which I suppose is pretty cool.

Upgrade: I don't even have to walk to the mailbox (which is attached to the front of our house) anymore, much less drive to the video store. How sad.
Downgrade: It only works with Internet Explorer. Rer.

Oh, you can be my friend and make fun of my shitty taste in movies, too:

http://www.netflix.com/BeMyFriend/P6cEhKJNixo9qARKv96F

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 04:18:34 GMT

Reasons why life is lovely at the moment:

My papa and I are going to Alaska and Canada in June, on the lookout for some grizzly bears. My dad actually really likes bears, which is a new thing that I can't really explain, but whatever, I'll go with it. The trip is my graduation gift, and it's going to be really kind of cool to spend time with my dad IN NATURE.
i'm burning Sugared Passionfruit oil in my bedroom and it smells like straight-up summertime.
Taylor and I might head to Chicago April 13-15 to see Low and Blonde Redhead, and i might get to see Emmylou Harris with Neko Case next weekend if I can afford it.
We ate at Thali Bistro yesterday and Taylor, who usually only eats things like meat and cheese, ate Sri Lankan food... and liked it. Progress! I'm really proud of him.
We also drank ginger lemonade, which was spicy and refreshing and delicious.
I am loading up my iPod with dorky shit like Fergie so I can go try to work out at the rec center tomorrow.
It's raining, and night-time.
This has nothing to do with life being lovely, but today I became slightly obsessed with the idea of having a huge front porch. We have a stoop, and a broken pot of dead dahlias, but it's just not the same. I like to picture all of us sitting around in rocking chairs, listening to music and having drinks. That would be nice, and not unlike something that old people would do.

He's my brandy alexander, always gets me into trouble.

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 23:37:08 GMT

Let's see. Pieces of news:

The funeral was, to put it politely, a circus. We had to drive to Hemlock (I thought of you, Tom) and I think the church was actually a pole barn with a big wooden cross on top. I had never been to Hemlock before. It felt like the entire town was actually at the church, and I found out later that it was almost true.

Everytime I saw one of the three kids, I cried. I couldn't even help it. Mitchell is still in a wheelchair, which just about broke my heart open. Plus, kids can be strange about showing emotion. Actually just people in general can be strange, but I think kids are more self-conscious about crying. Which made it really hard to see them, because they just kept trying to hold it in. God. They have an amazing mother, though, and enough support to get them through this. At least they have that.

This isn't nearly as important as what I wrote above, but my CAP 400 professor is taking us to Hanon-McKendry on Thursday and I'm really excited. The more I read about them, the more I think that I would love to work there. Last summer when I was working for Clare she had nothing but amazing things to say about them, and I think she worked with them on quite a few not-for-profit projects.

Taylor gave me a card today that had a bike on it. He wrote something really sweet in it, and I started laughing to keep from crying. Then we started to fake-fight, or rough-house, or whatever, and I fell off the bed and got wedged between the bed frame and a bunch of stacks of CDs. I couldn't get out for a few minutes because we were laughing too hard and lost all strength in our arms. It was hilariously awful, and I think I'm bruised now.

Rob and Elizabeth threw an Irish-themed party on Friday night, and made lots of good food. It was delish. I took a few photos, perhaps I'll try to scan them in later.

The new Feist and Blonde Redhead albums remind me of summer and sitting on the back deck, reading a book. It's nice.

Blah blah blah. What's new with you?

I guess this would be the "anger" stage

Sat, 10 Mar 2007 19:23:20 GMT

You know what sucks? My uncle and two cousins got into a really horrific car accident three weeks ago and, despite fighting like hell, my uncle Jeff died last night. That really sucks. I don't even know how else to describe it.

And no, I'm not going to act like I was incredibly close to him, even though people do that all the time and it's really just stupid, and makes you look petty. To be honest I haven't actually seen him since my high school graduation. But you know what? He was young, and he has three young children, and stepkids from his new marriage, and a new wife, and a ton of people crying their eyes out because he was such a good person. And it sucks the most, in my opinion, because his kids are so little. Mitchell, the middle child, was just released from the hospital two days ago and still has internal bleeding. Elizabeth is 14, and Christian is 6 and was lucky to get out with only a few scratches. I'm just having a really hard time understanding how such a good person can just get ripped out of our lives. I'm not even sad, despite bawling for the last five hours. I'm just mad, I guess.

I want to take his kids, they're only babies, and just wrap my arms around them and hug them for years, until they stop crying and begin to live life like normal kids again. God. I wish I could skip this whole part, for them.

How is it that you can feel so horrible over something you couldn't help?

Best idea, ever!

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 21:18:44 GMT

Have you ever wanted to tie a bunch of mini trampolines together and put wheels on the bottom of them, and then take the whole thing out for a run/jump down the street, similar to the events in this Menomena video (around the 2:12 mark)? Yeah, me neither.

BUT ACTUALLY YES.

Any other takers? It would be dangerously fun.

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 04:24:54 GMT

The weather has been super extremely dumb lately and I think we've all gone a bit crazy from being inside for so long. So of course we threw on dressy outfits and made valentines. What else do you do when you're stuck?

I call this one, Setting the mood.

We bought these glasses/straws/heart things, they were a bargain at $2.99. And by that I mean we used them once and they're probably in the trash now. Still, I loved them.

My valentine for Elizabeth, because she's tiny.

Her response to my valentine. The gold adds a nice touch.

Rob got one that matches his hair!

Taylor's super-elaborate and beautiful card for me. Notice the red heart, and how it is falling off the paper. Awww.

One of my three valentines for Taylor. This one had an X-mas theme. Very festive.

Saturday morning, we rolled out of bed and realized that none of us were going anywhere, because it was blizzarding. The newspeople were telling people to not drive at all because if they got into an accident, the cops couldn't come help for HOURS. So of course we got in the car and went to Mezze for scrambled eggs and cinnamon spice coffee.

"Son, let's talk about drugs."

Notice Kim KNEE-DEEP in the snow. Insanity!

Then we scurried back inside, where it was warm and cozy. We've been sitting by the fireplace ever since.

Okay, that was a lie. But there was a time last night where we sat in front of it for at least one hour.

What have YOU been doing lately?

Get out yer skates, kiddies

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 03:33:15 GMT

What would you all say about an afternoon at the roller rink? There's one on 4 mile, apparently, and they have open skating. We can get those ugly brown rentals, crank up some 90s hits and do the snowball. AND RACE. Maybe they'll even have a disco ball.

Happy January!

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 01:51:41 GMT

What a funny night. We had spectacular plans, as usual, and just ended up forgetting about them. Literally, we forgot. Taylor looked at his watch at 12:02 and said, "Well.. there goes that?" and we laughed, because no big deal. Then we just acted like idiots for a couple of hours. And it was actually more fun than going out. Woo!

Also pretty much all of these were taken with the camera I got for Christmas. Double woo.

"And so I was like, Whatever, lady. Know what I mean, giant coffee mug? Sometimes I feel like you're the only one who understands me.."

Elizabeth came home from work at an ungodly hour (11pm) with a giant bottle of wine and a smile to match.

We like posing.

A lot.

See?

Elizabeth is always trying to kill me.

And then these.. things.. came out.

These boots are so Elizabeth. Why? Because they are so strange, and she'll probably never wear them out of the house, but if she did.. they'd still mysteriously be really adorable on her. That's just how she is.

And then.. then. Were you aware that Williams-Sonoma Persimmon mixing bowls are the new lampshades? I wasn't aware. We're idiots.

Yeah.

But you know, it wasn't enough to pretend we were elves. We had to go outside and hop on Dan's bike. Sorry Dan.

And I only posted this to show you guys the Blik wall graphics we put up the other day. We only used half the stickers because I wanted to save the rest for my room, so it doesn't look as cool as it could. But still.. still.

Aww, look at the babies.

The next day, we all decided to drive out to Grand Haven to visit the lake, which none of us have seen in roughly four months. :/

On the way there, we passed the Gerald Ford Museum. Yeah, sad stuff. There were TV crews EVERYWHERE. I felt like a stalker paparazzi taking this photo as we drove by.

On the lake, it was almost.. warm out. Almost.

Before THE CLIMB.

Nature.

THE CLIMB.. I want to say "of death" but it's really not that bad in reality. I definitely felt the burn, though.

After approximately 217784232 steps.

Annnnd then we got bored, climbed down and ran to the water.

All in all, I've been pretty okay with the year so far.

Why I don't have nice things: Chapter 232

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 20:02:04 GMT

Since it's hard for me to go more than a few days without making myself look like a total jackass, I figured I was overdue today at Meijer when I was picking up some groceries.

I grabbed a bottle of coffee creamer, some yogurt and pasta sauce and was just reaching out for a box of noodles when I felt some wetness on my leg. Never one to take a hint, though, I thought nothing of it and grabbed the box of noodles and made my way down the aisle. A woman started walking toward me and totally lost her shit. She dropped her basket on the ground and rushed toward me, yelling "OH MY GOD!!! HONEY!!!! YOU ARE COMPLETELY SOAKED!!!#!@" and every person in the aisle turned to stare, so as to allow me to soak in total and complete embarrassment. Turns out I had crushed the coffee creamer from holding it so tight, and it had exploded all over my freshly washed black pants, black shirt and black sweater. Oh and black tank top. And shoes. And, miraculously, some managed to get in my hair. Bonus. A whole load of laundry, ruined because I refuse to put my groceries in a basket. The employee who grabbed some paper towel for me just kept apologizing, like it was somehow his fault that I am a total fuckhead.

My clothes feel crunchy now, and smell like cinnamon. Not a complete loss, I guess.

How has everybody else's day been?

So

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 04:35:26 GMT

I'm in Florida. It's a lot like home, except there is a beach in the backyard.

Here is what I do each day:

Wake up, stretch, drink a glass of orange juice, get in my bathing suit, run to the beach (don't be mistaken, I'm not running far) and sit in a white chair with a book for four hours. Then I get up, go out to eat and other things. It's really nice, but weird.

At any rate, how is everybody else doing? I miss you all. Goodnight loves. See you soon.

WHITE NOISE, Y'ALL

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 16:24:50 GMT

We saw Atmosphere on Wednesday. They did Woman with the Tattooed Hands last. It was neat. Slug is a beautiful man.

Also, in the spirit of it being October, Taylor and I decided to watch every scary movie that he gets with his Comcast On Demand package-deal. As it turns out, there were only three semi-scary movies playing all weekend. So we ordered a pizza, curled up on his giant huge couch and watched The Exorcism of Emily Rose (again!), Birth and White Noise.
Emily Rose scared the shit out of me for the second time because of the whole 3am thing and, you know, the part where she's laying on the floor in a really difficult yoga position.
Birth was just creepy and not scary at all. And White Noise was as bad as it looks. Actually it was worse. Taylor's roommate Dave made a rap about the movie, which consisted of him running around the apartment yelling WHITE NOISE, Y'ALL over and over again.

I was hoping to go apple picking yesterday but it didn't seem like anybody's heart was really in it. That just means that we'll have to go out in full force next weekend.

Wanted: Semi-cool roommate

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 02:54:04 GMT

We are still looking for a fourth roommate! If you're interested, or you know somebody who is interested, let me know. I really appreciate it.

If you move in, here are some things that I can pretty much guarantee:

Movie parties
Family dinners / breakfasts
Quirky roommates
Your own bedroom
Towel warmer in the bathroom
"Retro" kitchen
Working fireplace
Wood floors that complement our wall color scheme
Heritage Hill location, which means you're pretty much close to everything in Grand Rapids. Kind of.
Rides to the bus stop everyday if you need them
Fresh-baked muffins every morning. Maybe.
A ghost in my bedroom
& a kitten. Possibly.

And it's cheap. I'm not kidding about that part. If you want more information, just ask!

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:52:54 GMT

Ahoy, livejournal friends!

Does anybody own or know of someone who might own a movie projector? I just need it for a night, probably sometime next week. I'll pay for it, too!*

Let me know! I'd really appreciate it.

*in chocolate cake

Yeah, I just wanted to bring you these baked goods

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 08:36:42 GMT

Strange breathing noises, unexplained breezes blowing past my face, and flashes of light.. coming from my closet. What could it be?

1. a mouse
2. a giant homeless man with a plate of cupcakes (true story!)
3. A GHOST.

Teddy Grahams

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 14:26:32 GMT

I just wanted to tell everyone how cute my roommate Elizabeth is. She knows that we are broke, so she packed a whole bag full of snacks and crossword puzzles for us to take down to Chicago this weekend. CUTEST EVER.

Awww, roommates. Like baby panda bears. Except cuter.

And now she's making us brownies! Shjfoduioreafds.

By "disregard" I hope they meant "put on Livejournal"

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 17:02:54 GMT

I woke up to this e-mail, and GOD I wish I knew who they meant to send this to. Mystery party? I don't ever say this but.. lollerskates, lollercoaster, lollerpops or whatever it is that seems to get the point across that I am laughing. Out loud. And they sent it to my shoretoship@gmail.com address, so I'm even more confused. I am just picturing Chris and Gary Mahieu aboard a giant yacht out in Lake Michigan, sipping champagne and comparing fine cheeses, anxiously waiting for me to e-mail them back.

Hi Marissa,

This is Chris and Gary Mahieu.

Laura Stob did not have your email so we are guessing that this is you.

We are having a summer get together this Friday and we would like to invite you and a guest.

For security let us know the part you played at the mystery party at our place. Once we figure out your email we can send you a proper invite.

Hope to see you.

Chris and Gary Mahieu

P.S. If this is not the Marissa we know, our apologies please disregard.